Do you want to learn how to make coffee on the espresso machine? Are you looking for information about preparing an espresso? As a home barista, could you use some professional coffee knowledge?
Then here are the Golden Coffee Tips for making your favorite coffee drink .
In this coffee blog we take simple steps through the barista actions required for making a good espresso and frothing milk.
Tip 1. Always ensure a clean and tidy barista station and coffee equipment.
That seems obvious, but there are several reasons that are often overlooked.
The first reason is that the actions that precede the actual flow of your espresso follow each other in rapid succession.
The longer the time between grinding your coffee beans and preparing your espresso on your espresso machine, the more notes and aromas evaporate .
After all, you want the aromas and notes of the ground coffee to be absorbed by the water as quickly as possible and end up in your cup. A tidy and clean barista station ensures that you can carry out your coffee technique and espresso preparation steps as professionally and quickly as possible. This means that nothing of your perfect espresso is lost.
There is a second reason for a clean and tidy coffee environment that is often forgotten.
Imagine if you don't clean your portafilter properly in the morning, after making your espresso. At 11 o'clock you feel like having another delicious espresso or cappuccino, and you get back to work in your home barista corner . You refill your filter holder with ground coffee, perform all the coffee operations and brew your delicious second container. But it tastes a bit less than the previous one. There is a good chance that your poorer quality espresso has more bitters in it than the previous one. How come?
The improperly cleaned portafilter (portafilter or piston: the part of the espresso machine that you put your ground coffee in) contains old, used coffee.
This is also called extracted coffee : ground coffee that has already been extracted once. Just like a tea bag, you can no longer use a used tea bag after a few uses. All the tea has been extracted. The same goes for ground coffee. However, you cannot use coffee a few times like tea, but only once. That old used coffee will burn during a second extraction and that will give bitter notes .
Summary: Keep your espresso environment and barista workspace tidy and clean. This way you can quickly carry out your actions to prepare the artisanal espresso and your professional coffee preparation and coffee passion always remain constant!
Cleaning and maintenance ensure better coffee preparation.
Tip 2. Measuring is knowing
You probably know the saying "measuring is knowing". This certainly applies when preparing coffee . Suppose you make a delicious chocolate milk. You use the same amount of fresh whole milk each time, but you use a different amount of dark chocolate with each cup you make. Would you be surprised that sometimes your chocolate milk is fuller and deeper in flavor than other times? Oh no?!
This principle also works when preparing espresso .
It is very important that you always put the same amount of ground coffee in your filter holder. Using 17 grams of coffee one time and 18 grams the next results in different coffee extractions and therefore different flavor profiles of your espresso.
A coffee scale or programmable electric coffee grinder is super useful for this! This way you always know how many grams go into your filter basket and you get a more consistent espresso preparation.
I often see at home workshops that the home barista and coffee enthusiast makes an estimate of how much ground coffee they want to use. Especially in the morning, when everything has to be done faster, people think that 'a full portafilter with a pile' is good enough. But if you weigh that portafilter every time 'by a heap', you will see that there can sometimes be a difference of almost a gram of coffee . And a gram of coffee more or less gives a completely different taste experience in your Americano or flat white.
What applies to ground coffee also applies to water. Many espresso machines today allow you to pre-program the water buttons.
The standard amount of water for 1 espresso is approximately 30 ml and for a double espresso (doppio) 60 ml.
You can pre-program this so that every time you prepare an espresso or doppio espresso, you get the same amount of water every time. Because the chocolate milk principle also applies here, but the other way around: not more or less chocolate, but more or less milk also results in a different taste profile. Don't have programmable water buttons on your espresso machine? Then you can also use snot glasses , which often indicate a standard of 30 ml.
In summary, a constant amount of ground coffee and water ensures a consistently tasty espresso.
Tip 3. Tamp ground coffee evenly and horizontally.
Water always seeks the path of least resistance . Therefore, make sure that you tamp the ground coffee in your filter holder horizontally. A small sloping deviation ensures that the water that comes out of your coffee machine at high pressure (9 bar) seeks the low point. A tamping station can help you tamp straight
Compare it to a colander full of cooked spaghetti. If you hold the colander straight, the water will flow down from all the holes. But if you tilt the colander slightly, the water will flow more from one side of the colander than the other.
This principle also applies when you prepare an espresso with an unevenly tamped coffee bed. Then what happens to your espresso extraction? The water will find its way through the part of your filter holder where there is less coffee and less water will flow through the part where there is more coffee. This ensures that the more part is extracted less and the less part is extracted more. The more part is therefore not extracted enough and the less part is extracted too much.
