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  • New guy, bought EM6910 and EM0480

    Hi all, just picked up the sunbeam after reading this site for a couple of weeks. Ive never owned any kind of coffee machine ever, so Im new to everything. I appreciate nice coffee despite never making my own. Time to try!

    Coz Im a n00b, I just bought some Gloria Jeans special espress blend... before I get flamed. It was easy to get and I wanted it mainly to practice... hehe

    So I set my gear up and tried my first extraction. I set my grinder to approx "12", grind into basket, knock basket to bench, grind, gentle tamp to level, grind, knock, tamp, grind, knock, hard tamp with twists at end (yeh i watched the dvd)

    My first extraction just pissed out bigtime, too quick, no good colours... too course I figured. Reset grinder to approx 8. tried again, dosed a little higher in the basket this time... machine struggled to produce anything. drip drip drip, black. fail. down the sink it goes.

    Third attempt, grinder set to 10, a little less dose, extract.... meter was just on the top end of the "perfect extraction". All on manual... stopped the extraction as the colour went really light.. I drank this one, it actually tasted good! I also tried texturing milk and pretty much got it first go, its pretty easy really!

    This morning (second time on machine) I set the grinder a little courser (10) and dosed a tiny bit more. extraction was in between the ideal spots on the gauge, it poured well. I did milk and enjoyed a flat white... not bad, and must admit, tasted like the stuff they serve over the counter. I also made my wife a hot chocolate with max brenner stuff, made syrup, textured milk, combined.. she said it was very nice

    this morning my puck/cake came out impressioned by the showerhead, but was still rather damp, dose more?

    Im using the single floor baskets. I still have the black plastic thing in my group handle, should I remove this?

    I fill my grinder half way with beans, grind, then put the rest back in my air tight container, is this the way to go? (plan to drink daily). do I have to clean my grinder every day? or every week or two?

    Do people remove the water from their EM6910 each night? or just keep topping it up?

    Can someone recommend beans to me? I like milky coffees most of the time, but also enjoy a straight shot occasionally.

    Sorry for the new guy questions... other tips/hints welcome!

  • #2
    Re: New guy, bought EM6910 and EM0480

    oh, heres my setup

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: New guy, bought EM6910 and EM0480

      It appears you nearly have the grind right.  The beans from Glorias are stale so if you get fresh beans your will have to adjust the grind.  When I used the SM0480 I only put enough in the Chute for what I was making.  I would not leave the beans in the Hopper overnight (although with the beans you are using it probably wont matter).  Ir sounds like you have the right dose amount the wet on top is probably the grind.  You are in the ball park but may need to go a little courser and tamp a little more.  The different variables are many - only change one at a time and see what difference it makes.

      YES remove the plastic in the PF it is easy to do there are several threads about what lurks under it after several uses. Look at this link
      http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1222320381

      I dont remove the water overnight - I dont think this is necessary.

      Depends on where you are but you can buy beans from this web site that are roasted and delivered within days of being roasted.  Several of the Site Sponsors sell roasted beans and the Brownbay above is a good source.  I used it prior to roasting my own and found that they were always received within 3 - 4 days of being roasted.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: New guy, bought EM6910 and EM0480

        thanks for the info.. i realise the gloria beans will be stale, it was really to learn the machine I guess. I only bought 400gms.

        Will try get some beans from the site sponsors, need to do some reading on which beans (so many!)

        I must admit on the grind sometimes clumps come out.. probably indicating stale beans?

        thanks for your help!!

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: New guy, bought EM6910 and EM0480

          I just modified my answer above.  The SB0480 does have a problem with static clumping the grinds.  Use a paper clip and stir them if they are in the Porta Filter or as I did - grind into the container that comes with the grinder and then tip them into the PF this reduces the clumping.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: New guy, bought EM6910 and EM0480

            It does sound like youre close.

            Definitely get some fresh beans and adjust your grind accordingly.

            If you want to be a real Coffee Snob the plastic thing is called a "graeme".

