Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

D.P. said:
Cool Will probably just go with the rocky. The Baritza vario reviews are more mixed, some fantastic some very poor, while the rocky seems to get "this is the minimum grinder you should ever consider, it sucks but everything else for around this money or less is far worse and not useable".


Can you just buy or DIY the PID mods? Where I I tend to buy I can get the do done for $150 but that seems very high and I wouldn't mind the challenge of making a little circuit myself and running the PID gains.
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I bought mine ready made from Auberinstruments on ebay, but yes, you can buy the components and build it yourself. I'm too lazy though and liked the ready assembled kit. Actual fitting is a doddle, although I did wait 12 months before doing it. Cost with the steam control too was about £120 or so.
 
D.P. said:
Cool Will probably just go with the rocky. The Baritza vario reviews are more mixed, some fantastic some very poor, while the rocky seems to get "this is the minimum grinder you should ever consider, it sucks but everything else for around this money or less is far worse and not useable".
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Just thought I'd throw the Eureka Mignon into the mix; a superb grinder for under £300. I know there are a couple of people on here with them, and it has been a fantastic grinder for the last 4 years for me.
 
molinari said:
Just thought I'd throw the Eureka Mignon into the mix; a superb grinder for under £300. I know there are a couple of people on here with them, and it has been a fantastic grinder for the last 4 years for me.
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Doesn't look like it is sold widely in the US but does look like a contender otherwise.:)
Can't find it sold on any US website.


One reason to go for the rocky is it appears as a Rancillo kit for a slightly reduced price that also comes with a tamper, milk jug, thermometer, cleaners and some cups.most websites have a similar bundle at a similar price point, but swapping out to a different grinder will loose the extras.
 
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proper nice coffee

Holy Mary mother of god!

I just pulled my first shot of hasbeen coffee fresh out of a sealed bag roasted 4 days ago.

I got 3 bags and the one I just opened was an Ethiopian bean 'yirgacheffe kochere debo'.

It says blueberry in a cup and they're not wrong, it's gorgeous.

Never thought a coffee could taste so different.

Immense.
 
Hmmmmmm

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D.P. said:
Rancilio Silvia and rocky on its wait, now I need to learn how to make an espresso!
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Fun times !

First piece of advice, do not use nice beans for the first time you use the machine (grinder). I remember using about half a bag before I got the grinding setting correct.

Then after that is slight adjustments between beans.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Fun times !

First piece of advice, do not use nice beans for the first time you use the machine (grinder). I remember using about half a bag before I got the grinding setting correct.

Then after that is slight adjustments between beans.
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Thanks. It comes with a bag of lavazza that I will probably start with and then go to a local coffee shop which sales fresh roasted beans.
 
Raymond Lin said:
What's the water like where you are? Some people use bottled water in their machine due to limescale build up.
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Depending on the water this could do more damage then good as the TDS in mineral water can be higher then tap water. if the machine is regularly descaled it wont be a big issue but a brita filter is better then tap water as your trying to remove as many minerals as possible.
 
I recently purchased a Saeco bean to cup from JL but didnt really get on with it. The machine seemed to spend it's entire time self cleaning and i soaked the kitchen trying to get the tray to the sink. There also appeared to be some regular maintenance that needed doing which really put me off.

So I returned it and now using my trusty old Nespresso again- slowly diminishing my supply of pods.

The plan is to get something decent put seeing as i don't drink a lot of coffee, mainly at weekends - probably make 6-10 in total a week. I don't really want to spend a fortune on grinders and kit.

I have read around 40 pages of this thread and can see the Gaggia Classic is the clear favourite. However, my wife doesnt really like the look of it and wants something a little more modern.

I was wondering if the Gran Gaggia would be a suitable alternative plus it's a little cheaper at £160.

For a grinder I was either tempted to start out with pre-ground coffee or Krups Expert GVX231 at £38.

I'm not really that interested in making it a hobby just want to make hassle free tasty coffee with minimum effort and cost. I really want to move away from the pods and prepackaged style designs though,

Thanks in advance
 
i am tempted at the aeropress but thinking more along the lines of taking this to work to get away from the instant stuff we have there.

What i want is to make a nice latte or cappucino for the missus and our guests when they come over. I also like an espresso every now and again.

We are both working during the week and my kids are too young to appreicate it. Neither of us drink coffee at night.

So seems silly to go over the top
 
yimpster said:
I was wondering if the Gran Gaggia would be a suitable alternative plus it's a little cheaper at £160.

For a grinder I was either tempted to start out with pre-ground coffee or Krups Expert GVX231 at £38.

I'm not really that interested in making it a hobby just want to make hassle free tasty coffee with minimum effort and cost. I really want to move away from the pods and prepackaged style designs though,

Thanks in advance
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I should think that for your needs, the Gran Gaggia will be fine.
Pre-ground coffee beans really won't provide a great coffee experience regardless of the machine you use. The grinder is probably the most important piece of kit to get the best out of coffee beans, so I'd definitely recommend getting one. The Krups GVX231 you mentioned is a stepped burr grinder; it's not great but it is better than a blade grinder.

If you're looking at an Aeropress (superb piece of coffee kit!) to take to work, then you could look at getting a hand grinder to go with it, and then use that at home at the weekends. Something like a Hario or Porlex would be really good.
 
molinari said:
I should think that for your needs, the Gran Gaggia will be fine.
Pre-ground coffee beans really won't provide a great coffee experience regardless of the machine you use. The grinder is probably the most important piece of kit to get the best out of coffee beans, so I'd definitely recommend getting one. The Krups GVX231 you mentioned is a stepped burr grinder; it's not great but it is better than a blade grinder.

If you're looking at an Aeropress (superb piece of coffee kit!) to take to work, then you could look at getting a hand grinder to go with it, and then use that at home at the weekends. Something like a Hario or Porlex would be really good.
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I was thinking of grinding the beans at home in the morning and taking them with me to work to use in the aeropress.

If i was going to get a grinder under £80 what would you recommend? I see the Iberital is very popular at around £115 - just finding it hard to justify the purchase at this point.

Is it worth starting off with preground for a few months and see how i go? Or would starting with the Krups grinder be better?
 
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