If you treated yourself to an espresso machine, good on you. There's no self-love quite like coffee-based self-love. Now, let's make sure you're using it properly so those home-brewed shots taste like the ones you had in Naples.
You don't need a fancy, commercial-grade machine to pull excellent shots since espresso is all about technique. With the right moves and measurements, you can brew cafe-quality espresso with even a basic model.
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As a budding coffee connoisseur with a thirst to advance my skills, I turned to an expert for help. Kaleena Teoh, co-founder of Coffee Project New York, shared the four most important considerations for brewing espresso shots at home.
But first...
The basics of espresso
Espresso is a precise brewing method, not a drink. Pamela Vachon/CNET
"The word 'espresso' itself is not just a drink, it's actually a brewing method that involves pushing hot water through a compacted puck of coffee," Teoh said, which can be accomplished through a machine with a boiler, or manually, as in a stovetop espresso pot. It requires a specific pressure and temperature calibration, but a high-end machine isn't necessary.
"The two most important things are the machine's ability to maintain pressure and temperature as you pull the shot," she said. In most home-use models, you may not be able to make any adjustments, but gauges or displays that indicate pressure and temperature can be reassuring.
Read more: I Tried a $140 Espresso Machine That Pulls Creamy Shots and Is Slimmer Than a Blender
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