Coffee
What is an Aera Press?
An Aera Press is a peculiar and lovely device – easily the most durable and portable option for brewing quality coffee. It produces a cup that’s thick and focused.
What’s the process?
Step 1
Bring to a boil enough water for both the AeroPress and your brew vessel. 400 grams ought to do it.
Step 2
Insert a paper filter into the AeroPress’s detachable plastic cap.
Step 3
Weigh out 15 grams of coffee.
Step 4
Grind your coffee. AeroPress calls for a fine grind – just a bit more so than drip coffee.
Step 5
Assemble your AeroPress. Make sure the entire assembly is dry, since any residual moisture can compromise the device’s seal.
Step 6
Place it on your scale with the flared end up, and then tare the weight. The numbers should appear upside-down. It’s possible to attach the black filter cap and place it right side-up, but this tends to cause leakage and make accurate brewing slightly more difficult.
Step 7
Add your ground coffee. Be careful not to spill any grounds into the ring-shaped gutter at the top of the AeroPress, as this can make attaching the cap a challenge later on.
Step 8
Add twice the volume of water to your amount of grounds. For example, if you’ve got 15 grams of coffee, add 30 grams of water. Your water ought to be about 200 F.
Step 9
Gently immerse the grounds with a bamboo paddle or butter knife. The goal here is not to stir them so much as it is to guarantee even saturation. Let this sit for 30 seconds.
Step 10
Add another 160 grams of water and let sit for one minute.
Step 11
Use the remainder of your water (it should be about 200 grams) to wet your filter and cap. The water will serve a dual function here: It will both help the filter adhere to the cap, and it will heat your brewing vessel.
Step 12
After a minute has elapsed, give your grounds 10 vigorous stirs.
Step 13
Screw the cap onto the Aero Press. You’re in very close proximity to seriously hot coffee here, so please be careful.
Step 14
Flip the whole assembly over with haste and control and purpose. All three. Position it atop your brew vessel and begin applying downward pressure. You ought to experience about 30 pounds of resistance here. If the pushing feels too easy, your grind is likely too coarse; if it’s very hard to push, chances are the grind is a bit too fine. Your coffee’s fully brewed once it begins to make a hissing sound. This means there’s no more water to push through the device.
Step 15
Now here’s the really satisfying part, for two reasons. Once you’ve unscrewed the cap, you can pop out the filter and the puck of condensed grounds by simply pushing the Aero Press’s interior section a final inch. Then, of course, you can pour your coffee and enjoy. And please do enjoy.
What is the difference between Drip and Espresso?
The difference between the two:
The main differences between espresso and drip coffee are the fineness of the grind and the brewing time. The brewing time for espresso coffee is much shorter, made possible by coffee machines that generate up to 15 atmospheres (ATM) of pressure to force the water through the coffee.
A shot of espresso is made by forcing about 1.5 ounces of nearly boiling water through tightly packed, finely ground espresso coffee. If everything goes well, what comes out is a dark brown, slightly thick liquid with a small amount of CREMA on top.
There are many variables in the process of making a shot of espresso. The temperature of the water, the pressure of the water, the fineness of the ground coffee and how tightly the coffee is packed are just a few.Espresso coffee is a blend of several different types of coffee beans from different countries. The beans are roasted until they are dark and oily-looking.
The beans are ground very finely -- much finer than for drip coffee. The consistency is almost like powdered sugar. The more finely the coffee is ground, the slower the espresso comes out. Generally, for the best shot of espresso, it should take about 25 seconds for the water to pass through the coffee. Sometimes, the consistency of the grind is adjusted to control the brewing time.
Drip coffee is dripping boiling water over ground coffee, which is ground more coarsely than espresso coffee. The water filters through the coffee and falls into a pot. This process is slower than the espresso process, and hot water is in contact with the ground coffee for much longer. Surprisingly, a cup of drip coffee has more caffeine than a shot of espresso.
What makes good coffee?
What makes a good bean?
The job is usually to pick the beans at the height of ripeness and then carefully process them so that the bean stands on its own and isn’t impacted by any rough, careless, negligent handling at the mill where it’s processed. Coffee beans have lots of parents. Some people say that a coffee gets handled by up 150 different people before it goes down the gullet. (Don’t worry – not always literally handled.) It helps to have cultivators of Coffea Arabica that produce better tasting coffee (as opposed to producing just lots of coffee). Typica and Bourbon are common older varieties (you could almost call them heirlooms) that produce good tasting coffee beans.
