Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

thanks for the update.

Managed to watch a bit of this today. (I say watched had it on in the background while coding at work :))

It's good to see the UK and Ireland are well represented and through to the semi's.

Will hopefully try and catch more of this tomorrow.

On a side note I have come into possession of some bonus bond gift vouchers and was thinking of finally get myself an espresso machine.

Unfortunately have to use these on the highstreet otherwise I would be off to somewhere like myespresso.co.uk to get myself a silvia, but would it be safe to say that the gaggia is probably the way to go?

It will be complementing my rocky grinder.

With so many models on the market for the gaggia which is the one to go for I have £200 in vouchers?

Also have been enjoying the hasbean jailbreak blend a lot more than some of the other blends Steve has done in the past. I still think it is missing something but I can't quite put my finger on it.

Right time to research espresso machines.
 
You're welcome guys. I completely forgot to post about it earlier.

You can send questions to Tamper Tantrum Live over twitter using @tampertantrum

For £200 - the Gaggia Classic is the one to have really, especially if you're using vouchers to get it.
 
Oh hell yeah! :D

Maxwell and Colin are through to the Final!
As is James Bailey in the Brewers Cup.

I got lucky and walked into Prufrock as James was just starting his performance so ended up drinking some beautiful espresso and watching James' performance. Looked very polished. James is the chap normally behind the brew bar at Prufrock. :D

Running order for the WBC Final tomorrow *nicked from Sprudge again*

Your 2012 WBC finalists are as follows. All times CEST:

1. 11:30 Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood, Colonna and Small’s, United Kingdom @Colonna_Smalls

2. 12:00 Miki Suzuki, Maruyama Coffee, Japan @maruyamacoffee

3. 12:30 Raul Rodas, Paradigma Coffee Roasters, Guatemala @raultigre

4. 1:00 Colin Harmon, 3FE (Third Floor Espresso), Ireland @dublinbarista @3FE

5. 1:30 Fabrizio Sención Ramírez, Cafe Sublime, Mexico

6. 2:00 Stefanos Domatiotis, Taf, Greece @stefanosook

I'm can't find the Brewers cup running order yet.
 
Came home wanting to watch all the performances before seeing the result and they've splashed the places in big letters above the video!! Just a warning in case anyone else is wanting to watch it without spoilers! Still going to watch them though :)
 
manveruppd said:
Is it me or is the venue pathetically empty? When I was watching last year's event it seemed livelier and more crowded.
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it certainly doesn't have that latin american feel too it as it did last year.

It would be interesting to know how many people actually turn up to events like this. Is it pretty much people in the industry or are there a lot of home enthusiasts/ joe public turning up.

I may try and get to the UKBC next year to experience the atmosphere if I remember.

I have enjoyed a lot of the performances from this years WBC.

Haven't seen all the final performances but caught the first couple while at work today.

Will try and watch the brewer's cup as well.
 
From looking at the finals they had coffee tastings and Aeropress giveaways so presumably Joe and some of his relatives from the Public clan must've turned up. I regret not going 2 years ago when it was in London.
 
Came home today with a Bodum grinder and some Guatemalan Elephant beans to try.
The taste difference is huge!
Next step - start ordering from hasbean!
 
I hear the recent Gaggia Classics have quality control issues since they were taken over by Philips - has anyone bought one in the last couple of years and how are your experiences since purchase?

The other machine we are looking at is the Delonghi Icona which I understand has its own QC issues but I'm curious whether anyone has been affected here. Thanks. :)
 
Had my Gaggia Classic for about 7 months now and its been great, not noticed any QC issues.

That said they have made some choices on the included components that perhaps aren't strictly improvements:

- The plastic tamper (for squashing down the coffee grounds into a puck) is rubbish. £20 for a decent one, or you can make do with the included one by kind of pushing down one "corner" (it's a circle so not really corners) at a time.

- The baskets are a bit strange. They have a single hole in the bottom which forces the coffee at a high pressure through a little plastic thingy. This makes a fake "crema" type foam and makes it tricky to see how well you are pulling your shot. I payed about £6 for a replacement, normal double filter basket.

AFAIK other than that they are ok, some people don't like the milk steaming wand but I've found it's fine. One possible mod is to replace it with a particular version of the Rancillio Silvia wand.

None of these are show stoppers and you can get a decent coffee with the machine out of the box.

I like the fact parts are readily available and the machine is commonly known so there are plenty of guides and tips about. I have been happy with mine and like the coffee it makes.
 
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My Cuisinart Espresso machine is making a horrid noise while frothing milk. Might need a really good descale.whats the best thing to use that won't damage it?

Also, are portafilters and baskets interchangeable?
 
So have had my Rocky grinder for over 7 months now and was wondering if any maintanence should be performed.

It generally only gets used on weekdays as it is at work and grinds about 60g of coffee a day (2 cups - filter)

I have blown some compressed air through it to try and remove any coffee that may be stuck in the shoot and burr chamber (for lack of a better term) and have also given the hopper a clean. Should I be looking to do anything more than that?
 
apparently running white rice through it is a pretty decent way of cleaning the left over gunk out - there are official grinder cleaners (ie Urnex Grindz) that do a similar thing if you want to go down the products route :)
 
davetherave2 said:
So have had my Rocky grinder for over 7 months now and was wondering if any maintanence should be performed.

It generally only gets used on weekdays as it is at work and grinds about 60g of coffee a day (2 cups - filter)

I have blown some compressed air through it to try and remove any coffee that may be stuck in the shoot and burr chamber (for lack of a better term) and have also given the hopper a clean. Should I be looking to do anything more than that?
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Coffeegeek's guide.

Seems simple enough. ;)
 
FeFiDoh said:
Just came here to see about this. Is it any good? The Gaggia Classic RI8161
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Yes, its a great starter machine and if you can get it for £150 go for it :) It'd be worth spending the saving on a decent tamper and replacement filter basket though as the plastic tamper they supply with it is all but useless and they have started supplying the machines with a weird 'crema generating' filter basket that apparently sucks ass

in other news these look novel, but wastefull - much rather carry a grinder and a brewer but can see the benafit of an all in one solution:


http://www.growerscup.com/eng/

zsp9i.jpg


Seems very expensive mind - £2.50 a pack
 
I've actually tried them. Got given a couple a while back.
They're not bad, but the biggest problem is the age of the ground coffee. Same with all these things really.

It's not entirely true, but I do like this for the life of a bean.

Green - 10 months
Roasted - 10 days
Ground - 10 minutes
 
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