CoffeeForums Coffee Facts

Q: The answer would here would probably be: 1) Make sure you have a good grinder...absolutely critical for good Espresso. 2) Make sure you're using fresh beans...(home roasted or other) Cheers,

A: I think you already know the answer to your own question. If you want to have Espresso like you had in Italia, you can't do it with a $40 machine that's cinesi (Chinese). You're asking the impossible. You'd be insulted too if we asked you to conduct an orchestra where the players had only kazoos. So when we tell you no go, it's not because we're flamers, but because we know better. If you want to attend the opera and see the veins bulge in Caruso's throat, you must first purchase a ticket and not one in the cheap seats either. Others may give you some helpful hints on getting a better drink out of your steam machine, but make no mistake, your machine is not capable of making Espresso in the true sense, The best it will do is make something like the moka coffee that Italians have every morning at home from their Bialetti's. It's not bad, but it ain't Espresso either. I have good news for you. You don't have to spend $500 as the price of admission. You can have a setup for under $200 (a pump Espresso machine and a burr grinder, which is mandatory) which will have you imagining that you are back on the Via Veneto. Let us know if you are interested. Otherwise, enjoy your Salton and go in peace.If your Salton is anything like the Vesuviana, it can make a pretty decent cup of coffee. It's not Espresso, but IMO slightly better than moka pot. A few loose remarks: always fill the "portafilter" level & tamp only very lightly - the word is "ounces", not pounds. Brian is very right about the importance of grinder & beans, but assuming you have already spent enough time in this here group to purchase a good burr grinder & locate a decent source for fresh beans, the only thing you need to do is tune the grind to the machine. This is pretty easy, though it may take some time before you get it right. Basically, if the grind is too coarse, the coffee will come out too fast & be weak & generally not very nice. OTOH, if it's too fine, it'll brew too slow & likely produce a bitter, or maybe even burned coffee. The optimum lies in between - experiment & thy shalt find. One trick that you might want to try, is opening the steam valve just before the machine starts blowing steam through the 'puck' - the last bits of coffee tend to be bitterish. Good luck! only brew about an ounce per shot; if the grounds basket is marked with lines for 2 and 4 cups, read those as 1 and 2 cups instead; never let it brew so much that the steam comes bubbling out the spout; use good coffee.