When you drink your espresso straight away, you can’t learn much from it. Drinking it slower and over a few seconds of time tells you whether what you’re doing is correct or not. A balanced espresso shot should be bright at the beginning, sweet in the middle, and bitter at the end. If one of these tastes is overpowering or non-existent, then there’s something wrong in the process. You don’t need to have an incredibly descriptive palate to figure this out, but rather you need to practice and use the same coffee beans each time.
Start by leaving your espresso for around 30 seconds after pulling a shot. Espresso is incredibly hot, and it will not allow you to taste the sweetness or the acidity. Take a small sip and allow the espresso to go around your mouth before swallowing. Note where the taste is mainly prominent. If the taste is sharp at the front of your mouth, it may be under-extracted (you’ve flowed it too quickly). If it’s heavily bitter and prominent at the back of your mouth, then it may be over-extracted. Swirl the espresso gently between mouthfuls because the crema and the liquid can separate and give you an inaccurate first taste.
There’s nothing wrong with adding milk or sugar to your coffee, but if you do this before tasting it, then you won’t be able to tell if there’s a problem that can be fixed. Tasting your espresso once and assuming it’s like that the whole time is another mistake. The taste of the espresso will change as it cools down. It may taste sour and unpleasant at the beginning but smooth out as it cools. Tasting it multiple times will teach you to recognize this and not just react to the first few seconds.
A 15 minute exercise you can do is to pull a single shot of espresso and split it into two espresso cups. Taste the first espresso after around 30 seconds of cooling, then leave it for a few minutes and taste the second. You can compare how the sweetness, acidity and bitterness have changed. If both are sour, you may need a finer grind setting next time. If both are bitter, you may need a coarser grind setting next time. This comparison will greatly improve your ability to taste compared to just drinking.
If you’re having trouble improving your palate, you may need to go back to the beginning. It’s easy to get carried away with new coffee beans or machines, but the best way to improve your palate is to keep your process the same. You will recognize the changes in taste easier if the only changing variable is the beans. It’s a good idea to make a mental note (literally) of what you changed (grind setting, dose, time). After some time, you won’t see the espresso shot as an unpredictable beverage, but more as feedback in liquid form that will help you make the necessary changes to make an espresso shot that tastes how you intended it, rather than accidentally.