Home > Get started with your espresso machine
Download here the digital Espresso Starter Guide. It gives you an introduction to the basics of great coffee, and of course, espresso. Learn all about grinding coffee, brewing times and popular espresso-based drinks. You’ll also find some great tips and tricks.
DOWNLOAD NOWFor coffee house quality espresso, it’s a combination of fresh, good quality beans, and the correct brew method.
The quality and flavour of coffee beans are determined by:
Roasting transforms the raw beans into the brown, aromatic, flavourful beans we know and love.
There are 3 key factors that impact the flavour of your espresso:
Choosing the right grind size depends on what you’re brewing. Size matters because it affects the extraction rate and therefore the taste. For espresso, the grind should be perfectly fine and even. Too coarse and it will be under-extracted and sour, too fine and it will be over-extracted and silty.
Most coffee drinks begin with the perfect espresso. From refreshing summer drinks to winter warmers, mid-morning treats to evening cocktails - it’s time to get making.
These handy buttons make it easy to control and prepare your espresso. Choose the mode and the number of shots - and there’s even a clean cycle.
Espresso, Steam, Hot water
Mode button
1 (1 shot), 2 (2 shot)
Dose button
The clean cycle prevents limescale build up and keeps the machine running smoothly.
Clean cycle button
Used to start the brewing process and start/stop the steam and hot water modes.
Start/cancel button
We’ve thought of everything, to help take the guesswork out of coffee grinding.
Choose from 70 precise settings to easily match with your brew method.
Selecting the grind size
Choose the number of cups or shots you’d like and you’ll automatically get the right dose.
Fine-tune the coffee amount for a dose
Adjust the grind time if you want to customise the amount of coffee per dose, so it’s just how you like it.
To adjust the coffee amount for a dose
Once you’ve customised your perfect dose, you can save it using the program button.
Saving your dose adjustments
With the steam wand of the espresso machine, you can make either microfoam or steamed (heated) milk. Here’s how...
There are lots of words and phrases used in the world of espresso, which can make it all seem rather confusing.
Here’s some of the widely used ones.
The act of brewing a shot of espresso.
PULLING A SHOT
This holds the coffee grounds to brew an espresso. It sits inside the portafilter and is locked into the group head. There are 2 types: single and double wall, and different sizes for 1 or 2 shots.
BASKET / FILTER
Bars are a measure of atmospheric pressure. One bar is equal to the amount of natural pressure at sea level. 15 bars is considered the optimal amount of pressure for espresso extraction.
BARS OF PRESSURE
This is the handle that holds the basket/filter, which then fits into the machine’s group head.
PORTAFILTER
The release of CO2 from the grounds - allowing water to penetrate into the coffee grounds and extract the solubles for optimal flavour.
BLOOM
Used to compress the coffee into a level puck inside the basket/filter. This action is called ‘tamping’. Properly tamped coffee will produce an even extraction of coffee compounds.
TAMPER
The tan-colored foam on top of a shot of espresso, created from the extracted oils.
CREMA
The part of most espresso machines that delivers steam to ‘texture’ milk placed in the milk pitcher underneath.
STEAM WAND/ FROTHING WAND