Archive for the ‘Q&A’ CategoryWhat is a Thermoblock?
May 7th, 2012
A thermoblock or thermocoil takes water from the reservoir in an espresso machine and heats it on the fly, versus heating up a full boiler of water. This technology is commonly seen on home espresso machines, where it manages either the brew function, steam function or both. The benefit of a thermoblock is that it [...]  Health Watch: Java not to Blame for Sleepless Babies
May 2nd, 2012
Coffee was what kept me up during those late nights of studying in college; for expecting and new mothers, you’d think it would be their lifeline too! I figured caffeine was the fuel that helped them during long, sleepless nights with their newborns. But to my surprise, drinking caffeine has been a concern for many [...] Brew Head Maintenance on the La Marzocco GS/3
April 25th, 2012
You know how we feel about cleanliness, baby! So we asked Gail to give us the lowdown and the what-for on how to maintain the brew head on the GS/3. Watch as ahe takes it apart, cleans and then re-assembles for maximum cleanliness and joy. Playing with Temperature on the Crossland CC1
April 23rd, 2012
Having programmable options on your espresso machine is only fun if you mess around with them, right? Right. Watch Gail play with different temperature, pre-infusion and shot time settings on the Crossland CC1 to see how they affect a shot of Caffe Umbria’s Gusto Crema coffee. Getting Started with the Crossland CC1
April 20th, 2012
We’ll admit that we have a little bit of a soft spot for Crossland Coffee’s CC1. While it may not be the sexiest machine on the block, it’s hard to beat all the excellent features for the price! Setting it up for the first time does involve a bit of care and feeding to ensure [...] Which Portafilter is Right for You?
April 11th, 2012
So you’re in the market for an espresso machine and you’re not sure what all these different portafilter styles are about, eh? We’ve created this handy guide to break ‘em down for you. Pressurized A great learning tool for the newbie barista, the pressurized portafilter can be found on most entry level machines and takes [...] Turkish Coffee a la Aeropress
April 9th, 2012
You asked for it, so we answered! Recently, a viewer suggested that we experiment with the Aeropress when making Turkish coffee. So we asked our resident Turkish coffee expert, Rade, to jump into the 21st century by prepping up some coffee and then putting it through an Aeropress. Watch to find out how the experiment [...] The Lowdown on Distilled Water
April 6th, 2012
A common inquiry we receive is in regard to the type of water customers should use in their coffee making equipment. Some folks think that distilled water will be their best bet, as they won’t have to worry about scale build up or performing descaling procedures for the life of the machine. While there seems [...] Nitrogen-Flushed Coffee
April 2nd, 2012
We offer a couple of different coffee varieties that are treated with a nitrogen flush during their packaging (specifically, Lavazza and illy employ this practice), and we often have folks ask about what this is and why it’s done. Once a food is processed, it begins to deteriorate immediately with exposure to oxygen. Foods that [...] Can I use Grindz in my Superautomatic Espresso Machine?
March 5th, 2012
Since this is one of the most common questions we get around superautomatic espresso machine maintenance, we asked Gail to break it down for us. Find out if these lovely wheat-based pellets can be used to clean the grinder in your superauto. |
