A Barista Guide To Perfect Espresso (How to solve 16 common espresso problems!)

So you went into your favorite coffee shop and the espresso isn't that good. You're wondering what the heck happened. The truth is that making a tasty espresso is a challenge no matter how great the coffee brewing setup you have. A billion things can go wrong and they usually do. Why? In this video Alan will share 16 common espresso making problems you might and probably will experience as a barista and many tips on how to fix them. Okay, if you taste a well-made espresso it is sweet, creamy, balanced, round. Often though you may experience something different. A stringent, acidic, salty, dirty mouthfeel. The unpleasant taste is probably caused by one of the multiple problems that I will share today and they usually fall into these categories. Cleaning, maintenance, barista routine. Some problems can be fixed quickly. Some require a barista to build new habits. It took me a few years to realize some of these issues at my barista job. I hope you will learn from my mistakes. Let's jump into it. Number one. Use well-rested coffee beans. Very, very underrated is proper resting of the espresso coffee. Lightly roasted specialty coffee needs more time to properly degas. Use coffee that has rested for four weeks at least. Most of your espresso flavor problems will vanish including the most popular one big inconsistencies in shot times. Well-rested espresso coffee is much more steady. When the recipe is set the shot times tends to hold more as the CO2 doesn't block the flow of the water. Number two. Always work on your puck prep routine. Constantly improve the puck prep. Puck prep starts with the coffee falling into the basket. You want the dose of your coffee to be flat and evenly distributed in the basket. Then tamp gently and flat. The goal of puck prep routine is to make the water flowing evenly through the puck. Even distribution makes a good balance of flavors and decreases channeling. Number three. Be gentle in your routine. When you're moving the tamper out from the portafilter do it slowly so you don't suck the coffee puck out. Then lock the portafilter in the group head gently. Don't bash it against the group head. That will create cracks in the puck which leads to channeling. Number four. Use precision baskets and shower screens. I like the ones from the VST, IMS or Matrix. The holes are very precisely cut evenly spread it helping you significantly with getting an even extraction. Number five. Pre-infusion is always a good idea. If your coffee machine is capable always use pre-infusion to get the puck evenly saturated and decrease the chances of channeling. In my experience anything from 8 to 20 seconds works like a charm. An evenly soaked puck under low pressure gets the coffee ready for higher pressure and the water has the tendency to flow more evenly through. Number six. Pull a longer espresso shot. If your puck prep is good, pre-infusion is set but you're experiencing stringency try going coarser and pull a one to three shot. Delicious, balanced, more rounded, just a little bit weaker though. A bit coarser grind always decreases the problem of channeling. Don't chase the body, chase the balance of flavors. Number seven. Use high water temperature. Recommended water temperature for light roast sits between 93 to 97 degrees. If the espresso tastes sour or salty I like to increase the water temperature by one to two degrees instead of changing the grind setting. But don't change the temperature by 0.5 degrees as most espresso machines offer that option. You won't taste the difference. Make a change by one degree or more. Number eight. Backflush the group head every 40 minutes to one hour. As the coffee puck is pressed in the group head coffee fines tend to travel around and stick on the shower screen and on the gasket. The espresso starts to taste a little bit harsh and bitter. By backflushing the group in the busy cafe often you wash the dirt out and have a clean cup of coffee again. Number nine. Clean the portafilter every 30 minutes. Clean the inside of the portafilter and the whole basket every half an hour. Coffee oil tends to build up under the basket and in the spouts. When you make new coffee it flows through the already extracted residues that has built inside the portafilter. Also knock out the puck after every espresso. By leaving the puck in the group the coffee oils will continue to dissolve slowly and stick under the basket. Number 10. Use silicone gaskets. Don't use rubber gaskets. They won't last that much. Use silicone gaskets. They're much more durable. Put them out and clean them in cold water every day. When the gasket gets old it gets hard, it cracks and water starts flowing around it into your espresso cup. Number 11. Remove and clean the shower screen every day. Remove the silicone or rubber gaskets around the group head and remove the shower screen at least once during the shift and clean them under running water. Do that once during the shift. Do that once when you close the shop. If you think it's impossible let me tell you that some of the busiest coffee shops in the world do that routine every 45 minutes. Number 12. Change the shower screen and portafilter baskets every four to six months. The pressure deforms the holes and the material and the espresso quality and extraction slightly decreases after four to five months. How do you find it's time to change them? TDS tends to drop down a little bit but more importantly the mouthfeel and the finish of the espresso gets a little bit dirtier despite your equipment being perfectly clean. Number 13. Backflush the group heads with cleaning powder every night. Then clean everything with hot water. I like to backflush with cleaning powder in the middle of the shift as well if the coffee shop is super busy. The flavor clarity after the cleaning is on another level. Number 14. Don't leave the filter baskets and the portafilter in the cleaning powder bath overnight. The espresso machine cleaning powder is very aggressive and it leaves marks on the metal and it destroys the handlers of the portafilter if they are soaked. 15 minutes in the cleaning powder bath is enough. Number 15. Season the new espresso grinder burrs. Season the new espresso burrs on a fine setting with three kilos of coffee at least. Sharp burrs make the extraction low. On the other hand if you see a sudden drop in extraction and the shots are lacking texture and sweetness your burrs might be getting dull and they need a change. Typically that happens in four to ten months depending on how busy your coffee shop is. Burr manufacturers usually give recommendation for their burr sets longevity so keep an eye on that. Number 16. Clean your grinder every day. Vacuum cleaning the grinder and burrs should be done every day to clean the surface of the burrs and the ground coffee pathways. Dismantle the burrs once a week and do a deep cleaning under them. I hope this video gave you a glimpse of how a professional barista works. I am very confident that if you adopt these tips your espresso game will improve big time. Thank you for watching and I hope to see you in the next video.