Hi James
Do you have any tips for the setting on the coffee machine for these beans to extract the optimum brew.
As mentioned we like the coffee to be smooth and flavorsome.
The coffee machine is a De'Longhi Magnifica.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Look forward to tasting!
Cheers Robyn

​
Hi Robyn

You're fortunate with the machine that you have, while it is a semi automatic bean to cup machine, it provides you will lots of input if you want to take advantage of it. Please forgive me if I am telling you information that you already know, but just incase;

1. your machine has a dial on the front - that is used to increase (or decrease) the amount of coffee beans used for each shot. more beans will result in a stronger flavour
2. you also have a bean grind adjustment located in the bean hopper. A finer grind will result in a more intense flavour
3. you can adjust the amount of water used for each button press on the front panel. Ideally, standardise on one button for your most favorite. You can adjust the amount of water used per button press by programming the machine - hold down the button to start the extraction, and release to stop the extraction. the time you've held the button down will be stored in memory for future button presses. 

So, now that explains the advanced features of tyour Delonghi Magnifica, its time to think about how these adjustments can be used to create the flavour of coffee you are looking for. You say smooth and flavoursome, so we want to focus on bringing that out, and I recommend what is known as a Ristretto base. It uses the first part of the coffee extraction, leavig the second part behind. It is the second part of coffee extraction (and anything beyond that second half) that introduces bitterness, which we want to avoid for your flavour preference. 

Ristretto is just the first half of the coffee extraction, so we need to determine what is the correct normal extraction, so park the idea of Ristretto for now. You want to aim for a coffee extraction that lasts for 30 seconds, creates 60ml of coffee, from approx 16grams of coffee (you wont be able to measure the grams with your machine, so just adjust your front dial to 75% and leave it there. The only adjustment you will make from here is the dial in the hopper - make it finer if youd like to decrease the extraction time, or coarser if we need to increase the extraction time. You'd adjust this if it takes less than or more than 30 seconds to make 60 ml in the cup, or with the Delonghi, if the machine appears to struggle to create coffee (or gushes coffee, which is too coarse). 

For these tests, you'd be using the bottom right button for extraction - that's a regular coffee extraction using a double shot. (the button above is a single shot (weaker). The buttons on the left side are Ristretto, both single and double shot, but with less water and less time, to create that ristretto we were talking about. 

I know this may seem like a lot to take in, but take your time. Once you have your machine dialed in to your preference, it will be an easy process. It's really just science, so it is repeatable.

I hope this helps, get in touch anytime and I can go over anything in more detail or explain further. 

​James Axisa.

Stainless steel features heavily in the components and body of most mid to high end prosumer coffee machines such as those made by Rocket, Vibiemme and Lelit. Its a hard wearing and easy to clean material found in commercial kitchens. 

I usually use a small amount of dish soap, mixed into hot water and clean the stainless surfaces with a microfibre cloth. Adding a small amount of baby oil to the mix will help prevent smudges and finger prints. I guess that is good for stainless fridges and benchtops, but I'm pretty fussy when it comes to my coffee machine, so stray finger prints arent a problem - no kids around the coffee machine, and its hot, so maybe that helps keep the fingers away. Not that I am at all lazy, but I've found that Glass Cleaner does a terrific job and its ready to go at a moments notice. 

Are you in lock down and craving delicious fresh roasted coffee beans? I have the best news EVER!

Bay Beans has been delivering fresh roasted coffee beans to homes and businesses all over Australia for 15 years and they are not only pioneers in online retail, but experts in what they do. Your coffee is roasted fresh the day you place your order, and delivered fast by courier to your door - covid safe and without any fuss. 

Don't miss out on your favorite part of your day, your morning coffee, and grab some delicious Bay Beans coffee beans. Start with Espresso Master if your new here, you wont be disappointed. You can check out the entire range here - why not, you've got time! 

Wacaco Company Ltd, is bringing their most compact and pro-oriented portable espresso machine to market. From that heritage and know-how Wacaco has developed a product that marries the convenience and versatility of an espresso maker that fits in the palm of your hand with the design and capabilities of a high end cafe quality machine.

Worldwide leader in portable espresso makers, Wacaco Company Ltd, is bringing their most compact and pro-oriented portable espresso machine to market. The Picopresso is a high end manual espresso machine based on Wacaco's patented and groundbreaking piston-driven espresso machine technology, as seen in the Picopresso’s predecessors the Nanopresso (released in 2017) and Minipresso (released in 2014).  The original Minipresso was the first of its kind and redefined the category of hand held portable espresso makers.

From that heritage and know-how Wacaco has developed a product that marries the convenience and versatility of an espresso maker that fits in the palm of your hand with the design and capabilities of
a high end cafe quality machine. This specialty coffee machine features a naked portafilter, so users will see delicious creamy espresso flowing directly from a standard 52mm 18 gram stainless steel filter basket during the brewing process. With the Picopresso there are no shortcuts. Each home brewer must master the art of manual espresso making by dialing in the correct grind size, tamping, and perfecting pulling technique – their reward; an authentic cafe-quality espresso that will rival any expensive high-end machine.