            No need to empty the water.
            Dont leave beans in the hopper.
            Dont twist the tamper at the end; the Sunbeam tamper has a rough finish and breaks up the puck surface.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: New guy, bought EM6910 and EM0480

              The Sunbeam 480 does not particularly like "just enough beans" in the hopper as it tends to popcorn a lot, and it always leaves a lot of beans sitting on top of the burr carrier.

              I keep mine about 1/2 full or thereabouts most of the time. If you are pedantic / fussy, you can grind 1/2 a basket full or so and throw them away before each coffee session. Me, I just make sure I make the wifes coffee first then mine, that way I dont get the stale grinds (is that bad?)

              Fresh beans, absolutely. Find a local roaster see the site sponsors to the left.

              Try and only change one variable at a time. Keep the amount you dose the same and vary the grind. That way you wont be wondering what change impacted the pour the most. Sounds like you are close though and are aware of the basics. Keep practicing and enjoy

              Sen

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: New guy, bought EM6910 and EM0480

                hey all, thanks for the tips and the warm welcome!

                I was indeed curious about grinding for a sec and dumping to ditch the old dregs. Ive also been putting around half in the hopper each time as I read somewhere (on here or on the DVD?) that it likes the weight on it to grind a little better. Ill try my next shot without twisting the tamper too. as for clumping out of the grinder.. a little tap on the bench usually breaks it up. No doubt there are going to be trade offs on the sub $200 grinders compared to the $500+ ones.

                Im quite happy with the grinder, even the smallest settings make a difference, its cool. I think when my dose technique/level is correct it will be all in the grind, like youve said.

                Looking forward to my next extract

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: New guy, bought EM6910 and EM0480

                  Originally posted by Thundergod link=1227319833/0#5 date=1227323561
                  It does sound like youre close.

                  Definitely get some fresh beans and adjust your grind accordingly.

                  If you want to be a real Coffee Snob the plastic thing is called a "graeme".

                  No need to empty the water.
                  Dont leave beans in the hopper.
                  Dont twist the tamper at the end; the Sunbeam tamper has a rough finish and breaks up the puck surface.
                  I agree with TG except for one small point ;D

                  I do twist the SB tamp BUT only if it has been polished - Use some wet and dry at about 600 - 800 grit and a final polish at 1000 - 1200 if ya can get it. Makes a difference.

                  Over all you sound like you got the bug and are learning to make changes and evaluate the results.

                  Expect to re adjust your grind and method with fresh beans... The difference is unbelievable...

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: New guy, bought EM6910 and EM0480

                    I often leaves beans in the hopper but only for a few hours or overnight...I frankly dont notice a difference in taste between doing that and leaving them in a sealed container until needed, but then again I usually use my beans early so perhaps that little extra forced gassing is actually helpful...

                    Cheers

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: New guy, bought EM6910 and EM0480

                      Welcome!  A few extra things from me (not that Im hugely experienced but feel like Im certainly getting a lot better at it...making coffees, that is!!!  8-)
                      [*]Do the Sunbeam Coffee School - if youve only just bought your machine, you will get a free place on the course - just go to the Sunbeam site and choose the Sunbeam Coffee School hyperlink.  Have your receipt handy, because youll need to put that in to get into the School.  Its very much worthwhile and you get to practise, practise, practise using their beans for a good 1.5 hours.
                      [*]I thoroughly recommend the BrownBay site.  I started on Gloria Jeans and then, on the recommendation of the guys here, got a sample pack, which cost next to nothing and gave me four different flavours of beans.  I settled on my favourite (Sulawesi) and havent looked back! Buying them through BrownBay is a lot cheaper than GJ and you know you are getting fresh beans that have only been roasted in the last couple of days, so youll know that youll get a full month out of them.
                      [*]When you fill the portafilter, the last hard tamp should put the top of the grinds about 1/2 way up the silver part on the tamper.
                      [*]To me, 10 seems to be a very fine grind for a new 0480 grinder.  When you get your fresh beans, youll probably find that you will need to put the grinder on the 14-18 mark or so otherwise youll choke up the coffee.
                      [*]If you have any problems at all with the machine, do not hesitate to give Sunbeam Customer Care a call - they are brilliant!
                      [*]Sit back and enjoy the ride!

