Espresso beginner seeks guidance in making latte/cappuccinos

[gudbjargarson]

Hello everybody.

I have never been interested in coffee until recently when I decided to buy a espresso machine. I bought Ariete Retro machine for the specs and the looks and now I am in the process on learning to make good espresso. This is what I have learned but I'm not sure everything is correct so if could give me some advice it would be very appreciated.

Here is a picture of the machine if that can make it easier to give me some pointers:


1. Turn on the machine and have the empty filter ring in the machine to make it hot.
2. I have seen that when I turn on the machine the light goes off to indicate the correct temperature when it is around 95 celcius.
3. Take out the filter ring and put in one measure of coffee.
4. Push the button to make the coffee come through the filter ring.
5. Turn of the machine when the cup is half full (haven't measured how much each cup (pictured) takes).

I have noticed that the coffee is only about 10 seconds to go into the cup (I read somewhere that recommended time is 20-30 seconds). Is this something I have to worry about?

Should I always press the coffee as fast as I can into the filter ring?

Can anybody point me to a good guide in making latte/cappuccino with a machine similar to mine?

Regards,
Johann
http://joephotos.net

[HB]

I'm not familiar with that machine, it reminds me of a Francis! Francis! like the X1 reviewed on CoffeeGeek. The Getting Started section of the Resources page is your first stop. For more in-depth articles, see The Home Barista's Guide to Espresso (especially Barista Technique) and Perfecting the Naked Extraction (especially the Troubleshooting Checklist). It's a lot of reading, but the information these articles present will save you a lot of time and coffee.

[cappadoc]

It looks similar to the Espressione Cafe Retro, but I have no experience with this machine. It appears to be a single boiler. Johann, based on the specs I find online, it should be a perfectly adequate machine. Take a look at all the info on this site and others regarding basic espresso preparation. That should help.

Jeff

[gudbjargarson]

Thank you both for your replies - I will now have to do some reading and experimenting.

Cappadoc: Yes this is a single boiler machine.

Thank you both.

Regards,
Johann
http://joephotos.net