Villaware BVVLESSL01 espresso maker..

naz101

haha yeah I did go to the website. it talks about manually brewing the coffee and then switching it off.

its the shot part that im having difficulty with. i put it in manual and it starts brewing. but if i change it to a shot during this it just continues to brew...

The reason I came on here is because I find this website has answers to EVERYTHING!!!!:T
Meepster.. it doesnt give me an option of how much water i put through . apparently if i go into manual mode i am meant to be able to control it....and this is where i am getting stuck.

keyser666

kermitfrog wrote: »

Why are you getting stuck? You just turn off the water when the colour changes from dark to light brown.

And you are using espresso grind, aren't you? And what do you mean by 'brewing'? Espresso coffee doesn't brew.

Brewing is the term that is used on the dial.

daveyjp

You definately need fine grind coffee and don't let too much water through.

MSE tip, Segafredo Intermezzo is 1.99 for 500g at the mo in B&M.

Meepster

Are you measuring each shot of espresso into espresso shot glasses?

Each measure of coffee should only be used to make 1oz (approx 30ml) of espresso, if you have a two shot attachment for your machine, the most you should be making is 2oz (60ml) each time.

Anything more than that and it will be a lot weaker and wont taste good at all...

naz101

Meepster.....no I havent been measuring it..I guess Ive just been going by the amount that shops seem to put in..but I guess thats probably deceiving...

Meepster

When you're making the espresso, what does it look like? Is it very dark brown with a decent crema? Any chance you can take a photo next time you make one?

naz101

yup. I will make one tomorrow as I packed the machine away before I threw it out due to frustration!!!

it tends to be quite light i think with a lot of froth on top...

lil.smartie

Might not be tamping it tight enough, can that machine take ESE pods? My built in ikea one can and the Gaggia Classic I had before could so maybe try those to rule out the dosing/tamping as problems. Is it getting up to pressure/temp before pulling the shot? Sainsburys sell Illy pods, not nespersso/tassimo etc!!

Kate

paddyrg

To control the amount of water going through, do you push a button to start it, then push it again to stop it? It is fairly common to have to push the button again to stop the water flow. Is the water hot enough by the way? And are you using a finely ground coffee suitable for espresso (as opposed to filters which are slower to percolate). As mentioned above, you really are hoping to get a short shot of coffee with a bunch of milk, so once the coffee runs pale, may as well stop there.

You may have noticed that coffee shops tend to use quite a lot of coffee granules per shot, are you using the same amount? Not the silly little measuring spoons, but a similar amount?

naz101

so the way the machine works is it has little portafilter things. I usually use the one cup one and fill it up to the max line. Im using costa coffee. i dampen it down and slide it into the machine.it usually equates to 2 heaped up tea spoons

once the machine is switched on the lightgoes on and off until the machine and temp is ready.

you then turn the dial to manual, 1 shot, 2 shot and press the brew button. it then starts making noises and the coffe starts flowing. it usually looks a bit dark to begin with but then within a few seconds becomes quite light.

now apparently in the manual mode I am meant to be able to control how much water is used but I cant seem to do that (dont know how)

it says it can take pods but not sure how...