Read on for the best Breville Barista Express tips for the year!
Did you know? Breville is one of the most popular and best brands for coffee making in the comfort of your home. Breville Coffee makers are of various types and models. You can choose from beginner, intermediate and advanced, depending on how enthusiastic you are about coffee.
Breville Barista Express is considered the best espresso machine in the coffee-making world. Do you already own a Breville Barista Express, and are you looking for tips to make it work? Or are you planning on buying one in the future?
Whichever one it is, you are in the right place. This article will give you some of the best tried and tested tips for making the best coffee!
Contents
A Brief Introduction to Operating Your Breville Barista Express
The machine may seem strange to you at first because it has many moving parts and settings. But you can read through the reader’s manual to easily understand which is which. It’s important that you get to know your Barista well before you start making your first brew.
Since you are dealing with a beverage, always keep the machine spotless and clean.
Firstly, install the water filter. Then, run a few brew lines so that you can flush the system and make sure that there are no blockages or dirt. Check that the pump is working well.
The most important tip of all is to always check the water level of the machine before running it. This is vital because Breville Barista Express machines do not come with a low water warning indicator. And running the machine without water can damage it permanently or even start a fire.
How to Make the Perfect Breville Barista Express Coffee?
Before you start making your coffee, make sure that you preheat the machine first. Making your coffee from a cold start is not your best option. You need to have your water temperature very high to extract the coffee well. If it’s not hot enough, your coffee may not taste very good.
Preheat your machine for about 15 minutes before starting.
Some experts maintain that putting your cup on top of the warming tray of the machine will help warm the cup while the coffee brews. A warm cup will help retain the heat of the coffee for longer.
For the best coffee, always use freshly ground beans. Pre-ground beans may reduce the flavor and quality of your coffee.
The Breville Barista Express comes with an inbuilt coffee bean grinder. So you can measure out your coffee beans and grind them with the machine instantly.
Follow these steps to make your best cup of coffee.
- Add coffee beans to your machine’s hopper ungrounded and whole.
- If you are a beginner at using the Breville Barista Express, put the grind size in a medium setting. You can choose whichever grind size you like once you get used to the machine.
- Star the grid by pushing the portafilter in firmly.
- It is best to begin with a single shot of coffee. Most lattes have only one shot of espresso. A single shot of coffee would weigh about 8-10 grams.
If you want to be more accurate, you can weigh the portafilter without the coffee with an electronic scale and zero the scale. Then, weigh it again with the coffee.
- It is important to compress the coffee with the right amount of pressure. But that comes with practice! For now, you can give the coffee a quick tamp and compress the ground coffee firmly.
- Then, insert the portafillter. Twist it until it locks properly into the machine.
- Choose the correct button for the number of cups you want. And enjoy your coffee!
One of the best features of the Breville Barista Express is that it has a gauge to help you dial in your technique.
Watch the gauge in the front of your machine. The needle must stay on the band labels ‘espresso range.’ If the needle gets lower, then understand that you must increase your tamping pressure.
If the needle is higher than the range, then it is an indication that you must compress with less force.
Read this for a list of the best Breville Barista Espresso Machines in 2023!
Breville Barista Express Tips: Conclusion
The Breville Barista Express machine comes with many settings and features that enable you to make the best brew. But it would take you some time and many cups of coffee till you learn to perfect your technique.
Keep reading the owner’s manual for instructions on how to manage the machine. Try to master all the features of your machine before you try your hand at more advanced shots and learn milk frothing techniques.
Also read: How many shots are in a latte?
*All pics are courtesy of Unsplash.com