Set The Coffee Machine Correctly: You Have to Pay Attention to This

Set the coffee machine correctly: The first steps

If you buy a fully automatic coffee machine, the operating instructions for correctly setting the device can be very extensive and overwhelm the user. With the help of a few tips, you can easily do this.

• Setting the degree of grinding: Basically, you always have to consider that every different machine has slight differences in the menu, the wheels, and the buttons. This is up to the manufacturer. However, the basic parameters are identical and thus give you a good orientation. It is important that you adjust the coffee machine individually to your needs.
• The first parameter that you can choose is the degree of grinding. How many different levels are available to you varies from machine to machine. Take a look at the operating instructions for your machine and set the degree of grinding as finely as possible the first time you use it. The brewing temperature should ideally be 94° Celsius.
• The degree of grinding determines how tightly the coffee powder is pressed into the puck. This can usually be set on a small wheel in the fully automatic coffee machines. Make sure that you only set the degree of grinding when the grinder is actually running. Otherwise, the machine can be overwhelmed and quickly break down.
• Filling the machine: When filling the machine for the first time, you should use water and a relatively large amount of coffee. It’s best to use industrial beans for tuning so you don’t waste good beans. Now draw off espresso a few times until the degree of grinding is set.
• Choice of coffee: In order to get the highest quality coffee from your machine, you should use high-quality and strongly aromatic coffee beans afterward.
• You can decide exactly which coffee beans you want to use. You have the choice between different roasts and tasting notes such as chocolate-almond or caramel.

Further steps for setting up the machine

If you have set the grinding degree correctly and the right beans are ready, you can start enjoying the coffee after these steps.

• The basis for all other coffee creations is the espresso. It is, therefore, best to set this setting on your fully automatic machine.
• The next step is to adjust the dosage of the coffee. This depends on how intense the coffee tastes: the fully automatic coffee machines usually have a “coffee strength” control.
• The weaker you choose the strength, the less ground coffee the machine uses to make the coffee. If you like intense coffee, you should rather turn the regulator too “strong”.
• Next, you should check the amount of water: the default setting is often not optimal. You can use the quantities of 27 ml for an espresso and 90 ml for a caffé crema as a guide.
• Now set the throughput time as well. A throughput time of 27 seconds is usually aimed for, so that all aromas can develop ideally and you get the best possible coffee.
• The throughput time cannot be set manually. You can only achieve the recommended value by trying out and regularly optimizing the degree of grinding and the amount of coffee.

Possible errors in the coffee machine

Even after setting it up, it can happen that you have overlooked a step and the coffee does not have an intense taste. Possible sources of error could be:

• A grind setting that is too coarse or setting the grind setting while the coffee maker was switched off.
• Too little coffee powder: As a result, the coffee usually tastes rather watery.
• A too large reference amount: If the amount of water is set too high, it can happen that the coffee is much too weak.
• Cheap, non-aromatic coffee beans were bought.
• A brewing temperature that is too high or too low: the aroma of the beans can only develop optimally if you have set the ideal brewing temperature.
• You did not select the espresso setting as the basis for the first draws.
• You haven’t cleaned the coffee machine for a long time. Only regular and thorough cleaning of the coffee machine can ensure that the quality of the coffee is not changed.
• You left the coffee beans in the machine for too long, causing them to lose their aroma. So always make sure you have fresh beans and use them up as soon as possible.