How to get the best out of your Coffee Capsule?

We do our best to send delicious tasting coffee straight to your door and now it’s over to you to become your very own ‘Kitchen Barista’. How you brew your coffee is really important and can affect the taste and flavour of your daily cup. To help you recreate the coffee shop experience at home, we’ve put together the following guides to ensure you get the best possible cup of coffee from your coffee machine.

Your Nespresso compatible pod machine can be set up in a way to suit you, it all depends how you like your coffee. Here are a few options to maximise the taste of our coffee pods:

Espresso – We recommend that you set your machine to run 40ml through each capsule.

Ristretto – if you like a little more sweetness to your coffee, run a little less water, approximately 25ml through your capsule and then taste the difference. You should experience a little less bitterness and the real flavours of the coffee will come through onto your palate.

Lungo – The majority of people will run their machine for longer than 80mls on their quest for a longer coffee, however, this will just produce a weaker coffee. Why not try two espressos as the base before adding your milk, we guarantee you will taste the difference!

Americano – Just add water! The secret here is to put boiling water into your cup first, this way you won’t burn your coffee after you have brewed it. Then just add an Espresso shot.

Did you know that your water can affect the taste of your coffee?
Your coffee is 98% water and everyone’s water tastes differently, depending where they live. We also sell Third Wave Water, which is a small sachet you mix with your brewing water that produces the perfect blend of minerals to maximise the taste of your coffee. It might sound a bit of a faff but why don’t you try it?

Looking after your coffee machine

To ensure you always get the perfect cup of coffee, you need to keep your machine in good working order. Nespresso machines, like all other coffee machines, build up deposits of calcium and lime from water, so you need to descale your machine regularly. We recommend that you should descale your machine around every 300 cups.

If you take out a Coffee & Kin monthly subscription, we will send you a descaling kit when you reach your 300th cup.

Here is our recommended step by step descaling guide:

Preparing and Descaling

1. Remove capsules and capsule container
2. Fill your water container with around 4 cups of fresh water
3. Mix in a sachet of descaling solution
4. Turn machine on
5. Place a container that can hold 4 cups under the coffee outlet
6. Simultaneously press on the two buttons for three seconds and dispose of water
7. Rinse the water container and fill with fresh water
8. Run steps 5 and 6 again with just fresh water
9. Empty and rinse drip tray
10. To exit the descaling mode, press the two buttons simultaneously for three seconds
11. You are ready to brew a perfect cup of coffee…..enjoy

How to get the most out of your Coffee Beans?

The Coffee & Kin team (well particularly Mark and Chris) like to follow the coffee lover’s ritual of home brewing on mornings when we have more time. Brewing is a personal thing and we encourage you to explore your own preferred brewing technique. To give you a head start, we’ve created the following guides, which we use ourselves at home. Basically, we’re helping you release your inner coffee geek. It’s in there somewhere!

V60 Dripper – This is one of our favourite ways to enjoy our beans.

Here is a simple process to get the best out of your coffee and your V60 dripper:

Ingredients:
13g of medium grind coffee and 220ml of hot water (temperature 91-96°C)

1. Put your V60 dripper onto a coffee mug.
2. Place a new filter into your V60 and dampen with cold water.
3. Tip your coffee grounds into the filter.
4. Pour 50g of hot water until all the grounds are evenly saturated.
5. Wait for the coffee to bloom, this should take around 20 seconds.
6. Pour another 50g of hot water in a spiral motion.
7. Wait for the water to drain through the grounds.
8. Pour the remaining 120g of hot water around the edges of the V60.
9. Let the water drain through and when it’s done, discard the filter and enjoy your coffee.

Chemex – You can share your coffee with a friend with a 6-Cup Chemex

Ingredients:
25g of medium grind coffee and 340ml of hot water (temperature 91-96°C)

1. Place a new filter into the 6-Cup Chemex vessel and dampen with cold water.
2. Tip your coffee grounds into the filter.
3. Pour 50g of hot water until all the grounds are evenly saturated.
4. Stir the grounds to ensure all the coffee is fully immersed.
5. Wait for the coffee to bloom, this should take around 15 seconds.
6. Pour 130g of hot water in a spiral motion over the dark areas.
7. Wait for the water to drain through the grounds.
8. Slowly top up the brewer with another 160g of hot water.
9. Let the water drain through and when it’s done, discard the filter and enjoy your coffee with your friends and family.

Aeropress – This is a really quick and delicious way to enjoy an Espresso at home

Ingredients:
15g of fine grind coffee and 240ml of hot water (temperature 91-96°C)

1. Insert a new filter, dampen evenly with cold water.
2. Twist the bottom cap onto the chamber and place onto a cup.
3. Tip your coffee into the chamber.
4. Pour 30g of hot water and evenly saturate the coffee.
5. Stir the grounds to ensure the coffee is fully immersed.
6. Wait for the coffee to bloom, this should take between 15 and 20 seconds.
7. Pour 210g of hot water in a spiral motion over the dark areas.
8. Place the plunger on the brewer and pull up slightly to create a pressure seal.
9. Wait for the coffee to brew, this should take around 35 to 40 seconds.
10. Gently press down on the plunger with steady pressure, this should take around 20 seconds.
11. Now simply enjoy your coffee, discard the filter and grounds, and rinse your Aeropress ready for your next coffee.

French Press – A great and easy brewing method for the whole family to enjoy around the breakfast table

Ingredients:
30g of course grind coffee and 350ml of hot water (temperature 91-96°C)

1. Tip your coffee into the bottom of the French press.
2. Pour 60g of hot water and evenly saturate the coffee.
3. Gently stir the grounds to ensure all the coffee is immersed.
4. Wait for the coffee to bloom, this should take around 20 seconds.
5. Pour remaining 290g of hot water in a spiral motion.
6. Allow the coffee to steep for 3 minutes.
7. Gently press the filter down and serve in a warm cup.

Bonmac, Bee House and Kaita Drippers

Ingredients:
15g of medium grind coffee and 250ml of hot water (temperature 91-96°C)

1. Place a new filter into your Bonmac and dampen evenly with cold water.
2. Tip your coffee grounds into the filter.
3. Pour 50g of water until all the grounds are evenly saturated.
4. Stir the grounds to ensure all the coffee is fully immersed.
5. Wait for the coffee to bloom, this should take around 15 seconds.
6. Pour 100g of hot water in a spiral motion.
7. Wait for the water to drain through the grounds.
8. Pour the remaining 100g of hot water around the edges of the dripper.
9. Let the water drain through and when it’s done, discard the filter and enjoy your coffee.