idiots guide to EM6910 and EMO480

mummy_needs_coffee

Okay, firstly thanks to the guys who helped me in my best buy thread. Thanks for your patience and links. It was really easy to just let hubby read them to get some help. As of today we now have a EM6910 and EMO480.

So now for the REAL questions.......is their an idiots guide to the machine and grinder.

I have gleened some tips from here and some of the other links.
So can anyone point me to a quick way to get a good skinny cap (mug size too).
I tried my forst go today and the our was a little uneven ie more in one cup than the other?? Also I am grinding some bean given to me in a 2kg bag. We are giving some away tomorrow, as another thing I have gleaned is how quick it will go stale. The beans are froma chain style cafe that we used to go to a bit (it was their parting gift when they left)
I should have videoed my first effort I am sure you guys would have wet your pants, or at least spluttered your perfect shots all over your screens if you saw it. I completely forgot to look at the gauge! It took ages to pour after the first three puffs.

so what grind setting should I start on? will i get to know how much to grind ie how many beans to put in the hopper for 2 cups
how much coffee do I use and in what way do I fill the basket (I mean technique - I am using only the equiptment that came with the machine)
do I just use the double shot button or manual?? I want to make a yummy cap or flat white
is tamping just one smooth push
I have seen loads of adjust ment threads - do I need to remove the black plastic from the group handle? Will this make a difference in taste or ease of use. Will it void the warranty?
Do I need to adjust the temp or any settings??

And I will duck when asking this but is there a nice decaf bean out there to practise with, and if not are you guys still here at 2 am when I am bouncing off the walls.....in fact this post may need a disclaimer...poster has had a little too much caffine today!
All other tips are greatly appreciated. This is all comming from a complete newbie to this (I have never had a "shot" of espresso without being turned into a cap before) help me do the machine justice.
if you got this far into another newbie thread......thankyou!
cheers
Bec

liquid_beans

Hi Bec, I know it might sound strange, but you really need to try & think about what you are doing each & every time (I had a little note pad to start with to remind my self of what I did last & what the out come was) & try not to make too many adjustments at the same time or you wont know waht was the right adjustment. Dont remove the plastic, just give it a good soaking every couple of weeks. Use the manual button (seems to work better for some reason). Dont change temp till you get a little more concistant. Little tip for filling the portafilter= double basket just over full of whole bean will fill the basket when ground with a little left over. Buy fresh roasted beans, it makes a massive differance. If your pour goes to one side you will need to flatten out your tamp (level). HEALTH WARNING: Dont drink every cup you make, I did for the first couple of days & its noy good. & last of all remember to have a little fun eventually as the coffee guy said in your last thread you will find your self making better coffee than 70% of the cafes out there. Let the fun begin!!!!!!!!!

mummy_needs_coffee

Hi Liquid beans, Firstly I apologise for the terrible spelling/typos in my post (your comment on not drinking every cup is well noted ) thankyou for your response. I did take the pastic out but because when I shook the group head with the basket out I could hear some trapped water and being a nurse I was a bit paranoid about bacterial growth eewww. I read your post before I had my coffee and yes the pour was more even with a level tamp. The tip on the ammount of beans to load was great too. One thing I did note is that there is loads of grounds left in the shoot?? How do I get around this surely it wouldnt be good if yesterdays beans mix with todays if you know wat I mean. You suggest the manual button? does this mean I have to time my shot or watch it? I am ot sure of the quality of the beans so can anyone point me to anywhere good in newcastle to get some? I didnt realise that beans were oily. Is this normal? sorry to ask more questions, I really just wanted to post and say thankyou for your help its really useful already. off to research how to make esspresso from the very basics (I am not sure I know exactly how my grind should look ect) cheers Bec

