Brewing an espresso with the GILDA portafilter machine:

The most important thing when choosing the beans is freshness. The fresher the coffee, the greater the variety of aromas. Coffee contains up to 20% fat. This fat quickly goes rancid. That’s why it’s best just to buy small quantities and pay attention to the roasting date.

As a guideline, the optimum extraction time for 25 ml of espresso is 25 to 30 seconds.

The grind size and thickness of the pressed coffee grounds are key. An under-extracted coffee tastes bland because the water runs through it too quickly, preventing it from releasing its full aroma. The beans are too coarsely ground, making the cream light and thin.

If the water flows through the coffee too slowly, it is over-extracted, releasing undesirable substances such as tannins, caffeine and bitter compounds. The beans are too finely ground, the cream is dark brown and the taste is bitter and too strong.

To get the right dosage, we recommend using micro scales to weigh the coffee grounds. The correct dosage is approximately 9.5 g for the single filter basket and approximately 15.5 g for the dual filter basket.

Evenly distribute the coffee grounds in the filter and tamp, i.e. compress. Here it’s important to get a level surface, so place the tamper evenly into the filter basket and press down the coffee grounds.

The brewing temperature is between 90 and 93°C. If the grind size and quantity are right, the espresso will flow into the cup in a thick, even, uninterrupted stream. The cream is hazelnut brown and compact.

Cleaning and care

To ensure sheer unadulterated espresso pleasure, it is important to clean the GILDA dual-boiler machine daily. Coffee contains oil and fat that can build up on the brew head. Therefore, remove the shower and the filter, rinse under warm water and clean the brew head with a damp cloth. It’ll only take a minute.