Espresso Machine Coffee
- Swiss Water Decaffeinated CoffeeDecaffeinated coffee is ideal for those who want to enjoy their favourite blends at any time of day, without the effects of caffeine, however the process of removing caffeine from a bean can also remove much of the bean's flavour. That's why the Swiss Water Process is a favourite method of decaffeinating coffee: it doesn't remove the flavour and strength of coffee beans in the act of removing the caffeine, and doesn't use any chemicals. In the method, coffee beans are first soaked in hot ...
From £19.99★★★★★533 Review(s) - Dark Colombian CoffeeOur Dark Colombian is a slightly stronger coffee than our Colombian Medium Roast, which makes it more versatile as it is suitable for cafetiere use, filter coffees and intense espressos. Again using Medellin Excelso, from Colombia's Cordillera Central in the Andes, this excellent coffee really does display some of the finer qualities of the renowned Colombian coffee bean: a rich aroma, luxurious depth and sweet flavours of fruit and chocolate. These Colombian beans benefit from being grown ...
From £14.99★★★★★189 Review(s) - Blue Sumatra CoffeeThis strong Indonesian coffee comes from Sumatra, the second largest of the Indonesian islands, and is considered among the finest examples from the region. Indonesia itself is the fourth largest coffee producer in the world, and the longitude and latitude of the country make for particularly well suited micro-climates in producing a diverse, flavoursome variety of beans. In fact, depending on the region, Indonesian coffees are known to be imbued with flavours of cocoa, smoke, cedar wood, ...
From £15.99★★★★★297 Review(s) - Guatemala Swiss Water Decaffeinated CoffeeGuatemala Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee offers the typical taste profile of a Guatemalan coffee, but without the caffeine, so it can be enjoyed at any time of the day or evening. It is produced using the ingenious Swiss Water Decaffeination Process, a method that removes caffeine from coffee without the use of chemicals, and without losing the wonderful flavours contained in quality Arabica beans. It is a medium bodied cup with good acidity, a rich aroma, and hints of citrus and caramel. ...
From £22.99★★★★★71 Review(s) - Dark Maragogype CoffeeThe coffee industry in Guatemala began to develop in the 1850s, with small plantations flourishing. Cultivation of coffee and the country's coffee industry was given a sizeable boost during the Liberal Revolution of 1871, when goals of modernisation and trade improvements caused the bean to become an especially important crop. To this day coffee remains one of Guatemala's main exports, along with sugar, textiles and bananas. The particular bean used in our medium and mellow Dark Maragogype ...
From £18.99★★★★★125 Review(s) - Papua New Guinea CoffeeCoffee in Papua New Guinea is mostly cultivated in the country's five highlands provinces; Western Highlands, Eastern Highlands, Simbu, Morobe and East Sepik. As a relatively small producer of coffee, Papua New Guinea generally sources its harvested beans from small land holdings, or 'coffee gardens', owned by farmers, which are located largely in isolated areas that do not require synthetic fertilisers or pesticides. Our Papua New Guinea coffee has a distinctive chocolate and nut flavour, ...
From £14.99★★★★★88 Review(s) - Peru CoffeeThis high grown coffee has a wonderful fruity and floral taste, with a sharp acidity and a subtle chocolate finish. Coffee is one of the largest agricultural exports of Peru, with approximately 200,000 small farms spanning the country from north to south, producing high quality arabica beans. Our Peru coffee goes wonderfully in your favourite filter coffees, and will also make a delightfully sharp espresso. Be sure to check out our wider range of South American coffee, including wonderful ...
From £14.99★★★★★63 Review(s) - Barahona Paraiso CoffeeThis medium strength coffee comes from Paraiso, a town located in the province of Barahona in the Southwest of the Dominican Republic. Barahona is surrounded by lush, green mountains and fresh rivers that run to the Caribbean Sea, and enjoys a tropical climate and average temperatures of 85 degrees F, making it ideal for growing quality coffee. Our Barahona Paraiso is smooth, incredibly aromatic and perfect for strong filter coffees and full bodied espressos. Want to learn more about ...
From £14.99★★★★★24 Review(s) - Vietnam Arabica CoffeeOur Vietnam Arabica is a smooth and mellow cup, that is slightly fruity with woody and caramel notes. This medium strength coffee has a low acidity and medium body. A dark roast, suitable for use in bean-to-cup, cafetiere, filter and espresso brewing methods. Coffee is thought to have been first introduced to Vietnam by the French in 1857, and today the country is the second highest coffee producing country in the world after Brazil. Most of the coffee produced in Vietnam is of the Robusta ...
