Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

E61 Grouphead said:
Londinium Espresso (UK) were selling these recently (£220 iirc). I love the idea of it. More info please :D
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well spotted....

I got it from londinium for about that price, ive had to wait for a while because orphan espresso have had problems keeping up with demand, infact londinium will not be able to sell anymore for the foreseable future cos orphan espresso arent sure they can supply enough. i bought it from them because it wouldnt have worked out much cheaper buying it direct. Mine is number 308 so they have sold a few! There have been quite a few people imported them direct so i dont think its a problem ordering them still.

It is very industrial in its nature but i quite like it, certainly built like a tank and should last.

As for its use, ive only had a quick play with it and managed to choke my machine up on first use, its a bit tricky to dial in but im sure ill get there. I havent got anything to compare it too becasue my other grinder is an el-cheapo Russell hobbs one that was tweaked to do espresso. Im a bit of a coffee noob, still finding my feet with it all but enjoying the learning curve. It has 68mm burrs (iirc) which are normally only found in a lot more expensive machines so im sure it will peform ok :)

I bought the la pavoni second hand for a good price but since then ive realised that it likes fresh beans and now ive got the upgrade bug and bought the grinder, what started out as a cheap purchase has ended up costing me a lot more than i planned, but the coffee is ten times better, so much so that my friends have started calling round for a coffee rather than a beer and one of them has got the coffee bug and bought himself an aeropress.
 
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Thanks k3v. I know next to nothing about these myself, but I was intrigued by it when I happened upon it recently when visiting Londinium's site, and then confused when it subsequently disappeared :p

Seemingly then the idea is you have a high quality grinder at a relatively accessible price point, that's easy to use. 68mm burrs as found in high end kit such as Mazzer Roburs I believe, so the grind quality should prove to be top notch. Keep us posted :)
 
Aaaah... thanks Siliconslave but my question is ironically moot now - I cracked the bottom of the stem on the upper container of the pot, so can't use it anyway :(

Anyone know where I can buy spares?

EDIT: Found this place, but for that money it's only £9 more for me to get a whole new coffeemaker (the ebay dude is still selling them!), and then I'll have a spare bottom bulb as well!:p

Cheap to replace, but still kinda heartbreaking to damage such a beautiful piece of kit... :(
 
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spudbynight said:
https://www.eightpointnine.com/

These guys deliver coffee and are running a promotion to get your first delivery for free. Discount code on the front page.

A video here about what they are doing

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Siliconslave said:
arr yes, good point - sorry! The blend I went for was 52% Brazilian & 48% Sumatran :)
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spudbynight said:
I went for

63% Sumatran
32% Colombian
5% Brazilian

I will let people know how it tastes....
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How did you find the beans from 8.9? I was thinking of ordering some, although the https on their site isn't liked by Chrome :(
 
bit of an update, got the pharos dialled in. quite easy when you understand how it works. I was skeptical on how much difference a grinder could make but compared to my el cheapo grinder, its amazing, my old one didn't go fine enough but this one does and the coffee is loads better, I can't describe in detail how it tastes but it just tastes better with more crema and a lot more consistent. its too big to be held comfortably tbh but ill get used too it... now the decision is more coffee or wine!
 
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Anyone recommend some coffee please?
I have a cheapy electric grinder not the greatest and make it with a cafetiere. Just need some beans to blend.
Not sure what to get tbh :o
 
Hi guys, having problems with my Gaggia Classic / Iberital MC2 :( Basically I get 0 crema, i've tried preground and lots of different types of beans, and now a bottomless portafilter.

I don't know if the fact that preground doesn't work means the Gaggia is at fault, but the grinder doesn't seem right either in that the grind adjustment wheel doesn't really seem to do anything.

It takes ~16 seconds to grind 14g, and I can't seem to change this even with massive adjustments on the grind wheel.

Anyone have any ideas what I should do? Coffee just seems very watery with no crema.

EDIT: I've opened up the Iberital and cleaned all the burs, grind size is actually changing correctly - but no matter if it's really course or really find - the Gaggia always seems to spit out a double shot in 16 seconds as opposed to 30. How can I slow it down?

EDIT2: That is 16 seconds to fill 2x2oz glasses from 14g, so I guess that makes an 8 second double from the Gaggia? full fail :(
 
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Grind finer. Tamp harder. Use more coffee. These are you options to increase the time of your pour.

If your coffee is old this will also result in no crema and a fast pour. Pre-ground will never work.
 
Rojin said:
How did you find the beans from 8.9? I was thinking of ordering some, although the https on their site isn't liked by Chrome :(
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I'm not hugely impressed, they don't seem to be the freshest and a bit over roasted - it could just be the blend I set-up so I'm going to try a different one on the next batch then see if I bother to buy any more...


tntcoder said:
It takes ~16 seconds to grind 14g, and I can't seem to change this even with massive adjustments on the grind wheel.

