FAQ

The coffee machine's pressure system has no moving parts.  It is the backpressure of the coffee in the basket that causes the build-up of steam pressure which drives the water through the coffee and provides the steam for the milk.  So issues with that backpressure are a common source of low steam pressure.  The back pressure depends on the fineness of the grind, the heat source, and the level of coffee in the basket.  All three of these often need to be adjusted when you change the type of bean you are using or if the beans get old.  If you are using the induction top then the beep at 8 minutes is about when your coffee should be extracted, plus or minus 20 seconds or so.  If it is much earlier than this then the grind is too coarse or there isn't enough coffee.  Much after and it shows the grind is too fine or there is too much coffee.  

The starting point for a good grind is a normal espresso grind the same as a barista uses.  Incidentally, if you are grinding the beans yourself you need a decent quality burr grinder (the Breville Smartgrinder is the cheapest we have come across) a blade grinder (like a spice grinder or blender) doesn't give you consistent grain size so you will get inconsistent results. 

The coffee should always be double-dosed.  That is, you pile the basket high, tap to get rid of the air, and then level with the top of the basket using something flat like a knife blade.  Then tamp the coffee with 1-2kg pressure (not too hard).  Then fill, level, and tamp a second time.  At the end of the second dose, the coffee should sit within about a millimetre or so of the top of the basket, just below the radius on the edge.  With well-ground coffee, you should be using the espresso basket, not the supermarket one (with fewer holes). 

Another important thing is to not let the coffee run after it has passed its peak.  A few minutes after the extraction starts you will hear a hissing sound from the head.  This is an indication that the water has dropped below the pick-up in the boiler and steam is coming through instead of water.  At this point the steam pressure will start to drop quite quickly so you won’t have much left for the milk and if you let it run until it stops the last extraction is stale and sour and will actually spoil the good coffee that you have collected.  So best to heat the milk 2 or 3 minutes into the extraction.  Once you’ve done that when you hear the hissing sound turn the heat off and release the remaining pressure from the wand into the air. 

Cleaning The Little Guy's body — lock the group handle and boiler lid into place. Use a soft wet soapy cloth to wipe the Little Guy clean. Rinse under warm water and dry with a tea towel. Using a microfibre cloth also works well.

• Cleaning the group handle — pull the basket from the handle and wash both separately in warm soapy water. Rinse, then dry with a tea towel or microfibre cloth.
• Maintenance of the boiler — the boiler is solid stainless steel and has an electropolished surface. There is no need to empty the boiler when The Little Guy's in regular use.
• If you're storing The Little Guy for any longer than a week we do recommend using a clean absorbent cloth or towel to soak residual water from the boiler and dry the inside surface.
• Removing the shower screen (refer to our Hints & Tips video for removal) — fold a tea towel into a soft pad, take The Little Guy and turn upside down, resting the top of the head on the tea towel. Using the allen key from The Little Guy Kit, remove the screw in the shower screen in The Little Guy's head. Gently leave the black head-seal from the inside of the head and remove the seal and shower screen together. Wash the screen in warm soapy water, rinse, then dry with a tea towel. Replace the screen and seal back into the head and secure the screw, using the allen key to tighten.
• Clearing the steam wand nozzle — the nozzle at the end of the steam wand will be finger/hand tightened. Simply unscrew the nozzle, wash in warm soapy water and use a small paperclip, with blunt end, to clear the hole (avoid using a pin or anything with a sharp end). Rinse the nozzle with clean water and refit to the steam wand using your fingers to tighten.
• This is all the maintenance required at home. Any work required beyond these simple steps will need to be carried out by a Little Guy authorized service centre.
• Refer to our Hints & Tips video. for cleaning instructions. Or access the instruction manual for The Little Guy cleaning tips.

Contact us using the service form and a member of our technical service team will contact you shortly to identify any issues with The Little Guy. 

After speaking to the service team, if The Little Guy still needs repair within the warranty period, we will be happy to repair under warranty.

WARNING: Repairs should only be attempted by qualified technicians.

Refer https://lovethelittleguy.com/pages/warranty

The power cord is a standard "IEC power lead", it is the same type used in desktop computers and things like electric kettles.

You can be able to find them at Bunnings or most electrical or computer shops.

Some basic maintenance such as seals and steam tips can be done by you at home and are quite easy.

major faults which require the machine to be opened such as replacing the tubing means disassembling the machine. Special tools are required to take the steam assembly apart.  Without these tools, there is a high risk of damaging the internals.  It is all repairable but it will need to come back to an authorised service centre for a rebuild.

It could have a faulty fan or an internal fault but it also might be genuinely too hot. 

If you using The little guy induction top with the coffee machine in the cooking mode that could be the issue. The coffee machine is a heavy load which is why we recommend using The little guy coffee setting. 

Is there at least 10cm behind it for the hot air to exit?  If it is too close to a wall the hot air can be sucked back in underneath so instead of cooling the fan makes it hotter.

The coffee machine's pressure system has no moving parts.  It is the backpressure of the coffee in the basket that causes the build-up of steam pressure which drives the water through the coffee and provides the steam for the milk.  So issues with that backpressure are a common source of low steam pressure.  The back pressure depends on the fineness of the grind, the heat source and the level of coffee in the basket.  All three of these often need to be adjusted when you change the type of bean you are using or if the beans get old.  If you are using the induction top then the beep at 8 minutes is about when your coffee should be extracting, plus or minus 20 seconds or so.  If it is much earlier than this then the grind is too coarse or there isn't enough coffee.  Much after and it shows the grind is too fine or there is too much coffee.   

