The café beans Kimbo Prestige is an Italian mélange renowned for its smoothness, its crema généreuse and its arômes équilibrés mêlant chocolate, caramel, hazelnut and a légère floral note. Grâce à its torréfaction medium and à its composition mainly Arabica and partially Robusta, it is perfectly suitable for several méthodes d’extraction. To fully exploit its potential, it is essential to respect certain basics, to understand how to l’adapter à différentes méthodes and d’apprendre to adjust the paramètres according to its préférences. This article présente step by step how to prepare an excellent café with the Kimbo Prestige, whatever the method utilisée.
1. Understanding Kimbo Prestige Coffee Beans
The Kimbo Prestige is distinguished by its aromatic profile, which is both sweet and balanced. Its medium roast allows it to adapt to espresso, Italian coffee makers, gentle methods, and automatic machines. Its beans offer a dense and velvety crema when extracted under pressure, while preserving enough subtlety to be appreciated in gentle extraction. Knowing this profile is important, as it will influence the grind, dosage, and extraction time settings you will use.
2. Essential rules before any preparation
Coffee storage
The quality of a coffee begins with its storage. Once the package is opened, it is best to transfer the beans to an airtight, opaque container stored at room temperature. Exposure to light, air, or heat accelerates oxidation and degrades the aromas. Contrary to popular belief, it is not recommended to store an opened package in the refrigerator or freezer, as temperature fluctuations can create condensation that alters the beans.
Importance of fresh grind
A good coffee always relies on a fresh grind. The Kimbo Prestige should be ground just before extraction to preserve all its aromatic notes. The grind setting will depend on the method: fine for espresso, slightly coarser for the Italian coffee maker, medium for filtered coffee, and coarse for French press. A grind that is too fine will cause bitterness and extraction that is too slow, while a grind that is too coarse will result in a flat and under-extracted coffee.
3. Prepare a coffee with an automatic espresso machine
Initial machine settings
The automatic machine greatly simplifies the process, but it remains crucial to adjust it properly. It is recommended to start with a grind setting in the middle of the scale and adjust afterwards after a few tests. If the coffee flows too slowly and the espresso seems too concentrated, the grind should be slightly coarsened. Conversely, if the extraction is too fast and produces a light coffee, the grind will need to be refined.
The coffee dose is generally managed automatically, but you can aim for around seven to nine grams for a single espresso. The volume in the cup should ideally be around twenty-five to thirty milliliters for a standard espresso. The water temperature is often not adjustable on automatic machines, but they generally operate between ninety and ninety-four degrees, a range suitable for Kimbo Prestige.
Perfect extraction in practice
For ideal extraction, start by turning on the machine and letting it heat up completely. It is then useful to run a blank extraction to heat up the pipes and your cup. Once the machine is ready, launch an espresso and observe the flow. The ideal is a regular stream, neither too fast nor too slow. The crema should be thick, hazelnut-colored. If the cup has a too bitter taste, you can try a slightly coarser grind. If the coffee seems too light or bland, refine the grind a bit or reduce the volume of water.
Making milky drinks
The profile of Kimbo Prestige is particularly well-suited to milky drinks like cappuccino or latte macchiato. After preparing an espresso of twenty-five to thirty milliliters, froth the milk until you get a smooth and velvety texture. Pour the milk gently over the coffee to get a harmonious drink, supported by the chocolate and caramel notes of the blend.
4. Preparing coffee with a manual espresso machine
Basic parameters
The manual machine allows you to push the extraction even further and obtain an espresso worthy of an Italian bar. A good starting point is to use eighteen grams of ground coffee to produce about thirty-six grams of liquid coffee, which gives a ratio of one to two. The extraction time should be between twenty-five and thirty seconds, with a fine grind specially adapted to espresso.
Extraction steps
Start by grinding the Kimbo Prestige just before preparation. Check that the grind is even and without lumps. Then fill the portafilter and level the grind before firmly tamping it. Insert the portafilter and start the extraction, timing the process. A correct extraction will yield a dense coffee, with a thick crema and expressive aromas. If the extraction is too fast, fine-tune the grind. If it's too slow, coarsen it slightly.
