Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

My kitchen is getting done out in a few weeks, fancy treating myself to a new machine. Are there any decent bean to cup (espresso) machines for under £300?
 
Youstolemyname said:
So can anyone recommend a grinder for around the £50 mark? Just had a look at the Dualit one in Selfridges and it looked a bit flimsey!
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to be honest the Dualit is your best bet below about £100 at which point id go for the Iberital MC2

The other alternative is the Bodum Antigua, I bought one for my sister as a wedding gift and to be honest its no better than the Dualit, slightly better build but really no better as a grinder.
 
Its probably just me being a clumsy Coffee noob. I know that the beans are great because the Coffee is fantastic from the Aeropress (Rocky to grind).

Im going to get a bottomless portafilter, jug and a thermometer from Happy Donkey so that I cant start stretching some milk.
 
the bottomless PF will give you a good idea of how well your dosing and look pretty much not much else... (although mine lets me fit a mug directly under the PF for the best americanos)

Having said that it might well give you an idea of what's going wrong with your pulls... the gushing is most likely channelling through the puck due to too low tamping / too coarse grinding / clumping.

Try getting an idea of the tamp weight on some scales - you can even tamp the actual coffee on them if your keen :) aim for 30lb of pressure.

How much coffee are you putting into the PF? a good approximation is a flat level without any compression...

Might also be worth trying some other beans, some coffees just really don't work in espresso machines for some reason yet really shine in the aeropress...
 
Yeah I was thinking it would help to ensure that I am tamping evenly. I have no had many problems with uneven shots though so I'm guessing that I can rule that out.

The clumping is an issue but I can grind into a seperate contain, remove the clumps and then dose the portafilter. I does by filling the basket and scraping a flat edged spoon handle across the baskets surface about threee or four time. I make sure that the coffee is evenly distributed before tamping (a flat level as you say). I need to bring the scales downstairs to check on the tamp I think.

I have some El Salvador Finca La Fany on the way but i'll be using bad stuff to dial in the grind.
 
MarkST said:
I treated myself last week and got myself an Auber PID for Miss Silvia. Its sooo good not having to temp surf anymore, flavour in the cup is more balanced too :D Steaming is now a doddle, the PID brings the boiler upto 140c and switches off but as soon as the temp drops to 139c the boiler comes back on to give as much pressure as it possible can, my milk is coming out so much creamier and sweeter, but my latte art still sucks!
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How much did your Auber PID cost Mark? And where did you get it from. I fancy putting one of these in myself :)

I have had a look around and I cant find a UK seller though. The prices I have seen ($300 :eek:) have put me off a bit too. I understand its a signifcant upgrade though.
 
I enjoy coffee but until now it's either been a Nescafe :o or a weekly stop at a local independent coffee shop.

Every so often I buy some grounds from the supermarket to use in a cheap one-cup coffee machine. The taste is not great but usually enough to get me interested in improving the experience, on a budget. For quite a while I've intended to order an Aeropress but it never seems to happen.

I've spent quite a while flicking through this thread but due to the length (and age) of it I've been unable to be very thorough. With this in mind I apologise if some of the questions I'm going to ask have been answered previously. Irrespective, any answers to these questions directly would be very useful.

For ~£20 - £30 what's the best way to get a good coffee (relative to the other options at that price point). An Aeropress? A Moka? Something else (French press, etc)? Would it be worth buying more than one of these options (E.g., if they both excel at different things)?

In addition, what other items would you recommend that are reasonably inexpensive but give a greater flexibility? Let's assume another small budget is available for these - I've no idea at the moment but trying to get an idea of what might be required and at what cost. A milk frother to make lattes, etc? The Bodum 1446 Latteo Milk Frother is available below £10 at the large jungle store and gets excellent reviews.

Regarding grinders; is it possible to get a decent (burr?) grinder on budget? Either manual or electric? If so, what are the recommended models? At this price is it best to simply buy grounds? I like the idea of a grinder but I appreciate that at this price point it may be a false economy as I'm going to end up with poorer coffee than saving the cash and just buying grounds. Any recommendations here?

Anything better than this? Any other "recommended" or "must have" accessories?

In addition, if there are any specific points that I must know, as an absolute newcomer to "good" home coffee I'd like to hear them.

I'm sorry if this is somewhat disjointed and probably will require a lot of prompting for me to redefine my questions however this is quite an accurate reflection of how confused my head is after spending a few hours deciding what's what. I know, in regards to the money some spend on here, the cash values I'm talking are small but I don't want to end up making coffee poor enough to put me off entirely.

Thank you! :)
 
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An espresso thread! This forum has all sorts eh? :D

I have a Gaggia Classic combined with a nice Ascaso grinder (Beans from Hasbean)
Results are fantastic with the Gaggia, once the grind is right I mean.

For 20 - 30 quid mate you woud be best off getting an Aeropress from Hasbean (or wherever really) along with some pre ground beans. In my opinion it is the best "Budget" way to get a good coffee (and I do mean good)
I have one at work that I use when I need a quick fix. It's quick and easy and you get everything you need right out of the box.

With regard to grinders look into Dualit as a make. They make a decent grinder for around £60 which is about as cheap as you will get for a burr grinder (it does a great job though)
I guess an Aeropress combined with a dualit and some nice beans will get you a good start :)
 
RobotXander said:
An espresso thread! This forum has all sorts eh? :D

With regard to grinders look into Dualit as a make. They make a decent grinder for around £60 which is about as cheap as you will get for a burr grinder (it does a great job though)
I guess an Aeropress combined with a dualit and some nice beans will get you a good start :)
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If you search the internet you will find that you can Overclock the Dualit to give an even finer grind, though it can reduce the life of the machine
 
so the main thing that makes a good coffee is the beans and grind - coffee is like any other food in that it goes stale after its roasted it takes a few (upto 3) to settle down to its optimum then it will start to slowly go off.

