Some people go all the way down to 1 or 2 bars (soup espresso). I've mostly seen it in the context of very light roasts and I tend to buy darker roasts so I really haven't spent much time investigating it.

I did see a video on americano's recently where steaming the water to heat it rather than using a kettle or water from the espresso machine's boiler made a better drink. That does intrigue me and I'll probably give it a try this weekend.

Lately I've been making mostly decaf and it's really hard to get a good shot no matter what I try. Drip coffee comes out great, but my decaf espresso always seems to have a real harshness. Beans are fresh and my water is good, so I'm thinking it's time to replace the burrs in my grinder.

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sgc an hour ago | parent | next [-]

1-2 bars isn't really espresso, it's a moka - which can be quite good in its own right. It falls into the genus of pressurized brewing though, so same genus different species. There's a no man's land from 3-5 bars that is not really used and might be worth exploring, but most 'standards' consider 6 bar the minimum to be a true espresso.

	▲	criddell 42 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		The SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) has an even more restrictive definition[1]: > Espresso is a 25–35ml (.85–1.2 ounce [×2 for double]) beverage prepared from 7–9 grams (14–18 grams for a double) of coffee through which clean water of 195°–205°F (90.5°–96.1°C) has been forced at 9–10 atmospheres of pressure, and where the grind of the coffee is such that the brew time is 20–30 seconds. While brewing, the flow of espresso will appear to have the viscosity of warm honey and the resulting beverage will exhibit a thick, dark golden crema. I have no problem with calling soup espresso. It's ground coffee brewed under pressure in an espresso machine and that's good enough for me. [1]:https://sca.coffee/sca-news/25-magazine/issue-3/defining-eve...

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zimpenfish an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

> steaming the water to heat it rather than using a kettle or water from the espresso machine's boiler made a better drink

Was it Mr Hoffmann[0]? He has a decent explanation for why this might be the case too (and does an experiment later which points to it maybe being dissolved gases.)

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HdzJz_evNw

	▲	criddell an hour ago \| parent [-]
		Yes, that's the video. He doesn't seem to be a fan of americanos. It's one of my favorites so I'm pretty interested in new ideas for one of the most basic drinks.