Milk Texturing
What not to do
If you start with your steam wand too
low in the milk you will add heat but no texture. The steam will scream against the bottom of the pitcher and you will likely achieve poor quality milk as a result.
Best Practice
Start with the steam wand just below the milks surface and at an angle pointing to one side of the pitcher with a slight gap between the tip of the wand and the edge.
Turn on your steam wand and the angle where it is placed should cause the milk to spin in a vortex resulting in a paper tear sound.
As this paper tear sound takes place you want to slowly lower the jug to stretch the milk. Continue this for 4-5 seconds for latte quality milk and 6-10 seconds for cappuccino quality milk (depending on your preferred level of foam)
When your milk is stretched as per your preference lift the jug to submerge the wand (keeping the angle constant) this will then increase the temperature of the milk.
Coffee Levels & Tamping
Fast extraction & wet coffee puck
If you do not have enough coffee in the portafilter then you will likely have a fast extraction and a wet coffee puck at the end.
Slow extraction & dry coffee puck
If your extraction is slow and the coffee puck is dry at the end you will either have coffee which is too fine or have too much in the portafilter.
One Side Extraction
If you coffee is extracting out of just one side of a double portafilter, check your tamping level. If you tamp at an angle the water will find the easiest route to flow through
Perfect Extraction
A perfect extraction should result in a solid coffee puck at the end and the coffee should flow back on itself as it extracts.
Getting the grind right
Setting a grinder up initially can be tricky. The coffee needs to be fine enough to pick up the flavour profiles of the coffee, however not too fine to over extract the coffee.
The best way to think of this is comparing a bucket of sand and a bucket of gravel. If you pour water over a bucket of gravel the water will pass through quickly to the bottom, if you pour water over a bucket of sand it will slowly seep through the sand until it reaches the bottom.
All our coffees come with brew recipes for how to make the perfect coffee. These should include how many grams of coffee are required and how long extraction should take based on this.
Remember.. Adjustments made to how course the coffee is ground, how much coffee is ground, and tamping pressure can all make a difference. Ensure that you only adjust one thing at a time and then test. Small adjustments can make a big difference.
