Insulated, Double-walled, Glass Cups Are Best

What is the best cup for a flat white or any other espresso-based drink, like a latte or a cappuccino? 

 

For me, the answer is easy: an insulated, double-walled, glass cup. Beautiful to the eye with a good feel in the hand.

 

Serve your espresso-based milk drinks in a heavy ceramic mug and your drinks immediately begin to cool.

 

For this reason, I use insulated, double-walled, glass cups that prevent rapid cooling. Another plus, these cups stay cool to the touch even when preheated. I like to fill my cups with water and then heat the water in the microwave while I grind and tamp the beans.

A latte I made for Judy.

 

The only downside to these cups is durability. Light glass cups are fragile. I know. I have already broken one. I tipped it over and the inside glass liner shattered. I have heard others complain about the cost but I find stores like Homesense, Marshalls and Winners offer a good selection at excellent prices.

 

Insulated glass cups are practical and nice looking. The coffee appears to almost float in a clear cup. The espresso and the thin layers of crema and foamed milk are clearly visible. Unlike some plastic mugs, glass cups do not impart off flavours.

 

For me, preheated, double-walled glass cups are the best. Love 'em.  

Breville Barista Touch: more machine than I need?

I gave my wife a Breville Barista Touch for Christmas. I had read The New York Times Wirecutter review which said "the Barista Touch lets beginners make a variety of café-quality espresso drinks at home with very little learning curve."  

I should have read an earlier NYT article. It warned readers, "Of all the ways to make coffee, the espresso machine is the most intimidating." My wife was intimidated. After three full months, she has yet to pull one shot of espresso. That said, the Touch still gets lots of use. I am now my wife's personal barista.

I made a very common mistake, I bought a machine that did not match my wife's lifestyle. Many who make this mistake will enjoy their purchase for a few weeks and, when the novelty wears off, the coffee-making ritual will begin to feel like work and the machine is abandoned. It is left to sit on the counter-top looking imposing and gathering dust.

The Touch is more machine than I need. Clearly, it is more machine than my wife needs. I bought a very beautiful, café-quality espresso machine at a price that was also a beaut. I should have looked for a  simpler, less expensive machine. I had lots of options. I turned to ChatGPT.

I learned of the Airmsen 7.9'' Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine With Grinder was on sale at Walmart for $249.99. The reviews were mixed and, although most buyers seemed happy, those who were not happy had some excellent reasons for giving the Airmsen only one star. I found all the low priced units had similarly mixed reviews. I asked ChatGPT to loosen the purse strings and move upscale a little.

One of its suggestions found a lot of support, the Breville Bambino Plus at $500. Online espresso experts spoke highly of it and, even more importantly, a very sophisticated friend bought one.

There is also a non-plus Bambino at $360 but my advice is spend the extra $140 for the Plus.

It has a better steam wand. It has four-holes in the tip rather than just a single-hole and it auto-purges and self-cleans. There are some other perks but I believe the improved milk heating/frothing wand is the decider.

Worth a mention is the three-way solenoid. It releases the pressure after drawing a shot, making for a drier puck and less dripping after extraction. 

Now, what about a coffee grinder? I stayed with the Breville brand. I believe a Breville Smart Grinder Pro at $240 paired with a Breville Bambino Plus would make a fine team. They work well together, and just as importantly, they look good together. Looking good on the kitchen counter is important to a lot of people. My wife being one of them.

When comparing the two Bambino models, the actual espresso brewing systems are the same. Therefore, the shot quality is essentially the same.

Still, depending upon your skill level, lattes and other milk drinks from the Plus might be a notch up in quality compared to its less expensive soulmate. The Plus offers multiple milk temperature options and different foam levels. The Plus may make your inner barista shine.

Rather than spending $1280 for the all-in-one Breville Barista Touch, now I believe it would have been wiser to buy a grinder separate from the brewing machine. Not only would I have saved money but it would simplify doing repairs in the future.

I found a good review comparing the Breville Barista Touch, my machine, to the Breville Bambino Plus, my friend's choice. Here is the link: Breville Barista Touch vs Breville Bambino Plus reviewed by Eli for Coffee Drinker Net.

I found one error in the review. The Bambino Plus milk frothing wand has a four hole tip and not a single hole tip, as I pointed out earlier.

If you do not value matching looks, there are other coffee grinders you can consider. Here are two: MiiCoffee DF54 and Baratza Encore ESP. Use ChatGPT to compare grinders. Each has its own pluses and minuses. 