Some coffee beans can look lovely and yet have no taste. Some beans can look awful and taste delicious. Some ripe coffee cherries can look great – but be really light and low quality – so looks ain’t all that matters. It’s what’s inside!
It helps to grow at higher altitudes (above 3,500 to 5,500 feet) so that the bean doesn’t get too hot or grow too fast and take on more water. As higher grown beans, good beans are denser – (they grow slower) and are better able to handle the intense heat in a roaster
It helps to be picked when the beans are super ripe – big, red, and meaty – mature and fully developed. Normally they should be milled right away so that the inherent quality of the bean can stand on its own and not be influenced by the fruit or the interaction of the fruit with water and warm weather and microbial activities that can impact (usually in a negative way) the bean. Good beans will come from diligent and careful handling in the mill in order to not have the good ones compromised by the bad beans in the mill. Good segregation means the good ones get set aside.
Essentially any good bean starts out good and the trick is not to have it compromised on the way to your cup. There’s generally very little anyone can do to improve the quality of a coffee bean – but there are lots of ways to deleteriously affect the quality of the coffee. Imagine a long slow battle hammering away at beans – the barbarians of carelessness, inattention, thoughtlessness and inexperience.
Other things that help:
- For the farmer to have vision, hope, knowledge and a steady buyer with clear expectations and a ready check book.
- A roaster that is willing to pay attention to the potential a coffee has and not just cook and bake it or roast the heck out of it.
- You the customer – taking care to use a nice brewer, clean water, cleaning it regularly, serving and enjoying it fresh.
What makes a Good crema
There are several elements to "extracting" espresso coffee and achieving rich, creamy crema.
The beans
Some beans will never produce crema, even some that are sold as espresso roast. The best espresso roasts use primarily Arabica beans, which originated in Ethiopia, but have spread, throughout the coffee-growing world. Some Robusta beans are typically included in the blend because of their ability to generate crema. Most people imagine espresso roast beans to be dark, but it all depends on the roast.
The grind
It seems everything has to be just so when making espresso and producing good crema. The next thing is the grind. Basically you are aiming at not allowing the water to pass through too quickly, but not making the grind so fine that your machine won't be able to force the water through without straining. This is achieved in two ways: the fineness of the grind of the beans, and the tamping of the beans in the portafilter. To achieve good crema, for a double shot, extract 2 to 2.5 ounces of coffee into your cup in 20 to 30 seconds from the moment you turn on the pump. You will see this referred to in various places as "The Golden Rule". (I have a completely different Golden Rule for perfect espresso you should read about.) A single shot should still take 20 to 30 seconds, but now you will want 1 to 1.5 ounces of coffee in your cup.
Tamping
Tamping is the process of pressing down on the ground coffee in the portafilter with a tool known as a tamper. The tamper should fit snuggly into the filter basket. Tamp with even pressure of about 30lbs. How do you know what 30lbs is? Get out your scales and put them on the counter and practice so that you get the feel for how hard you need to press down. Tamping is aimed at achieving an even and consistent flow of the water through the coffee. If the coffee is packed unevenly, the water will find its way through gaps in the coffee, flowing too quickly through them for there to be a good extraction; most of the water will flow through the more loosely packed coffee, and not flowing through some of the coffee in the filter basket at all. In fact it is possible to bang out the coffee after the extraction is finished and see whole areas of coffee that are completely dry. You can't make good crema without tamping your coffee before the extraction.
Correct brewing temperature.
The temperature of the water has to be hot enough to caramelize the sugars in the coffee to make the crema. The optimal temperature range is around 92 to 96 degrees Celsius (198 - 205 Fahrenheit). The best machines use a metal for the boiler that has good heat retention, such as brass. Also, many machines offer separate boilers for coffee brewing and steam generation. This is because the water used for steaming has to be heated to a higher temperature than is the optimal temperature range for brewing the coffee.
Correct brewing pressure
Effective brewing requires pressure of at least 130 psi, which some domestic machines just don't seem capable of. The pressure rating for your machine will be quoted in "bars". Many of the cheaper domestic machines achieve 8 bars of pressure, which is a stretch when it comes to achieving good crema. Get a machine that is rated about twice that. Sometimes these machines are described as "semi-commercial", but don't you believe it; consider this the minimum standard for your home espresso machine.
At the beginning, you will have to accept a certain amount of trial and error. Practice, practice, and practice some more. Vary everything: the grind, the amount of tamping pressure you use, and your beans.
With just a little bit of practice, provided you are using good fresh beans, you too will be pulling the perfect espresso shot with a rich layer of crema!
