Espresso – black magic☕️✨

SVART ESPRESSO?

Espresso is an artform I never stop being fascinated by.

Every day I see people brushing, pre-flushing, putting in toothpicks, even dropping fruit into their portafilters to chase the “perfect” shot.

Here’s the secret: you don’t need much more than pressure (6–9 bar), time, hot water, and a portafilter to make espresso sing.

Of course, an espresso machine and a good grinder help – but even a moka pot can get you surprisingly close.

If you constantly have to “fix” your espresso with tricks, my advice is simple: buy better beans.

That’s pure honesty. And if you want to improve the beans you already have, the best upgrade is your technique.

👉 Start with a clean machine.

Look under the portafilter, around the bayonet, and check the group shower screen – you’ll be surprised how much a clean setup improves flavor.

A good espresso is always about balance.

Typically, you’ll want 18–20 g of coffee. For a light roast espresso, that’s spot on – lively, bright, expressive. For a classic roast, you can often go lower, around 16–18 g, because darker roasts extract faster. And when I say darker, I don’t mean “burnt to ash” – I mean smooth, elegant, balanced roasts where the terroir still shines through.

At Jacobsen og Svart, we roast two espresso profiles:

☕ Light Roast Espresso – precise, complex, and fantastic on its own. With milk it pairs beautifully, but it naturally caps around 140 g of milk before losing its sparkle.

☕ Classic Roast Espresso – easier to extract, rounded, approachable, and smooth. It shines in milk and delivers a comforting, balanced cup every time.

In the end, espresso doesn’t need tricks. It needs good beans, roasted with intention. That’s our obsession.