29/07/2026
Although we have been using an Espresso machine at La Maison Rose for over eight years, we haven’t explored many different coffee beans. The same goes for our coffee grinder. Especially the past five to six years, we have purchased the same coffee beans from Ethiopia.
Switching coffee beans requires us to adjust the settings on both espresso machine and the grinder. In the past , with little experience and understanding, an experiment of new bean could cause me up to one third of the coffee bean so we’ve stuck with the same beans to save time and avoid wastage.
When Sam gifted us a beautiful package of coffee beans from Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, I knew that to achieve the right extraction, we would need to sacrifice some beans and put time aside . Last week I set up another coffee grinder at our studio.
Upon opening the package, the beans exuded a fresh, aromatic scent. I ground the beans as finely as possible and began the first extraction with 12, 13 and finally 15g. At 15g, which is normally quite a lot of coffee grounds, the espresso machine produced an Americano instead of an espresso.
So, I decided to top up the coffee grounds to almost the top of the cradle, resulting in 18g.
Finally, we achieved the perfect espresso drip . I steamed the milk and attempted an amateur latte heart. Without finding out the tasting notes , I took my first sip and found the flavor to be subtle and floral, with a hint of fruit that I couldn’t quite identify. I then passed the cup to Jessica to taste, and she noted that it had a very nutty profile.
Although we detected different taste, both of us agreed that it was a great cup of espresso! Excited about our successful extraction, we would experiment with the beans in a Moka pot at home .
Thank you very much Sam for bringing this delicious bag of coffee all the way from Kilimanjaro for us to taste 🤗💪🏼💕
