Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

I've never really got along with the timer thing on the MC2 tbh. To get the right grind and amount for different beans its just another thing to mess with - i tend to do a time and a half, switching off manually when it looks about right in the basket.

Batch to batch the beans can have a huge difference, it takes me about a fortnight to get through a bag of beans during which time i'll adjust the mc2 maybe 5 complete turns to keep things aligned. Just changed to a new batch this morning and turned back maybe 15 turns and its still pouring far too fast :(
 
just taken an extended lunch break and cleaned my machine properly as it had started to look a bit dull and the puck was starting to channel quite a bit.
Full back flush; soaking all the bits in puly caff inc the shower disc and shower disk holder; and a thorough rinse through

I'm terribly lazy about doing it but always surprised how much of a difference it makes to the coffee! Although tis monmouth stuff just tastes burned however well i make it :( If i get a chance to pick up something else on monday this'll go in the bin (unless anyone wants about 300g of espresso beans, answers on a postcard to trust@ocuk)
 
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majnu said:
ah ok, I haven't got that machine so was just wondering if it was some kind of manufacturer's fault as I have the funds to buy the Gaggia classic and the MC2 grinder that have been suggested in the thread. What does turning the pressure down do? As I would have thought the higher the better. :confused:
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its shipped slightly higher than you ideally want to get the best from a shot of coffee. My understanding is its done to give a more frothy crema if you use their funky basket.

If you're doing it properly you want the lower pressure, you will still get a decent crema, but you have to work a bit harder for it :)
 
Barry McFungus Pants said:
Anyone? :)
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i wouldn't worry about either tbh, unless all the holes are totally gunked up with no chance of clearing them. I'm still on my originals for the gaggia and its going on a bit now :)

no idea about the plate though, bubbling sounds like rust, might be worth looking underneath if you can, but that sounds like a replacement rather than anything else!
 
Alex_L said:
Squaremile beans are amongst my favourite roaster and I've had very few coffees from them that I don't like. However, they usually have less of a range than hasbean.

Also, in terms of pricing their bags are 350g, versus hasbean at 250g, which accounts for some of the difference in price.
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I'd second this, they are slightly more expensive yet arguably the top (or one of the top) roasters in the UK.

You also get slightly more coffee so gram for gram its not bad... - infact its only £0.14 more than a 250g bag in real terms

Finally if you got that for £10 you got a bargain, its £12.50 direct from square mile... http://shop.squaremilecoffee.com/products/remera
 
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chris74 said:
I just wish mine would come out gloopy like Joels.
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The main reason its coming out gloopy (beyond the fresh coffee, top notch grind, tamp etc) is the fact that hes profiling the pressure throughout the pour, its a pretty damn advanced technique and only really available on a top end machine :)

chris74 said:
NooB question but is there a way to increase the crema when making a espresso from a machine?. I have noticed mine is fairly poor recently but it varies between cups.
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the biggest thing you can do to improve your coffee at the moment is fresh beans and a ginder, no idea how good that delonghi machine is but pre-ground will severely limit the quality of the coffee you get out, and the crema (which should really just be seen as a by product of a well poured coffee)

I'm not sure how the 'FILTER CREMA DEVICE' on your machine works but all it'll be doing is adding a fake 'head' to the shot which is why your getting pretty random results.
Going from this post you might be able to get rid of it: http://protofusion.org/wordpress/2010/02/depressurizing-the-ec-155-portafilter/ which, once you have your grind set right, will stablise your chrema and most likely improve you coffee.
 
davetherave2 said:
Disaster strikes.
...
Have run the gaggia decalcification solution through it and still the same. Is there anything I can do or am I going to have to get Gaggia to fix it. (Is it worth it as it is over a year old?)
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not sure on the cost of getting it refurbed by gaggia but my Dad's one had a similar issue recently. Hes pretty handy with things like this, but honestly they aren't all that hard to strip down and clean yourself:
http://protofusion.org/wordpress/2012/04/gaggia-classic-disassembly-and-cleaning/

majnu said:
does anyone have these fancy tampers? Are they worth the premium? Or just a lazy mans tool?

http://prima-coffee.com/prima-coffee/prima-tamp
http://www.idrinkcoffee.com/Concept_Art_Technic_Adjustable_Pressure_Tamper_R_p/ca-tec-red.htm
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1st one is overkill unless your really suffering with tamper's wrist (?!?) the second one looks fancy but tbh pretty pricey. You can get click action tampers for much less than that
 
molinari said:
Not done it before, but might give it a try this weekend. A good article, but you have to log in to see how much coffee and water to used :(.
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good point, although the comments give it away (or use a temp e-mail) anyhows for your convenience:

Makes about 2 cups of coffee concentrate

I like to make cold-brew with a medium roast, as I find it tastes more like coffee and less like the roasting process than dark or French roast. Light roasts tend to be too acidic. As with any kind of coffee brewing, it’s best to grind the beans yourself just before using them. The ratio of water to coffee is 1:1 by volume and roughly 4:1 by weight, so feel free to scale the recipe to suit your needs. If you don’t have a French press you can make the coffee in a pitcher and strain it through a fine-mesh strainer, and finally through a coffee filter, as in step 2.

3½ cups finely ground medium roast coffee (see note)
Kosher salt (optional)

1. Stir together coffee and 3½ cups room-temperature water in large French press. Allow raft of ground coffee to form, about 10 minutes, and stir again to incorporate. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours (an hour shorter or longer is fine).

2. Using French press plunger, press firmly on grinds to separate them from concentrate. Pour coffee concentrate into coffee filter-lined fine-mesh strainer set over large measuring cup. Let sit until concentrate filters through, up to 30 minutes. (You should have about 2 cups of coffee concentrate; concentrate can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days).

3. Combine ½ cup coffee concentrate, ½ cup cold water, and pinch Kosher salt (if using) and pour into glass with ice. Drink.
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I'm going to give it a go now with a small amount... be right back :)

well that was exciting, using the rest of the rubbish monmouth espresso beans for one experiment that made about 100cm3 of coffee + 100ml of water (in the pint glass) and 250cm3 of a Squaremile Rwandan Red Bourbon i had lying around (in the cafetiere) so now the wait begins...

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Although I could do that without an actual coffee so time to crack into the sweetshop (freshly roasted yesterday, so a little early!) plus a bit of dark chocolate :)

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so, the squaremile, cold brewed...

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not overly convinced but that could just be the coffee, tis a little old after all. Its not bad as such, not acidic or bitter. Actually its pretty smooth just i'm not convinced, tastes like a cold coffee more than anything :D

Personally i'm not a big fan of milk in coffee, but in the name of science trying the last half with a bit of milk and its not too bad:
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Flibster said:
The original Aeropresses were pale blue. Mine is.

Unfortunately, they had to change the plastic due to it not being BPA free.
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Apparently the newest ones are have a blue tint again...

Thinking i might have to start a coffee brewing collection when we've moved house, no real reason to have a bunch of different methods practically, but as a 'collection' it makes perfect sense :D
 
I'd go for the hand grinder tbh - or if your not paying out on a machine then i'd be inclined to splash out on a grinder :)

Grind in the morning will be fine, also has the lovely side effect of making your bag smell lovely all day!

If the nespresso works well for you, maybe try one of those reusable nespresso pod things, don't know how well they function but they are pretty cheap :)
 
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