Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

Vanquish-Storm said:
Changed my mind about the tassimo I want a big boy coffee machine but need some advice guys and girls!,

Been looking at these:

Gaggia Espresso Cubika Plus
Gaggia RI8327/01Gran Gaggia Prestige
Dualit Espressivo Coffee Maker


Or any other similar priced machinea
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I think the cheapest espresso machine I'd go for is the Gaggia Baby (£150 new from the Rainforest).

The internals are the same as the Gaggia Classic, but it's less expensive as the shell is plastic rather than metal.

Personally I prefer the look of the Baby anyway, since the Classic seems to encompass all of the bad points of 1980's design.
 
glitch said:
I have, but I'm also considering going down the route of a high-quality hand-operated grinder and 'learning my trade' on that.

Something portable should allow me to use an AeroPress at the office as well as drink espresso at home, right?
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I was using a porlex hand grinder for ages before getting my MC2. It's an awesome grinder, but the last thing you wanna do first thing in the morning is spend 2-3 minutes hand grinding your coffee. Having to grind two portions of coffee each morning for me and the missus was enough to send me back to preground and chuck the porlex in the back of the cupboard.

I'm trying to persevere with the MC2 anyway. I had the annoying experience of pulling a 10s shot followed by a 40s shot on the same grinder setting this morning.

I did change the beans between, but the idea of having to redial everytime I change my beans to a different type is a bit offputting.
 
It takes the kettle longer to boil than it does for me to grind coffee for two in the Porlex... The only thing I don't like about it is when the handle comes off, spins around, and cracks you on the knuckles! :D

The porlex also fits inside the Aeropress which is great for packing it to take anywhere. Makes staying away at hotels for work a lot less of a hardship :)
 
Jolteh said:
I did change the beans between, but the idea of having to redial everytime I change my beans to a different type is a bit offputting.
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You kind of have to anyway. In theory you may have to adjust the grind for every pour.

Humidity, temperature, bean density, roast style, it all plays a part.
 
Jolteh said:
I think the cheapest espresso machine I'd go for is the Gaggia Baby (£150 new from the Rainforest).

The internals are the same as the Gaggia Classic, but it's less expensive as the shell is plastic rather than metal.

Personally I prefer the look of the Baby anyway, since the Classic seems to encompass all of the bad points of 1980's design.
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I like the look of that Gaggia baby. How does it compare to the Dualit?
 
Flibster said:
You kind of have to anyway. In theory you may have to adjust the grind for every pour.

Humidity, temperature, bean density, roast style, it all plays a part.
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indeed, generally it shouldn't be much of a change, a couple of turns looser should do it - but sometimes it will be totally different which can be annoying!

Still the fiddling is half the fun ;)
 
glitch said:
Can anyone help with some AeroPress issues I'm experiencing?

A friend has let me have her somewhat underused and neglected device, but it won't plunge smoothly - feels like the rubber seal is sticking, despite the machine being clean and unworn.

Things get a little easier when hot water is involved, but I seem to recall that these devices worked smoothly even without being warmed up and I doubt the polycarbonate expands that much when heated.

Could the seal have warped? And is there somewhere cheap to buy a replacement or is it simply new unit time? I can't see replacement seals for much less then a tenner delivered and a new AeroPress is twenty!

And on another note, what's the recommended filter replacement these days? Assuming there is one, that is.
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You can get replacement bits from Aeropress directly. If it hasn't been used much, keep using it warmed up. I seem to remember mine getting all stuck for a while not long after I got it but it's all smooth running now after using for over a year.

I use the original filters (they sell them in packs of 350) but I noticed they do a stainless steel one now too on their site so I've got an order in to mix things up a bit.

On another note can anyone recommend a cheap, easy to clean grinder to use with the aeropress? I've been using ground coffee up until now but I think it's time to give grinding a try.
 
the porlex hand grinder is a good cheap (~£35) bet :)

jCRbF.jpg
 
I have one of these at home, actually not doing anything because not long after I bought it I bought proper one.

kEKcI.jpg


It makes nice a nice decor piece :p
 
well I am not a happy chappy.

Received my grinder back from my espresso and although the bean hopper now twists and turns they have damaged the grey overlay on the bottom so there is a massive scratch down it. They forgot to attach the bracket to the underside of the hopper to prevent you from turning all the way to full close and to top it all of half of the plastic surround on the chute opening is now missing.

So meaning that if I dare turn the thing on I can expect half the coffee being dispensed to fall into the doser casing.

Does anyone know of a way I can get in touch with Rancilio support in the UK to try and get this fixed as I really don't want My Espresso touching it again.

I have used Rancilio's web contact form but no one has got back to me and I can't find a way to get in touch.

I am still waiting on the gaggia to be fixed so I am hoping that is back with me next week as it has already spent a week in the workshop.

/vent over.
 
Recently got a bit annoyed with my Hasbean order.......not liking the latest site revision.

Went on Amazon and picked up 1kg of Lavazza Qualita Rossa beans for 10.70 delivered albeit mindful of negative press on here of factory coffees..........

Well the Rossa is well nice with the Aeropress.......still grinding with my Zass.

I enjoyed Rossa years ago with a french press (in the ready ground variety)

Quite a saving. Any thoughts on factory coffee beans....suppose it's all about freshness but reckon Amazon get a good turnaround of stock especially with their latest repeat order discount scheme.
 
joy of joy's, I get my Gaggia back tomorrow. It's amazing how much I have missed it.

Now to see if I can get my grinder working correctly after the damage that has been caused or just try to get a suitable grind setting on the porlex.

Gaggia support is amazing and can't praise their customer service enough so far.

I admit I think there are aspects of the has bean site which have made it a little more difficult to order but I think it is a lot better than the old site in design and layout. It would be nice to be able to just one click order from the images rather than having to click through to add to basket. I guess it is like any site that gets a major redesign it takes a little bit of time to get used to it.
 
Is has bean the best place to buy beans from still then?

Does anyone have any suggestions on a nice bean?

I like the sound of the "COLOMBIA FINCA EL TAPADO WASHED" anyone here tried it?
 
ThriceNightly said:
Recently got a bit annoyed with my Hasbean order.......not liking the latest site revision.

Went on Amazon and picked up 1kg of Lavazza Qualita Rossa beans for 10.70 delivered albeit mindful of negative press on here of factory coffees..........

Well the Rossa is well nice with the Aeropress.......still grinding with my Zass.

I enjoyed Rossa years ago with a french press (in the ready ground variety)

Quite a saving. Any thoughts on factory coffee beans....suppose it's all about freshness but reckon Amazon get a good turnaround of stock especially with their latest repeat order discount scheme.
Click to expand...


I recently tried the Hasbean starter pack and the coffee was ok not great. My current favourite is this one from Garraways-

http://www.garraways.co.uk/p511098/1-kilo-roma-coffee.html

Lovely rich roasted flavor :)
 
I get the small batch coffee shop 3 month sub and have liked pretty much everyone so far. Usually stick to them for all my coffee now.
 
I am always of the opinion that as long a the coffee tastes great I dont care about the state of the puck!
 
general opinion seems to be that its usually just down to space above the coffee..so if its not full enough or to tightly tamped..it just leaves a bit of space for water to sit even after you have got your shot out of it
 
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