Lapin Gourmand

Bien que je consomme peu de café, car la caféine me joue de très mauvais tours surtout après midi, j'adore tremper mes lèvres dans un petit espresso à l'italienne bien court avec un beau crema. Mais qu'est-ce qu'un bon espresso? Voici deux définitions d'experts, italiens bien sûr, sur le sujet :

Italian espresso is a small cup of concentrated brew prepared on request by extraction of ground roasted coffee beans, with hot water under pressure for a defined short time.

C'est succinct! Voici maintenant une définition beaucoup plus élaborée :

Italian espresso is a polyphasic beverage, prepared from roast and ground coffee and water alone. It is constituted by a foam layer of small bubbles with a peculiar tiger-tail pattern, on top of an emulsion of microscopic oil droplets in an aqueous solution of sugars, acids, protein-like material and caffeine, with dispersed gas bubbles and colloidal solids.

The analysis of the beverage is:

• Viscosity at 45 °C : more than 1.5 mPa.s
• Total solids : 20-60 g/l
• Total lipids : 2 mg/ml
• Droplet size count (90%) : less than 1O µm
• Caffeine : less than 100 mg/cup

The distinguishing sensory ensemble of characteristics of Italian espresso includes a rich body, a full and fine aroma, a balanced bitter-sweet taste with an acidic note and a pleasant lingering after-taste. It must be exempt from unpleasant flavour defects, such as stinking, mouldy, grass-like or other.

Owing to its instability, Italian espresso must be prepared on request from roasted and ground Coffee beans, by means of a specific brewing method defined as:

Italian espresso is a brew obtained by percolation of hot water under pressure through a compacted cake of roasted ground coffee, where the energy of the avaler pressure is spent within the cake.

The variables ranges are:

• Ground coffee portion : 6.5 ± 1.5 g
• Water temperature : 90 ± 5 °C
• Inlet water pressure : 9 ± 2 bar
• Percolation time : 30 ± 5 s
• Volume in the cup is to be left to the personal faste of the consumer inside the range 15 to 50 ml, with an optimal outcome at 25 to 30 ml.

(pages 310-311)

Complexe? Oui mais beaucoup de variables entrent en ligne de compte. La préparation de l'espresso est un art qui s'apprend! Pour ceux qui sont curieux et qui sont prêt à investir un peu de temps pour tout connaître, je dis bien tout ou presque sur l'espresso de la culture du café à sa dégustation, je vous suggère la lecture de l'ouvrage suivant :

Espresso Coffee - The Science of Quality
Auteurs : Andrea Illy et Rinantonio Viani
Elsevier Academic Press, 2005
ISBN : 0-12-370371-9
Nb de pages : 414

Si on ne vous engage pas chez Starbuck après...