Making the perfect Coffee
How to make the perfect Cafe Latte at home
Observing a barista whip together a specially crafted espresso drink can feel a little like watching a magician. A little bit of steam, some fancy arm movements and suddenly a perfect creamy latte with just a hint of foam appears ready for you to enjoy.
Unfortunately those lattes from your favourite java spots can start to add up, budget-wise. The disposable cups, lids and sleeves used to hold the drinks also contribute to unnecessary waste.
So, can you pull off the same coffee magic at home? Absolutely. Making a latte at home takes just a few simple steps. No elaborate machines needed. Just:
- Coffee or espresso
- Milk
Directions:
1. Brew up a batch of double strong coffee. If you have an espresso maker, make 1 to 2 shots of espresso.
2. While the coffee is brewing, heat 1 to 1 ½ cups organic milk in a saucepan. Two percent milk will make a creamier, rich latte, but skim or one percent will also work. You can also give soy, almond, hemp or rice milk a try!
3. Use a whisk and a little muscle to whip the milk into froth. If you’re not into the arm workout (or your arm gets tired before the milk has heated), you could use a blender or food processor instead.
4. Pour the coffee or espresso into your favourite mug. Leave a little room for the milk and foam. Then drizzle the milk over the coffee. Make sure to hold back the froth with a spoon. Finish by layering the froth over the top of the beverage.
How to make the perfect Espresso at home
1. Beans: Buy your coffee beans from a specialist supplier Antico coffee that knows how old the beans are and when and where they were processed and roasted. Fresher beans produce a better espresso, which should be viscous and full of flavour with a good crema. A bad coffee will be thin and flat-tasting.
Always buy whole beans. Fresh beans should be stored away from light and heat at a constant temperature. There's no need to store beans in the freezer; a cupboard away from a heat source will suffice, but use them within three weeks. Make sure the beans are kept in an airtight container.
2. The roast: Your bag of coffee beans should have a roast date on the back. We believe beans should be used between four days and three weeks after roasting for optimal flavour.
3. The grind: It's vital you get the grind right as this controls the rate of extraction, which in turn affects flavour. If the beans are ground too fine, a burnt or "ashy" flavour may result. If ground too coarse, the espresso will taste watery and thin, as the water will pass through too quickly without extracting all the flavours and oils in the coffee.
4. Clean and dry: Make sure there is no moisture (or old coffee grinds) in your porter filter and basket. If the coffee comes into contact with moisture, it could begin extracting too early. Use a tea towel to wipe the parts clean.
5. Tamping: Serious home baristas should invest in a tamper to compact their coffee evenly into the basket. Fill the basket about three-quarters full with ground coffee. Tap the basket on your bench to "collapse" the coffee and ensure the basket is filling evenly. Add more coffee and collapse again until full, but not overly. After tamping, the basket should be about four-fifths full. If coffee sits too hard-up against the machine's shower screen, you may get an uneven extraction; too far away and the espresso may taste muddy.
6. Purge your machine by running some water through it before making your espresso.
7. Make the espresso.
Signs of good coffee: In the first instance the machine will deliver drips before a steady stream of espresso. Fresh coffee will be slightly viscous and will almost look like it's springing back up because of the oils in the beans.
Your 30ml espresso shot should have a nice crema on top. This is the lighter, fluffier substance that sits on the surface. Crema looks like tiny bubbles and is reddish-brown or hazelnut in colour and dissipates after a minute or two. Lack of crema is a sign your coffee beans are past their best.
Cleaning and MAINTENANCE
How do I clean a Coffee Machine?
Listed below are some tips to make sure your cleanliness (or lack of it) is not affecting your ability to achieve great coffee results:
- Remove and clean the filter basket and wipe the inside of your porta filters clean many times a day. The frequency is up to you, but the more often the better.
- Rinsing your portafilter in-between shots might seem like a good idea with the above point in mind, but the extended drip time resulting from the rinse often leads to a messy, dripped upon workspace. Wipe the basket clean and dry in between shots, and adhere to the above as often as possible.
- wiping the shower screen with a cloth before purging water through the group head for every shot. This creates more consistent behaviour from the water displacement for which the shower screen is intended.
- Following on from the above, always purge between every shot to remove any excess powder in the group head. Set up a volumetric button for this function and you will have hands-free purging.
