All coffee drinks begin as espresso – learn how to dose, pack, tamp and
extract the perfect espresso.
All milky drinks require milk textured for foam or in a wet creamy style.
Learn the two milk-texturing techniques.
Learn what the recipes are for the various coffee drinks on your menu; how
many shots of espresso, how much chocolate for a mocha, is it foamy milk or
creamy and wet?
THE 4 FACTORS
1 Freshness
Ideally, roasted coffee is sold in whole bean form so as not to allow its
taste, freshness or aroma to deteriorate. This aroma and freshness is
paramount to ensuring that a proper espresso is made each time.
An unopened bag of Qualitasse coffee has a shelf life of 1year. When you open
the bag, you have a freshness window of 18-24 hours. Once the coffee has been
ground, you have 1 hour. It is therefore very important that any open bag of
coffee is stored correctly. It is this reason that on the top of every bag of
Segafredo espresso, there is a small piece of tape with which you can seal an
open bag and retain some of the freshness.
Please note: to make sure that your coffee is always fresh,
only put enough coffee in the hopper to get you through the next few hours.
Also, at the end of the day empty out the hopper of any beans into a coffee
bag and store as described above.
2 Grind
Considering that espresso means “coffee quickly”, the grinding of each
dose must occur immediately prior to the actual brewing of the coffee. The
tool used for this operation is the grinder.
The degree of grinding is directly related to the extraction time of the
espresso. If the grind is correct, an espresso is extracted between 20-30
seconds. If the extraction time is lower than that, the grind may be too
coarse. An extraction time exceeding 30 seconds can indicate that the grind is
too fine.
Another main component of the grinder is the doser. This devise determines the
exact dose of coffee needed for an espresso, and this is the part that drops
the correct amount of ground espresso into the filter basket.
3 Cleanliness of the machine
The brewing heads must be cleaned on a regular basis – this is called
backflushing. Every coffee you make leaves a bit of ground coffee in these
brewing heads, they brew t 90C. Coffee burns at this temperature if left in
the head all day. Therefore we must backflush on a regular basis. We recommend
at least 4 times a day. The cleaning section in the back of this manual gives
you step-by-step details.
4 The hand of the Barista
Does the person making the coffee drink understand how to pull the perfect
Espresso and texture milk for the perfect Cappuccino?
THE PERFECT ESPRESSO
The International Standard for espresso extraction is:
- 7-7 ½ grams of ground coffee dosed into correct handle.
- Tamped: using 12-15 kg of pressure
- Brewed at a temperature between 88-92oC
- Under pressure of 9 bars or 131 PSI
- With an extraction time of between 20 and 30 seconds maximum.
Step one:
Choose the correct handle for the drink you plan to make
Use single handle for:
Single Espresso
Small Cappuccino
Small Caffe latte
Small Caffe mocha
Use double handle for:
Double Espresso
Large Cappuccino
Large Caffe latte
Large Caffe mocha
Americano
Step two:
The taste of your coffee will be directly affected by the amount of coffee you
dispense into your handle:
Single handle: One complete pull, no more – no less
Double handle: Two complete pulls, no more – no less
Tamp the coffee. Hold the handle in your left hand and pull up gently,
with 2 fingers of your right hand push down firmly using app. 12kg of
pressure.
Wipe the excess grounds from the rim of the filter.
Note: this will ensure you don’t have a build up of coffee
grounds on the rubber seal in the brewing head. Over time this will damage the
seal and cause the grounds to leak over the coffee drink being prepared.
Brew the espresso into an measuring shot glass and time how long it takes to
reach the measurement line...
20
25
30
Seconds
Less than 20 seconds:
The coffee will be thin, watery, taste weak and sour due to
under-extraction caused by being exposed to water for too little
time.
More than 30 seconds:
The coffee will be watery, taste bitter and burnt
due to over- extraction caused by being exposed to water for too
much time.
HOW TO FOAM AND STEAM MILK
For the best results… always use full fat cold milk!
Step one:
Fill the jug between 1/3 and 1/2 full.
YOU WILL BE DOUBLING THE VOLUME OF THE MILK, SO NEVER FILL MORE
THAN 1/2.
Step two:
Insert the tip of the nozzle in the centre, just under the
surface of the milk.
Step three:
Fully open the steam
valve.
