Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

hrm, that does look very odd - first port of call would be to clean it. Theres a philips screw in the middle of the shower screen (mesh) that unscrews, drop that off and give it a good scrub.

Next remove the two allen key bolts in block there and take the big chunk of metal out, it may need a little bit of levering. Clean and replace :)

If that doesn't fix it there may be an issue with the pressure (looks like it could be really high) there are guides earlier in the thread about adjusting the water pressure but you'll need to get a backflush plate to work out what sort of flow your getting through (you might as well pick up some cleaning stuff as well - http://www.happydonkey.co.uk/gaggiaspareparts.html for example)
 
As said above hope it is just a build up of limescale and a good clean soak etc will sort it, unless some one has been adjusting the opv and got it slightly wrong.
On a another note recently had my first batch from hasbean the espresso starter pack and finding that all the beans tried so far are returning rather sour shots and this is with between 12g and 15g doses. I have had my classic about 8 years now and changed the the brew t/stat earlier this year, but to be honest there was nothing wrong with it. Now I normally buy a darker roasts from the likes of whittards etc and all the beans so far seem to me a light to medium roast. I have also tried the old temperature surfing and even flicking on the steam brew switch for 10 sec's after the brew temp has bean reached, but what ever I do they all stay the same sour note to each shot. Any idea's?
 
Holwill said:
On a another note recently had my first batch from hasbean the espresso starter pack and finding that all the beans tried so far are returning rather sour shots and this is with between 12g and 15g doses. I have had my classic about 8 years now and changed the the brew t/stat earlier this year, but to be honest there was nothing wrong with it. Now I normally buy a darker roasts from the likes of whittards etc and all the beans so far seem to me a light to medium roast. I have also tried the old temperature surfing and even flicking on the steam brew switch for 10 sec's after the brew temp has bean reached, but what ever I do they all stay the same sour note to each shot. Any idea's?
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Errr... 12-15g dose?

I know italians say that 14g is plenty for a double shot, but it's funny that none of the best coffee shops in the world agree. Try around 18g instead.

Most of the good roasters do stop before second crack is really underway. Going darker than that basically just produces the flavours of roasting, which you can get with any bean as opposed to the flavours that are in the bean itself.
 
I should have said I have been varying the weight between 12g and 15g, but will up this to 18g tonight. I opened a bag of Blake last night and it was by far the worst taste so far. Maybe it is just our palate and the fact that we are used to less fresh, darker roasts. Normally we drink Monsoon Malabar, Guatemala elephant and the Nicaragua from whittards.
 
Holwill said:
I should have said I have been varying the weight between 12g and 15g, but will up this to 18g tonight. I opened a bag of Blake last night and it was by far the worst taste so far. Maybe it is just our palate and the fact that we are used to less fresh, darker roasts. Normally we drink Monsoon Malabar, Guatemala elephant and the Nicaragua from whittards.
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It's probably a palate thing like you say. I used to drink lots of Whittards stuff previously (Guatemala Elephant was my favourite iirc) and though I liked them at the time, once I adjusted to 'real' coffee I started to notice a ton of delicious flavours and subtleties that simply aren't present in the cack that Whittards sell.
 
Dudes and dudettes,
Is it me or have Hasbean's shipping costs gone UP lately???
I was about to order a pack of Jailbreak but it irks me that the shipping cost adds 50% to the value of the coffee. And I don't want to order 2 packs either as then they won't fit through my mailbox and I'll have to trek down to the depot to pick them up.
So, in a totally counterintuitive move to pacify my inner Scrooge, can anyone recommend a newish coffee around the £6 mark, so that the £2 shipping won't feel as bad? :p
 
I don't have a recommendation for a £6 coffee (lots of my favourites are around the £4.60 mark iirc) but I remember that the postage prices went up about 6 months or so ago. How long has it been since you ordered? :p
 
@FrenchTart last couple of times I ordered I had also ordered other things as well as coffee (Aeropress filters etc) so didn't notice the price hike. The rest of the time lately I've been trying out beans from local roasters like Coopers or HappyDonkey, or buying Square Mile and Hasbean beans from local espresso bars that stock them.
 
The Finca Santuario is slightly too rich for my blood so decided to go for La Illusion in the end :) I'm not a huge fan of the Red Brick, it's amazing with milk but too acrid to drink black, which is what I usually do.
 
good call, been enjoying my latest La Illusion more than the last jailbreak or current breakfast bomb for some reason.

