How to make espresso at home without a coffee machine

Espresso is originally coffee prepared under high pressure. To create this drink, the history of which began more than a century ago, special coffee machines are used. But, even while at home and without expensive equipment, you can pamper yourself and your guests with a cup of this coffee bestseller.

The right approach to choosing ingredients

The quality of the drink that subsequently ends up on your table depends on many factors. Real espresso coffee can, of course, only be made from hand-ground beans. Therefore, every detail is important:

Type of coffee. For espresso, a mixture of different varieties of Arabica and Robusta is taken. The first is responsible for the rich aroma and attractive foam, the second is responsible for the dense structure and strength of the drink.
Quality. Take a close look at the external condition of the purchased grains. They should have a slight shine, which is given to them by naturally occurring oils. If the grains are matte, they were probably roasted improperly.
Storage. The first is tightness, the second condition is shelf life. You should not keep any coffee beans at home for more than 18 months, even in special packaging that prevents them from losing their properties.
Roasting. Dark roasted beans are suitable for espresso - this is something between medium (for cappuccino) and very dark types of processing.

The fastest way to make your own espresso

At home, we have two options to create this drink - using a Turk or directly in a coffee cup. Let's start with the last one.

Oddly enough, we will need instant coffee - after all, this is the fastest way to make espresso. Just take the amount of coffee and sugar you're used to using for your morning fix and put it in a cup. Next we will need regular boiling water - add it literally a teaspoon at a time to the container with coffee, while vigorously stirring and whisking.

We are trying to achieve a characteristic light beige color, as well as a consistency reminiscent of thick sour cream. Once this has been achieved, add boiling water on top to create a portion, stir very carefully. Dense white foam will be a signal that everything was done as it should. But, of course, to make truly excellent coffee at home, you need skill and time.

Brewing classic espresso

Preparing a drink like espresso does not seem to be a complicated process, but there are still small nuances, without taking them into account you can prepare not tasty coffee, but some kind of brown liquid brew. Without deviating from culinary traditions, let’s move straight to the ingredients:

15 gr. ground Arabica, it is better to take the beans without roasting; it is better to roast them yourself.
60 milliliters of water is enough to prepare one cup of drink.
Granulated sugar to your taste.

Yes, the list of necessities is very modest, but nothing more is required to make espresso coffee at home.

Now let’s start describing the stages of brewing coffee step by step, the instructions are as follows:

First of all, we prepare the beans, espresso coffee requires well-roasted, but not burnt, beans, so be careful when roasting.
We've fried it, now we start grinding. The grinding should not be too fine, reminiscent of flour, light granules should still be “visible”. Ground espresso coffee with your own hands will make the drink just perfect.
We place the empty pot on the stove and heat it up, pour our “ideal Arabica” into the heated cezve. Return the cezve to the fire and warm up the ground grains just a little.
Add water to the pot; it is better to take filtered cold water. Stir and put on the stove to cook.
We brew the espresso, wait for the foam to rise, it has risen, stir the “brew”. This procession with foam must be repeated three times. At the end of cooking, you should get a lush and fairly dense foam, remove the Turk from the stove. Remember, coffee cannot be boiled! As soon as it starts to gurgle, remove the Turk from the stove!
Using a spoon, remove the foam from the surface of the espresso and place it in your drinking cup. Pour the coffee on top and add the required amount of granulated sugar and stir.

The process of making espresso coffee can be considered complete. All you have to do is choose a delicious dessert dish to accompany your drink, or drink the drink in its pure form without any dessert “additives.” By the way, you can brew espresso Americano - this is the same tasty and aromatic variation of the drink, you can also find its recipe on our website Gotovite.ru. If the preparation of the drink is not entirely clear to you, then carefully look at our step-by-step photos and everything will become clearer.

Classic espresso coffee in Turk

To prepare a 30 ml portion, we will need:

ground coffee – 2 teaspoons
sugar – 2 teaspoons
coarse salt – 2–3 grams
water

Take a Turk, put the specified amount of coffee in it, then sugar and salt. After mixing these substances, place the container on low heat. The point is to warm up the coffee, so it will give off the necessary aroma and taste. As soon as you feel that a characteristic pleasant smell has begun, add a glass of water. It should be warm to speed up the process. Bring the resulting mixture to a boil.

As soon as bubbles appear, immediately remove the coffee from the heat, pour it into a cup, and then leave it under the saucer for ten minutes. The espresso is ready, you can add toppings as desired.

To make the coffee tasty and aromatic, when heating the dry mixture, keep the Turk a couple of centimeters from the fire, stirring the ingredients regularly.

Cooking equipment - Turk, French press and others

The cheapest, but not the easiest way to prepare the base is to brew espresso in a Turk, as they did in the East.

To make espresso you need very little:

100 ml of pure spring or distilled water;

15 g ground coffee;

sugar to taste - white refined sugar or brown cane sugar.

How to prepare espresso coffee in Turkish:

Pour tea leaves and sugar into a pot and place over low heat. The point is to warm up the components.

When a characteristic aroma appears, add water.

Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and wait a bit for the foam to settle.

Repeat the third step twice more.

Pour into cups when the grounds have settled.

The secret to the strength of oriental coffee lies in the method of grinding the beans. They are actually turned into flour so that during cooking all the substances and oils are transferred into water. You cannot boil the drink: as soon as the foam rises, the Turk is removed from the heat. If desired, spices are added to the cezve before cooking.

A French press is a convenient device that will come in handy on the road or in nature. The principle of operation is that when brewing, the grounds are separated from the liquid by a piston with a filter and grain particles do not fall into the cup. In this case, you can change the concentration at your discretion. The degree of grinding for this device may be coarser, since the brew is infused longer.

