When I was at the very beginning of my coffee journey, I came across the 5-M rule of espresso preparation.
The Espresso 5-M rule was once defined in Italy for traditional espresso and stands for miscela (blend), macinatura (grinding level), macchina (machine), manutenzione (maintenance) and mano (hand).
In this blog post, I would like to show you these so that you get a good starting point for your coffee journey - just like I did back then. I sometimes go into more detail and round off the individual M chapters with extra know-how of my own.
1. Miscela (Blend)
Chocolatey and nutty, but also woody and earthy with mild (fruit) acidity, lots of body and a thick crema. This is how an Italian espresso could be described. To achieve this taste, Arabica and Robusta beans are often roasted dark to very dark. That was a very rudimentary explanation.
A blend does not always have to contain both Arabica and Robusta coffee types. In a 100% Arabica blend, the beans can come from different growing countries. The same applies to Robusta, although this is rarely the case and is more likely to be found in southern Italy. This is from my own experience.
So taste habits (but also price) play a central role in how the coffee is mixed and roasted. In northern Italy, more Arabica tends to be consumed and roasted lighter than in southern Italy.
Arabica beans can have a more varied aroma (fruity, floral, chocolatey, nutty, etc.) and tend to have a more intense acidity. Robusta beans are more one-sided in comparison and have more bitter substances and stronger, earthy, woody and spicy notes. Robusta is also responsible for more crema in espresso and has on average twice as much caffeine as Arabica.
Both types of coffee have exciting characteristics that often go well together.
Extra know-how: The M for Mono-Origine (single origin) also fits here
In keeping with today's specialty movement, in which many coffee lovers celebrate coffee and also want to learn more about its origins, single origin coffees come into play (in Italian mono origine). Single origin coffees have little to do with the traditional espresso from Italy. In fact, traditionalists perceive such coffee as sour.
But what exactly does single origin coffee mean? The question is how far traceability goes. Today, more and more industrial roasters are advertising single origin coffees and thus want to follow the basic principles of "traceability and transparency" of the specialty scene. With such coffees, often only the country of cultivation is stated, while "smaller" roasters tell more about the origin. Information and stories about the producer have become standard.
2. Macinatura (Grinding level)
The typical grind for espresso is "fine". In this fine range, you play with the grind until an espresso can be extracted in between 20 and 30 seconds.
The coffee is always freshly ground (always buy whole beans) so that most of the aromas reach the cup and there is still enough CO₂ to create the classic crema in espresso.
Use a coffee grinder with a flat or conical grinder that was built for espresso. The grind should be as even as possible and not heated too much. A grinder with a blade grinds too unevenly and heats the ground coffee too much. Balanced espressos cannot be brewed if the ground coffee is very uneven. If the heat is too high (between 35-40°C), the delicate aromas can be lost more quickly.
You've probably noticed that the grinder is more important than the espresso machine. It's not uncommon for a grinder to be almost as expensive or even more expensive than an espresso machine in the home.
Extra know-how: Grinding level for other coffees
In Italy, when you order a coffee (un caffè) at the bar, you get an espresso. In Switzerland, the same request gets you a café crème. Imagine the look on an Italian's face when he is served his coffee for the first time in Switzerland. A similar situation can happen in America with a drip coffee, which has a medium to coarse grind level and is prepared with a drip coffee machine or batch brewer.
If you want to brew a Café Crème with an espresso machine, you have to set the grind a little coarser than for espresso. The brewing time is often between 25 and 35 seconds. This is why you often will notice two coffee grinders in Swiss cafes. If there is only one coffee grinder, order an Americano (one or two espressos with the addition of hot water). Simply refuse an espresso that has been extracted for over a minute to fill the cup.
Strictly speaking, you would also have to adjust the grind for a ristretto or a lungo too, as they are different types of drinks. In practice, however, you often use the espresso grind, which is usually fine.
3. Macchina (Machine)
The espresso machine or portafilter machine, which reaches the famous 9 bar pressure for making espresso, was launched in 1948 by Achille Gaggia as a hand lever version. Since 1961, with the introduction of the Faema E61 brewing group, the portafilter machine was used for the first time with an electric pump.
Ideally, an espresso machine should be able to generate sufficient pressure (9 bar) during the brewing process and reach and maintain a brewing temperature between 88-96°C.
