According to Barista Technology Australia, weight is the metric the coffee industry should have used all along for perfect coffee flavour.
“Stripped back to their most basic elements, recipes for a great cup of coffee will usually begin something along the lines of: (x) grams of coffee + (y) millilitres of water + (z) amount of time,” says Brett Bolwell, CEO of Barista Technology Australia.
“Of course, any barista can attest there’s quite a lot more to it than that. It often involves an exacting amount of precision, one common aspect of which involves weight (x) and when preparing the perfect cup, best practice is to carefully weigh your grind output prior to tamping.”
The problem though, he adds, is that until only a few years ago, coffee grinders mostly operated on a timed basis (e.g. 11-second intervals). This rarely guarantees identical weight outputs and often gives inconsistent results over continued use.
“It’s a bit like making toast when you’re on holiday – you might know your toaster at home will prepare the bread perfectly at the number three setting, but the same setting elsewhere leaves you with charcoal,” Brett explains.
“As such, the exacting barista will weigh their output separately, every time. If the weight is incorrect, the process is repeated until satisfied – a time consuming and potentially wasteful endeavour.”
This is where a grind-by-weight (GBW) coffee grinder comes to the rescue. With built-in scales, a GBW grinder will grind to an adjustable pre-set weight – not just saving time and reducing wastage but helping to ensure that crucial consistency of coffee flavour.
Recently released GBW grinders include the Fiorenzato F64 XGi and F83 XGi. Brett says their sleek designs encompass high-tech advances that ensure fast and efficient espresso at no compromise of quality.
Another machine that has eyes already turning to the horizon, the Mahlkonig E65S GBW is due to arrive in Australia in August 2021. “Reports of its robust construction, that handles high volume workloads and delivers a silent grind, has accrued great anticipation within the professional community,” Brett says.
Both the Fiorenzato and the Mahlkonig models are compatible with PuqPress attachments, the M3 and M4 models respectively, allowing for further enhancement of workflow consistency and improvement.
“This compatibility, and the none-too-late shift from timed grinding to GBW, are just further examples of evolving standards within the industry, that are helping baristas maintain flavour perfection in every cup of coffee,” says Brett.
For more information, visit www.baristatechnology.com.au
