Coffee

Chapter 15

Coffee

Coffee

Coffee is made from the roasted and ground beans (seeds) of the coffee bush, which are mixed by various methods of infusion or decoction into boiling water; this is then strained to remove the sediment.

Coffee, whether ground or not, should be kept in an airtight container.

Coffee is usually made by percolation — that is, by boiling water filtering down through a receptacle containing the ground coffee beans.

Styles of coffee

Commonly requested styles of coffee include the following:– Short black or espresso– Long black or lungo– Cappuccino– Café latte– Flat white– Caffè macchiato – Mocha coffee – Vienna coffee – Iced coffee – Turkish or Greek coffee – Decaffeinated coffee.

Styles of coffee

The espresso machine

Most good coffee is nowadays made in an espresso machine. An espresso machine uses steam pressure to speed up and reinforce the percolation process. (Espresso means ‘pressed out’ as well as ‘express’ in Italian.)



Parts of the espresso machine– The group head is the part of the machine

from which hot water is expressed onto the ground coffee beans held in the filter handle.

– Filter handles hold the ground coffee under the group heads. They may be single or double spout handles.

– The steam wand or arm is used for frothing milk. The wand dispenses dry steam under high pressure.


– Automatic machines have a press-button pad with options for single or double cup fills, while semiautomatic machines simply have an on/off switch for controlling the coffee level.

– Some machines will have separate dials for boiler pressure and pump pressure, while others combine the two.



Maintenance of the machine - daily– Wipe steam wands (arms) after each use. Clean them

thoroughly after each day’s trading.– At the end of trading all machine surfaces should be

thoroughly cleaned.– Filters should be removed from filter handles and

washed out.– Group heads and filter handles should be cleaned

with a fine brush or thoroughly sponged out.– The water supply to the machine should be turned off

overnight.


Maintenance of the machine - weekly (or more frequently depending on usage)– Back-flush groups with a blind filter and

suitable detergent (obtainable from your coffee supplier).

– Remove end nozzles from steam wands, soak them in hot water and, if they are obstructed, clean the small outlets with a pin or fine needle.

Coffee beans

Good coffee beans are:– uniform in appearance, not spotted, discoloured or

charred– free of impurities– light and dry– free of any stale or rancid smell– not black– not damp or oily.

When they are ground, good beans will release a mouth-watering aroma.

Making good coffee

The first sign of a good coffee is that it should have a rich creamy texture, called in Italian the crema (meaning cream).

To prepare coffee with a good crema you must not only use good-quality freshly ground beans in a well-maintained machine, but also follow the correct procedure.

Making good coffee

Preparing the coffee– Select the appropriate filter handle (single or double

measure), remembering that two cups of coffee can be made from the same handle.

– Measure freshly ground coffee into the filter handle. Strong coffee will require a double measure handle for a single cup.

– Tamp or press ground coffee down into the filter handle. This may be done with a separate tamper, or with a tamper fixture on the grinding machine if one is available.

Making good coffee

– Insert the filter handle under a group head in the espresso machine.

– Turn the filter handle to hold it firmly in place.– Place cups or glasses under group outlets.– Activate the machine.– While coffee is filtering into cups, prepare the

milk, if required.

Making good coffee

Making good coffee

Preparing the milk– Fill the frothing jug with the required amount of cold

milk. Very cold milk froths best. – Angle the jug at about 30°. When the steam is

injected this angle gives the milk a whirlpool motion which helps to froth it satisfactorily.

– Turn the steam wand on for a few seconds before putting it in the milk. This will dispel excess moisture.

– Immerse the steam wand or arm just below the surface of the milk and open the steam tap fully.

Making good coffee

– When preparing a caffè latte, for which the milk should be less frothy than for a cappuccino, the wand should be inserted more deeply into the milk so that less air is sucked in.

– As the froth develops and the milk expands, use two hands to hold the jug and lower it so that the steam wand remains just below the surface of the milk.

– Continue to inject steam into the milk until the jug is too hot to touch, but be careful not to boil the milk.

– If you have enough froth before the jug is sufficiently hot, change the angle of the jug so that it is upright and the froth-making whirlpool effect is lessened.

Presenting the coffee

1. Place the cup or glass on the working surface without its saucer.

2. Carefully add the milk (if required) to the coffee.

3. If necessary, a spoon may be used to hold back excess froth.

4. Sprinkle chocolate garnish (if required).

5. Place the cup on the saucer, with the spoon to its right, and present it to the customer.


6. If coffee is served in a glass it should be presented with a neatly folded napkin (to allow the customer to pick up the glass comfortably).

7. Customers ordering coffee with still milk may prefer to milk their own coffee to taste. In that case hot milk may be served in a small jug beside the cup for them to help themselves.



Irish coffee

To make a good Irish coffee you require the following:– an Irish coffee glass– good black coffee, preferably espresso coffee– Irish whiskey– a sprit measure– aerated cream– sugar (Demerara sugar if available) and sugar spoons– a bar spoon– a saucer and doily or napkin for the coffee glass.

Irish coffee

Other liqueur coffees

Career

Coffee