Once its ground the ageing process speeds up massively.

Ideally you want a good burr grinder (like the dualit or one of the hand grinders talked about in this thread) over any expensive coffee making equipment.

An aeropress does give good results, technically a bit better than a good stove top or cafetiere but if you already have one then don't feel you have to ditch it for the aeropress (unless you want a new toy)
 
Thanks for the replies.

Based on this I have a few questions (some seemingly similar but having had a chance to read the thread more thoroughly they seem more appropriate):

1) Which is best: Aeropress, Moka Pot, French Press? Is more than one recommended? I don't currently have a suitable device to make coffee and hence I need to buy at least one of these but not sure which. Latter threads on here seem to be impressed by Moka Pot where as earlier Aeropress seemed to get a better response. Which is recommended? If Moka Pot, are the imitations just as good or are they to be avoided?

2) Regarding grinders: I've found the Delonghi KG49 burr coffee grinder for about £35... Does anybody have any feedback on this model? I know the Dualit has been mentioned a few times but I cannot find these for much less than twice the price of the Delonghi. eBay may have something suitable but I'd rather be able to order and be done with it than stalk a specific auction down, etc. If the hand wound models offer better value for money at the low end of the budget can anybody recommend a specific model? In addition to those models discussed I've also found the "James Martin by Wahl Mini Grinder" for just over £10. Compared to a model such as this am I better off just buying pre-ground coffee? At what point is it best to go from pre-ground to beans, in terms of the model of grinder used? I'm certainly very interested in the Delonghi, however, if anybody has any ideas on this one.

3) Anything else I'd need to buy to go with the above (Ideally some press/pot and a grinder of sorts)? I'm tempted to go for a Bodum 1446 Latteo Milk Frother as it's incredibly cheap and should enable me to be a bit more flexible and make cappuccinos and lattes, etc, too.

Thanks :).
 
Andrex said:
How much did your Auber PID cost Mark? And where did you get it from. I fancy putting one of these in myself :)

I have had a look around and I cant find a UK seller though. The prices I have seen ($300 :eek:) have put me off a bit too. I understand its a signifcant upgrade though.
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You have to get it from America from the Auber website www.auberins.com I got the unit with steam control at a total cost of £132
 
RastaManBob said:
1) Which is best: Aeropress, Moka Pot, French Press? Is more than one recommended? I don't currently have a suitable device to make coffee and hence I need to buy at least one of these but not sure which. Latter threads on here seem to be impressed by Moka Pot where as earlier Aeropress seemed to get a better response. Which is recommended? If Moka Pot, are the imitations just as good or are they to be avoided?
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I prefer the aeropress, it's quicker to make, better taste for me, and easier to clean. That said, it's not particularly suited to making multiple cups of coffee at the same time so I still use a French press when making coffee for other people and sometimes for a bit of variety I dust off my moka pot. They're all pretty cheap, get one of each and have a play?
 
MarkST said:
You have to get it from America from the Auber website www.auberins.com I got the unit with steam control at a total cost of £132
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Thanks :)

I'll be getting one of these at some point I think. Really want to tap into the Silvias potential.


The Chemex seems to get a lot of love from Hasbean Steve? £26 for the 3 cup and it couldn't really be easier to use. Chosen method for cup profiling at Hasbean judging by the videos.

Check out some of the brewing method videos on youtube :)

Pleased to say that I have made several fantastic Cappuccinos today with my Rocky and Silvia (using Skybury). Just waiting for the newly arrived Fany Bourbon to degas now :D
 
1) Which is best: Aeropress, Moka Pot, French Press? - Depends what you want to do:

Make one or two short coffee's (not really espresso) to then mix to an americano, lates, cappuccinos etc. an Aeropress offers a reasonable way of doing this, just needs a kettle to make the coffee.

A moca pot can do 2-20 short coffee's (again not really an espresso) in a similar way to a Aeropress but needs a stove & hot water to do so.

A frech press will only do long, americano style coffess so no good for Cappuccions for example - again only needs hot water

2) Regarding grinders - a cheap grinder won't do the level of grind you need for the aero press, a cafeteria and mocha won't be so sensitive to grinder as they need a coarser grind but you need one that uses burrs - not a bladed one.

3) Anything else I'd need to buy to go with the above - if you want a milk frother the bodum one it probably pretty good - my Dad swears by a cheap plastic thing he has that's basically the same design just a little smaller & open bottomed, it sits in a cup/jug and does the same thing.
 
Andrex said:
The Chemex seems to get a lot of love from Hasbean Steve? £26 for the 3 cup and it couldn't really be easier to use. Chosen method for cup profiling at Hasbean judging by the videos.

Check out some of the brewing method videos on youtube :)

Pleased to say that I have made several fantastic Cappuccinos today with my Rocky and Silvia (using Skybury). Just waiting for the newly arrived Fany Bourbon to degas now :D
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I do love the Skybury - seems to be pretty forgiving as well, possibly because its not a very bitter or dark roasted coffee generally. Glad your making progress :) Will be interested to hear how you get along with the bourbon!

The Chemex has interested me for a while, they just seem to be a little pricey for what they are, but i do like a drip brewed coffee once in a while :)
 
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