An overview of how to use your manual espresso maker.

If you’ve decided that a manual espresso maker is a good option for you, you're probably looking for a detailed guide outlining how to get control and use it to make a great shot of espresso. Manual machines are ideal for coffee enthusiasts looking to make a great cup of coffee at home while enjoying the process of manual extraction, but unlike automatic and super-automatic machines, there's a little more to it than pressing a button.

 

Brew variables to control when using a manual espresso maker

This guide will cover 6 areas:

• Preheating - heat-regulation
• Grinding the beans
• Preparing the portafilter
• Preinfusion
• Extraction - brew ratio 
• Clean-up

 

Preheating 

To "preheat" a manual machine means to heat the brew chamber ( the water reservoir where the water is stored above the coffee grinds) before pulling your espresso shot. 

It’s important to get the brew chamber of a manual espresso machine to the ideal brewing temperature before extraction because the espresso maker body will absorb most of the heat from your brew water and you’ll be left with a lukewarm, under extracted espresso.

Water temperature also influences espresso extraction and therefore taste because it determines the "yield percentage" - the amount of elements that are extracted from the coffee. You won't need to worry about poor brew water temperature with the Brua3 however, because the insulated brew chamber preheats extremely quickly, and retains the heat until you've finished pulling the perfect shot!

Unfortunately heat retention can be the downfall of many manual (non-electric) and portable espresso makers. Their appeal of being “unplugged”, simple, and portable coffee makers means they don’t generally occupy the electric components used to heat the brew chamber and hold it at the 90-96deg celsius required for brewing espresso.

The downside of using electric heating on manual espresso machines is that it ususally requires large brick-like power components that aren't really "portable" or simple - you may as well buy a commercial machine or a machine with a boiler.

This is the beauty of the innovative insulated brew chamber used in the Brua3 Max. It achieves ideal brew temperatures really quickly and holds temperature better without the need for cords or cables.

With manual espresso machines, the preheat process is usually done using the hot water to heat the brewing chamber that will also be used for pre - infusion and the espresso shot pull. Following a good, simple preheat process with a quality lever espresso machine is important, and adds to the craft of brewing great espresso.

Grinding the coffee beans

With manual espresso, consistent grind size is key for achieving a uniform bed of coffee in the basket, controlling extraction flow rates and creating consistent shots, so it’s important to use a quality burr grinder when grinding your coffee beans.

It’s also important to use fresh coffee beans. Manual coffee offers complete control, but can be less forgiving when it comes to older, stale, or pre-ground coffee beans. Grinding fresh beans with a quality burr grinder will provide you with the best grind consistency. 

Never use a blade grinder! A blade coffee grinder will tend to excessively heat the beans during grinding and will leave you with a mixture of both coarse and finely ground coffee resulting in poor extraction and a terrible coffee.

You will also want to control the amount of coffee you are using. Be sure to weigh a single dose of whole coffee beans before you grind (let’s say 16grams) and finely grind using the espresso setting on your grinder.

Between grind size and grind dose, you can influence brewing pressure, the time and the rate of extraction - complete control. Crafting espresso on a manual lever-press espresso machine is all about controlling these variables.

Preparing the Portafilter

Grinding the right amount of coffee beans to the correct consistency is a great start, now we need to prepare the coffee basket for espresso extraction. 

Also called “puck preparation”, a well-prepared coffee basket requires the coffee to be evenly distributed and tamped (pressed/compacted). This isn't exclusive to manual coffee, but for all espresso making, whether using an expensive machine, regular machine, or a lever espresso machine.

To do this you can use a few handy tools including:

• WDT tool (Weiss Distribution Technique - optional)
• Distributor (optional)
• Tamper (necessary!)

WDT Tools

A WDT tool is a handheld tool (some electric versions are now available too) with several fine needles that gets stirred around in the portafilter full of the coffee grind. It’s used to break up any lumps that might have formed during the grinding. 