askthecoffeeguy

oily often (usually) means old and stale, especially if the machines are supermarket bought, where they can be up to 2 yrs old remember the 3 3 3 rule when it comes t  coffee green beans should be roasted within 3 months, roast coffee should be consumed within 3 weeks from the roast date, and you've got 3 minutes from th time that the coffee has been ground before it starts to go stale (and some would say a lot less than that) the above is just a rule of thumb - but its a handy one to remember also here are a few general pointers for you Yes, always run a manual shot if you can especially to get started and no more than 30ml extraction for a single shot of coffee or 60ml for a double water in the basket = no good! the main problem here is that the water can soak into the ground coffee and break it up a bit which means a rushed shot which you don't want always run a 'cooling flush' of anywhere between 30 and 60ml of water through the group head before you attach the group handle (also known as a portafilter) and wipe out your basket between shots with a clean cloth and while you are at it, re-insert the (empty) group handle into the machine and run a little water through it whilst giggling it around a bit - after each coffee - to keep the group head clean leave the clean group handle in the machine between shots so it matches the temperature of the group head and wait until the group handle is warm before adding coffee to the basket you can 'cheat' here a bit by leaving it in the machine and running some hot water through it first thing get rid of any stale grind in the shute (by grinding a little more or by using a paint brush) and always grind fresh to order do a google or yahoo local search of coffee roasters in your area and if check for a 'roasted on' date as opposed to a 'use by' date on the packaging and finally, the net is a great resource, if you cant find fresh coffee that you like locally, then order it on line! yes - you may pay more for postage, but the freshness of it will more than compensate for the added expense (household budget allowing) hope these few pointers get you up and running! cheers, pat

Unknown

hi bec after a good decaf, we have a mex decaf thats awseome graham

RyanW

Hi Bec, The Em0480 grinder is a temperamental beast......it doesn't seem to have the consistency that the more expensive grinders (Mazzers and such) have. However, each type and brand of bean will need a different setting to get the right extraction. You mentioned that you're using beans from a 2kg bag you were given? I'd hazard a guess that they're a little beyond their best......fresh beans make a huge difference. There's no magic number for the grinder. You've just got to use trial and error to narrow down the right number. For what it's worth though, i'm getting good results on number 15 at the moment. With your dosing, as a rule the double basket should be a few millimeters from the top when tamped.....the best measure is the tamper that came with the machine. If half the silver part of the tamper is visible, it's just about right......another indicator is if you lock in the group handle then remove it you should see a light indentation in the coffee from the screw on the shower screen. Tamping pressure is another tricky variable......the best way I was shown was to rest the portafilter on a table (use the rubber mat from the grinder to rest on) at about hip height and lean on the tamper (as if you were using your hand to lean on the table) for a second. This way gives you a consistent tamp pressure each time and tends tamp at 90 degrees to the surface. I don't use the presets on the machine.....manual button only. 3 or 4 seconds of nothing after the three infusion bursts is a good thing.....when you see the espresso, it should have a similar consistency to warm honey and have a browney orangey reddy colour about it. You'll want it to run for about 22-23 seconds for a 60ml shot at which time it will start to "blonde".....this is when you want to stop. Too much of this results in a bitter shot.....it contains the most caffeine as well. I've tried with and without the plastic "crema enhancer" and found it makes no difference whatsover. It's just another thing to clean as far as i'm concerned......removing it will have no impact on warranty. The factory temp settings are OK, i've bumped it up a notch on my machine. One last thing, give the machine a good 20mins to half an hour to warm up. This makes sure that every pathway the water passes through is at the same temperature. I leave the portafilter attached whilst it's doing this so it ends up at the same temperature as the group head. I hope this crash course helps......don't hesitate to fire more questions at me if need be.

One-a-day

How long to heat up  :o. I often fire mine up as soon as the lights come on,  I'd rather sleep that extra 1/2 hour.  

RyanW

How long to heat up  :o. I often fire mine up as soon as the lights come on,  I'd rather sleep that extra 1/2 hour.  

Yeah, 20mins or so......constant temperature throughout the entire machine really helps.