How to Make The Single Cappucino - How to use an espresso machine for a single cappuccino

CLANCY ROSE: Next we're going to talk about your espresso machine. So first things first, you turn the machine on. With most machines like this one, it's going to take a little while to warm up and warm up the coffee--I mean, warm up the water in the water tank and for the machine to just warm up. And so then, of course, you're going to want to fill up the water tank with water, which on this machine it's under this metal plate in the back here and you're going to want to make sure that that's full at all times because if you're using a machine and you're pulling shots and the water tank runs out of water and air flows through the line if it doesn't have the automatic shut off like this machine does, on a lot of other home machines it can really mess up the machine. So then you make sure that it's on and all warmed up and all the other parts are warmed up and you can warm up the porta filter a little better by flowing water through the porta filter. You can flush, make sure that water is coming out of the steam wand, and I always cover it with a towel like that so that the steam when it comes out it doesn't burn your hand. And one of the other things that's important for the flavor of the espresso shot that's going to go into the cappuccino is the water temperature. It depends on your machine, how stable that temperature stays and to what temperature it heats up the water. One of the ways that you can check that is like on this machine is once again using a thermometer. You're going to want a thermometer that goes up to like this one goes up to 220 degrees. A good guideline to go by for water temperature for preparing an espresso shot is right at about 200 degrees. The way I'm going to check it on this machine is engage, turn the water on and get it flowing through the porta filter and stick the thermometer in this little hole where the water is going to be pouring out or later the espresso is going to be pouring out of. You got to be careful when you do this because the water can come out pretty quickly and you can burn yourself. You watch it until it stabilizes and watch what the temperature is at to see where you are. So once again, on this machine the water is heating to right where I want it at 200 degrees and because the way the machine works it's staying pretty stable at 200 degrees which I like. As far as other machines go, you'll just have to refer to your owner's manual and see how to adjust the water temperature and control the stability of the water temperature.