Crew Review: Saeco Talea Giro Plus

Recently, Saeco re-worked their Talea Giro superautomatic and released the ‘Plus’ version in the US. This new model includes a bi-pass doser, an upgraded grinder and some other minor functional improvements.

Watch Gail talk to us about this new version, brew some coffee and steam up some milk. Whoopee!

Crew Review: Saeco Via Venezia

With a little more sass than the Aroma — like a steam wand with more range of motion, buttons located on the front of the machine and a little drawer under the drip tray — the Via Venezia is an excellent semi-automatic that is simple and easy to use. Watch as Gail takes us through its features, brews up some coffee and froths some milk for us.

How to Change the Dosage on the Saeco Incanto Classic

If you have an Incanto Classic superautomatic espresso machine and you find that the coffee’s strength just isn’t doing it for you, it may be that the machine isn’t dosing as much coffee into your shot as you’d like. These machines can dose up to 10 grams of coffee per extraction, and you can specify the dosage range between 7 – 10 grams within the machine’s programming. Gail shows us how to do this little trick in this video.

Crew Review: La Pavoni Stradivari 16

One of the first demonstration videos we did was Gail using how to pull a shot on the La Pavoni Europiccola 8 manual/lever espresso machine, which we followed up on several months later by demonstrating that same machine’s steaming functionality.

We recently decided to take the Stradivari 16 out for a stroll to see how it compared to the other version. Watch as Gail pulls shots, steams and uses the included cappuccinatore attachment with this machine.

Crew Review: Breville Barista Express

In the vein of the old Profi Estro machines that had a grinder built into the machine, Breville recently released the Barista Express, a programmable espresso machine that has a doser grinder incorporated into it. You can select the quantity and then indicate either a double or single amount to be dispensed into the portafilter, then tamp and extract. The pressurized portafilter system makes it simple to use, and it even comes with its own magnetized tamper.

Watch Gail show us the ropes of this machine, pull some shots and steam up some milk. While the shot quality on this Breville does seem to be a bit better than the others we have tried, we still think this machine is probably best suited for latte/cappuccino drinkers and espresso shot-only or Americano drinkers will find better flavor elsewhere.

The Grind: February 2010

Seattle Coffee Gear’s monthly newsletter, The Grind, landed in an email box near you today — and if it wasn’t near enough for you to actually read it, you can do so here on the site or make sure you get up close and personal next month by signing up for future editions.

This month, we talk about the different functional types of espresso machines, include a recipe for Indochine Lemon, point you to our manufacturer manual resource on Brown Bean and introduce you to a few new products we have in the store. What you won’t see, however, is The Grind Special, which is for subscriber-eyes-only. Sign up to get that little bit o’ goodness every month.

Crew Review: Ascaso Uno Pro with PID – Round Two

We took a first look at the new Uno Pro with PID by Ascaso in December, and now that we’ve had a little bit of time to play around with it, we’re taking a second look. In this new video, Gail talks to us about programming the PID, pulls some shots, steams up some milk using the other steam wand attachment and shows us the included accessories. The jury is still out on the longevity/build quality/reliability of this machine — since it’s new on the market — but so far so good, functionality-wise.

Magical Rinza!

Not that we’re suggesting that you let your espresso machine’s steam wand get as caked up with dried milk as the wand we use in this demonstration, but if that ever is the case, Rinza is the product you should turn to for your easy cleaning needs. Gail shows us how a diluted solution of this stuff can break down the milk on even one of the gnarliest of steam wands!

Ask the Experts: Which Type of Machine is Right for Me?

Navigating the available options in the world of home espresso machines can sometimes be a little overwhelming. Functionally speaking, there are a few different basic variations:

• Manual/Lever: With these machines, you are the pump. You grind, tamp and control the pressure during the extraction. You also manage the whole steaming process.
• Semi-Automatic: Semi-automatics have 15 – 17 BAR pumps involved, which will settle down to about 9 BARs of pressure if your grind/tamp is accurate. You will grind & tamp, then initiate the shot on and off. Steaming is also up to you.
• Automatic: Still grinding, tamping and steaming on your own, but you can program these machines to dose out a specific amount of water, so it will automatically end the shot.
• Pressurized Portafilters: Automatic and semi-automatic machines can have a variation that includes a pressurized porftafilter. This makes the machine a little bit easier to use because you don’t have to be super particular about your grind and tamp.
• Pod-Friendly: Another variation of semi-automatic and automatic machines are those that allow you to use what is basically a ground coffee version of a tea bag. These single serving pods make for easy, mess-free brewing.
• Superautomatic: These machines manage the whole grind and tamp process for you, but on most of them you will still be required to steam your milk. Some of them (usually called ‘One Touch’) provide automated frothing and shot extraction into your cup at the touch of the button; others have an automated frothing system that will froth the milk separately and you can pour it into the cup after it’s automatically extracted.
• Capsule: Probably the most simple machine in terms of materials and labor, these guys use a proprietary capsule filled with pre-ground coffee and extract it at the touch of a button — no grinding and tamping. Some of them have automatic frothing options.

We asked Gail to talk to us about these different machines, why someone would want to buy a specific type and why perhaps they wouldn’t want to buy it. Hopefully, this video will function as a good primer for learning the basic functional differences and help you as you research which machine best suits your needs.

Recipe: Candied Orange Mocha

We really adore chocolate and orange together — the flavors hearken back to our wayward youth and hanging around the neighborhood bakery, begging for the little chocolate orange rinds lined up on the shelves. Our nostalgia had driven us to experiment with chocolate sauce and orange syrup before, but we were always DENIED because the high citric acid level in the orange syrup caused the milk to curdle.

Enter a rather dashing young tramp: Monin’s Candied Orange Premium Gourmet Syrup, which is specifically designed to be used in drinks that also contain dairy — curdle-free! This really is a red orange letter day.

Ingredients

• 3/4 oz Monin Candied Orange Premium Gourmet Syrup
• 1/4 oz Monin Gourmet Dark Chocolate Sauce
• 2 shots of espresso
• 8 oz of milk

Directions

1. Combine syrup, sauce and milk together, mix well
2. Steam/froth milk until it reaches your desired temperature
3. Pull shots into a pre-warmed cup
4. Top with steamed chocolate-orange milk
5. Enjoy it, okay?