Coffee Making Tips - Breville BES820XL Manual

COFFEE MAKINg TIpS

WARMINg YOuR Cup OR gLASS
A warm cup will help maintain the coffee's
optimal temperature. Preheat your cup by
storing on the cup warming tray or rinsing
with hot water from the hot water wand.
WARMINg THE FILTER HOLDER
A cold filter holder can drop the extraction
temperature enough to significantly affect
the quality of your coffee. Always ensure
the filter holder is preheated by running
hot water through it before tamping it with
coffee.
NOTE: Always wipe the filter and filter
holder dry before tamping with
ground coffee as moisture can
encourage 'drilling' - this is when
water bypasses the ground coffee
during extraction.
THE gRIND
If using a pre-ground coffee, ensure an
espresso grind suitable for espresso/
cappuccino machines is purchased.
If grinding coffee beans, the grind should
be fine but not too fine or powdery. The
grind will effect the rate at which the water
flows through the coffee in the filter and
therefore the taste of the coffee.
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If the grind is too fine (looks like powder
and feels like flour when rubbed between
fingers), the water will not flow through the
coffee even when under pressure. The
resulting coffee will be over extracted, too
dark and bitter, with a mottled and uneven
créma on top.
If the grind is too coarse the water will flow
through the coffee too quickly. This will
result in an under-extracted coffee lacking
in flavor and without the thick créma on
the top layer of coffee.
THE RIgHT MEASuREMENT
A single espresso is made with ¼ ounce or
7g of coffee. A level measure of the tamp/
spoon is the correct amount of coffee for a
single espresso and 2 level measures for a
double espresso. It is important to use the
correct filter for the amount of coffee.
TAMpINg CORRECTLY
Level the desired amount of coffee by
gently tapping the side of the filter holder
before pressing down firmly with the
tamping end of the measuring spoon.
When packing for a double espresso it is
important only to tamp after the second
measure. Tamping between measures
will create a layer in the coffee that can
impede full extraction.
puRgE THE gROup HEAD
Before inserting the filter holder, run
some water through the group head. It
will ensure that your machine has a last
minute 'clean through' and stabilizes the
temperature prior to extracting.
NOTE: Make sure to wipe off any excess
coffee from the rim of the filter to
ensure a proper seal is achieved
under the group head.
BREWINg YOuR ESpRESSO
The most common mistake in brewing is
to over extract from your ground coffee.
This results in a bitter beverage with visibly
bleached créma. Créma is the caramel
colored layer that floats on top of the
coffee following extraction.
NOTE: The taste of your coffee will, of
course, depend on personal
preference and on many other
factors such as the type of
coffee bean used, the coarseness
or fineness of the grind and the
tamping pressure (pressed down).
We recommend experimenting by
varying these factors to achieve
the coffee taste of your preference.