We know you have busy lives! That's why Nespresso machines are your perfect balance between speed and quality. However, sometimes the machine gets overlooked. Here are some tips and tricks to keep your machine in good health:
1) Making sure the buttons are set to the correct shot size
Each capsule has a recommended shot size. For most machines, you simply push the long or short button once and your coffee is ready. But if you hold down the button for too long mid serving, you can override the settings and lose the recommended shot size next time your serve. The machine will remember, for example, that last time you served an 80ml glass rather than its default 40ml. It will take 5 minutes to reset your machine to the correct size if you wish. Worth checking online for each reset guide, but generally you turn the machine off, back on, then hold down the lungo button for 5 seconds [in this case for magimix inissia].
2) Clean Your Machine at least once a month
Its hard to know when to clean your Nespresso machine, but we have a simple hack to help: the shot test. Run a shot of water through the machine with no capsule. Take a good look at the water that comes out - if it's clear and does not smell of old coffee, then you are probably good to go. For extra certainty, let the water shot cool, then taste it. If its neutral tasting, then the state of your machine is not affecting the quality of the coffee being poured. More often than not though, most people will be amazed at what comes out the machine!
To clean the machine, use some detergent designed for a Nespresso® machine, adding it to the water tank, following the manufactures instructions. We recommend 'Puly' descaler and detergent which you can purchase from Amazon. Doing this stops the build up of old coffee oils, which can taste horrid. After you have used the detergent, run several [yes several!] tanks of water through the machine to make sure the detergent is washed away.
If the machine is clean, and shots are correctly sized, your coffee should taste wonderful.......its worth the 10 minutes of your time once a month.
3) Play the coffee barista and test shot sizes
Once the machine is set to the correct Nespresso sizes, and is squeaky clean, you can hone the flavour of your shot. You don’t have to this, but if you do it will help get the most out of your coffee.
Each Nespresso machine pours slightly differently. A shot that is poured too short is strong, but has the tendency to be sharp or acidic (under extracted); a shot that is poured too long is weak and has the tendency to be bitter (over extracted).
Once you have the correct standard shot size, you can play about with the shot. If you take the standard 40ml for an Espresso capsule, you can alter the taste by changing the length to find a balance. Increasing and decreasing the shot size from the standard sizing will allow you to find a perfect sweet spot for your coffee. The standard sizes work well, but honing your taste skills by playing with shot size will get the very most out of your capsule. If you struggle with millilitres, then remember 25ml is the size of a single tequila shot.
Our final brewing tip. Split a single capsule shot into three cups [First third, second third, last third]. Each part of the coffee pour tastes really different. Let the shot run and collect it into three glasses – then taste each in turn. The first one will be extremely strong but sharp; the middle one will be weaker and less sharp; the final glass will be really weak, watery and bitter.
Once you can identify these tastes, you can use establish how long you pour the coffee to balance the perfect shot.
Voila! Not rocket science, but a useful reminder that even a nespresso machine and quality capsules need some love and attention.