From £14.99★★★★★16 Review(s) - Brazil Fazenda Paraiso CoffeeThis very versatile coffee reveals a full body and low acidity, with lovely sweet notes of milk chocolate, cherry, apple raisins and nuts. Brazil Fazenda Paraiso is sourced from a farm located in the traditional coffee-growing district of Cabo Verde, where an ideal climate, low humidity and favourable temperatures create perfect growing conditions. Harvested between May and August, these coffee cherries are picked and taken to drying patios to be sorted, dried and processed under the sun.
From £15.99★★★★★2 Review(s) - Australian Skybury CoffeeThis smooth, full bodied coffee offers a medium strength that is great when used with a cafetiere or filter, and displays subtle and delightful flavours of pistachio nuts. The Skybury plantation, where this coffee is grown, is Australia's oldest producing plantation and the country's largest coffee exporter. The 300 acre plantation is treated to mild winters and warm summers, which make for excellent conditions for growing high quality beans. The coffee harvest, which usually runs through ...
From £30.99★★★★★76 Review(s) - Sulawei Kalossi Torajha CoffeeSourced from Sulawesi, one of the four Greater Sunda Islands situated within Indonesia, this strong, dark roasted coffee offers a heavy but smooth taste, a rich body and an intense spicy finish. Sulawesi coffees are known for revealing a silky body, moderate acidity and a smooth finish, with warm, spicy flavours of cinnamon and cardamom, and well-balanced notes of ripe fruit and dark chocolate. These unique beans are grown in the mountainous regions of the Sulawesi, giving them their ...
From £15.99★★★★★15 Review(s) - Costa Rica Azalea CoffeeAn intense coffee with full aroma and sharp, vibrant acidity, our Costa Rica Azalea is a truly unique coffee suitable for all brewing methods. The Azalea is a flower of peculiar yet exquisite aroma, one of nature's true beauties. The flower like our coffee is a symbol of the unique splendours that made Costa Rica's Central Valley legendary. Azalea is produced on farms that transcend this stunning valley of Costa Rica. The strong influence of volcanic soil in the Central Valley combined with ...
From £15.99★★★★★46 Review(s) - Laos Fancy CoffeeAn intense, strong and full-bodied coffee from Laos, offering a good acidity, notes of chocolate, sweet fruit and nut, and a lovely burnt caramel aftertaste. Coffees in Laos are generally grown at high elevations, at least 1,200 meters above sea level. This altitude allows for a slower growth of the coffee plants, so that the coffee cherries develop a more complex flavour as they slowly mature. Laos, a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, contains several coffee-growing regions, generally ...
From £15.99★★★★★18 Review(s) - Bolivian Caturra CoffeeA rich, strong and full-bodied coffee from Bolivia, which reveals sweet, fruity flavours, hints of honey and lemon, a medium-light body and little acidity, and a lovely liquorice aftertaste. Caturra, a natural mutation of the Bourbon variety of coffee bean and a sub-variety of the Arabica species of coffee, was discovered in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais between 1915 and 1918 and is now grown in high altitude regions in Bolivia, where ideal temperatures and the high elevations produce ...
From £17.99★★★★★4 Review(s) - Papua New Guinea Elimbari CoffeeA wonderfully smooth and well-rounded coffee, Papua New Guinea Elimbari reveals delicious flavours of chocolate and sweet caramel, with slight citrusy notes of grapefruit and green apple. The Arusha coffee bean is a particulalry interesting varietal, thought to be from the Typica lineage that can be found in Papua New Guinea and Tanzania. Once picked the coffee is pulped, before being dry fermented for 24 hours in wooden boxes and then being washed and dried. Papua New Guinea Elimbari is ...
From £14.99★★★★★6 Review(s) - After Dinner CoffeeRound off a meal in perfect style with our versatile, medium blend After Dinner coffee, freshly roasted to order to bring you a smooth coffee that is full of character, yet subtle enough to follow a multitude of flavours. Enjoy this blend from cafetiere, prepared as your favourite coffee drink, and experience the well-balanced combination of fruit flavours and a hint of chocolate that make it a great accompaniment to a sweet desert. Or, drink this blend as an espresso to bring a delightful ...
From £13.99★★★★★15 Review(s) - El Salvador La Joya CoffeeTastes of sweet honey, with high acidity and a medium body go alongside a red fruit tone and long aftertaste with our El Salvador La Joya coffee. As its name describes it, this farm is a jewel in the heart of the coffee republic, in the western part of El Salvador. In the city of Apaneca, 74 hectares of pure Bourbon are managed by Tropical Farm El Salvador, a Neumann Gruppe company dedicated to the administration and management of farms in the country. Coffee is 100% grown under native shade ...