- Clean your shower screens on a daily basis by (if you can remove them) removing, wiping, rinsing and re-attaching them before back flushing with chemicals. Be warned, if you’ve never done this to your espresso machine before, the mess within will appear horrific. In the long run it’s worth doing this every day, as the particles you’ll find up there need to be physically wiped away and will not always dissolve with the use of coffee cleaner. This means you’ll be re-brewing old coffee for every shot if you let that stuff build up!
- When removing the shower screen for cleaning, take care that you don’t lose the shower screen screw and be sure to screw it back on finger-tight. The last thing you want to do here is double-thread the screw.
- Back flush with chemicals at the end of every day. If you’re worried about this, use fewer chemicals, but keep it up! Make sure you reattach your shower screen before back flushing to prevent pushing any errant coffee particles back in to the water jets of your group head.
- Purge your grinder. Whenever you’re changing coffees, finishing a shift or shutting a grinder down you need to find a way to remove all the coffee from inside the grinding chamber. Our weapon of choice at the Antico Coffee is a sweet, sweet commercial vacuum, although you will more commonly find plungers (not the filter coffee type, more the toilet/drain unclogging type) used on the grind collar once the hopper has been removed.
- Manually remove the build-up of coffee particles in your drip tray by wiping them up, as opposed to flushing them down the drain line. This will help prevent the drain line clogging, which is the last thing you need during an epic coffee rush. Be sure to run a jug of water down your drain line every day to help prevent blocking.
- Purge your group heads fully every day (using about 1.5 litres of water per group), to prevent stale water being used in the brewing process and ensure you’re pumping fresh stuff on top of your espresso.
Cleaning is only part of the picture, but creating a pristine environment for brewing will only enhance the quality of your results. Systemize as much of the above as possible and you’ll remove cleanliness as a variable which affects your results.
How do I clean a Coffee Grinder?
COFFEE GRINDER
We at Antico Coffee believe Coffee is the most important part of our business and yours too. So it’s important to ensure that all parts of the coffee making process are regulated and that means your grinder as it plays just as big of a part as your barista and coffee machine!
Oxygen and heat
Coffee is an organic, perishable product which degrades when exposed to air and heat. The longer coffee is left inside a grinder where it is exposed to both heat and oxygen, the worse it’s going to taste and behave. The vast majority of grinders will also recirculate coffee for long periods of time, meaning you’re never quite getting 100% freshly ground coffee without the occasional cleanout.
Grinding mechanics and technology
Grinders break down coffee in ways that you may not expect. Adjusting your grind size to ‘finer’ or ‘coarser’ changes the size of the particles from smaller to larger, but the resulting particles are never uniform in size. They all differ, but to put it simply, what we actually get out of a good grinder is a few large particles, a majority of particles in our target range, a bunch of tiny particles (fines) and then everything else in between.
Super-fine particles are the main reason to keep your grinder very, very clean. Being very small, they are more susceptible to the degrading effects of oxygen and heat, and due to their size and oil coating, will often end up stuck in hard-to-reach places in the grinder. Over time they will form a crust of badness which smells and tastes uncomfortably like charred peanuts. Sadly everything tastes a little like charred peanuts with a never-cleaned grinder, but I hope you never test the theory. Keep your grinder clean and be free of this madness!
How much should I clean and how often?
It’s one of the age old questions; but how clean is too clean? With coffee, the answer is that you can never be too clean — but there’s no need to stress. You need to clean as much as you’re willing and as often as you can, and the rest depends on the level of quality control you are aiming for. Here’s the grinder cleaning schedule we employ for our training grinders, to keep them in prime condition:
Daily/after each use:
The coffee chute is sealed off and excess coffee is ground.
- Make sure you grind off as much as possible during this step, to avoid excess coffee being inside the grinder or coffee beans sitting on top of the burrs for the next step.
Turn off the power.
Remove hopper.Coffee is removed and sealed in a bag.
-Remember to keep your unground coffee sealed off and in a cool, dark place to keep it fresh. Avoid your refrigerator though. If it’s a manual dosing grinder, the blades are plunged.
- This is the step that cleans inside the grinder and is where you’ll get the biggest benefits. You’ll need to source a ribbed toilet plunger to do this (for the love of god, don’t grab the one in your toilet right now!) The plunger should sit flush over the blades and seal over the collar. Plunge away, and make sure you’re catching the coffee which flies out (otherwise it’ll go everywhere). When plunging, you are removing a small portion of the grinds within the grinder. You’ll need to put the hopper back on and activate the grinder for a few seconds. Then repeat the above step a few times to get it really clean.
If it’s an auto dosing grinder, grab a vacuum:
- Use a nozzle attachment for your vacuum.
