14
PURGING THE GROUP HEAD
Before placing the portafilter into the group
head, run a short flow of water through
the group head, turning the Control Dial
to the ‘Espresso’ position. This will purge
any ground coffee residue from the group
head and stabilise the temperature prior
to extraction.
INSERTING THE PORTAFILTER
Place the portafilter underneath the group
head so that the handle is aligned with the
INSERT position. Insert the portafilter
into the group head and rotate the handle
towards the centre until resistance is felt.
EXTRACTING ESPRESSO
• Place pre-warmed cup(s) beneath the
group head and turn the Control Dial to
the ‘Espresso’ position until the required
volume is reached.
• As a guide, the espresso should start to
flow after 8-12 seconds (infusion time) and
should be the consistency
of pouring honey.
• If the espresso starts to flow before
7 seconds you have either under dosed the
filter basket and/or the grind is too coarse.
This is an UNDER EXTRACTED shot.
• If the espresso starts to drip but doesn’t
flow after 12 seconds, you have either over
dosed the filter basket and/or
the grind is too fine. This is an
OVER EXTRACTED shot.
• A great espresso is about achieving the
perfect balance between sweetness, acidity
and bitterness.
• The flavour of your coffee will depend
on many factors, such as the type of
coffee beans, degree of roast, freshness,
coarseness or fineness of the grind and
dose of ground coffee.
• Experimenting by adjusting these factors
just one at a time can help to achieve the
taste of your preference.
TEXTURING MILK
There are two phases to texturing milk. The
first is stretching the milk to aerate it and the
second is swirling the milk to make it silky
smooth. These two operations should blend
into one.
• Always start with fresh cold milk.
• Fill the jug just below the V at the bottom
of the spout.
• Position the steam tip over the drip tray
and turn the Control Dial to STEAM
position, purging any condensed water.
• Turn the Control Dial to ‘Standby’ position
to pause the steam, insert steam wand tip
into milk and turn dial to STEAM position.
• Insert the steam tip 1-2cm below the
surface close to the right hand side of the
jug at the 3 o’clock position.
• Keep the tip just under the surface until
the milk is spinning clockwise, producing
a vortex (whirlpool effect).
• With the milk spinning, slowly lower the
jug. This will bring the steam tip to the
surface of the milk and start to introduce
air into the milk. You may have to gently
break the surface of the milk with the tip
to get the milk spinning fast enough.
• Keep the tip at or slightly below the surface,
continuing to maintain the vortex. Texture
the milk until sufficient volume is obtained.
• Lower the tip beneath the surface,
but keep the vortex of milk spinning.
The milk is at the correct temperature
(60-65°C) when the jug is hot to touch.