Espresso 4M’s

Spending a few years in the Italian coffee cities…
Yes, I had my most intense years of my childhood, until I decided, as a grown up man, to live my life probably in the most beautiful country in the world.

Greece.

Many times in between the courses of the university I found myself in Espresso Bars, with beautiful retro espresso machines, listening to thoughtful cult barista, with white shirts and classy bows, to analyze the keys of their success over time, based on countless cups of espresso and capucco.

The 4M’s of Esrpesso.

A journey of memories and aromas, of the best times with true friends. AMICI MIEI.

I can still hear the words of the barista Luigi at Via Carloni…

Preparing an espresso is both art and science. Through the years, it has been verified that the accuracy is the basic prerequisite for an excellent espresso.  4 are the important  factors that influence the perfect espresso.

The first M stand for mill grinding (Macinazione) that is responsible for the precise grinding of the coffee in matter of thickness. A barista with Coffeedence grinds the coffee beans just before using them. Coffee loses a significant amount of its aroma and vital flavor 2 to 3 minutes after grinding. For this reason in the Specialty Coffee era, Home Barista are equipped with a small and good hand manual Coffee Grinder. Proper grinding is between powder grinding (greek coffee style) and coarse grinding (French Press style) with uniform shape.

The second M stands for Miscela, the mixture of the coffee or else the Blend. The best coffee as raw material, the better your cup of coffee will taste.

The third M stand for Macchina – Machine (Espresso Machine). We can use tools such as Moka Pot and Minipresso that can help us to prepare a top quality espresso at home, or at office.  This cannot be done automatically. It is important that we barista can use them properly even if we are talking about an automatic espresso machine.

Finally the last and more important factor, the fourth M is Mano, You! You will need some knowledge of small secrets and techniques that if accurately applied then espresso aromas will burst within 30 seconds. The calculation of the correct amount of coffee to be used, the way of pressing  the coffee in the portafilter, and the monitoring of the proper flow of coffee, slowly like hot fluid honey ( 25-30sec for 60ml) guarantees that your excellent Single Origin Ethiopian Lekempti will be flooted with flavors of bergamot and berries and that your aftertaste will feel like silky caramel flavor that you will never forget.

Even that the years passed I will never forget the words of Luigi, from Via Carloni at Renaissance Florence.