Hospitality - Cafe Skills
Prepare and Serve Espresso Coffee
During this course you will learn to use lots of different types of equipment used to make espresso coffees. They range from the smaller items like thermomemeters and milk jugs, right up to the actual espresso machine and coffee grinders. It is essential you understand what each piece of equipment does and how to store and clean it properly. This will also be demonstrated during lessons.
Small Equipment
These items may be small, but they are necessary for a good coffee!
Group Handle
The group handle is the part of the espresso machine that holds the ground coffee in a filter basket. It is also called a portafilter or filter holder. The water goes through a filter inside the holder.
Keep the group handles in the group head at all times to keep them warm. They are always inserted right to left on the espresso machine.
Filter Baskets; Single and Double
You use different size filters depending on what you are doing:
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 making a single shot of espresso – use a single filter - 7g of coffee
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 making a double shot of espresso – use a double filter - 14g of coffee
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 cleaning the machine – use a blind filter with no holes.
Leave coffee in the filter baskets during service to prevent a metallic taste in the coffee. Just before you begin to make the next coffee is when you empty the filter basket by tapping the coffee into the knock box.
Milk Jug
Use different sizes of jugs to heat the milk, depending on the amount of milk. Milk will expand (get bigger) when textured, to double its size.
Jugs are made of stainless steel because it:
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 lasts well
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 is easy to clean
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 is easier to control the temperature of the milk.
If using different types of milk (e.g. full cream, soy, skim) each jug must be labelled appropriately to be able to identify the different types of milk.
Knock Box
Used coffee grounds are emptied into a knock box (or knockout tube). Tap the group handle on the bar so that the used grounds fall out.
At the end of every shift the knockout box must be emptied and cleaned out.
Thermometer
Milk thermometers are used to make sure the milk is at the correct temperature. Milk should be no more than 65°C.
You also will learn to estimate the temperature. This means judging how hot the milk is by looking at it and by feeling the hot jug on your hand, without actually measuring it with a thermometer. You learn this through experience.
The thermometer needs to be cleaned with a clean damp cloth each time it is put into a jug of milk.
Cups and Glasses
There are a variety of cups and glasses used to serve the different types of coffee. This includes insulated take-away coffee cups.
Latte glasses are often served with a serviette wrapped around them to prevent burns.
