~The Tenth Heartbeat~
Espresso 101

“Here's where the espresso machines are. We currently own 3 of these but mind you,  they are not cheap! They've got insanely steep prices on the market, so whatever you do, don’t go accidentally breaking them alright?”

I nodded in acknowledgement and cautiously walked behind Ga Eul, who was currently giving me a tour around the shop to familiarize myself with the layout. There was still a good hour and a half until the cafe opened at noon, leaving the shop relatively empty excluding the few other waiters and waitresses that lingered around polishing both the silverware and tableware. Given that I’ve never had any barista experience before, I was doubtful whether or not I could successfully learn to make coffee in the allotted time. I could only put my trust in Ga Eul and leave it up to her.

“Let’s start with the basics first. I’ll teach you how to prepare a shot of espresso first. Then after that, I’ll go over how to make a latte with you. Despite its simplicity, it’s actually our cafe’s signature drink! Most customers tend to order that the most.”

She stopped in front of a small row of contraptions that looked foreign to me. In transparent, medium-sized glass containers sitting on top of the contraptions, I could see the variety of roasted coffee beans that were being stored in them. The containers all had white labels stuck onto their sides which had neat, bubbly handwriting that indicated the type of coffee blend in each container. I recognized a few traditional blends like Java or Columbian, but was surprised to find that the coffee shop also carried rare brews like Hawaiian Kona and Jamaican Blue Mountain. I had read on the Internet that they were quite expensive due to only being available in such limited quantities, but supposedly it produced an exquisite, full-bodied taste that was rivalled by no other to make up for the costly price.

“Wow, you guys even carry these top of the market coffees. Have you ever tried them? What do they taste like? ” I exclaimed, my eyes wide with amazement. I walked over to get a closer look at the coffee beans, stopping to observe how dark the roasted colour of the Blue Mountain and Hawaiian Kona were. Even though I hadn’t taken any beans out from the container, I could easily smell their pungent, multiplex aromas. It was irresistibly divine, and I couldn’t help but grin. Who knew the smell of coffee could make me feel this light?

“Haha, I see you’re enjoying yourself there sunbae! Blue mountain is our most expensive coffee, but it’s also one of our customer’s favorites. It has a milder flavor than other coffees and lacks bitterness, so it can be enjoyed by most people. As for the Hawaiian Kona, I’m sure you can smell the complex fragrance emitting from the beans, but that’s actually not what they taste like. Instead, they produce a surprisingly light yet rich astringency that stays on the palate. However for today, we’re just going to go simple and work with a dark roasted Colombian blend first.” Ga Eul smiled, handing me a weird contrivance with a deep depression in it.

“Wha-? What’s this?” I frowned, taking the brown handle in my own hand and observing it up close. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“This is called a portafilter. Right beside you here are automatic coffee grinders which grind the coffee beans for us when we need to prepare a toasty cup of joe for a guest. To start us off, you just take the portafilter and press it against this lever to start it up. It’ll fill it up just like this… and don’t forget to use your finger to level it off afterwards!”

I watched as she took another one of the contrivances in her right hand and secured it at the base of a coffee grinder, allowing
a small mechanic noise to rumble as black coffee grounds began to spit out into the deep depression. Once a mound of coffee grounds had formed, she took the portafilter off the coffee grinder and evenly distributed the fine grounds across the top with the swift sweep of her index finger. I observed closely as I imitated her actions, filling up my own portafilter to the top with aromatic coffee.

“Nicely done Jin-sunbae! Next, we’re going to do something called tamping. It’s basically where we take this tool called a tamper and use it to compress the coffee grounds.” She held up a small tool that seemed to fit perfectly into the deep depression of the portafilter, and proceeded to press it firmly onto the coffee grounds in her own portafilter. When she removed the tamper, the small mound of coffee had become a solid puck in the deep depression, earning a nonchalant interjection of awe from me. I hadn’t realized there were this many tools involved with making a single cup of coffee, but regardless it was all becoming more intriguing along the way. Maybe this actually isn’t as bad as I thought it was.

“Make sure that when you do this step, you’re compressing the grounds on a stable surface. You wouldn’t want to go and accidentally injure yourself after all! This process can be kinda tedious, but a good tip to keep in mind is to press down with your body weight with an even pressure. That way, it’ll guarantee that the coffee will brew properly.”

She passed me the tamper with a bright smile, looking pleased with how I was faring so far. Feeling as if I should aim to excel as much as I could at each task, I took the tamper in hand and pressed down onto my own coffee, grunting as I focused as much strength as I could into my arm. Ga Eul on the other hand, was at my left side spectating the whole thing. When I removed the tamper, the coffee grounds formed a solid disk similar to Ga Eul’s but didn’t look nearly as compact.

