EVERYBODY

ESPRESSO!

By Dennis Hew

Decent Espresso Edition

reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by

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“Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.

Illustration and book cover by Dennis Hew

First published in Malaysia 2021

by Dennis Hew

35, Jalan Damai, Kampung Datuk Keramat,

55000, Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia

Decent Espresso Edition, 2024

Introduction

Before we jump into the main topic, you may have some

doubts—like who is this Dennis Hew? What qualifies him to

teach latte art and coffee?

Many people believe that a teacher should be a champion in

the field or an award winner in order to qualify to teach.

I don’t believe this is true, and I’ll show you some examples.

The famous chef Gordon Ramsay and the late Bruce Lee are

both well known in their fields. One is a culinary arts

celebrity who became a multiple restaurant owner, the

other was a legendary martial artist who became a movie

star.

Do they possess any championship titles? No, they do not.

Nonetheless, they’re respected teachers, mentors or

coaches. It’s because they're passionate about teaching and

spreading their knowledge.

Gordon Ramsay spreads his knowledge through TV shows,

inspiring millions to learn the culinary arts. Bruce Lee made

movies to share his martial arts mastery. He changed the

traditional Kung Fu film industry and inspired generations.

You may argue that these are rare or exceptional cases in

history. Fine. How about your school teachers, then? Your

science instructor or your English teacher? Did they get

literature awards, Nobel Prizes, or other honors? Probably

not. However, many of them are very skillful in teaching and

full of patience, even though they’re not champions in their

fields.

So, who is this Dennis Hew? I’m an entrepreneur who

started a small, humble weekend coffee class at a café

named RGB Café in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. My classes

started in 2017, and my classes were always fully booked.

Since then, I founded the Barista Experience Academy. I

also host a podcast, “The Coffee and the Company.” I’m

certified by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) as an

Intermediate Barista and a Professional Barista.

I’ve taught over 8,000 students (no webinar: it’s in person).

I’ve committed thousands of hours to teaching and

providing face-to-face and hand-in-hand guidance.

How I started the classes harkens back to how I started as a

weekend part-time barista.

In 2013, when interest in specialty coffee was booming in

Kuala Lumpur, I had my first flat white with latte art on top.

I'd never tasted such delicious coffee without sugar before,

and I was intrigued. I asked for a weekend job there, and I

was accepted.

Fast forward to 2017: I gained working experience with a

few cafés, yet felt like I hadn't developed enough and

couldn’t move on to the next stage of learning. I felt like I

was teaching more than being taught, and I became

demoralized by earning a minimal wage.

I was certain that my time was worth more than what I was

earning. I thought of quitting my part-time gig at the café,

but then the owner asked me to kickstart a coffee class. Her

roasting room was vacant on weekends, and she had an

extra espresso machine in the room that I could use for

teaching.

So I started the class alone and from scratch – designing a

post, creating a syllabus, handling digital marketing,

scheduling bookings and so on.

As it happened, I enjoyed teaching so much that although

my body ached from working all day on weekends, I didn’t

feel like I was working at all.

!Along the way, I’ve often received messages from followers

in other countries who tell me that their country or their

hometown has no coffee class.

Since I routinely write about coffee, sharing my knowledge

with videos on Instagram (@sinnedhew,

@baristaexperienceacademy and @thecoffeethecompany

if you’re curious), I got the idea to write a book to reach out

to a global audience and those I can't teach personally.

Guess who illustrated this book

I did, from cover to cover. I started writing this book without

knowing how to illustrate digitally. When I was a kid, I liked

to draw and doodle with an old-school pen and paper. My

drawing hadn’t developed since then.

But I had many ideas I needed to show to you: my readers,

my friends, my IG followers, my audience from all over the

world. And so as my book progressed, I had to learn digital

illustration skills. Simply because latte art requires more

than just words – it needs visuals. I believe that we're all

visual creatures.

One fine day, I received a new tablet from my day job and it

came with an attached pen. This sparked an idea in my brain

and changed my perspective on developing this book.

You might notice as you turn the pages that my illustration

skills gradually improve from the first picture to the last.

Many times, I drew and failed. I taught myself to make these

illustrations better and better.

Nonetheless, I’ve found that I enjoy illustrating. It calms my

mind, gives me purpose and trains my mindfulness. I’m not

a skillful drawing artist, but from the bottom of my heart, I

spent a lot of time learning from scratch.

At the end of the day, my goal is to pass on the knowledge

of what I learned the hard way to you, my friends

throughout the world, so that you have an easier (and less

frustrating) way to learn.

How important is a shot of

espresso in making latte art?

Very important. If you asked Ray Kroc (founder of

McDonald’s) if fries were important to his restaurant

business, I’m sure he would have said they're important, too.

Let’s imagine… in a burger combo, if the burger is delicious

but the fries are uncooked or chewy, is the meal still

delicious to you as a whole?

Same goes for a shot of espresso, or what I call “shot black.”

A good espresso shot allows you to make a nice contrast

and makes it easier to land some latte art. Most importantly,

it also makes café latte taste delicious.

Therefore, both calibration and milk-texturing skills are

equally important.

WHEN YOU

LEARN PIANO,

DON’T PRACTICE

WITH A VIOLIN

(Use the right tool)

When I first started to learn about coffee from coffee bars, I

owned a small home espresso machine from a brand we'll

call “K”. I have nothing against the brand, but I realised

several years later that — metaphorically speaking — I was

learning piano, but practicing at home with a violin.

Working as a barista, I used a commercial espresso machine,

and it produced satisfactory quality shots and textured milk.

But when I went home, my home espresso machine gave

me the opposite quality.

I was such a fool to compare production quality from a tiny

machine that cost USD150 with a commercial machine that

cost USD4,000. It wasn’t just the price but the

specifications, as well. For example, with the K-brand

machine, the steam wand (which produces steam to heat

up the milk) was a single big hole. And most commercial

machines featured steam wands with 4 pin holes that

produced better milk texturing.

When I realised this, I started saving and finally had enough

to get my first decent home espresso machine called

“Nuova Simonelli Oscar”. It cost USD880 back in 2013. And I

was so in love with its milk texture quality.

Many of us have this dream to own a German-made sedan,

but we're only willing to pay the price of a tiny Japanese

compact car. A similar ‘dream’ exists when you buy an

espresso machine for home use.!

In order to produce decent latte art on a cup of coffee, the

espresso machine and grinder (even at home) must meet a

certain benchmark.

Opening & preparation in a café

Every morning, a café depends on baristas to make

preparations before the café starts operating. This requires

not just calibrating the taste of the coffee, but also making

sure the café has enough inventory and supplies to serve

beverages and pastries.

Being a barista means being an early bird.

And for the home barista? With my day job, I wake up a half

hour earlier before I head out to work.

Making coffee, cleaning the espresso machine and enjoying

the coffee takes 40 minutes. So for someone who wants to

be skillful at this, it requires determination and waking up

early every day to make coffee.

For me, having to be at the office early is no excuse. I always

make my coffee at home before heading out.

In the next chapter, I'll talk about the different parts of the

espresso machine, coffee grinder and some coffee

accessories. This will give you a clear picture when I

mention the names of machine parts.

ESPRESSO

MACHINE

ANATOMY

I’m not technically educated in the names of machinery

parts, but below are the names baristas commonly use at

coffee bars.!

Please note that not all machines have similar mechanism

switches. Some have levers, toggles or buttons, but most

machines have a button to turn the group head on or off.

Definitions

Group head: Sends hot water from the espresso

machine into the coffee basket.

On/Off button for group head: Turns on the group

head, so that water and pressure can brew coffee.

Portafilter: A handle attached to a metal filter

(basket) that holds coffee grounds. Portafilters come

in different-sized diameters for various machines.

Drip tray: A water outlet tray that collects water that

gets disposed. If the machine doesn’t have a

plumbing system, the drip tray must be manually

emptied after it’s full.

Steam wand tip: Where hot steam comes out.

Pressure gauge: Some machines have two pressure

gauges: one for steam boiler pressure, and another

for group head boiler pressure. Both function to

monitor pressure during the coffee-making process.

On/Off toggle switch for steam: Turns on the steam

wand.

Steam wand: Heats and steams milk by inserting it in

the milk jug. The steam wand position can be

adjusted. Hold the section with rubber on it to

prevent yourself from getting burned.

Hot water spout: for adding water to a cup to make

tea or Americano coffee drinks.

A Decent perspective

On a Decent Espresso machine: the group head

on/off, steam on/off, hot water on/off, and

pressure gauges are all on the tablet screen.

Types of home espresso

machines

Super-automatic machine

This type of machine is meant for convenience. With just

one button to operate, all you have to do is fill up the

materials (whole coffee beans and milk), then press for your

desired beverage. Usually, you’ll see these machines at

convention halls or hotel event spaces.

This type of machine allows very minimal control, hence the

name ‘super-automatic machine.’

If you want to have more options and make latte art, this

machine won’t serve your purpose.

The super-automatic coffee machine

Pros: Ease of use, mobile.

Cons: No control of manufacturer's built-in settings,

so the taste of the coffee depends on some of the

machine's parameters. No control of pressure or

steaming milk quality and no latte art.

Single boiler

As its name suggests, this type of machine has a single

boiler to serve both the steam wand and group head. As a

whole, the unit size is a little bigger than a 2-litre milk

carton. That said, the boiler is small.

When you extract an espresso from the single-boiler

machine, you may need to turn on the steam function and

patiently wait for steam pressure to build up. Some

machines take up to one minute to build up.

Going through this procedure for self-consumption is fine,

but if you have guests or a big family waiting for coffee, this

can be very frustrating — especially when you’re new or

inexperienced with using your machine.

Also, the portafilter size is 49–52mm, and not many

accessories are supported at this diameter size.!

Suitable? Not for learning latte art, but if you have a minimal

expectation of brew quality and you don’t mind not having

latte art, then this may be for you.

The single-boiler espresso machine

Pros: Budget-friendly, mobile.

Cons: Requires waiting time for steam pressure to

build up, so it’s troublesome to make a few cups of

coffee in a row. Inconsistent coffee quality.

Single boiler with a heat exchanger

This type of machine is also a single boiler, but with

additional technology that allows the boiler to produce

steam for milk and heat pressure for the group head

simultaneously.

