Seattle Coffee Gear Blog » Manual Machine

Tech Tip: Portafilter Positioning

Kat — Fri, 27 May 2011 15:19:00 +0000

When is it time to say when? We’re often asked where the portafilter should be in respect to the machine — at a 90 degree angle? 45 degree? A little over to the right? Every machine will be a little bit different and the key is to make sure that it feels snug. Additionally, you’ll find that you’ll move it further as the gasket ages.

Watch as Gail demonstrates the position on several of our demo machines of varying style and age.

Espresso Machine Maintenance with Urnex

Kat — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 16:25:10 +0000

Keeping your equipment sparkling clean is just as important as the freshness of your coffee and dialing in your grind & tamp — in fact, without the former, the latter will be an exercise in futility. If we have to tell you that rancid coffee oils will adversely impact the quality of your shot, we’re sorry. But if we have to be the first, then we might as well do it right, right? So we asked Louie Poore, who specializes in educating professional baristas on proper equipment care for Urnex, to give us the rundown.

First, he introduces us to Urnex’s new Full Circle, sustainably-produced cleaning products — including a toe-to-toe comparison of Cafiza and Full Circle’s coffee equipment wash.

Next, he walks us through using tablets to backflush the La Marzocco GS/3.

Finally, Gail shows us the newly arrived 1, 2, Brew Kit for Espresso Machines, which features the goodies you need to keep your machine in tip-top shape (plus a bag of Velton’s Coffee of your choice!).

What Makes for a Good Trade-in at Seattle Coffee Gear?

Kat — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:44:38 +0000

Our espresso machine trade in and recycle program is pretty darn popular, but we often have folks requesting to trade in machines that just aren’t great candidates. The basic rules of thumb are that the machine has to have been manufactured within the past 5 years, is in perfect working order and is one of the models that we can repair, re-sell and support a warranty on.

You can read more detail about our program here, or watch Gail take us through it in this riveting video. Huzzah!

Espresso Machine Storage Tips

Kat — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 21:00:36 +0000

Leaving your machine alone for the winter? Need to store it or move it (by hand) to a new location? Gail gives us some tips on what you should do to prepare your machine so you limit the possibility of damage.

Brew Tips: Tamper Base Testing

Kat — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 21:00:25 +0000

Does the shape of your tamper’s base make a significant difference in your shot’s quality? That’s the question that we asked and we brought in five base variations to help determine the answer.

Dialing in the Rocket Giotto Premium Plus with a standard flat base, we then pulled shots using the c-flat, US curve, Euro curve, ripple and c-ripple base styles available from Reg Barber. Watch as Gail tastes each shot to practically assess whether or not the base structure makes a noticeable difference.

Field Trip: Uesugi USA – Recycling Center

Kat — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 21:16:17 +0000

Where do espresso machines and coffee makers go to die? Not in the landfill, if we can help it! At Seattle Coffee Gear, we launched a recycling program last year in an effort to keep as many fully assembled machines from landing in the trash. Many of these are pretty complex — they have circuit boards, electrical wiring and miscellaneous metals that are best kept out of our ground water supply.

Our partner in this venture is Uesugi USA, a Japanese company that (as luck would have it) have a US presence here in the Seattle-area. We pulled Henry into the mix and headed out to their facility to talk about what they do and see how they take these machines apart, break them down to their components and funnel them back into the commodity supply chain as cleanly as possible.

Talking about Water Filters & Softeners

Kat — Thu, 20 May 2010 21:00:08 +0000

Mineral content in your water will play a part in the coffee that you make and your machine’s longevity. In this video, Gail talks to us about a few different filters and softeners available for espresso machines, as well as explaining how a filter and softener differ.

Manualicious

Kat — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:00:22 +0000

If you’re anything like us, you probably used your gear’s user manual for one of three things:

To ineffectively swat at flies, yet one day you accidentally killed one and couldn’t bear to keep the gut-stained book around.
To prop up the uneven handmade bookshelf lovingly made by a friend/parent/spouse/sibling/child that never sits right on the wood floor.
To start a fire in the fireplace to enjoy while sipping on a delicious glass of chai spiced wine. (Guilty!)

Or, maybe you just recycled it by accident. Whatever the case, the fact of the matter is that now you have no wisdom to guide you. We created our manufacturer manual repository over at Brown Bean to connect you with the source code. We have manuals for a lot of models both current and historical, so if you’re looking for tips on how to perform maintenance or need to find out what that error code means, check ‘em out.

Don’t see your model there? Leave a comment here and we’ll see if we can’t track it down and add it to the repository.

Crew Review: La Pavoni Stradivari 16

Kat — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 21:47:00 +0000

One of the first demonstration videos we did was Gail using how to pull a shot on the La Pavoni Europiccola 8 manual/lever espresso machine, which we followed up on several months later by demonstrating that same machine’s steaming functionality.

We recently decided to take the Stradivari 16 out for a stroll to see how it compared to the other version. Watch as Gail pulls shots, steams and uses the included cappuccinatore attachment with this machine.

The Grind: February 2010

Kat — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:00:38 +0000

Seattle Coffee Gear’s monthly newsletter, The Grind, landed in an email box near you today — and if it wasn’t near enough for you to actually read it, you can do so here on the site or make sure you get up close and personal next month by signing up for future editions.

This month, we talk about the different functional types of espresso machines, include a recipe for Indochine Lemon, point you to our manufacturer manual resource on Brown Bean and introduce you to a few new products we have in the store. What you won’t see, however, is The Grind Special, which is for subscriber-eyes-only. Sign up to get that little bit o’ goodness every month.