Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

:eek: Nice!

On a sidenote I just popped round to Flat White on my lunchbreak to pick up some beans, and they're closed :(
 
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These were my Xmas toys to play with - Gaggia from my wife & grinder from parents :D
 
Hamster said:
Iberital MC2
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Yep. I was originally looking at the baratza virtuoso preciso but (like somebody else on here mentioned) had a bad experience trying to buy it from Interpresso! Once that was out of the question the MC2 was the next option in the price range I was looking at.

I'm really pleased with it so far, the MC2 has a really good quality feel to it and is well made. The grind adjustment is in very small steps so it gives you great control but is not easy to switch between different grinds.

I've only had 1 disaster so far which I think is down to either too coarse a grind or not tamping with enough pressure - I started to pour my shot and after a few seconds the machine decided to spray the coffee sideways out of the machine all along our kitchen wall and even hitting the curtains! I managed to laugh it off but the wife was not impressed :eek:

I'm guessing this happened because there was not enough pressure to hold the flow back and make it drip through slowly? Does anyone have any tips on this? I haven't done it since but I do find it a bit of a guess every time I tamp! Is it better to go to hard rather than not enough?
 
paul_31 said:
I'm really pleased with it so far, the MC2 has a really good quality feel to it and is well made. The grind adjustment is in very small steps so it gives you great control but is not easy to switch between different grinds.

You can get from most cheap poundland type shops clamps like these - but you need the ones that are about 5" long instead. One of these on the knob *fnar!* and easy adjustment is yours.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8-x-Sprin...t=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item415d4ce4bc

paul_31 said:
I've only had 1 disaster so far which I think is down to either too coarse a grind or not tamping with enough pressure - I started to pour my shot and after a few seconds the machine decided to spray the coffee sideways out of the machine all along our kitchen wall and even hitting the curtains! I managed to laugh it off but the wife was not impressed :eek:

I'm guessing this happened because there was not enough pressure to hold the flow back and make it drip through slowly? Does anyone have any tips on this? I haven't done it since but I do find it a bit of a guess every time I tamp! Is it better to go to hard rather than not enough?
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Do you have a plastic thing underneath the basket in the portafilter? If so, thats the cause. In order to get it working properly, you'll need a new filter basket to sort it. There's lots of info on it online - it's a crema enhancer... and it sucks.

If not... I'll have a think.

As for tamping pressure, do you have a set of bathroom scales? If you do, tamp on that and tamp to 30lbs or 13.5 kg of force. Yes it's a lot, but it's a good value.
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I remember that happening to me when I first got a Classic.
The pressurized baskets mean you HAVE to use the little plastic piece which is often missed by people the result is coffee all over the walls.

Like most though, once you get in to it you'll get a regular basket which will give you IMO a better shot, you will have to work on your tamp/grind a little more to get there though, but worth it in the end!!

I use a bottomless PF now and that's a lot of fun :D
 
I've experimented a bit and found so far that using the double basket without the plastic bit but tamping quite hard seems to work OK without so much splutter and its' giving me OK shots at the moment.

This will keep me going until I get a new basket anyway. Would this be the right one to get -
http://www.espresso-products.co.uk/gaggia-double-filter-basket-321-p.asp

Thanks for the hint with bathroom scales, I'll give this a go later on.
 
Hi guys, we have been given the go ahead to get a bean to cup machine for our office.

So far the front runner is this one:

Link

I have only just found out about this, and so far my calls for a manual machine have been ignored (too much work, mess etc)

Any opinions on bean to cup for a budget of 2k?
 
well today has been very much about coffee. :)

Was down in London today and visited a couple of places.

Notes (music & Coffee - just of trafalgar):- Loved it, nice relaxed atmosphere and loved their latte's and flat whites. probably the best of the day.

Milkbar: - Second time I had been there so tried just a long black and didn't really rate it as much as the latte I had in there the first time. It just tasted bitter and far too acidic for my taste.

Nude Espresso(soho square):- Again a nice little place very chilled out and minimalistic delicious latte in their.

Fernandez & Wells (near soho square):- A nice little hidden away place, nice friendly staff and again a very simple place. Had a black filter coffee in here and I am guessing they use the same beans as milkbar (square mile - Kenyan?) as it tasted the same. Not as bitter this time but still far too much acidity for me.

On my next trip I think I will be visiting LJ Coffee and possibly Monmouth.

Although will be going to birmingham in a couple of weeks time to go and see the good folks at 6/8Kafe which should be interesting.

Anyone else know any other places in Birmingham that I can go and visit while I am there?
 
There's the Urban Coffe Company but I wasn't that impressed with their effort with the V60 as it was tepid when it arrived; maybe the barista was having an off day!! Their cappucino and Americano were much better though. The staff were excellent and were really keen on getting feedback on their coffee. Atmosphere is really chilled out and unrushed in there too. Sofas and low tables kind of place upstairs and they've got wifi which is always nice.

http://www.urbancoffee.co.uk/

I went to the Church St shop.
 
Been reading through this thread from the start, very informative.

By page 40 I had bought a second hand Starbucks Barista grinder from the bay, by page 60 I had ordered a Gaggia Classic, milk jug and thermometer and a little chocolate shaker (gf likes it on her cappuccino). Now reached the end (page 80) and I think a proper tamper and basket are in order, I shudder to think what I'll be buying by page 100 if it gets that far.

The Classic arrived today, I ended up buying it from a supermarket direct as they were price matching the out of stock rainforest. I know it's been cheaper but I'm impatient (and kicking myself for not picking one up before Christmas).

Just made my first drink which didn't go totally according to plan:

- Double shot poured very quickly, I think just over a double in 20 seconds from hitting the button. Not sure if it's my grind (a finer grind would require hacking the Barista) or poor tamping (that plastic thing really is naff).

- Hadn't read the steaming instructions properly, ended up filling the milk with hot water :rolleyes: . Poured some in the shot and called it an americano :cool: surprisingly good for a mess up.

I'm using some Sainsburys beans while I'm testing, a bag of something organic I think. I do also have some "Four bean" from Hasbean.

Any tips? Should I get some espresso grind from somewhere so that I can compare the grind?

Cheers!

Edit: Just got the bathroom scales out, I wasn't tamping down anywhere near 13.5Kg
 
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in terms of getting a perfectly timed pour you'll be limited by the grinder (in standard form) and the beans. Fresh (good) beans won't need quite as fine a grind but ultimately you'll be luck to get a perfect pour without hacking the grinder I'm afraid. Having said that you should still be able to get a pretty decent coffee none the less.

With the plastic POS tamper the only way to get something approaching a decent tamp is to tamp the four 'corners' of the portafilter to get complete coverage.

If you want Trust me your address and I'll post over some zip-locked espresso grinds that 'should' give you around a 25second pour (although the delay will take a chunk of the freshness out of it :( )

edit: and read up on the plastic 'thing' added to the classic's portafilter basket (see the few posts above), that probably isn't helping matters!
 
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