From £16.99★★★★★30 Review(s) - Myanmar CoffeeOur Myanmar coffee offers a round body with bright acidity. Tastes include hints of caramel, lemon and tangerine in this wonderfully different coffee. Working closely with Ywar Ngan’s Danu Hill Tribe high in the Southern Shan State, Shwe Ywar Ngan Coffee produces some Myanmar’s finest Arabica coffee. The area’s fertile red and yellow soil coupled with ideal elevation and consistent rainfall help make Ywar Ngan a particularly accommodating environment for growing coffee. The Danu Hill Tribe ...
From £15.99★★★★★23 Review(s) - Red-Eye CoffeeIf you're feeling a bit tired and want something that will give you a quick pick-me-up, but don't want to be tossing and turning all night, then our Red-Eye blend is for you. This smooth, medium strength coffee is not as intense as some of our stronger, caffeine-rich blends, but it still packs a satisfying punch that's great if you're feeling a bit run down, and offers lovely flavours of rich fruits and spices that work well in both filter coffees and espressos. In terms of strength and ...
From £14.99★★★★★7 Review(s)
Your Essential Guide to Espresso Machine Coffee
For many connoisseurs, the espresso is the purest distillation of coffee, capturing the true essence of the bean. If you’re someone who savours a short-sharp caffeine boost, we strongly recommend investing in an espresso coffee machine. We guarantee it will become your best friend in the kitchen.
From step-by-step brewing instructions to the best espresso makers on the market, check out our indispensable guide to becoming a budding barista in your own home.
The Java Jargon Decoder
Here are a few terms that may come in handy as we explore coffee for espresso machines.
- Portafilter - The part of the device that holds the ground beans before and during the brewing process.
- Puck - The round disk of grounds created when the coffee is compressed into the basket.
- Tamping - Tamping is the process of tightly squeezing down and compacting the grounds in the portafilter with a tamper.
- Under-extracted - When you don’t dissolve enough desirable particles into your drink, resulting in a weak, sour or astringent taste.
What is an espresso?
This type of coffee refers to the preparation process of blasting near-boiling, pressurised water over highly compacted coffee grounds to deliver a concentrated brew with a sophisticated, robust flavour. Served in a one drink shot or used as a base for some of your favourite recipes, this sort of coffee delivers an intense and flavour-packed hit of java.
How to grind coffee for espresso
When it comes to how fine to grind your beans, a super fine grind is key. The pressure of the pump mechanism means maximum flavour can only be extracted from finely ground coffee beans. You’ll know if your grounds are too coarse if you find yourself with a weak and under-extracted brew.
How to make espressos
- Get your superfine ground coffee ready and measure out around 18-21g or whatever your manufacturer recommends.
- Tamp the coffee firmly and evenly until it’s tightly compacted in the portafilter.
- Engage your puck and turn on the pump for about 18-23 seconds for a perfect brew, although you should always refer to the manufacturer’s guidelines in respect of your appliance.
- Drink it neat for a quick pick-me-up or add as milk for a creamy latte or cappuccino.
What is the best espresso maker?
If you’re looking for a quality home coffee machine, you are spoilt for choice whatever your price range. We stock a range of quality, Italian-made Gaggia espresso makers. These beautifully made machines, available in a range of models and colours, include features such as professional group and filter holders, steam wands, solenoid valve, traditional Gaggia boilers and 15 bar pump, allowing you to create perfect espresso with every use.
What is the best coffee for espressos?
For the best coffee for an espresso maker, Coffee Direct offers a wide range of over 60 espresso-perfect varieties. Some of our customer favourites include blends such as Monsoon Malabar, Golden Crema and Swiss Water Decaffeinated.
Each delivery can be ground to order, so your delectable item is instantly ready to use, or you can request whole beans if you prefer to grind your own. To choose your delivery grind preference, simply select the type of bean you’d like in our drop-down menu when purchasing your roast.
FAQs
What is the difference between espressos and regular coffee?
Espresso coffee is all about the method of preparation. Unlike regular coffee, this type of brew is made by forcing pressurised hot water over highly compact and superfine grounds.
Can you use ground coffee in electric espresso devices?
No. The issue with using regular coffee grounds (such as those you use for your filter coffee) is that they will be too coarse, leaving you with an under-extracted brew. If you’d like to get your coffee grounds exactly right, Coffee Direct grind to measure. Just select ‘espresso’ in our drop-down menu when purchasing your coffee, and you will be sent perfectly sized grounds for your espresso device.
What is the best espresso machine for beginners?
When it comes to a beginner’s espresso coffee machine, the best option for you should match your brewing needs and be easy to use. For example, if you like to use your espressos as a base, some have pre-programmed drinks menus, as well as an in-built milk frother so you can make lattes and cappuccinos.
If you hate the thought of messy grounds or coffee grinders, a machine that supports capsule pods may be a good choice for minimal mess.
If you're not too tech-savvy, you may want to avoid that one super fancy model touted as the best coffee machine that money can buy (aka the sort of coffee machines that feel like you're playing video games they’ve got so many buttons).