From here we can say that the coffee shouldn’t be too bitter or sour. A light hint of charcoal would be acceptable in some blends, whereas an aroma with a smoky flavor would be inexcusable.

No matter what type of blend is used, however, there should not be any one element dominating the others. The taste of an excellent espresso should be well balanced and memorable. This harmony and refinement is the gamut of taste that will spread in your mouth with many nuances, will set off a light bulb in your head and give you an incredible aftertaste.

In order for the taste to be roundish and “playing”, it’s not enough to just take good coffee and correctly roast it. It’s necessary to draw up coffee blends with a different parity of flavoring parameters.

Italians jealously protect recipes of the best blends, and the matter is not only one of selection and the variety of brands. There are many other important points – from the way of gathering the coffee beans to the method of storing and processing the beans.

The way coffee is grounded and on what equipment it’s prepared is very important. If the grinding is too coarse, extraction will be weak and all the aromatic and other flavorful and useful substances will remain in raw materials and thrown out, and the taste of the drink will be rather mediocre. If the grinding is too fine, and the espresso machine does not provide the necessary pressure, water hardly passes through the pressed coffee.

It also might be dangerous for the barista, because in the attempt to clean up the portafilter and to see what happened, coffee can splatter around the room, splashing the unfortunate barista with hot brown water.

Hence, in order to say that you personally tried real Italian espresso, you should check that the bar or restaurant where you drink coffee works under the mark of the Certificate of Italian Espresso. To such institutions there are strict requirements:

* Use of certified mixes of coffee

* Use of certified equipment

* Use of certified personnel

What does the document of the Certificate of Italian Espresso represent? These are strict requirements for coffee, developed by the Italian Espresso National Institute and approved by a certified committee in accordance with the standards of ISO 45011, namely Certificate CSQA No. 214 from September 24th,1999.

The certificate states that Italian espresso is made of a blend of roasted beans of varied origin prepared in a special device so that the drinks made had a well distinguished organic taste corresponding to the requirements of the scientific censor analysis.

There should be an intense taste with notes of flowers, fruits, and roasted bread and chocolate – this scale can very depending on the name of a coffee blend, but the taste should invariably be oily, strong, and velvety. All the flavors should give a good aftertaste, and the aroma should remain for a few minutes.

Another important point is that there shouldn’t be any artificial flavors! The taste of true espresso doesn’t require masking. To distinguish the additives in a coffee is possible, by recognizing a strongly pronounced non-coffee aroma (usually it’s imitation caramel, Irish Cream, or almonds), and a strong chemical aftertaste.

If the institution serves you coffee in pods, make sure that the pod is pressed in a special filtering paper instead of a plastic case. Besides the distinct smack of plastic, such a product is also bad for your health. There’s a reason such coffee pods are officially forbidden in all of Europe.