Espresso Day
Today’s is espresso day, a celebration of the very foundation of all our caffeine-infused favourites. To mark the occasion we will reflect on how the espresso came to be the Holy Grail in the new wave of coffee cocktails and share how to pull the perfect espresso shot.
Before we go any further, let’s establish what an espresso is, or more accurately, what an espresso is not. An espresso is a type of coffee with a specific brewing method. It is brewed by forcing a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure through finely-ground coffee beans. In other words, espresso is coffee, but not all coffee is espresso; if it’s not brewed under pressure, it’s not espresso.
The history of espresso
The name itself ties back to the specific brewing method; espresso means “pressed-out coffee” in Italian. Angelo Moriondo is credited with inventing the earliest known espresso machine back in 1884. It wasn’t until after World War II that espresso machines became more mainstream across Italy and a more modern café culture was born.
How to pull a perfect espresso shot
Several different factors will affect the taste; the coffee process method, the coffee origin, the freshness, and the grind consistency. One of the main considerations when preparing an espresso is the time it takes the coffee machine to produce your shot. Any Barista worth their salt needs to have a timer at hand when making espresso. The ideal brewing time to aim for is between 20-30 seconds, perfection!
Espresso Martini recipe
Now that you’ve mastered pulling the perfect espresso shot, on to the fun part, experimenting with different recipes with your newfound skills. It’s no secret that we’re big fans of coffee cocktails here at Java Republic HQ and who can resist an espresso martini.
Here’s a quick recipe you can try yourself at home. For fear of stating the obvious the key ingredient to this delightful caffeine-infused cocktail is, of course, espresso. It’s all in the name. Have your shot measurer at hand as similar to the Irish coffee, it’s all about the balance of flavours:
Ingredients
- 25ml vodka
- 35ml Tia Maria or alternative coffee liqueur
- 35ml fresh espresso
- Coffee beans, to garnish served in nothing other than a martini glass
Once again finding the recipes is all about trial and error, we would highly recommend getting your friends together for an espresso martini tasting.
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