A Coffee Bean Shop customer asked me today how they can improve the quality of the espresso in the cup. I thought this information might be helpful to someone else, so i would like to share it with you.
The question asked:

I own a breville espresso machine with a non pressurised basket. The coffee espresso drips out over 30mls in fifteen seconds or less. I use the small plastic tamp that came with my machine.The problem is that I don't get good quality crema in espresso.

And the reply is;

Hi,

The lack of crema in your espresso can be for varied reasons;

• coffee beans purchased from the supermarket and other stale coffee beans will lack crema - it can be very difficult to obtain fresh roasted coffee beans from any shopfront or cafe.
• the grind setting you select plays a large part. You might find that a finer grind is what is needed. 
  
• a better tamp feels better in your hand, and can give you a better distribution of coffee in the basket, but the main thing is that you are using one - even the one that came with your machine is fine.

Consistency is your friend with the following;

• you will need 14 grams of ground coffee in the basket. You dont have to measure it, aim for a heaped hump sitting ontop of the basket. usually any extra will naturally fall off the sides of the basket anyway.
  
• tamp with around fifteen kilograms of pressure. If you have bathroom scales at your place, try practicing ontop of the scales to get an idea of what 15kg of pressure feels like
• aim for 30 seconds of espresso pour in the cup.
  

Iif you do all of these things, then the only thing you then need to adjust is your grind. If you get too much coffee in the cup over 30 seconds, your grind is too coarse. if you dont get enough coffee, your coffee is too fine. You are then able to repeat knowing that most everything else is consistent.


I hope that helps. let me know how you get on.

Coffee Bean Shop coffee is roasted fresh for you when you place your order - we do not keep any coffee beans on a shelf. In contrast, coffee purchased from a supermarket can be 12 months old before you buy it, so you're way ahead with Coffee Bean Shop fresh roasted coffee beans. I suggest fresh roasted coffee beans are at their peak for one month post roast, but I know of people and businesses that regularly keep coffee beans for three to six months. Its completely up to your taste.

Coffee Bean Shop coffee is packed in one-way valve, foil lined bags for ultimate freshness.

Roasted Coffee releases CO2 which means that over time the pressure inside a coffee bag increases “blowing the bag up like a balloon”. To solve this situation one way degassing valves were created. The valves are made of PET. These valves let the CO2 escape without allowing air to re-enter the bag, resulting in a fresher bag of coffee. When the pressure reaches 0.1375psi (9.5 millibar) the valve will release the air from bag automatically until the pressure decreases to 0.0375psi(2.6millibar). Degassing valves are a coffee industry standard and are highly recommended. We only provide the best quality valves from Switzerland and Italy. 

Managing a corporate office isnt easy. You are tasked with a great deal of things to do in your busy day. Finding and ordering wholesale coffee beans just adds to your todo list and who has spare time these days?

Ordering coffee beans from Coffee Bean Shop is easy, and James at Coffee Bean Shop is here to make your life easier, not harder. You can order coffee beans online right from the homepage using the express checkout, or if you would like to take some time reviewing the coffee beans on offer, take a look at the coffee beans online section.

Coffee Bean Shop has been delivering coffee beans to offices, businesses and workshops all over Australia including Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Canbera and all the regions and suburbs of Australia - there is not a town in Australia that Coffeee Bean Shop doesn't deliver to.