StephPS8 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jan 2013 Posts: 5 Location: Lawrenceburg, TN Expertise: Just starting
Posted Tue Jan 15, 2013, 3:44pm Subject: Brand new to fancy coffee/espresso making
My husband and I recently purchased a deli in which there is a nice coffee/espresso machine. I am unsure the type as I am not there right now, it is a bit older, but appears to be a nice machine. The previous owners did little with the machine and while they showed us how to operate it, we really have no knowledge how to make a great product that would make people want to buy it from us. From my experience, what we have tastes weak, so I am sure we are not doing preparing it correctly. Can anyone direct me to a good starting point to begin learning? Thanks!
StephPS8 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jan 2013 Posts: 5 Location: Lawrenceburg, TN Expertise: Just starting
Posted Wed Jan 16, 2013, 8:59am Subject: Re: Brand new to fancy coffee/espresso making
emradguy--While I would love to be able to do something like that, we live in a tiny little town. There is no one in this town that even offers a nicer coffee much less have that sort of knowledge. We have talked about traveling up to Nashville (the closest BIG town) and see if we could find someone that would teach us there.
emradguy Senior Member Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 1,714 Location: Houston Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Izzo Alex Duetto II Grinder: MacapM4T, Macap M4, OE Lido,... Drip: Espro press; Aeropress Roaster: internet
Posted Wed Jan 16, 2013, 9:38am Subject: Re: Brand new to fancy coffee/espresso making
one of the board moderators lives near Nashville in Brentwood. There's a great coffee house in Nashville called Barista Parlour. Maybe you could get some help or even a recommendation for someone from one of them? Another option would be to enroll in a class somewhere you may have to drive to or fly to. Counter Culture in Raleigh-Durham comes to mind, or there are classes offered at KlatchRoasting in California, and there are other places to find classes too. Might be worth the investment to help you get further up the learning curve faster, since you have a business to promote.
Well...anyhow, I'm just trying to offer suggestions. I wish you guys well. I certainly second the recommendation of that link provided. It's a great tool for helping improve technique.
StephPS8 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jan 2013 Posts: 5 Location: Lawrenceburg, TN Expertise: Just starting
Posted Wed Jan 16, 2013, 10:14am Subject: Re: Brand new to fancy coffee/espresso making
Emradguy: thanks so much for the names and information. I will make a visit to the Barista Parlour very soon. I never even thought there may be places that offered classes on this type of thing, I will also look into that option. I very much appreciate your suggestions.
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,669 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Wed Jan 16, 2013, 7:16pm Subject: Re: Brand new to fancy coffee/espresso making
Welcome to the board.
There is a whole lot that you need to learn.you can do it but it will take time and a whole lot of work.
It is almost like you posted a message saying that your business came with an aircraft and you want to fly passengers for hire.
We are here to answer any question you ask, but as said, a week long class is what you need. Hands on instruction with someone helping each step of the way.
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
StephPS8 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jan 2013 Posts: 5 Location: Lawrenceburg, TN Expertise: Just starting
Posted Thu Jan 17, 2013, 6:44am Subject: Re: Brand new to fancy coffee/espresso making
callbacksmith: Love your analogy! LOL That is sort of how it feels. We bought the deli, it came with this coffee machine, and we want to make use of it. Our main business is sandwiches/wraps, but there is no one in our town that makes a nicer coffee, so if we can come up to speed with our knowledge, I think we could develop a good business. Thanks for the welcome.
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,669 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Thu Jan 17, 2013, 7:55am Subject: Re: Brand new to fancy coffee/espresso making
LOL! It really is not as bad as learning to fly! There is a lot to understand and quality coffee is like fine dining, both take a while to master. In it's simplest form, you are pushing water through ground coffee. Assuming for the moment that the machine is adjusted properly, you need a scale that reads in 0.1 g Grind enough coffee to equal from 14 to 18g (what you use is not as important as staying with the SAME weight of coffee, I use 18g but that is what I like) put the ground coffee into the basket that is in the porta filter (the handle that locks into the machine) use a tamper to compress the coffee to about 30 pounds of pressure, again exact number is not important but being consistent is. Depending on your machine, you might need to "flush" water from the group, if you push the brew button with nothing on the group, and the water flashes to steam, you have a HX type of machine and you need to bleed the over temp water from the system, only let enough water flow to get a smooth stream of water. If you have a double boiler machine, your water temp will be close to correct just sitting there.
Lock the PF into the machine and start the brewing. If all is well, you will get 2 fluid oz of coffee in about 25 to 30 seconds. If it is faster than that, grind finer, if the time is longer grind more coarse.
Use fresh coffee, less than two weeks FROM THE DAY IT WAS ROASTED, if there is not date on the bag then the coffee is stale before you got it, go and buy fresh coffee from a quality roaster.
That is it in a nut shell, there is a WHOLE lot more to learn but this will get you started down the road anyway
Good luck!
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
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