Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

[Elskie87]

Has anyone tried the freshly roasted beans from Whole Foods? I would have thought it would be pretty good as they do it all on site.

 

[davetherave2]

A budget of £400 for everything I would say.


Didn't realise a grinder could cost more than the coffee machine!

Yeah it can get kind of scary when you see the prices of some kit.

myespresso.co.uk have some decent combo's for a starter kit.
Alternatively after a bit of snooping on their site you can pick up the following:

Gaggia Classic for £200
Gaggia MDF grinder for £139 (there are alternatives that are equally as good in this sort of price point eg. sub £150 market)

so giving you enough money to get a decent tamper £14ish and some cups/coffee.

If they don't really float your boat there is a gaggia brera bean to cup machine online for £389 brand new which combines the grinder and espresso machine in one. Not sure how good it is but I am sure it will save a bit of space for you. As for maintaining the machine that is another question and the trade off with this sort of machine is generally if you want to upgrade to a better espresso machine you are going to have to get another grinder.

You obviously have the various pod machine options that are available to you. Personally I am not impressed by the coffee it produces. The quality has certainly improved from the good old days of "one cup of brown please" but still no where near the quality of somewhere like hasbean, squaremile, stumptown etc.

I personally would always suggest in investing in a good grinder as you are likely to stick with that for longer than the espresso machine. From the months of research I did before I brought mine it can be a bit overwhelming with the volume of positive and negative reviews you can find on every machine.

 

[davetherave2]

Thanks uchuff. I've done a bit more reading around and it appears a lot of people use the Gaggia descaler. It comes as a liquid or tablets but it's quite expensive.

Did you use this in the end? I have been in touch with gaggia and they have obviously advised using their descaler for my classic.

I am waiting to hear back from the good folks at coffeehit on what they advise.

 

[Hamster]

Did you use this in the end? I have been in touch with gaggia and they have obviously advised using their descaler for my classic.

I am waiting to hear back from the good folks at coffeehit on what they advise.

I read up a little more and bought the Saeco liquid descaler which apprently is the same as Gaggia but a different label. Saeco, Gaggia and Philips are all the same. It was £8.60 for two 250ml bottles delivered.

 

[Grimley]

Right I'm not very happy.

The pump on my Gaggia Cubika plus has just packed up after 6 months (its not taken in any more water). It stopped pumping water through the filter a couple of weeks ago, but cleaning the head with a toothbrush cured it. All it does now is make a very loud noise & the water level in the tank did not go down at all.

I bought this from the indian food place & after checking their site they dont stock the gaggia cubika plus anymore. Can't say I'm surprised, If I knew they were now made by Phillips I would not have gone near it with a barge pole!

EDIT: They've offered to repair it so I'm going to wait and see what happens. I'm hoping they can't so I can exchange it.

 

[spudbynight]

OK - I need some advice from people on something.

I have the following coffee kit at home.

1 x Stovetop Coffee Machine
1 x Cheap Perculator (Argos Cookworks)
1 x Nespresso Machine

I don't use the percolator very often as it makes more coffee than I can drink and it tends to go bad towards the end. I normally use the stovetop more than anything else and either add water for an americano OR I just the milk frother on the Nespresso machine for a latte or a cappuchino.

I was thinking of reducing some clutter and moving to single coffee maker. I was thinking about getting a Chemex - any thoughts?

 

[Alex_L]

OK - I need some advice from people on something.

I have the following coffee kit at home.

1 x Stovetop Coffee Machine
1 x Cheap Perculator (Argos Cookworks)
1 x Nespresso Machine

I don't use the percolator very often as it makes more coffee than I can drink and it tends to go bad towards the end. I normally use the stovetop more than anything else and either add water for an americano OR I just the milk frother on the Nespresso machine for a latte or a cappuchino.

I was thinking of reducing some clutter and moving to single coffee maker. I was thinking about getting a Chemex - any thoughts?

First question, have you got a grinder? if not, i'd focus on getting one above anything else as it will make the biggest difference to your coffee making.

Otherwise, the chemex is a great brewer, makes great tasting coffee and is easy to use.