                      ;D

                      Cheers
                      Di

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: New guy, bought EM6910 and EM0480

                        excellent, off to order some beans now.

                        Ive registered for the coffee school thing. Cant get in till Jan 24th, oh well. Thanks for the tamping advice too.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: New guy, bought EM6910 and EM0480

                          Originally posted by Hoyks link=1227319833/0#10 date=1227428279
                          Welcome!  A few extra things from me (not that Im hugely experienced but feel like Im certainly getting a lot better at it...making coffees, that is!!!  8-)
                          [*]To me, 10 seems to be a very fine grind for a new 0480 grinder.  When you get your fresh beans, youll probably find that you will need to put the grinder on the 14-18 mark or so otherwise youll choke up the coffee.
                          So I picked up some Mago Blue Mountain beans yesterday, took them home, set my Grinder to 12, then dosed and extracted, the water just went straight through it.. (it certainly wasnt a nice sticky extraction), so I went back down to 8 on the grinder, tried again and it was a bit better, I wouldnt say awesome... I guess all of these grinders are different.

                          Either my grinder likes a really fine setting, or Im not dosing properly..

                          My beanbay order should be here soon, looking forward to trying the different samples.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: New guy, bought EM6910 and EM0480

                            After reading about the EM6910 here I decided to purchase a machine and the EM0480 grinder to go with it. Sunbeam NZ only had the EM6900 in stock so I had to wait a couple of weeks for one to be sent out from Australia. 22 months on and its still making beautiful coffee. So far longevity of the machine has proved to be excellent with not a single fault to date. As shown in the photo I bought a sandwich tray to sit the grinder in. This eliminates most of the excess grinds going over the bench top. Another purchase was a piece of rubber hose which I cut to an angle so as to ensure that most of the grinds go directly into the group head.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: New guy, bought EM6910 and EM0480

                              So I picked up some Mago Blue Mountain beans yesterday, took them home, set my Grinder to 12, then dosed and extracted, the water just went straight through it.. (it certainly wasnt a nice sticky extraction), so I went back down to 8 on the grinder, tried again and it was a bit better, I wouldnt say awesome... I guess all of these grinders are different.
                              I think...usually the fresher the beans, the higher the setting for grind (ie; when Ive bought fresh from BeanBay and used them that day - so theyre only about 3 days from roast - I have to set the grinder on about 18 or so), but the staler the beans, the lower the grind number.  Certainly, as everyone I think attests to, every batch of beans will need a bit of adjustment on the grinder because each lot have different properties - some are oilier, some are drier, so you should never set your grinder on one setting and expect it to stay there forever.

                              I would be a bit concerned, personally, if you are setting the grinder to 8 for fresh beans.   This part is probably wrong with all the actual bits & pieces, sorry, but I think the basis is correct! Apparently, when the 0480 gets older, the burr thingos (? Sorry, need help from the terminology gurus!) wear down which means that you usually need to set your grinder on a lower and lower setting to compensate for the looseness until you start replacing (?) something - a washer or two, I think.  If you are on 8 now, with fresh beans, you dont have a lot of room to move downwards when that time comes.  Thundergod, AngerManagement or one of the other guys here will probably help me out here, I hope, and put this a lot more clearer because I think Im buggering it up severely!      Every 0480 is slightly different, but I think, for the most part, we all hover in the teens somewhere with our grind of fresh beans.

                              Hang off and see how you go with the BrownBay beans - you might find this makes a difference with your grind settings.

                              Now, Im going to slink off and hide under some bush now that Ive demonstrated my lack of knowledge of good coffee terminology and hope to hell I havent said anything too out of whack...

                              Happy to be corrected!

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