Why does my espresso machine produce the occassional silty/gritty coffee?
Saturday, July 3rd, 2010
keith asked:
I have a Kenwood Cafe Retro espresso machine and it occassionally produces a really silty gritty coffee in which some of the coffee ground has made it into the cup, thus deeming it undrinkable. I make sure I tighten the arm tightly to maintain a good seal and I compact down the coffee ground nicely. This probably happens once every 5 coffees and is very annoying. Is it a problem that can be resolved? Am I doing something wrong or is my machine beginning to give up? I have asked a similar question before but did not get any useful answers, thus I am asking again.
Hope someone can help.
In response to your question, I have never really cleaned it. However about 1 month ago I did run vinegar infused water through the system countless times which did not seem to yeild results. However if I leave the machine unused for a week or two it seems to produce an AMAZING coffee and then it would go tempramental after that. I would love to know what I am doing wrong or indeed whether the machine is failing. I’d also love to know simply why this happens. Could I just need a replacement metal filter??
In response to JSin, I use Illy and Lavazza ground coffee. I apreciate your answer as it seems likely that the pressure is to blame, and you’ve allowed me to realise this. I also apreciate you looking for reviews of the machine. I am planning on getting a Delonghi espresso machine as a replacement. Are they generally good?
Tucker
I have a Kenwood Cafe Retro espresso machine and it occassionally produces a really silty gritty coffee in which some of the coffee ground has made it into the cup, thus deeming it undrinkable. I make sure I tighten the arm tightly to maintain a good seal and I compact down the coffee ground nicely. This probably happens once every 5 coffees and is very annoying. Is it a problem that can be resolved? Am I doing something wrong or is my machine beginning to give up? I have asked a similar question before but did not get any useful answers, thus I am asking again.
Hope someone can help.
In response to your question, I have never really cleaned it. However about 1 month ago I did run vinegar infused water through the system countless times which did not seem to yeild results. However if I leave the machine unused for a week or two it seems to produce an AMAZING coffee and then it would go tempramental after that. I would love to know what I am doing wrong or indeed whether the machine is failing. I’d also love to know simply why this happens. Could I just need a replacement metal filter??
In response to JSin, I use Illy and Lavazza ground coffee. I apreciate your answer as it seems likely that the pressure is to blame, and you’ve allowed me to realise this. I also apreciate you looking for reviews of the machine. I am planning on getting a Delonghi espresso machine as a replacement. Are they generally good?
Tucker