In this article, I want to share what I recently discovered regarding the 1 and 2-cup preset volume water control buttons provided on my relatively new Casabrews CM5418 espresso coffee machine. In short, when I initially received, opened, and unpacked my espresso coffee machine, based on what I already knew regarding brewing an espresso, I was under the impression the 1-cup and 2-cup volume water controls dispensed an amount of hot water normally required to brew one and two liquid ounces of espresso produced by 1.18 and 2.37 fluid ounces of hot water. Curious that I am, imagine my surprise when I discovered the default preset volume water controls dispensed twice the amount of hot water required to brew a single/double shot of espresso at a 1:2 coffee to water ratio commonly used by most specialty coffee baristas. Moreover, what I found to be just as interesting was despite double the amount of hot water dispensed in brewing a double shot of espresso at a 1:2 coffee to water ratio, I was altogether surprised at the rich crema produced in what appeared to be a perfect double shot of espresso without having to change the default preset volume water control settings to that normally required for making a single/double shot of espresso. While one might think the additional amount of hot water should produce a weaker espresso, such was not the case. In fact, I eventually discovered programming the preset 1-cup and 2-cup volume water controls to dispense the required 1.18 and 2.37 liquid ounces of hot water to brew a 1-cup and 2-cup espresso at a 1:2 coffee to water ratio as performed by a seasoned barista really didn't taste any different than making a Cafe Latte with a double shot of espresso using three instead of 2 ounces of water. Then again, someone with a more discriminating palate used to drinking a stronger espresso might respond otherwise.

To correct for this shortcoming, the Casabrews espresso coffee machine CM5418 gives you the ability to change the default volume water control settings to dispense the amount of hot water normally required per cup/shot to adjust the strength of the espresso to your preference. This in turn is achieved by pressing the 1-cup and 2-cup button controls in succession to start/stop the brewing cycle for dispensing the volume of hot water required by measuring liquid ounces or according to taste. If measuring ounces, figure 1-liquid ounce of espresso per shot to achieve a coffee to water ratio of 1:2. Add hot water keeping the amount of dry coffee constant to increase the coffee to water ratio thereby decreasing the strength of the espresso regardless of the number of cups/shots brewed. In contrast, as for adding 1-tbsp of dry ground coffee to the filter basket—enough coffee to brew a double-shot of espresso—without changing the factory preset 2-cup volume water control produced a total of 3-liquid ounces of espresso with a perfect crema to match.