Crew Review: Bottomless Portafilter
If you’re interested in fine-tuning your grind and tamp — or just really love a good show — the bottomless portafilter provides a great tool for calibrating your technique. In this video, Gail shows us how it’s done.
Does Size Matter?
For some of us it does! Especially if you’ve got a snug kitchen into which you’d like to introduce a high-end espresso machine. In this video, Gail and Kat line up several models of machines and measure them out so you can see how they compare, dimension-wise.
Brew Tip: Dialing in Your Grinder
If you’ve just picked up a new grinder or an espresso machine/grinder package and you’re wondering how to get it setup for that perfect shot extraction, check out this video. Gail shows us how to calibrate a grinder with an espresso machine and discusses tips for determining the extraction level and tweaking your puck.
New! Izzo Alex Duetto II Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine
The only semi-automatic prosumer espresso machine on the market that allows you to easily switch between main-line and reservoir water sources just got a whole lot cooler!
The Izzo Alex Duetto II features the same flexible plumping technology and double boilers as the original Alex Duetto, but has been significantly upgraded with an all-access PID interface that allows you to easily control the temperature on both boilers, switch either of them on or off (awesome energy savings for you espresso-only drinkers out there!), change it between 15 or 20 amp, select Celsius or Fahrenheit temperature readings and much more.
It also has the awesome E61 brew group, which we’re huge fans of because we definitely think it contributes to a great shot when compared to other models in this class that don’t feature this patented technology. The main drawback to this machine is that it’s a monster — requiring 16.5″ height clearance, which doesn’t leave a lot of room to move under most cupboards. We wish they would have made the warming tray sides up top removable to allow for more flexibility around space requirements, but it’ll give ‘em something to improve upon for V.3.0!