Coffee refractometers are changing the coffee game for both shop owners and coffee roasters. It allows roasters to improve their roast  profiles and enables coffee shop owners to shape and mould their barista’s.

So what is a coffee refractometer ?
In lay mans term when light hits your brew, it gets deflected or shifted to one side. How far this moves tells how much TDS is in your coffee. Tools like these tells coffee professionals and home enthusiast how to best extract and develop the profile.
What is TDS?  
TDS stands for Total Dissolved Solids, this is what gets extracted in water when its brewed.

Once you know the amount of solids in your brew you can calculate the extraction yield this now can tell you how good or bad your coffee is. Now the maths part, 🙂 the equation used is below

Brewed coffee weight (g) x TDS % ground coffee weight (g) = extraction percentage or extraction yield

The above information sounds complicated yet the actual process is very simple you will need a coffee refractometer like the one we have Atago PAL Coffee Refractometer. You add few drops of your brewed coffee into the well and the unit will display your TDS.

So what should you aim for in terms of achieving a good TDS reading ?
– Aeropress 1.4 – 1.7
– French press 1.4 – 1.7
– Pour over 1.2 – 1.5
– Espresso 8 – 12

We think every good roaster and coffee shop owners will benefit from owning one and the investment vs benefits is higher when you consider one that sells for approx £300 + VAT.

www.coffeeomega.co.uk

Cleaning your espresso machine might be the most boring part of being a barista but it’s essential to make sure the coffee your serving is great. In order to do this you need to clean it on a daily basis. Lets outline the tasks (note this isn’t a how to guide).

Daily Cleaning

This task is usually performed after the cafe/ shop has shut and should be done daily.

Group Head Cleaning – over the course of the day you will get coffee oils and particles stuck onto the group head and in order to get this off you need to clean the heads. This is called “back flushing” and the items you will need for this includes;
1. blind baskets
2. urnex espresso powder
3. group head brush

Group Head Shower Screens – the shower screens job is to shower the brewing water evenly to the coffee puck. They will get dirty as they are in contact with the puck all day long. They too need to be taken off and washed or even replaced if they get damaged. You will just need espresso powder and some water to soak and wash.

Portafilter Washing – after the above procedure you may want to give your portafilters a soak to get rid of any coffee particles. For this you just need espresso machine powder and water.

Steam Wand – I am sure everyone wipes down the steam wand after steaming each time, so the milk doesn’t burn to the wand. You can get rid of the burnt milk by simmering every 10 minutes with a wet cloth.

Weekly cleaning involves cleaning the portafilter sprouts and doing a deep grinder clean as well as a overhaul of the espresso machine group head.

We have a range of cleaning materials and accessories for both espresso machines and grinders.

www.coffeeomega.co.uk

Manual coffee grinders have become so versatile and compact that you can now carry them with you wherever your going. So many people now days are having to make their favourite coffee at home, it has become a norm, specially when you like to experience the entire barista workout and like to brew a fresh cup of coffee at the same time.

So what is a manual coffee grinder?

A coffee grinder is an essential piece of coffee kit that enables you to turn roasted coffee beans into smaller pieces called grounds. You can then use these grounds of coffee to brew your favourite cuppa.

There is usually 2 types of hand coffee grinder, manual and electric. As the name implies electric coffee grinders are powered by electricity and great for grinding larger amount of coffee push of a button whereas the manual grinder requires muscle-powered gym workout (not really) giving you that extra satisfaction.

Type of burr coffee grinder

Ceramic burr is what you want to be looking for in a hand grinder when choosing the right one. It stays cooler compared to other materials which prevents the beans for overheating. So choose your coffee grinder wisely.

Price and budget

This comes down to what your budget is for the entire set-up, the manual coffee grinders can range from £30 for a very basic model to £300 for top end manual coffee grinders. These top end and most sort after manufacturers are Comandante and Varia.

What else you need 

There are few more items you may like to consider purchasing to give you that extra satisfaction in the process of brewing coffee at home.

• Brewista electric kettle – for brewing your water up to temperature
• Weighting Scales – good ones include Felicia and Acaia – weighing your precise coffee
• Depending on what your brewing you might need drippers and filter papers

Conclusion

We love our manual coffee grinders as its compact, easy to carry, much quieter, less pricey and most importantly fresh coffee!

www.coffeeomega.co.uk
Email:  info:coffeeomega.co.uk