The growth in the Worldwide espresso market has been exciting in recent years and we have learned a great deal from it. It has opened up new opportunities in the High street for all, not just the espresso bar chains.

A good cup of espresso

The secret to making a good espresso is not such a secret anymore. You need a good blend of well roasted coffee beans, ground to perfection. The coffee needs to be extracted at 9 bar of pressure for between 23 and 28 seconds and there you have it.

Espresso beans and alongside is the pre-ground version

Of course we know that for cappuccino it may be sometimes necessary to make the blend stronger but the idea is the same. Our espressos are based on high quality arabicas from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Brazil and Sumatra.

Sometimes we add in small portions of the best robusta coffees available to give the coffee some added body. This is usually Indian parchment robusta, widely used in Italy.

It sounds easy but it does take practice. To add to this is the fact that over 90% of all espresso consumed in the UK is taken with milk i.e. cappuccino or latte.

At Lincoln & York we can’t make the cup for your clients. However we can help you get the coffee blend and grind elements correct.

A good espresso coffee blend should produce a good cup of coffee. It should have some body, be not bitter but strong. it should possess sweetness and have a great lasting cream on top.

It is important to roast espresso slowly. This helps develop the flavour. In our drum roasting machines we get this just right for your blends.

Sometimes we are asked to grind the espresso for the clients and pack the coffee into small sachets.

This is all part of the service and before the blend is packed our staff make a cup of espresso in our tasting kitchen to make sure it is just right.

This glass of espresso is perfect at 25 seconds extraction time

How to Make a Good Espresso PDF