While you’re extracting espresso, you can simultaneously

use the steam wand to texture the milk while you’re waiting

for the steam to build up enough pressure. There’s no

downtime. This heat-exchanger system allows the

convenience of using both functions at the same time. But

because it’s a single boiler, you don’t always get a consistent

shot of espresso (especially on home espresso machines),

and the textured-milk quality varies if you make multiple

cups at a time.

The machine’s boiler might not be able to cope with the

quantity of water boiling in a short time. It's meant for home

use, unlike a commercial heat-exchanger machine with a

bigger boiler that can cope with a hectic workflow in a short

period.

Also, before you buy a portafilter, please pay attention to

the diameter size. Usually, commercial-sized portafilters

(the size with most supported accessories) are 58mm.

The single-boiler with heat exchanger

Pros: Slightly budget-friendly, mobile, convenience

of usage in terms of espresso and textured milk.

Cons: Acceptable brew quality, but inconsistent

temperature control when you’re making a few shots

of espresso in a row. Bigger physical unit size.

2-in-1 (Espresso machine with

grinder)

This type of machine depends on whether the manufacturer

made it a single boiler or dual-boiler unit.

The 2-in-1 machine is popular with many consumers

because it seems like a great deal. You'll save the cost of

purchasing a separate grinder. But from my perspective, it

has a few drawbacks.

Drawbacks of the grinder in a 2-in-1:

The grinder has minimal settings. I’ve seen some that have

only 10-15 grind size settings compared with dedicated

espresso grinders that have 40–60 settings, from coarse to

fine. And there are grinders with infinite settings. Bear in

mind, the espresso brewing method is hypersensitive about

grind size.

When the machine is warmed up or hot, it will heat the

grinder and its burrs as well. This will affect the burrs' grind

size. Also, the heat can produce an oil buildup, because

coffee beans are very heat sensitive. This oil buildup could

also affect the bean flavor and grind size over time.

Dual boiler

This type of machine offers two boilers – one dedicated to

boiling for steam and hot water, and another dedicated only

to the group head, for making coffee.

The images above show mid- to high-end home espresso

machines.

The specifications of these machines are suitable for small

cafés and events. They're able to cope with making a larger

quantity of coffee in a short period. And, depending on the

model and brand, some have a very consistent, stable brew

temperature. This is largely why espresso machine

manufacturers invented dual-boiler machines.

Some have PID control (Proportional Integral Derivative),

which means you can increase or decrease the brew

temperature and you can also monitor the temperature.

Also, some machines have a pre-infusion function. They’re

able to go up to 3–6 bars of pressure in the group head to

penetrate the coffee puck for a desired time (in seconds).

This will soak up the puck before hitting up to 9 bars for the

full espresso extraction and a better, evenly extracted, tasty

shot.

The dual-boiler espresso machine

Pros: Smooth operation (depending on the brand and

model), stability of brew temperature with more

controllable pressure and temperature.

Cons: Not budget-friendly, heavy, not mobile, not so

space-friendly.

A Decent perspective

The Decent Espresso machine uses two heaters, one

for steam, to produce instant steam, and one for

temperature accurate water for espresso. The

advantage of this approach is a faster warmup time,

and lower energy use. It doesn’t have a boiler!

Espresso machine: which type

of steam wand works best?

When we talk about the steam wand, we usually discuss two

things: steam pressure and tip.

1. Steam pressure. Some espresso machines can adjust

steam pressure from 0.5 bars up until 2 bars. Not all

machines have this feature; most of the mid to low-end

home machines usually provide 1 bar or less.

Higher pressures will raise the temperature quicker. We

don’t measure milk texturing by time, but by temperature:

ideally 55 °C –!60 °C. But if the pressure gets too low, it

could create loads of bubbles in the milk. We need

microfoam, not visible bubbles. It will also affect the taste

of the milk.

From my experience, the pressure should be 1 to 1.3 bars

for 6oz of milk coffee. If you have a larger quantity of

milk, it may require higher pressure to swirl and stretch

the milk.

2. Types of tip. There are tips with 1, 2, 3, or 4 pinholes, but

some machines are equipped with a single big hole. This

won’t work for microfoam unless some new technology is

developed.

I’ve tried all of these. The only type that doesn't work is

the single, big-hole steam wand tip. The pinhole's

diameter, ranging from 1mm to 1.5mm, also has an effect

on the end result. Usually, an experienced barista chooses

the smallest diameter because it's able to produce

thinner steam, which leads to silkier textured milk.

A Decent perspective

Decent uses either a single small hole (0.8mm) or

3 holes, depending on the model, and goes to

higher pressures (typically 2 to!3 bar) than boilers

do. We think the higher pressures create finer milk

bubbles.

ESPRESSO

GRINDER

ANATOMY

Even Google couldn’t help me find some of the names of

the parts below. So again, I have to admit that I’ve made up

some of these names. As baristas, we were never formally

taught the names. We would usually call something

“button”.

I made up these names so that it’s easier for you to

understand when I mention them in this book.

Also, note that most of the grinders have either a toggle or

digital adjustment for their grind-size adjustor, and for the

next illustration, the model uses an adjustment rod.

Grind size adjustment rod: Rotate to adjust the grind

size from coarse to fine.

Timer button: Tap to adjust the grinding time for

dosage.

Fork: Holds the portafilter while waiting to grind.

Manual grind button: Tap and hold to grind manually.

Let go to stop grinding.

Tray: Catches coffee grounds.

On/off switch: Turn the grinder on or off.

Timer indicator: Displays the timer setting and

current configuration.

Portafilter button: After setting the timer, push and

hold this button to initiate grinding.

Chute: Output of coffee grounds.

Grind size indicator: This indicates the grind setting

when you adjust the grind size with the rod. Easy to

remember and note down in your recipe book.

Bean hopper: The coffee bean container attached to

the grinder.

Introduction to Espresso

Grinders

Just like with espresso machines, the coffee-making world

offers a variety of grinders. Some were designed for pour-

over coffee methods like Hario V60, Syphon, Kalita Wave,

Aeropress, etc. The pour-over brewing method uses hot

water, but it doesn’t use pressure to brew coffee — unlike

the espresso brewing method, which requires both heat and

pressure to extract coffee.

In the culinary world, different cooking pans are designed

for different cooking methods. You’re advised not to use a

Chinese frying wok to sear a steak, for instance. Yes, you

could do it, but it’s not going to give you the best result.

Hence, there are types of grinders for:!

• Pour-over coffee

• Espresso

Occasionally, I get pictures and questions from people who

ask me if their spice grinder works for espresso. The short

answer is “no,” because it's meant for spice grinding, not

coffee (especially for espresso). It actually cuts, not grinds,

coffee beans. The main reason it's not suitable is due to

grind size: it’s not consistent and it’s not fine enough for

espresso, which requires a grind size that's almost like flour.

What happens if the grind size is coarse like sand? The

espresso will flow out like diarrhoea. The taste will be sour or

tasteless, and you'll have difficulty making latte art with

such watery espresso. Finding the right grind size for your

beans is called “calibration,” which we’ll cover later.

Spice grinder

To make it clear, I have nothing against spice grinders. I

simply want to advise you to use a spice grinder to grind

spices, not coffee.

Hand grinder

Below is a hand grinder from a Japanese brand.

This can make delicious espresso, but the downside is that it

consumes time and energy to grind (for example, 20g takes

around 5 minutes). Espresso is very sensitive to correct

grind size, so if it's incorrect, the espresso will flow out too

quickly (tastes sour) or flow out too slowly (tastes bitter and

burnt). Then you'll have to grind again. It can be

demoralizing to spend so much time and energy on

repetitive tasks.

You can find high-end hand grinders that are quicker and

easier to use with a consistent grind size. I will agree that

you won’t feel that it takes a lot of energy when you only

make one cup of coffee at a time. But if you have a number

of guests to serve, you’ll think otherwise.

Feature differentiation in grinders

In general, there are two types of espresso grinders and

within these two types there are:

•Step adjustment

•Step-less adjustment

And divided by,

•Conical burr grinder

•Flat burr grinder

What are “step” and “stepless"

adjustment grinders?

What’s a step adjustment grinder?

Step is a traditional grinder with adjustments that are just

like stairs. Each step takes you higher or lower. There’s no in-

between.!

I've experienced some frustration with step grinders when I

try to calibrate the grind size. It was either too fine or too

coarse.

What's a stepless adjustment grinder?

This enables you to adjust the grind size in-between two

sizes. For example, you can make very minor tweaks in

millimeters on some grinders.

Conical burr grinder (home use)

Everything has its benefits and drawbacks. It all depends on

what suits you. There's no perfect grinder in the world that

suits every barista.

I’ve illustrated some conical burr grinders for home use. The

first conical grinder has very minimal coffee retention

because there's no grinder chute in the design.

The conical burr grinder

Pros: Very fast grinding performance, light, easy to

maintain.

Cons: Not designed for heavy-duty use because the

conical burr design is thick, and it’s in a conical shape,

which tends to build up heat quickly.

Conical Home Grinder

Flat burr grinder (home use)

This is the most commonly used burr type grinder

commercially, and even for some serious home users. This

has more effective grinding capabilities and lower noise

pollution, and some manufacturers claim that flat burrs have

higher consistency.

There are usually two types of flat burr grinders:

•On-demand grinder

•Doser grinder

On-demand grinders

Below are various types of on-demand flat burr grinders.

Fast, efficient and seamless, the 75mm burr size is meant

for high-quantity commercial usage with a not-so-friendly

price tag. The 64mm is considered fairly economical, and it’s

an entry-point model for a commercial flat burr grinder. The

55mm burr size is for home use – the most stripped down,

basic and budget-friendly grinder.

On-demand grinder:

Pros: Quick cooling effect with the flat diameter and

thin design compared with the conical burr grinder.

Cons: Slightly slower grinding compared to conical.

On-demand commercial grinder

On-demand home grinder

Doser grinder

In recent years, manufacturers have produced fewer doser-

type grinders for their new releases.

Usually, this type of grinder is practical during high-traffic

periods in the café. For newbie baristas (especially if you

forgot to tare the weight of your portafilter), you can just

dump your coffee grounds back into the doser box and

weight tare, then restart the dose of coffee grounds back

into your portafilter. You can even redo your uneven

tamping.

