samjoandco said:

Which screw is Leroy referring to in the post above?

the big round tool with a screw bit on the end is used to tighten/loosen/unscrew a metal plate on the underside of where the coffee comes out (when the handle is not installed, of course).

FOLKS! You MUST have a decent espresso grinder. Drip grind WILL NOT work. Solis Maestro DJSpray mentioned is absolute bare minimum for any espresso machine.
You MUST grind AT THE TIME you are preparing your shot..can't buy pre-ground coffee, even out of a Lavazza can, and expect fresh crema espresso..even vacuum-sealed grind oxidizes too fast to retain essential oils and flavor (the whole point behind espresso). 25-30 second pulls are absolutely essential to have a full-flavored cup...the first few seconds are usually occupied by the shower screen wetting the puck (in this case, wetting the 'sludge mass'! ), so the instant you hit the brew button, you need to be counting/timing the shot, since you've just exposed the grind to hot water. If you can squeeze out a shot of 1-1.5 oz. in 15-20 seconds with no blonding, you've just done a 'ristretto' shot, aka 'shortshot'. Enthusiasts shoot quality double-ristretto, or regular double-pulls for their own consumption, as a coffee bar/barista will generally have a routine for production purposes/speed..often a single or double automatic(timed)pull at whatever grind the grinder happens to be at in that moment. Better bars/baristas are always tweaking their grind as they notice the shots behaviour..as home enthusiasts, it's pretty much all we do..adjust grind repeatedly until we can 'match' the qualities of the oil/oxidized state of the beans at that moment. The grind setting I tweak to in the next hour will not work on the same beans this evening..I'll need to tweak the grind to compensate for the state of the beans tonight. Insane?...yes...most likely. Best you'll ever have?...yes...most likely, but EVERY roast, EVERY pull is a new and exciting experience, and that god-shot is always right around the corner. Kinda like life itself, isn't it? You get out of it what you put into it.

Chisand said:This may be a really silly question but how much coffee are you putting in? You don't have the pod basket in, do you?
i put 1 tbsp of coffee. this was enough for my earlier krups to make 4 cups of strong espresso

samjoandco said:


Do you tighten the screw for slower brewing or loosen it?

my guess is you tighten it, constricting waterflow thereby slowing throughput, and thus slowing brew time.

i need to play with this thing myself.
ive been brewing big double-shots, but i need to make sure my brew time is right since there's no other way to know if you're letting it go for too long --- or is there another way?

samjoandco said:matthewf01 said:samjoandco said:

Which screw is Leroy referring to in the post above?
the big round tool with a screw bit on the end is used to tighten/loosen/unscrew a metal plate on the underside of where the coffee comes out (when the handle is not installed, of course).

Do you tighten the screw for slower brewing or loosen it?

There is a lot of weird information in this thread. As the poster pointed out above, the problem you are experiencing is due to not having the correct grind. The grinder is actually much more important than the espresso machine since getting the grind correct is critical. If you are trying to use pre-ground coffee your results will not be that great. If the shot is coming out too quickly then you are using too coarse of a grind. Those pressure inserts are supposed to help but most people do not like them. The only way to get truly good espresso is to grind the beans yourself, get the grind correct and tamp with the proper pressure.

The screw for the brew head screen does nothing to control the brew length. Don't do anything with it. It is there to keep the brew head screen on. The tool is provided so you can periodically clean the brew screen. The only factors that affect the length of time it takes to pull a shot are the coarseness of the grind and (to a lesser extent) the pressure you've tamped at.

The Starbucks DVD guy is Pulling the at the same speed as I am.

Leroy said:The Starbucks DVD guy is Pulling the at the same speed as I am.

I have no need to watch the DVD..misleading, and will instill bad habits, trust me! You NEED 25-30 seconds, accomplished with a decent grinder. Blonding is only acceptable at the final few seconds. The entire pour should be a nice reddish foam, with thin 'mousetails' as it fills your cup.

sholling said:For those interested and lucky enough to get the Food Network - Alton Brown's episode about getting the getting the perfect espresso brew airs twice this week. For those that don't maybe a friend will record it for you. I've seen this episode before and if you can deal with his slightly manic style it's pretty interesting.

Good Eats - Episode EA1018 - "Espress Yourself" - 30 minutes
We could all use some education about true espresso. Join Alton Brown as he explains how the beans, the grind, the machine and the hand make up the essential components.Airs
August 30, 2007 11:00 PM ET/PT
August 31, 2007 2:00 AM ET/PT

Espress Yourself

Has anybody figured out how to keep the milk from caking on the wand?

Youtube-3parts

samjoandco said:Chisand said:This may be a really silly question but how much coffee are you putting in? You don't have the pod basket in, do you?
i put 1 tbsp of coffee. this was enough for my earlier krups to make 4 cups of strong espresso

4 cups, I only get one shot from two tablespoons, perhaps I'm wasting my pilon and cafe' bustello.
I find using these preground espressos works better than trying to grind my own, but i do have organic beans I grind up too. Now the krups isn't even a pressure machine so maybe thats why you can run four cups out of it.
and whats this abot mousetails and cameltoes in my cup? never seen them before, just an occasional roach that crawled in there and got brewed to taste floating in my cup.

(just kidding, lol) though a friend once made me a cup and had a cockaroach floating in the cup eeeyewh!

I use this burr grinder: Krups Burr Coffee Grinder I set it to smallest setting. Seems to produce very fine (and appears consistent) grind. But what do I know. Do I HAVE to get a more expensive one or should this one be ok..?