Coffee 101 with Wayne Archer

Now that Espresso di Manfredi is available at home in our new 250g consumer pack, we asked our master roaster, Wayne Archer to uncover his tips and tricks for preparing the perfect espresso.

This month Wayne provides his top three tips to remember when selecting your coffee beans.

1. Clean equipment: Whatever your chosen brewing method the fastest way to destroy cup quality or the taste of your morning coffee is to use a ‘dirty’ coffee machine. Whether you have a $2,500 built-in espresso machine or a $20 plunger brewer the problem faced is always the same, left over coffee oils or grounds becoming rancid due to exposure to heat and air. Those rancid particles easily transfer into the next coffee brewed so always clean your equipment after using!
2. Freshness: Coffee is a natural product, a short time after roasting coffee begins to react with the atmosphere around it. Oxygen and moisture has a dramatic effect on the volatiles of flavour in the cells of the coffee bean. So always buy the freshest coffee you can and coffee that has been protected from environmental conditions and air by quality packaging; Sealed laminate packaging with a one way valve, gas flushed with an inert gas like Nitrogen to ensure minimal contact with residual oxygen left in the bag.
3. Storage: After opening, your fresh coffee should be stored in its original packaging in an air tight container away from heat, light and refrigeration. Coffee must not be stored in the fridge as it has a great ability to absorb smells/ odours and moisture!

Stay tuned next month where Wayne will explain the best grinding and brewing techniques.