If you’re an espresso lover, you know this powerful brew tastes great just about anywhere, any time. The trouble is, it’s all too easy to find yourself in situations—relaxing at home, during a trip to the dentist, or in the middle of your hang gliding lesson—where don’t have access to an espresso maker available.
We can’t really help with the dentist or the hang gliding. (And really, is caffeine what you need before you sit in that sadist’s dentist’s chair?) But if you’ve got a hankerin’ for espresso at home and don’t want to take out a second mortgage in order to buy a gleaming wonder from far-off Torino, you’ll be happy to know you can learn how to make espresso without an espresso machine.
Whichever method you choose—AeroPress, Moka pot, or French press—you’ll be ready to caffeinate without breaking the bank.
Strong, Dark, and Powerful: Espresso Coffee
Ever since an enterprising Turinese gentleman named Angelo Moriondo invented the espresso machine back in 1884, discerning coffee lovers have cherished the deep, dark, and delicious brew.
The three most important aspects to master if you want to understand how to make espresso are the roast, the grind, and the pressure used to brew the coffee. Once you’ve gotten the hang of all three, you’ll be well on your way to crafting a great espresso even if you don’t have access to hundreds of dollars’ worth of shiny Italian hardware.
Espresso Roast
Traditionally roasted to a very dark finish, espresso has a much stronger, more potent flavor than drip coffee, which is one of the things you love about it, right? All those tasty coffee solubles are easier to extract from dark roasted beans than their less toasty counterparts.
This is because longer roasting results in more porous coffee beans, increasing available flavor compounds that can be extracted more quickly once the beans are ground.
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