“What the heck? Man, all that strength I used and this doesn’t look anything like yours! Did I do something wrong?”

“No, not at all sunbae. This actually looks very well tamped, so don’t worry about it! You’re actually doing pretty well so far!”

“Damn, that took a whole load of energy out of me though. Way more than I expected. Remind me why is this necessary again?”

“Jin-sunbae, tamping is a crucial step to brewing coffee you know! Here, think of it this way: water is lazy so it doesn't want to go through the hassle of pushing through the grounds to extract the coffee flavor we all know and love. This is especially true for water under pressure.” Ga Eul pointed over towards the espresso machines, which I’m assuming contained pressurized water that would be used for preparing the espresso.

“If it's forced through a loose pile of grounds, it’s going to zip through all the cracks, crevices, and channels in between each grain as fast as it possibly can. This causes it to not absorb as much flavor from the coffee. But if the grounds are tightly packed into a level disk, the water will have no choice but to squeeze through it evenly. That way, more absorbing is happening which results in a more intense flavor along the way! Got that?”

Wow, not only does she know how to do this stuff, but she knows why these steps exist in the first place. That’s admittingly pretty impressive of her… I can tell she really enjoys being a barista, she’s literally b with joy with every sentence she speaks.

“Yup, gotcha.” I nodded enthusiastically, taking in everything she said like a sponge. I signalled a thumbs up to show her that she hadn’t lost me just yet. I hadn’t initially thought of it that way, but it somehow made perfect sense when she explained it. It was refreshing to see her so passionate about something; After interacting with many different types of people throughout my life, I discovered people often shined best when they talked about their genuine interests instead of pretending to like something just to fit in with the crowd. I perceived it to be a rather charming characteristic in someone, and Ga Eul was no exception.

We then moved onto the third step, which was using the espresso machines to brew the shots of espresso. Ga Eul had taken the initiative to go and secure both of our portafilters onto the machine, which took a bit of strength and a few twists here and there, but she got the job done. Placing a mug below each portafilter, I watched in astonishment as a thick, creamy liquid seeped out of the portafilter in two small running streams, agglomerating onto the white porcelain where it formed 3 separate layers. The lighter coloured layer on the top was apparently called crema, according to Ga Eul anyways. Right below the crema was a rich chocolate brown layer referred to as the body, thus leaving the intense dark layer, the heart, at the bottom of the cup. If the scent of coffee was strong before, then by now it was incredibly robust. The coffee was literally seeping into each and every pore on my body, enveloping me in a hearty, chai-like warmth that was solely exclusive to cafes and coffee shops.

“Wow~ look at how nice the espresso turned out sunbae! Let’s give it a taste!” Ga Eul stood beside me, seeming just as excited as I was watching the last few globules of hot steaming espresso slowly drip into the mugs. She took them in hand and handed mine to me, then demonstrated how to properly savour the taste. 

“So before we take a sip, remember that there’s saliva coating the inside our mouths. That can get in the way of tasting the real essence of the coffee. What you want to do is drink just a tad bit of the espresso and flush it around of your mouth. The astringency will take off the coating of saliva on your palate. After that, you can really start tasting the coffee.”

Following in her instructions, I proceeded to taste the espresso. First swishing my mouth with a little bit of the scalding liquid, then taking a second sip to experience its true colours. 

“Oh damn, that's a hella good cup of espresso!” I proclaimed, closing my eyes to better savour each and every element of the brew.

The Colombian blend had produced a brew that was similar to an americano, but was more complex in terms of the different elements that added to the blend’s individuality. Besides the conspicuous bitterness, I detected a strong sweetness that mingled seamlessly into it. Caramel highlights contributed towards that perhaps. There was also a mellow acidity incorporated into the sweetness, which was noteworthy considering certain coffee brews had a sharper acidic kick to them than others. What was nearly undetectable was the real star and it laid down the entire foundation of the blend: nutty undertones that created a vivid visual in my mind, consisting of the forests of South America where coffee fields flourished. Overall, it was a classical flavor that most would easily recognize at first sip, but it was a classic for a reason.

I opened my eyes and peered at Ga Eul, who seemed delighted that I was able to appreciate the opulence of the flavor. I then noticed a small tin jug that she held in her hand, partly filled with a creamy white substance that I assumed was either sweet coffee cream or milk.

“Enjoying yourself on cloud nine there sunbae? Hahaha, I don’t blame you. These espresso shots were brilliantly made, so I’d say you’re a natural! If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought you were an experienced barista. Now wanna help me steam some milk for our lattes?” She beamed, holding up the jug of milk. A tug naturally played at my lips in response and I headed over, taking one of the metal jugs in hand. I wasn’t expecting the process of making an espresso to be so lengthy, but it managed to invoke in me a sense of eagerness to learn about whatever else there was waiting for me. The thought of helping out in the coffee shop like this for a while made me feel somewhat inquisitive on what else I could discover. Besides, Ga Eul’s insightful knowledge made her a decent teacher.

