So, you just bought the Barista Express? Yes, it’s an expensive machine; but arguably the best for the price.
Or maybe you don’t even like coffee, but you want to learn more about it? Do you want to be able to pour yourself or your friends the perfect cup of coffee? Or are you just curious if you’ve been doing it right all along? Or maybe you don’t even like coffee, but you want to learn more about it?
You’ve come to the right place if you’re looking to learn how to use the Barista Express. We’ve been using it for a few years and have some tips to share.
1. The grinder is more important than the machine
Espresso machines that fall in the price range of $1000-$2000 are usually better in terms of added temperature controls and more consistent and powerful brewing components when compared to cheaper machines. However, after a certain point, the return on investment starts to diminish. This is according to Clive Coffee, my favorite retailer of home espresso gear. In an article discussing how to choose a grinder, they say that “any espresso machine over $2000 and under $8000 pretty much works the same way.”
It is important to have a good coffee grinder because it produces coffee particles that are more consistently sized. This results in more evenly extracted coffee, which prevents the coffee from becoming bitter. Tests have shown that having a better grinder results in a better tasting drink.
Spending 40 percent of your budget on a grinder is a good idea, according to Clive Coffee. I mostly agree, but if you are a beginner, you might not need the best machine. A good grinder will last longer, so it is a better investment in the long run.
2. Use great beans, or you’re wasting your time
Fresh beans are generally better for espresso. I found that I like my espresso beans to be between 5 and 15 days old, which is in line with professional consensus.
I have a friend who is wealthy and helps run a large coffee company. He had an $8,000 machine that he would use to grind beans every few weeks at a café. However, this defeats the purpose of having a nice machine because oxidation and off-gassing happen quickly after grinding, which accelerates aging. If you want to make espresso at home, you need to grind at home for the best results. Once this person got a home grinder, he said it was “life-changing.”
Most coffee geeks agree that the best way to store beans is in an airtight container in a cool dry place. The fridge is not recommended because moisture and scents from other food can be absorbed by coffee beans. It is also best to avoid storing coffee in hot, damp or sunlit places. If your coffee grinder has a hopper, it is best not to fill it with more beans than you will use in one day. This is because beans will age faster in the hopper than in storage containers.
If you want to keep your beans fresh for a vacation, the best way to do it is by breaking them up into small bags and freezing them. Vacuum sealing is also a good option to keep them fresh. They will last a few months this way, but once they thaw out (sealed, to avoid condensation), the clock starts again. In my experiments, the beans will still be acceptable after thawing, but things won’t be exactly the same.
3. Setting up the grind on the Barista Express
The grind of the coffee is responsible for adjusting the pressure needed to force water through the coffee.
The pressure gauge on the top of the machine is how you will know when the pressure is right.
The Barista Express has 3 adjustment you can make to your grind:
- Grind size wheel (course > fine)
- Dosage amount (how much it grinds)
- Dosage size (single or double)
FRESH coffee is the most important thing for getting your grind right. If you bought your coffee from a supermarket, the beans are likely not fresh.
The beans will sit in a distribution warehouse for weeks before sitting on the supermarket shelves for a few more. If it doesn’t say when the beans were roasted on the side of the pack, it’s probably not fresh.
Smaller coffee roasteries roast beans in small batches, which means they roast them closer to when they expect to sell them. Some even roast the beans the moment their customer places an order!
4. Set the correct dose amount
The dose adjuster on the Barista Express will control how much coffee the machine grinds when the portafilter is inserted. To start the grinding process, simply press and release the portafilter.
If you want to stop the grinder while it’s in use, press the portafilter back in.
If you want to grind coffee manually, you can do so by pressing and holding the portafilter in. However, this method relies on you guessing how much coffee to grind, which is not very accurate. Additionally, there is no need to do this when your Barista Express has a convenient feature that automatically dispenses the correct amount of coffee.
The goal is to get your coffee machine to dispense around 16 grams of coffee for a double shot, or 8 grams for a single shot.
To grind your coffee beans, simply place your empty portafilter on some standard kitchen scales, set it to zero, and grind the desired amount of coffee.
Push the portafilter into the grind area and dispense the coffee. Place the portafilter on your scales to see how much coffee the machine has ground.
5. Setting the dosage size is easy
On the Barista Express, you can choose to make a single or double shot espresso.
I prefer a strong coffee, so I use 16 grams of coffee with the corresponding double filter basket. However, I will discuss choosing the correct filter basket later in this article.
6. Using the Barista Express tamper
Tamping coffee is a term for compacting the ground coffee into the filter basket. When you go to a coffee shop, you may hear them forcefully compress the coffee with a loud double-click. This is because they use a device that presses the coffee to the correct compression.
There’s no need to fret if you don’t have any sophisticated equipment to compress your coffee beans. The regular coffee tamper that comes with the Sage/Breville Barista Express is more than sufficient.
The term “bed” is used to describe the top surface of ground coffee after the grinds have been pressed down. This surface should be level and flat in order to produce a good cup of coffee.
