Brew pressure

Brew pressure: read it, and who adjusts it

ECM says brew-pressure changes are for qualified personnel only. The manual: the pressure "can be adjusted or changed manually via an adjusting screw on the underside of the machine. This adjustment should only be carried out by qualified personnel."

• Read it on the right-hand gauge while the pump runs. ECM's preinfusion text speaks of extraction at 9 bar.
• The manual's troubleshooting table says to increase the pressure for a shot that only drips, and reduce it for foam instead of crema, as well as checking grind and dose.
• A 14 bar expansion valve protects the coffee boiler; it is not the brew pressure setting.

Clive Coffee's method for the original Synchronika is on the next screen, for a qualified person.

Clive Coffee's adjustment method

ECM says only qualified personnel should do this. Clive Coffee's method, written for the original Synchronika; the II's manual puts the screw on the underside too.

1. Take out the water tank.
2. Tip the machine over to its right side.
3. Find the access port at the back-left corner of the underside.
4. Turn the screw with a flat screwdriver, half a turn at a time: clockwise for more pressure, anticlockwise for less.
5. Stand it up, refit the tank and lock in the portafilter with the blind filter.
6. Lift the lever and read the right gauge. Repeat until it reads what you want.

ECM Synchronika II: every job