Espresso
The espresso, today known throughout the world, was born in Turin in 1884, after the invention of the espresso machine, patented by Angelo Moriondo with patent no. 33/256 of 16 May 1884. It was then implemented with another patent on November 20, 1884 vol. 34 n. 381. The invention was then covered by an international patent by registration took place in Paris on October 23 1885. 17 years later, in 1901, the machine was perfected by Luigi Bezzera from Milan who made other technical improvements. In 1905 the patent was then bought by Desiderio Pavoni who founded La Pavoni company and began production in series (one per day), in a small workshop in Via Parini in Milan.
Espresso coffee is the most consumed beverage and known in Italy between the various types of coffee.
The espresso is prepared through a percolation process, under pressure, 6.5-7.5 grams of roasted coffee and finely ground. The extraction water temperature is 92-94 ° C and the water-coffee contact time is about 25-30 seconds. The caffeine extraction efficiency is 80%.
Normally, in order to obtain a good espresso bar, the grinder must be equipped with grinds helical centrifuge, the only one suitable for grinding the grains into fine granules with uniform size, the degree of fineness of the grind should be selected according to the characteristics of the machine, mixture and to the environmental conditions of humidity and temperature.
There are many coffee variants of Espresso:
| Phase | Description |
|---|---|
| Ristretto Coffee | It is obtained with the espresso machine, simply leaving less liquid flowing into the cup, so as to extract from the ground coffee powder only the first fractions which contain tannins (all the dark color and aroma of the drink); you get an espresso stronger in flavor. The concentration of caffeine, however, is very small. It can also be prepared with the coffee maker, turning off the heat as soon as the coffee starts coming out. Pressure 9-15 bar, 15-20 milliliters |
| Corto Coffee | Different from Ristretto Coffee, the coffee is just a short half-cup of brewed coffee typically with mocha or Neapolitan, or other instrument other than the espresso machine. In this variety you always have the same concentration of caffeine of a long coffee but a smaller amount of liquid. Pressure 9-15 bar, 50-65 milliliters. |
| Long Coffee | Opposite to Ristretto, it is obtained by letting more water to flow into the cup compared to a normal espresso: the result is a coffee with a lower concentration of aromas and a high concentration of caffeine. The "long" definition is Often used to despise the coffee served, two to the excessive amount of water devolved That the taste and aroma. Pressure 9-10 bar, blackberries than 130 milliliters -170 |
| Macchiato Coffee | It is obtained by adding a small amount of milk, cold or hot, freshly brewed espresso in the normal, and then takes the name of cold and warm stained stained; Milk is often foamed before pouring in order to get a latte foam. It is often confused with a cappuccino, which has higher quantities of coffee and milk and is served in larger cups, moreover, both coffee and milk arefoamed and often barista adds cocoa powder to enhance its taste and appearance. |
| Corretto Coffee | Corretto Coffee is a common term used to indicate a normal espresso modified by the addition of a small amount of a usually short of brandy; it serves the coffee in the cup (or glass) with shots of alcohol already poured, or you serve coffee and separate alcohol. It can be understood correction also with other spirits such as brandy, anisette, sambuca, rum or another. In this case goes, however, specify the super alcoholic you want. For this operation is the case of using grappa derived from more varieties (so no single variety), because, in any case, the specific flavor of a single grappa variety should be lost becauseof the strongest aroma of coffee. In Spain, there is the carajillo, also obtainable with different types of corrections. |
| Decaf Coffee | Espresso whose milled powder was subjected to a caffeine extraction process before being used to extract the drink |