Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

lot to be said for a hopper and doser at the output : I measure out single shots, negligible retention (use a small bottle brush in chute), and you then get zero static/clumping
coffee having fallen first into metal doser, before charging pf. (modded rancilio)

Lelit MaraX (some have here street ?) would be my choice ifmy Bezerra HX went pop, E60 has a sense of occasion with pre-infusion (maybe e60 maintenance would get to me)
coloured bodies of the eurekas remain an attraction, if grind is on par with others, too.
 
glitch said:
The original DF64 was awful - poorly built, badly engineered, clunky to use and had a bunch of low-end components. But it had 64mm flat burrs and would take SSPs, so everyone went bananas and called it the Niche killer despite it not being anything of the sort. Most of the hype was around the ability to swap burrs relatively easily, probably a first in an inexpensive grinder.

The Gen 2 wasn't that much better, but still had the fanatical following of the first version thanks to it being a cheap-ish 64mm flat burr grinder. Then we got the DF64V which by all accounts was a good improvement on the original 64, but that has since been superseded by the DF64V V2... which fixes all the problems the V1 had.

Burrs make the grinder, but the grinder still needs to be built around the burrs it has installed or is capable of using. All these extra bells and whistles like variable RPM, plasma generators and similar are just gimmicks IMO and do nothing to improve the grind quality or the taste in the cup.
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Interesting. I've read some of those bits before, when I was researching and aware of many incremental improvements, like the soft rubber bit first introduced on the DF54 being added to the 64. And even on the my 54 it was listed as V2, but not V2, because of some minor improvements.
 
I have made 3 cups with aeropress now and I am sorry but I still don’t get the hype lol ( I had one before 15 years ago )

Vs the Hario Switch

1 – 3 pieces to clean at the end versus just 1 Hario Switch

2 – When I unscrew the bottom, the paper is stuck to it and I had to get my fingers dirty to pull it out Vs I just lift the paper filter by the edge and drop it into the bin

3 – I have to press….I know, I know…exercise. Just more effort.

As opposed to press the button and I can go grab the milk

4 – Inverted method does not hold the correct ratio of 15g of coffee:water unless I have the thing extended right at level 4 and that is F-ing dangerous when doing inverted.

5 - The EXPERIENCE is just ick. People talk about the experience of using a grinder and the workflow. I find the experience and work flow for the aeropress to be the worst of all of the not machine method...

I will keep it for travelling as my 1zpresso grinder fits inside it and the Hario is made of glass but at home…The Hario is just so much easier…much bigger opening when pouring, it is stable with lower center of mavity*, less pieces to clean (even if I disassemble it).

not sure why that spell out mavity with a m.... pressing the letter ggggggggggggg
 
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For me the aeropress wins for its durability and compact...ness. If I'm on a motorbike trip or hiking I can fit everything I need to make 2 or 3 cups of coffee (except the heat source) inside the aeropress. It's then easy to pack and pretty much indestructable.
I'm thinking about a Switch for the office...
 
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I think you are doing something wrong and/or looking for reasons to moan. It's really not as hard as you make it out to be.

I have never had the paper stick to the part that unscrews, so you must be pressing far too hard when plunging or grinding too fine. A quick tap of the puck and a wipe of the black rubber part and the whole thing is almost clean enough to go again if you aren't really fussy. Just leave it sat for a short while and drink your coffee before cleaning.

Inverted is a waste of time in my experience and having done some side-by-side tests when I was bored, makes no discernible difference.

I like this method for really light roasts:

timwendelboe.no

AeroPress - Tim Wendelboe

How to brew with an Aeropress https://youtu.be/ggCK_oOS_08?si=x69hxtGMrSRLz0lQ Please note, you need to accept functional cookies to be able to play the video. In this video, Tim will show you how to make a a cup of excellent coffee or moka (strong coffee like the one from a Bialetti coffee...
timwendelboe.no timwendelboe.no

Or this, for medium to medium-light roasts:

 
I posted that picture of my Aeropress Clear last Saturday and I've been blown away by it. I haven't even turned on the Gaggia since that last shot and getting the AP. The AP is very convenient and easy to clean. One big advantage against the Espresso machine and Moka Pot is that you can customise the recipe and quantity, i.e. a 40ml shot, or a 250ml americano. I've still yet to try a Hario V60, or Switch (or similar pour over) and I know that that brewing method has similar advantages.

