To enjoy the coffee at its best, we recommend pre-heating the cup by rinsing it with hot water or dispensing hot water into the cup via the wand (11).

At every switch-on, we recommend rinsing the dispensing unit (10) and filter-holder (9) circuits by dispensing a double coffee without any coffee in the filter.

When using SMEG CGF03 coffee machines, we recommend selecting the “SUPERFINE” setting for non-pressurised filters (16), (17) and “FINE” for pressurised filters (18), (19).

The two raised reference markers on the inside of the coffee filters are designed to indicate the ideal quantity of coffee. After tamping, check that the quantity of coffee is at the correct level.

The indicator is on the ‘Espresso’ segment: the coffee was extracted correctly. The coffee flows slowly but continuously, and extraction takes about 25–35 sec. 

The indicator is below the ‘Espresso’ segment. The coffee is under-extracted. Possible causes: The coffee used is ground too coarsely, there is not enough ground coffee, or the tamping was not done with the right pressure. Solutions: Adjust the coffee grinding to be finer if using a coffee grinder, add more coffee or adjust the manual coffee tamping step.

The indicator is above the ‘Espresso’ segment. The coffee is over-extracted. Possible causes: The coffee used is ground too finely, there is too much ground coffee, or the tamping was not done with the right pressure. Solutions: Adjust the coffee grinding to be courser if using a coffee grinder, add less coffee or adjust the manual coffee tamping step.

To avoid spraying, do not remove the filter holder during dispensing, but wait a few seconds after dispensing has stopped. BURNS HAZARD!

It is completely normal that the first coffees do not reach the right temperature if the machine has not been used for a long time (breaks of more than 30 minutes). Repeat the procedure described to obtain a hotter coffee.

Caution! If you want to remove the drip tray (12) after dispensing, wait about 30 seconds before doing so.

After about 10 minutes of inactivity, the machine enters the Energy Saving function. The standby time can be changed as described in the “Setting the auto-off time” paragraph.

4.4 Preparing an espresso coffee

4.4 Preparing an espresso coffee

(Fig. A, C, D, E)