Many factors go into getting the best quality espresso: the type of coffee bean, the amount of bean roasting, the fineness and consistency of the grind, the correct amount of coffee, the pressure of the tamper, and the quality of the espresso machine.
The espresso machine
The machine needs to be able to create the correct water temperature and pressure for a quality extraction. The temperature should not be too hot: definitely not boiling as this extracts too much of the bitter oils. The temperature should be between 92°C and 96°C (197°F and 205°F). The pressure used to extract the coffee is typically between 6 and 12 bars (87-145 psi), with 9 bars (131 psi) being the optimum. That is 9 bars at the pump which will probably be about 8 bars at the grope head, as James Hoffman notes. The machine should also disburse the water evenly over the surface of the grinds. There are both manual (like my La Pavoni) and automatic machines.
The beans
See my page on coffee beans.
The Grinder
Consistency in grind is the main quality in a coffee grinder. The choice, based on how much you want to spend, is whether to get a manual or an electric grinder. For manual grinders the 1ZPressso JX Pro is exceptional. For electric grinders I would go with the Turin DF64 for a single doser, or the Eureka Mignon Libra if I wanted a grinder with a hopper.
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