The starting point for a good grind is a normal espresso grind the same as a barista uses.  Incidentally, if you are grinding the beans yourself you need a decent quality burr grinder (the Breville Smartgrinder is the cheapest we have come across) a blade grinder (like a spice grinder or blender) doesn't give you consistent grain size so you will get inconsistent results. 

The coffee should always be double dosed.  That is, you pile the basket high, tap to get rid of air and then level with the top of the basket using something flat like a knife blade.  Then tamp the coffee with 1-2kg pressure (not too hard).  Then fill, level and tamp a second time.  At the end of the second dose the coffee should sit within about a millimetre or so of the top of the basket, just below the radius on the edge.  With well-ground coffee you should be using the espresso basket, not the supermarket one (with fewer holes). 

Another important thing is to not let the coffee run after it has passed its peak.  A few minutes after the extraction starts you will hear a hissing sound from the head.  This is an indication that the water has dropped below the pick up in the boiler and steam is coming through instead of water.  At this point the steam pressure will start to drop quite quickly so you won’t have much left for the milk and if you let it run until it stops the last extraction is stale and sour and will actually spoil the good coffee that you have collected.  So best to heat the milk 2 or 3 minutes into the extraction.  Once you’ve done that, when you hear the hissing sound turn the heat off and release the remaining pressure from the wand into the air. 

Maintenance of the boiler — the boiler is solid stainless steel and has an electropolished surface. There is no need to empty the boiler when The Little Guy's in regular use.

The internal tubing is made from silicon reinforced with nylon mesh.

If the coffee and grind haven't changed but you are getting less extraction then you are losing pressure somewhere in the system and it is likely to be from the steam wand. 

The most common issue with this is a build-up of calcification on the tip of the steam pin.  This can often be fixed by tightening the steam knob several times (by hand) as hard as you can which will break it up. 

If that doesn't work then service would certainly get it back working well again.

The induction top is

Remove the boiler cap using the group handle as per the instructions. 

When tightening the boiler cap tighten by hand rather than using the group handle if you feel significant resistance it could indicate that the seal is sticking to the boiler mouth and might tear so try lubricating the seal by rubbing a little cooking oil onto it.

The boiler cap should always be tightened until it hits the stop to get the optimal seal. 

New boiler cap o-rings are available here.

To access the steam pin:

Yes. You can place an order as a guest with no obligation to create an account. We do recommend that you create an account, however, if you’d like to check your order history and have your shopping basket items and payment details saved for next time. It’s quick and easy to create an account. Just visit register and follow the instructions on-screen.

This is automatically sent to your email address when you place an order. If you haven’t received your order confirmation within 24 hours, please get in touch at contact-us just in case there’s a problem with your order. Please check your mailbox’s spam or junk folder before contacting in case the order confirmation has been diverted there.

There is only a short amount of time between when you place your order and when we start processing it. If you contact us straight away after ordering, via contact-us, we may be able to cancel your order before it’s processed. If not, we’ll despatch your order and then you can return it to us if you wish upon receiving it.

Orders that require shipping within Australia. will be delivered within three to ten days, depending on your preferred shipping method. 

We ship to most countries in the world with DHL.

Do you ship internationally?

Yes, we do. Transit times are typically up to 15 days depending on the country.

International shipments - Duty and Taxes paid by you the receiver.

Duties and taxes are levied by Customs in the destination country and the receiver is responsible for paying them.

DHL will pay the charges on the receiver's behalf and collect payment from the receiver prior to or on delivery. Generally, DHL is unable to deliver parcels until these have been paid.

International shipments -  What additional charges can I expect following customs clearance?

Depending on the value and the type of goods imported you may expect the following:

• Customs import duties (percentage of shipment value and transport charges)
• Local tax
• Any regulatory charges, if applicable

Shipping costs depend on the item you’ve ordered and the country where it’s being delivered. 

We accept the following credit cards: MasterCard, Visa, and American Express.

We also accept payment by PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay

https://lovethelittleguy.com/pages/refund-policy

In the rare event that your order arrives damaged or faulty, please take photos of the product in question and email our customer service team via Contact us with the details. We’ll respond within 48 hours. If you just don’t like the product for any reason, we’ll gladly accept it back as a return, providing it’s in “as new” condition, in its original packaging with all labels attached.

Download the little guy operating instructions

Download the Induction top operating manual.

The Little Guy Naked Portafilter is a premium upgrade accessory for your The Little Guy brewer!

Watch your extractions from the first drip with this portafilter, either to help you diagnose your technique or just to enjoy the entire brewing process!

Specifically, the "naked" head exposes the bottom of your basket, allowing you to diagnose any channelling or other issues with your shots. 

Another advantage is that your espresso produces slightly more crema. Your espresso shot will come in contact with no other surface than the bottom of your portafilter basket.

INTERNATIONAL USE:

The little guy induction top will only work with the following Voltage: 220-240VAC, 50/60Hz.

Will NOT work in countries like the USA, Canada or Japan where the Voltage is 110VAC without a step-up transformer that has a rating of at least 1200 watts.

We provide a 12-month international warranty. Be aware that you will have to pay for the goods to be returned to Australia so that we can repair the items under warranty.

You will also be charged for return freight.

See full warranty conditions here.

We ship to most countries in the world with DHL.

Transit times are typically up to 15 days depending on the country.

International shipments - Duty and Taxes paid by you the receiver.

Duties and taxes are levied by Customs in the destination country and the receiver is responsible for paying them.

DHL will pay the charges on the receiver's behalf and collect payment from the receiver prior to or on delivery. Generally, DHL is unable to deliver parcels until these have been paid.

International shipments -  What additional charges can I expect following customs clearance?

Depending on the value and the type of goods imported you may expect the following:

• Customs import duties (percentage of shipment value and transport charges)
• Local tax
• Any regulatory charges, if applicable.