Espresso is probably the most complicated way of making a good cup of coffee.

We dare say that at least 99% of all the coffees that are sold as an espresso around the world are mediocre or worse in taste. (No wonder most people like to add milk or sugar to their espresso)

According to Dr. Ernesto Illy there are over 18 million factors that need to be perfect in order for an espresso to be perfect. One factor can, for example, be how ripe the cherries were before they were picked.

It is impossible for a barista to know that every single of the 18 million factors are perfect, but a barista can control around 40 to 50 of those factors. The problem is that each and every single factor need to be perfect every time and if you fail in one of them, the espresso will taste horrible. Examples of these factors are: water and coffee quality, cleanliness of equipment, grinder adjustment, brew water temperature and pressure, etc.

So, how do you know if the espresso is perfect or not? Taste it. If you like it, then it is probably good. If you need sugar or other additives in order to make it taste good, then you are doing something wrong.

We have made some short films (in Norwegian only so far) in order to help you to make better espresso, but don’t expect to be a great barista only because you have seen these films. What separates a great barista from other persons making espresso, is experience. The barista needs to have a broad understanding of how coffee is grown, processed, roasted and best brewed on various brewing devices. He/she also needs to be able to taste and judge an espresso regardless of circumstance. To be able to do this the barista needs tasting experience so that he / she has a built in reference of what is good espresso and what is not.

We hope you will enjoy and learn from the films. If you are interested in learning more, you can attend one of our barista courses or visit our store and we will try to help you as much as possible.