Can someone please help !!!!

[bedlington1959]

Hi I purchased a delonghi ec330 coffee machine for my wife and i am not buying the correct coffee for this machine i have have purchased 2 lots now and its not the right sort, we mainly drink cappuccino or latte please could someone advise on were to view what coffees are available for this machine. i dont think i would like to use the pod thingys !!! i just assumed you could buy some ground coffee put it in and hey presto can anyone please advise we still havent had a decent drink from the machine and my wifes patience is running thin someone please help.:sad:

 

[CoffeeJunky]

We need to know little more to give you right advise....

What type of coffee did you buy? Do you have your own grinder?
Do you know how to make proper Cappuccino or Latte?

I don't know much about your machine but looks to me, its standard home espresso/cappuccino machine.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQB09ZxoDJk


I have included the youtube video but you should froth the milk before you make the espresso.
Also, you should warm up your cup before you put the cappuccino.
When you are frothing milk, make sure you do not over heat or under heat....
So thermometer is important ... your milk should be around 140-160. If it reaches 172 or over.. it is technically burnt milk....

Make sure you clean up the steam wand after frothing and purge to get rid of milk it was sucked back into the wand...

Good Luck

 

[PinkRose]

Hello "bedlington1959"

Welcome to the Coffee Froums Website.

I agree with CoffeeJunky. We need to know a little more in order to be able to help you.

First of all.....have you read the instructions that came with the machine? Is everything okay and in working order (the portafilter, brew basket, tamper, etc)

I also found some YouTube videos that show how to use your particular espresso machine. Just do a Google search, and you'll find lots more: AOL Search

What kind of coffee have you been using? Is it regular drip grind from a can (such as Folgers or Maxwell House) or did you have coffee beans ground for you at your local roaster. The drip grind from a can won't work in your machine. The coffee needs to be ground somewhat finer for espresso.

Since you like cappuccinos and lattes, you're also going to need to learn how to froth/steam/foam the milk. There are a lot of videos on the Internet that show you how to do that.

Please understand that you won't be able to get the coffee to come out "perfect" for a while. Making espresso is something that is learned through trial and error. I hope your wife can be patient.

Rose

 

[eldub]

Go to a local roaster and ask for their espresso blend and have them grind it for you if you don't have a quality grinder.

 

[CoffeeJunky]

Eldub is absolutely right.... I also edited my post above, the person who posted video is not very good at making the cappuccino but at least you can see what he is doing.....

 

[EspressoErb]

I used to own a Delonghi and had the same problems. In my particular case a plastic water line broke inside the machine so I never got 9 bars of pressure in the brew group. It was obvious that something was wrong when water began running out from under the machine.

Assuming that you have a good machine, the next biggest problem I had with making espresso was the coffee. I was using pre-ground stale coffee! Espresso requires three things right out of the gate to make a descent cup (and in this order).
1. Fresh Coffee
2. A good grinder that can make an acceptable fine grind
3. An espresso machine with adequate pressure at the brew group

If you have all these things going for you than post more details like the good folks above mentioned and maybe we can help. At the risk of oversimplifying your situation I doubt you will get the drink you want without the three things I mentioned.

 

[CoffeeJunky]

If you go to the good coffee shop, they never ground the coffee until you are ready to make espresso and they invest about 1000-5000 dollars on grinder alone.

Lastly, some of the commercial espresso machines cost 10k-25k. Of course many of the home machine can duplicate the quality of the espresso. So our advise is always invest some money on grinder. You don't have to buy 1000 dollar grinder but there are plenty of good grinders out there for less then 300 dollars.... I am a huge ebay buyer and I always check there for the price .... Good Luck and let us know how it turned out....

 

[wbradley]

I'd definitely go to a roaster. Normally, they are very helpful.

 

[Yoi]

yeah, grinder is specially important for a good espresso.
please refer to the link
to see if you've got the right ground coffee....
coffee grind fine or coarse? - live on coffee