Master your Espresso Capsules for your best cup yet. The temperatures, water and your coffee capsule machine all influence the quality of your coffee.
The classic Italian espresso is the basis for the variety of drinks you will find on a coffee shop menu. It’s time to let your inner barista shine and have some fun experimenting at home with our flavoured coffees.
All of the MiCasa capsules will work as an espresso. TCheck the strength guide and tasting notes on our packs to point you in the right direction towards your perfect brew.
Espresso - Favoured by sophisticats in horn-rimmed glasses the world over, the espresso requires high quality coffee but is light on the legwork. It’s a short and strong coffee drink best at around 30-40ml, made by forcing near boiling water through coffee under high pressures. This is true of a Nespresso machine and Mi Casa coffee capsules too.
One of the first things you’ll notice when an espresso brews is the crema. This is the light-coloured foam that forms on the top of the espresso when it brews, and is an emulsion made up of oils, proteins and carbon dioxide. Crema is slightly bitter in taste in itself and will trigger the same sensory reaction in the body as the bubbles in sparkling water. However, if you stir the crema into the espresso before drinking, the taste elements become integrated into the drink making for a more rounded espresso experience.
Ristretto -The bearded fixie-rider of the coffee world, the ristretto is a very short shot of espresso coffee, one for the aficionados!
Lungo - For those who don’t want a shot of coffee straight into the vein and prefer black coffee the lungo is an excellent drink to start with as it’s brewed with much more water than an espresso.
Latte - Arguably a firm favourite, the milk takes the front seat over the coffee, making it an accessible and tasty drink. To make your latte at home, brew an espresso into an standard 250ml cup or glass, steam or froth your milk – if you have a steam wand don’t stretch the milk too far, instead focus on developing your micro-foam. This will also give you the chance to try your hand at latte art. Fill the cup all the way to the top for the right balance of coffee to milk.
Flat White - You know that dreamboat you’ve been checking out on your morning coffee hunt? Well, this is bound to impress. The flat white became a very fashionable drink with the advent of third wave cafés; it’s simple really – it’s just a stronger version of a latte. Start with an 250ml cup but brew two shorter espressos into your cup, then froth your milk like a latte and fill all the way to the top. Try it with our French Vanilla for a French-inspired morning.
Cappuccino - Named after Capuchin friars' habits, this is a habit that’s hard to break. What makes a cappuccino different from a latte is that both the coffee and foam content are higher and as a result you taste the coffee more. The base of a cappuccino is a standard espresso. The cup size can vary a bit from café to café but is usually standard cup. When making your drink, first brew your espresso, then prepare the milk with a steam wand or your home milk frother making sure you stretch the milk by 50% before working on your micro-foam. Once you’ve made your cappuccino, get all latte-artistic with a dusting of cocoa powder or the rather suave Latin American option of serving with cinnamon.
Our Top 5 Tips
How to brew the perfect cup of coffee with your machine
Rinse and preheat your cup
Yes, you heard us! It is very important to preheat your cup for the perfect cup of coffee, before you brew your coffee capsule. A cold cup will not only affect the temperature of your coffee, but also the coffee flavour. Thankfully, there is an easy way to preheat your cup if you have got a Nespresso® coffee machine. Simply run your machine without a capsule inside (just hot water). Swirl the hot water around in your cup, discard water. Cup is heated and ready for coffee in only a few seconds! You also flush the capsule chamber, guaranteeing the freshest cup is on its way.
Don't burn your coffee
Did you know that a coffee capsule is only made to run a 60ml shot? Meaning that if you try to fill up your mug of coffee with just one capsule, you are not doing the machine any favour (more pressure on your pump), plus you are also burning your coffee. Once the coffee inside the capsule is used up, you only extract the bitterness and tannins from the coffee. You only want the good coffee aromas, so run your capsule for 60ml only, not longer. Rather use a second capsule if you want that extra kick or for a longer cup of coffee simply run an espresso, eject the capsule and run with just hot water (without a capsule inside) to make an Americano (the real way).
Use filtered water
If you want a good quality coffee, don´t use tap water. We recommend filtered or bottled water with a natural taste, so it doesn´t negatively affect the taste of your coffee. Also: if you are using tap water in your coffee machine, it is very likely that you need to descale your machine more often due to the lime and calcium build-up that ends up in your coffee machine. Remember to also empty and rinse your water container every week or two.
Clean your machine
Only a clean machine is a healthy machine and can make you the perfect cup of coffee. Professional baristas clean their coffee equipment every single day as coffee is a very oily beverage. Every time you extract a shot of espresso it leaves a layer of oil behind in your machine. The perfect breeding ground for bacteria. This build-up can also cause blockages in your machine, and damage your pump. The cleaning tablets we sell gets rid of those build-ups and bacteria in just 2 minutes. Use 1 capsule after every 30 cups of coffee made, or at least once a month, and your coffee will always be fresh and your machine healthy! Check out our cleaning products here.
Descale your machine
Many people think descaling is the same thing as using a cleaning capsule, but it is not. The cleaning capsule gets rid of old coffee oils in the brewing chamber. The descaler removes lime scale from the boiler and thermoblock, and pipes of your machine. Descaling is only necessary every 3-6 months, depending on how hard the water is that you use to make the coffee. Regular descaling makes sure that your coffee tastes great every single time, and also keeps your machine in great condition.
