well... the Atomic's had a good workout over the Easter break, as we've been on the road for a week, staying in an around Castlemaine and Daylesford, where the best espresso coffee I tried was on an old e61 two group machine in the industrial estate made by, ahem, myself needless to say the Atomic got a good workout most mornings here's a few things that I found help to produce the best results: 1 medium grind seems to work best for an even extraction 2 Try boiling the water first then adding it to the Atomic for a quick result 3 Dont skimp on the water or else all you'll end up with is steam - I use a full measure from the measuring cup provided 4 Likewise a slow ramp in temperature seems to get the best results - don't overheat or again you'll be producing mostly steam 5 When dosing I fill to the top of the basket and then give a light to firm tamp to compress the coffee - I find that creating a 1cm gap from the top of the basket seems to help with saturation and pre-infusion of the puck 6 Still haven't nailed the milk - I mean I can get a decent steam pressure and all and getting the milk up to temperature is no problem - but texture is another question entirely But this is not really an issue for me as the flavours that I'm after dont really lend themselves (IMHO) to milk anyway - I'll take mine 'straight up' thanks! I suspect that if textured milk was really a 'must have' with the Atomic - I'd be looking at replacing the steam wand tip with something a little more 'directional' as opposed to the old school 'bubble and squeak' method of milk frothing 7 As per previous posts always clean you machine and drain it thoroughly as soon as practical after each use And I'm loving the flavour profile that the Atomic produces - sweet, pungent, aromatic, with vaguely Asian inspired aromas on a sweet and juicy palate!