I've also quite liked the inverted method as it minimises the early run through of liquid that you get normally. I've been having 15g of coffee, ground at 30 on the DF54 - 60 on the K6 (so close to espresso grind size) and add 90-95ml of water inverted, heavy stir, leave for 30 seconds and then turn-over to push into the cup. Add frothy milk from the Aerocinno 3.

At some point I'll get a V60, but I can see the appeal of the Aeropress. Particularly if you want portability. I also think the Aeropress is more forgiving on the kettle too, you can use a normal one. Some of these V60 recipes and method really favour a goose neck kettle. Which is additional cost.
 
Think I'm hitting issues with the Barista Express grinder already - there's a lot of retention, and I seem to be getting quite inconsistent shots - first one this morning was 28 seconds, second one (a couple of hours later) was much quicker at 20 seconds, completely different taste, I guess the difference between 24 hour stale grinds and 2 hour not quite so stale grinds...

Got the manual grinder set up for some decaf beans I got, and that's giving much more consistent results, so I've ordered an Encore ESP.

Now hovering over the buy button for a Lelit Anna... :p

Raymond Lin said:
I have made 3 cups with aeropress now and I am sorry but I still don’t get the hype lol ( I had one before 15 years ago )

Vs the Hario Switch

1 – 3 pieces to clean at the end versus just 1 Hario Switch

2 – When I unscrew the bottom, the paper is stuck to it and I had to get my fingers dirty to pull it out Vs I just lift the paper filter by the edge and drop it into the bin

3 – I have to press….I know, I know…exercise. Just more effort.

As opposed to press the button and I can go grab the milk

4 – Inverted method does not hold the correct ratio of 15g of coffee:water unless I have the thing extended right at level 4 and that is F-ing dangerous when doing inverted.

5 - The EXPERIENCE is just ick. People talk about the experience of using a grinder and the workflow. I find the experience and work flow for the aeropress to be the worst of all of the not machine method...

I will keep it for travelling as my 1zpresso grinder fits inside it and the Hario is made of glass but at home…The Hario is just so much easier…much bigger opening when pouring, it is stable with lower center of mavity*, less pieces to clean (even if I disassemble it).

not sure why that spell out mavity with a m.... pressing the letter ggggggggggggg
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When I ran out of paper filters for the Aeropress I changed to a metal screen and found it much easier - yes, it's one more thing to "clean" (i.e. rinse under the tap for a few seconds), but no smushing around with soggy coffee covered paper.
 
I am using the papers it comes with, it fits SNUG and by that i means even when dry, it stays in there with friction. It is basically made like a macron too large so at the end when I unscrew it, the paper stays. It's nothing to do with me pressing too hard. It stay there when dry, without any pressure.

Yes I am moaning but merely pointing out thing workflow ick I dislike about it, I remember why I gave it away 15 years ago lol. Everything i listed back then still true and back then i had no Hario Switch to compare it with.

edit - this is more unfortunate than anything....I wish the opening is slightly larger by a fraction so the dosing cup fits inside it like it does to the portafilter. That would make dosing from a dosing cup from the Niche MUCH better. This goes back to the larger opening on the Hario Switch, for both pouring water in and adding coffee in. Larger opening = more room for error. I managed to spill water the other day because the dosing cup doesn't fit in the Aeropress like a portaflter so when pouring the water, i was trying to "wash" some of the ground from the inside wall down and end up with water everywhere on the countertop. This problem never happens with the Hario Switch.

Little quality of life thing.
 
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iamgigglz said:
For me the aeropress wins for its durability and compact...ness. If I'm on a motorbike trip or hiking I can fit everything I need to make 2 or 3 cups of coffee (except the heat source) inside the aeropress. It's then easy to pack and pretty much indestructable.
I'm thinking about a Switch for the office...
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For travel, i can see the attraction and I am keeping it for that and bought it for that. At home though, with my Hario Switch right there, I don't think I will use the Aeropress. The workflow is just more annoying, has more friction. From the dosing cup doesn't fit into it, more to clean, have to touch wet coffee ground (as opposed to edge of paper, restrictive in terms of how much coffee I can make (I can treat the Switch as a V60 and make 2 cups in 1 go so the Switch is more flexible overall as a brewer too).

They both make great coffee, so I can't even give the Aeropress the winning point for that.
 
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Yeah I do v60 at home too, I prefer the cups I get from that. My aeropress papers also stay put, i press all the way down to most of the hiss and then when i open the piston it's easy to get a nice clean clunk for the last bit. Always remember to fully rinse the aeropress including the rubber plunger. They go sticky and fusty over time I think from coffee oil deposition.
 
glitch said:
The Dual Boiler is the best machine for the price, by a country mile. Learn to open it up and understand how it all works, flip your seals biannually, do the Slayer mod and you have a machine that will do anything and last years.

