Overwhelmed by coffee jargon? Here are the 5 key espresso terms you need to know
On Episode 19 of The Coffee Lab, I help you understand coffee equipment jargon.
Overwhelmed by coffee jargon? Here are the 5 key espresso terms you need to know.
A portafilter is the handle of the basket where the coffee grounds reside. The tamper is a circular accessory used to press down on the coffee grounds, ensuring an even surface for water to flow through. Channeling occurs when water flows through channels in the coffee rather than saturating the entire portafilter, leading to a sour and bitter taste.
Puck prep involves the steps taken to prepare your espresso, including grinding beans evenly, weighing the right amount of ground coffee, placing it in the portafilter basket, and tamping with proper pressure. Overextraction and underextraction are bad, resulting in a burned, bitter coffee or a sour, acidic coffee, respectively.
If your coffee extraction is coming out slowly, it's overextraction; if it's coming out quickly, it's underextraction.
Written by urgent.news from Tom's Guide's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
