MAKE COFFEE

The Basics
Home Barista
Steaming milk
How to Make Your Favourite Coffee

Home Barista

If you want to make café style espresso based coffees at home the above basics still apply, perhaps even more so but there are some more pointers.

The trick is to use the right amount of coffee, ground to the right fineness so that you get about a 30ml shot of espresso in about 30 seconds, give or take a bit. As the coffee pours out of the spout it should take on the shape of a mouse tail and have a hazel brown coloured crema on top. See the picture on the right.

If you have an espresso machine where the handle comes out and you have to fill the filter manually, you’ll know that you have the right amount off coffee in the filter because it still goes on alright but the used coffee looks compressed and fairly dry when you knock it out. If the spent coffee is sloppy then you need to use more coffee. If you use too much the handle doesn’t go on properly. When you have spooned the coffee in the filter distribute it evenly from side to side by running your finger across the top then use the tamp (the plastic devise with the flat discs that came with the machine) to press the coffee down firmly and horizontally. The firmer you press the slower the coffee pours out and this is a technique you use in conjunction with adjusting the grinder (explained below) to control the flow of your espresso shot.

Once you’ve worked out the right amount of coffee you need to adjust your grinder. Use a timer and a small measuring cup like the ones you get with your cough syrup. If you make the grind finer the coffee pours out more slowly and conversely if you grind the coffee coarser the coffee pours out quickly. Adjust the grind until you get 30ml in 30 sec. If the coffee pours too slow it will taste burnt and if it pours out too quickly you will leave a lot of flavours behind.