Every night after washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen, I set up Miss Silvia for the next morning’s Shots of Espresso and Lattes.
I have a timer I use that has 3 pronged male and female plugs. I set it so Miss Silvia comes on a good 45 minutes before I expect to use her.
Miss Silvia is much happier when her temperature and temperament is hot and stabilized.
The portafilter is clean and inserted into the group head over night, though it is not fully tightened down. Rather it is fairly loose. The portafilter should be up to temperature so that the shots don’t cool down as you are pulling them.
On top of Miss Silvia awaits the demitasse cups and a 2 ounce shotglass. They should be warm. Sometimes I pour hot water in them right before I pull a shot so that they don’t cool the shot down also.
The milk steaming pitcher goes in the freezer overnight. This way when I start to steam the milk in the morning, I have more time to create that magic microfoam before the milk has come to 145-150 degrees Fahrenheit. Other wise you might be up to temperature and zippo foam.
For my first grind of the morning I like to dump the very first bit of ground coffee to ensure I’m getting only fresh coffee in my espresso and not a 24 hour old grind. There is a huge difference in flavor. Stale coffee is not worth our time.