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A Few Tips On How To Clean Your Espresso Machine

admin — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:49:25 +0000

Some people may be lucky enough that the espresso machine they have has an automatic light on it that tells them when it needs to be cleaned. For others it may be that they have noticed that their usual cup in the morning does not just taste quite right. In this article we will provide some espresso cleaning tips so that your machine will continue to produce that perfect drink for you every time.

The first thing that you should do before you start cleaning your espresso machine is turn it off and then unplug it.

Next you need to read through the manufacturer’s instructions that came with it and follow them to the letter. This is important if you want to keep your machine in tiptop condition.

Also on a twice-weekly basis you should carry out a back flush of your machine (or as often as the manufacturer recommends).

After doing this you will need to unscrew the group head using a screwdriver and remove it. Now scrub all the parts of the group head (including the screen and brass dispersion plate). This should be done using a brush (toothbrush is great for this) and hot plain water (no detergent) until everything is clean. However, if having difficulties removing all the dirt you may find that you need to soak these parts overnight in a specialist espresso machine cleaner fluid.

Now we come on to the milk wand. This needs to be wiped with a damp cloth or you may want to remove it and then soak it in warm water to remove any milk residue on it. A great way of cleaning any residue from within the wand is by using a pipe cleaner. Also a pin or paper clip is the ideal tool for removing any clogs that may have occurred in the steam hole of the wand.

However, if you do need to decalcify your machine then run a mixture of 1 part white vinegar to 1 part water through it. Then after doing this run through some plain water 2 or 3 times to ensure that you have removed all the decalcifying liquid.

Now all you need to do is reassemble the machine and it is ready to be used again. Hopefully these espresso cleaning tips will help to keep your machine in tip top condition and producing that all important drink for you in the future.

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Grinding Coffee Beans With Your Own Coffee Bean Grinder

admin — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:15:47 +0000

When you are making coffee on a regular basis, quality and taste are important. There are some key benefits of using a pure form of coffee for the standard cup each day, as opposed to the commercial-grade grounds found in most supermarkets. Grinding coffee beans will help provide maximum flavor, a lasting finish, and plenty of healthy oils in conjunction with potent taste.

A high quality taste for your coffee can be achieved by purchasing fresh roasted coffee beans from your favorite vendor and grinding the beans at home. You can get that fresh coffee-shop quality right at home with the use of a coffee bean grinder. The best tasting coffee is made within two minutes of grinding; this means you need to transfer those grounds to a coffeemaker, espresso machine, or cup as soon as possible. Having an in-home coffee bean grinder can help with this process.

Coffee beans go through multiple chemical changes during the brewing process, and you can make the most of flavor and texture for each type of brewing method. Espresso machines require a very finely ground coffee, and you can achieve this with the right setting on a quality coffee bean grinder. Drip coffee makers will require a medium coarse size, and you can also adapt the right setting on your coffee bean grinder to optimize the grind.

Burr coffee bean grinders are the most popular type of grinders available, and can be used with a variety of fresh coffee beans and purposes. Burr coffee bean grinders can be hand-cranked or electric, and offer a variety of features according to each manufacturer. Blade coffee grinders are the least expensive models, and make use of a motorized blade inside the hopper. These can be used for regular drip coffee makers, but will not be as consistent as the burr models.

Making the perfect cup of coffee or espresso is easy with a quality coffee bean grinder. By grinding coffee beans at home, you are maximizing the flavor and freshness of every single cup!

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Latte Art: Is your coffee a work of art?

admin — Mon, 25 May 2009 20:01:35 +0000

So how do you make Latte Art you ask? This is difficult to discuss in type. I found it best to show this by demonstration. But we don’t have that luxury for now.

We will run through the heart and flower shapes, as these do not require the add use of a spoon or other such utensil to make more complex patterns.

So you have your frothing milk and a fresh cup of hot brewed espresso, the hazelnut crema surface waiting to be broken by the milk.

Pouring frothing milk tips: DO NOT SHAKE the milk jug until your cup is about half full. Then start to shake the milk jug side to side from the wrist. Don’t shake the jug from your elbow. I repeat, shake from the wrist. This is easy to forget as you get caught up in the look of the pattern. It is usually the first and most common mistake. I have written this warning ahead of time because it is important. Okay, time to pour the milk.

Please read the instruction in full before you start. These instructions are stepped, but they should be action together.

Take your milk and begin to pour from approximately 2cm (or 4/5 inch) into the same area of the cup.

Once the cup is half full begin to shake the milk jug from side to side. The shaking movement should be a fluid wrist movement, not mechanical. * As you shake, move backwards (towards yourself) to about 3/4 of the cup surface and then push forward in short movement to complete the top of the heart.

To make a flower, take your milk and begin to pour from approximately 2cm (or 4/5 inch) into the same area of the cup.

Once the cup is half full begin to shake the milk jug from side to side. The shaking movement should be a fluid wrist movement, not mechanical. * As you shake, slowly move backwards (towards yourself) to the edge of the cup surface.

There are many more ways to create latte art and we will try to bring these to CoffeeChat. We want to share these techniques with everyone who stops here.

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Green Bean Primer – How to roast green coffee beans

admin — Sun, 24 May 2009 20:47:59 +0000

Most people who buy green coffee beans, buy them because they are looking to roast them at home. There are several ways you can go about roasting coffee at home, and the exciting part is that you can get started without any special equipment!

You can roast beans in the oven, although this is something I have personally never done, some of our customers have had some fantastic results. From what I know, I would suggest about 240 for 15-20 minutes depending on how dark you want the roast. This is similar temp and time to a commercial or larger domestic drum roaster.

The roast should be fairly easy to monitor, as the beans go through two ‘cracks’ and anything after the rolling first crack is palatable, although some prefer darker.

