Topics: espresso , espresso based drinks. Espresso Blog. So, what makes a shot of espresso truly great? Crema color and thickness: A great shot will have a crema with a thick "tiger-skin" appearance, with honey- and brown-colored threads in it. An under-extracted shot's crema will be thin to nonexistent with a blonde color.
An over-extracted shot will have a thin crema that appears brown or burnt. What it tastes like can be different depending on the types of beans the espresso is made up of.
However, there is a certain kind of flavor all espressos have. In general, espresso tastes very strong, slightly to quite bitter and often a bit tart like lemon.
If made properly, it should have a naturally sweet finish. If it tastes deeply bitter, sour or watery, it probably wasn't made correctly. Freshly prepared, a shot of espresso is going to be thick and creamy with a dense foam—called "crema"—sitting on top of a liquid espresso base. The texture will change a bit as the shot sits. The crema will evaporate and the espresso will become entirely liquid. It's best to drink espresso as soon as it's made for both texture and flavor.
Coffee drinkers may love espresso as these beverages are similar in taste. Does it taste, exactly like the espresso grinds smell prior to brewing? Where are the caramel and chocolate flavors I read about hiding? All i can do, is recommend that you go to a great cafe and try their espresso, ideally the same coffee as you put in your machine, e.
It's a place to start at least. This is just what's worked for me Edited once due to misunderstaning OP. I am talking about 'social sipping' and not some competition standardized method to sample coffees. This is more aimed at enjoying and "drinking" espresso and not "cupping" it for a competitive judgment. As soon as you are through inhaling, exhale a bit and take a small, gentle sip.
Remember that smell and taste are closely associated and that is why you sip right after you finish an inhale through the nose. Let the espresso gently flow from the front to the back of the tongue then gently swish it around just a bit to get it to cover as much of the mouth as possible and then swallow, and gently inhale through your mouth.
That is why it is important to exhale a bit after sensing the aroma- so that there is room in the lungs for this inhale. This brings the volatile elements in deeper, revealing all that might be there. Yes, I have used the words like "gently" and "slowly" quite a bit. Espresso is a bit of a contradiction in a cup.
Although it is one of the very most concentrated and strongest of coffee beverages, it also contains more flavor elements that any other coffee preparation method.
Many of these elements are faint to the senses and handling it roughly in the mouth can mask some of them. There are elements in espresso that coat the tongue to mask the bitterness that is in all coffee- mainly from caffeine which is an exceedingly bitter element even in small quantities, but there are other bitter elements as well.
The first sip may not reveal all there is in the cup, so sip, taste, pause and repeat a few times to get the full effect of the taste. If the first one or two sips taste unpleasantly burnt, thin, bitter, acidic, or have any other nasty effect on your palate, don't torture yourself further- these unpleasant tastes aren't going to go away regardless of how much you would like them to do so. FEEL - Espresso should feel something like melted butter in the mouth- heavy, thick, smooth, greasy, oily, but all in a delightfully positive way.
It should have a weight, viscosity, and flow to it that is very different from water. Water feels like it is homing in on your stomach and in a rush to get there, but espresso should feel like it wants to stick around in your mouth for a while, enjoying the sites and saying "Hola" to everyone. For a person new to espresso it can be very difficult to describe, but you really have to pay attention because it changes as you sip.
The way a coffee ends in taste can be VERY different from how it starts.
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