sunbeam em6900

shagger

Hello fellow coffee lovers. im having abit of a bind with the sunbeam em6900. I cant seem to get a decent tasting coffee out of it. the needle wont stay within that tan coloured area on the gauge. from what ive read seems most people dont use the pre-gound beans you buy in the shops ? im using VITTORIA ORO allready ground from woolworths. its a pretty fine ground coffee. Seems like most get a grinder and then grind the beans and so on. questions i guess are

1.Is it a waste of time using the coffee pre-gound in the shops allready like i have at the moment.
2.How much do you actually put in the cup i have tryed full, half, bit over half, bit under half, manual,one cup button,as tight as i can get on the handle loose and in the middle.
3.If its recommended to get beans then grind them at home which type of coffee and grinder? also do the beans have to sit air tight or leave them in the open? leave the packets open or air tight?
4.A coffee that isnt to strong. i dont like a coffee that could wake the dead a nice suave coffee that isnt to sour and bitter would be great.

Any help would be appreciated.

admin

Hi S - won't go too much into technical stuff on the EM6900 [there are others better qualified to answer that], but a couple of key things in answer to your post: - Buying pre-ground coffee is probably the worst option, and buying any sort of coffee from a supermarket is probably the worst possible option - You really need to find a local coffee roaster and buy fresh beans and grind them just before use, to get a decent result. You should also probably get a decent grinder [see latest issue of Crema]. Need to use the beans 2-3 weeks after roasting [max]. and just a quick answer to:

do the beans have to sit air tight or leave them in the open? leave the packets open or air tight?

beans have to be kept in an airtight container, away from light and heat [see lots of back issues of Crema!]

shagger

Thanks for the info so far. i had a feeling that it was the cheap coffee. why is it that those types of coffee bought in the shops are crap though ? like most of them i made sure said home espresso machines etcc. What makes them worthless?

admin

Freshness - or when it comes to supermarket coffee - lack of it! And it's just worse when you buy pre-ground, as it's got more surface area to go stale quicker.

Honest_Gaza

Hopefully not too late here. If you want to produce Crema with "pre-ground" coffee (just to prove it is possible), get a can of Illy from the supermarket....it works....sort of. Then, get a grinder and buy your own beans and grind them yourself to get a fuller, richer crema.

avitephen

wow this is the first time ive logged in here for i think about a year and i find a fresh sunbeam EM6900 thread shagger I have a 6900, have had it for several years (not this exact model but several ruptured pipes, repairs and replacements later I have a machine that is behaving) The first thing you absolutely must do is exactly what everyone else has suggested: stop buying supermarket beans/pre ground bags.. Think about how long ago those beans were roasted (you get them after they have been roasted, bagged, boxed, shipped and shelved.. assuming there that efficient) im sure if you post what city your in someone here will be able to recommend a local roaster if not i remember cosmorex coffee in canberra used to post fresh beans out. (this also means buying a good grinder) the second advisable thing to do would be to remove that horrible black disk in the bottom of your portafilter or group handle (if you havent already). Its pretty simple to do and is reversible if care is taken.. just remove the basket and unscrew the spout, you will see that the disk is held in by a clip. push the two sides of clip in together and push gently so that the disk falls out.. its meant to reduce the need to wait for the portafilter to heat up (the plastic is less thermally conductive then the metal so it doesn't cool your shot down as much) all it really does is let oils build up between the plastic and the metal where you cant clean and will certainly make your coffee taste foul after a bit of use.. far better to just wait an extra minute for the portafilter to heat up properly The third thing is to experiment it will cost you some beans but its worth it.. Dosing with the EM6900 is strange because the baskets are much larger then normal baskets (a single is more like a double) i find that when i buy different beans i often have to change the dose as well as the grind (though i am a novice) the forth and final thing is to pretend that the gauge doesn't exist :P it can give you a bit of an idea but thats all.. read up on what a good shot is and follow your own tastes hope that helps a bit.. stick with it, im having a blast with my machine.