Educate

Learn how to make delicious coffee everyday with these simple tips. The most important step in making a delicious coffee is to start with fresh coffee beans, from Bay Beans coffee, of course. 

How to make espresso

  1. Buy and consume your coffee beans within 4 weeks of them being roasted. Supermarket coffee is usually 12 months old before you even buy it!. Store your coffee in a dark place, in an airtight container, not in the fridge. 
  2. Grind them, or have them ground for you. 
  3. Fill the filter basket of your coffee machine right to the top, tap the basket on the bench to settle the grounds. You might like to level off with the back of a butter knife. 
  4. compress the coffee grounds into the basket with a TAMP
  5. using your machine, start the extraction. Time the amount of time coffee is extracted from the basket into your cup. Let coffee extract for 25 seconds and stop the machine (any more and you risk a weak or bitter muddy coffee). The coffee extraction process is complete and you have your espresso base. 

How to steam milk

  1. Before you begin, ensure to read your machine’s instruction guide for optimum results.
  2. Turn the steam wand on for approximately 3 seconds to clear the valve of any excess moisture, turn steam off. 
  3. Fill 1/3 of your milk jug with cold fresh milk. (Try keeping your milk jug in the fridge). 
  4. Place the tip of the wand approximately 1-2 cms below the milk surface and turn the steam on full. 
  5. Slowly lower the jug until the wand is just breaking the surface of the milk. After approx 20 seconds, the milk will get to 35c, (which you will know by feeling the side of the container to match you body temp). 
  6. Submerge the wand below the surface and hold the jug on a 45 degree angle, creating a whirlpool effect in the milk. 
  7. Allow the milk to heat to 68-72 degrees. (You should be able to touch the base of the jug but not leave your hand there). 
  8. Wipe the steam wand with a damp cloth after every use. 
  9. Allow the milk jug to sit for 1 minute before pouring into your coffee. Hold the froth back in your pour to create a flat white, or add froth for a cappuccino.
  10. get creative if you want by adding some latte art - quite a skill. 

How to prepare Bondi Chai

Bondi Chai is a deliciously smooth and creamy chai latte that has become very popular in cafes in Australia. You can serve it at your cafe very easliy, or enjoy it at home or at the office with a coffee machine steam wand, or a microwave oven. 

How to use a coffee siphon

Walk through brewing coffee with the Hario coffee siphon and Bay Beans coffee.

A very clean and crisp coffee is produced from siphon coffee - the process is a little complex and the equipment is fragile, so perhaps not the method you would use every day, but offers great table theater and will satisfy the science and geek in you. 

How to use Nespresso compatible capsules

Simply pop a Bay Beans Nespresso compatible capsule into your Nespresso coffee machine and enjoy fresh coffee right away - there is no need to refill or touch the coffee - no mess, no fuss.  Bay Beans coffee capsules for Nespresso are compatible with all Nespresso machines including the Pixi, Latissima, Maestria, Essenza, Le Cube, Maistria, U and Citz. 

Grinding - whole beans or pre-ground?

Whole coffee beans retain their freshness after roasting for much longer than ground coffee beans, so ideally it's best to have a grinder at home. If you don't have a grinder at home, ensure your ground coffee is stored in an airtight container in the dark. Please don't store your coffee in the fridge or freezer - your coffee will be adversely affected by condensation and the mix of flavours from your fridge. Since you are starting with much fresher beans, you will benefit dramatically over supermarket coffee, or worse supermarket ground coffee.

How to clean your coffee grinder

Depending on the variety and make or model of your grinder, the precise method of cleaning your grinder will vary, but the general idea is to remove coffee grinds from the moving parts of your grinder to prevent coffee and coffee oil buildup. 

At home, I use a domestic Sunbean burr grinder and will generally clean my grinder after every 5 kilos of coffee I put through it. As you can imagine, my grinder gets quite a good work out and that will usually mean I clean my grinder every fortnight. You might want to clean your grinder more in line with a monthly or bi-monthly cycle - it all depends on how fussy you are and how much coffee you consume. 

To clean my Sunbeam EM0480 grinder, here is what I do;

  • turn off the power at the wall and disconnect the power plug for safety. 
  • empty the coffee bean hopper (that's usually not a problem as the hopper is always 'near empty'. You can dump your unused coffee beans into a container for use later). 
  • Depending on your grinder configuration, separate the top burr from the bottom burr. 
  • Since the hopper is completely plastic, with no metal parts, I will dunk it into warm mild soapy water and give it a good gentle clean, to remove any coffee oil build up. 
  • Be careful with moisture and water around the burr set, since depending on the grade of steel used, it could be open to rust if it gets wet. Under normal use, the coffee oils will provide protection from moisture (that's my opinion and possibly not fact). 
  • Clean the burr set with a dry toothbrush. Pay attention to the underside of the top burr set, as any built up coffee grinds will affect your grind sensitivity settings, generally givving you a finer grind than you expected at a particular setting. 
  • Give the burr set housing a good general clean with the toothbrush and shake as much coffee grounds out of the housing that you practically can. 
  • Dry the hopper and reassemble the burr set and hopper. 
  • fill with coffee beans
  • enjoy a coffee from a fresh clean grinder - it almost always feels better with a feeling of accomplishment.