As for which espresso machine to buy, I have switched my vote to the Breville Bambino Plus. For home use it holds its own quite nicely and my oh-so-bright, never-makes-a-mistake friend bought a Plus. Now, that's a solid endorsement.

Making a Flat White with a Breville Barista Touch

My Flat White has a round glob of thin foam.

I'm not a coffee freak. So, why am I posting instructions for brewing a flat white using a mid-range espresso machine? 

Answer: I bought my wife a Breville Barista Touch for Christmas. She wanted it but I use it. I am now the family barista.

As a new-to-the-coffee-scene novice, I settled on the flat white as my coffee of choice. The Barista Touch has a number of automatic brew settings. Among them is flat white, one part espresso and two parts heated and foamed milk.

This is where I run off the rails. Automatic flat white and latte making! Humbug. My Breville Barista Touch is automatically inconsistent. For one part espresso and two parts milk, the goal is 18g of espresso. Does the Breville achieve the goal? Sometimes yes and sometimes no. I have discovered my Breville Barista Touch is consistently inconsistent when it comes to the amount of espresso it brews. 

My Breville grinds out a dose that is between 18g and 20g. Not bad but not perfect either. The classic ratio of espresso shot to dose weight is 1:2 or 18g ground coffee to about 36g of espresso. This is my goal but I achieve it only in my dreams. In grams, my espresso weighs from the low 40s to the mid 50s. I understand this is quite normal.

Coffee freaks would panic. Modify the size of the grind, change the brew time, just do something and do it fast. I say relax. We have yet to add the milk. All will be fine. Pulling a longer shot (50+ grams) is very common when making lattes and flat whites.

A classic ratio may be 1:2 but 1:3 is still quite acceptable. Heck, some people push it all the way to 1:4 but then they are entering latte country. It is important to keep in mind that adding milk to your espresso masks bitterness, allowing the sweeter, easily overpowered flavours to shine. A shot that may not be perfect on its own can taste just fine when mixed with steamed, foamed milk.

In the final analysis, if your flat white or latte is a crowd pleaser, it's perfect . Period. Now, let's make a flat white. 

Before starting

• Fill the water tank. Stay below the maximum fill line.
• Fill the coffee hopper. Do not overfill. Do not use green beans.
• Gather everything you will need: 
• portafilter 
• dosing funnel 
• double shot filter basket (While learning, I used the dual wall filter basket. I quickly advanced to using the single wall basket.)
• Razor tool for levelling ground coffee in portafilter with basket inserted (I find I rarely use the Razor.)
• an 8.5 ounce, insulated coffee cup 
• Breville stainless steel container for heating and frothing milk
• ample cold, whole milk (not low fat milk)
• sugar
• measuring spoons for the sugar 
• two small, dry dish towels or dish clothes plus one damp paper towel

Step 1 – Press the on/off button and select Flat White on the screen

• The screen will show three steps: Grind, Brew and Milk. All are preset but feel free to modify. It took me a few cups of  flat white before I got the grind size and the grind time correct. I have not modified it in months. I consistently get a dose Weighing between 18g and 20g. 

Step 2 – Grind and dose

• Snap the filter basket, either the single wall or the dual wall, into the portafilter. Do not forget. If you do, coffee grounds will fly from the machine. To stop the grinding, push the grind icon on the screen.

• With the chosen filter basket snapped into the portafilter, attach the dosing funnel to the top of the portafilter and weigh both in grams. Now, slide all into the grinder cradle.*

• Touch “Grind” or push in the portafilter to start grinding. For this first flat white, accept the default settings.

• After grinding, remove all from cradle and weigh the portafilter and filter basket again. You are looking for a weight of from 18g to 20g. Use tamping tool to compact the ground coffee, after the initial tamping, remove dosing funnel and finish tamping. Breville says you should carefully level ground coffee using the Razor tool if necessary. If the weight is 20g or less, I find the Razor is not needed.

Step 3 – Attach portafilter and extract espresso

• Lock the portafilter, minus the dosing filter, onto the group head by rotating the handle to the right until it stops.*

• Place a dual wall, insulated cup under the spouts. I like to preheat my cup.*

• On the flat white screen ensure "Double" is selected and touch “Brew” to start extraction. (In my book, "Double" makes enough espresso for one flat white for one person.)

• Watch the flow: two thin streams should start at the seven second mark or a second or two later. The brewing will finish at the preset time. My machine is set for 30 seconds. (At this point, I like to add the sugar, if any, to the hot espresso.)

