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  • krups 993/a - help anyone?

    hi all,

    i have recently inherited a krups 993/a machine from a friend of mine. however, they dont have the instructions for it and havent used it in years so...

    ive done a search of the krups site and found nothing and a more general interweb search also revealed... well..... nothing. so im hoping there might be someone here who could help. i need the instructions.

    ive been able to figure most of it myself, but im sure there are finer points im missing. it is a very simple machine with a milk frothing thingy on one side and a knob on the other which is used to turn the thing off or select between the milk thingy (what is that called? a frother?) and the coffee part.

    any help will be greatly apprectiated. tia.

    cheers.

  • #2
    Re: krups 993/a - help anyone?

    Hi yafnaro,

    Welcome to CoffeeSnobs [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

    Im not familiar with that exact machine, but basically it belongs to a design generically referred to as "Steam Espresso" machines, in that it uses the build-up of steam pressure within a small boiler to push water through a small PortaFilter.

    They are not really considered to be genuine Espresso machines because an Espresso machine is designed to operate with a Pump, forcing Hot Water (93 deg C approx) through a cake of freshly ground coffee (ostensibly 7 grams for a single shot and 14 grams for a double) at a pressure of 8-10 bar (120-150 psi) for 25-30 seconds. This will produce a typical Espresso of between 30 and 60ml (single and double respectively) which can then be consumed "as is" or as the basis for a milk coffee drink such as a Cappuccino or Latté, etc.

    The Steam Espresso machines usually force water through the coffee cake at too high a temperature and in my experience give the coffee a burnt taste. As far as the quantities go, they are pretty much the same as for a genuine espresso machine except that the coffee is not ground to anything like the fine grind required for one of these. From my own personal experience with similar machines (a long time ago now), you need to grind the coffee to about the same size as standard white sugar grains and then tamp down fairly lightly (1-2 Kg of force) in the PortaFilter Basket.

    Lock this into position on the machine. Using fresh filtered water in the boiler, switch on and allow the machine to heat the water up while keeping an eye on the amount of coffee being extracted from the PF. Once you have about 30ml for a single or 60ml for a double, turn the machine off and remove your cup from under the PF and allow the pressure to reduce completely before removing the PF or the lid from the boiler.

    If you want to make a milk drink for a Cappa or a Latté, then you need to be able to switch a control valve over from the PF to the Steam Wand, or put a "blind" disk into the PF Basket to prevent leakage from there. As the water reheats in the boiler, using a jug under the Steam Wand just "crack" the Steam Valve open a little bit every now and then to determine when steam is being produced in the Boiler.

    Once you are getting a good strong flow of Steam out of the Steam Wand, leave the valve open for a few seconds to exhaust any water droplets in the Steam System and once the Steam is "dry", you are ready to try your hand at stretching some milk for a Latté, etc. It will depend a lot on the boiler, etc just how much Steam your machine can produce and this will in turn determine how difficult or otherwise it will be to prepare your milk. Theres a good lot of info on doing this here at Home Barista... http://tinyurl.com/9uprr

    Theres a plethora of information about all matters espresso on this site and is well worth spending some time perusing what ever interests you. All the best and hope some of this is helpful,

    Cheers,
    Mal.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: krups 993/a - help anyone?

      hi mal and thanks for the reply - it certainly was helpful and explains why the coffee i have been making tastes the way it does. i will have to continue to experiment a little i think to get things "just right".

      Originally posted by Mal link=1127277477/0#1 date=1127398803
      turn the machine off and remove your cup from under the PF and allow the pressure to reduce completely before removing the PF or the lid from the boiler
      yes, i learned this the hard way

      cheers,

      yaff

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: krups 993/a - help anyone?

        Originally posted by Mal link=1127277477/0#1 date=1127398803
        turn the machine off and remove your cup from under the PF and allow the pressure to reduce completely before removing the PF or the lid from the boiler
        yes, i learned this the hard way

        cheers,

        yaff[/QUOTE]

        Hope you didnt get burnt ... that can really smart,

        Mal.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: krups 993/a - help anyone?

          You can also bleed the pressure out of the steam wand. Thats what I used to do with my old Breville, since opening the boiler cap was like opening the cap on your radiator after running the car for a while.

          Speaking of burns, I got hit by a nasty bit of hot oil while cooking dinner. Good patch burnt to 2nd degree, about the size of a 50 cent coin at the base of my thumb/back of my hand.

          Makes everything difficult since I am very right hand dominant.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: krups 993/a - help anyone?

            its all ok - i didnt get burned but it did give me a bit of a surprise when i opened the cap on the top and all the steam shot out! very like an over-heating radiator

            my daughter, however, didnt do so well last night when i spilt boiling water on her never fear, all is well now.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: krups 993/a - help anyone?

              Great to hear your little one is fine.

              I bet your heart was in your mouth for a while though, I know mine would be... just thinking about it. Phew!

              Mal.

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