Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

Nick1881 · 14 May 2019 at 20:55

jpaul said:
so does the Lelit have boiler insulation ? I have become more conscious of the electricity consumption of my non-insulated bezzera.

I imagine, like for non-e61 HX machines, you have to pull a warming/cool-down shot, too ?

I imagine the boilers are insulated, though loads of heat still pours out the top of it, does help to keep cups very warm.

No cooling shot required, it’s needed on HX machines because the brew water sits in the heat exchanger being heated by the steam boiler. I didn’t want to mess around doing cooling shots and not knowing if I had done enough etc.

jpaul · 14 May 2019 at 21:47

Nick1881 said:
it’s needed on HX machines

ah ok ... the lelits a double boiler not the hx I implied.

jpaul · 20 May 2019 at 08:23

Nick1881 said:
I didn’t want to mess around doing cooling shots and not knowing if I had done enough etc.

so read the lelit review over the weekend
https://www.home-barista.com/reviews/lelit-bianca-review-t54489.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mf0srd57A8

that profiling video seemed a bit contrived .. putting turkish grind in - and although the 'paddle' turns the process into an art, with pressure profiling for the whole duration of the shot, I wondered, how much, do you practically use it. ?

the design of the portafilter is real nice with the channel-back, plus rotary pump, so nicer noise (its like modern cars I need artificial noise piped on my lowly pump macchine)

Nick1881 · 21 May 2019 at 10:32

jpaul said:
so read the lelit review over the weekend
https://www.home-barista.com/reviews/lelit-bianca-review-t54489.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mf0srd57A8

that profiling video seemed a bit contrived .. putting turkish grind in - and although the 'paddle' turns the process into an art, with pressure profiling for the whole duration of the shot, I wondered, how much, do you practically use it. ?

the design of the portafilter is real nice with the channel-back, plus rotary pump, so nicer noise (its like modern cars I need artificial noise piped on my lowly pump macchine)

I have already been playing with the paddle and trying some of the profiling shots, I'm not sure I have the palate to be able to tell the difference. All I know is that the coffee I make at home now is some of the best I've ever tasted. I haven't tried the really fine grinds and long pre-infusion shot yet. Sadly I have come down with a cold today so my taste has taken a hit.

If you are anywhere near me you are welcome to have a play with the Bianca and try coffee from it.

jpaul · 21 May 2019 at 20:43

Thanks ... a bit far away .

I need to plan a visit to the London coffee festival, or maybe the bellabarista Northhampton base, where, maybe, they will let you test drive the newer tech.

Nick1881 · 22 May 2019 at 20:47

jpaul said:
Thanks ... a bit far away .

I need to plan a visit to the London coffee festival, or maybe the bellabarista Northhampton base, where, maybe, they will let you test drive the newer tech.

Bella Barista will certainly let you have a play, that's where I went, 2 visits there as it's only an hour away. It's best to call them and arrange something as they only have certain machines connected up at one time.

jpaul · 24 May 2019 at 08:16

I may need to do some heart surgery on my Bezerra HX - the facts

consecutive shots ran through last night as though the pressure was completely uncontrolled, and, there was some dribbling and steam from the grouphead, with pf removed, even after pump was turned off - I had increased the grind earlier in the day since I had thought that was wrong

I had not done a backflush for too long, so I did that, this initially showed the pressure was not being released from the 3 way valve into the drip tray after the shot
(no equivalent of the car turbo waste gate release noise) and the pf was remaining pressurized

letting backflush liquid do its job, and running pump again the three way valve released, so after letting it soak a bit more, I flushed with water and it seemed to pull a shot OK.

Now, I don't understand - even though the 3 way valve wasn't working, why the pressure was not being limited during the brew, the pressurestat should be bleeding excess water back into the reservoir, that pressure-stat would not have coffee gunk, so the only thing impacting that would be scale build up ?

any ideas ?

Scottland · 25 May 2019 at 16:29

Been practicing my 'tulip' a bit more:

Muska · 25 May 2019 at 16:32

Good work there I would say!

Raymond Lin · 25 May 2019 at 19:10

I still can’t do it.... when I pour the coffee don’t get that white but at the top regardless of height. The foam in the milk is all at the top, not blended into the bulk.

Scottland · 26 May 2019 at 11:22

@Raymond Lin can you film yourself stealing the milk? Someone might be able to suggest a tweak?

