New Espresso Machine Owner

So my girlfriend bought this Breville Espresso machine for me a week ago...

http://www.brevilleusa.com/espresso/die-cast-espresso-machine.html

Definitely a nifty item.

I just made my first latte with it this afternoon while I was home for lunch.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well I did on my first try!

Anyone have any tips on how better to use this thing?

I already grind my own beans, and will be buying a burr grinder in the near future to replace my current blade grinder.

I also will be using water that has been through a Brita filter (Rockville water just has way too much crap in it).

I did have trouble getting the milk to froth. It seemed I was able to warm it up, which took quite a long time, but I was never able to really get it to froth. Should I warm the milk up in the microwave first before I try to froth it?

Any other suggestions?

 

"It will be both the easiest and the most difficult (or is it easily the most difficult?) thing you have yet encountered."
http://coffeegeek.com/guides/frothingguide

 

A nice looking little machine! For espresso, I think the quality and the freshness of the beans are the most important thing. Try and find a roaster who can tell you the roast date of the beans-- somewhere between 3 and 10 days is optimal.

 

You are on your way to espresso nirvana. Look at this website and it will tell you everything that you ever wanted to know about brewing coffee/making espresso based drinks. There is an amazing amount of science behind properly frothing milk. Look under the "articles" tab and then under the "brewing and frothing" subtab.

www.wholelattelove.com

 

I have that machine and have used it daily for over 3 years. It does just fine without spending the thousands of dollars for other espresso machines that some people feel the need for.

I suggest that you get a proper tamper otherwise you'll just have coffee slush in the portafilter. There is no way possible to exert 30lbs of pressure on the grounds with the plastic scoop.

Also, put your frothing pitcher in the freezer before you steam the milk, this will help the milk not heat up so fast and give you a nice standing foam.

If you're trying to get microfoam, for latte art and such, take off the autofrother- it does more harm than help.

A lot of people feel that the pressurized portafilter is bastardizing the espresso, but it does give it a very nice crema. It's considered pressurized because there is only the one bottom hole as when compared to conventional portafiters where there are several bottom holes, and it is especially necessary with conventional portafilters to apply the correct tamping pressure.

 

I've got a pretty nice Espresso setup, a MACAP M4 Grinder and a LaSpaziale Mini Vivaldi II which I use daily.

1. I agree with Wax, go to www.coffeegeek.com and research.
2. Don't skimp on a grinder. Get a stepless grinder with a doser.
3. Accessories are important, get a good tamper, frothing pitcher and knockbox
4. Try different kinds of espresso beans. I vary mine, right now I'm using Intelligentsia Black Cat which I get at Fresh Market.
5. Frothing is an art, it will take some practice but you'll get the hang of it!

 

I have a good friend in the restaurant business and she says, the only way to get good froth is to chill and make love to the holder.

I spend some watching her, and I guess she is right. But I could only watch for 7 minutes.

 

Thanks for the tips everyone.

The beans I have right now are some Kirkland French Roast (surprisingly very fresh), which make an excellent brewed coffee. I realize this is probably too heavy of a roast for straight espresso, but since I will probably be doing mostly lattes and other drinks, I figured that is ok for now. I will certainly be experimenting with other beans as I finish up what I have now.

I'll be taking a look into burr grinders, but will need to do some research as to what a "doser" is. I'm guessing it dispenses the proper amount of grinds automatically?

As for tampers... any anybody recommend? I'll have to figure out what the diameter the portafilter is.

Jim, which holes are you referring too? My unit dispenses through two holes in the bottom of the filter... are you talking about somewhere else?

Gator,

I do have a knockbox, which came with the espresso maker (my girlfriend got a sweet deal on the two of them through www.woot.com), and a frothing pitcher, which also came with the maker. Is there really any reason I need to buy a different frothing pitcher? Do you have any recommendations for a grinder? It looks like a conical burr grinder is the best type? I'm not really in a position to spend >$75 on a grinder, so if you have any suggestions @ that price range, that would be great.

Much appreciated on the help and links everyone.

 

LMAO! My friend bought the exact same machine off of woot.com too! It came in when I was visiting. We made 5 or 6 cups of espresso the first day he had it. And that was at 4pm. I can't believe I slept that night.

 

hehe. My girlfriend had 2 other coworkers at work buy it on the same day as her as well. I gotta admit, it was a pretty damn good deal. $180 for the espresso machine and a knock-box, both new... not bad at all.

 

I'm lazy and use Nespresso. Beans are pre-ground and vacuum sealed individually in a multitude of strengths and flavors. I find Nespresso has more consistent results then a real espresso machine and best thickest crema I've ever seen. And it's easy.
Mmmm goodness.

 

I've made quite a few lattes now.

I think I'm finally starting to get a hang of frothing the milk... had to go watch a few youtube videos to get the correct technique, and after that I've been able to slowly improve every time I froth some milk. I do wish the steam wand had a little bit more pressure so I could do it a bit faster, but I've definitely been able to get it done faster compared to when I first got the maker.

