How to make the perfect cup of Axil coffee at home with Sunbeam.

A match made in heaven

Making cafe quality coffee at home can be a little confusing. First of all you need a machine, but which machine do you buy? Then you need the beans, but how do you know they are any good? Well... thats why we've decided to team up with Sunbeam, to make your at home coffee experience simple and enjoyable.

When you purchase a Sunbeam machine from Axil, it will be paired with an assortment of 4 x 250g bags of Axils' finest espresso coffee. All you have to do is choose the colour of your machine and the type of coffee (Single Origin, Blends, Decaf). You'll receive your Sunbeam Barista Coffee Machine with your first coffee delivery, and you'll be brewing in no time!

https://axilcoffee.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Sunbeam-InstaSquare-Silver-1-1-300x300.gifOrder My Coffee Machine + Subscriptionhttps://axilcoffee.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/DSC_0947-240x300.jpgHere's 5 tips to you make your at home coffee...excellent!

To get you started on your at-home coffee journey, we thought we'd share 5 simple tips that will make your coffee taste better at home... and believe it or not, it's easier than you think.

Tip #1 - Use Freshly Roasted Coffee

This tip is usually overlooked. But trust us, using freshly roasted coffee is by far one of the best things you can do to help you take your at-home coffee to the next level.

By using freshly roasted (1-2 weeks after the roast date) coffee, you're in the pursuit of getting the peak flavours from your beans. At Axil, we've decided to offer a coffee subscription. That way you get to enjoy and maintain the freshness of your coffee through regular deliveries of coffee awesomeness. Axils' Coffee Subscriptions ->

Tip#2 - Adjust your grind

Now you've got your freshly roasted coffee sorted, it's time to grind.

One thing to mention here is each brewing apparatus (French Press, Aeropress, V60 etc) has a different setting that will work best for that particular brewing style. For this example, we'll be focusing on adjusting the grind for brewing espresso.

When brewing an espresso coffee the grind requires a fine setting. The reasoning for this is you want the coffee particles to fit together and have the ability to be compacted (or tamped) when it is packed down into the group head (basket). This allows you to manipulate how long the coffee and water are in contact with each other. A good rule of thumb is for a deeper extraction the finer you go (usually more bitter), and for a shorter extraction the coarser you go (more acidic and fruity).

This is usually a good place to start, but you'll soon find that dosing your coffee will also affect the overall taste and the extraction time.

Tip#3 - Dosing your coffee (input)

The amount of coffee you put in your filter basket will have a big impact on the extraction of your coffee. Sunbeam is nice enough to give you 2 filter baskets one 13-15g and another 20-22. For a fully bodied flavour, we'd suggest using 22g and evenly tamp (press) down on the coffee grinds.

Tip #4 - Extracting your shot (output yield)

The length of time the water remains in contact with your coffee (extraction) will have a huge effect on the final cup of your coffee. For an optimal extraction we'd say that with 22g in, you'd be looking at roughly 40ml of yield. This is a good starting point. Feel free to mix it up and see what works best for your tastebuds. A good rule of thumb is, that your extraction should look like honey, that is, we want the shot to pour out of espresso machines at a steady flow with a bit of resistance. Much like when you have a spoon of honey and you let it drip in a steady stream into your cup.

Tip#5 - Warm your cups

Believe it or not, the brewing temperature and the resting temperature will also affect how your coffee tastes. So now you have done all of this hard work, spend a little bit of time and heat your cup before you begin making your coffee... You'll thank us later.

Method

1) Fill the grinder with fresh Axil coffee beans.

2) Start off by grinding the coffee. Place the handle in the group head and push down slowly.

3) Create a nice, flat coffee bed by patting down the sides. When tamping, make sure you apply an even amount of pressure.

4) Lock the handle in the portafilter. Press the espresso button and watch the magic happen.

5) Enjoy as an espresso or add steamed milk of your choice.