Espresso (pump machine)
Hot water forced through a compacted bed of fine coffee at roughly nine bar, giving a small concentrated cup with crema in under half a minute. Pump machines standardised pressure from the 1960s; the WBC and INEI both publish numeric parameters for it.
Espresso9 published standards
- Ratio
- 1:1.7to 1:2.5
- Temperature
- 88–96°C
- Time
- 20–35 s
- Grind
- Fine
How it works
Cut away, step by stepStop at the target weight, typically 1:2 coffee to beverage in 25-30 s
Parameters
Working ranges- Ratio, coffee to water
- 1:1.7 to 1:2.5400–600 g per litre
- Dose
- 7–20 g
- Water
- 25–60 ml
- Water temperature
- 88–96 °C190–205 °F
- Contact time
- 20–35 s
- Grind
- Fine
- Pressure
- 9 bar
- Filter
- Metal basket
Ranges are this atlas's summary of common practice, not a standard. Published standards are listed separately below, with their sources.
Where it sits among 29 methods
Pale bars are the other methods; strength is grams of coffee per litre of water.
Published standards
Numbers as facts, with their source| Body | Parameter | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| WCE / World Barista Championship | espresso volume | around 30 ml, one side of a double portafilter, one continuous extraction | static1.squarespace.com |
| WCE / World Barista Championship | brew water temperature | 90.5-96 C | static1.squarespace.com |
| WCE / World Barista Championship | brew pressure | 8.5-9.5 bar | static1.squarespace.com |
| WCE / World Barista Championship | milk beverage | one single shot of espresso plus steamed milk (since 2016 rules, replacing cappuccino) | static1.squarespace.com |
| INEI (Istituto Nazionale Espresso Italiano), as reported by secondary sources | dose | 7 g +/- 0.5 g | philips.ca |
| INEI, as reported by secondary sources | volume in cup | 25 ml +/- 2.5 ml | philips.ca |
| INEI, as reported by secondary sources | water temperature at outlet | 88 C +/- 2 C (67 C +/- 3 C in cup) | philips.ca |
| INEI, as reported by secondary sources | pressure | 9 bar +/- 1 | philips.ca |
| INEI, as reported by secondary sources | extraction time | 25 s +/- 5 s | philips.ca |
Origins and brewers
Origins of the method
- Year
- 1884
- Where
- Turin and Milan, Italy
Angelo Moriondo (first patent); Luigi Bezzera and Desiderio Pavoni commercialised single-serve machines in the 1900s
Brewers
Espresso machine semi automaticEspresso machine automaticEspresso machine super automatic