embrace the spirit of exploration
pressure & espresso | experimenting on the linea mini
One of the most interesting variables when it comes to brewing espresso is pressure. This variable should be consistently applied but that can be as a repeatable change in pressure during extraction, such as with pre-infusion or by changing the static pump pressure, such as brewing with 6 bars.
Changing the pressure on our Linea Mini can be done in a few different ways.
pressure options like never before
The Linea Mini has a few ways to brew with different pressures.
using pre-infusion
If connected to the app and plumbed-in, we can follow a recipe that involves adding a timed pre-infusion.
Pre-Infusion is the continuous introduction of water at a low pressure (3 bars or line pressure, for example), until static pump pressure is applied to the brewing process.
The goal of this continuous flow of water is to allow for the lower bars to gently push the hot water through the espresso puck until it swells and becomes fully saturated. At that point, the pressure rises to the static pressure, usually 9 bars for the rest of the extraction.
brewing at 6 bars
To brew a recipe that recommends 6 bars of pressure we can easily make the adjustment on the pump of our Linea Mini. Changing the pump pressure is done internally but the adjustment screw is located on the top right side of the machine, meaning we don’t need to remove any of the body panels. We should remember to change it only while a shot is being brewed.
When the bars of pressure are applied more intensely during the brewing, such as with 9 bars, it allows for the rapid extraction of our sought-after flavours but brewing with a lower 6 bars can also taste fantastic!
adjust. taste. fine-tune.
Brewing espresso is a delicate balance between extracting the optimal flavours and avoiding less tasty compounds. Changing the pressure can result in helping us to achieve a flavourful and well-balanced shot of espresso, but it is not guaranteed. It’s simply another variable to experiment with. Get comfortable with the process of making espresso well before jumping into these changes.
Brewing at any lower pressure—means making changes to other variables to offset what we’ve done; in this way we can work to try and develop recipes we enjoy.
