Tips & Techniques

Heating/Frothing Milk

Froth the milk by placing the tip of the steam wand just below the surface of the milk, and then sink the nozzle to the bottom to warm and thicken the milk. When the jug becomes too hot to touch, turn off the steam. Bang the jug on the counter several times to collapse the bubbles. To make cappuccino, pour in a little milk with lots of foam. A flat white is the opposite with lots of milk and very little foam, and for a caffe latte pour milk into the espresso and top with a small amount of foam.

Tamping

Hold tamp level and apply firm pressure. When you discard the used grinds, they should come out easily and in one piece. Sloppy used grinds indicate insufficient pressure while tamping, that the coffee is too fine, or that there was not enough coffee in the filter.

Storage

La Casa del Caffe coffee requires no refrigeration, but should be kept in a dry, cool place away from sunlight. Coffee is very susceptible to odours and shouldn’t be stored close to cleaning products, perfumes or other strong smelling items.

The Coffee

Serve it hot but not boiled. Keep the cups on top of the machine, or warm with the machine’s hot water outlet. Make the coffee straight away –
if it stays sitting in the group too long it will taste bitter as the heat from the machine may burn the coffee grinds.

Quick Fix: The crema should have a hazelnut – dark brown colour. If it is too light than it has been over extracted. Keep group handles in the machine when not in use to keep them hot. When making a short black there’s no need to fill the cup up to the top, as too much water will make the coffee bitter. The coffee should be about 25-30ml and run through groups for about 25-30 seconds. The crema will flow white when extraction is finished.