A lot of our customers call us up and discuss with us how they can achieve a perfect espresso shot from their home espresso equipment. Although achieving a 'god shot' (term used to describe the elusive 'perfect shot') is far easier on commercial equipment, experience tells us that such perfect espresso shots are possible on domestic machines - you just need to apply a little more care and thought to the process.
The perfect shot - a technical definition
A professional barista will describe the perfect shot of espresso as:
'coffee beans ground to a level whereby a 14 gram double portafiler puck tamped to 35 pounds of pressure will deliver 2 fluid ounces of espresso in 21 seconds from pump start, with a water temperature of 198 degrees and a pump pressure of 9.5 bar'.
Ok - so what does that mean
Well, for the professional barista working on commercial equipment, he/she will need make sure that all of the fixed parameters are correct (temperature, pressure, tamp pressure, puck size), and then adjust the grind ('dialling in the bean') until the requisite '21 second' extraction is achieved.
For domestic equipment, especially 'bean to cup' (super automatic) machines, the opportunities to adjust any of the variables may be limited. Some domestic 'bean to cup' machines have a range of grind and temperature settings. For those of you who have an independent grinder, then you can make much finer adjustments. Just try and achieve a 21 second pour and your most of the way there. Experimentation is the key - and freshly roasted coffee beans will help make the flavour of any 'god shot' achieved into an epiphany moment for any coffee lover.