Underextraction produces sour notes and overextraction produces bitter notes. The result: an espresso that has relatively more acidity and bitters.
So make sure you tamp straight, this results in an even coffee extraction and a nice balanced espresso result.
Tip 4. Flush your espresso group.
What applies to tip 1 also applies to this golden coffee tip. After making an espresso, extracted coffee particles always remain attached to your group. Your group is the part where you screw in your portafilter, and where the water from your espresso machine runs into your portafilter.
If you do not clean your group properly with each espresso preparation, old particles will be included in the preparation of your new cup of coffee.
You can easily prevent this by rinsing your group before a new preparation or after an espresso preparation. How do you do that? Press the button that you normally use to start your espresso, but do so without turning the portafilter in the group. This causes the espresso machine to dispense some water, which rinses away the old coffee particles.
Tip 5. Pre-rinse your porcelain or coffee cup.
Nothing makes me grumpier than a lukewarm cup of coffee . And who wants a speck of dirt or fruit fly in their cortado?
Almost every espresso machine also has a hot water tap . Sometimes that is a tap, sometimes a spout that comes from the bottom of the machine, and sometimes it is a position on the steam wand.
Pre-rinsing your coffee cup has two advantages . First, the hot water preheats your cup. This will prevent some of the heat from your espresso from dissipating into your cup, resulting in the correct temperature of your coffee. Secondly, you also rinse away dust, dirt and grime from your cup with the hot water. So tasty! Don't forget to throw away the water from your cup before pouring your delicious espresso into your cup.
Tip 6. Waiting is burning.
In this golden coffee tip we discuss a frequently performed barista action that results in lower coffee quality. The coffee is ground, tamped and the portafilter is rotated into the espresso machine group. And then the waiting begins. Cups are picked up and rinsed. The milk jug is used to make a delicious café latte . The new carton of milk is opened. The saucer is set up and the cookies are taken. And only then is the cup placed under the filter holder and the water button is pressed to begin the extraction. What's not going well here?
People often forget that the group from which the water comes is a hot group.
Today's espresso machines preheat the group with special internal water tubes to prevent heat loss. But when a group is hot (think 90 to 96 degrees), it affects the freshly ground coffee waiting in the group. The top layer of coffee in the filter holder burns while the water is not yet running through. And we read in tip 3 that burnt coffee gives off bitter notes . Therefore, always ensure that there is as little time as possible between screwing in your portafilter in your group and starting your espresso extraction.
I carry out all the preparatory steps first, such as filling a milk jug or preparing a cup and saucer.
I prepare everything so that the barista actions from grinding coffee to extraction can be carried out one after the other, without interruption.
So make sure that the preparations are done first, after which you have all the time to carry out the espresso preparation operations 'in one movement'.
Tip 7. First coffee, then milk.
This tip is especially for the milk drink lovers among us. How nice is it to make a delicious cappuccino or cafe latte with oat milk, coconut milk or just 'good old' whole milk. And how about the Latte Macchiato? Milk heaven!!
I am often asked what should be done first: making the espresso or frothing the milk.
My advice is to always make the espresso first . When you froth milk and leave it to do something else (like making your espresso), gravity goes to work. Gravity pulls the liquid milk and the milk foam apart. This means you only pour liquid milk, and the foam layer remains like an island at the top of the milk jug.
That is why it is best to reverse the method. Preheat your cup and make your espresso. This will definitely stay warm for a while.
Then froth your milk and try to pour your milk into your espresso as quickly as possible. This way you get your favorite, full and creamy cappuccino or other milk drink.
Tip 8: Dirty is not clean.
The last tip is a common action that is forgotten. Imagine having to perform ten steps to make your cappuccino . Grinding, tamping, foaming, preheating and so on. And now suppose that steps 3, 4 and 5 are performed less well. Then your end result is a coffee drink with a grade of 7. But if you carry out all steps carefully and correctly, you have a chance of ending up with a grade of 10 more often!
This last tip fits in with the list: carry out all your actions correctly.
What I see happening a lot is that coffee lovers do not clean the steam wand after frothing milk. Remains of stuck milk collect on the steam wand. This results in less powerful steam because the steam holes become clogged . And the caked-on milk also releases particles into a new, full, fresh milk jug. For high-quality coffee preparation, it is important to perform every action correctly.
Make your coffee preparation a ritual, a special coffee moment in the morning, afternoon or evening. Think less in terms of "I'm going to make a quick cup of coffee" and more in terms of "I'm going to perform my coffee ritual again." Then you will certainly succeed in an attractive coffee drink that tastes good and meets your expectations every time.
