What are the necessary accessories for a lever coffee machine?
Basic barista equipment for espresso
Where to start when listing the equipment you need for your coffee machine? The step-by-step process of making coffee. Because for almost every step you will need a specific tool - coffee accessories. When you think of the whole process like this, from the grinder to the cup of coffee, you get a complete inventory of the most important and necessary barista tools. So, let's do a basic summary.
The espresso process - the basics
- Cleaning the portafilter/coffee maker lever
- grinding the coffee batch into the lever
- tamping the ground coffee in the lever
- extracting the espresso into cups
- knocking out the coffee bud
The necessary equipment for each step
- a cloth for wiping the lever
- barista scale
- tamping kit
- barista scale
- coffee knock-box
These 5tools are the bare minimum to master espresso in a lever coffee machine. To make them even more precise, the 3rd item - tampingkit - is actually two things. First, of course, is the tamping device or coffee tamper and inseparable from it is the tampingstation or rubber pad under the tamper for tamping the coffee. With this we would be down to 6 pieces of coffee equipment, but the barista scale is recorded in two steps.
With the "farthest you can go" scale. In terms of coffee preparation.
An accurate scale is one of the most important tools for a barista ever. It is his feedback on the correct recipe of the espresso, his tool to maintain the quality and to create theoptimal recipe for the coffee itself. No wonder he appears twice in the inventory. It is used for weighing the correct dose of coffee in the portafilter and in controlling the extraction in terms of time and volume of espresso.
Forklift. Tamper. PuqPress?
What would happen if you didn't rush the coffee in the lever? The consequences of skipping this primary step in the espresso brewing process are, in short, not at all palatable. The necessity to froth coffee in a portafilter comes from the very technology of making coffee in a lever espresso machine.
The pressurised water injected onto the coffee bed in the lever of the machine fights the resistance of the coffee. How the coffee resists the water ultimately determines how many substances the water will be able to extract and transfer to the cup. The water retention in the portafilter basket is only affected by the amount of coffee, the coarseness of the grind and...? Yes, by frothing! For this you need to work with the right tamper.
What's the PuqPress?
In short? Automatic tamper. Why have one? Speed, simplicity, consistency and painlessness. I can't get enough of automatic coffee tampering.
Most baristas and coffee drinkers still choosemanual tampers as basic equipment and most often the Czech ones from Heavy Tamper.
But eventually they decide to buy the automatic one, which will make theirwork behind the coffee machine much more efficient. So I'm thinking, why not choose it now, what do you think?
Recommended barista equipment for the coffee machine
With the mention of automation in coffee brewing, I'm already getting away from basic barista supplies to more sophisticated ones. To the recommended espresso coffee accessories. The shopping list, if you want tobase your coffee preparation on complete barista equipment, is here:
- coffee machine wipe set
- dosing funnel or dosing cup
- barista scale
- coffee distributor
- automatic tamper or manual tamper with pad
- coffee knock-box
Why extend the original coffee equipment to espresso?
With the minimal needs from the first coffee equipment inventory, you can prepare espresso. It's just that when you want totake the quality level of your coffee up a notch, you'll also need to up the ante on your barista equipment.
As we've seen recently, coffee distribution in a portafilter is a key in espresso preparation. Dosing cup, filling funnel and distributors are seen in every good barista. This is confirmed by footage from world barista championships and Czech coffee competitions of late.
Want to make espresso better? Focus on coffee distribution
The distribution of coffee in the lever defines the style of water flow through the coffee bud. Surely you know that channelling espresso is the enemy of baristas and good coffee. The problem of channelling can spoil the joy of brewing. The combination of the right tamper and good distribution is the recipe to prevent this inconvenience.
Speaking of distribution, the barista's main tool in this regard is the coffee distributor. They resemble hockey pucks in appearance perhaps, and flat tamper in the barista industry. Some manufacturers, like Ecocoffee, have even combined the two coffee tools into one. One side of thetamper and the other half of the distributor.
For lever coffee: dosing cup and dosing funnel
The appropriate distribution of coffee in the portafilter starts with the grinding. Or rather, how the coffee gets into the lever. Ideally, either a dosingcup or a dosing (filling) funnel is used.
The first of these, called a dosing cup, is a stainless steel cup that fits precisely into the portafilter. Into it you grind a batch of coffee - conveniently weighed on a smaller scale, put on the lever and tip the groundcoffee into it. The second tool is a coffee dispensing funnel. You put it on the portafilter and it makes it easier to get the coffee from the grinder exactly into the lever. In addition to order, you have a much better option for manually tidying up the coffee.
The best espresso accessories
Professional coffee preparation at the highest level requires superior equipment. For experts with demanding espresso preparation requirements, the accessories for the coffee machine are thus expanded to include additional barista tools. Check out the list:
- precision portafilter baskets
- coffee machine wipes set
- dosing funnel or dosing cup
- smart barista scale
- WDT tool
- coffee distributor
- automatic tamper
- coffee knock-box
- refractometer for baristas
Highly sophisticated barista equipment includes an electronic assistant to pick out even the last fly from your coffee. This barista bug trap and tool to really scrutinize the quality of your extraction is ???? refractometer for baristas.
Professional equipment is one thing, being a capable barista is another.
The concept of the expert lever coffee machine accessory kit is based on the need for maximum consistency and control over the extraction of each espresso. These tools lead to thebest coffees. However, they are still just tools, so theyhelp the barista to perform with precision. The most important thing is in the barista's ability to work with the coffee and how to use the coffee accessories.
In addition to precision baskets, ultra fast, accurate and smart scales with a link to a mobile app for checking and creating extraction recipes, WDTtools to create the perfect ground coffee base in a portafilter, I might add industry education to this list. First, by reading expert information on the internet and in coffee literature. And above all by practical training and barista courses.
Don't forget to select, knock-box, milk jugs and coffee machine cleaning products
The equipment of a lever coffee machine also includes universal accessories. The kind of coffee tools that neither beginner nor expert can do without.
Where to go with the used coffee from the lever? Into the knock-box
These include the knock-boxfor coffee listed in every list. The handy portafilter knock box should have its place in all lever coffee makers. Either as a freestanding, tabletop, built-in or drawer knock-box.
For cappuccino, for flat white, for latte art.
Another indisputable part of barista equipment are milk jugs. Size, shape, material, workmanship and price are all factors considered when choosing the right teapot. It depends on which one fits you and what kind of teapot you need given your cup size, your abilities and your habits.
After the last coffee of the day comes the cleaning of the coffee maker
It's also the cleaners that will complete your shopping list to ensure you have the complete barista equipment to go with your coffee maker. The flushing, wiping and ongoing care of the coffee maker is completed with a thorough washing of the head in a "back-flush" manner. With a complete cleaning kit we pack everything you need to care for your coffee machine on a daily basis.
Good advice for the end? I would have one: 'take my advice'. We've already helped more than one barista and coffee drinker choose the complete barista accessories and equipment for their coffee shop, espresso bar and coffee corner at home. Save your time, nerves and finances when you turn to us for your coffee, coffee machine, grinder and barista supplies. We will be happy to help you. Let us know!