Depending on your finances, you may decide to replace your burr set with a fresh burr set. My burr set is 4 years old and would have seen approximately 500 kilos of coffee, and while it grinds slower now than it probably should, I have not replaced the burr set with a new set. A replacement burr set for the Breville EM0480 runs at $100, of which I would prefer to put towards a new grinder at year 5 (which is when the factory warranty expires).

How to clean a Espresso Machine

Cleaning your espresso machine is both rewarding and good for your machine. Like cleaning your coffee grinder, the process will depend on your specific make and model, but generally you want to clean the group head and the valves inside the machine by back flushing. 

With my Rancillio Silvia, I will give my machine a general clean after each use as good practice, and will then give it a through clean every month - you might want to extend that to bi monthly, quarterly or every 6 months, depending on your usage. 

After each coffee making session, I will do what I call the 'portafilter shuffle', which is basically wiggling the portafilter with the group head water running through the group head. That will assist in removing any coffee grounds between the coffee group head and the group head seal. also cleaning the shower screen while giving the portafilter and basket a nice rinse. If I use the steam wand for milk, I will give the steam wand an extra blast (to clear out any milk inside the wand, then clean the wand with a cloth warmed from the steam (be careful). Other than wipe the machine down, that's pretty much all I do out of habit. 

On a monthly cycle, I also give my machine a back flush by using a back flush blanking plate for the portafilter and back flushing powder. Use just a quarter teaspoon of powder, backflush according to the directions, repeat a few times and then follow up with a backflush series of just water to clean out the pipes from the backflushing solution. Empty the drip tray and your done. (I will generally give the group head seal a clean using a stiff group head seal brush, while the backflush solution is still in the system and then continue backflushing).

How to store your coffee beans?

Coffee beans can be stored in the bag they come in - remove as much air as you can from the pack before resealing the bag. 500g bags are resealable using the ziplock, 1kg bags are not resealable, but you can fold the bag down and seal with a clip, or empty the bag into a resealable container. Keep your beans in the pantry, not the fridge to avoid condensation and flavours mixing with fridge odours. The enemy to fresh roasted coffee (or any coffee) is air, so anything you can do to minimise the air is going to be of benefit. As you use up your beans, if you transfer your beans to a smaller container (with less air space remaining), that will help. Vacuum is a great idea if you have the facility.

Freshness, coffee bag valves and use-by dates?

Bay Beans coffee is roasted fresh for you the day after you place your order - we do not keep any coffee beans on a shelf. In contrast, supermarket coffee can be 12 months old before you even buy it, so you're way ahead with Bay Beans fresh roasted coffee beans already. I suggest beans are at their peak for one month, but I know of people that regularly keep coffee beans for three to six months. Its completely up to your taste.

Bay Beans coffee 1kg bags are packed in one-way valve, foil lined bags for ultimate freshness. 500g bags also include a ziplock for easy resealing.

Roasted Coffee releases CO2 which means that over time the pressure inside the coffee bag increases “blowing the bag up like a balloon”. To solve this situation one way degassing valves were created. The valves are made of PET. These valves let the CO2 escape without allowing air to re-enter the bag, resulting in a fresher bag of coffee. When the pressure reaches 0.1375psi (9.5 millibar) the valve will release the air from bag automatically until the pressure decreases to 0.0375psi(2.6millibar). Degassing valves are a coffee industry standard and are highly recommended. We only provide the best quality valves from Switzerland and Italy. 

What is a tamp?

A 'Tamp' will drastically improve the quality of your coffee when extracted with a coffee machine, by compressing the coffee bean grounds to ensure your machine pushes the hot water, under pressure, through the coffee at an even rate, without taking any lazy paths through a channel in your coffee grounds. If you dont have a Tamp, please contact us for advice. 

Crema - who is that?

Crema is golden in colour and sits on top of your coffee. Your aim is to produce an esspresso base with crema, indicating fresh beans and a tasty coffee. 

How to prepare Plunger coffee and how much coffee for my plunger or drip filter?

For each cup (200ml) of hot water, use one tablespoon (15 grams) of coarse ground coffee beans. So, if you are making a four-cup pot of coffee, add four tablespoons of coffee to the pot and then add your water. Here is the technique I use at home;

Plunger french press brewing techniques

  • use scales where possible for coffee and water. 
  • grind coffee beans to coarse plunger grind
  • use 75g of coffee per litre of hot water (ie: 25g/330ml water, 50g/660ml, 75g/1000ml water)
  • pour hot (not boling water) into preheated beaker.
  • 4 mins brew time
  • stir once at begining of brew
  • at 4 mins, break froth, then scoop out sludge. 
  • plunge and pour. 

How much coffee should I use for my percolator?

Typically, five tablespoons of ground coffee beans, but refer to your percolator's instructions.

Flat White Vs Cappuccino Vs Short Black Vs Espresso Vs Latte

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.