The Home Barista's Guide to Espresso - Coffee Prince in Surat

The alternative, known as wet processing, washes the skin and fruit off the bean prior to drying. Thisprocess produces less sweet, more acidic coffees, which generally would be unsuitable for espresso ifused pure. However, since these beans often have beautifully clean and powerful floral and fruityaromas and tastes, they are used in smaller proportions in more expensive blends to enhance the moresubdued taste of dry processed beans. When these beans are used, the coffee is usually roasted at thelighter end of the espresso spectrum, since dark roasting destroys their aromatics.Finally, some espresso blends use Robusta coffees, which derive from a different species of coffee treefound at lower altitudes and having higher yields. These coffees are generally less expensive than theArabicas discussed above. Low grade Robustas can add body, sweetness, and above all, very strongcrema to an espresso. But they do so at the expense of having an unpleasant, burnt rubber smell. Highgrade Robustas do not have this offensive odor, but will usually muffle the other aromatics. Their use iscontroversial. Many very gifted espresso professionals use Robustas, while many others would nevertouch them.At the RoasterDifferent roasters have different blending strategies. Some use only two to four different coffees; theseblends can have very distinct tastes and will vary a lot year to year. Other roasters will try to keep theblend's taste the same year in, year out. They will do this by using seven to twelve different coffees,many from different plantations in the same country and region, so as to average out the annualvariations of coffees from any one plantation.As with all coffee, espresso blends are always best when used within two weeks of roasting. Unlikeregular brewing, the carbon dioxide in the beans in the first day or two after roasting can sometimesinterfere with the espresso extraction, so many cafés allow the coffee to rest 48 hours prior to use.My main advice is to first find several good local roasters. Try many different espresso blends, varying inroast levels, use of Robusta (or not), level of acidity, or use of wet processed coffees, and then decidefor yourself which styles you like most. Ask the roasters about what's in the blend; the exact recipes areusually proprietary, but they will be happy to give you general information so you can develop aninformed preference. If you home roast, try various dry or semi-wet processed Brasils, Indonesians,Ethiopian and Yemen coffees, and create a blending base from your favorites among these. Then addsmall amounts of your favorite wet processed, high grown Arabica to give it some distinctiveness. If thislater coffee is exceptionally sweet and low acid, more than the usual 10% to 20% can be used.Single Origin EspressoAs mentioned earlier, most washed, high grown coffees are unsuitable for espresso either straight or inhigh proportions in a blend. In my opinion, this shows that espresso technology requires furtherdevelopment. It would be absurd if you tried to buy a coffee and were told it was too strong to beprepared in a presspot.However, espresso technology has advanced far enough so that some high-grown, washed coffees canmake interesting and sometimes spectacular shots. These usually don't have the balance of conventional