Keeping up Standards
15 January 2021 by Matt Lawrence
Keeping Standards
Takeaway Cups
Investing in some trustworthy and decent takeaway coffee cups is paramount, Why? In a single walled coffee takeaway cup we have experimented in our training room the milk has to be almost boiled to still be hot enough to drink halfway or even at your destination point during your drive to work or daily exercise. In a double walled takeaway cup, The milk can be steamed to a drinkable temperature and this can be enjoyed and kept warm at this temperature for some time in a good solid double walled takeaway cup.
Double/Triple Orders
Are you ready for double orders? “Could I have a latte and a flat white please?” Do you have the correct jug size? Would you find it easier and be more confident in performing those drinks if you made the milk twice? Ie Milk for a latte (steamed) and then milk for a flat white (Textured) Remember never to reheat your milk, All you’re doing is adding more water (which steam is) into the milk and watering down the taste of the drink at the end.
A good example of this would be pouring two cappuccinos-
Pour the foam into the two cups first and then add the steamed milk, Try not to add the foamed milk to one cup and then the steamed milk afterwards, You may find you wont have enough foam for the second brew.
Backflushing your Machine
We cannot stress this enough, It will make our engineers life a lot easier but more importantly… Yours! This must be done daily. Either first thing in a morning or last thing at night. Why? To remove stains, coffee grounds and other particles from all those little places and pipes you cannot visibly see when looking at your coffee machine and this prevents blockages and mould forming. Remember to use your cleaning blank disk, replacing this with your single group basket. Then, using either the cleaning powder or liquid press any of your cycle buttons 10 times for 10 seconds. Its important you don’t forget to flush through your machine at the end to get rid of any powder or liquid which may be hangin’ in there.
Grinder
If its been a while since you used your grinder, Or closing for Lockdowns (Lets hope that’s the end of them) Then you may want to follow the following procedure. Empty your beans into a sealed air tight container, Please do not put or store your coffee beans in a fridge. Then if you have an hoover with a long pole, Hoover out any contents left in the hopper (The plastic thing that looks like a space ship on the top of your grinder) Just to get rid of any unruly coffee beans which my be stuck in there. Don’t let your grinder get down to the Poppin. (Yes this really is a thing) and what we mean is using the very last few beans in the grinder before ‘Toppin it up. This affects the extract which we talk about later in the article.
Tamping
Due to us having a little more time on our hands recently we have been playing around with a few methods in our training room one being tamping. Sounds straight forward. We found a little twist (Oh yes a twist) with the tamper fills in any cracks between the ground coffee and the inner mesh ring.
Turning your machine on/off.
We have released a few blogs and articles on this topic, And we will always keep letting its head pop above water, This is important guys! Remember to open your steam arms (So it resembles a steam train) before turning off your coffee machine. This will then reduce the chance of an air lock when turning the machine back on again. (If you keep the steam arms open when turning the coffee machine back on) Also, and importantly, It will get rid of any sour milk lingering around in the steam arms chambers.
The Size of Doses
Dose too small for the filter basket- too little resistance- under-extraction
Dose too large for filter basket- too much resistance- over extraction
Dose size matches filter basket- correct amount of resistance – ideal extraction.
**Different blends and sizes of beans can determine the size of the dose.
The right filter basket
Filter baskets are available in 6,7,8,9 and 10 gram (Single Group Handles)
And- 12,14,16,18 and 20 gram (Double Handles)
It is particularly important to use the right filter basket for the dose chosen as a big part of standards. Using a filter basket that is too large or too small for the dose will seriously affect the extraction process by providing too much or too little resistance in the group.
Extraction
- Correct water temperature
The temperature of the water driven through the coffee cake is important in the extraction process. This is a direct relationship between the temperature of the water and the volume of the espresso. If the temperature is too low or not high enough, The espresso will be under extracted (In a nutshell some of the espresso ‘goodies’ in the cake will remain in the cake, When in fact we want them in the cup or espresso. Water temperature too high? If its close to boiling point bitter substances or now lets call them ‘nasties’ are then extracted causing over extraction and spoiling the end taste.
Cup Temperature
The perfect espresso is usually served in a warm cup or glass. Espresso machines have a cup warmer, Keep your cups or glasses on it. This insulates the espresso and prevents the heat of the espresso from dissipating. Make sure you keep those unwanted insects and dust out the cups however by keeping a towel on top of your cups on the cup warmer.
Pressure.
The pressure of the water driven by the pump through ground coffee beans is what makes the espresso method so effective. The amount of pressure normally applied when extracting the perfect espresso using an espresso machine is nine bars. Pressure significantly higher ow lower than this will effect the extraction process resulting in the espresso being less than perfect.
Head Space too Big
(Not enough coffee in the group handle)
Its not desirable at all. It usually means the dose is too small or too big for the filter basket which we have briefly touched in throughout this article. During extraction if too litrle coffee has been placed into the handle (Or using the incorrect handle per shot) this will cause the water to blast’ its way through the coffee cake and break it up because there is insufficient surface resistance or counter pressure to the water in the group. The result? Uneven extraction and a not so great espresso.
Head space too small?
(Too much coffee in the group handle)
Too little coffee means there is not enough room for the coffee particles to expand when hot and pressurised water makes contact with them. They will become over compacted and the water will struggle to find a way through. You usually know if you have too much coffee in the group handle as you may find difficulty ‘locking in’ the group handle into the group head of the coffee machine.
Extraction Time
You have learnt so far that an extraction time ranging between 25-30 seconds is ideal for an espresso. If you reduce or increase this time with the above problems, This will adversely affect the quality of the espresso.
Extraction time too short? A reduced extraction time does not allow enough time for full potential of the aroma and flavour to be released into the espresso.
Extraction time too long? An increased extraction time, on the other hand allows time for an espresso ‘goodies’ as well as time for bitter substances to be released. Because caffeine is water soluble, increasing the time also substantially increases the amount of caffeine released into the espresso.
Water Quality
Water is one of the two ingredients needed to make an espresso and as many good cooks will tell you, the quality of a meal is as good as the ingredients you put in it.
Tap water (Depending on your area and water type) may not be sufficient quality to produce the perfect espresso. Further treatment (or softeners) may be required. Water with poor quality affects the espresso and performance of the machine.
Water Taste
Bad taste in the water (chlorine) is often the result of very purification treatments used to make tap water safe to drink.
Water ‘Hardness’
Tap water is frequently ‘Hard’ even when it is safe for human consumption. Water hardness is related to the volume of substances in the water such as calcium and magnesium. When heated, these substances produce insoluble salts that form a kind of plaque. This build up of plaque is known as ‘Scale’ Serious issues with a coffee machine can occur if scale is left untreated. This can be reduced by fitting a water filter to the espresso machine.
In simple terms- Step by Step
1) Select the correct group handle
2) Select the correct shot measure for that handle (single or double shot)
3) Tamp the coffee grounds with a little twist
4) Flush the group head before placing the handle in the machine
5) Put the group handle (locked into the group head)
6) Get a coffee cup or glass from the cup warmer
7) Select the correct button/cycle for an espresso to that particular handle you’re using
