According to legend, our love affair with coffee began in the forests of Ethiopia around AD850, when a goat herder noticed his herd was unusually energetic after eating the bright red berries of a particular tree. Intrigued, he tried one himself – and soon saw what all the fuss was about. Keen to share his discovery, the herder took some of the berries to a nearby monastery. Initially the monks were wary and discarded the berries on a fire. However, their disinterest quickly turned to desire when the warm, fruity aroma of roasting beans began to fill the air. After rescuing the beans from the fire, they crafted the world’s first cup of joe … and the rest, as they say, is history.
When coffee first became widely popular, in the 17th and 18th centuries, consumers are likely to have had to drink what was given to them, regardless of how black and gritty. How things have changed. Nowadays specialty coffee is king, with its focus on origin, quality and flavour, and most of us have a favourite artisan serve, with personal preferences covering everything from the kind of milk used and its temperature, to the grind of the beans and how they’re brewed. The downside to this is that making a cup of coffee has become a skilled process, which often requires us to leave the house and find a barista with the right training and equipment to pull it off.
Or at least it did. The latest innovations in home coffee machines combine cutting edge technology with contemporary tastes, meaning we can now precision-engineer our perfect cup of coffee at the touch of a button. Which sounds great … but what does it actually mean?
We caught up with Gaelle Thibaud, group marketing manager for Siemens, and Alfie Deyes, founder of Future Self Coffee, who have teamed up for the launch of Siemens’ game-changing bean-to-cup EQ900 home coffee machine, to get the lowdown.
The grind
“A small tweak to the grind of the beans can completely alter the taste of your drinks,” says Thibaud. That’s why the EQ900 is fitted with a high-performance ceramic grinder which turns beans into a perfectly-even powder, allowing the different flavours to develop during the brewing process.
Not sure how finely you like your coffee beans ground? Deyes has this easy-to-remember tip: “The more finely you grind your whole bean coffee, the more bitter the taste profile.”
Water pressure
When most of us think of water pressure, it’s probably in relation to showers – but it turns out that it plays a key role in making a great cup of coffee too. Why? “It’s all about maximising flavour,” says Thibaud, explaining that that’s why the EQ900 is fitted with a smart water pump to deliver the optimum pressure and flow at all times.
Ideal brewing temperature
“The optimal brewing temperature for coffee is 92C,” says Deyes. And the EQ900 was created with this knowledge in mind, adds Thibaud. “The SensoFlow intelligent heater brings the water to optimal temperature and maintains it throughout the brewing process.” She says that this helps to ensure the full aroma of the beans is released. And obviously, depending on which setting you’re using and your preferences, you can raise or lower the water temperature to your individual requirements.
The beans
It goes without saying that all great coffee begins with great beans. Deyes says that at Future Self Coffee this means thinking about everything from how the beans are sourced (from sustainable coffee farms), to how they’re roasted. On the latter, he says: “Our roasting process is led by innovation using convection roasting techniques – this allows the beans to be gently roasted to the core with warm air, ensuring an even roast each and every time.”
As for his favourite Future Self blend, it’s got to be Share, which is described as having a “medium roast profile full of sweet caramel and toffee flavours, balanced with delicate nutty aromas and a subtle sweet acidity”. Deyes is also particularly proud of Future Self’s Colombian decaf offering, Reset. “I am always surprised by the stigma still associated with decaffeinated coffee,” he says, before explaining the process behind its Colombian decaf. “The Swiss Water process uses water, temperature and time to remove the caffeine, while preserving all of the beans’ original characteristics and flavour.”
And if you prefer different coffee blends for different occasions or like to drink decaf later in the day, the EQ900 “dualBean” system makes switching between your two favourite beans simple. With two separate containers and grinders, the different beans will never come in contact with each other – guaranteeing true flexibility and convenience over your coffee.
The machine
Whether you’re a natural born barista, or someone who wants their coffee to be bang on every time with minimum fuss and effort, Thibaud says that the EQ900 has been created with you in mind. With the iAroma system at its core, it ensures the ideal brewing temperature, grind size and water flow for every cup.
“The EQ900 gives you total control when the machine is being used in BaristaMode, and if you need a helping hand to find the right settings for the beans you are using, the beanIdent system is always there to steer you in the right direction,” she says. “Alternatively, in ComfortMode, you can enjoy a perfect cup of coffee with no hassle, thanks to the pared back settings and intuitive operating system that will adjust things according to the machine’s expert recommendations.”
Meanwhile, one function that is sure to unite everyone is the Siemens Home Connect app. “It allows you to operate your fully automatic coffee machine from anywhere,” Thibaud says, meaning that you can now “order” your coffee from your phone at the touch of a button. Surely that’s everyone’s kind of “precision-engineered” coffee of choice?
The future of coffee is here. Enjoy exquisite coffee brewed to perfection at the touch of a button, in the comfort of your own home, with the Siemens EQ900 bean-to-cup coffee machine. Find out more
