A customer asked me about getting a better extraction using their sunbeam conical burr grinder. 

Andrew wrote:

Thank you very much, James. I have been drinking your Espresso beans, and am very satisfied with the result. My machine is a Sunbeam Mini Barista and the grinder is a Sunbeam conical-burr. I realise the limitations of this setup. For example, when I fitted a non-pressurised filter basket, the coffee has no crema and the taste is nowhere near as good as when using the original pressurised basket, even when I lower the grind all the way to setting 1.
Regards
Andrew


James replied:

Hi Andrew.
Thanks for your email.
You’re on the right track I think - the grinder is grinding a little too coarse for your machine and flavour preference.
There are things you can do without spending money just yet.
One thing you can do is upside your coffee by a gram or two, another is to tamp more firmly. Check that your tamp fits the portafilter fairly tightly - if not, tamping on the edges can be the weak point. To get around that, try rolling the ramp around the edges softly before doing a tamp. It will put pressure on the sides and help with your overall tamp.
The last thing you can do is a modification to the grinder. Sunbeam grinders are all built to a tolerance, so one setting on one grinder can be different to the same setting on another grinder. The end result is your not able to grind to the maximum fineness that the machine is capable of.
Imagine that when you adjust the grinder settings, You are bringing the two groaning burrs closer together. At the maximum setting, the green burrs are still not close enough. The modification comes in to play by doing the following. By removing the grinder Beccaria you will have access to the grinding the main grinding burr. That burr is held on with a hex nut. By removing the nut and also the Berger you can add a thin shim/washer, which one reassembled will force the birds to come closer together at the same setting as previous. Of course make sure your machine is disconnected from the power before attempting to do any maintenance, also be aware that the bird will now be closer, and potentially so close that it will meet the face of the carrier burr, So keep an ear open for when you first adjust the grinder settings from maximum to minimum and back off if you hear any metal to metal contact on the finer settings. There was a Sunbeam technical bulletin about this a number of years ago-if you search Google, I’m sure you’ll find it.
I hope that helps
James Axisa - 0428 555 535. Chief Espresso Officer - baybeans.com.au

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Thank you,

James Axisa
Bay Beans Coffee Beans

I love coffee and I love my Aeropress - I am also impatient at times, especially when all I want is my morning coffee! Don't get me wrong, I love to experiment and spend quality time alone, but when I'm not in the mood, Give Me Coffee, NOW! 

I’m all for making the Aeropress as simple as possible, so I have settled in the James Hoffman style (recipe). That is to brew standard (not inverted), pour the water vigorously up to the 4th marker without stiring - let the water do the stirring and its one less thing to clean up. I then put the plunger in just a little to create a vacuum and reduce dripping, wait two mins, then swirl  the Aeropress on the cup to agitate the coffee grinds and after 30 seconds go ahead and plunge.
I use water off the boil about 90-95c and get to that by boiling first, then preparing my Aeropress rather than timing anything.
I don’t preheat the Aeropress and I don’t rinse my paper. I don’t use the funnel and I don’t use the stirrer.
Inverted styles I reserve for times when I've got more time to myself, and I am not feeling clumsy. 

What is your favorite method, variation or recipe?

James. 

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 I wanted to ask what is cold brew coffee and why that is different to just brewing coffee and then putting it in the fridge for ice coffee? I have seen cold brew being sold as a separate thing.

That's a great question about cold brew and how cold brew is different to brewing an espresso and putting a long black coffee in the fridge to chill. Its the difference of allowing espresso coffee to become cold, vs coffee brewed specifically for cold. The main difference is the brewing process, as you already no doubt guessed. Espresso preparation is actually quite harsh when you think about it, your taking coffee beans, grinding them fairly fine and then forcing 1.5 atmospheres of pressurised water, at 92 degrees to extract the coffee and coffee oils from the ground coffee. Its a great way to make a delicious coffee in around 30 seconds, but brings with it its own flavours. 

By comparison, cold brewed coffee is very gentle. The coffee grounds are ground more coarsely compared to espresso machines, also there is no water pressure involved and the brew is performed over a 24 hour period with cold water.  What is absolutely amazing is the flavour difference. Cold brewed coffee will bring out completely different flavours compared to espresso. The flavour is much more delicate, smooth to drink and almost tastes tea like. Its very hard to describe and I can guarantee you will be amazed at the transformation. 

The best news is no specialist equipment is required to give it a go. Simply grind 80 grams of coffee for a litre of water (or 40 grams for 500ml). The grind size is quite coarse, more like cracked pepper consistency. Add your coffee grounds to a suitable jug, add the required amount of water, stir and then cover your container and pop it in the fridge overnight. When you're ready to enjoy your coldbrew coffee, simply pour the coffee into a glass and enjoy. Be gentle in the pour so as to not stir up the grinds that have settled and you wont need to filter the coffee. 

Pour into a glass over ice, add milk if you'd like and enjoy!

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. 

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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!