[snerkler]

Hi,

I'm new to espresso machines after having a Tassimo for several years and have just bought a Smeg Espresso Machine and I'm not convinced the coffee is getting as hot as it should. I have followed the instructions as per the manual on how to set the coffee temperature and set it to max, however I would say my coffee is warm at best, for example I can stick my finger straight into the coffee after brewing and it only feels 'warm', and my hands are usually not that tolerant of heat, unlike my wife who has asbestos hands. The only way I can get a hot drink is to make sure I heat the milk up a lot for my cappuccino.

Firstly is this right that it's not "hot"? I know it shouldn't be boiled water hot, but was expecting to at least be hot. If this is not right my next questions is, do I have to set the temperature every time I turn on the machine, or should it retain the memory so that it brews the hottest every time?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Sam_d]

I do not have any experience with this machine but have you tried watching a few reviews on YouTube etc. There may well be some valuable information if you watch a few different reviews

Sent from my 5033X_EEA using Tapatalk

 

[MarkHB]

Same as above, I have no experience with the machine but I'm fairly certain it's a similar machine to the Delonghi Dedica which I have. You'll probably want to disregard the manual for the most part when it comes to preparing your espresso. When you turn your machine on, you can leave it to sit for a good 15mins before you start to use it. Then before you pull your shot run some hot water through the machine into the cup that you are going to use; you may need to run half a cup of hot water or more. This will preheat the machine and the cup, which is an important step that shouldn't be left out.

 

[snerkler]

I do not have any experience with this machine but have you tried watching a few reviews on YouTube etc. There may well be some valuable information if you watch a few different reviews

Sent from my 5033X_EEA using Tapatalk

Same as above, I have no experience with the machine but I'm fairly certain it's a similar machine to the Delonghi Dedica which I have. You'll probably want to disregard the manual for the most part when it comes to preparing your espresso. When you turn your machine on, you can leave it to sit for a good 15mins before you start to use it. Then before you pull your shot run some hot water through the machine into the cup that you are going to use; you may need to run half a cup of hot water or more. This will preheat the machine and the cup, which is an important step that shouldn't be left out.

Thanks very much for the replies. I've watched videos but no mention of how hot the coffee is except that you can go into the settings to change how hot the coffee is as I mentioned above.

Thanks for the advice MarkHB, I shall try that. With regards to heating the machine up, if I run hot water through the Smeg it actually comes through the frother spout rather than the filter part, will this still warm the machine up the same?

 

[MarkHB]

Thanks for the advice MarkHB, I shall try that. With regards to heating the machine up, if I run hot water through the Smeg it actually comes through the frother spout rather than the filter part, will this still warm the machine up the same?

No problem! Sorry, I should have clarified that for you. The hot water that comes from the steam wand is used for making Americanos and the like. You should be able to just pull a "blank shot" through your filter basket. So just press the button you would use to make your espresso, but without any coffee in the basket. Depending on how your machine functions you may be able to program one of the buttons, if you don't use it, to put out the desired amount of water. Otherwise you might have to press the shot button a number of times to make sure the machine is fully warmed up.

Hope that helps!

 

[MarkHB]

Just another thing to point out. If the above doesn't work, another thing that has an affect on the temperature of the shot is the grind size of the coffee you are using. So if you are using pre ground coffee it will be more difficult to get the right temperature than if you are grinding your own fresh coffee to the appropriate grind size. It shouldn't have as big of an effect if you are using pressurised filter baskets though.

 

[snerkler]

No problem! Sorry, I should have clarified that for you. The hot water that comes from the steam wand is used for making Americanos and the like. You should be able to just pull a "blank shot" through your filter basket. So just press the button you would use to make your espresso, but without any coffee in the basket. Depending on how your machine functions you may be able to program one of the buttons, if you don't use it, to put out the desired amount of water. Otherwise you might have to press the shot button a number of times to make sure the machine is fully warmed up.

Hope that helps!

Ah OK, it has preset amounts (1 or 2 'cups') but you can just press and hold it to manually dispense the water.

Just another thing to point out. If the above doesn't work, another thing that has an affect on the temperature of the shot is the grind size of the coffee you are using. So if you are using pre ground coffee it will be more difficult to get the right temperature than if you are grinding your own fresh coffee to the appropriate grind size. It shouldn't have as big of an effect if you are using pressurised filter baskets though.

Will it depend how much you tamp down the coffee as well? I tend to tamp it quite hard as apparently (according to the manual) this makes it stronger.

