Learn from International Coffee Expert, Damian Burgess, in our Royal Roast Barista Masterclass
Updated: 23 February, 2024
Join us as we dive into the world of coffee with renowned, international coffee expert, Damian Burgess. In our exclusive Royal Roast Barista Masterclass, Damian generously imparts his wealth of knowledge, offering invaluable advice and top-tips on all things coffee.
From perfecting your grind size, to maintaining a spotless portafilter, take your barista skills to new levels and get ready to brew like a pro. Dive into our series of informative videos below and unlock the secrets to brewing the ultimate espresso.
Expert Coffee Machine Cleaning Hacks
Be honest baristas, how many times a day do you clean out your portafilter? And do you clean your steam wand every single time you foam milk?
Damian's top tips:
  • Flush out your coffee machine before each use - this removes residual coffee stuck to the top of the machine
  • Have a separate cloth (ideally microfibre) which should only be used for your steam wand
  • Give your steam wand a blast before you foam any milk - to let out any built up condensed water
How to Keep your Hopper Clean
Did you know, you should only pour one day's worth of coffee beans into your hopper?
The moment you open a bag of coffee beans, they begin to oxidise and lose flavour. As soon as you grind those coffee beans, the flavour decreases 10 times faster, so only use what you need!
Damian's top tips:
  • If you're not going to use a kilo of coffee beans a day, don't pour a kilo of beans into your hopper
  • Every now and again, clean your hopper using the steam wand a clean, dry cloth or paper towel - get rid of all the residual oils left from old coffee beans
How to Keep your Portafilter Clean
Want to know why your coffee might not be tasting its best? A quick check underneath your portafilter basket can unveil a lot!
Damian's top tips:
  • Take off the filter basket and have a little look inside - is there a build up of rancid oils?
  • Cleaning your portafilter can be done often throughout each day
  • Simply remove the basket, run the portafilter under hot water from the machine, and wipe it with a clean cloth or paper towel
Portafilter Best Practice
If you're a barista, you know that heat is key to extracting the best possible flavour from your coffee. And did you know, a big part of that is leaving the portafilters attached to your coffee machine, to retain that crucial heat.
Damian's top tips:
  • Keep your grip handles in and attached to the coffee machine for the portafilter to retain heat
  • If it's left out, the metal will cool down. As soon as the water runs through, the extraction temperature will drop
  • Keep them warm at all times
Master your Coffee Grinder Settings
Did you know how important it is to grind your coffee beans fresh and on demand? Or that the size of the grind can make or break the espresso you brew.
Avoid the common pitfalls with Damian's top tips:
  • If your grind size is too coarse, as the water runs through it doesn't have time to pull out flavour
  • If your grind is too fine, it's pulling out too much flavour
  • After changing your grinder settings, the coffee will be a little residual from the one before - throw it away and use the second one
  • An on-demand grinder is crucial for serving fresh coffee, rather than coffee ground well before brewing
Top Tips for Tamping
Tamping is a crucial step in the coffee brewing process, which involves applying pressure to compress the ground coffee in the portafilter.
Damian instructed, "Your coffee needs to be ground, and tamped, in such a way that the water cannot flow through too quickly. Tamping with the same amount of pressure every time ensures a consistent extraction of espresso."
Damian's top tips:
  • Tamping should be done with the same amount of pressure, ideally 20kgs, every time
  • Ground coffee should be level in the portafilter to ensure water flows through evenly
  • The tamper should be vertical within the portafilter, applied with pressure and a small twist, to ensure the ground coffee is nice and flat
Achieving a 20-Second Flow
Unlock Damian's secrets to achieving a 20-30 second flow rate, for 20-30mls of perfectly extracted, full-bodied espresso.
Take your barista game to the next level with Damian's top tips:
  • Fine grind = slow water flow, meaning more time to absorb flavour
  • If your espresso flows through to the top of the cup, you're extracting too much of the not good flavour, resulting in an unbalanced coffee
Foam your Milk Like a Pro
Learn how to create the perfect vortex movement inside your milk jug, to break down the milk proteins, for a silky-smooth coffee.
Damian's top tips:
  • Milk should be foamed once and once only - only use the amount of milk you need, and foam it fresh every time
  • Set your steam wand in a position inside the jug, where it has enough room to start pushing the milk around
  • Properly frothed milk should have no bubbles, and should be silky-smooth
Feeling educated and ready to make the perfect espresso? Buy a bag of Royal Roast now and get started!