Hello all,
Im a newbie to the snob world. Brand spankin new in fact. I bought my first espresso machine today!! I bought a "Sunbeam Cafe Latte" machine. I wasnt sure what my budget was, however heard from my sister that this machine won the Choice award for best machine under $500 and then was offered a deal I could not pass up ($90 for floor stock machine, milk jug, steel tamper, and 250g ground Illy coffee) Plus the machine has all the features Im after!
I have a fair bit of experience in making coffees (commercially), so I have no troubles in making coffees or stretching milk. However I do have a few questions:
1. As it was floor stock, turns out that the only group filter I have is a double shot. It appears to be a 51mm group. Does anyone know if theres a store in Sydney where I can buy a single shot filter from (Illy is too good to waste after all)?
2. Turns out the tamper that was thrown in (Branded Sunbeam) is too big (58mm). Again, does anyone know of a store where I can buy a 51mm one? (By the way, does a 51mm vs. 52mm tamper make much of a difference? If so, what?).
3. Im used to the coffee grinder at work extracting the correct amount of ground coffee (one flick for a single shot, two flicks for a double). So, Im not sure how much coffee I should be putting into my group. I have the scoop that came with the machine, do I use this as a guide (e.g. one heaped/flat scoop)? Ive heard that if you run your finger over the top of the group (so that its not a heap) produces the correct amount of coffee. Is this so?
4. This relates to the previous question as well as tamping pressure. How much space should there be from the top of the group filter to the top of the coffee cake (e.g. 5mm)?
5. Where can i buy a cool knock box from? I realise that Ill be able to find most of these things at the same shop.
I think thats all my questions for now! Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Also anyones opinions of the "Cafe Latte" are welcome too!
So far Ive found usability, coffee shots, steam and hot water function to be exceptional! Although, its a bit of a pain how you have to wait for the temperature to regulate every time you switch from espresso/hot water setting to the steamer setting (that said, its only about a minute, if that) and that the espresso function is manual (i.e. you have to stop it yourself) which can be tricky especially with a mug where its hard to see how much coffee is in there (great that a mug fits under the group head though!). Im surprised at how fast the machine warms up from having no power (a minute tops!).
Im a newbie to the snob world. Brand spankin new in fact. I bought my first espresso machine today!! I bought a "Sunbeam Cafe Latte" machine. I wasnt sure what my budget was, however heard from my sister that this machine won the Choice award for best machine under $500 and then was offered a deal I could not pass up ($90 for floor stock machine, milk jug, steel tamper, and 250g ground Illy coffee) Plus the machine has all the features Im after!
I have a fair bit of experience in making coffees (commercially), so I have no troubles in making coffees or stretching milk. However I do have a few questions:
1. As it was floor stock, turns out that the only group filter I have is a double shot. It appears to be a 51mm group. Does anyone know if theres a store in Sydney where I can buy a single shot filter from (Illy is too good to waste after all)?
2. Turns out the tamper that was thrown in (Branded Sunbeam) is too big (58mm). Again, does anyone know of a store where I can buy a 51mm one? (By the way, does a 51mm vs. 52mm tamper make much of a difference? If so, what?).
3. Im used to the coffee grinder at work extracting the correct amount of ground coffee (one flick for a single shot, two flicks for a double). So, Im not sure how much coffee I should be putting into my group. I have the scoop that came with the machine, do I use this as a guide (e.g. one heaped/flat scoop)? Ive heard that if you run your finger over the top of the group (so that its not a heap) produces the correct amount of coffee. Is this so?
4. This relates to the previous question as well as tamping pressure. How much space should there be from the top of the group filter to the top of the coffee cake (e.g. 5mm)?
5. Where can i buy a cool knock box from? I realise that Ill be able to find most of these things at the same shop.
I think thats all my questions for now! Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Also anyones opinions of the "Cafe Latte" are welcome too!
So far Ive found usability, coffee shots, steam and hot water function to be exceptional! Although, its a bit of a pain how you have to wait for the temperature to regulate every time you switch from espresso/hot water setting to the steamer setting (that said, its only about a minute, if that) and that the espresso function is manual (i.e. you have to stop it yourself) which can be tricky especially with a mug where its hard to see how much coffee is in there (great that a mug fits under the group head though!). Im surprised at how fast the machine warms up from having no power (a minute tops!).



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