 

[spudbynight]

I don't have a grinder and I don't want to go down that road.

What I want to be able to do is make good coffee when I want it. I want it quick and easy and I want to cut down on counter top clutter.

Need to be able to make coffee for two people so I ruled out things like the aeropress.

 

[Siliconslave]

I don't have a grinder and I don't want to go down that road.

What I want to be able to do is make good coffee when I want it. I want it quick and easy and I want to cut down on counter top clutter.

Need to be able to make coffee for two people so I ruled out things like the aeropress.

the problem is the grinder is the limiting factor on "good" coffee most of the time. If you don't have fresh coffee you won't get good coffee however you brew it. Green beans last months, roasted beans last days - weeks and ground lasts minutes.

In all honesty if all you want is something to take up minimal counter space and brew quick easy coffee go for a nespresso or similar. Would be a better compromise in terms of the end result but will be much more expensive and larger.

 

[spudbynight]

I have a nespresso machine at the moment but find it a nightmare keeping stock of the pods.

 

[Alex_L]

without a grinder, i'd stick with nespresso. Surely with nespresso you can subscribe to pod deliveries, would seem mad if they didn't offer that!

 

[Alex_L]

edit - Double post

 

[Siliconslave]

If you want to keep the machines on the counter factor down I'd just get rid of all the existing stuff, get a grinder and have one (or more) of the following in the cupboard:

Mocca pot (/stove pot) - good for multple cups, can be used to make espresso like drink
Aeropress - good for one cup strong coffee
chemex - good multi cup filter (pour over)
Clever Dripper - good single cup filter (ish)
V60 - good single cup pour over
Cafetiere - good for 1 to many cups of black coffee.

Milk frothing wise if your not bothered about proper micro foam my Dad loves the Bodum Chambord, just warm the milk and attack. The Aeroccino seem to work really well as well.

 

[davetherave2]

I read up a little more and bought the Saeco liquid descaler which apprently is the same as Gaggia but a different label. Saeco, Gaggia and Philips are all the same. It was £8.60 for two 250ml bottles delivered.

Any hints on where I can find this?

 

[Hamster]

Any hints on where I can find this?

Bought them from Amazon as a pack of two but they seemed to have disappeared at that price straight after I ordered. They came via dhl from Germany. Goodness knows how they made any profit from it

 

[davetherave2]

ah ok. Will have to go hunting then.

 

[Gangster]

If you want to keep the machines on the counter factor down I'd just get rid of all the existing stuff, get a grinder and have one (or more) of the following in the cupboard:

Mocca pot (/stove pot) - good for multple cups, can be used to make

Hey

Just wondering if using a decent grinder (thinking of getting a hand one due to cost) and using a stove pot one can get a decent shot of espresso? (i.e; will it be similiar shot to what a Gaggia Classic does?)

I've got a 'blender' not a grinder, and my coffee tastes OK (better than instant) but the coffee never comes out like a pure espresso shot.

I was wondering if that is due to the grinding, whether you need an actual coffee machine (Gaggia Classic) to pull a decent shot or whether a good grinder and a stove pot could achieve the same espresso?

Hope my question makes sense? and hope you can help

 

[gEd]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_pot

Moka pots are sometimes referred to as stove-top espresso makers and produce coffee with an extraction ratio similar to that of a conventional espresso machine. Depending on bean variety and grind selection, Moka pots can create a foam emulsion, known as crema. However, the maximum pressure for coffee extraction which can be achieved with a Moka pot is 1.5 bar[citation needed]. According to the Italian Espresso National Institute and the Specialty Coffee Association of America, an espresso must be made using a precise extraction pressure of 9 bar.[11][12] So, while a Moka coffee pot can produce a crema similar to espressos, different equipment is required to make a true espresso.

 

[Gangster]

Who'd have thought Wiki could answer that Ta very muchly.

 

[Zitron]

Had some "Costa Rica Finca De Licho 2012" delivered from Hasbean yesterday and loving it, definitely gonna be ordering some more. So smooth

Really need to pick up a grinder soon, something like an MC2, second hand Super Jolly or similar is what I'll be looking at.