me too. Great video.

Just a question if that’s ok? I’m using the double basket and have brew set to double shot. Do I need to press brew twice, or does the double setting brew that consistency? Hope that makes sense!

Glad it was helpful! I have a video on the steam wand in the video description ;)

Glad it’s helpful, the instructions with the machine are surprisingly bad!

@@davewellscoffee I think they just assume people know the technical details required to make quality coffee. I kept my grind too fine, getting wet on top, cause the flow was too fast. I just run it for 26 sec instead of 30 sec. Perfect.

Glad you’ve got it sussed! The manual milk is not too hard, it’s just a case of getting the knack! I have another video which should point you in the right direction…

@@davewellscoffee I watched the other vid! Very helpful. I'm still occasionally getting the grinder make a horrendous jamming noise when getting my 18g. Currently it's set to 9. I've cleaned the burrs etc.. I'm not sure why it does that but its seeming to happen more and more frequently. This is exactly what happened to the first machine and then Currys replaced it. Have you experienced anything like that at all or anyone else?

@@leeeastwood7531 a horrendous jamming noise doesn’t sound right at all. I’ve never experienced this, and it sounds like a problem. First thing I’d check, is that the burr was fully locked in when you replaced it- if there’s any leftover coffee bits in the grinder, these can get in the way and prevent the burr locking properly when you twist it back into position. Whilst checking that, I’d also check that the metal handle which locks the position of the burr is inserted correctly. If something’s not locked in right, that could easily be the cause. Assuming that everything looks correct however, try to get a video of it occurring (which can be hard if it’s intermittent I know) and send it to Sage/Breville customer support. If you can’t get a video, I’d email them , describing it in as much detail as possible. If it breaks and it comes to getting replacements- going back to the shop where you bought it is always the easiest and quickest in terms of sorting it- they can deal with Breville on their own time. If you’re out of the time window for returns though, then the Sage/Breville customer service is the next port of call. Always worth a google search beforehand in case there’s a quick fix, but it doesn’t sound like anything I’ve seen I’m afraid.

It’s a great machine. Take a little time to get it set up properly and you’ll be making better coffee than your local café. Enjoy!

Awesome, glad you’re happy with the results- You can’t beat a good cup of coffee!

Not sure if this helps but you can buy dairy free barista style milks now in the long life section. My local Morrisons has them. They don’t foam as well as the coffee shop ones but they do cream/foam better than the usual dairy free milks.

Yeah mine was like that, I had to take the top burr down two notches to get it in the middle of the range when it arrived, but since then it’s been perfect. Must have got through a whole bag of coffee before it was just right. Once you have one coffee properly dialled in though you’ll find it’s much easier with others, it only takes small adjustments after that.

@@davewellscoffee Thank you for the video. I have mine since yesterday. I read that a lot of you changed the top burr. Can you explain how you are doing this? Thank you!

@@nickvanr3720 I’ll put up a video soon. Basically, take off the bean hopper (ideally empty, but the beans should stay in it if it’s full) by turning the locking piece in the middle anti-clockwise, brush out any residual coffee (use a hoover if there’s a lot) then lift up the little metal handle on the grinder and rotate anti clockwise. The whole top burr section will then lift out. Remove the metal handle by just pulling one side out, then you can rotate the inner section round. There are markings to show what setting you’re on; smaller numbers are finer, larger numbers are coarser. Try adjusting by just one or two notches, as each makes a fairly big adjustment. Then clip the handle back on, replace the top section, put the hopper back on, and voila! You have adjusted the whole range up or down.

@@davewellscoffee thank you! I am going to check this

Danke Kumpel

Perfekt. Gruss aus der Schweiz 👍🏻😃

Make the grind slightly finer (smaller number)- you may need to increase the time to get the same dose. 11.5 seconds is quite a bit quicker than mine does it. It won’t take a huge change if you’re getting 48g in 30s to get what you want. When you’re near the 36g point, you could adjust the brew time by a second or two either way as well.

@@davewellscoffee thanks!

Thanks- Here is a link to my milk steaming video 👍 kzfaq.info/get/bejne/papnbMd02NreemQ.htmlsi=whM1qvS5m7CRy6BM

If it tastes great, you’re winning. You could maybe add an extra 0.5 - 1.0g to the dose; that would likely make the brew time take slightly longer. You could possibly go down another step on the grind size too - ideally, if you achieve your extraction in 25-35s, you’re likely to be getting a good balanced shot. In terms of your settings being different to mine, don’t pay any attention to that - each machine is different, and I had to adjust the internal burr setting on mine, so the numbers will be different to yours. If you’re getting a good brew ratio and it tastes good, you’re doing ok.

