Ratios/Recipes

• Americano: 2 shots espresso, and add hot water to the taste strength desired
• Caffè Latte Macchianto; Steamed milk "marked" with a little (half shot) espresso ["Macchiato" simply means 'marked' or 'stained']
• Caffè Latte (cup)/Café au Lait (glass)/Café con Leche/Kawa Biała/Milchkaffee/Koffie Verkeerd/ Café com Leite/Coffee with Milk/: 2 shots espresso, 6 oz steamed milk, dollop of foam (2 parts milk to 1 part foam)
• Café Macchiato (Original): 1 shot espresso "marked" or "stained" with a little (say, 1 teaspoon) steamed milk, with or without a small amount of top foam to mark
• Café Macchiato (Recent US version): 2 shots espresso, 2 shots steamed milk and "marked" with foam
• Café Macchiato caldo: 2 shots espresso, "marked" hot milk
• Café Macchiato freddo: 2 shots espresso, "marked" cold milk
• Caffe Mocha: variation of the latte but with chocolate syrup added before adding the steamed milk, topped with whipped cream and sometimes chocolate sprinkles.
• Cappuccino: 2 shots espresso, 4 oz steamed milk, fill with foam (2 parts foam to 1 part milk)
• Cappucinella: 1 shot espresso with steamed milk, Nutella® & foam
• Espresso con Pana: 1 shot espresso, whipped cream on top
• Ice Coffee: 1 espresso shot shaken with cold milk & ice, brown sugar, served in tall glass
• Irish Coffee: 3 cl. Irish whisky, 1 shot espresso, brown sugar & whipped cream
• Mexican Coffee: 3 cl. whisky, 2 cl. tequila, 1 shot espresso, brown sugar & whipped cream
• Ristretto: (short shot) A short pull of about .75 ounce. The restricted pull ensures that only the best qualities of the coffee are extracted and not the bitter elements.
• Double Ristretto: same as a ristretto but double the coffee grinds and double the volume.
• Double Ristretto Americano: double ristretto in a mug, then filled with hot water yields a mug of about the body of a good french pressed mug, but with much more flavor and creama.


• Flavored Lattes and Cappuccinos: There are many high quality flavored syrups on the market that can flavor any kind of coffee drink. Some of the more common flavors are vanilla, hazelnut, Irish crème, caramel, peppermint, and butter rum. Even some fruit flavors do well in coffee. Just add the syrup to the espresso, stir, and add steamed milk and stir once more. If you like, top with whipped cream and/or sprinkles.

• Check water reservoir (too little water is indicated by a red light next to right gauge)
• Check steam valve open (to let air escape during initial heating)
• Set switch to position I (green light on right will come, and stay on) until boiler is filled (when the noise stops, or no noise, it is full)
• Set switch to position II, amber light near left gauge indicates heating element is on
• Close steam valve when escaping steam is heard (up to five minutes after heat is applied)
• Amber light goes off when set boiler pressure (1.0 bar) is reached
• Let the machine stabilize at temperature (30 to 45 minutes)
• Pull blank double shot into serving cup to heat the cup and cool the group to brew temp (start with about a ten second cooling flush....must NOT be spitting steam, should run free and smoothly). Dry the screen (so no moisture hit the coffee grounds prior to beginning the pull).

Fill/Tamp portafilter

• fill basket with correctly and freshly ground coffee
• about 14 to 18 grams (2 scoops/half ounce) coffee for double shot
• about 8.5 to 9 grams (1 scoop/quarter ounce) for a single shot
• level coffee in portafilter, to fill all, and fill voids
• 30 pounds pressure 1st tamp
• Gently tap side (NOT with tamp's working surface) to dislodge loose coffee around the edge (if any) and then tamp at 20-25 pounds, ending with a twist to polish puck's surface
• With palm of hand, clean all ground coffee from rim surface of the group handle's basket (to protect gasket)

Ready to pull?

• Check boiler pressure (left gauge) at 0.8 to 1.1 after preheating
• Lift handle to pre-and start timer
• When coffee starts flowing, look at the pump pressure (right gauge)--perfect diffusion pressure is between 8.6 and 9.2 bar [the gauge reads one bar higher than what is actually INSIDE the filter... so, 'perfect' on the gauge is 9.6 to 10.2]. Higher means [quote from Vibiemme Domobar Super's user guide] "coffee is too much dense while if it is lower means coffee has been ground too much thin." which i interpret to mean: if the pressure is too high, grind more coarse; if the pressure is too low, grind less coarse.
• Steam/Froth/Stretch milk while pulling shot (about half a turn counter-clockwise gets the right amount of steam). Immediately after stretching, open valve to clean out any milk which may have been sucked into the wand and wipe steam wand with moist cloth.

Timing

• Pull single shot between 19 to 22 seconds.
• 1.5 ounce shot in about 30
• Double shot in 38 to 40 seconds
• Stop at expiration of max time or volume. Sooner if/when crema "blonds". (Blond: A white ring begins to form on top of the crema, STOP the brew. All the good oils have been extracted and blonding marks the beginnings of over-extraction which tastes bitter and acidic.)
• Ideally, blonding will occur at the desired volume and time. Adjust grind to meet timing. (That is, do not use more/less coffee or tamp harder/lighter. Instead, grind finer to slow the pull, or coarser to extend it to meet volume target on time.)

Reading the shot/puck

• Short (volume with full time) shot, use coarser grind
• Long (volume with full time), use finer grind
• Bitter: (burned by over time) use coarser grind, or accept less volume (and stay in time)
• Soupy puck: grind is too fine, grind more coarse
• Thin/watery taste: low bar (under packed/underground); low temp; insufficient time

• Begin with 230 - 235 C° for 17 minutes
• Use 250 - 300 grams green beans
• Listen for first and second crack.
• Immediately on hearing second crack push to "Cool" even if not yet to 17 minutes. And, reduce starting temperature next roast.
• If second crack consistently comes before 17 minutes, reduce temperature to 220 - 225 C° at first crack.
• If second crack hasn't come by 17 minutes, then extend the time some.
• Expect color to darken even after "Cool" button is pushed