Anyone have any ideas what I should do? Coffee just seems very watery with no crema.

EDIT: I've opened up the Iberital and cleaned all the burs, grind size is actually changing correctly - but no matter if it's really course or really find - the Gaggia always seems to spit out a double shot in 16 seconds as opposed to 30. How can I slow it down?

EDIT2: That is 16 seconds to fill 2x2oz glasses from 14g, so I guess that makes an 8 second double from the Gaggia? full fail :(
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The MC2 has totally bonkers adjustment - just keep winding it back - a small adjustment on the dial is a full rotation of the knob, a medium to large adjustment is ~30 full rotations so I'd suggest you do say 10-20 winds, test then keep going and do about 10 rotations between tests until your pouring slower.

Make sure your tamping to the right level of pressure as well (around 35 pounds, try pushing down on some scales to get an idea) although this shouldn't make as much a difference as grind. Make sure your coffee is pretty fresh too.

if you want to trust me an address I'll post you a sample of ground coffee from my (identical) set-up that pours well so you can compare grinds :)


FeFiDoh said:
Anyone recommend some coffee please?
I have a cheapy electric grinder not the greatest and make it with a cafetiere. Just need some beans to blend.
Not sure what to get tbh :o
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anything from here: http://www.hasbean.co.uk/categories/All-our-Beans/?sort=avgcustomerreview apart from the Cascara. Also pick up one of these - http://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/Porlex-Ceramic-Burr-Coffee-Grinder.html instead of the (I assume) blade 'grinder' to cut down on the sludge and improve the drink no end
 
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Flibster said:
You could take a look at www.classicona.com too. It looks *****, but the service is excellent.

I'd probably end up buying a whole one of ebay instead though. In fact, I did. :D
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They've got some beautiful vintage stuff on there! Shop's been bookmarked in case I want something fancier in the future. :p The guy we all bought it from on ebay says he'll do me a spare top bulb for £8ish so I found my replacement :) Still haven't received it though, so I worked through my first batch of 8.9 beans without getting to try them in the vac pot. I was quite happy with them as espresso, very earthy and spicy, little cinammon tingles in the back of my nose when I smell it, and hardly any of that astringent flavour that you get with some of the coffees I tried recently. Then again, I went for a very dark roast (58% Sumatran and 21% each of the others) so my experience was probably different to the one the rest of you had. I tend to prefer darker roasts since I normally drink my espresso black, most of the beans I've ordered recently from Hasbean tend to be lighter roasts meant to stand out through milk.

Also tried them in a French Press once and they were a bit meh, but the way the grounds bloomed on the surface of the pot suggest that the bag I got must've been pretty freshly-roasted.
 
My coffee came today from small batch coffee company. I went for the Brazil Fazenda Rodomunho.

Followed their tutorial on how to make it with the cafetiere and I must say it is pretty darn tasty! I had no resistance though when plunging so maybe it wasn't coarse enough? Still it tastes a lot better than my usual cup.
Before I just use to kind of guess the amount of coffee to add without knowing so maybe that is the difference as well.

I am tempted to buy an Aeropress mind you look a great bit of kit and would mean making my morning cup I take to work a lot easier to do.
 
I thought I'd treat myself to some of the more expensive beans from Hasbean (an El Salvador). Seriously unimpressed, it smells and tastes of wet mouldy hay to be honest! I'll try a different grind but I'm not convinced it will make that much difference?
 
Thanks Siliconslave I had already looked at that grinder, it is also sold via that small batch coffee house. I will invest in one on pay day :)
 
Rojin said:
I thought I'd treat myself to some of the more expensive beans from Hasbean (an El Salvador). Seriously unimpressed, it smells and tastes of wet mouldy hay to be honest! I'll try a different grind but I'm not convinced it will make that much difference?
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That doesn't sound good, was it El Salvador La Ilusion Natural? the La Ilusion is usually very good (I love their bourbon personally) but naturally processed coffees can be a bit more risky in terms of quality... might be worth dropping hasbean a line...
 
Siliconslave said:
That doesn't sound good, was it El Salvador La Ilusion Natural? the La Ilusion is usually very good (I love their bourbon personally) but naturally processed coffees can be a bit more risky in terms of quality... might be worth dropping hasbean a line...
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Yes that's the one, I've sent a message to Steve. I also have the Ethiopia Konga Peaberry Natural which is much better, although I prefer Oporapa or Machacamarca. It's almost put me off trying the other coffees to be honest! I'll have to try the bourbon and I like the sound of the breakfast bomb mk2 :D
 
Flibster said:
Natural coffees - I'm not a fan.

I'm trying to find one I like, but it's certainly not easy.
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We live and learn! :D I can't drink the La Ilusion, the Konga Peaberry is better but I think I'll stay clear from now on unless I can try before I buy!
 
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