Recent content by Gary

Hi, With my Francis Francis here's how I get the best out of it. Start up sequence: Just turn on the main power switch. Do not heat the boiler for steaming milk yet. Wait about 10 minutes until the termometer on the front reads about 100 degrees C. You should call Francis-Francis in the US...

help planning a coffeeshop Hi Jennifer, I found a book that is fairly comprehensive for how to startup a coffeehouse/coffeebar and I paid less than $20 for it. It's from the "Start & Run A" series of books. This one is: Start & Run A Coffee Bar, by Tom Matzen and Marybeth Harrison...

I don't own a shop (yet) and have not experienced what you are going through. But here's my $.02. 1. Don't panic. 2. Stop in at the "other coffeehouse" and observe it carefully. Try their coffee and pastries or whatever they are serving. Find out what the hub-bub is all about. Observe the...

Sounds like you are already getting good help for your quest. Another book title that may help you is "Espresso! Starting and Running Your Own Specialty Coffee Business". By Joe Monaghan and Julie Sheldon Huffaker. Published by Wiley. ISBN 0-471-12138-X The reason I suggest this book in...

One of my friends has one of these machines and I've used it but didn't use the built in grinder. To answer your first question, no, not all espresso machines have built in grinders. What do you mean by spewing grounds all around? Do you mean that most of the grounds get thrown out in front...

I make a trip up north about 2 or 3 times a year, like for the Tulip Festival, and I'll be sure to stop by for a cup of your finest. Thanks. I'm always keeping my eye out for good roasting. You should probably read my blog again. Certainly *not* satisfied with the bag of Millstone I bought...

Check out my July 14, 2003 blog in my archives. http://www.seanet.com/~apeluso/gary/arc ... 1_arch.htm :grin: Gary

Hi Sven, I'm not a technician and I'm not sure why the pump has to push so hard to get water out of the boiler. But I've had to have the heating element replaced in my machine because I let the boiler run dry while it was on steaming temperature. The lower light was flickering, even when the...

I believe the only difference is the newer releases now have brass boilders and the brewhead/portafilter is a different size. Also, I think they use a different steam wand. My current X1 machine is one of 3 I've had in my house and the first one had a longer steam wand, which I prefer...

OK, I get it. You are getting a feel of what others on this forum think in general. Glad to hear you've been doing your homework. I'm actually still working on my homework. :-) Next time I'll just answer the question and let posters worry about their own plans. From a prospective shop...

Carl, Here's a suggestion for a good comprehensive (and cheap) book that will likely answer many of your questions. The title is Start & Run a Coffee Bar by Tom Matzen and Marybeth Harrison -- ISBN 1-55180-354-2. This book suggests roasting your own beans but I'm sure you can find suppliers...

Hi, I'm not familiar with that particular brand/model. But if it has a single boiler for brewing espresso and steaming milk, you probably have a switch to heat up the boiler for steaming. The middle-of-the-road home espresso machines ($350 to $600 range) have one boiler and no heat exchanger...

Hi Emma, I don't know of any books that would best help on your X1 machine specifically. I own an X1 and I'm pretty happy with it. But many home-class machines are different. The X1 is the 3rd machine I've owned and it doesn't work like the other two I owned. So for an independently...

I own an X1 and have had water/coffee spill through the top of the portafilter once. I cleaned all the gunk that built up on the gasket. I used a flat head screwdriver to scrap it off. I supposed as another post said, replace the gasket if it dried out, but I can't imagine why it would dry...