At the risk of preaching to the converted, here's a short story that underscores the need for fresh beans for good espresso.
I have been away from home for approx 7 weeks, parted from my much loved Bezzera and of course my home roasting gear.
Prior to leaving I roasted 2 kg of coffee to hopefully last me whilst away, I've been using it daily in a plunger, far from my favorite of espresso, but it was at least coffee.
Returned home for a visit a couple of days ago and bought the last of my bean supply with me, fired up the Bezzera all looked good, ground my usual 18 grams at the usual setting in my Mazzer Mini, dosed, tamped and locked the portafilter in, lifted the lever, gusher, tightened up the grinder a couple of notches and repeated the process, another gusher, repeated the process 4 times before the penny dropped, the beans were way past their best, as long as my backside is pointing to the ground they were never going to produce anything close to a decent espresso, yep I'm a slow learner?
Down to the shed in 40° heat and roasted a batch of Yirgacheffe, back to the machine, return the grinder to my standard setting, in with 18 grams of freshly roasted beans, ground them, dosed, tamped, locked and loaded, lifted the lever, viola, was rewarded by a thick viscous stream of nectar; all in the garden is well.?
The beans were stored in one way valve bags in a cool dark cupboard for the whole time I was away.
This little episode emphasizes the importance of fresh beans if your hoping to get the best out of any espresso machine.
Obviously this post is primarily directed toward newcomers to the world of espresso, I note that currently there is a thread from a person trying to get sense out a machine using Aldi beans, it really does make the process much more difficult than it should be, buy good quality freshly roasted beans https://beanbay.coffeesnobs.com.au/ViewCategory.aspx/roasted-coffee-ready-to-freight-now in the first place and be prepared to sacrifice a hundred grams or so, it will make the process of setting up your grinder/machine so much easier.?
I have been away from home for approx 7 weeks, parted from my much loved Bezzera and of course my home roasting gear.
Prior to leaving I roasted 2 kg of coffee to hopefully last me whilst away, I've been using it daily in a plunger, far from my favorite of espresso, but it was at least coffee.
Returned home for a visit a couple of days ago and bought the last of my bean supply with me, fired up the Bezzera all looked good, ground my usual 18 grams at the usual setting in my Mazzer Mini, dosed, tamped and locked the portafilter in, lifted the lever, gusher, tightened up the grinder a couple of notches and repeated the process, another gusher, repeated the process 4 times before the penny dropped, the beans were way past their best, as long as my backside is pointing to the ground they were never going to produce anything close to a decent espresso, yep I'm a slow learner?
Down to the shed in 40° heat and roasted a batch of Yirgacheffe, back to the machine, return the grinder to my standard setting, in with 18 grams of freshly roasted beans, ground them, dosed, tamped, locked and loaded, lifted the lever, viola, was rewarded by a thick viscous stream of nectar; all in the garden is well.?
The beans were stored in one way valve bags in a cool dark cupboard for the whole time I was away.
This little episode emphasizes the importance of fresh beans if your hoping to get the best out of any espresso machine.
Obviously this post is primarily directed toward newcomers to the world of espresso, I note that currently there is a thread from a person trying to get sense out a machine using Aldi beans, it really does make the process much more difficult than it should be, buy good quality freshly roasted beans https://beanbay.coffeesnobs.com.au/ViewCategory.aspx/roasted-coffee-ready-to-freight-now in the first place and be prepared to sacrifice a hundred grams or so, it will make the process of setting up your grinder/machine so much easier.?


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