“Dear Espresso, I Hate You” is an article in the most recent issue of Barista Magazine (page 96). To be honest with you, most of the time a new Barista Magazine issue drops, it rarely dazzles me. I find myself just skimming through the pages to see what the latest products or trends are, but I take them with a grain of salt. That was, until I saw the title of this article, written by Andrew Bettis. He states the question “How has something that is so volatile found a permanent place in our specialty-coffee shops?”
Unhappy with the attitude “Oh, it just changes…” he goes into detail about all the variables that affect an espresso shot and what you can do to maintain evenness and consistency of the shot day to day. The article is broken down into the sections on controlling flow rate, optimizing extraction and balancing taste, each giving insight to a more studious approach to the extraction. It’s so refreshing to see someone put into ink the thoughts I have every time I work with espresso. Though the trails and tribulations of making espresso can be disheartening, all of that fades whenever you get to taste that sweet, sweet shot.