ARTICLE

Barista School: 5 Steps To Master A Café-Quality Coffee With Lelit

December 5, 2023 - 3 mins read

Want a rich, full-bodied coffee, minus the trip to the café? Leave it to Lelit. The source of true Italian espresso, Lelit manual coffee machines make it easy to be your own barista, delivering a smooth, velvety sip every time.
“For coffee connoisseurs who view coffee-making as an art form, manual coffee machines offer a hands-on and customised brewing experience,” says Tracey Ellis, The Good Guys Buyer – Small Kitchen Appliances.

“Lelit manual coffee machines are the real deal. From grind size to water temperature, they let you fine-tune settings to produce the smoothest-tasting coffee, just the way you like it.”
New to manual coffee machines but keen to upskill? Start by learning the lingo, then put a Lelit machine on your small appliance shopping list.
With a coffee machine from Lelit and our expert tips, you’ll soon be brewing the best coffee on the block. Here’s how.

Step 1: Grind Your Coffee Beans Fresh

For great coffee, fresh is best – so to enjoy the tastiest sip, aim to grind your beans just before you brew. That's because once coffee is ground and exposed to oxygen, it loses flavour and aroma. By grinding fresh, you'll ensure those fruity undertones and caramel notes make it into your cup.

The Lelit Fred Conical Burr Grinder uses café-quality 38mm conical burrs to deliver fine or coarse grounds, straight into the portafilter. Then, use Lelit’s expert accessories to tamper and compress grinds into a puck. Now you’re ready to brew your coffee with your Lelit coffee machine.

Want to streamline operations? You’ll love the all-in-one convenience of the Lelit Anita Manual Coffee Machine that grinds beans, brews coffee and froths milk all in the one compact machine.

Step 2: Tailor Your Temperature

It’s time to heat things up – and by ‘things’, we mean your coffee machine. Lelit coffee machines take approximately 5 minutes to warm up to the high temperatures needed to perfect your coffee. Once the machine is ready to brew, sort your settings for the perfect extraction.

With the Lelit Anita Manual Coffee Machine and Lelit Anna Manual Coffee Machine, extraction temperatures can be adjusted to match the flavour profile of your coffee beans.

“Match brew settings to bean type by choosing a higher temperature for lighter roast beans, and lower the temperature for darker roasts. Then, you can trust your Lelit machine to keep extraction temperatures consistent for the smoothest possible coffee,” says Tracey Ellis.

“Lelit manual coffee machines are the real deal. From grind size to water temperature, Lelit espresso machines let you fine-tune settings to get the smoothest-tasting coffee, just the way you like it.” - Tracey Ellis, The Good Guys Buyer – Small Kitchen Appliances

Step 3: Extract Evenly For Best Results

Now for the fun bit – extraction! Baristas call this step ‘pulling a shot’ – essentially, using water to extract those delicious flavour compounds. And it’s the moment your coffee machine really goes to work, pumping hot water through coffee grinds to pour your perfect espresso into the cup below.

Experts agree that an 8-12 bar extraction pressure (that’s barista-speak for the amount of force used to extract espresso) makes for a better brew. And this is exactly what Lelit machines deliver, thanks to their 9 bar OPV. (An OPV is simply the Over Pressure Valve used to regulate brewing pressure.) The Lelit Anna Manual Coffee Machine and Lelit Victoria Manual Coffee Machine manage extraction pressure so you’ll never drink an over-pressured, bitter-tasting coffee again.

A back-lit pressure gauge on the Lelit Victoria Manual Coffee Machine lets you monitor the pressure of each coffee extraction. Ideally, the gauge will be in the ‘green’ 8-12 bar zone, for a smooth-tasting coffee.

Step 4: Finesse Your Froth

Love a cappuccino, latte or flat white? The in-built frothing wand of the Lelit Victoria Manual Coffee Machine and Lelit Anita Manual Coffee Machine makes it easy to customise your coffee. The multi-directional and powerful steam wand does the hard work for you, forcing steam into the milk to warm it and add the air that creates bubbles. The result? A silky microfoam for a cafe-quality cup of Joe.

Shop Lelit Coffee Machines & Grinders

Lelit Anna Manual Coffee Machine

Lelit Anita Manual Coffee Machine

Lelit Victoria Manual Coffee Machine

Lelit Fred Conical Burr Grinder

Step 5: Clean That Machine!

As any expert barista knows, regular cleaning will keep your Lelit premium coffee machine in tip-top shape. Simple steps such as rinsing your portafilter and backflushing the machine after every use (it only takes 30 seconds!) will remove built-up oil and residue to keep it brewing at its best.

Where Are Lelit Espresso Machines Made?

Passionate about coffee? Lelit is passionate about making quality machines that create your perfect cup, day in and day out. Designed and made in Italy, Lelit machines are dedicated to the art of coffee and delivering a true Italian espresso. Born from quality materials, Lelit coffee machines feature a brass boiler and stainless steel drip trays in a sturdy build, destined to take pride of place on your benchtop.
Fancy a coffee? Prep your beans and select your settings, then leave it to a Lelit espresso machine to craft your dream brew. Visit The Good Guys in-store or online to discover the full Lelit Australia range.