Of course, you can perform the above actions with an on-

demand grinder by pouring out the coffee grounds into a

bowl or container and carefully spooning it back into the

portafilter, but it takes patience and more time to transfer

compared to the doser grinder.

Doser grinder:

Pros: Standby grind for your next pull of espresso

shots.

Cons: Lower precision of dosage due to the many

parts within the doser box that can trap coffee

grounds.

Commercial doser grinder

Conclusion

Are you on a budget?

Get a conical burr grinder or a small diameter flat burr

grinder.

Are consistent grind size and precision your

concern?

Get a 64mm or 75mm flat burr grinder.

You can't afford either?

Get a hand grinder (not spice grinder) for making

espresso, if you need it badly.

Items for coffee bar

Now that you have some idea of which machines to get,

here are a few more accessories to have on your coffee bar.

1. Espresso machine: Makes espresso and steam milk.

2. Espresso grinder: Grinds coffee beans into coffee

grounds.

3. Dosing cup: enables the barista to keep precisely

measured grounds for each shot before putting them into

the portafilter basket.

4. Tamper: Compresses the coffee grounds evenly in the

portafilter. Tampers with a self-leveling feature are easier for

new baristas to use.

5. Tamping cradle (optional): Prevents slipping during

tamping procedure. I often use a cloth on my bar to tamp.

6. Coffee scale: Weighs the coffee dose to make a precise

espresso recipe. Get a!0.1g!accurate scale.

7. Teaspoon: Dose off extra coffee grounds (even if it’s just

an extra 0.1gm) and stir the shot before you taste it.

8. Cloths: For table cleaning, drying the portafilter and

wiping milk stains off the steam wand. Each cloth should

have a dedicated purpose.

9. Coffee cup: For making and drinking coffee.

10. Milk pitcher: Holds fresh milk to steam and pour to

make latte art.

11. Puck rake (optional): Stirs and distributes the coffee

grounds evenly before proceeding to tamp.

12. Coffee beans and rubber sealed container: A container

with a rubber seal keeps coffee beans fresher for longer.

13. Portafilter funnel: Sits on top of your portafilter basket

while you grind your beans, to prevent them from spilling.

14. Digital milk thermometer: Measures the temperature of

your milk while you’re frothing it with the steam wand.

The choice is yours

As I mentioned earlier, I'm not writing this for personal gain,

to promote products or brands, or to defame other

products. The choice is entirely yours. As I write this book,

many innovative manufacturers are producing awesome

new grinders, new espresso machines or new instruments

with new technologies to make coffee even better.

If I've missed out any new technologies or products, I do

hope you understand.

Instruments you should know

about

Tampers

Shown above are a few types of general tampers you'll see

in the market. Please note there are a few different sizes of

tampers, but the most commonly used in a commercial

group head size would be 58mm.

Some home machines are 51–55mm. What I would

recommend is around 58mm, as you’ll be able to find

accessories by third-party manufacturers that match this

size. It’s very important to have a well-fitting tamper for

your basket, because this will affect your extraction result.

Handle-less tamper (left): easy to tamp and lower the risk

of wrist ache.

Calibrated pressure tamper (middle): for newbies who

prefer peace of mind for pressure-tamping issues.!

Traditional tamper (right): Old-school tamper. It’s the most-

commonly used and most preferred by overall users. For

beginners, I strongly suggest that you start practicing your

tamping techniques with this.

Because everyone has a different preference, you should try

each one to see which type fits you. There’s not a tamper

that suits all users, nor should anyone use only a dedicated

model. The fun in coffee making is in trying different tools

or accessories to create different results.

A Decent perspective

Decent Espresso produced a range of calibrated

58.5mm tampers with Wiedemann in Germany. Take

a look at our wood-handled tampers.

How to hold a traditional

tamper

There are many ways to hold a tamper. One of them is

shown above – the front view and back view of the same

way of holding a tamper. Most importantly, your grip should

be firm and comfortable, and you should keep your wrist

straight.

Shown above are some wrong ways to hold a tamper. These

will not create a straightened wrist. When you apply force,

you’ll bend your wrist and get wrist ache over time.

Tamping posture

Shown above are the correct posture and incorrect posture.

Correct posture (left): Notice that the wrist is straight. This

will prevent you from getting wrist ache in the long run. Use

the strength from your wrist and arm, but not from your

whole body.

Incorrect posture (right): If you tamp facing forward, you'll

bend your wrist and risk suffering wrist ache in the long run.

Also, there's a higher chance of uneven tamping if your

wrist isn’t straight.

How much pressure is required to

tamp?

“25-30 pounds? What?” I’ve found it very funny that when

people ask me specifically how much pressure and I’ve

answered “25 pounds.” But in return, they give me a

surprised look. The simple answer is to tamp enough with

your wrist until your coffee puck won’t tamp down any

further. Some baristas might advise you to practice tamping

on a bathroom scale to check on your tamping pressure. Or,

use a calibrated tamper and it adjusts the pressure for you.

Baskets for portafilter

The picture above shows a single-shot basket (top and

bottom view). Some manufacturers call this a 7g basket. But

that doesn’t mean this basket is limited to a maximum of 7g

of grounds. I’ve tried 12g of coffee grounds and it’s still able

to fit; it depends on your grind size. Note that the shape is

more tapered compared to other sizes, and the mesh is

smaller. This makes it more challenging to tamp.

Above are illustrations of double-shot baskets. Some call

them 14g and 18g baskets as well. This size is deeper and

the mesh is wider in diameter. These baskets are easier to fit

more grounds than their stated capacity (21g into an 18g

basket, for example)

A Decent perspective

At Decent Espresso, we offer a range of waisted,

ridged, and ridgeless baskets for different purposes.

Learn more about the benefits of each one.

Portafilters

Portafilter types

Above is a double-spout portafilter. It's able to split the

shot into two cups by placing the cups underneath it, side

by side. But this type of portafilter doesn't let you watch the

extraction process — the spout blocks the internal view.

Every shot drips cleanly into your cup, even if there's any

channelling during extraction.

Above is a bottomless portafilter, which some call a naked

portafilter. You can view the extraction process as coffee

flows out, and the barista can tell if he needs to redo the

shot if it's channelling and spills everywhere. But this

portafilter isn’t able to split the shot into two cups.

A single-spout portafilter doesn’t mean it’s only for a single

shot. You can fit this with any basket. So for me, this single

spout is special. I often use this with a blind filter or single-

shot basket.

A Decent perspective

At Decent, you can design your own portafilter and

customize the handle and spout for your own needs.

WHAT

ESPRESSO?

Espresso 101

HARIO V60

FRENCH PRESS

MOKA POT

ESPRESSO

AEROPRESS

CHEMEX

When you’re in Third Wave cafés, you’ll see many brewing

methods in their beverage menu. The previous illustrations

are just a few examples of what I think are popular brewing

methods.

Espresso is one of the ways baristas brew coffee. In

layperson terms, it’s one of the ways they cook the coffee.

It’s not about specific coffee beans, not about roasting

profile, but it’s about how you make your coffee. And

concentrated coffee drinks like espresso also give you

canvas to make latte art.

Espresso is traditionally brewed with an espresso machine,

but recently, technology has enabled manufacturers to

offer ways of making espresso without a machine. All the

user has to do is to add hot water and manually press the

hot water into the coffee puck to extract coffee that's very

similar to an espresso.

Other notable brewing methods — which are not illustrated

— are siphon (vacuum) coffee, percolator coffee, Kalita

Wave paper filter coffee, cold brew and more.

I strongly advise you to explore further, so you can add to

your experience and appreciation of coffee even more.

What is First, Second, and Third wave coffee?

First wave: When Italians brought espresso to the

rest of the world

Second wave: When coffee chains (such as

Starbucks) brought espresso drinks (especially

American style milky drinks) to the world.

Third wave: When quality-oriented (and often fair-

trade oriented) independent coffee shops brought

espresso and stronger milky drinks to the world.

Often associated with Australia, Nordic and

American trends.

Barista jargon for recipes

Coffee dose: the coffee grounds in your portafilter

basket.

Extraction Yield: the coffee liquid that ends up in

your cup.

Extraction time: the time that water is flowing onto

the coffee bed until you stop the extraction – that

duration is the extraction time.

Brew ratio:!the ratio between coffee grounds into

the group head and output of coffee liquid. For

example, if the brew ratio is 1:2, then it would be

18gm of coffee grounds and 36gm of coffee liquid,

20gm of coffee grounds and 40gm of coffee liquid

or 10gm coffee ground and 20gm of coffee liquid.

The ratio is an indication of the quantitative relation

between the two amounts.

Single-origin coffee beans:!coffee beans produced

from one farm and one country; non-blended coffee

beans.

Blended coffee beans:!a mixture of coffee beans

from a few farms or countries.

Channelling:!When water finds gaps or weak spots in

a coffee puck (which could be caused by uneven

tamping) and then pours through those gaps instead

of saturating the whole coffee puck, creating an

uneven extraction that negatively impacts flavour.

Blind filter basket: A type of basket without any

holes. It’s used to clean the espresso group head.

Questions

How do I measure the yield output and dose input?

You need an accurate coffee scale that’s accurate within!0.1

grams to weigh the input and output. Tare your empty

portafilter and tare with your empty coffee cup on the scale

first before you start to grind and weigh the dosage. Also,

weigh your output with a cup on the scale during extraction.

Why do you call it “black shot” instead of espresso or

ristretto?

Black shot is the name I’ve used for both ristretto and

espresso. Sometimes, you might see this name in a coffee

menu, which means they serve both.

How do I get the right extraction time? The flow of my

shot is always either too fast or too slow.

This is why calibration skills are important. Grind size plays a

very important role in the taste of your espresso shot. Let’s

move on for my detailed explanation.

Arabica and Robusta

For this book, I use only Arabica coffee beans to make

coffee, but many people don’t know the difference between

these types of beans. So allow me to explain.

First, let's summarise the differences between Arabica and

Robusta:

Arabica

Robusta

Country of origin

Ethiopia

Congo

Growing

temperature

15°C-25°C

20°C-30°C

Growing altitude

900m-2000m above

sea level (on

mountain side)

0-900m (on flat

ground)

Taste

sweet, aromatic,

bright and many

more tasting notes

harsh, bitter, nutty

Caffeine content

0.8%-1.5%

1.7-3.5%

Pest infestation

low resistance

high resistance

Consumption

cafes, instant coffee,

restaurants

A majority of the

production is for

instant coffee,

local traditional

coffee shops, etc.

