The Advocate newspaper ran a story in May 2010 about Bay Beans Coffee, a local business banking on a fresh approach. 

I'm very proud to announce I have this week picked up a coveted award at the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show 2014 and will have Bay Beans Coffee beans on display at this years Sydney Royal Easter Show. A massive accomplishment for me in comercialising a small business that started as a passion.

"The premium products from the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show will be showcased at the Sydney Royal Easter Show from 10th - 23rd April 2014 at Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park. These products will be located in the Woolworths Fresh Food Dome, the centerpiece of the Show site".

I'm particularly proud of the result, being a small independent business and having entered only one coffee variety in competition to hundreds of other coffee roasting houses, some of who entered multiple coffees.  Bay Beans was awarded a Bronze Medal for Espresso Master variety, a coffee that is ideally suited to flat white and cappuccino and will impress as an espresso shot for the devoted coffee lover.  

Espresso Master is a creation of Bay Beans using predominately 100% Arabica coffee beans from South America and roasted on a 60 kilo Dietrich coffee roaster programmed to accurately follow specific roasting profiles specified by James - a leap ahead of the original coffee roaster James custom built from various parts mostly imported from the USA  that had a maximum roast size of 4 kilos. 

James continues to supply his fresh roasted and now award winning coffee beans online to cafes, offices and homes all over Australia at www.baybeans.com.au along side his other love as Daddy Day Care to his 3 year old son and 5 year old daughter. 

I love questions from customers about coffee, and here is one that I would like to share with you from Steve.

Steve asked the question about the impact of a pressurised coffee basket in his new coffee machine, and if he should change it to a after-market non-pressurised basket, improve his coffee.

Here is my reply.

Hi Steve.

Thanks for your email.

You have nailed it - the point that is letting you down is the pressurised basket. Let me first explain why some coffee machine manufacturers use presurised baskets in the first place, and the difference between non-pressurised coffee baskets.

A pressurised basket is different to a non pressurised basket by having only one single hole in the bottom of the basket, vs many holes in a normal basket. The idea is to force the coffee through the one tiny hole, and in the process, creating a fake crema. Thats perfect for the machine manufacturer, becasue even with stale supermarket beans, they can say "look how good the crema is from our machine", but it will lack taste - its just micro-foamed coffee.

Using fresh roasted beans will improve the flavour of your coffee, but the basket being pressurised means that you dont get any good feedback on what is really happening with your coffee extraction.

Breville make non pressurised baskets for their Cafe Roma boiler machine - the machine retails for about $80, but the spare bpart can be ordered seerately for under $10. if it fits your machine, thats what I reccomend as a solution.

When you pay more for a machine, really all you are getting other than facy looks, is a more stable and consistent tempreture and pressure, and better heatup times, which while important, is not absolutely necessary. You will get a much better benefit by changing your basket to a non pressurised basket, and using a coffee tamp. then you can experiment with technique to perfect your coffee.

your aiming for 30ml of coffee in the cup, over 25seconds. If you get more than 30ml, your grind is too coarse, or your tamp too light. I like to try and keep as many things consistent, ie;

30 ml of coffee (per shot)
7grams of coffee (per shot)
25 seconds extraction
15kg of tamp pressure (try using bathroom scales to get an idea of what 15kg of pressure feels like.
I also like to always use a double basket, per coffee extraction, into one cup (so 14g of coffee and 60ml).

Let me know how you get on.

Regards,

James Axisa
Chief Espresso Officer 
www.baybeans.com.au
Mobile: 0428 555 535
Voicemail callback: 02 8208 3477 
[I answer your emails, just hit reply]

I want to make sure that your interaction with Bay Beans is a personal experience, and I want to ensure that if you have any questions or feedback, that you know you can always contact me. So here is what I am going to be doing to make sure that happens; 

• I have removed all email addresses, except for james@baybeans.com.au. I think to myself, who wants to deal with an un-named email account like sales@baybeans.com.au or accounts@baybeans.com.au or feedback@baybeans.com.au anyway? This doesn't mean I am not thinking BIG - did you know Steve Jobs could be contacted, by anyone, at steve@apple.com?
• In previous marketing emails and newsletter, I would send a pretty email to you, with lots of graphics and clickable links. Sure, they look pretty, but I wonder if you prefer this new style of sending you a basic email, with a link to this page. Please let me know if you prefer the new format (and its going to be easier to let me know, remember what I was saying about one email address?), or leave a comment below in the comments section. 
• No automated order confirmation emails. okay, so this is something I have been debating internally - should I automate the order process? After considering automation, I have decided that I personally don't enjoy communicating with robots or computers, so why should you? When you place an order, you will get a personal email direct from me, every-single-time.
• Plain text emails will be the default email method. This means that when I email you, there wont be any pretty graphics or logos in your email, but what you will get, is a very readable email from me, that will be compatible with every email client and mobile device. Who wants to squint at a mobile screen to read a (pretty) email?

Now I have that out of the way, onto whats new at Bay Beans.

I only have ten of these packs available, so be quick if you want some. You can only get it here at this price. Chai Spice Authentic Chai Tea aroma is divine! When you open the pack, you will instantly notice that this really is authentic chai. You can see the Cinnamon, Star Anise, Cardamom, Ginger, Nutmeg, Cloves, Black Pepper and bay Leaves. Chai Spice is a deliciously natural product. Gluten free, Preservative free, Dairy free and Caffeine free. Chunky chai mix is made from whole spices, free from any artificial flavours, preservatives or sugars. If you would prefer an instant chai, try our Chai Spice Instant.

Double Walled thermal glass cups are perfect for keeping your coffees warm whilst feeling cool to touch! You can now purchase one of two styles of thermal glassware and these glasses look fantastic. Each pack comes in a set of eight glasses.  Go grab yourself a set, or treat mum for Mothers Day

This solid stainless hand tamper is perfect for both home and cafe use. Tamp is ergonomic and available in two sizes, 52mm for domestic coffee machines and 57mm for semi commercial and commercial coffee machines. Please check the size of your group handle's basket before ordering - if your unsure which size to order, just ask letting me know what machine you have.

When you purchase a coffee subscription, you save upto 25% (or more on some varieties). You can choose from any one of the coffees for delivery, or you can leave the selection process to Bay Beans, and each month you will receive a different coffee. There has been a change to the coffee subscription service, well, more specifically, the Random Coffee Variety selection. If you choose to purchase the Random Variety subscription, you will receive a different coffee each delivery, but don't worry, you wont receive decaf in the random deliveries. The delivery schedule is now;

January: Forte
February: Espresso Master
March: Super Crema
April: Mocha Prince
May: Fair Trade
June: Premium Reserve. 

The delivery schedule then repeats for months July through December;

July: Forte
August: Espresso Master
September: Super Crema
October: Mocha Prince
November: Fair Trade
December: Premium Reserve. 

If you would like to purchase a coffee subscription for you, your office, of for Mothers Day, you can do it here

Dont forget, if you want to get in touch with me, just send an email to james@baybeans.com.au

James Axisa - Chief Espresso Officer
www.baybeans.com.au

Mobile: 0428 555 535
Voicemail callback: 02 8208 3477