- Put the hopper back on, expose the grill where the coffee drops out and hold the vacuum to it.
- Activate the grinder to thoroughly remove all the coffee, and persist until you can only see metal around the grill. Be aware, some vacuums won’t handle this well and using a commercial vacuum is recommended.
Wash your hopper to remove all the chaff. Make sure you thoroughly dry the hopper before putting it back on the grinder.Reassemble the grinder and wipe out the dosing chamber with a damp cloth.
This is enough cleaning to see a measureable result in quality, as it stops the old grind inside the grinder from sitting there, releasing its oils, going stale and being reused. What it doesn’t address is the build-up of fine particles. To get these out, we need to disassemble the unit.
For the brave and/or knowledgeable, disassembling the grinder is recommended at regular intervals (weekly to monthly), but it’s best you learn how to do this from someone who’s already experienced at it, at a time when you can absorb all the important details necessary for reassembly.
If you haven’t cleaned out your grinder to the degree outlined above, give it a shot and reap the benefits of cleaner tasting coffee!
How do I descale a Coffee Machine?
Turn off the machine. Lift the lever to empty the capsule chamber, then return to down position. Empty and rinse out the capsule drawer, then return to the machine. Fill the water tank with the Map descaling solution and place a cup or container on the drip tray directly under the dispensing spout. Press the Espresso (small cup) and Long Coffee (medium cup) buttons at the same time, while turning on the machine. The red and amber lights will blink, indicating the machine is in descaling cycle.
Press the Long Coffee (medium cup) button to begin. The descaling solution will run through the machine in approximately 10-minute intervals for approximately 30 minutes. You must empty your cup as it fills to prevent overflow, then return to the drip tray. Once the descaling cycle is over, the Long Coffee (medium cup) button will blink.
Carefully rinse out the water tank and fill with fresh drinking water. Empty and rinse out the capsule drawer and drip tray, then replace in the machine. Place your cup or container back on the drip tray.
Press the Long Coffee (medium cup) button to start the rinsing cycle, which will take approximately 3 minutes. Remember to empty your cup as it fills to prevent overflow, then return to the drip tray. Once the cycle is complete, the Long Coffee (medium cup) button will blink. Press the Long Coffee (medium cup) button to quit the cycle. Carefully remove the water tank and fill with fresh drinking water. Empty and rinse out the used capsule drawer and drip tray.
For more detailed instructions, please refer to your User Manual.
Map descaling solution is available through our online store or at your local Map Coffee retailer.
WARRANTY & SHIPPING
When will I receive goods ordered online?
Please note that orders received at or before 11am AEST are processed on the same business day. Orders received after the cut off will be processed the following business day. Your order will be dispatched to you within the next (24) hours at your nominated delivery address. If you do not receive an electronic invoice within 24 hours, please contact Antico Coffee customer service on 1800 239 438. Once delivery has been dispatched, please note the below lead times (in business days):
● VIC: 2 working days (regional +1 day)
● SA: 3 working days (regional +1 day)
● NSW: 4 working days (regional +1 day)
● ACT: 3 working days (regional +1 day)
● QLD: 5 working days (regional +1 day)
● TAS: 7 working days (regional +1 day)
● WA: 8 working days (regional +1 day)
● NT: 8 working days (regional +1 day)
Do you ship outside of Australia?
No, currently we do not ship outside of Australia.
What is your exchange/return policy?
The consumer must verify the quantity and quality of goods upon delivery and if any of the goods are faulty or incorrectly supplied notify Antico Coffee as soon as possible.
To claim a refund or exchange, you must contact Antico Coffee on 1300 ANTICO (268 426) prior to returning the goods to your place of purchase. You will be issued with a Return Authorisation Number and will be advised of the process for returning goods.
Do you provide a warranty?
Antico Coffee provides a 12 month repair / replacement warranty on all retail products. To be entitled to your 12 month warranty, please retain your original receipt as a proof of purchase.
What does the warranty cover?
The 12 month warranty entitles you to receive full technical support over the phone by calling 1800 239 438. Our trained staff will run through all the necessary troubleshooting steps to ensure your machine is back up and running. This warranty also covers faulty replaceable part/s. Should the Map Coffee customer support team deem that your machine has a fault, you will be provided with return to sender details for the repair or replacement of your appliance under the 12 month warranty. Please do not visit the store of purchase for warranty related issues.
Is there the option for an extended warranty?
To obtain an extended warranty, please make this request at the store of purchase at the point of sale.