Single Boiler Espresso Machines: Temperature Surfing & Steaming

[oafaloaf]

I am trying to figure out how this coresponds to the starbucks sirena, I'll probably be calling you guys

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@oafaloaf The Sirena is different since it uses a thermoblock on the steam side; not sure if you can do this same functionality on that machine - Kat

[ersia87]

How do I know wether there is water in my boiler or not?



[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@ersia87 If you pull water through the steam wand, you're good to go. - Kat

[FaranGitty]

excellent info.

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@FaranGitty Thanks!

[giuseppes04]

You guys are great. I just purchased a VIA venezia and watch your videos to learn how to make good use of it. It is my first espresso machine so hopefully it will be good.

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@giuseppes04 It's a great choice! Hope you are enjoying it so far :) - Kat

[shesdoinit]

If you don't plan to use the steamer, should you still temperature surf for just brewing?

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@shesdoinit You need to temp surf whenever the machine has been sitting on for awhile; this is not about switching temps but ensuring you have a good idea of where the temp is at in its heating cycle. - Kat

[faithlan22]

hi!!just want to ask what is the temperature of single shot espresso?thank you!!

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@faithlan22 You want to brew somewhere between 195F - 205F, that is idea for coffee. The sweet spot for different coffees will vary, but will be somewhere in that range. - Kat

[kragier]

I need to watch this video again, it is 1 AM, and I am impaired from being tired. I never really understood temperature surfing the whole way. When I wake up, hopefully I will be able to comprehend information...

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

@kragier I great way to understand it is to watch our video on bi-metal thermostats; that will give you an idea of the technical side of what you're working with/against while temperature surfing. Let me know if you need more explanation, etc. :) - Kat

[CoughEGuy]

I love the videos and have been very helpful; is it possible to pull a shot on a Breville Cafe Modena? And, use grounds from a Jura Capresso Infinity? The reason I ask is that I own these pieces and want to know if I'm pulling shots the correct way. Also, do you need to tamp with this machine? Anything you can do would help tremendously.

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

Sure, we can try it out for you -- I will put it on our to-do list for this week. I am still experimenting with the Brevilles so hopefully we'll have more answers soon. - Kat

[CoughEGuy]

That would be greatly appreciated. I can't wait to see it for I love watching your videos; for me, its like visiting disneyland.

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

The happiest place on earth!!! At least the perkiest, anyway ;) - Kat

[MrAirshot]

hey kat gail .

so eventually i bought the gaggia new baby

she looks like the one on the other video here

so can you make a video for this action with the gaggia new baby .

thanks

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

If we have one in the store, I will do one for this. It's going to be the same process with your machine, just watch for the ready lights going on/off according to your user manual. I'll post something up here if we have a model we can demo. Thanks! - Kat

[demchinsky]

Hi Gail and Kat! Love you videos... been spending hours going through them all... just want to say thanks and to give a little tip for Gaggia/Saeco users who have the same turbo frother nozzle as shown on this machine.. the milk texturing is MUCH much better if you take the turbo frother extention OFF and just leave the little bit of black plastic with narrow nozzle on. Thanks again for your time and effort in producing these excellent videos! ~Steve

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

Steve - thanks for the tip! We are going to experiment with plugging up the air induction hole to see if we can get better results, because without the sleeve the wand is so short! Perhaps there will be a how-to video on here in the near future :) Thanks for the feedback on the videos - glad you've been enjoying them! - Kat

[kenw30]

hey Kat, how long do you run hot water out of the wand ? like 10 seconds or so? and right after that u brew the shot?

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

You run it out until you see the coffee cup light go off, then hear the pump kick in. Then close up the wand and let it heat up until the coffee light comes back on. How long this takes will depend on where it's at in its temperature cycle -- if you're doing right after steaming, it will be a fair amount of time (15 or so seconds maybe) and if you're just temperature surfing to pull a shot independent of steaming, it would vary. - Kat

[xxshane3000xx]

You two make a great video crew and entertaining to watch. Just one thing..how come the video quality is inconsistent b/w the videos?

Anyways, thanks for the vid's - Very educational and interesting at the same time!

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

We shoot and process the same way each time; I think the quality issues might be due to how YouTube processes it on their side, unfortunately. I also notice that they're a little choppier for the first few hours and then seem to get better. - Kat

[xxshane3000xx]

Gotcha. That makes sense. Maybe I shouldn't jump the gun to watch your videos and give youtube a little time to process. Thanks for the reply.

[SeattleCoffeeGear]

It's good to know you can't wait to watch them! :) Thanks for your feedback and I am glad you're enjoying the videos. Let us know if you have any suggestions for videos that you'd like to see - Kat