Glossary – Technical Terms

What does «flushing» mean?

«Flushing» means releasing hot water before extracting espresso. In order to do so, please allow 1.01 and 1.35 oz. of water to run through. By doing this you prevent the espresso from being «burnt» by water that is too hot, as this will affect the flavour.

 

What is «backflushing»?

«Backflushing» means cleaning by using a backflush disc. Consult our Barista tips and the instructions for backflushing your Cremina or Maximatic.

 

What is a «portafilter»?

The portafilter is the part of the espresso machine that is placed in the brew group. There are portafilter baskets with a volume of 0.32 and 0.56 oz.

 

What is the «manometer»?

The manometer indicates the steam pressure in the boiler. In the Cremina, it is about 0.7 bar, in the Maximatic 1.3 bar.

 

What is the «boiler top»?

This is the top part that closes the boiler. A vacuum valve is fitted into the top which opens when cooling down in order to prevent a negative pressure or a vacuum. It closes during the heating up phase. Until 0.5 bar is reached it is possible that steam may escape, but this does not affect the operation of the boiler.

 

What is «tamping»?

«Tamping» means the pressing or condensing of the coffee powder in the portafilter.

The coffee powder is tamped with a tamper, also called a coffee stamper or espresso tamper, in order to give the necessary resistance to the water when it flows through.