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Dualit Café Barista Training

Dualit brings coffee shop style coffee into your home. Let's start with a quick training session and turn you, the coffee drinker, into a barista...
Dualit Café Barista Training

The Perfect Coffee 

You are looking for an espresso with a 2-3mm crema and a rich, dark brown colour underneath (the exact colour will depend on the bean you have chosen).

  • It should have a taste that is full of flavour (whether mild and subtle or rich and strong) and should not be bitter. It should stay hot to the bottom of the espresso.
  • An espresso shot should be 35ml extracted from 7g of ground coffee or 1x ESE pod

Different cup filters require different volumes of ground coffee and have different extraction volumes.

  • A 1 cup filter will require 6-9g of ground coffee and has a maximum extraction volume of 35ml.
  • A 2 cup filter will require 12-18g of ground coffee and has a maximum extraction volume of 75 - 150ml.
  • 1 ESE pod has a maximum extraction volume of 35ml.

There are 8 components to making a great cup of hot coffee. Get all these right and you'll have the perfect coffee, whether it's a straight shot of espresso or a 'combo' like a latté or cappuccino.

1. The Right Choice of Coffee Beans

There are two main types of bean; within each type there are numerous varieties that are usually identified by their geographical region:

  • Arabica: Arabica beans usually carry a lower caffeine content, have a clean, bright acidity, high sweetness and a floral and citrus character.
  • Robusta: Robusta usually carry a higher caffeine content. They are full bodied, have a pronounced bitterness, low acidity and an earthy and woody character.

 

Other factors that may affect the flavour of coffee include:

  • The roast will also affect the strength and flavour of the coffee. Generally the darker the roast the stonger the coffee will be.
  • Try beans from around the world. As with wine, the soil, climate and cultivation methods all affect the taste of the coffee, producing anything from a mild, mellow blend to a rich, dark roast.
  • The freshness of your coffee. Whole beans will keep for fourteen days in an air-tight container or 45 days in the freezer. Divide a big bag of beans into several smaller containers before freezing so you only open what you require.
2. The Grind

Different coffee machines require a different grind as this can affect the rate of extraction. machines need You'll know when you've got it right because you'll have a dense 2-3mm crema on the surface of your coffee.
Too coarse: This will under-extract, giving you brown water but no flavour.
Too fine: This will over-extract, giving you a bitter flavour.

We recommend either our Handheld Grinder or our Burr Coffee Grinder for quick and easy grinding!

3. Water

The perfect temperature for brewing coffee is just below boiling point. Boiling water will burn the ground beans and the coffee will taste bitter. A lower temperature won't extract the oils or flavour from the bean.

Your Dualit coffee machine will heat the water to the perfect temperature every time you make an espresso.

4. Dosing and Tamping

Compacting the coffee firmly and uniformly (but not too tightly) forces the water through the coffee grounds in a way that extracts the best flavour. Tamping too hard, will stop water flowing through the ground coffee. A good barista will tamper by pressing the grounds gently without tapping the filter holder, then twisting slightly to 'polish' the surface of the compacted coffee.

We recommend the Dualit Tamper as it controls the tamp pressure and has a levelling guide to ensure an even and level tamp every time.

5. Headroom

Headroom is the distance between the top of the tamped coffee and the bottom of the Brewhead/Showerhead. This distance can differ depending on your coffee machine.


Too little headroom: The water may not penetrate the puck fully or you will not be able to fit the Filter Holder to the Grouphead due to the volume of coffee grounds. Try decreasing the coffee grind size and tamping with more force. If there is still too little headroom, try reducing the amount of ground coffee used.
Too much headroom: The puck will be too wet, resulting in a poorly extracted coffee and can make it difficult to clean the Cup Filter.

Try increasing the coffee grind size and tamping with less force. Check the weight of the coffee to ensure that it is suitable for your coffee machine. If there is still too much headroom, try adding coffee one gram at a time.

6. Boiler or Thermoblock

Coffee machines use either a thermoblock or a boiler to heat water for coffee/hot water and create steam.


A thermoblock system heats water in pipes that are coiled around the heating element, warming the water as required to the optimum temperature for either coffee or steam. Thermoblock systems heat water quickly and can switch between steam and coffee temperatures. However, water temperature is less consistent and thus coffee may be too hot if you have just used the Steam Function.


A boiler system heats the water in a boiler - a tank of water with an element inside. The water within the tank is heated to the required temperature depending on the function selected. Boiler systems give a consistent water temperature but can take a little longer to reach the optimum temperature for the Steam Function. Also, a higher temperature is maintained during Steam Functions meaning the boiler does not refill. As a result, there is only a limited amount of steam before the appliance runs out.

7. Frothing or Steaming

WHAT IS STEAMING?

  • Heating the milk using steam.
  • For best results hold the jug still.
  • Great for making lattes, mochas and hot chocolate, as dense froth is not required.

WHAT IS FROTHING?

  • Combining the milk with air by slowly lowering the jug.
  • Keep the jug slightly at an angle with the steaming wand, just under the surface of the milk.

WHAT IS TEXTURING?

  • Combining the steamed and frothed milk to create a creamy, glossy texture.
  • Perfect for making cappuccinos, Babycinos and flavoured cinos

GENERAL TIPS

  • For best results use cold milk - semi-skimmed; the higher the fat content of the milk, the lighter the froth will be.
  • Don't let the milk boil - ideally, it should reach 70-75°C. Once it reaches 79°C you will lose the froth. Listen to the sound of the frothing; when it is ready the sound of the frothing will become quieter. When the jug gets too hot to touch the milk is ready. You can also use a thermometer. You can buy the Dualit Thermometer.
  • To avoid hot milk spillages when steaming, never fill the jug more than halfway as the milk volume will double when you froth.
  • Operate the steam once you have finished making coffees to remove any remaining milk residue from inside the steam wand. Ensure that the steam is directed away for people and objects that would be damaged by the steam. Risk of scalding.
  • Wipe the steam wand after each use. Caution the steam wand will be hot. Risk of burning.
  • If making coffee immediately after steaming, follow the priming procedure to fill the boiler with water failure to do so may affect the quality of the extracted coffee.
8. The Cup

Coffee should always be served in a warm cup, this will keep the coffee hotter for longer and enhance the aroma.


An espresso shot, in particular, will get cold very quickly if poured into a cold cup. For this reason, your cups must be pre-warmed before EACH use.