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12.
THE GOOD COFFEE
Scope and grinding settings
Coffee grinding is used to increase the contact surface between the coffee and
the water to allow the water to extract these substances as best as possible. To
adjust a correct grinding of the espresso coffee you need to find the right grinding
point, the right grain size.
If the grinding was too fine the water would take too long to pass. It would extract
all the positive substances but also some negative ones and, remaining too long
in contact with the coffee, would burn it. The result would be a coffee with a bitter
and burnt taste, with a thin and very dark cream, perhaps with a white spot in the
center (a sign of over-extraction).
If the grinding was too large the water would pass too quickly, not extracting the
right amount of substances from the coffee. The result would be a cup with a pale
cream and a watery taste, with little body and aromas.
At that point (if we used a good mixture and we did the tamping well) we should
have an espresso with hazelnut cream with darker shades, with a full body and
an intense aroma.
