![]() ![]() Breville Barista Pro: I loved working with the Breville Barista Express, but it boasts a number of features I found unnecessary for everyday use and preferred using my own grinder versus the built-in grinder on the machine.Serious Eats / Ashley Rodriguez The Competition Instead of a general “citrus acidity,” with the Gaggia, I was able to get really specific notes, like orange with a sweetness like milk chocolate from the blended coffee, and cherry and candy sweetness from the Guatemalan one. There was also a level of nuance I couldn’t find in other espressos. ![]() Most of the machines were able to achieve some level of balance and acidity, but this is the only espresso in which I managed get sweetness out of the coffee. Did it produce the best espresso we had on any of these machines? Yes. To get the water to the temperature I wanted, I waited until the machine was fully heated (which is indicated by the second light on the three-button interface turning off), purged water until the light came back on, and then waited 30 seconds. The Gaggia has a single boiler and tends to run hot the very first shot of espresso I pulled was really bitter and strange. What we didn’t like: We talked about temperature surfing earlier-and this is a machine that needs it. But when the pressure moves above nine bars, the water starts to compact the coffee grounds in the puck, which slows down the rate at which the water flows through the puck, and the flavor of the espresso is consequently worse. Most tasters will find that the flavor of the espresso gets better with each shot up until you reach nine bars, because as the pressure goes up, the water passes through the tamped coffee grounds in the espresso puck faster and faster. This is because, as 2007 World Barista Champion James Hoffmann recently explained, nine bars is the optimal pressure for espresso, a fact that can be demonstrated by simply pulling a series of shots, starting at three bars of pressure and gradually increasing the amount of pressure with each shot. If you ever have a chance to check out a commercial espresso machine at a coffee shop, nine times out of ten those machines are set to exert pressure at nine bars. ![]() Flush your machine with clean water 3-4 times to avoid a sour aftertaste in your espresso.One of the features we paid close attention to is pressure, since the amount of pressure with which water is passed through coffee grounds is an essential part of the process of making espresso if you’re not incorporating pressure into your brewing, you’re essentially just making strong drip coffee.Avoid using vinegar if your machine has an aluminum heating block-the acetic acid in white vinegar can cause potential damage by eroding the interior components! X Trustworthy Source Consumer Reports Nonprofit organization dedicated to consumer advocacy and product testing Go to source.You can use vinegar to descale, remove coffee residue, and disinfect your coffee machine.Run as many cycles as possible until the tank is empty. Then put all its parts together and fill the water tank with half water and half vinegar. You can wash all its parts and dry them. ![]() If you do not have distilled water and your coffee machine already has some build-up, you can use vinegar. The best way to prevent your coffee maker from building up calcium deposits is to use only distilled water.For the solution, mix equal parts distilled white vinegar and water. In general, vinegar is a safe descaling solution, but it’s always best to read the instruction and/or safety manual of your machine. There’s a lot of controversy on whether you should clean your espresso machine with vinegar. Check your machine’s instructions before using vinegar. ![]()
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