Espresso, the manual's way

Warm up and brew (the manual)

The manual's routine for the first coffee of the day.

1. Lock the empty filter holder in: offer it up at 45° to the left, then turn it right until the handle points straight out or slightly to the right.
2. Run about 150 ml of water through it, then wait a few minutes.
3. Dry the filter holder, add the coffee, tamp it flat and wipe the rim. Lock it in.
4. Wait until the coffee temperature light comes on.
5. Press the brew button. Press it again when the cups are three-quarters full.

The pressurised "crema perfetta" filter must be used with the black pin the manual calls the frothing jet device. The traditional filters must be used without it.

One tester (Kaffeemacher, on an EU E24) found the first shot ran hot and later ones cooler. A 15-minute warm-up, a 7 to 8 second flush before the first shot and 1.5 to 2 minutes between shots evened it out.

Gaggia Classic E24: every job