My opinion about espresso could be different as compared to your thinking about espresso. Some individuals may think of espresso as merely a strong cup of joe. Other people could see it as something else, something more complex, something almost reverent, a divine gift. I'm definitely somewhere in the middle.

No matter where your feeling about espresso are, one thing is for certain: making a great shot of espresso is achieved only by way of a careful balance of both art and science. Making espresso takes a finely-tuned sense of taste and careful attention to detail.

Making a great shot of espresso requires several things:

1. Roasted coffee beans

2. A bean grinder

3. An espresso machine

Sounds easy enough so far, right? In fact it's far from simple, but there are lots of good quality machines currently available that do, in fact, make it easy enough to create a nice tasting shot of espresso.

Let's briefly discuss beans. The best quality of bean will be the Arabica bean. The lesser quality of bean would be the Robusta bean. The Arabica bean delivers more taste, the Robusta bean delivers more caffein. Whatever is your preference your beans ought to be freshly roasted.

Next is the grinder, because only the perfect grind of coffee bean can create a great tasting cup of espresso. Too fine and your espresso will taste bitter, too coarse and you will end up having a weak cup of espresso. It is going to probably require a few trials to determine the grind that is best for you and your machine.

There are numerous kinds of espresso machines. You can find manual machines, semi-automatic machines, automatic machines, and super automatic machines. Click this link to get a complete description of the different kinds of coffee machines.

Now is when focus on detail is needed. You've ground your beans to the proper find grind. Now you must place exactly 7 grams of ground coffee into your filter basket of the portafilter on your espresso machine. Tamp the grounds down into the filter basket with medium pressure. Attach the pertafilter to the machine and lock in place. Switch on the machine and start heating the water to exactly 93 degree C. When the water has reached the proper temperature begin the pull, or switch on the pump. The pump should start forcing water through the grounds under at least 9 bars of pressure. The espresso should begin pouring into the cup in a couple of seconds, and the proper extraction time ought to be anywhere between 25-30 seconds.

If all of this is starting to sound complicated and difficult then there is very good news. A super automatic espresso machine like the Gaggia Platinum Vision makes creating a perfect cup of espresso almost child's play. Press a couple of buttons, wait a few minutes, and the machine does the remainder.

Now the real easy part--sitting back and enjoying a wonderful shot of espresso.