Experimenting with Lungos
If making espresso was a children’s fairy tale, this experimentation is all about good ol’ Papa Bear. According to Kenneth Davids, an espresso lungo is 2 oz of espresso, or 2/3 of a demitasse, pulled using the coffee dosage for a single espresso.
We have had several folks ask us if some machines are more suited to this than others, but we really think it’s probably going to be more defined by the coffee you’re using. However, we still tried it out on a few different machines to see if any of them produced a better long shot than the others. Watch Gail pull long shots from the Rocket Giotto, Nuova Simonelli Oscar, Saeco Via Venezia and Crossland CC1.
Blind Taste Test: Rocket Giotto vs. Nuova Simonelli Musica
It’s time for another round of taste testing! Gail pulled shots from the Rocket Espresso Giotto Evoluzione and the Nuova Simonelli Musica espresso machines, then offered them to our fearless crew members for a side by side taste test. Find out which shots the crew preferred.
SCG’s Favorite Gear: Single Boiler, Heat Exchange & Double Boiler Espresso Machines
We asked a selection of our crew to tell us what machines they dig in the single boiler and heat exchange/double boiler class. Watch Rob, Jessica, Allison, Radoje and Gail talk to us about what their favorite gear is, why they like it and if it has any drawbacks.
Selecting a Heat Exchange Espresso Machine
We asked Gail to give us an updated overview of the heat exchange espresso machines that we offer. She goes over options from Nuova Simonelli, Pasquini and Rocket Espresso.
How-To: Mavea Purity C Water Filter Installation
Filtering your water is essential if you plan on plumbing in your espresso machine to a direct water line in your location. Without this, you run the risk of scale build-up that can only be removed by a professional taking apart the machine and physically removing the scale. How quickly this occurs will depend on your location — we did have a cafe attempt to go without filtration for just a couple of months and their equipment completely seized up as a result. Clearly, they were working with very hard water, but it’s not a risk we recommend you take, at all.
For commercial locations, there are tons of filtration options that will address a wide variety of water source needs. If you’re looking at that kind of a setup, then you’ll need to install something a bit more sophisticated and robust that will be able to address the multiple appliances that will require water (such as drip coffee makers, ice machines, water fountains and your espresso machine) in a way that’s easy to manage. But for just straight espresso machine filtration, the Mavea Purity C filters are simple, easy to install and do an excellent job of filtering out what you don’t want in your espresso machine’s boiler.
Watch Gail as she walks us through an overview of how she installed a Mavea filter on our La Marzocco Linea.
What’s the Difference Between the Rocket Espresso Gauges?
A fairly consistent customer question is why Rocket Espresso’s Premium Plus models has only one gauge, while the Professional and Evoluzione models have two gauges.
Watch Gail break it down for us.
Espresso Machine Maintenance with Urnex
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!).
Rocket v. Silvia
If you drop $1k more on your espresso machine, is there a discernible difference and / or improvement in the shot quality and flavor? We dialed in the Rocket Giotto Evoluzione and the Rancilio Silvia, pulled shots simultaneously and asked three of our fearless compatriots to taste them. Watch as they tell us which they prefer and why.
Testing: Coffee Ground Attrition & Water Content in Frothed Milk
We had a few viewer requests lately around the weight of things, so we produced two videos covering the following questions: How much coffee is left in the grinder after grinding? How much water is injected into milk when frothing?
In this first video, we weighed out 20 grams of whole beans and then ground them in several different grinders, weighing the grounds afterward to see if any was retained in the grinder.
In the second video, we weighed out 200ml of milk (in most cases — the exception being the stand alone frothers), frothed them to the same temperature on several different machines and then weighed them afterward to see how much water was injected into the frothed milk.
Crew Reviews: Rocket Accessories + BIA Cordon Bleu Cups
We’ll get you, my pretty! Of course, by ‘my pretty’ we are referring to the array of gorgeously designed Rocket Espresso accessories and BIA Cordon Bleu cups. If you’re not sure how pretty pretty can get, check out Gail’s introduction to these lovely little numbers.
First up — Rocket Accessories:
And now onto the BIA Cordon Bleu line: