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Download here the digital Espresso Starter Guide. It gives you an introduction to the basics of great coffee, and of course, espresso. Learn all about grinding coffee, brewing times and popular espresso-based drinks. You’ll also find some great tips and tricks.
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For coffee house quality espresso, it’s a combination of fresh, good quality beans, and the correct brew method.
Spilling the beans about coffee beans
The quality and flavour of coffee beans are determined by:
- environmental factors, such as sun, soil and water
- preparation factors, such as picking, drying and roasting methods.
Roasting transforms the raw beans into the brown, aromatic, flavourful beans we know and love.
- It releases the oils and flavour unique to its region or origin.
- Roasts range from light to dark and influence the final flavour.
Precise brewing & preparation
There are 3 key factors that impact the flavour of your espresso:
- The water temperature has to be exactly right for the coffee grinds to bloom and release their flavour.
- Precise, even grinding is crucial, as espresso needs a certain grind size to get the fullest flavour.
- Timing is everything, for full flavour extraction from your beans.
Find the perfect grind
Choosing the right grind size depends on what you’re brewing. Size matters because it affects the extraction rate and therefore the taste. For espresso, the grind should be perfectly fine and even. Too coarse and it will be under-extracted and sour, too fine and it will be over-extracted and silty.
Most coffee drinks begin with the perfect espresso. From refreshing summer drinks to winter warmers, mid-morning treats to evening cocktails - it’s time to get making.
Cappuccino
Layers of espresso, milk and foam, with a sprinkle of cocoa powder or cinnamon on top. Perfect!
Iced coffee
Too delicious to save for summer, iced coffee is sweet, chilled, creamy and refreshing.
Irish coffee
An after dinner favourite, piping hot espresso, sugar and Irish whiskey, topped with cream.
Getting to know your espresso machine
You will be eager to get to know your shiny new coffee maker. Your espresso machine has a number of different parts, which all work together to bring you the perfect shot. Here’s a quick guide.
Cup warmer
Keep cups ready with the handy cup warmer on top of your machine.
Steam wand
Make milky coffee drinks like a pro with stainless steel steam wand.
Portafilter
Our portafilter has a unique flat base to help you achieve a consistent, even tamp.
Basket/filter
Choose between double or single wall, 1 or 2 shots. See our handy Basket selection chart below.
Tamper
For pressing your grounds into the basket to create the coffee ‘puck’.
Milk pitcher
Use this with the steam wand — just fill with your fresh and cold milk.
These handy buttons make it easy to control and prepare your espresso. Choose the mode and the number of shots - and there’s even a clean cycle.
Mode button
Espresso, Steam, Hot water
Mode button
Dose button
1 (1 shot), 2 (2 shot)
Dose button
Clean cycle button
The clean cycle prevents limescale build up and keeps the machine running smoothly.
Clean cycle button
Start/cancel button
Used to start the brewing process and start/stop the steam and hot water modes.
Start/cancel button
We’ve thought of everything, to help take the guesswork out of coffee grinding.
Selecting the grind size
Choose from 70 precise settings to easily match with your brew method.
Selecting the grind size
Fine-tune the coffee amount for a dose
Choose the number of cups or shots you’d like and you’ll automatically get the right dose.
Fine-tune the coffee amount for a dose
To adjust the coffee amount for a dose
Adjust the grind time if you want to customise the amount of coffee per dose, so it’s just how you like it.
To adjust the coffee amount for a dose
Saving your dose adjustments
Once you’ve customised your perfect dose, you can save it using the program button.
Saving your dose adjustments
Coffee grinding tips
- For maximum bean-to-cup freshness, grind just before brewing.
- Try different grinds and brew times to see what works best for you.
- If you’re making espresso, you can grind straight into the portafilter.
- Safely store unused beans in the specially-designed grinder hoppers.
With the steam wand of the espresso machine, you can make either microfoam or steamed (heated) milk. Here’s how...
Microfoam
- Always start with cold milk and a cold milk pitcher.
- Put the tip of the steam wand just below the surface of the milk in the milk pitcher and froth until the milk doubles in volume.
- Make sure the tip of the wand is kept near the surface of the milk, to draw in air.
- Once it’s doubled, lower the steam wand into the milk, tilting the pot to create a vortex in the milk, until the pot is almost too hot to hold.
- Gently swirl the milk and tap against the counter to release any air bubbles.
- The frothed milk is ready.
Steamed milk
- Always start with cold milk and a cold milk pitcher.
- Submerge the tip of the steam wand below the surface of the milk in the pot and froth until the pitcher feels warm.
- Once it’s warm, lower the steam wand into the milk, tilting the pot to create a vortex in the milk, until the pot is almost too hot to hold.
- Now you have steamed milk, with a little bit of foam.
Texturing milk for your favourite drinks
Most espresso-based coffee shop drinks involve steam milk or foam in different ratios, or delicious layers of both. Here’s a quick guide to the fabulous three...
Cappuccino
Three distinct layers of espresso, steamed milk and microfoam. Try to aerate your milk enough to end up with 1cm of pillowy texture on top.
Latte
Start with espresso, then 2/3 steamed milk. Aim for slightly less aeration to give you just 0.5cm of tasty microfoam on top.
Flat white
Flat whites need less aeration. Give your milk pitcher just one sip of air, then steam and swirl. This gives you thinner milk, with little to no microfoam.
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There are lots of words and phrases used in the world of espresso, which can make it all seem rather confusing.
Here’s some of the widely used ones.
Pulling a shot
The act of brewing a shot of espresso.
PULLING A SHOT
Basket / filter
This holds the coffee grounds to brew an espresso. It sits inside the portafilter and is locked into the group head. There are 2 types: single and double wall, and different sizes for 1 or 2 shots.
BASKET / FILTER
Bars of pressure
Bars are a measure of atmospheric pressure. One bar is equal to the amount of natural pressure at sea level. 15 bars is considered the optimal amount of pressure for espresso extraction.
BARS OF PRESSURE
Portafilter
This is the handle that holds the basket/filter, which then fits into the machine’s group head.
PORTAFILTER
Bloom
The release of CO2 from the grounds - allowing water to penetrate into the coffee grounds and extract the solubles for optimal flavour.
BLOOM
Tamper
Used to compress the coffee into a level puck inside the basket/filter. This action is called ‘tamping’. Properly tamped coffee will produce an even extraction of coffee compounds.
TAMPER
Crema
The tan-colored foam on top of a shot of espresso, created from the extracted oils.
CREMA
Steam wand/ frothing wand
The part of most espresso machines that delivers steam to ‘texture’ milk placed in the milk pitcher underneath.
STEAM WAND/ FROTHING WAND
