Three steps to a good coffee

Janelle Cheadle of Zoom Coffee in Ballina perfecting a short black in preparation for hosting a coffee school.

Jay Cronan

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• What's brewing now?

TO make the perfect cup of coffee in the comfort of your own kitchen, there are only three things you need to remember, says Mark Nancarrow from Zoom Coffee at Ballina.

“Number one: clean equipment,” he said.

“The second thing is fresh coffee.

“You don't want anything that was roasted more than a month ago.

“The third thing is to make sure the grinder is on the right setting.”

These are the three golden rules that Mr Nancarrow will be teaching people who sign up for his new Espresso School.

“We know there are people out there who want to learn how to make a good coffee, but they don't want to do a full TAFE course or anything like that,” he said.

“Our course will show people how we buy the green bean, how we roast the beans and how they can make a good coffee using their machine at home.

“We look at the whole coffee menu – cappuccinos, flat whites, short blacks.

“Other things we look at include how to identify stale coffee and the importance of buying locally roasted coffee.

“There is a real art to making coffee – this course is just a quick look into it.”

The two-hour program at Zoom Coffee Roast House in Ballina is designed for anyone who wants to master the making of a perfect espresso.

Included in the course is:

• Factory tour.
• A brief look at the history of coffee and its origins.
• Discussion about the coffee tree, plant harvesting and roasting process.
• How to use grinders, coffee machines.
• Appropriate grinds for different brewing methods.
• Cleaning equipment.
• Storage of coffee.
• An introduction to the fundamentals for the perfect espresso coffee.
• Dosing and tamping.
• Milk texturing and the pouring techniques.

The courses are run on the first Tuesday of the month starting at 6pm at Zoom Coffee Roast House, 1/65 Piper Drive, Ballina.

Phone 1800 767 202, email mark@zoomcoffee.com.au or visit www.zoomcoffee.com.au.