Have you ever wanted to know how to get you espresso exactly right? You know that it is all in getting the grinder set just right, but how do the professionals do it? Well we are going to bust out the three secrets to setting up your home espresso coffee grinder and get you pouring the best espresso of the year.
Use a consistent amount of coffee "dose"
There are three factors that can affect the rate and pressure of espresso extraction, they are the amount (dose) of coffee, how finely the coffee is ground, and how hard it is tamped (compressed). Now the whole purpose of our exercise is to adjust your coffee grinder to achieve the right grind, so to do that you need to keep the other two factors (dose and tamping) relatively consistent.
Can you tamp consistent? Believe it or not, you will tend to tamp pretty consistently, some people tamp harder than others (most not hard enough), but people are pretty consistent. Much like kicking a ball, unless you are deliberately trying to undercook it, most people will strike with a very similar force, over-and-over.
So dosing is what we need to focus on? Sure is, this is the key to being able to repeatedly use the same amount of coffee and use changes in the grind to influence espresso you create.
Do I have to weigh my coffee each time? No, that approach is for coffee geeks who spend too much time writing about coffee and not enaough time making/drinking coffee. The best way to achieve a consistent dose over an over is to fill the double filter basket to the brim before we tapping the portafilter or compressing the coffee.
Time your espresso shots
Can you taste 30 seconds? That might sound like a strange quistion, but bear with me. Your taste buds can tell you that an espresso is good or bad, sweet or bitter, perfect or over-extracted, but it is impossible from taste along tell you why the espresso does not taste perfect.
The 30 second rule. Espresso, whether it be a single or a double takes 25-30 seconds to extract. in that time you get 30ml (60ml for a double) of liquid, which hopefully tastes pretty good. But wating for 30ml to be produced and tasting the merits of the drink cant tell you what is wrong (and what to do with the grinder).
What do you call 30ml of espresso produced in 20 seconds? Thats right, it is under-extracted; chances are that the coffee isn't ground fine enough, therefore the extraction rate is too fast meaning with not enough pressure.
Time your espresso shots, adjust your grinder and see your espresso improve.
How often should you backflush the machine?
For the home or small office user, we recommend that ideally you should backflush the machine without cleaning solution (water only) every day and backflush with cleaning powder once per week. In a cafe or a large office where you are using kilos of coffee per day then