Become a barista in your own home!

Being able to make really good barista quality coffee at home is a real treat and it’s not that difficult. People think that you have to be a trained barista and have a really expensive coffee machine to do this. It’s really not so. There are some great home coffee machines out there, that are very reasonably priced, that make awesome cappuccinos or lattes or flat whites.

I’ll run you through all the equipment you’ll need. When you add it all up, you can even make great savings by making your own at home, instead of buying your cuppa every day.

The Espresso Machine

To start you’ll need an Espresso coffee machine. You do get various types, but I would recommend you get something that incorporates all the required functions in one machine. This is often called an All in One machine.

• Grinding: Your machine needs to grind coffee beans, to the right grind size, and the correct quantity.
• Extraction: Your machine needs to heat water and to force the water through the ground coffee, which is placed in a group head, at the correct pressure to produce a good quality espresso. It is recommended to have a pressure of between 7 and 11 bars. The ideal temperature is between 190 to 196 degrees Fahrenheit, or 88 to 91 degrees Celsius.
• Milk steaming: Your machine should incorporate a milk wand which produces great steam at the correct pressure to heat up milk and to texture milk to your taste, depending on whether you enjoy a cappuccino, a latte or a flat white.

My Recommendation

The Breville Barista Express Espresso machine is an all in one barista style coffee machine that performs all the functions mentioned above and includes most of the accessories that you would need. It meets all specifications that I have mentioned above. Reviews on the milk steamer that I have read say that the steamer could be more powerful. I have personally found that it does the job well.

There are a range of Breville home barista coffee machines. The BES870XL is a best seller on Amazon, but there are others you may prefer…

Accessories

If you get something like the Breville Barista Express Espresso which is an all in one machine you wouldn’t need to buy many accessories. The milk pitcher is included!

Thermometer:

In my view, this is an essential accessory for steaming your milk. Normal temperature is around 60 to 65 degrees Celsius – 140 to 149 degrees Fahrenheit. If you like it extra hot, probably around 80 to 85 degrees – 176 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. I wouldn’t go hotter than that, otherwise the milk starts burning and separating. You’ll need a thermometer which has a probe that is longer than the depth of your milk steaming jug. There are many out there, but my rule here is keep it simple!

Milk jug (pitcher):

Usually stainless steel. If you’re making coffees one cup at a time you probably don’t need anything bigger than 350ml. A pitcher similar to that pictured above comes included with the Breville Barista Express.

Tamper Mat:

A tamper mat is really useful for pressing on to get a good pressure when tamping down your coffee into your group head. If you have hard surfaces where you place your coffee machine you don’t want to damage them. The one in the picture above is very similar to the one we use, and we use it all the time!

Cloths:

A set of cloths is essential for a barista! You’ll use them to clean out your portafilter after each coffee. You will also need one to clean the steam wand after steaming milk. The pictured set has a variety for different uses, and is very similar to what we use. Just make sure the cloth is damp when using, especially when cleaning the steam wand.