TOP THREE - Most Common Mistakes in Espresso Preparation

A visual representation of the three most common mistakes I see when baristas (both new and experienced) are pulling shots of espresso, and how to fix them.

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Music Credit: LAKEY INSPIRED
Track Name: "Oceans"
License for commercial use: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported "Share Alike" (CC BY-SA 3.0) License.

#espressotutorial #abolishthepolish #sprobyonboard

[twomfilmsllc]

Wow! Now, this is what I call a great video. Short, to the point, and with lots of info. I've had my espresso machine for almost four years now and never realized the small little things I was doing wrong. Thanks for the tips!!!

[MinaMcKay]

Thank you so much. I am a barista w/ 5 years experience yet I still have much to learn. I always tapped to make sure my grounds were even before tamping. But I just got myself the Breville Barista pro soooo I want to make the most of it and hopefully be getting a new job as a barista as well.

[Highness]

This video just letting me know that no matter the topic in life, theres somebody who knows things I didn't even think could possibly exist on the subject. Me stumbling in here not knowing espresso has an ENTIRE DICTIONARY of terminology. I feel like I just saw proof aliens exist. Anyhoo, just bought my first machine and now I'm scared lol! Ahhhh

[chriscockrell]

A couple of observations. First, you are using a spouted portafilter. There is no left side or right side. Either your machine is not level of you have bent the spouts in some way. Second, leveling is important but your approach to it is even more important. When talking about polishing, you semi-leveled your grounds before you used your leveler. This is a good and important tip. A slow approach with the leveler is needed in order to not pack the coffee bed with the leveler wings. Same reason we teach not to pack the bed with your fingers before tamping. If you simply press the grounds down with the leveler then twist, it is essentially doing the same as packing with your fingers or hand. Slow approach is best. Third, the polishing should be done after a pressure tamp - no pressure polish. If you tamp and twist at the same time you could get some bed movement, but I believe the moment the hot water hits the bed, the pre-wetting will expand the grounds thus sealing up any edge gaps that might be present - and you simply have a tamper that is old and damaged and needs to be replaced. Smooth surface, free of dings, chips, or scars. Lastly, a smooth approach of the portafilter to the group is the best advise you given; spot on in my opinion! All common sense. Thanks!

[alexisrieck]

I got an interview at a café later this week when I have legit never made anything but drip coffee. I figured I needed to know a lot more beforehand so I started a YouTube binge, I’m learning that coffee and espresso is a whole WORLD of terms and tips and I’m really excited to jump into things.

[cindirose]

Thanks, very very helpful. I'm about to use my FIRST machine for my FIRST ATTEMPT ! WEE

[Narezaath]

"AbolishThePolish"
Me, a Polish person: "I don't like where this is going."

[shreyam]

me: doesn't own a machine, doesn't make coffee, doesn't drink coffee
also me: watches how to make 'better' coffee
☠☠☠

[osunightfall]

Thinking about it, the minute evening of the top milimeter of grounds that polishing might accomplishing is not going to do anything to affect your shot positively. This is like people who tap the portafilter after tamping to dislodge a few stray grounds on the wall of the portafilter. Those grounds weren't hurting anything, but you may have just unseated your coffee bed.

[studuerson]

I'm still fishing around for consistent pulls, and videos like this really help us, less experienced, badristas.

[steenb.m.]

Good video. I've recently purchased a Sage Barista Express, and have taken the dive into making the best coffee I can. :)
I've got just one minor complaint about the video. I believe you are right, when you state that tamping an uneven spread of grinded beans, will cause one side of the puck to be packed more tightly, thus making it harder for the water to come through on that side of the puck. But when you try to illustrate this by visualizing the coffee running faster out in one side than the other... I seriously doubt that can be the case. Your coffee clearly runs to a hole in the middle of the filter, then proceeds down into one channel, before it is split in two. There is absolutely no way the coffee coming from one side of the puck is going to stay in the same side all the way down the hole, through the single channel and then out the same side it came in.

[springfieldbearpatrol]

Fine grinds, keep your machine clean, and you’ll be on your way to espresso shot addiction

[FaiLoYut]

Hi, good vid. One way to prove the uneven tamp is to then repeat the higher density on the other side of the portafilter. If it switched sides, then it does make a difference. If it doesn't, then probably a tilt somewhere.

[lubnan]

I am a newbie to espresso. This is so helpful.

[whyilovethemoon]

Hm, your point with uneven extraction when no distribution of grounds is done before tamping is right of course. But I highly doubt you can see the difference on the spouts of the portafilter. You’d need to use a naked one. Because an uneven flow at the spouts correlates with a slightly tilted machine, but not determines what’s happening at the bottom of the basket.

[kentjax]

I just bought my first machine the Chefmate 6 in 1 for only $144 and LOVE IT. Believe it or not, it does the job, works and is built very well. It pays for itself in a single month of Starbucks! 😎

[abz]

Have ever done a blind test to see if there are real perceptible differences in flavor doing things the wrong way vs. the right way?

[PolicarpioNicole]

I just pulled a shot this morning and got an unseated puck. I do polish, from the videos i see on youtube. Thanks for the tips - i learn a lot from this channel

[pennyedwards]

Fantastic! You have just solved my issues with my morning coffee - so simple. Thank you.

[TheBeardedBoofhead]

Well.... I wanna say thanks! These three tips just saved me a lot of frustration! I'd finally decided to abandon Aldi Pod coffee (for the waste, not the taste... I actually love the pod I ended up with) and bought a simple Delonghi machine... It's been hit n miss and I was starting to think I'd made a mistake.... After simply paying more attention from these tips, the shot was much much better! Now I just need to find the right beans I like and get me a grinder to get the grind I want... Thanks :)