1. True, but if you use them quickly, it’s often more convenient in the hopper. 2. This machine sadly doesn’t allow you to vary pre-infusion, and only shows the timer from the start. I’m considering another video about useful vs waste of money accessories, so might include a WDT etc in it. Thanks for the feedback 👍

Hi Amr, there’s probably a few things going on here. 1. The coffee clumping together could be a sign that the grind is slightly too fine, but also some beans are just more prone to it than others, especially if they’re quite oily. You can get a needle distributor quite cheap on Amazon which will help break up these clumps. 2. Again, a watery puck could possibly be an indication that the grind is slightly too fine. How much espresso are you getting out, how much coffee are you putting in, and what is the brew time? You may want to reduce the grind size very slightly, possibly increase the dose slightly whilst trying to keep roughly a 2:1 brew ratio in a time of 25-35s. It is worth using Lavazza beans whilst setting up the machine in my opinion, as they’re cheap, consistent and not too oily. Once you’ve got them dialled in, it should only take small adjustments to get any other beans dialled in.

Thanks Doreen, glad it was helpful. I’m in the process of making a few more videos, it’s just taken me a while to get round to it. Next one will be specifically a flat white

If it’s taking 25s, I’d try reducing the grind size. If you keep the dose the same, a smaller grind size will result in less out in a given time. Reduce the grind size gradually until you get a 2:1 ratio in that time

Firstly, get your espresso nailed- you’re going to use the same settings for an americano. The ‘long black’ recipe built in is basically an americano; if you press and hold it on the menu, you can edit the parameters- set it so that they’re the same as your espresso. An Americano is traditionally about 2oz coffee (a double shot) and 2-3oz water. You can preset how much water will be added, so have a trial and error with the cups you’re going to be using. Make sure you leave room to add milk/cream if that’s your preference. Don’t be tempted to let the espresso run longer to increase the volume- you’re better adding more water. The latter part of the espresso pour is the more bitter flavours, and will overpower the drink if you run it too long

In short, no, it’s not really a big problem. The reason it should be around the 7 second mark is due to the fact that you can’t vary the pre-infusion time on this machine (where lower pressure water is used to start the infusion before the full pressure is put through to extract the espresso). In all honesty, the most important thing is getting a good extraction ratio; dropping a second early won’t be the end of the world. That said, if you add an extra half a gram to your basket, you might just sort that out too.

Hi Yumi. A 4:1 extraction ratio which is what you’re getting is about typical for a lungo (‘long’ shot), so yes, it’s pretty normal. Having said that, you’re still getting it quite quickly, so I’d maybe try making the grind slightly finer. If you run out of room to adjust, take a look at my video on adjusting the top burr. The single basket is quite hard to get right, so you’re doing a good job. Don’t worry about the pour starting slightly early with the single basket; it always does.

If you’re getting 40g out from 18g in, over 30s and the result tastes good, I wouldn’t really change it. You could maybe stop the brew a second early if you want. With regards to the amount out, there’s no right or wrong, it’s what you want to achieve and what you like the taste of. The ratio of 2:1 is widely regarded to give a well balanced flavour profile, but this is fairly generic and depends on the specific coffee, the roast the shot volume etc. Extracting for longer will give more of the bitter flavours in the coffee. If you are going to deliberately increase your output, I’d consider reducing the grind, which would under extract at a 2:1 ratio, but would balance out of your going for a larger output. First of all, I’d try adding water to what you have currently, see how it is, and consider where to go from there- if your americano is too watery, try reducing the grind by a notch and extracting for longer. Whatever you do, only make small changes, or at least note what settings you currently have, as it sounds like you have it set up fairly well.

Start by putting exactly 18g in the basket, set the brew time to about 50 seconds so it won’t automatically stop too soon. Then, with your cup on your scales, hit brew, and manually stop it by pressing the button again when you have poured 36g. *Note how long that took* However long that took, subtract it from 30 (so if it took 19s for example, that would be 11). Whatever figure this gives you, half it (so we’ll round to 6 in the above example). Reduce your grind size by this amount (or if it took over 30s, you’d add it- mostly it’s too quick though). So if you were using grind size 12, you’d adjust to size 6 in this example. Repeat with this new setting, noting that the time it takes to grind 18g will be longer at finer settings. This should take closer to 30s, so your next adjustment will be smaller. Once it’s taking between 27-33s to pour 36g of liquid coffee, you’ve pretty much got it nailed. You can then make minor adjustments through experimentation to achieve the best taste. Note that if you run out of room to make the grind size smaller or bigger, you may need to change the burr setting (see my other video on that). Once that’s done, If you’re not getting decent crema, it’s probably down to the beans- try some freshly roasted ones

I can’t quite remember what this one was- it might have been the Columbia el Carmen from Rave Coffee. I’m currently trying some local roasteries. The single shot is fiddly to keep consistent, as any tiny changes are a bigger percentage of the coffee, so it amplifies anything that’s wrong- the easiest thing to do for a single shot is to collect 2 singles separately from the 2 spouts. This can be wasteful of your only making one drink, so if you do need to use the single basket, make sure you have the double shot dialled in nicely, half the amount of coffee and add an extra 0.5-1g then use the same brew time. You’ll have to play with this a bit- as I said, it’s a fiddle to get it consistent, but it is less wasteful.