Not all arabica beans are superior

quality

Arabica coffee beans —!like many other products —!range

in quality from cheap to expensive. It’s not all the same

quality, just because it’s Arabica. That’s one reason why a

certain fast-food chain starting with “M”, a chain of coffee

shops starting with “S” and famous indie cafés all serve

Arabica coffee.

The coffee industry has Q-graders to conduct quality

checks and give out scores for quality.

What are Q graders?

According to the Coffee Quality Institute, “Certified

Q(uality) Graders are professionals skilled in sensory

evaluation of green coffee, and are employed

throughout the industry.”

Some coffee farmers sell beans at a lower price range

without placing much effort on quality to cater to low-end

commercial markets

No matter how good the quality of coffee beans, it needs a

good process, a skillful coffee roaster and a skillful barista to

produce delicious coffee. From a barista’s perspective, the

term “Arabica” alone doesn’t necessarily mean “good.”

But to a coffee corporation, the words “premium” and

“Arabica” are useful marketing terms to sell to a mass

audience (patrons with minimal coffee knowledge) because

most people perceive Arabica as “premium.”

Can we make an espresso shot with

Robusta beans?

Of course you can. But you might find that the taste of

Robusta is harsh, burnt and bitter. General acceptance is

low, because traditionally, Robusta gets roasted to a

charcoal dark shade (beans covered with shiny grease). And

the main reason for this roast is because Robusta has a

grassy-tasting note if it’s roasted into medium-dark and

lighter colour shades.

Robusta is very effective at creating crema, which many

people associate with freshness and quality. This is another

reason why some people use Robusta.

That’s why instant coffee sachets are usually packed with

sugar (3-in-1 or 2-in-1 instant coffees), and local coffee

(Malaysian Kopi O, Kopi Ais, Vietnamese drip coffee and

more) also get paired with sugar or condensed milk –

because of the bitter taste.

Also some dark-roasted Italian espresso blends mix a

certain portion of Robusta beans (10% - 50%) with Arabica

to boost up the bitterness.

Conclusion

Arabica has a range of quality from low to high, and that's

why it's the most-used coffee bean worldwide. It’s used by a

range of manufacturers, cafés, restaurants, hotels and

homes.

In short, I prefer Arabica beans because they offer more

varieties and varietals. Also, each origin and varietal has

different-tasting notes compared with Robusta’s minimal

choices, and I'm not limited by just bitterness or a charcoal

taste.

Robusta is mostly used in traditional culture coffee and

instant coffee. It’s consumed by a certain range of market,

such as neighbourhood coffee shops, street stalls and carts

(like in Vietnam and Indonesia), or home users in the form of

pre-ground coffee and instant coffee.

Light Roast versus Dark Roast

Taste is a subjective matter. One person might like the

acidity of a grapefruit while another will say it’s “sour”

because the acidity overwhelms their taste buds. Everyone

is entitled to their preferences.!

The best way to refine your taste is to cup (taste) coffee

together with people who have experience cupping. That

way you can taste what they taste and build associations to

particular flavors and descriptions. A good roaster or café

might run cupping or tasting events, which is a great

starting point to learn and describe what you like or don't

like.

Start using better-quality beans (fewer defects) and learn

from industry professionals what makes a great or bad

cup.!To learn more about cupping, watch this video from

James Hoffman.

The colour definition of a light roast up to a dark roast has a

wide range of colour shades that qualify as light, medium or

dark. Usually, roasters describe their beans by how much

time passed between what's known as a "first crack" and a

"second crack," before the coffee gets dropped into the

cooling tray.!

What's a crack? When the coffee beans get hot enough, the

remaining water inside of them builds up enough pressure

so that they expand rapidly. It's exactly like popcorn

popping, and this is the "first crack."

If you continue roasting, the same thing happens again a

few minutes later, except this time carbon dioxide escapes

from the coffee beans. This is known as the "second crack."

A roaster might describe a roast as having been dropped 45

seconds after the first crack starts, or 20 seconds after the

second crack ends.In general, the roasting process has two

cracks at specific temperatures. The first crack occurs at

about 196 degrees Celsius (385 degrees Fahrenheit). If you

want a light roast, you might stop roasting before the

second crack. And the second crack occurs at about 224

degrees Celsius (435 degrees Fahrenheit). Of course, the

longer the roast, the darker the bean.

For a coffee drinker who’s not a coffee roaster, an easy

comparison is from a darker roast (dark brown or charred

brown) to a lighter roast (orangey or yellowish). However,

external appearances can be deceiving: there are some

roasters who claim they’re able to roast a light-coloured

outer layer, but after the beans are ground, they become a

medium-roast coffee.

So be open-minded and curious, because there are many

innovative roasters out there who roast their coffee beans

differently.

The previous illustration shows three parts of a coffee

bean’s transition: whole roasted beans, cracked beans

(assume they’re hammered by a pestle), and ground coffee.

Shown here is a light-roasted bean versus a darker one.

Notice that the darker roast — after it’s ground — has more

“fines” on the side in comparison with the light-roast coffee

beans. This also means that with darker-roast coffee, it’s

easier to dissolve the solids because the roasting process is

more developed. Therefore, a barista might choose ristretto

(1:1 / 1:1.5) as a recipe for dark-roast coffee beans, with less

water passing through the coffee puck.

What’s a fine?

When some of your coffee comes out of the grinder

finer than you intended.

On the left side, the light-roast coffee has fewer fines,

because it’s roasted for a shorter period of time. And coffee

beans grown at a higher altitude will have a higher bean

density, which is one of the reasons why roasters choose

high-altitude grown coffee beans for a light roast. A lighter

roast needs more water to dissolve (more water to flow

through the coffee, also known as “extraction”). And usually,

a higher brew ratio for light-roast coffee beans, such as an

espresso (1:2) or allongé (1:5) shot.

The lighter the better?

There’s a lot of hype about light-roast coffee beans, but

does that mean lightly roasted coffee must be good? It’s

more of a personal preference. Metaphorically speaking, it’s

like steak: some prefer rare, medium, medium-rare or well

done.

If you like your coffee to taste clean — with more notes

from the coffee varietals — or a specific origin harvest, light

roast could be the choice for you.

Traditionally, light-roast coffee beans are geared towards

the pour-over brewing method. In recent years, some cafes

serve espresso with light-roast coffee. If you like the taste,

head to the counter and ask the barista or roaster for their

espresso brew recipe (brew temperature, water flow, brew

ratio and more), so you can mimic the taste back at home

with your DE1.

Pour-over methods, or espresso long-brew ratio (as

mentioned before), with a higher brew temperature are

good options for a light roast. But there are many new

brewing techniques, and new light-roasted coffee bean

varietals that might surprise us, so stay curious —that's the

key to learning coffee.

Light roast characteristics

Tasting notes: Acidic fruits, berries, florals, and low in the

body.

Beans are lighter in color, dry, and high-density, due to its

shorter roast development. They’re also denser if grown in a

higher altitude. Use a coarser grind size than you would for

medium or dark-roast coffee.

Dark roast means inferior?

Yes, some dark-roast coffee beans might come from low-

quality commercial coffee roasters. You might find some

lower-quality, dark-roasted robusta-arabica blends in

supermarkets. People who drink specialty coffee might

think dark-roast coffees are inferior, but I’ve tasted a good

café latte made from a dark-roast coffee. What a surprise!

Traditionally — in Italy —Italians drink espresso shots made

from dark-roast coffee beans with added sugar. In a Third

Wave café, the barista might serve a dark roast with milk

(such as cappuccino, flat white or latte). This is because the

roast often has notes of dark cocoa, licorice, or nuts, plus

more body and an intense taste. So it’s more likely to be

accepted by milk coffee drinkers because this type of milk

coffee resembles artisanal cocoa-like beverages. It’s a

personal preference, whether it’s a white coffee or a dark

roast espresso shot.

Dark roast characteristics

These roasts often have tasting notes like cocoa, brown

spice, and nutty. They’re usually low acidity, with a full-

bodied taste. The beans are low density due to their longer

roasting time.

I suggest making dark-roast coffee in short brew ratios.

Now you might ask, “what if I use a longer brew ratio (1:2,

1:3) with dark roast coffee beans?” If the tasting notes are

extracted well, this might produce a good coffee. But if

over-extracted, the coffee might taste ashy, smoky,

rubbery, or earthy.

Dark roasts are usually suitable to pair with milk, but if you

like your black coffee as described in the above tasting

notes, you should give this a try.

Single-origin and blended coffee

beans

When you walk into a coffee roaster café to buy a bag of

coffee beans, the barista may ask you some questions to

recommend suitable beans, like:

“Single-origin or blend – which do you prefer?

And you might think, “What on earth is he talking about…?”

Let’s discuss the difference between SINGLE-ORIGIN and

BLEND in general, and the purpose of both.

Blended coffee beans

This is a combination of coffee beans from a few countries,

a few regions, or a mixture of two types of beans (Arabica +

Robusta). The illustration shows a combination of a few

countries (100% Arabica).

100

What's the purpose of blended

beans?

Blended coffee beans were invented by Italians. They were

mainly designed for the espresso method, because blended

beans were more consistent in producing a simple yet

diverse taste for patrons. It's usually thick, intense and

chocolatey, but I've tasted some bright and acidic blends as

well.

The blended beans method also allowed some roasters to

increase their margin by sneaking in lower-cost beans. While

some roasters added a percentage of Robusta to cater to

the budget market, other hearty roasters designed a blend

for taste diversity as well.

101

Single-origin coffee beans

These are coffee beans from one farm, one country. Usually,

single-origin coffee has a higher price tag, because roasters

usually choose higher-quality coffee beans for single-origin.

This is because single-origin coffee is like being totally

naked in a taste perspective – sensitive taste buds can

detect roasting errors in single-origin coffee.

Coffee enthusiasts mostly appreciate a good quality single-

origin coffee in black (espresso/pour-over/long black and

more). But I’ve also tried Bali Kintamani, Indonesian beans

that pair well with milk. Therefore, an ethical coffee roaster

would put much effort into roasting and choosing better

quality beans.

