Big troubles with fully automatic

Krillian

Gday Guys,

I recently purchased a saeco magic deluxe, and im having troubles fine tuning the machine. I hear the golden rule of brewing an expresso is that the 7g of coffee should be extracted in around 20-25 seconds for a 30ml shot. I cannot for the life of me change the settings to achieve this, and the slowest it comes out with finest grind and optimal dose is around 10-15 seconds which is way too fast. The sad thing is I have bought beans from a barista where I drink regulary at work, and my machine cannot reciprocate the taste to even a close degree. Is there anything I can do or is this just the way it goes with fully automatics?? Would say a semi automatic like a rancillio silvia be any better to achieve similar taste because im quite frustrated I cannot get the taste even close! If it were close id be happy!

Cheers Krill

admin

Hi Krillian - might get one of the experienced guys to give his thoughts, but just so you know, to my knowledge there's no way to replicate what you get from a commercial machine in a domestic automatic unit. Their brew cycle is always shorter than the 'ideal' 20-25 secs - simply because they are programmed that way; also there's no way you can go with a really fine grind, as they would simply 'jam up'. Would be happy to hear from one of the pros, and you should still be able to get a 'reasonable' tasting shot [especially if you're using fresh beans] however my understanding is that unfortunately you'll never be able to replicate what a semi-auto domestic or a commercial machine can do. -A

Krillian

Thanks Admin, Would like to hear from other guys as well. With that being the case, would buying a domestic semi comercial machine such as an ECM giotto or rancillio silvia fix the problem and get closer to the taste i'm after? Would there be that big a difference between the ECM and rancillio because im seriously thinking about trading this one in for something that makes a better tasting expresso.... Cheers Sam

nzroaster

Just keep in mind that if you get a ecm or rancillio or any other espresso machine that you should be prepared to put the time in to learn how to pull a good shot, otherwise you may have the same problem. Have you tried upping the grams for a single coffee on you SUPER auto.

Krillian

NZ roaster I have spent hours researching and talking with ppl in the know of coffee machines. The trouble to me seems to be that with the fully automatics, you can't seem to adjust the speed of the extraction. Methods of slowing the speed down include a finer grind and a harder tamp. With a fully automatic you can't adjust the tamp pressure and the speed at which the coffee comes out doesn't seem to be affected by the grind. With a semi domestic at least you can change your extraction rate. Don't see how I can adjust it thats all Cheers Sam

FreshCoffee2

Krillian, The best coffee you will make with the MD is when: a) buy best quailty fresh roast coffee...not black or oily...should be cinnamon coloured roast (which should mean a high quality oz style espresso roast) b) set the doser lever inside the door to 1 notch larger than the middle position, and perhaps 2 nothches dependent on coffee beans...autos need a large dose. Some may even set thing on the maximum dose, but i dont like the character of wet coffee produced with an overly large dose. c) grind is dependent on type/density of coffee, and the dose you have arbitrarily set above, but these machines are not really designed to be run on the finest setting ie you will probably find that the wet coffee does not taste as good as it will be if you you back off the grind to the second or maybe the thrid from finest setting...this one is entoirely depoendent on the charactr of the coffee you are using, and what you as an individual like in coffee.   The oft quoted "rules of espresso" do not apply to Autos so my advice is

Coffeecentral

Hi Krillian, We have a Saeco Magic Deluxe at home. My father has just bought an ECM giotto Premium and the difference in taste of coffee is phenomenal. Once you have bought an ECM giotto Premium you will never go back to an automated coffee machine.

admin

Hi Christopher Just a friendly tap on the shoulder for a new forum participant. The idea in this forum is to try and provide constructive advice to those that request information. As a trader, you have a wealth of experience to pass on, but please make sure you identify yourself as such. Others could have jumped in and written that their relatives and friends have a Diadema Junior Plus or an Isomac or Expobar at home.... this is not to say that I have anything against a Giotto - I have one. However, it is important to identify yourself properly to forum members - doing so helps them to make an informed judgement, and also helps your business in the long term. best A