If you don’t have a tamping matt, no problem, just be extra careful not to move the portafilter around while tamping the coffee) Place the portafilter on your counter top to protect it from scratches and damage. You can get a “tamping matt” from Amazon if you want extra protection. Be careful not to move the portafilter while tamping the coffee.
7. Choosing which of the 4 filter baskets that come with the Barista Express to use
The Sage/Breville Barista Express comes with 4 filter baskets. To choose the correct basket for your coffee, simply select the one that corresponds to the grind size of your coffee. It’s important to select the right basket to ensure optimal flavor.
Now you’ve chosen your size (single or double), you need to choose the filter wall (single or double). Stay with me here:
Double Wall
The double wall filter basket is used to help extract coffee oils from more stubborn coffee. This is generally coffee that is either pre-ground or coffee that isn’t fresh.
The double wall prevents water from passing through too quickly and losing flavor. By forcing the water to pass through a second set of holes, it increases the pressure and extracts more flavor from the coffee.
If you’re using fresh coffee beans, you don’t need to use the double wall basket. This will just create unnecessary pressure on the coffee machine and result in over-extracted coffee.
Single Wall
The type of basket that is most likely to be used by your favorite coffee shop is the single wall filter. The primary reason that coffee shops use single wall filters is because they are using fresh coffee.
The wall of the basket is perforated, allowing the coffee to flow through and interact with the water for full flavor extraction.
If you use freshly ground coffee, your grind is set correctly and the coffee is tamped down well, this basket type will allow the coffee to do the work and create the perfect espresso.
8. Extracting the perfect Espresso on the Barista Express
This is where you’ll make sure everything is set correctly and extract the coffee. With any luck, by the end of this step you’ll have made a coffee with a beautiful crema on top.
The pressure bar on the Barista Express machine should be pointing between 12 and 1 o’clock.
You should set the timer for 25 seconds.
Do not touch the “program” button for now. The machine is set up perfectly from the factory.
If you have already tried programming your extraction, you can reset it by holding down the program button until you hear three beeps.
9. Programming the extraction time on the Barista Express
However, this time, withhold brew water for the first 5 seconds. Then resume your pour. If you are still struggling to reach a 25 second pour, even though your pressure appears to be just right, you can try reprogramming the extraction by setting everything up as you have before. However, this time, don’t pour any brew water for the first 5 seconds. Then resume your pour.
Once you’ve filled your desired amount of coffee into the filter, press the program button. As the coffee is pouring, time 25 seconds and then press the button again.
You should not have to adjust the program settings on your machine. I know four people with a Barista Express, and they all make great coffee without having to adjust the timing. The first thing I would try is a different coffee bean.
10. A manual machine might teach you more—and last you forever
If you want to make espresso at home without spending a lot of money, buy a manual lever machine like the Cafelat Robot. It’s harder to use than an automatic machine, but it will teach you the basics of espresso making. The Robot costs around $300.
This machine is more complicated to use than others because it doesn’t have a pump or a boiler. You have to use your arms to pull levers and your own kettle to heat the water. This takes around twelve minutes, compared to one minute using an automatic machine. This machine would not be good to use if you’re in a hurry or if you’re making drinks for a lot of people.
11. Water quality matters
You might not realize it, but the water you use to make coffee can have a big impact on the flavor of your coffee. If you care about making great coffee, you need to pay attention to the quality of your water. This means more than just filtering it or using softened water to avoid mineral buildup. The type of water you use can actually affect the taste of your coffee.
It should be obvious that coffee is mostly water and that water affects taste. What might surprise you is that the purest water will not make the most delicious coffee.
Before making adjustments to the water you use in your machine, you need to understand what the water is like and if it will be safe for the machine. The hardness, scale, chlorine, and salt content, as well as the pH, could all be factors.
You will need to start with a water test to see what is in your water. Check your machine’s manual for advice or contact the machine’s manufacturer. Every manufacturer has different recommendations. I have heard some bad advice from retailers and technicians, but the scientists from the manufacturer have always been helpful.
Water quality can affect the taste of your coffee. Some people who can’t get their tap water to be ideal for coffee making recommend using bottled water. I tried it, and the water was soft enough to not damage my machine but on a par with my own tap water that I’d treated.
12. A dirty machine makes disgusting coffee, so clean it—often
34 Espresso machines are not as low-maintenance as iPhones. Espresso machines need to be cleaned and maintained frequently—daily back flushes of the brewing system, weekly deep cleans of the group heads and steam wands and tanks, and annual changes of gaskets and/or professional maintenance. Cleaning and maintaining an espresso machine is a pain, and there’s not really a way around it. My machine asks me to spend 20 minutes every Sunday night cleaning it. Forever! In general, all pump/boiler-based machines require some sort of cleaning and maintenance.
If machines aren’t given regular cleaning, the coffee grinds will build up and get into the drinks, making them taste bad. Also, if you drink a drink made with the coffee grinds buildup, it will taste disgusting.