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
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:
Milk jug (pitcher):
Tamper Mat:
Cloths: