Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

arknor said:
guess thats what happens when you pay £60
start a dispute and if your lucky ebay will tell you to just keep it and give you a refund
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Are you assuming a dishonest sale? Surely better to find out the cost of tank replacement (assuming the listing didn't mention it as broken) and ask the seller for a partial refund of that amount.
 
I'm just hoping for money back including postage both ways.
But will look in to finding replacement tank as suggested....
Other thing that bothered me was that bit was said it was clean....it clearly wasn't clean once it got to me...
Will see what happens
 
bastic said:
I'm just hoping for money back including postage both ways.
But will look in to finding replacement tank as suggested....
Other thing that bothered me was that bit was said it was clean....it clearly wasn't clean once it got to me...
Will see what happens
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If a tank is £40 as arknor has discovered, I'd just get a refund. If the seller thought the machine was clean and sent it to you in a state, my guess is that it's unlikely to have been looked after properly i.e. regular backflushing, descaling etc.

You can get Classic refurbs for under £100. You've probably read that you can often get damaged box but unused Classics from Amazon for around that too. I'd go for something like that.
 
My Krups grinder arrived but when trying to make an espresso the water is not flowing through on my machine.

Am I grinding the beans to fine? I also heard that the beans could be damp (due to being oily) not sure how much truth that holds.
 
Vanquish-Storm said:
My Krups grinder arrived but when trying to make an espresso the water is not flowing through on my machine.

Am I grinding the beans to fine? I also heard that the beans could be damp (due to being oily) not sure how much truth that holds.
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Could be too fine, could be too much pressure when you tamper it down.
 
arknor said:
I just realised instead of pressing on my tamper and guessing 45lb I just just balance a 20kg weight on the tamper instead :D
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Where did you get 45lbs pressure from? 30lbs is the widely recommended figure.

A good way of getting a feel for it is using bathroom scales. The first time I tried it I was surprised how light a tamp it should be.
 
Hamster said:
Where did you get 45lbs pressure from? 30lbs is the widely recommended figure.

A good way of getting a feel for it is using bathroom scales. The first time I tried it I was surprised how light a tamp it should be.
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I never thought of using scales but do you think some kitchen scales would work in the same way?

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Poor pic of my grind... dont know if you guys can tell if its too fine or what not? It seems to clump together a bit which is where someone said it might be damp from oil?
 
Vanquish-Storm said:
I never thought of using scales but do you think some kitchen scales would work in the same way?
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For the purposes of getting an idea of how much pressure to tamp then yes. Do your kitchen scales go up to around 14kg?

Vanquish-Storm said:
Poor pic of my grind... dont know if you guys can tell if its too fine or what not? It seems to clump together a bit which is where someone said it might be damp from oil?
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Difficult to tell from that picture. Which Krups grinder are you using? I was using one before getting my Mazzer and the grind was very inconsistent (lots of fines) leading to variable shots. I also got loads of clumping with it with whichever beans I used but clumping is also a problem with a lot of grinders, even costlier ones. You can use something like a needle to break up the clumps in the portafilter before you tamp which will help. Attach a needle to a cork and it's easier to hold.

If you're still stalling your machine, set your grinder a little coarser as Raymond suggested, and also lower the tamp pressure. As you experiment, change one thing at a time then you'll get a better idea of what's helping.
 
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Hamster said:
For the purposes of getting an idea of how much pressure to tamp then yes. Do your kitchen scales go up to around 14kg?



Difficult to tell from that picture. Which Krups grinder are you using? I was using one before getting my Mazzer and the grind was very inconsistent (lots of fines) leading to variable shots. I also got loads of clumping with it with whichever beans I used but clumping is also a problem with a lot of grinders, even costlier ones. You can use something like a needle to break up the clumps in the portafilter before you tamp which will help. Attach a needle to a cork and it's easier to hold.

If you're still stalling your machine, set your grinder a little coarser as Raymond suggested, and also lower the tamp pressure. As you experiment, change one thing at a time then you'll get a better idea of what's helping.
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I will check the scales in the morning, we have two different types. :)

Thanks for the information, really appreciate it. The grinder is a Krups GVX231 Expert Coffee Grinder, not fantastic but was in my price range and as I am experimenting it will be fine for me for now.

Just need to find a needle and a cork now! I will use your advice tomorrow and see how it goes. Thanks again :) I owe you one Christmas internet cookie.
 
Hamster said:
Where did you get 45lbs pressure from? 30lbs is the widely recommended figure.

A good way of getting a feel for it is using bathroom scales. The first time I tried it I was surprised how light a tamp it should be.
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sorry using the crap gaggia pressurised basket until a normal one I ordered comes.

2oz comes out in like 10 seconds with hardly any crema unless I use a crap ton of pressure when tamping.

I dont see any channels after though so I guess its fine for now.
 
Raymond Lin said:
I thought it was closer to 20Ibs?
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Really, there is no specific set force/pressure for tamping. I've seen anything from 20lbs to 45lbs of force mentioned on numerous websites, but using a 58mm tamper and 30lbs of force will give a different amount of pressure per square inch than using the same amount of force with a 53mm tamper. The actual amount of force does not matter at all, it is more a case of consistency. Get a perfect grind, then tamp with enough force that the espresso takes 25-30 seconds to pull.

Just ordered myself some of the Christmas blend from HasBean. Looking forward to trying that :).
 
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molinari said:
Really, there is no specific set force/pressure for tamping. I've seen anything from 20lbs to 45lbs of force mentioned on numerous websites, but using a 58mm tamper and 30lbs of force will give a different amount of pressure per square inch than using the same amount of force with a 53mm tamper. The actual amount of force does not matter at all, it is more a case of consistency. Get a perfect grind, then tamp with enough force that the espresso takes 25-30 seconds to pull.
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Let us know what the Christmas blend is like. I've just ordered some Guatemalan beans and some decaf from a roaster I've never used before.

Thanks for putting things into perspective and spot on advice! Consistency is key and the aim is to get, if one is being scientific, a certain ratio of weight of ground beans:weight of shot and as long as you fall within certain parameters such as the 25-30 seconds and, as I was taught to aim for a 1.55 ratio within that time, you're on the right track and tamp force doesn't make a whole lot of difference. I think I've made sense there but I've not slept since Tuesday night!!
 
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