# Caggia Cubrika Plus advice for a newbie



## shaunclarke (Nov 30, 2011)

Hi all. I have just purchased my first setup, a Caggia Cubrika Plus. They are on offer all over the place at the moment and it was in my budget range. I realise there are better Caggia's but its a good place for me to start. I have also got a Gaggia MDF grinder that came today!

I have been reading lots on here over the past few weeks and I have a few questions about the Cubrika (bearing in mind i have not even had it out of box yet). I realise the pressurised basket PF is not the way forward. Do i need to buy a new one or can the exisiting one be converted?

I am going to change the steam wand for this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160462444984&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:GB:1123 Is this a good idea or a waste of time?

I am collecting some beans from the Algerian Coffee Store in London next week so hope to be pulling my first shots soon!


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## SlowRoast (Sep 24, 2010)

Hey, welcome and yes the pressurised basket is a no no, you can convert it, but from my experience it results in a very wobbly brass basket sat in the plastic handle, but it will produce espresso better than a pressurised basket.

I'll leave the steam arm thing to someone else to answer, but if you can change it out to a professional one you'll get good results. : )


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## shaunclarke (Nov 30, 2011)

Thanks for replying James. So would i be better off just replace the PF with a better one, say from a Classic?


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## jimbow (Oct 13, 2011)

The pannarello wand you referenced looks like the "Gaggia latte art" wand. If so it is a simple and cheap upgrade that will make a difference to your milk frothing. The main diffence with the stock wand is a longer jet inside the sleeve. This means you can remove the sleeve and just use the jet like a regular steam wand.


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## kevron (Sep 13, 2011)

shaunclarke said:


> Thanks for replying James. So would i be better off just replace the PF with a better one, say from a Classic?


as far as I know the classic portafilter won't fit the cubika?


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## shaunclarke (Nov 30, 2011)

kevron said:


> as far as I know the classic portafilter won't fit the cubika?


How do you change it from a pressurised PF to a standard type?


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## kevron (Sep 13, 2011)

Sorry I don't know how to change it to standard type,


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## shaunclarke (Nov 30, 2011)

Can the whole handle be replaced?


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## shaunclarke (Nov 30, 2011)

To answer my own question, Happy Donkey say that the HD5003 Gaggia Classic Domestic Portafilter will fit a Cubika Plus.


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## nekromantik (Nov 13, 2011)

shaunclarke said:


> To answer my own question, Happy Donkey say that the HD5003 Gaggia Classic Domestic Portafilter will fit a Cubika Plus.


I wanted to know this too but I dont want to buy it and then it not fit.

In order to de pressureize, just open the 3 screws on back and then remove the spring and the crema enhancer in the filter.


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## shaunclarke (Nov 30, 2011)

nekromantik said:


> I wanted to know this too but I dont want to buy it and then it not fit.
> 
> In order to de pressureize, just open the 3 screws on back and then remove the spring and the crema enhancer in the filter.


Great thanks nekromantik. Does the standard basket still fit in as normal?


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## nekromantik (Nov 13, 2011)

shaunclarke said:


> Great thanks nekromantik. Does the standard basket still fit in as normal?


yeah both baskets still fit.

you can even keep the o ring in the filter if you want.

im having a hard time trying to froth milk with this machine as its under powered.

got some tips on here so will try that out.


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## shaunclarke (Nov 30, 2011)

nekromantik said:


> yeah both baskets still fit.
> 
> you can even keep the o ring in the filter if you want.
> 
> ...


Let me know how you get on.


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## nekromantik (Nov 13, 2011)

Just tired it.

Was kinda in a rush so didnt go so well got tiny bits of foam! ha ha

Will try again this afternoon.

Was gonna try fresh beans in my Porlex but didnt arrive today









Where do you get your Formula Rossa beans?


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## shaunclarke (Nov 30, 2011)

Look at my first post. There is a link to a steam arm attachment that was reccomended to me. Might be worth a try.

I get the Formula Rossa beans from The Algerian Coffee Store, Old Compton Street, London. They sell on line if you are not local. http://www.algcoffee.co.uk/scripts/default.asp

The website is not the greatest I have seen but the shop is good. Very helpful & friendly staff. They do a good espresso in there too.


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## nekromantik (Nov 13, 2011)

shaunclarke said:


> Look at my first post. There is a link to a steam arm attachment that was reccomended to me. Might be worth a try.
> 
> I get the Formula Rossa beans from The Algerian Coffee Store, Old Compton Street, London. They sell on line if you are not local. http://www.algcoffee.co.uk/scripts/default.asp
> 
> The website is not the greatest I have seen but the shop is good. Very helpful & friendly staff. They do a good espresso in there too.


yeah thats what I got. The longer wand attachment. It is better then the standard one thats for sure.

Tried it again and I got much better form but took longer.









ah ok I will try Has Bean jailbreak fist as thats on its way to me at the moment and then might try Formula Rossa.


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## shaunclarke (Nov 30, 2011)

They make a lovely espresso. What size Tamper do you use on the Cubika?


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## nekromantik (Nov 13, 2011)

shaunclarke said:


> They make a lovely espresso. What size Tamper do you use on the Cubika?


I just pulled a shot using the new beans and it was very fruity but crema was weak and I pulled a double shot in 18 secs without blonding so next I will try finer setting on my Porlex.

Im using 53mm tamper on mine from Cream Supplies. There is a slight gap but not too big, however they also do a 54mm tamper but not sure if it will fit.

As this machine is same as the Saeco Aroma people were using 53mm tampers.


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