Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

[Raymond Lin]

Been doing it for 9 years.. no spitting.

I didn’t ask how long you’ve been doing it, I merely said lay down some paper towels and check. They are so small that it is very hard to see, that’s the purposes of the white paper towels.

I thought I nailed it too…then I tested it.

 

[jpaul]

As much as anything the pressure control/stability on the machine as it ramps up will dictate bottomless portafilter spray and puck breakthrough;
some people mod BE's to reduce that kick, equally if I had an adjustable OPV I'd experiment.
e: pre-infusion aspect of a e61 would help too.

e2:

Hard to get that mousetail with the newer high extraction baskets.

not sure I'd fork out for such a filter one with uniform holes would do for starters - recent exposure of IMS (im)precision baskets

 

[gazref]

You can get very close with paper filters on the bottom & top

 

[Alex_L]

As much as anything the pressure control/stability on the machine as it ramps up will dictate bottomless portafilter spray and puck breakthrough;
some people mod BE's to reduce that kick, equally if I had an adjustable OPV I'd experiment.
e: pre-infusion aspect of a e61 would help too.

e2:

not sure I'd fork out for such a filter one with uniform holes would do for starters - recent exposure of IMS (im)precision baskets

I’ve found the high extraction baskets (I have a pesado and Weber uni basket) are less messy than I expected. I expected to get coffee everywhere given even with years of practice and a VST basket I still fairly regularly had that. Whereas with the High extraction ones barely any mess or sprays shooting off at weird angles . Clearly there is some fine spray if I get kitchen roll out but given the machine needs endless cleaning I kind of live with that.

 

[Alex_L]

You can get very close with paper filters on the bottom & top

Top paper filter is a game change for cleaning on an E61 machine. Puck screens on the other hand I simply can’t be bothered with the hassle of ultrasonic or steam cleaning them all the time.

 

[jpaul]

Is backflushing more problematic on an e61 per se - with an intermediate chamber I thought ?
although even with an HX I never really know how long to let the detergent sit in the passages and, usually, pressurize&discharge a couple of times from one dose of powder.

 

[Alex_L]

Is backflushing more problematic on an e61 per se - with an intermediate chamber I thought ?
although even with an HX I never really know how long to let the detergent sit in the passages and, usually, pressurize&discharge a couple of times from one dose of powder.

The faff with an E61 is if you backflush with detergent you need to re-grease the lever mechanism to avoid wearing the metal parts out. It’s not an horrendous job but a bit of a faff to do really regularly. I’ve found that using paper filters means I can backflush and re-grease about every three months. Also means less dropping the shower screen to clean that as well.

 

[jpaul]

yes I've never considered additional maintenance issues with the e61 - just the aesthetic of the lever & pre-infusion.

with hx I unbolt the screen & dispersion plate once a week - scrub with toothbrush when doing dishes, wipe pf seal and surface of head with water holes,
plus Q-tip the spout of PF. Once every 6 weeks or so soak the lot in pulycaf solution.

 

[Alex_L]

Think with all these machines you have to factor in maintenance or you simply use and abuse and accept a big bill every so often. Clearly easy things you can do to reduce that like using boiler safe water, puck screens, flush the steam boiler etc. but eventually something will need changed e.g. I’ve had to change two vacuum valves on my Lelit bianca.

Buying again (or the next upgrade….) I’d probably go for a decent espresso as it’s remote first company so everything is designed to be user serviced.

 

[NickK]

Looking for a recommendation for a coffee machine.

I have two:
* Elektra Microcasa a leva - beautiful, takes 20 minutes to warm up for two people, requires freshest grinds and grinding just before use.
* Bosch Tassimo - capsules make it a fast couple of cups a day. Heats on demand.

I've started using re-usable capsule for the tassimo that allows you to put your own coffee in. Issue is the Tassimo pump/heater obviously doesn't like this too much as I use the MCAP4 grinder ground into the espresso grind required for the Elektra.

What I want is a on-demand heating coffee machine with a grouphead so I can put coffee in (not too worried about tamping) and it will essentially cope with that for a full mug twice a day using a bag of supermarket beans ground once for the week. This is a convenience machine but without being a bean to cup which I don't like particularly.

Most of the coffee machines are a boiler design that need heating up before hand.

Any recommendations?

 

[Raymond Lin]

Got some new scales from Aliexpress. Only about £15, seems very nice. USB-C charging, bright LED, accurate to 0.1g.

 

[iron_monkey]

Looking for a recommendation for a coffee machine.

I have two:
* Elektra Microcasa a leva - beautiful, takes 20 minutes to warm up for two people, requires freshest grinds and grinding just before use.
* Bosch Tassimo - capsules make it a fast couple of cups a day. Heats on demand.

