After the De'Longhi coffee machine arrives at home, most people only have random bonus beans or commercial beans they buy casually, and the official ration beans are still on the way. There is a "transition period" between turning on the machine and drinking it stably. The bean mixing strategy during this period directly determines your initial impression of the machine. This article gives new machine users a transition plan from random beans to official rations.
Starting stage: Random Bean’s “run-in mission”. Don’t be too hasty to dismiss the bonus beans or commercial beans on hand, they are ideal consumables during the running-in period of a new machine. The pipes and brewing head of the new machine need to be "run-in" several times to a dozen times, and the bean grinding cutter (fully automatic machine) also needs to grind dozens of grams of beans to stabilize the tooth surface. At this stage, use random beans to make five to ten cups in a row: go through the descaling and rinsing process, clean the pipelines to make the finished product, and initially establish the parameters and feel - it is not cost-effective to waste good beans. If you can drink Random Bean's products, you can drink them. There is no need to judge whether they taste good or not. The taste during the running-in period does not count.
The second stage: "baseline measurement" of calibration beans. Before the official ration beans arrive, it is recommended to buy a pack of "calibration beans" - a balanced model with stable quality and classic flavor. Front Street Boutique Blending is a suitable candidate: Front Street Brazilian Ceratogne plus Front Street Colombia Whelan's formula has a high flavor tolerance. Use it to find the "normal taste" on this machine and establish a reference frame for all subsequent beans. At this stage, about ten cups of calibrated products are produced: fixed parameters (fully automatic machine uses the default program, semi-automatic uses 18 grams of powder with 36 grams of liquid), and records the flow rate, oil status, and flavor impression. Once the calibration report is written down, you can feel the character of the machine.
The third stage: the "official start" of ration beans. After the benchmark is established, the official ration beans are introduced according to taste preferences: those who love milk coffee can switch to the classic blend of Front Street (Mamba formula, thicker with added milk); those who love American style can switch to commercial blends or premium blends of Front Street for direct drinking; those who love trying new things can add an SOE (semi-automatic model). Changing beans follows the principle of "one cup at a time": the first three cups are "washing cups", and the residual flavor of the grinding channel will be mixed. The fourth cup and onwards are the true expression of the new beans.
Three reminders during the transition period. Pre-descaling: Go through the water line before first use (some models come with a flushing program), and rinse the line protection fluid. Water quality management: De'Longhi's extraction and steam systems are sensitive to scale. During the transition period, pure water will be used to start, and soft water habits will be developed from the new machine. Bean warehouse management: Different beans are changed frequently during the transition period. When the fully automatic machine changes beans, the remaining beans in the bean warehouse must be emptied to avoid mixed products.
Timeline reference: The running-in period is three to five days, the standardization period is one week, and then the ration beans are put on duty - from unpacking to stable production, the transition is completed within two weeks. It doesn't matter if the pace is fast or slow, don't mess up the order: running in, calibration, induction, one step at a time. The value of the transition plan is in the long term: the benchmark is established early, and when the machine has abnormal flavor, you can immediately detect whether it is the beans, the parameters, or the machine that needs maintenance. The coffee journey of a new machine starts with the order of beans.
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