Also, I tried a low-quality single-origin coffee that I bought

for a low price. Needless to say, it was bad.

102

Conclusion

Single-origin or blend, this will depend on whether you

choose a reputable coffee roaster and how you brew the

beans. Let me summarise this.

Blend

Simple and common in general, mostly full-body, most

blends designed for milk coffee (cappuccino/cafe latte/flat

white, etc.) or if you like intense black coffee.

Single-origin

Single-origin beans have higher price tags compared to

blends, due to their higher quality. Therefore most coffee

enthusiasts would drink this black.

103

I learned what I shared here through my personal

experience. However, the world is moving faster than we

can adapt. So my advice is, stay curious and keep an open

mind. There's always something unexpected that might

surprise you.

104

Coffee Processing: Washed,

Natural & Honey

When you pick up a bag of single-origin beans, usually the

first thing you’ll read is the roasting date on the label.

Occasionally you’ll also see a statement like “Washed

process,” “Natural process” or “Honey process.”

So what does that mean? Natural, honey, or washed are the

general methods of the coffee process. The word “process”

does not necessarily mean chemically processed as in

“processed food.” In this context, it defines the methods of

removing the coffee cherry fruits from the coffee seeds

(coffee beans), and what happens between the harvest and

packaging until it’s ready to roast.

First, let me show you the typical “washed" process,

although some farmers have slightly different practices in

other regions or farms.

105

Washed process coffee

The washed process is the most-commonly used in the

coffee-production industry. Some also refer to it as ‘’wet

process’’ or ‘’fully washed,’’ because the beans go through

floatation and washing processes.

Let me explain the steps.

106

Harvest:

The farmers pick and harvest the coffee beans, usually

selecting ripe cherries: red or orange.

Floatation:

The farmer dumps all the harvested cherries into a pool of

water. Those floating on top are considered defective or not

ripe, and they’re removed. Then the farmer collects those

from the bottom for further processing.

Depulp (remove pulp):

The coffee cherries go into a depulping machine to remove

the skin (pulp) before proceeding to fermentation.

Ferment:

After depulping, the seeds are sticky (with mucilage).

Usually the seeds are left in an empty tank to ferment

overnight, so the mucilage will be easier to wash off during

the next stage.

107

It's worth mentioning that some farmers or producers

ferment coffee beans in a water tank.

Wash (remove mucilage):

This is the main reason why the process is called “washed”,

because farmers will agitate the seeds in water with a

wooden tool to remove the mucilage. They usually wash

them three times, then proceed to sort or remove out the

defective seeds.

Dry:

The seeds get spread on a flat, outdoor surface with a

breathable mesh. Then farmers dry them in the sun for 1 – 2

weeks, until the moisture is around 11%.

Dehull (remove parchment):

The beans will go into a huller machine to remove the

parchment before putting the seeds into coffee sacks.

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Washed coffee taste characteristics:

Clarity, clean and bright. If you’re looking for the taste of

single origin, washed processed coffee is a great choice.

109

Natural processed coffee

This is also known as sun-dried or dry-processed coffee. The

concept comes from nature itself, where the fruit drops

from trees and dries itself. This processing method is the

oldest way to process coffee.

This “natural” process is specific to suitable climates in

countries like Ethiopia, Burundi, Panama and Costa Rica,

which are sunny, warm, and dry. Otherwise, the cherries are

at risk of molding. In some of these areas, farmers would

have difficulty accessing water for processing.

Harvest:

Farmers pick the ripe cherries, then sort out the defective or

not-ripe cherries.

110

Dry:

The coffee producers lay out the cherries on the a raised

outdoor surface with breathable mesh. They need to pay

constant attention to the drying bed and rake the cherries

often to prevent the cherries from getting too wet (which

would cause mold) or too dry (which will make them brittle).

This process takes approximately 3 – 4 weeks, until the

moisture is around 11%.

Hull (remove fruit and parchment):

The cherries get dumped into a hulling machine to remove

fruit and parchment, before proceeding to bagging.

Natural processed coffee taste characteristics:

With the cherry infused taste in the seeds, it will have

distinctive notes such as berries, nectarine, winey and

boozy. In general, natural processed coffee has a fruitier and

sweeter taste.

111

Honey processed coffee

No! Honey? It’s not what you think it is. “Honey” refers to

the coffee beans' stickiness during the fermentation

process, which is caused by the coffee cherry and mucilage.

112

Often, it’s labeled in different colors: white, yellow, red, and

black honey. This process is popular in countries such as

Costa Rica and El Salvador.

Also some farmers might name this honey process

differently, such as "semi washed” or "pulped natural,” but in

essence, the process is similar.

Let's go through the process.

Harvest

Depulp:

Usually, the cherries will get depulped within 8 – 12 hours

after harvesting. After sorting out the defective or unripe

cherries, the remainder gets depulped down to the

mucilage layer.!

Dry (with mucilage):

Usually, coffee beans with the yellow process will dry under

the sun. It depends on the weather—it could take from 2 – 3

weeks to obtain 11% moisture.

113

For red honey, they'll dry in a greenhouse with less sunlight,

and black will need even less sunlight.

The color is defined by the thickness of the coffee cherry

(pulp) left on the coffee beans.

114

Remove parchment:

The producers remove the parchment from the coffee

beans before putting them into coffee sacks and shipping

them out to roasters.

Honey-processed coffee taste characteristics:

• Yellow is mild fruitiness.

• Red is syrupy, with fruitier tasting notes.

• Black is a winey and boozy, with a creamy texture.

115

Water Quality

The water you use to make espresso affects the taste of

your coffee and the functioning of your machine. Therefore,

it’s really important to choose the right type of water to:

• Protect our machines from breakdowns and downtime

caused by water

• Produce espresso with no “off” flavors.

The coffee industry has focused on using water that

minimizes machine maintenance, for example, to minimize

any scaling that can build up inside the boiler and internal

pipes. This focus on water has come largely from the

commercial sector.

116

The concentration of different substances in the water are

usually indicated as parts per million (ppm) and as calcium

carbonate (CaCO3) equivalents. These measurements are

the best way to compare them and calculate their value.

This is why the coffee industry and coffee aficionados will

list every single element in their water as “ppm as CaCO3”.

The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) produces

guidelines for water, as follows

• Total alkalinity at or near 40 ppm as CaCO3

• Calcium, ideally at 68 ppm as CaCO3, or in the range of a

minimum of 17 and a maximum of 85 ppm as CaCO3

• pH near 7, or between 6.5–7.5

• Sodium at or near 10 mg/L

• Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) at 150 mg/L, or between 75–

250 mg/L

117

In recent years, some coffee aficionados have focused on

water that enhances more of the sensory side. For example,

increasing the amount of calcium, which enhances the body

of the coffee with a creamy mouth feel, or increasing

magnesium levels to increase sweetness.

In general, we'll look at the following parameters:

•General hardness (GH) is the sum of calcium and

magnesium

•Alkalinity (KH, or carbonate hardness), which is the

amount of carbonate (HCO3-) ions

•TDS (Total Dissolved Solids)

•PH

What most people do is remove the substances they don’t

want in their water using one of various filters listed below,

which we’ll explain more in-depth in the following chapters:

118

After filtering the unwanted substances from the water,

they can add specific minerals back into the water again to

achieve their ideal cup. These additives can be created from

recipes mixed at home, or purchased from companies that

offer pre-made mixes. The substances can be added both

before or after the brew process. However, if you add them

after you brew your coffee, it can enhance the mouthfeel of

your coffee without negatively impacting your espresso

machine.

119

Types of filtration systems

Active carbon filters

Active carbon filters only remove substances. They don’t

add anything.

Active carbon filters are widely available. They help to

remove:

•Total suspended solids (TSS)

•Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

•Heavy metals

•Chlorides

120

Ion exchange filter

121

Ion Exchange is a water “softening” process. An ion

exchange filter removes hardness ions such as magnesium

and calcium from the water, and replaces them with a

positively charged ion like sodium that doesn’t contribute

towards hardness. Hence the name “ion exchange.”!

Different combinations can be customized to filter or add

different elements, depending on your water at the

premises.

Ion exchange:

•Reduces the hardness of water

•Selectively removes mineral ions like Calcium (Ca2+ ),

Magnesium (Mg2+) or!carbonate hardness (HCO3-)

•Removes heavy metals

•Can release trimethylamine (TMA) into the water,

which has an unpleasant, fishy smell

122

Reverse Osmosis filter

Reverse Osmosis (RO) is filtration using pressure through a

semi-permeable filter membrane. It’s available for both

commercial and home use, and it’s the most common way

that water is treated in commercial coffee applications. This

process removes most of the mineral content from water to

reduce its hardness.

123

Disadvantages of Reverse Osmosis:

It removes almost everything, including components that

we may want in our water, like Mg and Ca.

It doesn’t effectively remove all chlorides, and therefore

needs to be used in conjunction with active carbon filters.

These are sometimes built into the RO system itself or

added on pre- or post-RO.

It’s the most-expensive filtration system to implement and

maintain.

It’s the slowest of all the filtration systems.

After reverse osmosis, the water’s TDS (Total Dissolved

Solids) will be very close to zero, so you’ll need to

remineralize it. The ideal TDS is about 150mg/L.

124

Is your water too hard?

Water hardness can create issues with your espresso

machine’s performance. To minimize breakdowns and

repairs caused by scale formation or corrosion inside the

machine, you need to test your water for hardness with a

test strip kit or a TDS meter, which you can buy online.

If the test results for your water show calcium levels at

more than 68 ppm, you can try one of the recipes listed

here to reduce the hardness and increase alkalinity, or buy

water or additives that are optimized for espresso making.

Of course, you can also remove the calcium using one of

the filters.

Scaling will form in your espresso machine if you use water

that’s got a high level of hardness. The amount of scaling

depends on the total hardness versus alkalinity.

125

Here’s why you don’t want scaling to build up in your

espresso machine:

•Repairs from scaling are not only expensive, they can

take time to get repaired or source parts.!

•Scale builds up over time, so things may seem OK until

the point at which scale buildup becomes severe

enough to start affecting the efficiency of heat

transfer or begins to clog the valves.

