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The importance of
the bean.
Owner’s Book •
03 Espresso
Most available coffee blends sold consist of two different
coffee blends, which differentiate in taste, caffeine amount
and shape. Arabica beans have a rounded cut in the middle, are
longer and flatter. The unroasted beans have an intense green
color. The cut on the Robusta (or Canephora) bean on the
other hand is very straight, it is rounder and it is a little lighter
in color with brown or grey shading. Whereas the Robusta
bean has high caffeine content, the Arabica beans are milder
and more aromatic. Even though common opinion suggests
that pure Arabica blends are better than ones with a small
proportion of Robusta beans, it should be noted that a small
Robusta part (about 10 %) intensifies the taste and the aroma; it
also simplifies the espresso making procedure and compensates
the traces of bitterness in Arabica beans.
Even though the roasted beans are enclosed in vacuum or valve
packages and do not lose their characteristics for many months,
they are, however, at their best within the first 3–4 weeks. We
suggest a dry and airy place for storage. Warmth, light and
strong aromas are to be avoided.
Espresso loses its aroma very quickly when exposed to air. The-
refore, the packaging should only be opened just before filling
it into the grinder. Because more taste is lost more quickly
when the beans are grinded, only grind as much as you need.
01 Arabica bean: unroasted, roasted
02 Robusta / Canephora bean: unroasted, roasted
01
02
03 Espresso.
The importance of the water.
The quality of the water used is very important for the prepara-
tion of a good espresso. It is important not to use hard water, so
the taste and the aroma of the ground beans can fully unfold.
The water hardness varies from region to region, depending on
the potassium salts solved in it. A German hardness grade (°dh)
complies with the content of 0.35 oz limestone per 264.17 gal-
lons of water. Many water filter manufacturers offer test cards,
helping you to find out about the composition of your tap
water and what hardness grade it is. We recommend a hardness
grade from about 6 °dh (
us
: 0.336 ppm CaCO
₃
) A normal water
filter filters the limestone out of the water, so that the aroma of
the espresso can unfold fully. Apart from the taste, there is also
another reason why you should not use hard water. Limescale
can cause crust formation in the pipes and the boiler and thus
cause slow water flow. Limescale blockage can also cause a red-
uction in temperature of the outflowing water and thus affect
the outcome.