Sounds like you’ve done a pretty decent job dialling it in. I wouldn’t make any drastic changes to your settings. For the coffee you’re using, if ‘tangy’ is kind of sour acidic, then you’re possibly a little under extracted. You could try going a little longer on the brew time to increase your ratio to more of a 2.5:1. Another option would be to make your grind a notch finer. I’d try the longer brew first, but only change one at a time. Some coffee shops have beans roasted for them specially, but don’t always know the exact date (or don’t want to tell you). Some of my favourite beans are from a local shop like this, but I always try to use them quickly. I would say that yes, it would be worth trying some from a uk roaster where you know the roasting date- as much for comparison as anything else. Your tangy taste could well be the beans, especially if it’s a lighter roast. Try a medium- medium dark roast- this will likely have a slightly bolder and possibly more bitter taste. When you start with a new bean, go for 18g dose with the same settings that worked previously and adjust from there. Even your first shot should be drinkable, but it won’t take much to get the best out of it. One final note- make sure you have fired some water through before pulling your first shot (you could also turn up the brew temperature in the menu a notch)- that will help to avoid under extraction.

I think almost all of the people that have this issue just switch the machine on and put a shot straight away. The boiler heats up in just 3 seconds, but the rest of the machine is obviously still cold, which is what causes the issue. Simply pulling a dummy shot of water before putting your first espresso should solve this issue. There are also temperature options which you can set in the menu to adjust the water temperature.

@@davewellscoffee Thanks!

All the ‘recipes’ annoyingly use the same espresso settings, so if you dial in the machine on one recipe, the same grind and brew settings are carried across to others (just the milk settings, and in the case of a long black, the water settings vary between recipes). With that in mind, it’s easiest to adjust your machine using the ‘espresso’ recipe until you’re happy with it. Aim initially to extract double the weight of espresso as ground coffee in 25-35s. Then go back into your long black recipe. Set the water (which comes out before the espresso) so that it fills up your cup to the amount you’re happy with, leaving room for the espresso on top. What you’ve been doing so far, is essentially doing a double brew with the same coffee, which is actually fine, and in fact some people prefer a 4:1 or even higher extraction ratio in an americano. It would be better to do this by simply increasing the brew time rather than pouring a second shot through the puck, so you could just add 15s or so to the brew time. Bear in mind that the machine will carry that into the other recipes, so you will need to reset it when you make a different drink. Also bear in mind that extracting for longer will give more of the bitter flavours of the coffee. If you do want a longer extraction, you can reduce the grind size slightly (again, this setting does carry across into the other recipes), which will help reduce over extraction of pulling a longer shot.

So you’re not a million miles out. Yes, I would try reducing the grind size by 1 steep at a time (measuring your coffee weight, because less comes out at the finer settings). Re. The crema, this is more likely too be due to older or badly stored coffee, but some roasts naturally don’t produce as much crema. Try getting some freshly roasted beans and see how that goes (you will have to tweak your settings again with the new beans- start from what worked before and make small adjustments).

@@davewellscoffee I'm just getting started myself - so take this with a grain of salt, but it seems if you use a darker, oily roast, you will have the problem Raina mentions. Switched to a freshly roasted medium espresso roast and it's made a huge improvement.

@@22dpeters i’d tend to agree with you. I find it’s best to avoid really oily beans altogether. As well as giving sub-optimal espresso, the oil gets all over the grinder and is a pain to clean

Each machine is different, so my settings won’t necessarily work for you. My burr is on 4, but the important bit is getting the size right for your particular coffee on your machine. Get it to a 2:1 extraction ratio and it should be good. The other thing that makes a big difference is how fresh the coffee is. Old coffee will not give you a decent crema.

It sounds as though you want the grind a bit finer, so you could really do with taking the top burr down about 2 steps (as described in the comments yesterday- I’ll put a video on before too long). That will give you the ability to grind it finer, which I would think will sort your problem. After adjusting the burr, you will need to set up your grind level again- try starting on something like 11 and adjust it from there.

