making espresso.

steps 1+

roll sleeves. place portafilter into bell. place demitasse underneath. lift lever and let some hot water pour through. lower lever. place cup on base to retain heat. remove portafilter. take .5 steps back and dance for the approximation of 12 seconds. while still slightly gyrating, take paper towel and clean grounds remains from portafilter and spout. place portafilter on base.

steps 2+

turn on grinder and let lingering beans grind out. they have sat for up to 24 hours and can't be trusted to mingle with the beans which have been safely locked away, rolled in a foil bag inside a sealed plastic bag, and living inside a dark cabinet. shake the grinder slightly for a secure check that all beans have been dislodged. take short chopstick (with back and white alternating square chessboard pattern, purchased in a store from a mall attached to the train station in kyoto) and stick it up the spout of the grinder to ensure all remains have been cleared. turn off grinder. place chopstick into grounds metal bin container, which is underneath the spout. take down beans from cabinet and open plastic bag. remove foil bag. unfurl foil bag and shake some beans into the grinder hopper. not too many, but an ample amount approximated for 2 cups of espresso. place bag in any free space available.

steps 3+

pick up portafilter with left hand and place under spout of grinder. pick up chopstick with right hand. turn on grinder. while grounds start falling unevenly into the portafilter, start lightly stirring grounds with chopstick to ensure all clumps are broken up and grounds are evenly distributed. when the grounds creates a slight hill over the top of the portafilter basket, turn off the grinder. place chopstick in grounds bin. with right hand finger, smooth out grounds in portafilter basket to ensure evenness, while pressing down slightly to determine the amount of grounds and pressure underneath. if the amount feels slightly low, place portafilter under grinder spout and with right hand, pick up chopstick and stick it up the spout slightly to loosed some grounds into portafilter basket. place chopstick down and repeat smoothing, pressing action until the amount feels right.

steps 4+

place portafilter basket edge down on rubberized strip, while gripping handle. in left hand pick up tamper, (reg barber make with wooden handle model). with force, press tamper into portafilter basket. gyrate tamper around to ensure even pressure distribution. press hard. even harder. determine whether too much or too little coffee is in portafilter. this is determined by the level of the tamper above or below the top edge of the portafilter. if slightly high or low, then place tamper down and pick up chopstick. with chopstick, stir the grounds in portafilter basket to break up puck. a puck is the hardened disc of coffee grounds in the portafilter basket, created from tamping. a puck is also an object used in hockey. there is a definite resemblance. once puck is broken up, then either add grounds through methods detailed above, or remove grounds by taking a finger and pushing some grounds over the top of the surface. once the adjustment has been made, repeat tamping and amount determination. if all is good, then place tamper down. blow out and wipe grounds dust that lingers on the edges of the portafilter basket just above the puck surface.

steps 5+

move portafilter basket from left to right hand. with left hand, raise lever on machine abou 2/3 up, or just below the point of allowing water to rush forth. (this is done to limit the vacuum pressure on the puck once the portafilter is in place.) insert portafilter into machine bell. turn left to secure. raise lever completely up and listed to water rush in rush in rush in. think about streams in the woods upstate. remove hands from lever and portafilter handle. take demitasse in left hand. spill out water. take paper towel and clean/dry the inside. blow to ensure no grounds are stuck. place demitasse under portafilter. with right hand, grab water handle on top of machine. with left hand, take lever. shift weight to the right. right foot forward slightly. hips shifted to the right. place face close but not too close to machine. enough to feel the heat. start plunging lever while holding onto the machine. the pressure should be intense but not immense. if it is, i know i overground, over tamped, or overadded coffee. if its too light i did the opposite. if its around right, within a few moments drops start to fall into the demitasse. beautiful dark brown reddish drops which create layers of concentric waves of thick reddish-brown crema. the drops should quickly become a viscous yet thinnish stream. once the stream starts to lighten and increase, then pull demitasse away and finish plunging the lever. swirl espresso in demitasse. smell. drink quickly.