 

[johnealey]

@snerkler

There is a possibility of confusion here in what is meant by warming up / setting temps.

To clear this up, if you are not leaving the machine on for at least 15 minutes, ideally more, despite what the manual tells you, the metal elements of the machine will not have heated up thus cooling any water passing from tank through heating element then into coffee, result cool drink

leave the machine on for lets say 20 minutes with the portafilter (handle) empty in the machine, then run a little water through machine to warm up the water pathway, dry portafilter then add coffee and press the single or double brew button (once not multiple times) and see if that makes a difference; report back with results.

Hope of help and let us know how you get on

John

 

[MarkHB]

Will it depend how much you tamp down the coffee as well? I tend to tamp it quite hard as apparently (according to the manual) this makes it stronger.

I don't think it should make too much of a difference. I'm assuming you are using a pressurised basket (also called "double walled basket")? If you are then you only need a very light tamp. But with that said, if you are using pre ground you will probably want to tamp pretty hard as the grind size will likely be fairly large meaning the water can flow through a lot faster. You'll want to restrict the flow as much as possible. But still, I don't think it will make a huge difference.

 

[snerkler]

@snerkler

There is a possibility of confusion here in what is meant by warming up / setting temps.

To clear this up, if you are not leaving the machine on for at least 15 minutes, ideally more, despite what the manual tells you, the metal elements of the machine will not have heated up thus cooling any water passing from tank through heating element then into coffee, result cool drink

leave the machine on for lets say 20 minutes with the portafilter (handle) empty in the machine, then run a little water through machine to warm up the water pathway, dry portafilter then add coffee and press the single or double brew button (once not multiple times) and see if that makes a difference; report back with results.

Hope of help and let us know how you get on

John

Thanks, will do. Strange that manuals give such misleading info :classic_blink:

I don't think it should make too much of a difference. I'm assuming you are using a pressurised basket (also called "double walled basket")? If you are then you only need a very light tamp. But with that said, if you are using pre ground you will probably want to tamp pretty hard as the grind size will likely be fairly large meaning the water can flow through a lot faster. You'll want to restrict the flow as much as possible. But still, I don't think it will make a huge difference.

Thanks.

 

[snerkler]

@snerkler

There is a possibility of confusion here in what is meant by warming up / setting temps.

To clear this up, if you are not leaving the machine on for at least 15 minutes, ideally more, despite what the manual tells you, the metal elements of the machine will not have heated up thus cooling any water passing from tank through heating element then into coffee, result cool drink

leave the machine on for lets say 20 minutes with the portafilter (handle) empty in the machine, then run a little water through machine to warm up the water pathway, dry portafilter then add coffee and press the single or double brew button (once not multiple times) and see if that makes a difference; report back with results.

Hope of help and let us know how you get on

John

This morning I let the machine warm up for several minutes and then ran two doubles of hot water through into the mug I was going to use for the coffee (obviously discarded before use) and I've had a very nice hot cup of coffee this morning, thanks for the all the advice guys.

 

[johnealey]

@snerkler

Glad you getting a better cup and if not tried you may want to bear in mind that the amount of water your machine can produce will be quite small so a little rest after warming your cup as above may before making your coffee may also assist.

All the best and if staying on here have a look round at all the threads on different roasters , some of which may be local to you, that may offer a different taste / quality to what you currently using.

John

 

[snerkler]

@snerkler

Glad you getting a better cup and if not tried you may want to bear in mind that the amount of water your machine can produce will be quite small so a little rest after warming your cup as above may before making your coffee may also assist.

All the best and if staying on here have a look round at all the threads on different roasters , some of which may be local to you, that may offer a different taste / quality to what you currently using.

John

Thanks for all of your help. I've actually just nipped to Chatsworth Farm shop this morning and saw some local coffees so have bought a bag to try, "Supernova Blend" by Roastology, a company based in Yorkshire

 

[Guest]

I have exactly the same problem with my new SMEG bcc02whmuk

I find that, whilst the coffee 'creme' is perfect and the taste superb, the brew is always tepid, never hot or even warm.

The manual suggests that the cups are warmed using hot water. I do this and also have a warming drawer that keeps them around 50-60C….just about able to hold!…..but even with this the coffee is still too cool. I decided to measure the water temperature from the delivery spout and using three thermometers found it to be 65C….well below the normal 80C that references give. Is it possible to reset/adjust the delivery temperature? Is it possible that my machine is not correct?

Such a small issue but makes the machine redundant as ....nothing worse than a cold coffee.