Experts consider espresso to be the ideal method of making coffee

Coffee has been a fundamental part of our lives for a long time. For some, it is a daily enjoyable routine that helps people to feel invigorated and, when needed, clear their minds. For others, making coffee is a complete ritual with its own unique customs. There are also those who dedicate their entire lives to studying this remarkable product.

To consistently brew a quality cup of coffee, it is essential to understand the finicky nature of coffee beans during cultivation, processing, roasting, and preparation, and how each of these stages alters the hundreds of chemical compounds responsible for the beverage's flavor, aroma, and body.

Experts believe that the essence of coffee is best captured in espresso. An espresso is served in a small, heavy porcelain cup, half-filled with an opaque liquid topped with a velvety thick reddish-brown foam known as crema. This crema is made up of tiny gas bubbles encased in thin shells that carry the distinct flavors of a particular coffee. The term “espresso” refers to a coffee batch made to order, brewed by quickly percolating pressurized hot water through a layer of ground, compressed, and roasted coffee. The outcome is not merely a concentrated solution of water-soluble solids; it includes a variety of aromatic compounds in the form of emulsified tiny oil droplets that together give espresso its unmistakably rich flavor and aroma.

Experts regard espresso as the perfect method of coffee preparation, as the specially designed technical conditions fully reveal, enhance, and display the inherent properties of the coffee bean.

The high quality of the bean is not a mere coincidence but the result of strict control over numerous factors, both at the plantation and by the producers in the factory and, naturally, in the cup.

A single shot of espresso requires between 50 and 55 roasted coffee beans. Even one flawed bean can spoil the entire experience. This is why the human senses of smell and taste evolved as defense mechanisms, alerting our ancestors to spoiled or harmful foods. Only with modern technology can we economically and consistently identify 50 nearly perfect beans.