Home-Barista has the best guides and the most helpful Dual Boiler nerds.


I don't know any machine that is specifically designed for left-handed folks... had never thought about that before, to be honest!

Decents are decent, but you have to learn to love the way they work and, most importantly, the way they sound. I was this close to buying one, but decided I couldn't live with that sound on a daily basis. Go see a Decent Ambassador and get a tour of one if you are interested - really worth doing and they have ambassadors all over the country.

Whatever you do, buy the absolute best grinder you can afford and spend the rest on your machine. If you've got £2k to spend, 50% of that on the Sage DB and then the rest on a really good grinder.
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Really interesting feedback about the df54/64, I thought James hoffman was really impressed with his review sample and it was the one to get, what would you say would be a better option then? Mazzer Philos/Zerno Z1 that kind of thing?
 
They are good for the money, but you can get far better quality grinders as your budget increases. The DF64V V2 is supposedly very good, but it's also very expensive for what it is and the build quality is not up to the price tag.

From a purely personal perspective, I can highly recommend pairing the Dual Boiler with a Niche Duo. I have been fortunate to test out a bunch of other fancy grinders (Philos and Lagom P64) and have used a Zerno briefly and I would still buy a Niche.

You can get into 83mm SSP burrs if you want to (stock are just fine though) and the thing just works and doesn't have any weird design decisions.

If money was no object and I had to pick something that wasn't the Niche... Lagom P64, but I'd want one in white.
 
glitch said:
They are good for the money, but you can get far better quality grinders as your budget increases. The DF64V V2 is supposedly very good, but it's also very expensive for what it is and the build quality is not up to the price tag.

From a purely personal perspective, I can highly recommend pairing the Dual Boiler with a Niche Duo. I have been fortunate to test out a bunch of other fancy grinders (Philos and Lagom P64) and have used a Zerno briefly and I would still buy a Niche.

You can get into 83mm SSP burrs if you want to (stock are just fine though) and the thing just works and doesn't have any weird design decisions.

If money was no object and I had to pick something that wasn't the Niche... Lagom P64, but I'd want one in white.
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I'm keen on the look of both niche grinders. Did you try the duo for both espresso and filter? How did you find switching the burrs? I do like both types of coffee at least one of each a day.

When you tried the Philos, was it with the 200 burrs? I think they are probably my two favourite options at the moment based off of the internet.
 
Swapping burrs in the Duo is a very simple process and once you've got your alignment down with the filter burrs, which does take some time, it's really nice and easy to do on a whim and you end up with a really clean grinder as a bonus.

I had both burrs in the Philos. As you'd expect, the 200s were great for medium to light roasts and the 189s worked well for the medium roasts, but I'd want access to both if I owned one. Pointless trying SSPs as they don't really fit.

Biggest drawback of the Philos is where they put the adjustment dial. Putting it on the back meant I had to pull it all the way out from the wall every time I wanted to adjust. Drove me nuts and that's why I moved it on faster than I had planned to.
 
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Oh I didn't think of that, yeah good point it'll go against the wall for me too. I do like the look of the niche.
 
on another note - anyone with a Sage Dual Boiler, Ive opened the shower screen to give it a clean today and found the plastic inner distributor bit is cracked, I'm looking for a replacement that looks to be about a tenner in plastic but seems dubious if it'll be a genuine part and whether it'll be of a suitable grade. Did anyone else replace theirs with a steel one once the plastic went? I think steel would be more likely to be food safe but depends on if it actually comes in 304; I guess there are no welds so probably OK from a sanitary point of view.
 
Easily cracked if someone has cranked on the screw that clamps the shower screen down. I'd stick with the Bakelite-esque thing as not sure if the machine will adjust to the stainless steel block and thermal stability is something the DB is superb at.

If you upgrade to the IMS screen, the stainless steel block is considered a paired upgrade. Stock stuff works really well and always has.
 
glitch said:
Easily cracked if someone has cranked on the screw that clamps the shower screen down. I'd stick with the Bakelite-esque thing as not sure if the machine will adjust to the stainless steel block and thermal stability is something the DB is superb at.

If you upgrade to the IMS screen, the stainless steel block is considered a paired upgrade. Stock stuff works really well and always has.
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I'm struggling to find an official link, was it off of coffee classics? They don't seem keen to post to Highland they want £26 for postage. Ebay sellers don't seem keen at all.
 
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