Corrosion is another issue that can affect your espresso

machine. It can be caused or accelerated by:

•Low levels of alkalinity (below 40ppm)

•A pH<6 or >8

•High concentrations of chlorides, sulfates or nitrates.

126

Sensory matters

127

One thing to consider: how the chemical make-up of water

affects the sensory qualities of the cup. For example,

General Hardness (GH), or the sum of Calcium and

Magnesium in the water, affects the perception of acidity

and increases flavor notes in the coffee. Too much general

hardness will lead to coffee that tastes "heavy," while too

little leads to coffee that tastes "weak."

Furthermore, carbonate hardness (KH), or alkalinity, buffers

the acidity in the coffee and helps achieve a balanced cup,

which doesn’t taste “sour”. However, too much carbonate

hardness will lead to a coffee that tastes “flat”, while too

little leads to a coffee that tastes “sharp”.

Hence, getting the balance right is tantamount to a good

coffee. In the same vein, however, hardness has the

downside of leading to scale formation.

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So should we maximize aroma and flavor at the cost of

some scale formation? Nothing to worry about if we

schedule regular descaling into our cleaning maintenance.

This is typically done with a mixture of water and citric acid.

Because we’ll eventually consume this water, we should also

consider what to remove from it to keep it hygienic and to

ensure we don’t get unwanted flavors in our cup.

An example of this can be from tap water. Water supply

companies will often add chlorine or chloramines to

eliminate any pathogens in the water.

•Chloride compounds and other organic materials can

be removed with an active carbon filter.

•Heavy metals like iron and other compounds like

fluoride can be removed with an ion exchange filter or

RO.

•These filters will often be used in various combinations

to achieve suitable water for espresso.

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Higher general hardness directly affects the extraction rate.

It’s been shown in lab testing (Hendon et al., 2014) to

significantly impact the aroma and flavor. The acidity in the

cup is influenced by the alkalinity — higher alkalinity will

reduce acidity in the cup.

Pre-made mixes

If mixing your own water sounds like too much effort, there

are some companies that supply premix powders that you

just add to your distilled water. One of them is called “Third

Wave Water,” and they offer a few options. I recommend

getting the one designed for espresso. It’s worth mentioning

that this mix is rather potent, so that the majority of users

prefer using it at half strength.

Another premix is a product called “Aquacode.” It’s more

expensive, but it’s made with natural products.

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For more options, we recommend the following video by

James Hoffman, in which he compares several different

brands using light, medium and dark roasted coffee.

Choosing a water recipe to mix

We recommend that you buy mineral water that's low in

calcium like Volvic, or use distilled or deionized water and

mix in your own minerals.

There are many variations of water recipes that got updated

over the years or which are more specialized towards brew

coffee or espresso. This is why I recommend checking for

the recipes on the respective sites on the internet. For

example, Scott Rao and SCA provide two different and

slightly similar recipes that changed slightly over time. Also,

if you feel very confident making your own water recipes,

you can check out the following Google sheet in which you

can calculate the amounts you need of each substance to

make your own concentrates.

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I suggest that you use the SCA water guidelines as a

reference for when you start to customize your water IF you

feel you need to. This would involve buying testing kits to

accurately read the composition of the formulated brew

water and a period of trial and error while you experiment

with what you like.!

Note: When you mix from a recipe, start with bottled,

distilled, or deionized water so that you don’t need to

filter it before re-mineralizing.

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Ingredients needed for the following recipes

These are available from the supermarket, your local health

store or online. Some supermarkets even have special

Distilled/RO water dispensers, where you can fill your own

containers. These stations are helpful because we can save

on disposable plastic bottles and bring our own container.

Just be sure to check if it's been re-mineralized or not.

Recipe: Mixing your own

Ingredients and tools:

•Water

•Bicarbonate Soda NaHCO3

•Epsom Salts, also known as Magnesium Sulphate

(MgSO4)

•Distilled/ Deionized / RO Water

•Glass mason jars (>500ml)

•Scale measuring to 0.01g!

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Below are the mixtures for the concentrate solution that

you will dilute to produce your brew water.!They’re based on

some water recipes you can find on Barista Hustle.

In the first recipe, we'll make a total of 250ml of

concentrate at 2000ppm. Depending on how much brew

water you use, you might only need to do this 1-2 times a

month.

Buffer concentrate

•!0.84g of Bicarbonate soda

•250ml of water

Magnesium concentrate

•1.23g of Epsom salts

•250ml of water

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Please note that these are intended to be kept as two

separate concentrates. To prevent them from spoiling or

creating unwanted flavors, avoid using a metal or plastic

container.! Use glass mason jars, which you can store in a

fridge.!

Label the jars with the recipe and the date it was made.

When you add the minerals to the water:

•It will turn cloudy white.

•CO2 will be degassed from the solution

(effervescence)

•You might see solid particles at the bottom.

•You can stir the solution with a sterile implement to

quicken the process of degassing.

•Place a lid on the jar and store it in the fridge until

needed.

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If you smell a “damp” odor from your concentrate DON’T

USE IT, because this damp flavor will carry over into your

coffee. Make a new batch of concentrate.

Tip: Remember to wash your hands and take the

concentrate out with a sterile spoon/pipette/syringe

to ensure that it stays fresh longer.

For any actual recipe, the amount of water is calculated by

the following equation:

1000 - (Buffer concentrate + Mg concentrate) = water

needed for recipe.

We highly recommend watching the following DYI water for

coffee guide before you go out and make your own water

mix.

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With these recipes, you add concentrate to your brew

water, meaning before you brew. The buffer concentrate

increases alkalinity, so you use it if your coffees have a

tendency to taste too sour. You use the magnesium

concentrate for sweeter coffee with more mouthfeel. It

increases the general hardness of the water. Note that you

don’t add the entire solution, you add the concentrates in

tablespoons before you brew (and then taste).

Espresso water for pre-brew addition

You can use the concentrates created now and add them to

your brew water. Depending on your roast and beans,

different ratios work best.

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All-purpose water for espresso, straight

shots or milk drinks

(20ppm GH, 60ppm KH)

This water has more KH than GH, which helps to avoid the

all-too-common sourness in espresso, and a moderate

amount of GH, which helps the shot not be too heavy or

overwhelming when drunk straight.

• 10g Magnesium concentrate

• 30g Buffer concentrate

• 960g water

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Bold and punchy espresso water for darker

roasts or milk drinks

(60ppm GH, 60ppm KH)

The relatively high buffer of this water still helps avoid

sourness, but the increased GH makes for a punchier, more

intense shot.

• 30g Magnesium concentrate

• 30g Buffer concentrate

• 940g water

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Recipes for post-brew addition to coffee

There are also recipes for concentrates that you can add to

your coffee post-brew. With these, you brew with distilled,

deionized, or reverse osmosis water in the DE1, which is

ideal for the health of the machine, and then add a certain

number of drops of each concentrate to the coffee after it

has been brewed.

We distinguish between GH concentrate, which increases

hardness and will make your coffee taste fuller and

sweeter. The other concentrate is the KH concentrate,

which will reduce acidity.

GH Concentrate:

• 3g Magnesium sulphate (epsom salt)

• 90g distilled/deionized water

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KH Concentrate:

• 2g Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)

• 90g distilled/deionized water

You will need 100ml dropper bottles for these concentrates.

And as before, you need to keep them separate. These

drops will add different amounts (in ppm) of either GH or

KH to your shot, depending on the volume of your shot.

Since each drop adds a certain amount of each mineral,

with larger shots, that amount of minerals is diluted by a

greater amount, so each drop adds less ppm in larger shots.

Here is the ppm added per drop across a range of shot

sizes:

To make the “Basic Espresso Water” recipe using these

drops, you would use the following numbers of drops (for

shots in between these sizes, please choose the one closest

to your shot size, and adjust by taste as needed):

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30g shot:

• 1 drop of GH concentrate

• 3 drops of KH concentrate

45g shot

• 1 drop of GH concentrate

• 4 drops of KH concentrate

60g shot

• 2 drops of GH concentrate

• 6 drops of KH concentrate

Shot size

ppm added per drop

30g

20ppm

45g

15ppm

60g

10ppm

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To make the “Bold and Punchy Espresso Water” recipe this

way, you would use the following numbers of drops:

30g shot:

• 3 drops of GH concentrate

• 3 drops of KH concentrate

45g shot:

• 4 drops of GH concentrate

• 4 drops of KH concentrate

60g shot:

• 6 drops of GH concentrate

• 6 drops of KH concentrate

Is your coffee still too sour? Add 1 drop of KH concentrate.

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Do you need more mouthfeel or acidity? Add 1 drop of GH

concentrate.

As you see, this enables us to experiment with the different

concentrates and adapt our coffee to our own preferences.

We wish you lots of fun with experimenting!

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What is a “shot of black”?

Some specialty cafes might use a name like “shot of black”

or “black shot” in their beverage menu, because it consists

of a few types of black coffee, espresso, ristretto, lungo or

even somewhere in-between. With a generic name, baristas

have the freedom to serve the suitable recipe from their

coffee beans instead of serving just one of the recipes all

the time.

Some cafes have ever-changing coffee beans, sourced

from different roasters. So the idea is to serve the

appropriate recipes for the coffee beans unless customers

request their preference (espresso, ristretto, lungo) from

the coffee bar.

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In short, to avoid arguments or confusion with enthusiast

customers, a “shot of black” could be ristretto, espresso or

lungo, and baristas are free to choose suitable recipes for

specific coffee beans.

If you’re not familiar with some of these names (espresso,

ristretto or lungo), don’t fret. I’ll cover them in the next few

pages.

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Base for coffee or latte art

Recipes for espresso/ristretto

Pay attention to these three things during the calibration

process, because any of them could directly affect the taste

of your shot.

• Brew temperature

• Grind sizes

• Recipes (input, output & extraction time)

• Pressure/flow

I'll explain them step-by-step to give you a clearer picture.

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Brew Temperature (1/3)

Brew temperature is the temperature of the water that goes

through the coffee puck to brew the coffee.

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In the market, beans have different roasted colour shades.

The roasting process turns green coffee beans into a light

colour all the way to a dark colour.

•If beans are roasted for a shorter period, the

colour will be lighter.

•If beans are roasted for a longer period, the colour

will be darker. Each colour shade is meant for

different brewing preferences.