I've started using re-usable capsule for the tassimo that allows you to put your own coffee in. Issue is the Tassimo pump/heater obviously doesn't like this too much as I use the MCAP4 grinder ground into the espresso grind required for the Elektra.

What I want is a on-demand heating coffee machine with a grouphead so I can put coffee in (not too worried about tamping) and it will essentially cope with that for a full mug twice a day using a bag of supermarket beans ground once for the week. This is a convenience machine but without being a bean to cup which I don't like particularly.

Most of the coffee machines are a boiler design that need heating up before hand.

Any recommendations?

I think the bambino plus is what you're looking for, Its ready to go 3 seconds after turning it on and it makes a lovely coffee.

 

[Siliconslave]

as Iron Monkey says most of the sage machines prioritise warm up speed over temperature consistency so aren't a bad option, higher up the market the ECM CASA V or Puristika are pretty quick to heat up (5-7 min & around 12min) but don't know of anything as 'on demand' as Tassimo / Nespresso style machines.

 

[jpaul]

What I want is a on-demand heating coffee machine with a grouphead so I can put coffee in (not too worried about tamping) and it will essentially cope with that for a full mug twice a day using a bag of supermarket beans ground once for the week. This is a convenience machine but without being a bean to cup which I don't like particularly.

you want to push a full mug of hot water through the portafilter into the cup ? or add hot water to an espresso ? ... to duplicate drink you appear to do with tassimo .

delonghi dedica maybe as good/better than bambino - check out warehouse - they have a good reputation
not sure if latest thermojet on bambino can really deliver 150/200ml of hot water, in one go, or it will be tepid ?

 

[iron_monkey]

you want to push a full mug of hot water through the portafilter into the cup ? or add hot water to an espresso ? ... to duplicate drink you appear to do with tassimo .

delonghi dedica maybe as good/better than bambino - check out warehouse - they have a good reputation
not sure if latest thermojet on bambino can really deliver 150/200ml of hot water, in one go, or it will be tepid ?

You can get hot water from the steam wand on the bambino but as you say it isnt boiling hot, more like 60c

 

[NickK]

We don't have a kettle - in fact we only have a gas hob kettle, so the idea is to have a simple way to get coffee out of the grinds and heat the water on demand in a small compact unit that's easy for anyone to use. Sort of the opposite of the Elektra

I'm thinking like this:
0. earlier that week - grind a full bag into a sealable container.

1. Switch on unit, refill water if reqiured
2. fill basket with two scoops of coffee and lock in.
3. press button, ... a few moments later... (ie 3 seconds or so)
4. Water with coffee comes out
5. Water with less coffee
6. Water with no coffee
7. Cup filled (the amount of water is defined so the button push fills the cup)
8. clean basket.
9. switch off unit.
10. walk away.

It should be about the same compact size as the tassimo.

The mrs has decaf coffee only on the Sunday - she dips bread into it .. which is normal French behaviour around coffee.. I'll have a one or two in the course of the morning and then one after lunch. The good thing is this machine also provides a quick after dinner coffee/espresso for the outlaws or for visitors when waiting for 20 minutes for 2 people's water to warm up is not acceptable

 

[NickK]

That Delongi looks good - it takes a mug and the steam wand will be good if the mrs wants a capo or a hot chocolate.

I'll see if I can find out more and see if it will do a mug of water. The French coffees are smaller typically and I'm using a small mug (not a bucket). It also does capsules so that can be an option for quick backup and no beans around. It also seems you can programme the cup volume. This could make it easy - with the two cup basically doing a mug and the one cup doing an espresso. Heat up time is 30 seconds.. which is acceptable, so by the time you've sorted coffee, cup and water.. it's warmed up.

 

[Siliconslave]

Feels like you need a filter machine rather than an espresso machine, or do you want to steam milk as well?

boiler water isn't generally the best, in fact it's almost always horrible and putting a whole cup of water through the puck is even worse.

 

[jpaul]

neither delonghi nor bambino have a boiler - can get water from delonghi wand https://youtu.be/PoXH0-5cgWQ

looks like there is a newer pid delonghi ec950 but probably $$$ ... meanwhile 685 seems to have some vouchers on amazon - bambino is twice the price lol,
both on amazon so a low risk purchase.

 

[Cleisthenes]

Got some new scales from Aliexpress. Only about £15, seems very nice. USB-C charging, bright LED, accurate to 0.1g.

I (perhaps foolishly) bought a Black Mirror Nano to go with my classic pro. Quite a bit of money but it’s doing what I wanted, and very small so fits on the drip tray of the Gaggia.