Step 4 – Heat and froth  milk

• Fill the stainless steel milk jug with whole milk to just above the fill line on the steam wand. The stainless steel jug has minimum and maximum levels marked on the side but I have a difficult time seeing the marks. I prefer using the fill line on the steam wand when making flat whites. This results in enough milk and froth for two flat whites. (I use the maximum fill line when making two lattes.)

• The tip of the steam wand should be sitting in the milk just below the surface. The jug must be sitting on the temperature sensor.​ Do not let the sensor get wet. The sensor must be kept dry.

• On the Flat White screen, check the Milk settings: 

 Temperature: medium to medium‑high (around 150 °F is typical).

 Froth level: medium low (4). This results in less foam than called for by latte or cappuccino).

• Touch “Milk” to start auto heating and foaming.​

• Make sure the stainless steel jug is sitting on the sensor at all times. This is important.   

Step 5 – Flush and wipe the steam wand when finished

• As soon as the Breville Barista Touch is finished heating and texturing the milk, remove the jug. With the steam wand extended at 45 degrees, wipe the wand and tip with a damp cloth. Keep the wand extended at the 45 degree position. 

• Place the corner of a dry towel or small dish cloth over the milk heating/frothing sensor. It must not get wet. Now, lower the wand to the down position. It will automatically purge itself shooting two short bursts of hot water and a burst of steam into the drip tray. This clears milk from inside the wand.​

Step 6 – Pour milk and add foam

• Begin pouring from a few centimetres above the milk surface so the milk integrates with the espresso and pushes crema to the top.​

• The cup should contain about two ounces espresso and you are adding four ounces of milk. When the milk is poured, bring the jug closer to the drink surface and pour a white circle of silky, small-bubbled froth into the centre of the flat white. I like to stir the drink gently until I get a coffee-brown circular pattern in the milk froth.

A flat white should be about a six ounce drink with a distinct but muted espresso flavour tamed by the steamed and frothed milk. The ratio is 1:2 to 1:3, espresso to heated milk. The foam layer is visible but thin.

After enjoying your flat white

Every time you finish enjoying a milk‑based drink, do the following to keep the machine performing well.

1. Knock out puck

• Remove the filter basket and rinse both filter basket and portafilter under hot water to remove coffee oils and grounds.​ Cleaning both with a little soapy water is a good idea. Make sure to rinse well.

• 
  

2. Quick group head flush

• Some advise flushing the group head with the portafilter and filter basket attached is the way to go. I find water can be trapped with filter basket snapped into place, attach the empty portafilter to the group head just as you would to brew coffee. Place an empty cup below as if you were brewing an espresso. Push “Brew” to run hot water briefly through the group head. I believe six or seven seconds is enough. This rinses away any residue of coffee grounds. The rinse water is captured in the empty cup. A very small amount of coffee grounds will be trapped in the filter basket.  

  I prefer to hold a glass dish, with about an inch of depth, under the portafilter. I push "Brew" to run hot water through the group head for six or seven seconds. I catch the hot water in the glass plate. Six or seven seconds is enough to rinse away any residue of coffee grounds. While doing this, keep a dry cloth over the milk/foam sensor. Remember the warning: "Keep dry". 

  I like to wipe the bottom of the group head with a damp, paper towel and then flush it one last time using the glass plate again. Sometimes, I find some a few coffee grounds on the damp paper towel.

•  Finally, separate portafilter from filter basket, wash both and leave to dry.

3. Drip tray and work area

• Check the drip tray. It will have collected some water contaminated with a little milk and possibly some coffee grounds. Clean and rinse all the drip tray parts.

Wipe any spilled coffee or milk from the surrounding surfaces. Again, take care not to let the milk temp sensor get wet.

Of course, Breville has posted some instructions. Here is a link: 


How to make a flat white at home

 

Make your Flat White for Two

I never, absolutely never, make just one Flat White. I always make two. One for me and one for my wife. The espresso machine was a Christmas gift from me to her. A gift should not be a lot of work to use. It should be fun and with me doing all the brewing and clean-up, it is fun -- for her.

To modify the above instructions so that you pull two double-shots of espresso to make two flat whites, do the following:

• Pull your first espresso shot as above but after grinding and brewing stop. Do not heat and froth the milk. Set aside the cup with the espresso.
• Knock out the puck, wipe and dry the filter basket, grind and brew a second shot of espresso. Set the second espresso shot aside, remove the portafilter and knock out the puck.
• We are now ready to heat and froth the milk for both drinks as instructed earlier.
• Pour the heated/frothed milk into the two warmed insulated glass cups with the espresso. Voila! Two flat whites. Clean the machine and work area as instructed.