Useful Advice

Here is some useful advice about making espresso, frothing milk and taking care of your equipment. All files are in pdf form.
Making an espresso
Steaming milk
Cleaning manual espresso machines
Descaling manual espresso machines
If you find once you have got your machine home that you would like some help, you know where to come!

General brew tips (not espresso)
The quality of coffee you use is extremely important to the quality of the brew. Buy excellent, freshly roasted coffee beans and you will enjoy your coffee all the more.

Freshly grind your coffee: no matter how you make your coffee, if you want to improve its quality, invest in a good burr grinder and grind immediately before you brew.

Coarseness of grind: the general rule is coarse for cafetiere and similar infusion methods, less coarse for filter and aeropress, finer for moka pot (or stovetop espresso maker) and finer still for espresso.

Dosing: for many brewing methods (e.g. cafetiere, Eva Solo, filter) 60 grams of coffee per litre of water will work well. For Aeropress, try 15 grams for 200 ml.

Temperature: 92-94 degrees celsius is a good starting point. If the water is too hot, expect bitter coffee; too cold and sourness tends to creep in.

Brewtime: cafetiere and Eva Solo 4 minutes; pourover and Clever Dripper, 2 minutes; Aeropress, 45 seconds infusion, 10 second press time.

We hope these simple tips will help you make the most of your coffee and enjoy it all the more!