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The Picopresso is set to retail at $129.90 USD and will be offered at a discount of $99.90 USD during the launching period of June 15th - 31st via https://www.wacaco.com/pages/picopress

I was flicking though some old photos and spotted this one, an early small batch roast which failed. If you look at the right side of the photo, about half way down you’ll see a dot - that’s a bean that has over roasted and cracked - we call that second crack when the coffee is exothermic - just past the point of optimum roast for this bean. The coffee begins to loose its origin flavour and take on a roast flavour - kind of like steak cooked on the BBQ can change from having its desired texture and flavour to taking on the flavour of char grill - its a personal choice but I prefer to allow the coffee origin to shine through.

The benefit of a coffee subscription serves both convenience and variety. You'll never be without delicious fresh roasted coffee beans when they arrive at your door step automatically each month. Wine companies have offered a similar service in the past that has proven to be a hit with their customers, now coffee lovers can experience the same feeling!

One of the market leaders and pioneers of online coffee beans is Bay Beans, established in 2006, they've been offering their coffee bean subscription service for over 15 years now. There are a few ways you can join in the fun. You can select from either weekly, fortnightly or monthly deliveries, as well as select either your favorite bean or the most popular option is the random selection - its a different bean delivered to your door each month. 

Here is a list of the options available;

1. Classic Blends, just $27.26 per delivery. You can select from three coffee varieties;

• Forte (a cafe favorite)
• Espresso Master (this one has won a few awards!)
• Super Crema (for the strong coffee lover)

2. Specialty Blends, for only $31.06 per delivery

• Mocha Prince (caramel and chocolate tones)
• Fairtrade certified coffee (100% certified in Australia)
• Decaf ( quality Swiss Water Processed coffee removes most of the caffeine naturally)
• Premium Reserve (a special limited edition coffee)
• Random Variety (the most popular choice, which contains every variety in a rotation schedule)

The last option is by far the most popular choice - it provides for a different coffee for you to try each month. Its also great for offices for the ultimate variety. 

Every variety comes in different sizes to suit your needs, from 500g bags, through to 1kg bags and boxes containing 10x 1kg bags or more. 

As a general idea, if you are making 2 coffees a day, you'd consume 500g per month - if there are two coffee lovers in your household, opt instead for 1kg - you'll also save significantly by choosing 1kg. 

Delivery is free to anywhere in Australia and you have complete freedom to cancel or suspend deliveries at any time - there are no lock in contracts. We've been offering this flexibility for over 15 years and you benefit from the freedom of choice. 

"is your Bay Beans Creamy Chai Gluten free?"

​I didn't know the answer to your question, so have compared the ingredients list of the Creamy Chai (ingredients list below) with those listed on celiac.com as their Gluten Free Food List (here is the link; https://www.celiac.com/articles.html/safe-gluten-free-food-list-safe-ingredients-r181/ ) and also cross referenced the items that do not have an item name listed, such as COLOUR (150C), which is listed as CARAMEL III on the Australian Food Standards list (link: https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/additives/additiveoverview/Documents/Food%20additives%20-%20numberical%20May%202019.pdf )

None of the ingredients are flagged as having Gluten as far as I can tell. I am no expert on this though, so I've included the reference material I've used above for you to refer to.

Here is the ingredients list of Creamy Chai;
Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Vegetable Oil, Sodium Caseinate (Milk), Emulsifier (471), Stabiliser (340), Anti-Caking Agent (551), Beta Carotene, Dextrose, Milk Solids, Tea Extract, Spices, Colour (150c).


I hope that helps. 

 "Do you have or can you source decaf chai latte powder? I dont mind purchasing 1kg+ Thank you"

What a great question, and one I haven't been asked before. 

Straight to the point, I don't sell 100% decaf chai, however I thought it might be helpful to go into some detail for you, to help make the right decision for your needs. 

There are two kinds of Chai, one is known more broadly as Chai Tea, which is prepared by infusing spices in water, similar to brewing tea. Caffeine from this traditional Chai Tea is usually around 80mg - that number can be manipulated by the time you steep your tea for - a shorter duration will result in a more mild tea, as well as less caffeine, as low as 50-60mg. 

The other kind of Chai, is known as Chai Latte, and is the popular non coffee beverage in Australia. The Chai Latte mixes I have on the website, both Bondi Chai and Creamy Chai are more tailored to the Australian market for flavour.  The caffeine in these is closer to 25mg per serve - while not a decaf, it is a lower caffeine alternative. 

When you compare that to coffee, non decaf is around 130mg, while even the decaf coffee contains caffeine, a lesser amount at a rate of around 10mg. 

So, while the Chai Latte has caffeine of around 25mg, it is around 1/4 of the caffeine found in traditional chai, similar to the comparison of coffee and decaffeinated coffee.

I hope this helps, Here is a link to the chai's;

Regards,
 
James Axisa
Chief Espresso Officer

www.baybeans.com.au
Mobile: 0428 555 535
Voicemail callback: 02 8208 3477
 
[I reply to all emails personally]