23
I'd say that it's a caffè crema which is generally made the way you make your coffee and is about 240 ml. It's about 3 times more water than a normale.
18
Tamping is one of three key controls you have over the espresso brewing process; The others are dose (the amount of coffee used) and grind coarseness. Together, they allow the coffee machine operator to produce a puck of the correct density and consistency through which the pressurized water can be pushed through.
While techniques vary, the "rule of thumb" ...
16
More expensive coffee machines typically have better "plumbing", including some and even all of the following:
2 boilers / HX to allow for frothing and brewing at the same time
Preinfusion
Copper boilers vs. cheaper aluminium versions (guarantees better temperature stability)
Larger boilers, allowing for more shots to be drawn/ milk to be frothed
Wider ...
15
Let's start off with what the function of the tamp is.
Function
The tamp is cylindrical in shape and is ideally just snug enough to fit into the portafilter smoothly. What the tamp does, is prime the coffee bed to be met with water. What we know about the water is that in general, in commercial machines, water is applied with 9 bars of pressure. Physics ...
14
There's a trade-off here. If you're working in a fast-paced coffee shop, you're likely to favour the faster option (knock out the coffee) over cleaning. Generally knocking out the coffee will get rid of >99% of the grounds from the previous pull, so the impact on the flavour of the next one will be so slight as to be unnoticeable. Usually the portafilter won'...
14
Short reason: Tradition conflicting with modern brewing practices.
Long reason: This is more a result of an industry-wide legacy when purchasing equipment, where coffee shop owners will pick up mechanically dosed grinders instead of doserless, or electrically metered models because "that's how it's been done," or because the technology simply wasn't ...
14
As suggested in comment above, descaling or decalcifying your machine may solve your problem. We just run straight distilled white vinegar through ours to do so. Running the machine with distilled water rather than tap water helps keep mineral deposits to a minimum.
Also, running it without water can create an airlock (which makes it take a while for the ...
13
I would also go for caffè crema (more water than a lungo). There is no strict agreement on at how much water does it stop being a lungo and starts being a crema. But I guess "lungo" is more well known around the world, at least on countries where Nespresso is available, since their capsules for long coffees are called "lungo".
Here in Mexico, the waiter / ...
12
To Expand on @Tom Medley's Answer; the pivotal questions are:
How much time is lapsing between pulls of espresso?
Are you pulling the same espresso?
The portafilter should be rinsed with the espresso machines line water after every pull. This has the effect of removing the majority of remnant oils and grounds, pre-heating the portafilter, and removing ...
12
4M is a term mainly used among Italians for espresso. It is a placeholder for four words that start with "M" in Italian that affects espresso preparation. Some information can be found here.
These M's are:
Miscela: The coffee-blend; it covers the selection and blending of the beans as well as proper roasting.
Macinazione: The grinder; proper grinding of ...
11
I own this machine and have since moved on from it for the exact reasons you stated.
It is possible to create microfoam that is good enough for making clearly defined latte art on the Delonghi Dedica but it requires practice (as would doing the same on any machine). You did the right thing by removing the metal sleeve but the main problem is that the steam ...
10
Adjust the grind. Make it less fine.
Sounds like the pump is not strong enough to push water through the puck. Rather than set-and-forget on the finest it can do, you should be adjusting the grind constantly: after every shot if it ran longer than 25 seconds (to get 30ml) make the coffee a little bit more coarse, if shorter than 25s then make the coffee a ...
10
The process of compressing the coffee powder in a portafilter of an espresso machine before pulling the shot is called tamping. There is a lot of information available on the web explaining how it is done correctly, such as, e.g., here.
Tamping is an important part of making a good espresso shot, so yes, you should press the coffee in the portafilter.
The ...
9
There are a few reasons why you might not get a good crema:
Stale coffee
Coffee not ground fine enough
Pressure too low
With a steam-powered espresso machine (especially if it's an entry level machine), you will typically not reach high enough pressure to get a proper crema. The crema is formed by oils extracted from the ground coffee, which needs high ...
9
You can use a solution of citric acid and some espresso machine manufacturers will sell this specifically, you can use general purpose descaler, for which there should be instructions on how much to dilute it by.
Talking from experience it depends on how hard the water is where you live and you should really do it every month if it is a hard water area.
I ...
