How To Pull The Perfect Espresso Shot Using A Breville Barista Express Machine
How To Pull The Perfect Espresso Shot Using A Breville Barista Express Machine
Pulling the perfect espresso could definitely seem intimidating and difficult at first. Especially when you’re dealing with so many variables; the grind size, tamping pressure, beans to espresso ratio, the type of coffee beans you’re using, the age of the beans, etc… So, to help ease you into pulling a balanced and delicious espresso, we’ll be covering some common mistakes that many people make, how to fix it, and some tips that we ourselves use and recommend.
Let’s start with the most important variable, the beans. The type of beans you use to pull your shot is going to make a huge difference in the taste and crema of the espresso. There’s so many components to the beans that’ll change your shot. For example, the origin of the beans, the age (when it’s been roasted), the roast (light, medium, dark), and whether you’re using whole beans or coffee that’s already been roasted.
If you’re trying to pull a shot that has great crema for latte art, we would recommend using an espresso blend.
A single-origin bean, especially if it’s a light roast, might be overpowered by milk, flavorings, etc. That being said, it’s totally a personal preference. So try out a variety of beans and see what you like best! If you want to try out some great beans click here.
The roast date also plays a big role in not just the taste, but the amount of crema as well. Ideally you want to use beans about one week after being roasted (so that they have time to de-gas) up until about four weeks. After four weeks, the espresso tends to come out way too quick (under 28 seconds) and is pretty dang flat. The best thing you could do to avoid this is to buy coffee from a local coffee shop or roaster. If you’re buying beans from the grocery store, chances are they’ve been sitting on that shelf for a while and will be pretty stale. If grocery store coffee beans are all you have access to, look for a sticker on the bag that has the roast date on it. Although rare, some brands will have this sticker letting you know when it’s been roasted.
Lastly, when it comes to beans, please don’t use ground beans. Whole beans is the way to go. Especially if you have a Breville Barista Express machine, it has a built-in grinder, and if you have an espresso machine that doesn’t have a ginder and are using a separate grinder, it’s best to only grind the amount of coffee you’ll be using for your cup.
So how much coffee do you need to grind? The standard ratio for a double shot espresso is 18 grams of beans for 60 ml (2 fluid ounces) of espresso. And when you’re pulling the espresso shot, it should take about 28-32 seconds from the moment the espresso starts flowing to the moment it stops. If you have a Barista Express machine and use the automatic option for grinding beans for a double shot, you’ll end up with about 15 grams of beans instead of 18. This is why we recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh out 18 grams and throw only that into the hopper (which is otherwise empty). I know this is an extra step that might seem inconvenient but it’s worth it!
If you choose to skip this step and want beans in the hopper ready to go, then we suggest you add only enough for about two days. Because the hopper isn’t completely airtight, they go stale a lot quicker and heat up a bit from the machine. Also, since humidity plays a role in how your shot will get pulled, leaving the beans in the hopper will be affected by this more so.
Now let’s talk about the grind size. On the left hand side of the Barista Express machine you’ll see a knob to change the grind size. This plays a huge role in how quick or slow the extraction rate is and essentially, how well your shot will come out. It’s important to note that the smaller the number, the more fine the grind will be. On the contrary, the larger the number, the more coarse the grind will be. If the grind is too fine (smaller number), it’ll result in an extraction rate that’s over 32 seconds and you won’t get the 2 ounces of espresso. It’ll end up tasting burnt, acidic, and gross. On the other hand, if the grind is too coarse(larger number), the extraction rate will be under 28 seconds, you won’t get any crema, and it’ll taste watery.
The last thing I want to bring up is tamping. If you ever looked up how much force you need to use when tamping, chances are you heard that you need to use 30 pounds of pressure. That’s kind of ridiculous. How does anyone know what 30 pounds of pressure is supposed to feel like? Most kitchen scales don’t even go up to 30 pounds and that’s what people suggest you use for this part. Our advice? Ditch the 30 pounds rule and instead, use consistent even pressure and press down parallel to the surface.
If you always use the same amount of pressure that’s one less variable you have to worry about when dialing in your machine. The most important part about tamping is that it’s even (not lopsided where one end is higher than the other) so that you’re left with a uniform coffee puck.
Whew that was a lot! I know this might seem confusing at first or a little difficult to understand. Trust me, I’ve been there! The best thing you could do is practice until you understand how the different components of the machine work. And remember, when making adjustments only change one variable at a time. If your espresso is coming out way too fast, don’t go making a ton of changes. Start with one thing, perhaps the grind size, and go from there. It’ll be a lot more difficult to nail the espresso shot if you’re changing a bunch of things because you won’t know which one worked. In the end, the Barista Express is a great machine that’s pretty forgiving! It just takes a little practice to get the basics down.
If you'd like to watch the full YouTube video where we show you step by step how to pull shots click here.
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