Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread
- Thread starter Siliconslave
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Caporegime
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Looks about right but looks finer than the grind I normally have though.
Sounds like the grind is too fine, or you are tamping too hard. I've had that when dialing in a new coffee.
As for you basket getting stuck, I've also had that, and for me it was the 3-way solenoid not working. It works by directs the flow of water through the grouphead, through the steam wand, or releasing the excess grouphead pressure out through the drain outlet after brewing or back-flushing.
was the solenoid fault fixable by you or did you need to send for repair?
just wondering if it was me working with a dud for a month or my technique.
Sorry, I should have said. My machine is a Gaggia Baby Twin, but it is almost identical to the Classic. Mine is also 6 years old, so getting on a bit, and partly the reason the valve on mine was sticking (the other reason is limescale). You said you're getting it returned, but I would recommend you try another. They are decent machines, and yours does sound faulty.
As for your technique; you said in a post #4138 that you wound the grinder back. How much did you wind back? Looking at the photos you put of the pre and post tamped coffee, it certainly looks very dense.
Yes.
Not had a proper look at them, but I'd look at the Ascaso or the Graef. The Ascaso has stepless adjustment which is better than the stepped adjustment of the Graef, although the Graef has a slow grinding speed (the description says) which may mean less heat and static during the grind. Looking at the review for the Ascaso, you may need to use a yoghurt pot mod
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Heard good things from other coffee nerds about the Sage Smart Grinder.
Depends what you mainly need it for. There is a shim that is added to the Sage to improve it for espresso, I believe they should all have that now.
Better than the Iberital MC2, but not as good as the Mignon. Easier to adjust than both though.
Thing to remember, that it may be badged Sage by Heston Blumenthal... underneath it's Breville.
I have an Ascaso iMini Steel and it is excellent in every way. Very well made, and the adjustment is fine enough that it helps me to pretty much nail every coffee within a couple of shots. I assume that the i1 is even better though I haven't used it
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Is that a hand grinder?
Yes, it's a porlex tall.
Soldato
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just out of interest what is everyone's favourite coffee on Hasbean at the minute? Loving the Ethiopian which tastes of blueberries!
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I have that Graef one. It grinds consistently but can be a pain for retention. I sometimes have to give it a good whack to get my 17 grams out. The fresher the coffee the easier it comes out, though. I don't know if it would be any good for espresso as I only use an Aeropress but the reviews I read were positive. I won't buy another if it packs up.
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Soldato
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I'm massively into this fine Brazilian at the moment
That's a lovely cup. I order something different every time but have gone back for some of the Ethiopian blueberry stuff which now seems out of stock, sadly.
This is not a bad cup: http://www.hasbean.co.uk/collection...brazil-fazenda-passeio-pulped-natural-bourbon
Nothing mind-blowing but just very balanced.
Not had a proper look at them, but I'd look at the Ascaso or the Graef. The Ascaso has stepless adjustment which is better than the stepped adjustment of the Graef, although the Graef has a slow grinding speed (the description says) which may mean less heat and static during the grind. Looking at the review for the Ascaso, you may need to use a yoghurt pot mod
I have an Ascaso iMini Steel and it is excellent in every way. Very well made, and the adjustment is fine enough that it helps me to pretty much nail every coffee within a couple of shots. I assume that the i1 is even better though I haven't used it
Cheers for replies! Narrowed it down to either the Sage or Ascaso, problem with the Ascaso is it seems to be aimed purely at espresso with no facility to grind larger amounts of beans into a container for French press etc, mainly use Gaggia Classic at home but use a French press at work so need to grind up larger amounts of beans sometimes which looks like it could be a tad awkward with the Ascaso. (I suppose this might be where the yoghurt pot mod comes in?)