I tend to find the mark up to be a little steep on the local bars so just buy for everyone in the office and charge them the postage ;)
 
Siliconslave said:
I tend to find the mark up to be a little steep on the local bars so just buy for everyone in the office and charge them the postage ;)
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Well if you buy a bag at a time like I do it tends to work out almost the same from those places if you take postage into account. And they have "roasted on" dates on them so you can't accidentally buy a bag that they've had for 2 weeks. I really should buy 2 bags at a time and save some money, but I suspect they'd go stale before I could finish them off. And I've been pretty happy with the beans I buy from one of the places round town (stuff they get from a local roaster).
 
FrenchTart said:
It's probably a palate thing like you say. I used to drink lots of Whittards stuff previously (Guatemala Elephant was my favourite iirc) and though I liked them at the time, once I adjusted to 'real' coffee I started to notice a ton of delicious flavours and subtleties that simply aren't present in the cack that Whittards sell.
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Well tbh I have varied my dosing up to 18g, adjusted my tamping pressure and still tastes so sour. Extraction times are about spot on and temperatures are about as good as your gonna get with a classic. I guess I will just return to drinking the whittards/supermarket cack that mine and my wifes palate enjoy so much. Its a shame really as it was something I got quite excited about after reading steve's description's and was like a kid with a new toy when it turned up! I think I will order some Monsoon Malabar from the "Crediton Coffee Company" which is roasted a few times a week, as I can get this picked up and back to me with in 24 hours, just to compare to the Whittards/Supermarket versions for freshness etc.
 
Holwill said:
Well tbh I have varied my dosing up to 18g, adjusted my tamping pressure and still tastes so sour. Extraction times are about spot on and temperatures are about as good as your gonna get with a classic. I guess I will just return to drinking the whittards/supermarket cack that mine and my wifes palate enjoy so much. Its a shame really as it was something I got quite excited about after reading steve's description's and was like a kid with a new toy when it turned up! I think I will order some Monsoon Malabar from the "Crediton Coffee Company" which is roasted a few times a week, as I can get this picked up and back to me with in 24 hours, just to compare to the Whittards/Supermarket versions for freshness etc.
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Tamping pressure doesnt make too much difference to shot times, although with a lever machine I get more control so can be even less noticeable.

Why not make some caffatiere brew with the beans to identify if it is their flavour that is coming through. It would let you rule out a variable.


Sour shots generally are due to a low temp (which can be caused by too course a grind). You could try grinding finer and going back to about 14g doubles. Additionally I would preheat the portafilter in boiling water.

If this fails I would use scales. Start with a course grind and try choose a weight between 14-16 grams. Keep the weight exactly the same for each shot and starting slightly too course adjust down the grind bit by bit. This lets you isolate the amount of coffee from the issue and should be a good starting point.

Hopefully these ideas may help.
 
SpeedFreak said:
Tamping pressure doesnt make too much difference to shot times, although with a lever machine I get more control so can be even less noticeable.

Why not make some caffatiere brew with the beans to identify if it is their flavour that is coming through. It would let you rule out a variable.


Sour shots generally are due to a low temp (which can be caused by too course a grind). You could try grinding finer and going back to about 14g doubles. Additionally I would preheat the portafilter in boiling water.

If this fails I would use scales. Start with a course grind and try choose a weight between 14-16 grams. Keep the weight exactly the same for each shot and starting slightly too course adjust down the grind bit by bit. This lets you isolate the amount of coffee from the issue and should be a good starting point.

Hopefully these ideas may help.
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Thanks for taking the time to post, but I have tried all of the above and have used scales for along time now, although friends and family just look at me as though I am just a little bit odd :D. I will try to dig out the caffatiere for tonight, as we have friends over who normally drink there coffee made that way, so it would be good to get there input.
 
Discovered a coffee shop in Edinburgh (http://www.list.co.uk/place/103309-wellington-coffee/) that uses Square Mile coffee. It was really good - much better than the chains/generic indies I've bought from in the past. Quite bitter and sharp, which was great for a lunchtime pick me up. Thinking of buying some of their stuff for home use.

Though £1.90 for a single espresso (take away) doesn't please me.

Still to find a coffee shop that even comes close to 3rd Floor though!
 
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