Here is an expert out of my journal, which I wrote up this a while ago about experience roasting green coffee beans in a fan forced oven.

I pre-heated the fan-forced oven to 250 degrees then backed off to 240 degrees after placing 1 tray of 500gm decaf on the 2nd top level (of 5 levels) and 1 tray of 500gm New Guinea on the bottom level.

At 20 mins, while cracks were still rolling, I shut off the oven and opened the door. The top 500gm decaf beans were smoking while the bottom 500gm New Guinea beans looked a nice brown. (I had assumed that the fan-forced oven would cook uniformly from top to bottom but maybe I’m wrong, or the different beans could have behaved differently.)

What I’ve learned so far:

20 minutes is too long for decaf beans on the 2nd top level at 240 degrees.

20 minutes may be OK for New Guinea beans on the bottom level at 240 degrees. The taste test will tell.

Beans don’t fly around the oven like popcorn when they crack.

After letting his coffee rest for a few days:

The first cup this afternoon was the New Guinea stock. I ground it very fine and the taste of a long black was excellent. I was very impressed. My wife had a soy latte and was also happy.

I’ve just ground up some of the decaf which I ‘smoked’ yesterday and thought would be worthless. It still produced a drinkable cup, albeit with a slight ‘burnt’ taste.

Another roasting method that anyone can try is roasting the green coffee beans in a pot on the stove. I know a lot of people that also do it with heat guns with great success. There are also a few domestic fluid bed roasters (coffee roasters that roast with hot air) and a few domestic drum roasters (although these start to get very expensive)

You have to be careful home roasting, as the beans get incredibly hot and are actually exothermic for a period. It is a lot of effort, but very rewarding! As you get better at controlling the variables you get better tasting batches, and there really is nothing better than freshly roasted coffee.

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Make Perfect French Press Coffee

admin — Sun, 24 May 2009 02:34:49 +0000

We all love espresso, but even those with expensive machines at home tend to opt for the good old French press on the odd occasion, and for good reason. French press coffee has a completely different taste and texture than espresso and it is just one other way of enjoying quality coffee. Based on my experience, here are some tips on getting that perfect cup.

The plunger, or French press, is a simple, elegant, and effective way of brewing coffee. However, unlike instant coffee there are some small variables that can make a big difference to the profile of the coffee.

As with everything coffee, your biggest challenge will be consistency. The freshness of the coffee, the temperature of the water and plunger, brewing time, the grind (if you purchased whole beans and ground yourself) and the amount of coffee you use are all factors that need to be controlled when striving for the perfect cup.

The first step to a perfect cup of plunger coffee is preparation. Ensure you have everything you need on hand. Your plunger, a cup, a stirring device, a measuring spoon, and your coffee of choice. After you have everything together, fill the kettle with fresh, cold water and turn it on.

Whilst the kettle is doing its thing, warm up your plunger. In my experience, it is best to keep the plunger at a consistent temperature during the brewing stage, warming the plunger helps with that.

Dry the plunger and dish out the coffee. The amount of coffee depends on cup size and personal taste, but the general rules is 7 grams per cup of coffee. Most high quality plungers come with a 7 gram measuring spoon to make this easy for you.

Just before the kettle boils, turn it off and pour in the water. Boiling water scalds and burns coffee grinds, and can lead to a nasty tasting cup of coffee. When you boil water you also start to loose the oxygen and other minerals that assist in making a perfect cup of coffee.

Stir your coffee a few times then place the lid on to preserve heat. (Note – Don’t push down yet!) Some people also wrap their plunger in towels, modified oven mitts or tea cosys to try to keep a consistent temperature. This step is optional but if you have the time, do some experimenting.

Let the coffee brew for about 4 minutes, slightly less for smaller plungers, slightly more for larger plungers. Once again, brewing time depends on personal taste, however don’t let it sit for too long as you will end up with a bitter tasting cup of coffee due to over extraction.

After the coffee has brewed, slowly and evenly push the grinds to the bottom of the plunger. If you encounter resistance, do not force. Doing so can lead to water gushing up through the filter, ruining your coffee and possibly burning you. The best way to get around this resistance is to lift the filter slightly and try again.

When the grinds are at the bottom of the plunger, serve your coffee immediately, and enjoy as soon as you can (being careful not to burn yourself.) If you enjoy your coffee with milk or sugar, add to the cup before pouring the coffee.

Unless you have a really sweet tooth, a properly made French press coffee should not require sugar. I also find that milk veils the subtle flavors of gourmet coffee made with a French press, and so prefer my coffee without it. If you are new to freshly roasted gourmet coffee, I encourage you to try this too. It really is a world away from the stale supermarket blends you might be used too.

When you have finished your coffee, be sure to wash out your plunger, separating into pieces if possible. Old, trapped coffee quickly becomes stale and can add awful, unwanted flavors to your next cup. If possible try to dispose of your used grinds in the bin rather than down the sink, and never use coffee more than once! If you feel like another cup, start from scratch with fresh coffee.

To preserve the flavor of your coffee and to ensure it is as fresh as possible, be sure to keep it in an air tight container, in a cool and dry place. If you purchased whole beans, grind only what you need then store your coffee as a whole bean.

When done correctly, the French press produces a fantastic cup of coffee. People have been know to perform professional coffee ‘cupping’ using a French press, as it is possibly the best way to bring out some of the subtle flavors and textures of quality coffees. There are some that even recommend people buy a quality grinder and French press rather than spend the money on a domestic espresso machine. Just something to think about before you go shopping.

There are people wondering which blend they should be using with their French press. There is no answer, it really boils down to personal preference. I use the medium roast during the day, the decaf at night and the Australian roast for something a little different. If you enjoy the Italian styles blends, the dark roast would probably suit you best.