Distributors

The distribution tool is similar to a tamper, but the face of the tool isn’t flat… it’s most likely wavy or chiseled. 

We use the distribution tool to flatten out and evenly spread the coffee grind in the portafilter by placing it on top of the coffee basket and spinning it. Many good quality distribution tools will also allow you to adjust their height/depth.

Tampers

Lastly, the tamper is used to press the grind tightly into the portafilter.

Unlike the WDT and Distribution tool which became popular with the more recently, the tamper has been there since the beginning of espresso.

Preparing the portafilter

The process for using these coffee preparation tools is as follows:

 

1. With 16 grams of fresh coffee grind sitting in your coffee basket (portafilter), use the WDT tool to break up any clumps of ground coffee that might have formed during grinding by stirring it through the coffee grind.
2. Place the distribution tool on top of your coffee basket and spin it in place to evenly distribute the grind.
3. Sitting your coffee basket (portafilter) on a sturdy surface or tamp mat, place the tamper onto your coffee grind, then firmly (and evenly!) press downwards to compact the grind into a firm coffee puck.

 

Our Advice: Try using different pressures to tamp the grind to see how this changes your espresso.

 

Preinfusion

Preinfusion is when the brew water makes contact with the coffee bed (this part is called pre-brewing) with minimal pressure and is allowed to saturate the coffee grounds before pressure is applied.

 

Pre-brew

Pre-brew allows an initial small amount of water (not under pressure) to contact the puck. Its purpose is to reduce the chance of channeling and prepares the surface of the puck to accept more water under pressure without degrading.

 

Pre-infusion

Pre-infusion allows the coffee puck to swell and effectively starts the extraction process prior to any coffee dripping from the basket.

With manual lever-press espresso you get full control over this process.

Our advice: Try experimenting with how long you allow for pre-infusion. Do you notice the impact this has on extraction time? Is it more difficult to press the lever with a longer preinfusion? How does this impact the crema? Have fun testing out the variables!

Extraction

Extraction is the process of dissolving the coffee grounds into the brew water by generating pressure in the machine's brew chamber and forcing the brew water through the coffee puck.

With manual lever machines, this is done manually using the lever arm which acts on a piston, and depending on the puck prep, can require some force! If your machine has a pressure gauge you would be aiming for around 9 bar of pressure, although you can still achieve fantastic results with less pressure than this.

A good rule of thumb when extracting espresso using a lever machine is to aim for a brew ratio of 1:2 extracted over 25-30 seconds.

So what’s “brew ratio”? 

This is the ratio between the weight of ground coffee used (input) compared to the weight of the resulting espresso (output). For example, if you use 16 grams of coffee then you should be aiming for around 32 grams of resulting espresso (as a starting point). And if you achieve this over the 25-30 second extraction time then you’re most likely getting fantastic results!

 

Clean-up

Lets face it, the worst bit of making coffee at home is the cleaning up after.

Wiping up spilled coffee grinds and cleaning out the machine of old grind residue and water scale isn’t fun. Unfortunately for most machines, clean-up requires substantial effort and is unavoidable.

Some critical areas to clean on a manual espresso maker include:

• Internal cylinder wall
• Piston and piston seals
• Water screen
• Portafilter seal

 

Lucky for us, manual espresso machines are incredibly easy to clean and maintain. Take the Brua3 Max for example; it's extremely reliable and it's simplicity and lack of electrical components make's it basically bullet-proof!

 

Conclusion

Using a manual espresso machine can give you total control over your brewing process. By experimenting with variables such as pre-infusion time and extraction ratios, you can customize your espresso to perfection. Manual lever machines allow you to pressure profile to generate the right amount of pressure for extraction, resulting in a rich, flavorful cup. Additionally, clean-up is a breeze with these machines, making them a convenient choice for coffee enthusiasts. So, if you're looking to lift your espresso game and have complete control over every aspect of your brew, consider investing in a manual espresso machine.