Q: Coffee Beans & Water Types

Why are fresh beans important? Fresh coffee beans are the key ingredient to great tasting coffee. Whether whole bean or pre-ground, coffee beans are considered optimally fresh when used between 5-30 days from their “Roasted on Date”. After 21 days, beans start to become stale by quickly losing their aromatic oils which reduce the flavour quality and crema foundation in the cup, which results in a flatter look and taste. What’s the difference between “Roasted on Date” and “Use by Date (or Best Before Date)”? The Roast on Date is the only way to determine the real age of the beans. If beans only have a Use by Date (or Best by Date), this reflects a Roaster’s estimate of how long the beans will still be acceptable to drink, which can span as long as 6 months from the date of roast. Acceptable does not equal fresh, so aim for beans roasted within the 5-30 day window of freshness. What water should I use? Spring water, filtered, and bottled water are recommended for the best flavor and to keep your machine working at peak performance. Distilled, zero-filtered, RO (Reverse Osmosis), and demineralized water should NEVER be used in any of our espresso machines as they can cause the unit not to respond, damage internal components, or intermittent operations.

Question 1

Taste & Flavour

Accepted Answer

Fresh coffee beans are the key ingredient to great tasting coffee. Like wine, there are countless varietals of coffee which are influenced by things such as the type of roast, geographic region, and elevation just to name a few. In addition, the machine and elements of preparation like grind fineness, extraction pressure and temperature, dosing volume and tamp pressure can also influence taste. If you don’t know what you like, start with a medium body fresh roast and go from there. Tasting different coffee varietals is part of the fun!

To achieve the best and most consistent results, use fresh coffee marked with a “roasted on date”, not a “use by” (or “best by”) date. If you experience weak, sour, bitter, or even a burnt taste, here are some tips to get back on track.

Make sure your beans are fresh and roasted within the past 5-30 days.
Ensure your grind fineness is dialed in for the proper extraction.
Double check the volume of coffee in the portafilter basket is correct.
Tamp with the proper pressure to allow a smooth, crema-rich pull.
Check the coffee chute is clear, and the machine has been properly maintained and cleaned to avoid residual oils and coffee particles.

Question 2

Coffee Beans & Water Types

Accepted Answer

Why are fresh beans important?

Fresh coffee beans are the key ingredient to great tasting coffee. Whether whole bean or pre-ground, coffee beans are considered optimally fresh when used between 5-30 days from their “Roasted on Date”. After 21 days, beans start to become stale by quickly losing their aromatic oils which reduce the flavour quality and crema foundation in the cup, which results in a flatter look and taste.

What’s the difference between “Roasted on Date” and “Use by Date (or Best Before Date)”?

The Roast on Date is the only way to determine the real age of the beans. If beans only have a Use by Date (or Best by Date), this reflects a Roaster’s estimate of how long the beans will still be acceptable to drink, which can span as long as 6 months from the date of roast. Acceptable does not equal fresh, so aim for beans roasted within the 5-30 day window of freshness.

What water should I use?

Spring water, filtered, and bottled water are recommended for the best flavor and to keep your machine working at peak performance. Distilled, zero-filtered, RO (Reverse Osmosis), and demineralized water should NEVER be used in any of our espresso machines as they can cause the unit not to respond, damage internal components, or intermittent operations.

Question 3

Care & Maintenance

Accepted Answer

Providing the proper care at the proper time will maximise the quality and flavour of the coffee in the cup and keep your machine operating at peak performance while avoiding costly repairs.

Here’s a list of the common care and maintenance tips:

Purge and wipe down the milk frothing wand after each use.
Run a clean cycle at recommended intervals with our Breville cleaning solution(s) to avoid buildup of residual coffee oils and particles.
Descale your espresso machine with Breville descaler to avoid limescale and mineral buildup.
To avoid clogging, clean the grinder burrs and chute from time to time.

Below is a quick video of the above tips in more detail.

Question 4

Low Coffee Temperature

Accepted Answer

The temperature of the extraction and the equipment can affect the taste of the coffee in the cup. To start, all our espresso machines are designed and programmed to extract espresso at the ideal temperature, while some models allow the user to customise the extraction temperature.

If the temperature is not hot enough, here are some quick steps to ensure you get a properly heated cup of coffee every time:

Always allow your machine to fully preheat.
Warm the portafilter, basket and cup with hot water before pulling a shot to avoid losing 10–20°C (18–36°F) instantly.
In cooler climates or seasons, the ambient temperature in the room can cause coffee to lose temperature rapidly resulting in a colder coffee. Make sure to preheat your cup and portafilter as mentioned above.
If your coffee temperature is still too low, or if your machine won’t get to the proper heating temp, you may need to run a clean and descale cycle on your machine so the sensors and heating elements can work correctly.

Question 5

Extraction, Pressure, & Grinding

Accepted Answer

Once you have fresh beans, it’s all about “dialing in” the proper combination of grind fineness, dosing volume, and tamping to achieve a smooth flowing shot at optimal extraction pressure. If you are newer to espresso, the combination of these things is where people can feel overwhelmed. The good news: you can read the steps below or watch a quick video on how these elements work in combination so you can pull shots like a café barista.

Grab your favourite freshly roasted beans.
Select the proper portafilter filter basket.
We include multiple baskets in the machine so whether you are just starting out with espresso or a seasoned pro, you will end up with an amazing cup of coffee.
- Dual Wall Filters: A dual wall filter is designed to simplify the extraction process for those newer to making espresso or if using beans that are not freshly roasted within 5–30 days. You can start here and still achieve incredible espresso while learning how to grow into using a single wall filter.
- Single Wall Filters: A single wall filter is what every professional barista will use. These are designed to extract the maximum flavour from the grinds but require a little more knowledge for how grind size, tamp, and other factors work in harmony. These filters work best with fresh beans roasted within 5–30 days.

Grind Size
The grind size, or how coarse or fine your grinds are, will affect the flow of your extraction. The coarser the grind, the faster water can pass through the grinds. The finer the grind, the slower water can pass through. By adjusting grind size, we can control how fast or slow the coffee extracts. If you don’t know, start on the middle setting and adjust finer/coarser from there based on results.

Coffee Dose Volume
The amount of coffee in your portafilter will affect the flow of your extraction. If you have too much coffee, the water will not be able to pass through the grinds properly. In the same manner, if you have too little coffee, the water will pass through the grinds too quickly, resulting in a poor extraction. To make it easy, we provide a razor trimming tool in our machines to ensure the proper coffee dose every time.

Tamping
Tamping is the final step in the preparation when you compact the coffee grinds in the portafilter basket by pressing down evenly on the tamper with the proper amount of force. This compacts the coffee and causes the extraction pressure to build. If you tamp with too much force, you can choke the shot and cause an overextraction, resulting in too little coffee in the cup. If you don’t tamp with enough force, the grinds will not compact to create enough backpressure, resulting in a watery and fast running extraction. To solve the issue, just adjust your tamp force up or down until you get the flow you want.

Here is a video on the various steps and preparation to dial in your machine for a perfect extraction.

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