What Is Espresso

Huck Lewis-Bennett Art Exhibit at Espresso Cielo in Palm Springs

For those of you in town looking for quality events in Palm Springs this weekend, the lovely Espresso Cielo  http://www.facebook.com/EspressoCieloPS  is hosting a show for artist Huck Lewis-Bennett on Saturday, July 2nd.

Lewis-Bennett grew up in England.  He attended fashion school in London and worked in Milan and later in New York until 2005 when he moved to Palm Springs.

 “It seems to me that any work of art, be it a musical composition, a sculpture, or choreography, is an attempt to take something intrinsically intangible in nature-an emotion, a feeling, a thought-and to translate it into physical terms-in this case onto a two dimensional canvas.

The fascination for me is the magical tension produced by the impossibility of a total transference of such data, and equally, the subsequent sense of release when some degree of representation is achieved. The whole process is so wonderfully inexplicable and mysterious, and yet at the heart of what makes us human and alive.” - Huck Lewis-Bennett

You can see “Paintings on Steel” today from 6 pm to 8 pm at:

Espresso Cielo

245 S.

What is Espresso Tamping? | News Fire

What is Espresso Tamping?

Writer: Angelica Hoffmann on Jun 29 2011.

If you want to master the art of espresso making, you need to consider quite a number of factors. First you must ensure that your coffee must be properly roasted, dosed and distributed. You should also make sure that it is freshly grounded. Nothing is worse than having exposed coffee beans to make espresso. You might as well throw it away instead of using it. Why? Coffee is best when freshly grounded as the oils are just released from coffee beans. The longer it is exposed to air, the less quality your espresso becomes.

To understand what espresso is you need to know that coffee needs to be compacted into a portafilter to brew espresso. Tamping must be done correctly otherwise it would have consequences towards how your espresso might taste. Before you start doing anything, you need to know that espresso tamping is an act of tamping or pressing down the coffee into the portafilter. The pellets need to be tightly tamped before placing it under the machine.

You need to make sure that it is tight because otherwise water will come out around the sides of the portafilter when the machine exerts 15 pounds of pressure per square inch on your coffee pellets. Even if it is tight enough, you need to make sure that your espresso is not jostled around or loose otherwise espresso extraction will be uneven and our espresso won’t taste good. Although it does seem complicated in theory, doing it is actually one of the easiest steps in preparing espresso.

Another thing you need to do right is to make sure that the coffee grounds are just beneath the level of the portafilter. It must not be too high and must not be too low. You must also ensure that it is quite even and flat. To do this, use your finger and brush at a horizontal level across the portafilter. This will remove some coffee grounds. Don’t worry this step is correct. Nothing is worse than having spilled coffee and espresso when the pressure is at 20 bars. You might even damage your espresso machine. Once you’ve done this step right, turn on your machine and let it work its magic through the portafilter. A good brew also depends on the time of brewing. If you make it too fast, it will be too diluted. Too long and you will have very concentrated espresso. I prefer mine to be at 30 seconds tops. Sometimes this varies depending on the fineness of your coffee grinds.

Then you can finally apply the final tamp by applying lightly presses to the pallet with 30 pounds of pressure and then you will have perfectly tamped espresso.

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