Breville BES820XL manual Coffee Making Tips

COFFEE MAKING TIPS

WARMING YOUR CUP OR GLASS

A warm cup will help maintain the coffee’s optimal temperature. Preheat your cup by storing on the cup warming tray or rinsing with hot water from the hot water wand.

WARMING THE FILTER HOLDER

A cold filter holder can drop the extraction temperature enough to significantly affect the quality of your coffee. Always ensure the filter holder is preheated by running hot water through it before tamping it with coffee.

NOTE: Always wipe the filter and filter holder dry before tamping with ground coffee as moisture can encourage ‘drilling’ - this is when water bypasses the ground coffee during extraction.

THE GRIND

If using a pre-ground coffee, ensure an espresso grind suitable for espresso/ cappuccino machines is purchased.

If grinding coffee beans, the grind should be fine but not too fine or powdery. The grind will effect the rate at which the water flows through the coffee in the filter and therefore the taste of the coffee.

If the grind is too fine (looks like powder and feels like flour when rubbed between fingers), the water will not flow through the coffee even when under pressure. The resulting coffee will be over extracted, too dark and bitter, with a mottled and uneven créma on top.

If the grind is too coarse the water will flow through the coffee too quickly. This will result in an under-extracted coffee lacking in flavor and without the thick créma on the top layer of coffee.

THE RIGHT MEASUREMENT

A single espresso is made with ¼ ounce or 7g of coffee. A level measure of the tamp/ spoon is the correct amount of coffee for a single espresso and 2 level measures for a double espresso. It is important to use the correct filter for the amount of coffee.

TAMPING CORRECTLY

Level the desired amount of coffee by gently tapping the side of the filter holder before pressing down firmly with the tamping end of the measuring spoon. When packing for a double espresso it is important only to tamp after the second measure. Tamping between measures will create a layer in the coffee that can impede full extraction.

PURGE THE GROUP HEAD

Before inserting the filter holder, run some water through the group head. It will ensure that your machine has a last minute ‘clean through’ and stabilizes the temperature prior to extracting.

NOTE: Make sure to wipe off any excess coffee from the rim of the filter to ensure a proper seal is achieved under the group head.

BREWING YOUR ESPRESSO

The most common mistake in brewing is to over extract from your ground coffee. This results in a bitter beverage with visibly bleached créma. Créma is the caramel colored layer that floats on top of the coffee following extraction.

NOTE: The taste of your coffee will, of course, depend on personal preference and on many other factors such as the type of coffee bean used, the coarseness or fineness of the grind and the tamping pressure (pressed down). We recommend experimenting by varying these factors to achieve the coffee taste of your preference.

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