techkathy The most important thing in replicating the coffee would be the coffee itself. Do you know which brand or type of coffee they used? Set the dosage to the maximum (3 beans). Set the grind in the middle and try a few coffees. If the coffee is too weak then turn the grind setting down to a finer grind. With a little experimentation you should be able to get pretty close to the coffee from Brasserie L'Europeen.

05-09-2013 1:06pm |

wleon techkathy, unfortunately I don't know what brand of coffee they used, but I will try your recommendations. Thank you!

05-09-2013 2:00pm |

techkathy The most important thing in replicating the coffee would be the coffee itself. Do you know which brand or type of coffee they used? Set the dosage to the maximum (3 beans). Set the grind in the middle and try a few coffees. If the coffee is too weak then turn the grind setting down to a finer grind. With a little experimentation you should be able to get pretty close to the coffee from Brasserie L'Europeen.

05-09-2013 1:06pm |

techkathy Are/have you used beans that are a bit oily? An oilier bean can leave some build up in the grinder and trick the torque sensor into thinking there are still coffee beans being ground when there are none.

02-18-2013 11:26am |

Karen Wright No - we've been careful about doing that. Mostly we've used Filicori Zecchini Gran Crema Forte and have also used some beans custom roasted from a local shop. Staying in the medium to medium/dark roast.

02-20-2013 7:39am |

Karen Wright Is there something we can do from home to correct this?

02-23-2013 8:16am |

Sanfam ♦ If you have a lot of water leaking into the drip tray, there are two key possibilities--First and foremost, check the grind! If the grind is too fine, water will skip the coffee and take the path of least resistance...right into the drip tray. Alternatively, try reducing the dose (the "bean" setting in the drink preferences) and attempt to brew again. Finally, don't forget to regularly and thoroughly clean the brew unit, making sure to lubricate the moving parts of it with a food-safe grease (the Gaggia-branded lubricant and PetroGel are both perfect choices!)

02-14-2013 6:02pm |

A A As you have found out, Louis, everyone's taste is going to vary. You mentioned some great beans (in my opinion) and also some very expensive beans (Vivace). In our compare-o-matic, if you compare coffee the same way you would compare machines side by side, it will give you a better idea of the characters of the beans. I have set up a comparison of some of my favorite beans, as I think you and I have pretty similar taste.

http://www.wholelattelove.com/compare.cfm?compare=10718,10881,1269,9587,10962,11876

Let me know what you think! Of all of those, Taormina is my current go to for milk drinks, Caffes, Americanos, or just straight Espresso. I hear it going around more and more in the sales office, so I think other people are starting to get won over by this bean!

02-08-2013 8:28am |

Louis Katen Thanks for all your advice Chris. Being that I'm in Seattle, I've dropped by the Cafe D'arte retail store here a few times and have tried the Taormina, Capri, Parioli, and Firenze...as well as the Filicori Zecchini Delicato and Forte. I've also tried LaVazza Super Crema and Klatch Belle and Worlds Best Espresso. I didn't care for either Klatch bean at all. Very winey and not very rich to me. Super Crema I also did not like...not very rich, winey, aftertaste that I didn't care for. Delicato was nice but not rich enough and had a slightly winey and bitter aftertaste to me. The Gran Crema Espresso Forte I like. It is my second favorite at this point. Not winey, not too bitter of an aftertaste, nice complex taste in my mouth. Taormina is really nice. I felt it was a little too dark for me. Interestingly, not really bitter though... Parioli was too tangy for me, and Firenze a little too winey. I feel, at this point, that the Cafe D'arte Capri is my favorite. Just slightly lighter than the Taormina, not bitter, not winey, deep, rich, and complex flavor. Really delicious! Most of my comparison has been, as I mentioned before, a 5-6 ounce pull with a grind set in about the middle...three notches from the finest grind setting. Hottest water temperature setting, too. I also routinely make lattes and both I and my wife like the Capri (and Gran Crema Espresso Forte) this way too. So, my conclusion...I really like both the Filicori Gran Crema Espresso Forte and the Cafe D'arte Capri. Both are delicious. There is something special about the Cafe D'arte that make is especially rich, almost dark, but not bitter and not winey. It's my favorite by just a hair. Thanks again for all suggestions.

02-23-2013 10:16am |

A A Wendy,
The bypass doser is on the top of the machine, but at the very front of it. Getting to it is very very easy. Considering that it drops directly into the brew group, you would only need to wipe out the shoot once in a while, as cleaning the brew group is part of the simple general maintenance of the machine. While you don't have control over the grind of the coffee (unless you are grinding the decaf yourself), the machine still brews the coffee the same way it would beans from the built in grinder.

01-14-2013 4:05pm |

Mary Ann Colvin Louis, We have a Compare option set up so you can check out the different specs for the machines. I will attach the link for the 3 machine you are interested in:
http://www.wholelattelove.com/compare.cfm?compare=10774,1625,1913

I enjoy using all three machines, they are are easy to use, good looking machines and have options for one touch cappuccinos! The pricing on the Gaggia is significantly better. Enjoy you new Accademia!

01-15-2013 8:37am |

Sanfam ♦ With the Accademia, one point to be aware of is that the frother will typically raise the temperature of the milk by 70F. This means that starting with refrigerated milk, you'll see nominal frothed milk temperatures of anywhere between 110F and 120F. To help correct this, you can either to allow the milk to warm up to room temperature before using the carafe's steaming function, use the built-in steam wand to pre-warm it to roughly room temperature or microwave the milk just a little bit to start with, or use room-temperature stored ultrapasteurized boxed milk. The latter is more typical of the European usage habits and is what the machine is configured to expect. Unfortunately, there is no way to correct for this in the settings.

01-07-2013 10:56am |

Louis Katen Jura "Impressa", that is...

01-12-2013 2:12am |

Sanfam ♦ The descaling message can pop up for a few reasons, both due to time since the last descaling and the amount of water dispensed. The machine will typically ask to be descaled after a certain amount of water has gone through it and should then reset both timers, but I have heard of circumstances where it appears that the (roughly) 3 month (unfiltered)/6mo (filtered) timer was not reset as part of the descaling cycle. I wouldn't worry about it too much unless it becomes a regular event.

As far as the bitterness is concerned, I'd suggest checking the grind setting. In the first few months of use, the burrs may wear down slightly and need some re-adjustment to compensate. You can also try adjusting the brewing temperature of the coffee, dialing it down slightly. Last, make sure the brew unit is fully rinsed clean and has nothing on the metal filter screen on the top-half. Any buildup there can cause weird brewing issues.

Regarding the grinder, this is typically associated with running it at very fine grind settings. Unlike older machines which had a much larger mechanical, measured doser, this machine intuits whether or not it has coffee by the speed at which the burr is spinning. If the grinding burr is slowed by the buildup of fine or oily grounds around it, fit can only assume that it is passing coffee, even when it isn't. Running the grinder at a coarser setting and using a dry roast are your best ways of combating this. No matter the case, DO NOT run any grinder cleaning products through these machines, as they can lead to all sorts of nasty clogs that would require a repair to correct.

I hope this helps!

01-07-2013 11:12am |