Espresso coffee

Espresso coffee has come a long way in Australia, and we are now considered one of the leading countries for espresso coffee in the world. However, it's our experience that the quality of espresso in cafes still differs widely, which is why we bring you Bestcafes.

There are around 8,000 cafes in Australia, but we aim to feature only the best ones. People are beginning to understand what a good espresso should taste like, not burnt or bitter, and more and more cafes are striving to bring you great coffee. You'll notice we also have ratings for food and ambience. For many people the cafe experience is also about food, atmosphere, or the 'X' factor that makes it special, so we also want to hear about that.

Bestcafes is your opportunity to tell people about cafes where you really think they get it right, and also [hopefully not too often] where they don't.

If coffee's your thing, here's some standard stuff that's good to know:

Extra stuff...

Sometimes, it's about how those beans get to your cup...

More and more people are becoming concerned about the livelihood of poor farmers in developing countries [where most of our coffee is grown]. Usually their produce gets to us via a chain of co-operatives and middle-men. 'Sustainable' coffee refers to different methods to give something back to the communities growing the beans that get to our cup, and also the land on which they are grown.

Next time

Next time you enjoy your coffee at your favourite cafe, you might like to think how far the beans in your cup have travelled to give you those few moments of pleasure and stimulation!

The espresso (short black) is the starting point for all espresso coffee - approximately 25 ml of espresso extracted in 25-30 seconds. It is created when pressurised water is forced through finely ground coffee that has been compressed into a perforated metal basket, or filter. A well-made espresso is characterised by a red-brown crema. A further sign of a good espresso is that the surface tension of the crema should maintain one teaspoon of white sugar on its surface for 3-4 seconds before falling through.

A ristretto, meaning 'restricted' in Italian, is normally only the first 15mls of extraction - it is therefore 'restricted' in the amount of coffee extracted and captures the sweetest, most intense characters of the coffee. The term 'Double Ristretto' is capturing 30 ml of espresso, made up from 2x 15 ml shots.

There are various ways to make a long black, but you should definitely not simply extract a normal espresso for double the length of time! Start with 10ml cold water, followed by boiling water to make up to around 2/3 of a cup then pour a double shot espresso on top! A variation is to use a double ristretto [above] - not everyone uses this, but if properly done, it gives the sweetest result.

Some enthusiasts find an espresso shot too strong and concentrated; in the macchiato, milk is used to soften the edge of the espresso. Using a 90 ml glass, pour your espresso shot, and add a dash of textured milk. The term Macchiato means to mark, which in this case is what we're doing to the coffee with the textured milk.

One of the most popular espresso-based drinks in Australia, the name literally comes from the meaning of the two words 'cafe latte'. Caffe in Italian means 'coffee' and latte means 'milk'. Pour a shot of espresso into a 200-220 ml glass and add textured milk. Note - this should be smooth, velvety microfoam not 'froth' - see texturing milk.

Named after the Cappuchin monks who apparently drank coffee to help them through their prayer vigils. In times past, this drink used to be covered with an 'everest' of foam; now prefer a shot of espresso and 2 cm of [microfoam] textured milk. Often comes dusted with drinking chocolate.

Developed as an Australian icon and is only now starting to be copied overseas. Using a cup of around 160-180 ml capacity, pour in one shot of espresso and add textured milk; the flat white is actually very similar to the latte, but uses slightly less milk.

Grind size is important to getting a perfect extraction as it partly determines how quickly an espresso machine can force water through the grinds, thus determining how much flavour is extracted. Outside factors such as air temperature, humidity and age of the roasted coffee can affect the grind size required to create a perfect extraction. Ideally, the coffee will have been ground just before your barista makes his/her shot!

Extraction is the process of running hot water through the finely ground espresso, drawing out the flavours and aroma. A perfect extraction should be slow with an almost honey-like drip, delivering a deliciously aromatic dark liquid with golden brown crema into the cup.

An espresso that is over-extracted has taken too long to run through the espresso machine. The water has struggled to force its way through the ground coffee packed in the filter basket and the resulting espresso will typically have a burnt taste and an oily texture. An under-extracted espresso is one that has run too quickly through the machine. The water has run too easily through the coffee, usually because the coffee has been too coarsely ground, or not tamped firmly enough or not enough coffee has been placed in the filter basket. The resulting coffee will taste sour and watery, with little flavour and typically a very pale coloured crema.

Milk Texturing is the art of creating a silky smooth texture to the milk by aerating the milk with steam. Milk should only be textured to between 60-65 degrees; milk that is steamed such that it is too hot will burn your mouth and the flavours of the coffee. 'Microfoaming' is where the barista achieves tiny bubbles in the milk [not froth], which results in a smooth velvety texture, with a creamy mouth-feel.

Freshness is the key to a great coffee experience. Ideally coffee should be no more than 10 days old from roasting to cup and should be ground just before being used to make a cup of coffee. The problem is that not all cafe owners know that!

Single-origin roasts refers to a coffee variety from a single known geographical location. This may be a specific farm ('Estate Coffee') or beans from a single region. The coffee is then named after the locations from which it has been sourced. Single-origins have specific taste characteristics and flavours unique to that region when roasted. Interestingly enough, it's considered that a blend, rather than a single origin, usually gives the best all- round espresso experience.

Organic coffee is a generalised term for coffee that has been internationally certified as having been grown without the use of chemicals. Organic production methods use naturally occurring fertilisers and traditional crop rotation techniques. Organic coffee accounts for just 1 per cent of global coffee production.

Fairtrade is probably the most well-known of 'sustainable' coffee. It's a branded licensing system originated by Oxfam, which aims to cut out the middleman and guarantees the farmer a fixed price, albeit taking out a small cut. Perhaps its key distinguishing factor is its focus on the alleviation of poverty.

The Rainforest Alliance was established in New York after an article on rainforest devastation was published in The New York Times in 1986. Rainforest Alliance is concerned with the lives of the farming communities which grow the coffee but with an environmental slant, emphasizing as it does the need for reduced environmental footprints, as well as being 'good neighbours to human and wild communities'.

Utz [Mayan for 'good'] is concerned with the improvement of the farmer's profits and therefore livelihood, but likewise, it has its own unique slant it's particularly involved in farming practices and processes, and is all about making good farmers better businessmen.