The coffee puck (whats left in the coffee basket after an extraction), can give you an insight into how tasty your coffee will be before you take your first sip. A wet and sloppy puck, best described as 'muddy' could mean that your coffee grind was too coarse, and that your coffee espresso will be under extracted and taste watery. On the flip side, a coffee puck that is too dry can mean that your coffee espresso will be overextracted and burt in flavour. 

When examining your coffee puck, you should be able to hold the puck in your hands (excepting that it will be hot), and break it in two. Take a look at the cross section of your coffee puck for an indication that it has extracted uniformly, suggesting that your coffee ground distribution technique and tamp is okay. My technique is to;

• Grind 5 grams
  
• tap the portafilter twice to settle the grinds
  
• grind another 5 grams
  
• tap again
  
• grind another 5 grams
  
• tap again
  
• grind another 5 grams
  
• tap again
  
• Scrape the portafilter basket with an edge to remove excess grind
  
• Tamp
  
• (this is based on a 21gram triple basket. For 14 grams, I will reduce the steps to three grind applications).

Are you sometimes questioning the difference between a flat white and a latte? are you unsure of the difference between an espresso shot, a short black and a long black? Its not just you, some of the confusion comes from different regions in the world naming the same coffee beverage differently. 

One that I was surprised at;

• If you ordered a Latte in Italy, you'd get a glass of steamed milk, and no coffee! You need to ask for a 'Caffe Latte' if you want your regular Latte.  

So, here is a description of each of the popular coffees that you would see on a blackboard at a cafe in Australia. These descriptions are my survival guide only, and are open to interpretation depending on the cafe etc. 

• Espresso Shot - a 30ml shot of espresso coffee. made from 7grams of coffee, straight from the machine served in a 60ml porcelain cup
• Short black - exactly the same as a Espresso Shot
• Double shot Espresso - exactly the same as an Espresso shot, but two shots are made into the one cup - doubling the size to 60ml
• Long black - 120 to 180mls of water with an espresso (or double espresso) shot poured on top of the water. Its incorrect to add the water to the espresso shot for risk of dissipating the crema.
• Caffe Americano - same as a long black, but the espresso shot is added first, and the water on top to intentionally disipate and disturb the crema 
• Flat white - start with an espresso base, in a 250ml porcelain cup, add steamed frothed milk, but hold back the froth.
• Latte - same as a flat white, but more milky (ie: less coffee). served in a tall glass (not ceramic) and topped with a small amount of foam
• Cappuccino -  as for a Flat White, but introduce some extra froth and dust chocolate powder on top for presentation and flavour. 

A few that you might not see too often;

• Single Origin espresso - same as an espresso shot, but using a single coffee bean origin, rather than a expertly blended coffee from various regions. (can also be ordered as a double shot machiato)
• Picollo Latte - an espresso shot with 90ml of steamed milk (can also be ordered as a double shot machiato)
  
• Machiatto - an espresso shot with a teaspoon of milk froth to 'stain' the espresso. (can also be ordered as a double shot machiato). Some people refer to this as simply a 'mach'
• Ristretto - same as a espresso shot, but only using the first half of the espresso shot (15ml) which is sweeter. Can be ordered as a double ristretto totaling 30ml. 

NOTE: A single shot is 30ml of espresso coffee extracted from a single basket of coffee holding 7g and etracted in 30 seconds. A double shot can be acheived by repeating the single shot, or using a double basket (holding 14grams of coffee) but extracting in the same timeframe (30 seconds) and producing 60ml of coffee. Same with a tripple shot - repeat a single again, or use a tripple basket (21grams of coffee). Generally, I never ever use the single shot basket and standardise on the double shot basket. 

Its such a simple change and it wont cost your business more, so why do you continue to not have the best coffee at your office? Staff love being treated well as a reward for their dedication and passion for the business. 

Getting great quality coffee at your office is simple. Follow these three simple steps;

1. Browse the fresh roasted coffee varieties available. 
2. Place an order online or contact James to setup an account
3. Sit back while your coffee is roasted, packed and delivered to you FAST, and FREE. 

If you need some assistance with selecting the best coffee bean variety or your office, get in touch with James for some simple advice. You don't even need a fancy coffee machine to get started serving great coffee at your workplace.

Send this to the person that orders coffee for your office and ask them nicely to share the love.