17
Tips
PRE-HEATING
Heating your cup or glass
A warm cup will help maintain the coffee’s
optimal temperature. Pre-heat your cup by
rinsing with hot water from the hot water outlet
and place on the cup warming tray.
Heating the portafilter and filter basket
A cold portafilter and filter basket can
reduce the extraction temperature enough to
significantly affect the quality of your espresso.
Always ensure the portafilter and filter basket
are pre-heated with hot water from the hot
water outlet before initial use.
NOTE
Always wipe the filter basket and portafilter dry
before dosing with ground coffee as moisture
can encourage ‘channeling’ where water by-
passes the ground coffee during extraction.
THE GRIND
When grinding coffee beans for espresso, the
grind size should be fine but not too fine. The
grind size will affect the rate at which the water
flows through the ground coffee in the filter
basket and the taste of the espresso.
If the grind is too fine (looks like powder and
feels like flour when rubbed between fingers),
the water will not flow through the coffee even
when under pressure. The resulting espresso
will be OVER-EXTRACTED, dark in color and
bitter in flavor.
If the grind is too coarse the water will flow
through the ground coffee in the filter basket
too quickly. The resulting espresso will be
UNDER-EXTRACTED, lacking in color and
flavor.
AUTOMATIC GRINDING,
DOSING & TAMPING
• Ensure hopper is filled with fresh coffee
beans. Never put pre-ground coffee in the
hopper.
• After automatic grinding, dosing & tamping,
wipe any excess coffee from the rim of the
filter basket to ensure a proper seal in the
group head is achieved.
• To adjust tamping height, please use the
allen key provided. Pull the tamping fan
down from the grind outlet, and then
loosen the fan coupling inside by rotating it
counterclockwise. You can adjust the length
of the coupling by loosening the fastener
with the allen key and rotating the coupling
to the desired length.
PURGING THE GROUP HEAD
Before placing the portafilter into the group
head, run a short flow of water through the
group head by touching the 'Brew' button.
Allow water to flow for 5 seconds, then touch
the 'Brewing' button again to stop the flow
of water. This will purge any ground coffee
residue from the group head and stabilize the
water temperature prior to extraction.
EXTRACTING ESPRESSO
• As a guide, the espresso will start to flow
within 8-12 seconds (this includes pre-
infusion time) and should be the consistency
of warm dripping honey.
• If the espresso starts to flow before
8 seconds, the grind is too coarse. This is
an UNDER-EXTRACTED shot. Adjust the
grind size slightly finer.
• If the espresso starts to flow after 12 seconds,
then the grind is too fine. This is an OVER-
EXTRACTED shot. Adjust the grind size
slightly coarser.
A great espresso is about achieving the
perfect balance between sweetness, acidity
and bitterness.