Most specialty cafés use medium-light to medium-dark

roasted coffee beans, because the taste acceptance level is

generally higher than dark roast or light roast.

A light roast has a higher risk of producing a grassy,

vegetable taste if the coffee roaster isn’t skillful.

Dark roast might be too bitter, wood-like, or earthy tasting.

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So, choosing your coffee beans correctly is important as

well. In general, our coffee brewing temperature ranges

from 85 – 99° Celsius.

A Decent perspective

On the Decent Espresso machine, we measure the

temperature directly at the coffee puck, so our

temperatures don't "look" the same as on other

espresso machines. User testing has found that on our

machines, a given temperature setting is equivalent at

the puck to a setting 5°C/9°F higher on many

traditional espresso machines.

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Brew temperatures, summarised:

Light roast coffee:!95 – 99°C (higher

temperature)

Medium or medium-dark roast coffee:!

88 – 95°C (medium temperature).

Dark roast coffee:!82 – 90°C (lower

temperature).

Above are general guidelines. Results may vary, so you can

adjust to your taste preference.

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Not all home espresso machines have a PID control

(Proportional-Integral-Derivative). In particular, many entry-

level coffee machines brew coffee at a default temperature

of 95°C. If you want to be more in control of your brewing,

you’ll have to pay a higher price for this feature.!

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Grind size (2/3)

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The Flow

The preceding illustration shows you what happens when

the flow of an espresso shot goes too fast, too slow, or

“mouse tails” (a nice flow).

A glass of coffee beans (left). This represents a coarse grind

size. When you pour water over it, the water goes through

the beans quickly. As a result, there's no time for the water

to linger and brew the coffee. We call this “under

extraction”.

A glass of coffee grounds (center). This represents the size

in-between coarse and fine. This is the flow a barista is

looking for, but it still doesn’t define the delicious taste of

coffee. You have to take a sip to fine-tune the taste further

during the calibration process.

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A glass of flour (right).!This represents the finest grind size.

When you grind the coffee too fine, water can’t go through

it. Therefore, the output flow becomes too slow or drippy. In

coffee terms, this is called “over-extraction”.

When you make coffee, there’s no right or wrong. Arabica

beans come in hundreds of different varieties from

thousands of coffee roasters, so you have infinite

outcomes. And that’s why people like me and other coffee

enthusiasts are so passionate – with a little tweak and

different combinations, we can have endless possibilities.

It’s an adventure, and I suggest you keep exploring to find

yourself a favourite recipe!

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About calibration

Shot black is very sensitive to the correct grind size. If

you’re not skillful in calibration, you might waste a lot of

coffee beans and time, making bad-tasting coffee.

As a barista, when you open a new bag of beans, you need

to “adjust” the coffee taste to a certain preference (yours or

your patrons). When adjusting the coffee taste, a barista has

to calibrate the grind size, dose input, extraction time, and

yield output. Each of these is an important building block of

the taste.

I advise you to put your heart into learning about shot

calibration.

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Instruments needed for calibration

• Espresso machine

• Espresso grinder

• Coffee scale

• Coffee cup

• Teaspoon

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Some countries call it “dialing in” a shot and some call it

“calibration.” This is the step in adjusting your coffee grind

and dose according to your taste preference. It’s the

fundamental base of latte art. If you make this shot too

watery or diluted, it will be a disaster to pour latte art into it,

and it also makes tasteless coffee. If it’s too thick, it will be

too bitter or have an unpleasant burning taste.

Next, I want to explain the difference between ristretto and

espresso.

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Recipes (3/3)

Espresso

Input: 18g for a double shot, or 9g for a single shot

Time: 25-30sec (if it’s a single-shot, divide by two)

Output: 36g or 27g (single shot is 18g or 13.5g)

Brew ratio: 1:2 or 1:2.5

Characteristics: slightly watery because there's a little more

water going through, which enables longer extraction and

pulls out more flavours, especially single-origin. Great for

black coffee. Some blended beans can also make flavourful

espresso. My advice is to try different beans and be curious.

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Ristretto

Input: 20g (for single shot, divide by two)

Time: 20-25sec (if single-shot, divide by two)

Output: 20g (single shot, divide by two)

Brew ratio: 1:1

Characteristics: thick and syrupy, due to less water dilution

and a higher dose. Suitable for blended coffee beans, milk

coffee and ice coffee, because ristretto has more intensity

compared to an espresso.

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Ristretto vs. espresso, what's the

deal and why?

I understand you might be confused now. Why are there

two similar drinks? When should I use ristretto and when

should I use espresso?

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Espresso!pulls a longer shot with more water. The water

passes through for a longer duration. It's ideal for medium-

to-light roasting profiles and single-origin beans. You may

try a brew ratio of 1:2.5, 1:1.5, or an even shorter 1:1.1. As I've

mentioned before, coffee making has infinite possibilities. It

depends on your taste preference.

Traditionally, I like to make espresso with a lighter medium

roast, using single-origin coffee beans for a long black

coffee, with a longer extraction time to extract more

flavours and tasting notes.

What if I pull an espresso with blended and dark roast

beans? It could be bitter with complicated tasting notes.

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Ristretto!has a shorter extraction duration and a higher

dose. The texture is more concentrated and syrupy, and

some people find drinking ristretto on its own too intense.

It's ideal for a medium-dark or dark roast, using blended

coffee beans with white coffee, and for ice drinks. Some

even taste good with black coffee; this has more versatility.

Ristretto is good for latte art because it has more

concentration – milk flows like it’s gliding in the air with

ristretto.

What if I pull a ristretto with a single-origin, light-medium

roast? It could taste under-extracted, grassy with vegetable

notes.

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Barista jargon for shots

Single shot: 1 portion of coffee.

Double shot: 2 portions of coffee.

Dose: Coffee ground in grams (g).

Input: Coffee ground into the group head.

Output: Coffee flows out from the group head.

Brew ratio: The ratio between the amount of coffee

grounds in the group head and the output of coffee

liquid. For example, if the brew ratio is 1:2, then 18g of

coffee grounds will produce 36g of coffee liquid, 20g

of coffee grounds makes 40g of coffee liquid, or 10g

of coffee grounds produces 20g of coffee liquid. It’s

an indication of the quantitative relation between

two amounts.

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Extraction time: The duration when the espresso

machine starts dispensing water and stops brewing.

Not the duration of when the coffee starts and stops

dripping.

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Let’s calibrate!

Below are examples that use the ristretto recipe, but the

process is similar for espresso.

Looks like an over-extraction.

Input: 20g

Extraction time: 1min 30 sec

Output: 20g

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The illustration shows a flow that’s too slow, drippy and

over-extracted. Usually, the taste will be burnt, woody and

with earthy-tasting notes.

Solution:!Adjust your grind size to be coarser. How coarse?

You have to try until you get the result you want. There are

thousands of different grinders in the world, and each one

behaves differently.

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Looks like an under-extraction.

Input: 20g

Extraction time: 8 sec

Output: 20g

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The illustration shows a very fast flow that's under-

extracted. The taste is either too watery, diluted or very sour

(not acidic) because the grind size is too coarse. Therefore,

there’s too much space within the coffee puck, and the hot

water passes through it too quickly.

Solution:!Adjust your grind size to be finer.

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Let’s take a sip!

Extraction time: 26 sec

Output: 20g

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The illustration shows a “mouse-tail” flow, which is the flow

we need, but this doesn’t guarantee a good, delicious

coffee. This indicates that we’re ready to taste the shot.

Next action:!Stir well, then take a sip. Is this the

comfortable taste that you're looking for?

Too sour:!Pull a longer shot, maybe from a 20g (input) 22g

(output), then taste again. If the sourness persists, pull an

even longer shot or try another brew ratio, 1:1.5 or 1:2.

Too bitter:!Lower the dose very slightly. You may want to

try to lower from 20g to 19.6g, for example. But you be the

judge, because only you know your coffee beans and

grinder.

Too milky:!Increase the dose and adjust to a coarser grind

size (I assume that you properly textured the milk). Or try it

with other brew ratios.

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The previous recipes are based on general

preference, extraction time, dosage input, or

yield output. The first priority is always the

individual taste preference.

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Why calibration is important

Imagine this:!let’s say you’re comfortable using one type of

beans for making coffee at home. One day, your friends visit

you with their bag of coffee beans as a souvenir from

vacation. By international café standards, a bag of coffee

beans should weigh around 200g.

You should be able to make 10 double shots of ristretto for a

café latte. But because you’re too comfortable with your

own beans with minimal adjustments, you have no idea how

to calibrate new beans. You end up wasting a lot of coffee

beans trying to figure it out. And finally, you're only able to

serve your friends with two cups of coffee.

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They’ll be surprised and wonder how you used up a big

200g bag of beans to make only two cups of coffee. You

can avoid an incident like this if you're well equipped with

calibration skills and knowledge.

I always advise newbies to be curious about coffee. Go buy

coffee beans from various roasters and explore. With this

process, you'll learn to troubleshoot issues with calibration.

200g of coffee beans should get you around 6-7

shots (each shot with 20g of beans) of double

ristretto. What!? How do you calculate that, you

ask?

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There’s usually some retention in the grinder’s burrs (coffee

grounds stuck in the burr). If you pour 20g into a bean

hopper and grind it, a traditional grinder will output probably

18g or 19g of coffee. Where's the other 1–2g? Retention, my

friend! A little bit of coffee grounds will get stuck in your

grinder burr, chute or any part within the grinder chamber.

175

Happy dialing!

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MAINTENANCE:

A BARISTA’S

DUTY

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Well, it’s a wrap! Time to get

your hands dirty.

As a very hardworking barista or home barista, it’s important

to know how to make good coffee. But knowing how to

keep your espresso machines hygienic and clean is also a

barista’s duty.

If your espresso machine isn’t well maintained, it will have

old coffee dirt in the group head or leftover milk stains on

the wand tip. These will directly affect the quality of your

next cup of coffee.

A home barista once told me something ridiculous. He said

he washed his espresso machine “once in a blue moon” and

he said it without guilt. The worst part is that he makes at

least two cups of coffee a day at home.

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I don’t blame him, but I blame the lack of educational

materials in this field.

So what happens if you don’t wash your espresso machine,

or if you only wash it once a week…or once in a blue moon?

