25% off Spring Wedding latte bar booking in Edmonton!

Book your latte bar for your spring wedding with us before midnight January 31st 2013 and get 25% off!!
www.espressocateringbykirby.com

Tips for a Good Shot of Espresso

For an even shot of espresso, tamping is important.

Tamper

The tamper is the tool used to press the ground coffee into the portafilter. 

The portafilter or group handle, is the part of the espresso machine that fits into the group head. It is the basket that holds the coffee grounds.

Portafilter

Getting the grounds packed into the portafilter can be a lot easier if you have a good quality tamper, or at least one that fits your portafilter properly. I like my Reg Barber but you can play around with what ever you have already. 

When I first entered the coffee world, I had a small home machine from the Bay. It was a wedding gift and I played around with that for quite a while. I personally didn't like the plastic tamper that came with the machine. It didn't fit the portafilter and was very rounded on the bottom. I prefer my tamper to have less curve on the bottom. 

If that is the situation you are in, play around with what you have and see what you can do with that first. I ended up seeking out a stainless steel tamper that fit my smaller entry level machine portafiler and used that until I upgraded my home machine. 

So back to tamping. When you are tamping, you want to press down evenly and with a downward ~30lbs of pressure. This is hard to measure at first. There is a tamper that clicks or "gives" once you have reached the proper pressure. If you are learning and $$ is not an factor in your tamper decision, this is something you could try. Another option is using a scale and practice tamping down onto the scale to "feel" the pressure. 

Once you have the pressure down pat, you can focus on an even tamp. The goal is have the puck, (packed espresso grounds), evenly and tightly packed into the portafilter. This is so the high pressure water evenly saturates and extracts the grounds. If the coffee is packed more tightly on one side or another, the water will choose the path of least resistance and over-extract the looser packed espresso grounds. Practice makes perfect! 

Another tool you can use to better measure and see how you are doing, is a naked portafilter. You can watch (with caution) as the shot comes out the bottom. You will be able to see where the problems are and work on your pressure and evenness from there. 

Anyways, practice makes perfect! Why do you think I had so many people over for coffee those first years ;) My little guinea pigs! haha! I must say, I didnt hear many complaints though! :D 

Take care for now, and don't be afraid to tinker and try different things!

Baby Shower Candy Buffet

Is it a boy or a girl? The parents have chosen not to find out until birth. One of the games at the baby shower was guessing boy or girl. Everyone who think it is a girl took the pink side, and those who thought it is a boy chose blue. Everything was pink or blue, from the candy buffet to the decorations, juice and cupcakes! A beautiful event to celebrate a beautiful time in this family's life!

Tips for a Great Shot of Espresso

A strong factor in your results rely on the grind. Start by using a good quality burr grinder and play around with it. Don't be afraid to try a finer or a more coarse grind. Every bag of beans is different so adjust your grinder to the bean. It may take some practice, but hey! It makes a good excuse to have friends for coffee!

Tips for a great espresso shot

When pulling espresso, always start with fresh roast coffee that has been freshly ground.

A great way to do this, is by trying out local roasters in your area.

What's your favorite blend?

Christmas Party Planners!!! A latte bar would be perfect!

Tis the season to be planning your Corporate Christmas Parties!
A latte bar would fit in nicely!

A peppermint latte here, a pumpkin spice cappuccino there... White Chocolate Mochas...

An affordable option, and a very special treat for all of your employees and their families.

And don't forget, we do candy buffets as well! Perfect for Kids' Christmas parties and/or an after dinner treat for the adults too!

Fun at the Edmonton Zoo with the City of Edmonton

The coffee was a hit at the Edmonton Valley Zoo tonight!

Beautiful weather, great atmosphere, food, face painting and of course Lucy the Elephant did one of her famous paintings!

I would say dark mocha was the drink of choice tonight. The little ones enjoyed (not so hot) Hot Chocolates with whip cream and chocolate sauce drizzled over top, while the adults sipped lattes, cappuccinos, mochas and London fogs as they mulled around the bistro table settings created by Kelly and her fellow co-workers. We even had a few deep passion espresso drinkers in crowd. All in all, it was a great event!

Thanks for having us, City of Edmonton, as your espresso caterers!

Cheers!

It was a beautiful wedding this weekend at the Magrath Mansion in Edmonton.

Congratulations again, Dean and Caroline!

Thank you for having us cater at your wedding!

I would also like to send a shout out to Hevin Anne Mueller, the Lead Event Planner with Story Weddings & Events. Great job you guys!
www.story-weddings.com

Elegant Self Serve Coffee Stations, great for entertaining and special occasions.

Looking to add style and elegance for your guests? A beautiful display. A Self Serve Coffee Station for your company to enjoy.

Happy Birthday to a special little two year old! Hope you enjoyed your spiderman birthday candy!

You can follow us on Facebook. Click HERE!

email us at : espressokirby@gmail.com

check our website at www.espressocateringbykirby.com

or call us to book an event at 780-915-2101

Candy Buffets TO GO!!

We now offer Candy Buffets to go, perfect for all of your smaller special events! :) Birthday Parties, Office Parties, Showers etc.
happy guests=successful party!

We cater CANDY BUFFETS in Edmonton and surrounding area! :) 

What's your favorite type of candy? 

Another Successful event at the U of A today. Coffee seemed appreciated early this morning as the medical students made their way into lectures. :D Happy Wednesday everyone!

A wonderful weekend full of food and festivals here in Edmonton!  And I am glad to be Canadian, cheering for my country, as they sport their hearts out in London. GO CANADA!

Ahhh, another day passes and yet I still haven't pulled my sweet spot shot from these LaVazza beans. Imma try some different beans. Any suggestions out there?

http://www.lavazza.com/corporate/en/

Today I am drinking a LaVazza ristretto. A nice wake up call!

http://espressocateringbykirby.com