Are you ready to learn all you that could ever need to know about coffee at the Breville x Best Buy Masterclass? Here’s how to pick the perfect beans to really elevate your Breville coffee experience. Plus, keep reading to learn a few extra tips and tricks for pulling the perfect shot of espresso on any espresso machine.
What is a Best Buy Masterclass?
Best Buy’s Masterclasses are a series of locally-hosted, curated events that teach you an important aspect about using something that’s available at Best Buy. They’re a great way to learn about a niche topic from skilled professionals–and they’re free!
You can reserve your tickets for these events online on Eventbrite. Classes are being hosted at different locations across Canada and are available in both English and French.
The Breville x Best Buy Coffee Masterclass
I went to Breville’s Coffee Masterclass to experience one of these classes firsthand. I’m a big fan of the brand (my current favourite Breville espresso machine is their Breville Barista Touch Impress), so I was excited for the chance to use their machines with experts.
At my local event in Edmonton, Breville hosted barista Melbert Roque from ACE Coffee to teach the class. Over the span of about an hour and a half, we learned about coffee beans, achieving the right grind size, the difference between manual and automatic espresso machines, and how to steam your milk.
What makes a great bean for an espresso machine?
During the Masterclass, we talked a lot about how your coffee’s flavour comes from both your extraction and your beans themselves. In order to pull the perfect shot of espresso, you have to start with high-quality coffee. Using the right beans for your machine not only produces a better-tasting shot of espresso, but it also helps prolong the life of your machine and grinder. You can easily elevate your at-home coffee making experience by using the right beans for your machine.
1. Make sure your bag has a one-way valve to release trapped gas
It’s important that your espresso beans are stored in an airtight bag. Similarly to wine, coffee degrades in the air; so, proper storage helps your beans taste fresh and fragrant for longer. One way to do this is to make sure your beans are sold in a bag with a one-way air valve—you’ll see this as a round, raised disc in the middle of the bag on one side. Simply store your beans in the bag or use an airtight container to keep them fresh.
2. Keep your beans at room temperature
Don’t store your extra espresso beans in the kitchen, fridge, or freezer. Instead, store them in a cool, dark area that maintains a consistent temperature year-round.
Keep in mind that coffee beans are super absorbent. They pick up moisture, odours, and flavours easily. Keep them out of the fridge and kitchen to stop them from tasting like produce.
3. Choose blended beans for a complex favour profile—or single origin for a pure one
Coffee beans aren’t just super absorbent when they’re sitting in your home. They’re also super absorbent when they’re growing! The flavours of your beans comes from the field, temperature, and soil where they grow. Each field produces a different-tasting bean, so Melbert recommends choosing your espresso beans based on your personal preferences.
For a clean, straightforward flavour profile, opt for single origin beans. For a more complex, exciting flavour profile, opt for a blended mix of espresso beans.
In both cases, Melbert recommends opting for Arabica beans with your espresso maker. They make up over half of the global production of coffee, and taste more complex and sweet than the bolder, more bitter Robusta bean.
How to grind your espresso beans for a perfect espresso shot
In our Masterclass, we learned a lot about the importance of getting the right grind and dose size for your beans. Your grounds’ quality, grind size, freshness, and dose (amount) all play roles in the quality of your espresso shot. Without the right balance of each factor, you can’t pull a great shot of espresso—so getting them right will get you the perfect shot of espresso.
1. Choose a medium roast coffee bean
While personal preference should certainly prevail for any home coffee setup, Melbert recommends starting every espresso machine with a medium roast espresso blend. Medium roast beans deliver just the right balance of flavours for espresso, and they’re easier on your machine’s burr grinder than the harder dark roast beans. They’re also the easiest beans to achieve an even grind size with, helping you maintain a textbook-perfect extraction with every pull. If you’re looking for an easy way to pull the perfect shot of espresso, start with a medium roast.
2. Work with your machine to find the right grind size
It’s important to find the right dose and grind size every time you use a new machine or try a new bean. Even day by day, factors like bean age and room humidity can affect your coffee extraction time in small ways.
Always dial in to the right ratio with your espresso maker and coffee grinder. You want to achieve a consistent grind size that feels like a fine sand—not a powder. If your grounds feel sharp and chunky, they’re too large; if they feel like flour, they’re too small. Check the quality of your used coffee pucks as another way to assess your shot. If they’re too wet, your grind may be uneven, too fine, or over-tamped.
3. Always use fresh grounds
Coffee beans begin to lose their flavour as soon as they’re ground—which is why so many of Breville’s coffee makers and espresso machines feature built-in grinders. Like with most food and drink experiences, fresh is best! Ideally, you should use up your coffee beans within a week of them being ground, and enjoy your espresso within 30 seconds of its extraction for best flavour. The flavour profile of your coffee will start to change within the first 5-10 minutes, even if you’ve pulled the perfect shot of espresso.
If you have old grounds, used grounds, or incorrectly-sized grounds, there are plenty of ways to reuse them around the house. They make great room deodorizers, garbage fresheners, and plant fertilizer.
One last secret from the Masterclass…
I always feel like brand-hosted events are the best way to get to know a product range—where else will you have access to the brand’s own top experts in the same room? So, whether I attend events as a blogger or a consumer, I always like to ask the experts what their favourite product or part of the line is.
As a world-class barista, Melbert prefers a manual machine. His at-home machine is a Breville Barista Pro Espresso Machine, which is an excellent machine for coffee lovers who prefer to tamp their grounds themselves. Caroline Prather, however, Breville’s Brand Ambassador at the event (and another Edmonton native like myself), put me onto something new. She likes the Breville Oracle Touch Automatic Espresso Machine, which can automatically dial-in your grind.
As any coffee fanatic knows, dialling in is one of the hardest parts of making a great cup of coffee. In fact, we spent a good hour of the Breville Masterclass learning exactly how to dial in a new espresso bean for your machine. From adjusting grind size to getting your dose just right, I was blown away to hear that the Oracle Touch can do it on its own. It often takes me 5-10 wasted espresso shots to find just the right grind size and dose for new bean (I drink a lot of decaf, which makes the process extra tricky), and I am beyond impressed to learn that the Oracle Touch can do it on its own. What a dream!
In conclusion
It’s easy to elevate your at-home coffee experience without changing any of your machinery. Try these tips and tricks for finding the right beans and using the right techniques to pull the perfect shot of espresso every time. Or, attend a Best Buy Masterclass near you to learn some new skills firsthand.
Explore coffee & espresso machines online at Best Buy today to find a machine that matches your skillset.
