- Joined
- Sunday June 6, 2010
A friend donated me a lovely Gaggia Carezza. He had broken the steam knob off the top and it hadnt been used since. I just adapted something to work in its place and delighted to say the machine works well.
Proper 58mm portafilter and 15 bar pump (same one used in the higher end gaggias i believe).
Picked myself up some thick, lined espresso shot glasses and a 58mm tamper too.
Now just a matter of learning what i'm doing. The coffees are getting better, but sadly my reliance on pre-gound (lavazza espresso) is meaning i'm not getting too much crema at the moment. May need to invest in a reasonable burr grinder!
I'll read through this sub forum for hints and tips, but any advice anyone has would certainly help
my process so far:
-1 machine left to heat up for between 15-30 mins (manual only asks for 6 but i find more is better).
-2 fill porta filter till heaped and then use my pinkie to brush off to a level finish.
-3 tamp down firmly and polish the tamp
-4 put portafilter back into machine and hit the steam button for 8 seconds. on this machine its supposed to help raise the water temperature ever so slightly.
-5 hit the button to pour coffee!
This is getting me reasonably tasty results, and with a good steam wand i'm making nice tasting latte's and cappucinos etc. But the shots that come out do so a little quickly (e.g. a shot should perhaps take 20-25 seconds and these take maybe 15-16 seconds) and with very little crema (although some is evident).
I'm guessing that largely i'm noty doing much wrong, and its likely down to the grind and freshness of the coffee thats the issue!
Proper 58mm portafilter and 15 bar pump (same one used in the higher end gaggias i believe).
Picked myself up some thick, lined espresso shot glasses and a 58mm tamper too.
Now just a matter of learning what i'm doing. The coffees are getting better, but sadly my reliance on pre-gound (lavazza espresso) is meaning i'm not getting too much crema at the moment. May need to invest in a reasonable burr grinder!
I'll read through this sub forum for hints and tips, but any advice anyone has would certainly help
my process so far:
-1 machine left to heat up for between 15-30 mins (manual only asks for 6 but i find more is better).
-2 fill porta filter till heaped and then use my pinkie to brush off to a level finish.
-3 tamp down firmly and polish the tamp
-4 put portafilter back into machine and hit the steam button for 8 seconds. on this machine its supposed to help raise the water temperature ever so slightly.
-5 hit the button to pour coffee!
This is getting me reasonably tasty results, and with a good steam wand i'm making nice tasting latte's and cappucinos etc. But the shots that come out do so a little quickly (e.g. a shot should perhaps take 20-25 seconds and these take maybe 15-16 seconds) and with very little crema (although some is evident).
I'm guessing that largely i'm noty doing much wrong, and its likely down to the grind and freshness of the coffee thats the issue!