If you want a single shot, the easiest way is to make a double and collect half from one side of the spout. This is slightly wasteful- if you’re going to drink lots of singles I’d still set it up with a double, then half your dose, but then add about 1g as the single basket seems to hold slightly more than half (so your 10g is probably about spot on). It will start pouring at a different time with the single basket, the flow will be very slow and any inconsistencies will be multiplied, which is why I recommend going with the double, at least to start with. Don’t be afraid to adjust your grind finer- it varies between coffees, and I have had some good results at 25s, although usually a few extra seconds makes an improvement. You definitely don’t want to be taking any less than 20s or you’ll definitely be a bit under extracted.

Hi. First off, are you using the double or single basket? The single will always drop earlier than 7 secs, so start off by using the double shot basket. If you are using the double shot basket, you’ll want to make the grind a bit finer. Once you adjust the grinder, weigh the coffee, as it makes less in a given time at finer settings.

If you cant get it right by reducing the grind size (you should easily be able to slow the extraction right down by reducing grind size & get the same volume 36g for 18g coffee). The only other issue might be the beans you are using, poor quality or stale (over 1 month old or not kept in dry, dark airtight container) will be difficult to dial in. Also light roasts are more difficult to get right than darker roasts, due to the beans being harder and less easy to grind fine enough. Although I have found the Sage grinder to work well for light & dark roasts, although I have had to reduce the inner grind setting on my Impress m/c.

Mine is at 4, but required settings seem to vary between machines

Glad you have found the video useful. You’re right, you’re doing something right, and a few tweak should get you where you want to be. There are 2 ways to bring that yield closer to a 2:1 ratio. You can either reduce the grind size, or increase the dose. Both of these actions will make it harder to force water through the puck. If you increase the dose, you compound this effect by needing extra yield to maintain the same ratio. I would start by reducing the grind size by another notch. I note that it is already quite close to as fine as it will go, so it may be worth (next time you are cleaning out the bean hopper) reducing the burr setting (I have another video on that to help out). Stop your pour at 36g with this finer grind and pour yourself a shot, stopping it when you get to 36g in the cup. If this time is still below 25s, try using 18.5g and pouring 37g out. Keep making small adjustments until you’re happy. I wouldn’t go to any more than 19g in your basket; if you get that far, just reduce the grind a little more. Finally, don’t worry about the drop time for now- you’ll probably find that it will become right by itself when you get to a 2:1 brew ratio.

You won’t be tamping too hard, but if you’re applying a lot of pressure, be careful to apply it evenly straight down. A lighter tamp is better than a wonky tamp- the key is keeping it even. The crema could be due to several things, but by far the most likely thing is old beans. Try getting some freshly roasted beans and try them out within 2 weeks of the roasting date. The time it takes to start pouring isn’t as important as the ratio of weight out to weight in. Get a 2:1 ratio pouring in 25-35 seconds and you’ll be laughing.

Yep, just a damp cloth. Give it a quick wipe before you switch it off every time and don’t let filth build up.

Apparently, that one is due to the milk temperature sensor. You might be able to fix it by switching the machine off, unplugging, making sure the milk Sensor is centred and vertical, the plug back in and switch on. Not had it myself, so can’t say for certain, but worth a shot before sending it away…

There seems to be a lot of people recently with similar questions to this, making americanos . Basically, your best bet is to pull a good double shot and add water to bring it up to 300g. If you just keep pouring through the puck, you’ll end up with a really over extracted bitter coffee, which won’t be as well balanced. If you do want to make a bigger shot, can tweak the extraction ratio from 1:2 to more like 1:3 or even 1:4. I’d increase the grind size slightly if you’re going to do this. You’ll find some coffee beans work better in this lungo ratio than others, so it will be a bit trial and error.

@@davewellscoffee thanks for the detailed and quick response. The fun is in the trial and error and at this rate I should be awake for the next few days!

Lack of crema is vey likely to be due to old beans yes. Crema will get less significantly with age. Darker roasted beans also produce less crema, although there is nothing wrong with a dark roast - that’s just a taste thing.

@@davewellscoffee thank you so much! I will try that. Now if that doesn’t work would you recommend me to adjust the grind size to finer right? And what else?

I’m using Columbian beans from Rave coffee at the moment. They roast on the day of sending out, so they’re usually about 7-14 by the time I get round to using them. Ignore the grind level on my machine- it seems to vary between machines, and I had to adjust my top burr finer, so what comes out of my grinder is likely completely different to what would come out of yours. If you can get yours to grind to the right level to give you a good balanced shot then its fine 👍

@@davewellscoffee thanks I will have to try Rave. I would recommend you try square mike if you haven't already. The owner James Hoffman also does great KZfaq videos