A geyser coffee maker allows you to get a good, strong morning drink at the lowest possible cost. To do this, water is poured into the lower part, then a container with infusion is installed and the upper part is screwed on, where the finished coffee falls.

Place the coffee maker on the fire and wait until the water boils and moves into the upper container. This can be heard by the hissing sound. Dairy additives can be added after preparing the base.

In Serbian

The Serbian recipe for making espresso in a Turk differs in the order in which the components are added. Everything is simple and the ingredients are the same:

2 spoons of tea leaves;

sugar to taste;

water 100 – 120 ml.

How to cook:

Pour water into the Turk and add sugar.

Put on fire and boil.

Pour off half the liquid and add ground tea leaves.

Bring to a boil and remove from heat.

Add half the water and leave.

After the grounds settle, pour into cups.

Video: Barista School - preparing delicious espresso

Types of espresso and their preparation

Perhaps not everyone will like only the classic version of this invigorating and bright drink. At home, you can prepare several versions of it, depending on the amount of ingredients:

Actually a classic version. For 30 ml of water, take one teaspoon of finely ground coffee. Prepared according to the previously presented recipe in Turk.
Doppio. From Italian this word is translated as “double”, that is, all the ingredients of the classic version are doubled, everything is prepared without changing the technology.
Ristretto. A more “strict” option, when half as much water is taken to make the drink even more rich. Suitable for true connoisseurs of espresso coffee.
Macchiato. To prepare this variety at home, simply add a little milk on top of the finished drink, brought to a foamy state.
Lungo. Add the finished coffee with hot water to obtain a volume of 50 ml.
Konpanna. Pour a standard amount of espresso into a cup. You can optionally add whipped cream, grated chocolate, and lemon zest on top.
Romano. This citrus option is designed to refresh the coffee and diversify it. A small slice of lemon or orange is simply served with espresso brewed according to the classic recipe.
Coretto. As an addition, for example, whiskey or liqueur can be used. Moreover, there are special names for such drinks depending on the type of alcohol chosen. Espresso with whiskey is Irish coffee, with vodka is Russian coffee, with schnapps is German coffee, with gin is English coffee. If we take the Italian version, then it is traditionally amaretto.
Glasse. To prepare it, espresso is brought to a temperature of 10°, and then ice cream, cinnamon, chocolate or caramel are added as desired in proportions of 1:3.
Cappuccino. A special feature of this type is the abundant milk foam. In Italy, it is customary to drink cappuccino for breakfast. You can add grated chocolate on top.
Americano. In fact, this is a standard shot of espresso, diluted to the full volume of a coffee kettle. They are usually served in standard cups (120 ml).
Latte. Here, rather, coffee acts as an addition; the basis is heated milk, into which espresso is poured in a small stream. On top is milk foam.
Mocha. This is the same latte, only in changed proportions. Espresso and toppings are taken in a ratio of 1:3.

How to cook at home

The simplest recipe for making espresso at home is as follows:

Instant coffee and granulated sugar are poured into a cup with thick walls in the quantities usually used for one serving.
Next, add a little boiling water to the cup and vigorously beat the resulting mixture with a spoon.
After some time, the mass will lighten and acquire the consistency of sour cream.
Gently add the remaining water to the whipped mixture, stirring slowly until a thick foam forms.

In addition to espresso, you can prepare various versions of the drink at home based on the classic recipe. In this case, the same technology is used, only the amount of ingredients changes. We invite you to try the following recipes:

Coffee Frappe

Brew a shot of espresso in its classic variation and let it cool. To prepare, you will need a glass that can be hermetically sealed, such as a shaker. We pour the prepared coffee there, add a couple of teaspoons of sugar and no more than 5 tablespoons of water.

Close the glass and shake it thoroughly - you should get plenty of foam. Now take a serving glass, a transparent one will look very advantageous. Place a few ice cubes there and pour the resulting coffee foam on top.

If you find the drink too strong, you can add cream or cold milk to taste. All that remains is to mix everything.

Espresso in French press

To avoid damaging the glass, first rinse the glass with hot water. Place four tablespoons of ground coffee in the bottom of the container. As soon as the water in the kettle begins to boil, turn it off and pour in coffee for two servings (500 ml). Do this slowly and carefully.

Then begin vigorously stirring the resulting mixture, and then slightly lower the press filter down. Let the drink steep for about five minutes - the longer, the stronger the coffee. Now slowly lower the filter all the way and pour the espresso into the cups. Be sure to use a strainer.

Espresso coffee - what is it anyway?

In the middle of the last century, a new type of coffee was invented in Italy. Espresso translated from Italian means “squeezed” or “compressed”. It is prepared using a special device - a coffee machine.

Scientists from the Italian State Institute of Espresso are confident that in order to get a real drink, you need to fulfill a number of criteria:

use only natural grains of good quality and strong roasting;
store them in closed glass or clay containers;
Before cooking, the grains must be finely ground without turning them into dust;
use filtered water;
first, when making a drink, ordinary water is passed through it to warm up the machine;
The ideal temperature for brewing espresso coffee is 90 degrees;
the drink can only be poured into a perfectly heated cup called demitasse;
all parts of the coffee machine must be kept impeccably clean to eliminate unpleasant odors during the next espresso production;
You should drink the coffee drink immediately after making it.

If a brown-red foam forms on top of the drink, then the espresso was prepared correctly. They drink coffee in small sips to fully enjoy its taste.

And despite all the strictness of the rules, to make good espresso you can use a coffee tablet from a world-renowned manufacturer.