9
If what you're seeing is mold or algae you may want to add a few table spoons of salt to the drip pan.
I'm guessing that your slime is probably a fungus of some kind, rather than an algae. It has found a rather nice living arrangement for a fungi. Plenty of warm water and decomposing coffee, with very little light.
Salt should in most cases prevent fungal ...
8
I was able to dig up this press release:
http://www.lavazza.com/en/.content/document/pdf/PR_Italian-espresso-in-orbit.pdf
The first capsule-based espresso system able to work in the extreme
conditions of space is here. It is called ISSpresso and is the
brainchild of two Italian companies — Argotec and Lavazza — in
collaboration with the Italian Space Agency
...
8
This is called Lungo, Italian for "Long coffee". Typically it is prepared around 150 ml.
More info is here:
Lungo (Wikipedia).
8
The beverage you make by diluting vending machine "espresso" with hot water is called "poor imitation of Americano". It is hard to say how much caffeine it contains because it's not clear what this particular vending machine is filled with. It would also be wrong to speculate on its health effects without this knowledge and without knowing whether in general ...
7
Elektra Belle Epoque P1C:
See this page: http://www.elektrasrl.com/belle_epoque_2grel_cr.php
You can still buy these, they are very expensive of course, I don't think there is anything particularly special other than the design and finish: http://www.elektrasrl.com/belle_epoque_details.php
The home version is this one: http://www.elektrasrl.com/...
6
In addition to what Tim Post wrote, I've understood that keeping the porta filter in the machine keeps the gasket from drying out so that you don't need to replace it as often. I used to place my porta filter next to the machine but have started to keep it in the machine. Since then, I've experienced longer gasket life.
6
Keeping the portafilter warm (and receiving / tamping a dose within a warm portafilter) is supposed to result in additional oils being released in the extraction, which in theory leads to a fuller pull and more crema. It's also supposed to add to the benefits of pre-infusion.
I have experimented at length with this, and can detect positively no difference ...
6
If you live in a hard water area then clean using a citric acid solution and make sure that the pumps are then empty of water.
You could if it's easy remove the gasket seal (if there is one) which sits on the metal fine filter where the coffee is pumped through, this is to avoid any residue drying and gunk/mould forming on the seals.
It may depend on your ...
6
Assuming you are not planning to buy a lot more machinery, you can simply use the Nespresso to make espresso - depending on your preferred strength, two to three shots should be what you need for your 20 oz mug. A Starbucks “Venti” is named for the twenty oz volume and contains three shots.
But that's basically a puddle in your mug:
You need to fill the ...
6
I understand that the crema created by the Brikka is an approximated crema using the gasket's small opening. Sure, purists may not consider this tan, smooth film of microbubbles as authentic crema (akin to espresso makers), but it does do a good job creating it for a close mouthfeel.
I use my Brikka every day, and it creates the "Brikkrema" (as I'd like to ...
6
I'll answer as a chemist and not as a coffee expert, but occasional exposure to vinegar won't substantially damage a piece of aluminum. Also ingesting traces of aluminum isn't toxic.
6
You've got colonies (of bacteria, and perhaps algae.)
I'd be looking for something a bit stronger than vinegar or citric acid in the sanitizing line, though either of those might be a good place to start, just to clear out any calcium deposits that other things might be using as a growth substrate (attaching to.)
Depending on your preferences, and/or any ...
5
I think you gave a good overview of everything. Here's a few comments on your list that I find is most important from my own personal experience, and from this Bialetti guide.
"Moka" grind is imperative. Most guidelines that I have seen recommend somewhere coarser than espresso and finer than drip (e.g., illy, Blue Bottle, and a bunch of blogs when ...
5
Typically, a ristretto is an espresso shot pulled with half as much water. If you assume a normal shot is 30ml, the only practical difference in pulling a ristretto is to stop the extraction at 15ml.
The coffee grind, quantity and pull pressure should remain the same.
Regardless, if you feel as if the shot is taking too long, or coming out too fast, you ...
5
You are doing everything perfectly to spec. The problem is neither with your machine, nor with your use of it. It is with the nature of your expectation. Steam espresso machines simply do not produce the crema you are looking for. I would suggest adjusting your expectation to fit the current result, or adjusting the result to fit your expectation. Either buy ...
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