A 6-step guide for home baristas The Breville / Sage Barista Express is one of the most popular entry-level home espresso machines, by now ubiquitous in many households around the world. It’s not an easy machine to master — especially considering the slow steam pressure and single-hole steam wand. But, if you go through the learning curve and practice enough, I believe it can produce some great tasting café-quality milk coffees at home. Becoming familiar with this machine and getting to understand how its steam wand works will help you avoid the frustration and steam milk to the perfect consi ..read more

Tips for beginner home baristas The rise of making espresso at home brought the bottomless portafilter — otherwise known as a naked portafilter — into the spotlight. It’s hard not to notice those delightful espresso pulls onto your social media feed, isn’t it? If you’re still unclear as to what a bottomless portafilter actually does or why it’s any different, we hope this article comes in handy! The best and worst case scenarios you can expect from a bottomless portafilter What a bottomless portafilter does is, by having the classic spouts removed, it allows you to observe the flow of the esp ..read more

3 tips for home baristas Latte art is by no means easy – it takes patience, persistence and continuous practice to make incremental improvements to your technique and workflow. And, let’s face it, compared with a professional barista, who gets to do hundreds of daily pours in a busy café environment, as a home barista you merely have a few tries a day. Maybe on a good day you get to make 3 - 4 coffees, your sole opportunities to practice and make progress compared with the day before. As I often mention on my Instagram account, for better chances at successfully doing latte art at home, I rec ..read more

3 tips for a delicious espresso First of all, when we use the term dialing in we’re essentially referring to the process of making a balanced and flavourful shot of espresso. We do so by adjusting variables such as water temperature, grind size and yield (amount of liquid espresso in the cup). And, we’re looking to extract the right flavours, as well as the right amount of espresso. Since no two coffee beans are the same (they are sourced from different coffee producing countries, as well as processed and roasted differently), it means you’ll have to go through the dialing in process every ti ..read more

3 key tips for home baristas This is no surprise: the latte (or caffè latte) is an omnipresent milk based coffee drink, you’ll find in most cafés or restaurants that offer a coffee menu. With the rise of having an espresso machine and making espresso at home, it’s now easier than ever to prepare this delicious drink in the comfort of your own home. For me, a latte symbolizes the beginning of the day, a pick-me-up before I start work, a moment of indulgence getting to enjoy this delicious mix of espresso and hot creamy steamed milk. Here are my 3 key tips to help you make a delicious latte at ..read more

A checklist for home baristas Looking after your espresso machine might not be the very first or most exciting thought that comes to mind when you think of your journey as a home barista. It might sound a little tedious too. However, it’s essential, rather easy and it does make a difference! We’re here to share with you about why it’s important to take good care of your home espresso machine, alongside a checklist to keep things simple and easy. The importance of cleaning and maintaining your home espresso machine You’ve already invested in a nice espresso machine and a bag of your favorite c ..read more

3 easy tips to fix it Imagine you just got a bag of freshly roasted coffee beans and you’re excited to enjoy a tasty espresso! You’re starting to dial it in using your standard espresso machine settings and recipe – for example, 93°C water temperature (200°F) and a brew ratio of 1:2. But, when you taste it, your espresso is overly sour. What now you say? Here’s a new game plan for you! There’s a big chance you got a lighter roast on your hands. In simple terms, this means the coffee beans have been roasted to showcase fruitiness and a richer acidity. Therefore, you need to make a few tweaks a ..read more

Make your coffee last longer Finding the right coffee beans is a very important part in the journey of a home barista. Understanding freshness and knowing how to properly keep coffee beans fresh for as long as possible is equally important. Many home baristas and coffee enthusiasts are understandably excited to open up their favorite bag of freshly roasted coffee beans! But, after a few days they find themselves disappointed with their coffee simply because they neglected to keep the coffee beans fresh. With this blogpost we want to help you get a better understanding on the topic and shed a ..read more

Get more flavour in your espresso In case you’ve been wondering – yes, it’s possible to change the espresso brew temperature on your Breville/Sage Barista Express. Now, why and when should you change it? And, how can you do that? Why and when should you change the espresso brew temperature? The default espresso brew temperature is 93°C/200°F. But, depending on the roast level of the beans being used, a coffee may taste much better when brewed with an adjusted temperature. Medium roasted coffee beans The default brew temperature is a great starting point Lighter roasted coffee beans To e ..read more

A step-by-step guide for beginner home baristas If you’ve been around here for a while, you already know that I recommend you use a scale when making espresso at home, since there are a lot of benefits to doing so. For example, it helps you to be more accurate and increase consistency. Ultimately, you’ll get to enjoy the process more, as well as the taste of the espresso you’re making. Many of you are beginner home baristas, which means you’re probably still getting used to working with various accessories, the coffee scale being one of them. Understandably, this can sometimes feel a bit over ..read more