Step four:
As the milk takes in air, you will hear
an intermittent hissing sound. Continue lowering the jug in
one motion, so that the nozzle is always just under the
surface of the milk. The lowering will stretch the milk and
create the foam.
Step five:
When the temperature reaches 150 F, turn the steam arm off
and remove the jug from the steam wand.
Step six:
WIPE THE STEAM ARM WITH A DAMP CLOTH. THIS CLOTH SHOULD ONLY BE USED FOR THE STEAM ARM!
Do not exceed 160oF as the milk will scorch and the drink will burn
your tongue.
When using milk left over from the last drink, always add fresh milk
(remember not to exceed the ½ full rule). You must add fresh milk
to regenerate the protein content that creates the foam.
At the end of the process, the milk must be wet, thick, dense,
creamy and sweet.
DRINK RECIPES
Espresso
- Take the handle out of the espresso machine and
discard any used coffee
- Place the handle under the grinder and dispense 1
pull for a single handle and pulls for a double.
- Tamp (press) the coffee down and wipe the rim of the
basket before placing into the machine.
- Serve the espresso directly into the cup.
Cappuccino
-
Make
the espresso as above. (One shot for regular & two shots
for large).
-
Foam
the milk as described on p3 and add equal parts liquid milk
and foamed milk. Remember that the secret is 1/3 espresso,
1/3 milk and 1/3 foam.
-
Dust
the cappuccino with chocolate and serve.
- Make
the espresso as above. (One shot for regular & two shots
for large).
- Foam
the milk as described on p: 3 and pour rich steamed milk
into the cup until it is nearly at the top.
- At
the last moment, pour ¼ inch of foam into the cup to dress
the drink.
Caffe Mocha
- Add
enough chocolate syrup or powder for the cup being used.
- Make
an espresso as above. (One shot for regular & two shots
for large).
- Foam
the milk as described on p: 3 and pour rich steamed milk
into the cup until it is nearly at the top.
- At
the last moment, pour ¼ inch of foam into the cup to dress
the drink.
- Alternatively,
instead of using foam, dress with fresh whipped cream or
marshmallow.
Caffe Americano
-
Make
the espresso as above. (Two shots).
-
In
a separate jug, fill with hot water (just off the boil).
-
Carefully
pour the hot water into the cup with the espresso until the
cup is full.
-
If
made correctly, the cup should still have a golden layer of
crema on the top.
DAILY AND WEEKLY ESPRESSO MACHINE CLEANING PROCEDURES
GLOSSARY
Arabica – Is the quality bean, has half the caffeine of
robusta, grows at higher altitudes, matures slowly and is
handpicked.
Barista – A bartender trained in espresso preparation.
Bean Hopper – Stores coffee beans prior to grinding. A
tinted hopper preserves the beans from light. The hopper should have
no more beans than necessary for service that day.
Blank Filter – Used to clean the diffuser by fitting the
group handle with a blank filter and back flushing with water
several times a day. Once a week the blank filter can be used to
back flush with a neutral detergent.
Caffeine – Is a compound found naturally in coffee and more
than 60 other plants. It is an odourless, slightly bitter –
tasting solid that dissolves easily in water or alcohol.
Cake – The spent coffee from the group handle should knock
out in a firm almost dry condition after extraction. This is called
a cake.
Crema – The crema on an espresso should be a 0.03-inch
thick, rich and golden-caramel coloured foam.
Decaffeinated – Whatever method is used, the decaffeinated
green bean must contain than 0.1% caffeine to comply with EEC
REGULATIONS. This corresponds to about 3 mg caffeine in a cup of
decaffeinated coffee.
Dry processing – Coffee processed by removing the husk or
fruit after the coffee berries have been dried. The process produces
“natural” coffees.
Espresso – Espresso is made to order from freshly ground
beans. The perfect espresso is 7 grams of coffee extracted for 25
seconds, no more than 40mls, served in a warm cup.
Grinder/doser – The machine used to grind the coffee beans
prior to extracting a cup of coffee.
Group Handle – Portable coffee filter to be fitted with a
single or double brewing basket in the preparation of espresso
coffee.
Group Head – This is the part of the machine from which hot
water is dispersed through group handle.
Robusta – Is grown at lower altitudes, has a quicker growth
cycle, which is easier to process and used to enhance certain coffee
blends characteristics.
We
have moved the online barista training guide to a dedicated site...
