How to Make Espresso con Panna (Recipe)

The Espresso con Panna means "espresso with cream" in Italian. Before baristas everywhere were putting whipped cream on lattes, Espresso con Panna was served in Europe with real whipped cream on an espresso shot in a demitasse.

This drink is also popular in France and Budapest. We would recommend this drink for quiet times and a good book.

The Espresso

The Espresso con Panna depends on a high quality, straight up great espresso. We would suggest you use a silver espresso roast with its smooth aftertaste and low acidity. It can be created using a long espresso shot, regular or short. The long espresso or Luongo has a coarser grind which decreases the dose and increases the flow of the espresso.

The volume is 60 ml, twice that of an average espresso shot which is 30 ml. The short espresso or ristretto has a finer grind to it, this increases the dose and restricts the flow, the volume will be half that of an espresso shot or 15 ml. What you make will depend on your preference.

Once you have chosen a high-quality bean for your espresso and decided what kind of shot you would like to pull there are other things to consider for a great espresso shot such as; quality of water, correct tamping of the espresso and water pressure. Always use filtered water in your espresso machine for a clean, crisp taste.

When tamping, ensure the portafilter is clean and use about 30 lbs of pressure to tamp the espresso firmly and give it a little twist at the end to catch the stray grinds.

Tamping in this way will ensure the hot water runs through the entire portafilter evenly leading to a smooth taste.

Drinking

How you drink this is entirely a matter of preference.

Mixing the espresso in will create a sweeter drink.

Alternatively, you can just sip the espresso by tilting the cup, because the whipped cream will sit mostly on top. This might leave you with a dairy mustache. It will gradually mix in as it melts.

Toppings

You can top the whipped cream with any number of powders including:

• chocolate powder
• cinnamon powder
• candy cane

Starbucks

Starbucks offers an Espresso Con Panna, which is a straight shot of espresso topped with whipped cream, plus vanilla syrup to add a unique twist.

Coffee Con Panna

While the original recipe calls for espresso, you can also make this with a strong-brewed coffee, as an Coffee Con Panna.

Brewers like the My Cafe from Bunn allow you to control the strength of the brew by filling the reservoir with each drink.

That means if you only put in 60 ml of water, it will only brew 60 ml of drink.

Some models also have a pulse brew option, allowing more contact time with the water and beans, and extracting more coffee solubles.