In order to get the best out of the coffee, you need to know how to set up your new espresso machine's coffee grinder and, above all, know when and why you make certain changes to get good results. Everyone has different tastes around their coffee and therefore there is no right or wrong, but by using implement this practical tool you can quickly get to a good starting point.
TIPS BEFORE BREWING:
Use good quality beans intended for espresso as brewed coffee beans are roasted differently and will not do well at all. A common problem that arises is precisely that the machine does not reach its correct brewing pressure of 9 bar and instead a watery coffee consistency comes instead of a creamy golden color espresso. This is precisely because you have used either brewed coffee beans or old beans (more than 2 months old).
BREWING TIPS:
FOR A DOUBLE PRESSO: Use between 17 and 18g of coffee in a double filter basket (not pressurized), the goal is to get twice as much coffee (espresso) as the amount of ground coffee in the filter basket, i.e. a ratio of 1:2. So if you use 18g of ground coffee, you should aim to get approx. 36g espresso in a brewing time of between 25-30 seconds. Therefore, the scale comes in handy for setting the coffee machine. To get the right amount espresso in a good brewing time (25-30 sec) you adjust the grind setting of the grinder. So if you get the volume in far too short a time, you should grind finer and if you get the volume (36g) in over 30 seconds, you should grind coarser instead.
STEPS TO ARRIVE AT THE RIGHT SETTING:
STEP 1: Weigh and grind the beans
Weigh 18g of coffee and pour it into the empty bean container and grind until everything has been ground into the filter basket and press the puck. Now you know that there is exactly 18g of ground coffee in the filter basket.
STEP 2: Preparation for brewing
Put the coffee in the machine. Select brewing on the touch screen, then select custom brewing time and set this to 30 sec.
STEP 3: Use scale
Place a coffee cup on a small scale and then place both the scale and the coffee cup under the machine.
STEP 4: Start brewing
Start brewing, keep an eye on the scale and as soon as the scale shows 36g stop brewing and watch the brewing time on the screen.
STEP 5: Check the time
If the time shows less than 25 seconds, you should grind finer, if the time shows more than 30 seconds, you should grind coarser.
STEP 6: Repeat process until you get to the correct time range.
Repeat steps 1-5 until you get a time between 25 and 30 seconds. Once you've got it in reasonably well, it's a matter of fine-tuning until you're satisfied with the taste, which is very difficult to give feedback on. and finally save your brewing time by creating your own drink in the screen.
Last step: Set the time on the coffee grinder
Now that you've come this far you've managed to get a mill setup that's very good where you've got a hopefully well balanced espresso by determining the amount of coffee (g) and the volume espresso (g) and come up with a good time which you have saved in the screen and also noted what grind setting you need for it. The final step is to find how many seconds it takes the grinder to grind 18g in this example for your brew without having to weigh every morning.
STEP 1: Select a time of 12 seconds on the screen
STEP 2: Fill your entire bean container with your beans
STEP 3: weigh your portafilter with the filter basket when it is empty
STEP 4: Start the grinder and let it grind until it stops by itself (after 12 sec in this case)
STEP 5: weigh your portafilter with the filter basket with freshly ground coffee in it and observe the value (grams).
STEP 6: If the weight is over 18g, reduce the time. If the weight is below 18g, increase the time.
STEP 7: Repeat process 2-6 until you reach your desired weight.
If you have read this far, thank you for your patience and reading through this. You are now ready to set up your espresso machine.