Dj_Jestar · 26 May 2019 at 12:00

@jpaul I'm not familiar with the group head on the bezzera but it sounds like you'll need to buy a servicing kit to replace the washers, rings, and so forth. My E61 did similar a while back.

Participant · 26 May 2019 at 20:46

Snookums said:
So you beautiful people, I have a Sage barista express arriving with me tomorrow, have 2 bags from dog and hat on order but will be popping into town to grab some bags from outpost and cartwheel to tide me over until my subscription arrives.

I have never poured an espresso in my life, so my research begins, any recommended videos to watch for it. I understand I am going to have a lot of trial and error so may pick up a bag of beans from the supermarket for testers so i don't nice beans.

Basically after tips and recommendations.

How did you get on? My ESAM 4200 is playing up and I'm thinking of replacing it with the Barista Express.

Raymond Lin · 26 May 2019 at 21:12

Scottland said:
@Raymond Lin can you film yourself stealing the milk? Someone might be able to suggest a tweak?

Ehhhh, while i have all the gear to make this happen. It's not quite easy to get the camera to point it down the way i want it to with a tripod on the counter top.

jpaul · 26 May 2019 at 21:40

Dj_Jestar said:
it sounds like you'll need to buy a servicing kit to replace the washers, rings, and so forth

yes I'm looking throught the exploded parts pdf to see what I might order

Raymond Lin said:
Ehhhh, while i have all the gear to make this happen.

no coffee porn shots today then
How to froth milk with Gaggia Classic
follow up video - need to learn all about the W spot too, from this lovely lady https://youtu.be/i0Q6Tl-V_uc?t=100

Participant said:
the Barista Express

ebay 15% day would have been better but not bad -£425 at ao https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sage-BES...fee-Machine-15-bar-Brushed-Steel/112863502883
but can probably cut ebay 15% out anyway with a direct call,
or the duo temp pro(mftr refurb? £230), plus a grinder.

Snookums · 26 May 2019 at 22:38

Participant said:
How did you get on? My ESAM 4200 is playing up and I'm thinking of replacing it with the Barista Express.

So far we are loving it. Its our first espresso machine so can't comment in comparison but I've managed to consistently start pouring a decent shot with it. I'd recommend it considering we only paid £270

Participant · 27 May 2019 at 03:15

Snookums said:
So far we are loving it. Its our first espresso machine so can't comment in comparison but I've managed to consistently start pouring a decent shot with it. I'd recommend it considering we only paid £270

Great price. I'll keep an eye on eBay and Amazon deals. Ideally I wanted one that auto tamps as this looks like it's impossible to avoid spewing coffee grounds everywhere

.

Snookums · 27 May 2019 at 09:36

Participant said:
Great price. I'll keep an eye on eBay and Amazon deals. Ideally I wanted one that auto tamps as this looks like it's impossible to avoid spewing coffee grounds everywhere .

Auto tamp would be nice but it demands a premium I don't think would be worth it. Yeah you make a slight mess but we have just a mat in front of our machine to tamp on then knock the Puck onto once done and just wipe it straight into the bin. Once you get used to it mess isn't really an issue either ever pour I'm making less and less mess I find.

jpaul · 27 May 2019 at 11:39

so was is from xs_items ebay store ? have looked at several Sage appliances on their site before - BE, DTP, ... waffle machine, but not purchased yet.

Snookums · 27 May 2019 at 13:27

jpaul said:
so was is from xs_items ebay store ? have looked at several Sage appliances on their site before - BE, DTP, ... waffle machine, but not purchased yet.

Yes it was, I got a refurb which is 1 year warranty and it's refurbed by sage themselves as apposed to xs items.

They seem good they not small cosmetic marks are possible but all I got it my drip tray has 2 small marks on it but it doesn't bother me enough and even if it did I could just get a new drip tray.

Only hiccup was the model I ordered was the 75 which comes with the sage jug that has the thermometer on it. My unit arrived without this but one email and they had a new jug sent straight out to me. So now I have 2!

I got mine when the 20% off code was live the other week so take in mind they will probably always be in ebay list of sellers that the codes work on.

Overall I would recommend them. They fact there are one of the few outlets that sells safe refurbished stuff installed confidence as I get the feeling sage will only sell units to a select number of clients they believe can hold Cs up to there standards.