Innovia Coffee Machine, 19 Bar Pressure, 2.3L Water Tank, Stainless Steel, Professional Espresso Maker, Silver

What makes a good coffee for espresso

As mentioned in our intro, any coffee roast level can work for espresso if you are conscious of the brew time, temperature, and recipe. Coffees that are roasted lighter tend to work better at higher water-to-coffee ratios, such as a normale or lungo shot.

All of this changes when you add milk to your espresso beverage.

The spectrum of coffees that work well with an espresso roast shifts as you add milk to your drink. The more milk you add to your drink, the darker or more robust the coffee must be to cut through the milk. Light roasted coffees work exceptionally well as an espresso pulled at a higher ratio (more water) to help improve clarity and reduce acidity. As you start adding milk to lighter-roasted coffees, the milk begins to overpower any underlying taste from that coffee. Due to their development and caramelization, medium to darker roasted coffees can more easily cut through milk where your cappuccino tastes like coffee, not just a large glass of milk.

The key takeaway from the above is that depending on what type of espresso drinker you are will depend on what coffee roast level you should purchase.