I'm still trying to figure out what size tamp I need... I wish Breville would just tell you, but they dont.

 

+1, couldn´t live without it..

 

Let me make it really easy...

#1 Tamper = Reg Barber

#1 Grinder (as important as the esp. machine itself!) = Mazzer (Mini for home)

#1 "The Ferrari" of Esp Machines bar none = La Marzocco (GS3 for home)

Beans are your taste but I'd recommend: Illy, Blue Bottle, Stumptown, Lavazza for starters.

 

Just an update... I bought a true tamp and now my pulls are much better.

Also, my parents gave me the Breville Conical Burr grinder for my birthday, which has also helped significantly. No doser on it, but it works for my needs.

I'm getting better and more consistent results frothing the milk now as well after practice...

Its amazing how much better my lattes are now. I started out at Starbucks quality... now I'm doing so much better.

 

what is the difference between blade and burr grinders?

 

First, a blade grinder can't grind coffee fine enough for good quality espresso. Secondly, a blade grinder also imparts too much heat to the coffee beans (when trying to grind fine enough for espresso) destroying some of the finer nuances of the flavor.

A burr grinder uses burrs to grind the coffee quickly and efficiently with minimal heat. It is AS IMPORTANT as the espresso machine itself! I recommend a Mazzer Mini for home use. Sometimes you can find them used on eBay or 1stinCoffee.com Check out coffeegeek.com for more info than you ever wanted to know about coffee.

Cheers!

 

Essentially, blade grinders cut and chop the beans, which creates lots of friction that cooks the grind as it is chopped, vaporizing many of the more volatile essential oils that give coffee a lot of its distinctive flavors.

Burr grinders crush them, which results in much less friction, which results in the beans retaining the majority of those essential oils.

 

thanks guy going to pick up a burr grinder this weekend.


now for recommendations on espresso machine under $500 and under $1000.

After a long debate,

the two ideas were you can get a good machine for less than 500. and some say you have to spent near $1000.

what do you guys say?

 

It depends on your needs. There are different types of boilers, some machines have double boilers. I use a LaSpaz Mini Vivaldi II, I like this machine because most people I make coffee for want a milk drink and it makes copious amounts of steam as it's a double boiler. But it's double your high-end budget. Most machines are capable of making good espresso, it just take some work dialing in the grinder and the machine itself for what you want to use it for. For example, my dad has a LeLit, I think he paid about $300 for it, and he uses it for himself. Works fine for him--he makes mostly macchiatos (espresso with a dollop of foamed milk).

Go check out Coffeegeek.com and search around. Figure out what your needs will be and go from there.

 

I'm a cappuccino or latte guy so I want mi espresso strong with correct flavor for the bean I'm using.

How do you dial in the grinder and which one would you recommend?

 

Having a grinder that has lots of settings for size of grind is a minimum. A stepless conical burr grinder that you adjust by using screws is optimal, if it has a doser, even better.

My Breville Conical Burr has been serving me very well. I've found that for my Breville espresso machine, a setting between "Espresso" and "Turkish" is working quite well for my taste. I know that this is not a truly great grinder, but my parents gave it to me for my birthday, so I'm not going to complain!

The only way you are going to 'dial it in" is by trial and error. Every machine, every bean is a little bit different. Different size portafilters may need different size grinds, etc. The best way to do it is start on the big size and work your way down to where you can produce a cup of espresso that you enjoy.

It took me several weeks to settle on a setting for my grinder, and I'm considering playing around with it a little more again now that I've got ample experience making lattes, and want to see if I can adjust the grind and improve my drinks.

Whatever grinder you think you are going to buy, make sure you research it first. I had bought myself a flat burr grinder from costco that was pretty cheap, and came home to read online about it and found that people were having very poor results with using it for espresso. It just couldn't produce a fine enough grind for espresso reliably... so I took it back and was looking for another, and was getting worried that I may not have been able to afford a good one at that point in time.

 

Again.... research coffeegeek.com. But here are some recommendations:

Rancillio Silvia (around $500)
La Marzocco GS3 (some say you have to spend around $5000 ;-)

Mazzer Mini (used @ $500)
Mazzer Rocky (new @ $500)

Cheers!

 

Every bean has its own grind for your machine pretty much. That's why you see recommendations for stepless grinders. My setup is a MACAP M4 with doser. I typically pull a shot and depending on how it comes out will tighten or loosen the grind a bit so the shot pulls properly. Some beans need really loose grinds and others need to be almost powder.

Remember pulling a good shot depends on the machine, the bean, the grind, the water you're using and the firmness of the tamp. They're all interrelated and one thing changes the next. If you're just buying a machine get a cheap lb of beans to practice on, it will take you a week or so to get it all figured out.

 

GatorFL - Sage advice indeed! I've blown through a full pound of beans just trying to dial in the right grind setting (usually when switching between brands). I'm a little more practiced at it now and it usually takes only 2-3 pulled shots before I find the right grind now. After a while you come to realize that a "great" shot of espresso really is "an art AND a science".