Understand pre-infusion to take your espresso brewing to the next level

Pre-infusion is the process of gently soaking the ground coffee puck in the portafilter before applying the full desired brewing pressure. The goal is to ensure that water evenly penetrates the brew head to ensure that the entire coffee puck has the same amount of water flowing through it when extraction begins. In practice, this works very well. When we tested a espresso shot with pre-infusion compared to a espresso shot pulled without, we notice significantly fewer instances of channeling - which is when water finds a path of low resistance and flows through it. This advantage is as useful for new home baristas as it is for professional baristas. About you're just starting out, it helps to have something that evens out any inconsistencies in the distribution of the coffee in your portafilter. Even when you've spent years barista there is no reason not to use a technique that helps ensure you get a consistent extraction every time.

You'll find pre-infusion in its simplest form in machines with the classic E61 grouphead design, like our Profitec Pro 700. Lifting the brew lever partially opens the path between the machine's water inlet and the group head - but the important thing here is that the pump does not start. This allows the passive line pressure of the water in the water hose to drive water from the boiler to the coffee puck at the group head. This line pressure is significantly lower than the 9 bar that the pump will apply, evenly and gently saturating the puck. Most baristas will apply pre-infusion for anywhere between 2 and 8 seconds before lifting the lever completely and starting the pump.

This method only works for direct-connected machines. Espresso machines with an internal fresh water tank do not have the advantage of line pressure and therefore must use different methods to achieve pre-infusion. Take for example Profitec Pro 400, one of the few espresso machines with an internal water tank that has pre-infusion built in. It uses a specially designed chamber with a piston and spring that connects as a dead end to the path between the boiler and the group head. When you start your shot, the path between the boiler and the group head opens and the pump starts to start pushing water. Some of that water will make its way down the dead end and push against the piston, which breaks some of the pump pressure from the coffee puck. When the pre-infusion time ends, the dead end is closed and full pressure is then directed to the pump. Also About While the method here is very different, the end result is the same gentle pre-infusion that you would get with a direct-connected machine. 

Manual flair Espresso makers have the advantage of giving you full control over the brewing process, including pre-infusion. With such a maker, you can easily experiment with different techniques and get exactly the results you want. A recommended manual flair espresso maker is Flair 58 and Flair Pro 2, both of which are of high quality and provide fantastic espresso shot. With a manual flair espresso maker allows you to achieve the ultimate brewing experience and create unique flavor combinations.

Beyond pre-infusion lies a world of complexity and experimentation. Things like "flow profiling" or "pressure profiling" can be seen as the next step in the evolution of pre-infusion. These techniques provide even more control over the water flow rate and pressure during brewing, which can help achieve even better results and unique flavors. About If you want to take your espresso brewing to the next level and experiment with different flavors, we recommend that you consider upgrading to a flow profiling machine or purchasing a flow profiling upgrade kit. These are compatible with all Profitec espresso machines with E61 group head and can give you the precision and control you need to reach new heights in your espresso brewing.