Sunbeam Mini Barista EM4300 Questions & Answers (page 6 of 6)

Yes, me too. I've had the machine for about six months and it's always been slow to heat the steam (having repeatedly to turn it to steam to get it to start steaming). For a while we were using the hot water function to force it - flick it to hot water for a few seconds and then back to steam and it would then steam. You could try that. But now this doesn't seem to work either. When we can get the steam function to occasionally work, it often just stops halfway through the heating process i.e. it starts flashing but then stops. Unfortunately, we live overseas (having brought the coffee machine with us from Australia because I loved my previous sunbeam coffee machine so much) so it's difficult for us to get a replacement. Very frustrating we can't use the steam.

Yes the sound is normal for this unit. The noise is the pump cycling water to be steamed. Mine will continue to do it after steam has been used, I presume to preheat the water ready for additional cups. I have steamed 4x mugs of milk back-to-back for hot chocolates without loss of steam. But yes, bit noisy.

Im having good results just using grinds from the packet (don't shout me down coffee aficionados) I've used the Mountain Blue Blend and Robert Timms Mocha Kenya Style.
I don't want anymore gadgets cluttering the benchtop.

Well, I got a Breville Smart Grinder Pro (at the moment it is $199 @ Myer - I got it for less...) as I read somewhere that the cheaper grinders that aren't conical burrs can give the coffee a burnt taste. I only drink espresso shots, so the flavour is not disguised with milk. It is a thin machine and hardly takes up any bench space. You don't need one, but this little barista machine makes awesome coffee, so why not try out a selection of fresh beans & flavours as well as supporting your local coffee roasters?
Sunbeam make a similar grinder to mine EM0700 Cafe Series Precision Conical Burr Grinder. Worth the investment!

Oh dear; yes it definitely comes with a booklet. Here is a youtube quick look at it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwr1ZC-SkwY, and here is the PDF manual: https://www.sunbeam.com.au/Root/Specifications/InstructionBooklet/EM4300%20Instruction%20Booklet.pdf Have fun making it and enjoy your coffee :) :)

It needs to return the boiler temperature to the correct one for making coffee, to avoid producing burnt coffee.

Thanks Rex, I think I follow - so the the pulsing and the light flashing and steam coming from the machine is a function of it cooling down from the steaming, ready to brew another espresso? And therefore a normal function of the machine / not something I’m doing wrong? I previously had the EM4280 which never did anything similar but having said that, it didn’t like being switched from steamer back to espresso to make multiple coffees one after another either!

Hi Amanda, if by drippy you mean the pour is very slow, I think you're right about needing a coarser grind. Try telling the coffee seller what kind of machine you have and ask their advice. Cheers, Rex

Another way to solve the problem would be to buy single wall filter baskets as this machine is supplied with dual wall filter baskets which create extra back pressure that you don’t need as you are using the correct grind. (details on the basket are found on page 11 of the user guide)

https://www.sunbeam.com.au/Root/Specifications/InstructionBooklet/EM4300_3245_A_IB_Web.pdf

Or you could be tamping to hard or filling the baskets with too much coffee grinds.

I have found this issue on a number of coffee machines . If issue considerable, could be machine is not level.

It could be the way you are tamping the coffee down, the water will run in the path of lease resistance so a even tamp would help. Also if it is the machine on the side with less coffee dripping through maybe make it so the water will run to that side with the tamping.
I don't know if i have helped good luck.

Hi page 16 of the manual relates to changing this.
Basically hold the power button for 4 seconds. The buttons should flash. With coffee in the handle run the shot and then push the button to stop. It should remember how much water you programmed". Ideally 25-30ml for single. 45-50 for double. I wouldn't use the single shot if I was you.

Thanks Andrew, I will give that a go!

No. According to the user guide, you have to descale by putting descaler into the water tank and running it through the machine.

I wouldn't think so! Mine is tight but it does turn all the way to the front. Maybe try fitting the group handle without the basket in it to see if it turns all the way then so you can check that it's not a fault.

Only used Barista for 1 day due to leaking water reservoir but handle turned to centre position.
Needed a bit of force though. May have got easier with use.

Too much coffee in the basket means the handle cannot be turned fully into position. Try a little less coffee in the basket and voila!

As will all espresso machines you should use a fine grind so the maximum oils are extracted when drawing a shot of coffee. I have my grinder set to the finest setting and it seems to work fine.

My grinder has no adjustment other than the time you grind for. I heard that coffee should not be too fine, so I run it until the coffee is ground and then stop, that takes about 4 or 5 seconds and it is a soft silky powder but with a very few larger chunks left.

The dual wall filter baskets that come with the EM 4300 are designed for the courseness of pre-ground coffee, so a good starting point would be to look at the grind size of store bought pre-ground coffee like Lavazza Caffe Espresso.

If you want to do very fine grinds to extract maximum oils you would benefit from the Single Wall Filter baskets which do not come standard with the machine, but are available to purchase from Sunbeam. Pre-ground bagged grinds are too coarse for these single walled filter baskets.

No you can't, the two selections are mutually exclusive. But it does go from one mode to the other pretty quickly.

There is enough room to fit two mugs under the group handle side by side.
You can program the volume of shots you dersire if you are not happy with the two cup default, refer to Page 16-17 of the user guide, URL: https://www.sunbeam.com.au/Root/Specifications/InstructionBooklet/EM4300%20Instruction%20Booklet.pdf.

You might struggle to get enough milk for your two mug Lattes, as the milk jug is 350mL. I use a bigger milk jug that I already had in the kitchen when I want to make lots of milk.

I find the taste is really good.

Found that you just push the cord inside too store, (stuff it in manually).
It's not one of those vac cleaners mechs, pull out and it winds in by itself.

Thanks! Assumed it would be automatic but grateful there is a cord storage - very handy indeed!

Hi Jparker,

According to the user manual, it will produce 200mL of boiling water then automatically stops. Not sure if that's enough water for you but I guess you could do it twice?

Hi Peter, we don't do LBs, but according to the Instruction Manual you can do LBs by adding shots of hot water through the steamer wand, 200mL at a time. refer to Page 3 of the manual, here is a URL hopefully it gets through cheers https://www.sunbeam.com.au/Root/Specifications/InstructionBooklet/EM4300%20Instruction%20Booklet.pdf

Hi Tdog, I am still no guru but I would guess the short time is to prevent burning of the coffee? The coffee is definitely "spent" after the programmed time, believe me. Cheers

Sounds like the grind is too coarse for the machine. Try tamping down harder. You can also try running a longer shot (volume is programmable on this machine)

If it is not going in, try cleaning the insert slot, making sure you are not adding too much coffee and that when you press down to compact; the top of the presser before it goes into the curve is in line with the top of the rim of the coffee filter basket

Hi Motown, from my massive one week of experience, I have found that it is much easier to fit if you reduce the amount of coffee ever so slightly. Hope this helps. Cheers

Just used ours for the first time tonight and also having the same issue regardless of if there is coffee in there or not. Any other suggestions?