Let’s use common sense by asking:

“Would you dare eat my food if you know I cooked

with a pan that hadn’t been washed for a few days?”

I think you know the answer.

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So let’s get started by learning how to clean up your

espresso machine in a general way. Since there are so many

different machines, I'll stick with the old-school way of

cleaning up.

Here are a few parts we need to maintain:

Group head (at the end of the day).

Steam wand (every time after use).

Drip tray (at the end of the day).

Portafilter, basket and etc (every time after use).

Grinder burrs (once a week, or once a month —

depending on your usage frequency).

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Items that you need to clean the

group head

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1. Espresso group brush

The longer the brush, the better. This comes with a mini

scoop at the rear to scoop the espresso cleaner powder,

and a brush for the group’s track and shower screen. There

are many shorter versions, but these will burn your hand

because the water will travel to your fingers as you brush

and flush. A longer brush will prevent this from happening.

2. Espresso group round brush (optional)

Insert this into the group’s track and clean the dirt hidden in

there. I strongly suggest using this brush as a long-term

solution for easier cleaning.

3. Espresso cleaner solution (powder form)

This is meant to backflush the tubing internally and wash

the group head, but it’s not meant for descaling. There's a

descaling solution (citric acid) for that purpose.

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4. Blind filter

You need this basket to hold the espresso cleaner powder

because a “blind” basket has no holes in it, and it’s meant for

flushing the group head and backflushing the internal

tubing.

5. Portafilter

Any type of portafilter will work for this. Don’t worry about

whether it’s a single spout or double — as long as the blind

filter fits in it.

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Group head cleaning

Wash this when you're done for the day, but not after every

cup you’ve made.

Below is the before-after result; our objective is to keep it

shiny and clean.

184

The process is pretty simple. Before we use the portafilter,

just use the group brush to remove the coffee dirt while

simultaneously flushing water out of the group head. Then

tuck a round brush into the track and brush off any dirt

stuck to the track by rotating the brush (make sure the

brush is wet), while also flushing water.

After the dirt is cleaned off, use the portafilter with a blind

filter and fill it with water, as shown in the illustration below.

185

Mount the portafilter into the group head, lock it tight, press

the start button, then wait for 10 seconds as shown in the

illustration below.

When 10 seconds have passed, take the portafilter out and

check if the water is clean or dirty. If it has dirt, then repeat

the process until it’s clean and clear.

186

After the water cleaning is done, use the espresso cleaning

solution.

187

Follow the instructions on the label of the espresso cleaner

solution. Different brands require different amounts. Usually,

it comes with a mini scoop. Shown in the previous

illustration is the usual amount of powder to use in the blind

filter.

Then mount the portafilter into the group head and repeat.

This time, lots of foamy soap will come out.

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Repeat the process of mounting into the group head and

starting the group head for 10 seconds. Perform this step

until the soap foam runs clear. Usually it takes 10 - 20

repetitions. Then your job is done for the group head.

For parts that wear and tear — like the shower screen and

rubber gasket — I recommend that you change them once

a year or once in two years, or if you find leaks when you pull

shots. If it still leaks no matter how much you’ve tightened

it, it’s time to change both.

189

A Decent perspective

The Decent Espresso machines include a

software setting for group head flushing with a

blind filter. Just press the setting, and the

machine will flush itself five times.

Steam wand cleaning

This is simple.

To clean the steam wand:

1. Use your big pitcher.

2. Add 70% tap water with espresso cleaning

solution,

3. Turn on the steam.

4. Let it run until the water is simmering/boiling, then

turn off the steam

5. Use a wet cloth to rub the steam tip and clean the

milk stains.

When you're done with the espresso cleaning solution, you

have to fill the pitcher with water two more times and boil it

with the steam wand before you can let your machine rest.

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Portafilter, basket, and drip tray

cleaning

You should clean the portafilter, basket and drip tray with

home dishwashing detergent and a sponge. Most

importantly, you should rub off the coffee stains that are

stuck on the drip tray, on the inside of the portafilter, and on

the side of the basket.

If you haven’t washed the inside of the portafilter in a very

long time, it could already be dark brown or worse, black

coloured. In this case, you'll need a scrubber to do the job.

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Grinder maintenance

How often do we need to perform this maintenance? Once

a week, once a month, once in two months… it all depends

on your grinding experience and volume. If you find your

grind size to be inconsistent or it gets difficult to calibrate

(producing a weird taste), then it’s time to do grinder

maintenance. But to be safe, I would suggest once a week

— or at least once a month if you seldom use it or you’re a

busy person.

There are many different types of grinders, too many for us

to explore. So you should read the instruction manual to do

maintenance. But the main objective is to remove dirt from

sticking to the burrs and the burr chamber, which causes

grinding to be less efficient because the burrs are less sharp.

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For a traditional grinder, you’ll have to unscrew the burr from

the top. After it’s removed, your grind-size setting is off

track, but some manufacturers were innovative enough to

fix this problem. Their grind-size setting remains the same

even when the top burr gets removed. So my advice is to

check with your supplier or read the instruction manual

before you start a cleaning procedure.

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Items that you need to clean your

grinder

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1. Food grade lubricant

This is meant to lube the track of the burrs after they're

clean. Remember to use food-grade, not ordinary lubricant.

2. Paint brush

Use a paint brush to brush off the dirt. The size of the brush

depends on your burr diameter and thickness.

3. Wooden stick

To scratch dirt off the track. Anything sharp will do, like a

toothpick or a thermometer — but try not to scratch your

grinder.

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4. Vacuum cleaner

To suck out the dirt from narrow spaces where your brush is

too broad or a wooden stick is too thin to brush. You can

also vacuum the chute and burr window. The horsepower

doesn’t matter, but it should at least have a sharp plastic tip

(as shown in the illustration) to access the burr chamber.

5. Kitchen paper towel

To wipe stubborn coffee stains at the burr tracks.

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Before we start, remember: don’t use soap or any inedible

solution to clean your burr. This is because we grind and

drink from this.

1. Unscrew and remove the burr from the top. After it’s

removed, use a vacuum cleaner with a sharp plastic tip,

tuck it into the burr chamber and vacuum out all the

visible dirt.

2. Scratch and remove dirt from burr tracks with a wooden

stick. Some stubborn dirt might resemble a chocolate-

like paste. Use a piece of kitchen paper towel to wipe

those stubborn pieces off.

3. Clean the chute. You need to brush, vacuum and keep it

shiny.

4. Lube the track. Apply a bit of lubricant on a paper towel,

then lube and wipe the tracks both at the top burr and

chamber.

5. Recheck and make sure everything is shiny and clean

before you reassemble.

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6. Adjust the grind size and taste the difference when you

make coffee with cleaned burrs.

“Clean as you come and clean as you go.”

We use this phrase a lot at a coffee bar or

kitchen. It applies even to a home coffee bar.

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What is it like to work in a café as a

barista?

I'm writing this based on my working experience in Kuala

Lumpur, Malaysia. I don’t represent all baristas around the

world, but if you never worked as a barista before, here are

some of my experiences.

From a local cafe perspective, workers in the food and

beverage industry are considered minimal-wage earners if

you compare salary vs. job scope.

Let me explain a barista’s duties at the coffee bar:

1. Make coffee with speed.

2. Quality check of coffee.

3. Be a cashier and take orders.

4. Keep the café clean and hygienic.

5. Clear the table after customers leave.

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6. Sweep, mop the floor and wash the toilets at the

opening and closing of the café.

7. Resolve wrong orders made by the kitchen.

8. Bring out and serve food from the kitchen.

9. Count and order stocks for everything sold at the coffee

bar.

10. Explain and recommend coffee, cakes and food to

customers.

11. Know everything on the menu.

12. Change light bulbs and fix utilities.

13. Cut cakes for customers, cut fruits for juices, make

sugar syrups for beverages.

14. Wash cups, saucers, plates, forks and spoons.

15. Be friendly to everyone.

16. Decorate the café before festive seasons and remove

decor post festivals.

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Yup, it's a very tiring job as a barista running up and down

the café. Many cafés don’t post “barista” as a job title

anymore; they call it “All-Rounder”, which means you have

to do everything and anything to help a café’s business.

Is it worth it? Yes. I never regret being part of this industry

and getting to know many people along the way. If I'd never

asked for a part-time job at a café, I would not be here

writing this book.

I'm grateful to get a practical learning opportunity. I think

everyone deserves a good cup of coffee, and coffee

education should be accessible and affordable everywhere.

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How was this book conceived?

I enjoy teaching classes and coaching students from

inexperienced to skillful. I feel proud cultivating them and

watching them grow.

Often, I’ve received requests from my followers to guide

them because their hometown or country doesn’t have

coffee classes available. Therefore I’m also eager to teach

people outside of Malaysia, but I can’t reach other countries

and run my local classes simultaneously.

Some classes can't be conducted via Zoom webinars. You

need an espresso machine for hand guidance or visual

guidance. Then I thought that a book or an eBook could be a

good idea for those in distant countries that I can't reach.

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Acknowledgments

What I've learned from my years of experience at the coffee

bar, home coffee bar, and teaching classes, I’ve passed on

to you. If you read this book page-by-page and apply it to

your daily practices as a home barista or at a café, this

information will lead you to the next level.

I also have to acknowledge that there are many

perspectives; I'm still a student, keeping my heart curious

and open. I believe we can serve better coffee worldwide.

Though I can't teach you face-to-face, I hope this book has

revealed and demystified espresso-making techniques and

calibration skills. I struggled with these at first without any

mentor to guide me through countless moments of

frustration.

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I would like to express gratitude to my friends, my followers,

my supporters, my loved ones, my colleagues and family.

Thanks for giving me space and time to write and for being

emotionally supportive.

And also, thank you for purchasing this book from me.

Please share it with whoever you think is in need of such

information.

My learning philosophy is:

When you've learned something, you pass it on to others.

This will double your improvement and benefit all.

If you want to move on to the next stage, give teaching a

try. You’ll understand the subject even deeper.

I believe in a win-win situation.

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Feel free to visit or DM me via Instagram @sinnedhew

(Dennis Hew) or visit my YouTube tutorial channel.

I would be glad to know how your improvement progresses

and how you're able to inspire others to make coffee at

home or at a coffee bar.

Stay healthy and see you again.

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