Extra know-how: The right dosage
The parameters such as pump pressure and brewing temperature can be adjusted on some portafilter machines. What you can always adjust, however, is the amount of coffee you want to use. To do this, you need to pay attention to the filter size. You could fill a 17g filter with between 15.5-18.5g. The actual amount depends primarily on the roast level of your coffee. The darker the coffee, the smaller the amount will be, as the coffee has "risen" more due to the longer roasting and therefore takes up more volume. The next factor will be your chosen brewing recipe, which you define according to your taste. The brewing recipe consists of three parameters: amount of coffee powder (IN), amount in cup (OUT) and brewing time (seconds).
Example of a dark blend with Robusta content with a 17g filter:
IN: 16g / OUT: 32g / 24-27 seconds
The term "brew ratio" is also often used. In this case, I choose a brew ratio of 1:2 (16g/32g), which is also defined as the espresso brew ratio and is often considered a good starting point when setting up.
Why do you even need recipes like when cooking and baking?
It's about the reproducibility of the quality in your cup. You can achieve this by taking control and knowing which parameters to adjust when setting. With a little experience, you will achieve the desired result faster and with less waste. If you want to work at home by eye without a recipe (in Italy they say "a occhio"), you are welcome to do so - it can work as long as you like the espresso. The only important thing is that you do not overfill the portafilter, as this will affect the taste and can damage the espresso machine.
For traditional espresso, 7g and 14g of powder are very common. The amount in the cup is short to very short. This has worked well for half a century and will continue to work as long as the system is not changed too much: dark to very dark blends, coffee grinders with a dosing chamber (dosatore) and, very importantly, the appropriate sieve sizes.
4. Manutenzione (Maintenance)
With its multitude of aromas (over 1000), coffee is more complex than wine (around 400). But coffee can also become as rancid as olive oil. Coffee beans consist of many essential oils. Old coffee residues in the espresso machine and coffee grinder become rancid due to the influence of heat and significantly affect the taste of the freshly brewed espresso. All your efforts to set up the espresso correctly will be useless if you do not care for and clean your tools.
There are actually people who believe that cleaning will degrade the taste. These people prefer to brew with encrusted brewing nozzles, filters and portafilters. I can never understand that!
Clean your espresso machine regularly based on your drinking habits. To give you an idea, a coffee shop that brews 150 espressos/cappuccinos a day will clean the brewing unit, portafilter, filters and machine at least once a day (even if brewing much less, daily cleaning is required by food law). Many home espresso machines can be descaled, while others only allow this to be done at a service.
The grinding discs should be cleaned with cleaning powder (or tablets) every 4-5 kg. Removing coffee residue with a handheld vacuum cleaner never hurts. What should be done after the shop closes, however, is to empty the remaining coffee beans from the bean hopper and store them in a container (or the coffee bag) to protect them from further oxidation and loss of aroma. This also applies at home, of course. For example, my bean hopper is always empty, because I always weigh the amount of beans in previous. In you case you can just fill the bean hopper foor your daily coffee consume. This way you can control the quality in the cup and, above all, adjustments to your grinder are rarely necessary.
Extra know-how: First observe, then decide!
Imagine being able to take a look into the kitchen before ordering your food and see how clean the cooking utensils are and how the chefs work. This scenario is rarely possible in practice. But the barista, the espresso machine and the grinder are usually clearly visible.
Before you order your espresso or cappuccino, take a quick look at the steam wand and the bean container. Is the brewing group rinsed? Are cloths for the portafilter, steam wand and work surface clearly separated (by color) and are they used in this way? Are milk residues rinsed out of the steam wand after use? A crusty steam wand is a no-go for me and says it all. I'm crossing a cappuccino off the list straight away.
5. Mano (Hand)
The quality in the cup is influenced by many factors. The art is to know these factors and to get the greatest potential out of the blend (coffee) with the right grinding level and the correct settings of the (espresso) machine. Provided that the coffee grinder and the espresso machine are maintained and cleaned correctly and regularly. This is all in your hands, in the hands of the barista.
The basics of making espresso are easy to learn. The question remains how far you want to go and experiment. Some people value reproducibility and use scales and other barista tools, while others simply want to enjoy an espresso like the one made by a barista in Italy without much "effort".
However, making espresso with a portafilter machine remains the choice, which requires a little more knowledge, time, patience and space. In the truest sense of the word, you usually take full control here, in contrast to fully automatic machines and capsule machines. You can find out quite a lot about it on social media. A barista course costs something, but it saves you a lot of time and you reach your goal more quickly thanks to the interaction with the coach and individual advice.
Making espresso with a portafilter machine has a calming effect. It slows things down a bit in today's hectic times and has something meditative about it. To outsiders, it may seem like a lot of effort for a cup of coffee. Homemade bread tastes better too, doesn't it?
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