5. Prepare a coffee with an Italian coffee maker (Moka)
Choose the right grind
The Italian coffee maker is ideal for obtaining an intense and aromatic coffee. You need to use a medium grind, finer than the one used for filter coffee but slightly coarser than for espresso. The powder should resemble a texture between fine salt and powdered sugar.
Complete procedure
Start by filling the bottom of the coffee maker with hot water up to the valve. Using hot water reduces the time spent on the heat and thus limits the risk of burning the coffee. Then fill the filter with ground coffee without tamping, just by leveling the surface. Assemble the coffee maker and place it on low or medium heat.
Extraction will begin when the coffee starts to rise into the upper part. As soon as the flow becomes blond and irregular, remove the coffee maker from the heat to avoid over-extraction. Some people even run the lower part under cold water to stop the heating immediately. The result is a fragrant, dense coffee, perfect for those who appreciate the intensity of Italian coffee.
6. Prepare a filter coffee (V60, Chemex, filter machine)
The Chemex is a glass coffee maker in hourglass shape, invented in the 1940s. It uses paper thick, denser than those of a classic drip coffee maker
The V60 is a filtering cone made by Hario (Japanese brand). Its name comes from the angle of the cone: 60°. It is available in plastic, ceramic, glass or metal.
Ratios and grind
Even if Kimbo Prestige is designed for espresso, it can give an excellent filter coffee. The classic ratio is sixty grams of coffee for one liter of water, which corresponds to fifteen grams for two hundred and fifty milliliters. The grind should be medium to achieve a balanced extraction. A grind that is too fine will slow down the flow and give bitterness, while a grind that is too coarse will give a coffee that is too clear.
Infusion steps
If you are using a V60 or Chemex, start by rinsing the paper filter with hot water to eliminate the taste of the paper and preheat the carafe. Then add the grind and pour a small amount of water, about twice the weight of the coffee, to allow pre-infusion. This phase, called bloom, lasts about thirty seconds and allows the coffee to degas for a more regular extraction.
Then pour the rest of the water in several circular motions, maintaining a constant level. The total infusion time should be around two minutes thirty to three minutes thirty for a two hundred and fifty milliliter cup. The result is a sweet, round cup, ideal for the morning, revealing discreet notes of chocolate and caramel.
7. Prepare a coffee with a French press
The right preparation
The French press gives a rich and textured cup. For this method, you need to use a coarse grind, similar to coarse salt. If the grind is too fine, the coffee will become muddy and bitter. Preheat the piston coffee maker with a little hot water, then add the ground coffee and pour in water between eighty-twelve and eighty-four degrees.
Infusion steps
After pouring in the water, stir lightly to fully saturate the grind. Place the lid without pressing the piston and let it infuse for four minutes. Once the time has elapsed, slowly lower the piston to avoid disturbing the coffee bed. To get the best possible cup, serve the coffee immediately or transfer it to a carafe, as leaving it in the French press would cause continuous extraction and therefore bitterness.
8. How to adjust Kimbo Prestige coffee to your taste
For a bold coffee
If you like intense coffee, you can opt for short extractions, finer grinds and tighter volumes. The ideal methods will be manual espresso, automatic espresso in ristretto or Italian coffee maker. The coffee will gain in strength, texture and aromatic density.
For a mild coffee
If you prefer a lighter coffee, it is preferable to use gentle methods such as filter or French press, with a coarser grind and more diluted ratios. These methods reveal more of the roundness of Kimbo Prestige and soften its character.
For milky drinks
Kimbo Prestige pairs particularly well with milk. Its chocolatey and caramelized notes stand out more when mixed with hot milk or a fine foam. Whether you make a cappuccino, latte or latte macchiato, the blend will retain all its indulgence.
9. In summary
Preparing an excellent coffee with Kimbo Prestige relies on a good knowledge of its characteristics, a grind adapted to each method and respect for essential parameters such as extraction time, water temperature and ratios. Each method provides a different experience: espresso reveals its full intensity, Italian coffee maker offers a bold coffee, filter reveals its sweetness and French press highlights its aromatic richness. By adjusting the grind and volumes to your taste, you can get a cup perfectly adapted to your preferences.
