The art of making a really ‘good’ coffee has so many elements that it borders on the virtual impossible for a school kid doing a part time job standing behind a coffee machine to perfect the art of making truly good coffee.
For instance there are the beans…which part of the world they come from impacts greatly on their taste characteristics. A coffee blend with beans from only one region would most likely be biased too much in one direction. It’s a bit like tea, the taste characteristics vary from the upcountry to the low country. Teas are blended to get the perfect balance of tastes to please the masses that drink it.
Once the coffee beans are blended they are roasted. The roasting process is also an art. A good roaster has at least 7 years of blending and roasting experience !
The roasted beans need to be used to make your cup of coffee as soon as possible to retain the freshness and flavour characteristics, they are packed in vacuum packed bags to ensure their freshness.
Once the pack is opened and the beans are ground the skill of the barista comes into play. The grind must be just ‘right’ or the water will flow through the coffee too fast (weak taste) or too slow (bitter taste). The correct amount of coffee to pour one shot of espresso is 7grams. A good barista must be able to judge the quantity of coffee they dose into the filter. The coffee then has to be ‘tamped’ with the right pressure…some tampers are spring loaded to ensure the correct pressure is applied to pack the coffee into the filter. Tamp too hard and the water will have a hard time getting through the coffee likely to make the coffee taste bitter, tamp too lightly and the water will pour through the coffee too fast resulting in a weak brew.
The ‘hardware’ part of the equation comes into play now…the coffee machine…proudly displayed on the counter for all to see.
Most commercial coffee machines have only one water boiler…to heat the water to make the coffee (which should be around 94 degs C) and to create the steam to steam the milk (over 100 degs C). Does anyone see the irony here. It is impossible for one boiler to maintain the water at two temperatures so there is a compromise usually in the temperature of the water which goes through the coffee being too hot. It is only a few machines that employ a dual boiler system that maintains separate temperatures for the steam and the water which makes the coffee. La Marzonno is one of these.
Now there is the water which goes into the machine…chlorine and other additives in the water can alter the taste of the coffee. It is important therefore to use a filtration which basically removes all the additives in the water and distills it so only PURE water goes into the machine. This process is usually called reverse osmosis. VERY few coffee shops use this method as it cost quite a bit to install and require regular maintenance.
Now the art of stream milk….this takes much patience and practice to perfect. To make a good cup of coffee the barista needs to make sure there are virtually no air bubbles in the milk so it velvet smooth when it hits the coffee and mixes with the crema (the top layer of oil on the coffee).
The temperature that the milk is steamed to also needs to be right so that it doesn’t ‘burn’ the milk so that its the perfect temperature to drink (between 60-70 degs C) when it reaches the customer.
Now if you can get all that right your have a truly GOOD cup of coffee 
)
We have been trying making coffee adhering to these principles for over a year now but we are still not perfect!
Sorry for the lengthy post but I thought I would share with you what goes to make a really GOOD cup of coffee. I have yet to have one in Colombo….maybe its time for us to open a Truffles there ?!?