I stood in place to enjoy the rich fragrance emitting from my cup of espresso as Ga Eul walked over to the other side of the machine, stopping right at a relatively thin metal rod that had a few small openings to let steam out. She thoroughly inspected it to make sure everything was ready to go, then she began demonstrating how to use the tool.

“Alright so here’s the steam wand, which uses steam to heat up the milk. This process also textures, or thickens the milk so that it creates that nice foamy mouthfeel that you typically get from a latte or cappuccino. It also makes latte art possible, which I’m telling you has got to be the most enjoyable part about serving coffee to customers! A good rule of thumb when doing this process is to make sure your hand is on the side of the jug the entire time. That way, it stabilizes the jug in place as the milk is being textured, and you can also tell when it reaches the right temperature.”

She started by placing the wand into her jug, deep into the cold milk. As she started up the wand with the flip of a small lever, a peculiar gurgling noise emanated as the dairy circulated around into a small whirlpool inside the metal object, creating some foamy bubbles along the surface. After a short while, she flipped the lever again and removed her jug for me to feel. I reached out to place my palm onto the seemingly harmless utensil, but shouted as I snapped my arm away after making contact. I clutched my hand near my chest, feeling a slight stinging sensation left on my skin. There hadn’t been any apparent mark that was made though, and l was relieved that I hadn’t burn myself. I hadn’t expected the milk to be that hot, especially with Ga Eul casually holding it as if it was just lukewarm water.

“Whoa careful there sunbae, are you okay!? Sorry, I forgot to mention that the milk would be this hot.” Ga Eul panicked, placing her jug onto a nearby counter and rushing over to check if my hand was okay. She dragged me over to a nearby sink, soaking my entire hand under water. It was bitterly freezing, but I kept quiet upon seeing the worried expression wrinkling her face. She was just trying to watch out for me like a good dongsaeng, so I let it slide this time and held in my urge to express my pain.

“Y-yeah I think I’m fine now, thanks. I wasn’t expecting it to be that hot though, that’s all there was to it. How the hell are you able to stand that temperature? What temperature is it at even?” I spoke as Ga Eul took another look at my hand, wiping it dry with a mini plush hand towel from her apron. She sighed in relief as soon as she confirmed that my hand was spotless with no signs of any burn marks forming.

“Typically we texture the milk until it’s around 60°C to 70°. Everyone who starts out always has the same reaction as you just did, but don't worry. You’ll eventually build a tolerance for it. If I managed to get used to it, then I’m confident you can too.” She made eye contact with me, showing off the positive gleam in her eyes and grinned, her rosy pink lips shaping an ebullient smile formed by her pearly whites.

 After we had both finished texturing the milk into a creamy foam, I marvelled at the sight of Ga Eul skillfully pouring hers into her mug, which she held at an angle. She first started at a relatively high height, pouring the milk in a small circular motion from above as it mingled together with the espresso. As the black coffee and white milk continued to fill the mug up until the ¾ mark, she slowly decreased the distance, pouring closer to the mug’s surface while gradually tilting the cup back to 180°. I observed as a little glob of white accumulated in the middle of the light brown, becoming more prominent and growing in size the longer she poured. Then as if it was by magic, she directed the milk to the edge of the cup and transformed the white glob into a perfect little heart with brown crema smuggly hugging it all around.

“Whoa, that looks good.”

“Yup! Latte art is really fun to do you know? This kind of thing kind of depends on the feel of it, so unfortunately I don’t have too many tips to give you. How about you give it a try and get a feel for it?” 

I took my jug in hand and gulped, remembering all the little things I had observed Ga Eul do while trying to hold back my anxious anticipation. I was determined to get this right within the first try. Not to show off or anything though, but I did excel at most things the first time and I hoped that trend didn’t stop here.

 
Okay so let’s see. There was the gradual decrease in pouring height, the tilting of the mug, and the small circular motion… I think I got this.

Just like how Ga Eul’s turned out, a white circle appeared in the middle of my mug and I was pleasantly surprised to see it peek through the brown crema. I slowly drew my jug to the edge of the cup while continuing to pour, seeing the heart slowly start to take shape. Then, right as I reached the edge of the mug, the heart instantly broke as the coffee overflowed from the cup and splattered everywhere, soaking both my hand and apron in a nice shade of tanned brown. It had even spilled onto the floor, forming a huge murky brown puddle of coffee between me and Ga Eul.

So much for that first attempt going well.