How to get good espresso from Cuisinart EM-100
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DavidB
- Posts: 17
- Joined: 10 years ago
In case you saw my recent post in the buying advice forum asking about single boiler espresso machines from Ascaso and LeLit to replace my intro machine (a Cuisinart EM-100), I decided that I'd temporarily forgo the espresso machine upgrade in favor of buying a Baratza Preciso grinder and making a minor mod to the Cuisinart (if it can be called that). Namely, I replaced the portafilter baskets that came with my Cuisinart with Breville single walled baskets (part # SWF100, fits the Cuisinart portafilter perfectly) and a bought an amazing 1lb solid metal 51mm tamp from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B70 ... refresh_T1).
I'm happy to report that the espresso out of the Cuisinart is like night and day! Any Cuisinart EM-100 owners out there are highly encouraged to make this inexpensive mod.
A few things worth pointing out:
- with the OEM portafilter baskets, the grind wasn't a huge factor in the quality of the extraction. With the Breville baskets, it's huge, so make sure you have a decent grinder capable of producing a true espresso grind.
- when I tried using the new 1lb tamp without the new baskets, I easily choked the machine. Even just resting the tamp on the coffee dose without applying any additional pressure was enough to cause the machine to choke! So don't use the heavy tamp until you have new single-walled baskets.
- I long since gave up on using the EM-100 to steam milk. Others have reported good results, but I never have gotten them I believe because I just can't get sufficient steam pressure built up. Instead, I use a Nespresso Aeroccino Plus to foam milk. This means that the EM-100 is a dedicated espresso machine and there is no longer any need to wait for the boiler to heat up to streaming temp from brew temp before steaming milk.
- The deadband on the EM-100 is pretty big. To get good extractions, I've found I need to let it go through at least one ( but preferably two) full heating cycles. When I'm ready to brew (after the red light has gone off, turned on, and turned off again), I start brewing the instant the red light turns off, i.e. When the machine is at the top of its deadband. I don't know what temperature the water is, but I can definitely taste the difference between espresso brewed at this point in the heating cycle and espresso brewed after the red light has been off for a minute or two
Anyhow, the point of this post is the EM-100 is definitely capable of brewing better espresso than you get out of the box, so owners shouldn't be discouraged. At some point I'll probably catch upgraditis, but for now I'm satiated
I'm happy to report that the espresso out of the Cuisinart is like night and day! Any Cuisinart EM-100 owners out there are highly encouraged to make this inexpensive mod.
A few things worth pointing out:
- with the OEM portafilter baskets, the grind wasn't a huge factor in the quality of the extraction. With the Breville baskets, it's huge, so make sure you have a decent grinder capable of producing a true espresso grind.
- when I tried using the new 1lb tamp without the new baskets, I easily choked the machine. Even just resting the tamp on the coffee dose without applying any additional pressure was enough to cause the machine to choke! So don't use the heavy tamp until you have new single-walled baskets.
- I long since gave up on using the EM-100 to steam milk. Others have reported good results, but I never have gotten them I believe because I just can't get sufficient steam pressure built up. Instead, I use a Nespresso Aeroccino Plus to foam milk. This means that the EM-100 is a dedicated espresso machine and there is no longer any need to wait for the boiler to heat up to streaming temp from brew temp before steaming milk.
- The deadband on the EM-100 is pretty big. To get good extractions, I've found I need to let it go through at least one ( but preferably two) full heating cycles. When I'm ready to brew (after the red light has gone off, turned on, and turned off again), I start brewing the instant the red light turns off, i.e. When the machine is at the top of its deadband. I don't know what temperature the water is, but I can definitely taste the difference between espresso brewed at this point in the heating cycle and espresso brewed after the red light has been off for a minute or two
Anyhow, the point of this post is the EM-100 is definitely capable of brewing better espresso than you get out of the box, so owners shouldn't be discouraged. At some point I'll probably catch upgraditis, but for now I'm satiated
