FAQs

Yes, we highly recommend reading our 'Getting started with your 9Barista' guide when you first receive your machine.

Yes! Although it might look like similar to a moka pot, it's much more accurate to think of the 9Barista as a great value espresso machine. While it’s a stove top machine and the coffee is produced upwards through the basket, that’s where the similarity with the moka pot ends.

To make real espresso you need 9 bar of pressure and about 93°C and the 9Barista has both of these, whereas a moka pot only reaches around 0.5 bar of pressure and uses water above 100°C. The real difference is in the intense flavour and texture of the espresso it can produce, topped with thick crema.

No, if you follow the user guide it’s quite simple to make delicious coffee from the day you receive your machine. It may take a few attempts to dial in the right grind size and find the correct heat setting on your stove, but once you’ve done that it’s a very easy, repeatable process.

The machine produces a shot which weighs between 35 and 40g.

Yes, all materials in the 9Barista are safe for food contact. There is no aluminium in the machine. It is made from brass, which is then nickel plated. The nickel plating we use is a food grade high phosphorus electroless nickel plating. It’s commonly used in the food processing industry, as it has excellent resistance to attack from acids. 

Other materials used are silicone rubber, which is used for the basket cap, PTFE, which is used for the valve pin, and PEI which is used for the group insulator. All of which are safe for food contact. It’s also worth noting that the walnut handles are FSC certified.

Yes! Cleaning your machine only takes a few seconds and is best done in the kitchen sink. 

After brewing, simply run your machine under a cold tap to cool it down. Next, unscrew the portafilter from the grouphead, remove the basket cap and knock out the spent grounds. Then, press the pressure release tab on the safety valve and unscrew the boiler. Give everything a rinse and leave the parts to dry, or dry them with a towel.

The 9Barista will work with pre-ground coffee, but it's unlikely to provide a great experience.

Small changes in grind size can make a big difference to the results, and a grinder designed for espresso will enable you to make those small changes quickly and easily.

Yes, it does. 

The machine will work at any altitude but you may find that above around 3,000 metres the coffee it produces becomes a little sour. We have successfully brewed delicious espresso using a 9Barista at 3,000 metres (10,000ft), and some of our customers have used their machine at 4,400 metres (14,400ft), as you can see in this Instagram post. 

The reason for is that the boiling point of water drops by around 3.5°C for every 1,000 meters above sea level. This means that as you climb, the water in the upper chamber is boiling at a lower temperature, creating an increased cooling effect on the water from the lower boiler before it reaches the coffee. For this reason we recommend that the machine works best in locations where the boiling point of water is no lower than 95°C, which occurs at an altitude of 1,500m or 5000 ft.

If you are finding that your shots are coming out a little sour, then quite often grinding your coffee finer and aiming for a longer extraction of 30-35s can fix the issue. By giving the water more contact time with the coffee you can offset the effects of the reduced brew temperature.

The machine weighs approximately 1.7kg, and is 18cm tall.

Full warranty details are available to read on our warranty and returns page.

We ship worldwide. All machines are shipped directly from our new production facility in Cambridge, U.K.

No, all taxes and import duties are either included in the price or conveniently calculated at the checkout for you for easy shipping.

For more details on expected shipping times please see our shipping page.

If you’d like to cancel your order, please contact us at hello@9barista.com and we’ll be happy to help.

Full warranty details are available to read on our warranty and returns page.

If you’re not happy with your order, for whatever reason, you can return it for a full refund. You can read our full returns policy on our warranty and returns page.

The portafilter attaches to the top of the machine (the grouphead) and holds the coffee grounds which will produce your espresso.

The basket sits in the portafilter and holds the ground coffee.

Once ground coffee is in the basket, the basket cap should be placed just above the coffee and helps to keep it in place throughout the brewing process.

The chimney ensures that the steam generated inside the upper boiler is channeled away safety, whilst catching any water droplets and returning them to the upper boiler.

The grouphead is the section at the top of the machine to which the portafilter attaches.

The job of the heat exchanger coil is to cool the water from the boiler from 179ºC to 100ºC. It does this because it’s surrounded by boiling water, which is much cooler than the water in the boiler. After passing through the heat exchanger coil the water then passes through the fin heat exchanger, which further cools it to 93ºC, at which point it comes into contact with the coffee grounds. 

The boiler o-ring seals the water into the boiler, which allows it to build up pressure. When it reaches sufficient pressure, the valve pin in the machine opens and the water moves up into the heat exchanger coil. 

Without the boiler o-ring the machine wont build up sufficient pressure to open the valve. To preserve the o-ring, be sure to press the pressure release tab on the safety valve before unscrewing the boiler, once the machine has cooled down after brewing. 

The boiler is the base of the machine, where you put the water for your coffee.

As the name suggests, the safety valve is a safety device which prevents the machine from running at excess pressure. If water isn’t able to flow out of the boiler, either because the machine has been heated too quickly or because there’s a blockage in the flow path, the safety valve will open and release the pressure from inside the machine. The safety valve is positioned on the boiler.

The pressure release tab is part of the safety valve, and provides a way to neutralise the pressure which remains in the boiler after brewing. This makes the boiler much easier to unscrew and also protects the boiler o-ring, so once the machine has cooled down, be sure to lift or pull it after each cycle. 

Please note, the machine will be extremely hot after brewing, although the handles will be cool. You can either leave the machine to cool naturally, or hold the handles and run it under cold water to cool it down quickly. Only once it’s cool should you lift the pressure release tab.

The heat transfer plate, and the induction plate (if using an induction stove) help to ensure that heat is transferred efficiently to the machine from the stove. Each plate is required when using, respectively, a gas or induction stove.

The heat transfer plate is also required if you’re struggling to make your machine work on another type of stove. Be sure to leave the plate to cool naturally after brewing, and never leave on the heat without the 9Barista. Cooling with water or pre-heating may cause damage, rendering the plate ineffective.

The heating time is the time your machine takes to start producing espresso, from the time it’s put on the heat to the time that espresso begins to appear in the portafilter. The heating time needs to be between 3 and 6 minutes. The most important thing to note is that the machine mustn’t be left on the heat for more than 8 minutes, even if it’s not produced coffee.

The extraction time is the time it takes for espresso to fill the portafilter, from the time it first appears to when it stops flowing. We recommend an extraction time of 25 – 30 seconds. If it’s faster than that, you’ll need to grind your coffee more finely and if it’s slower you’ll need to grind more coarsely.