Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread
- Thread starter Siliconslave
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Well my classic is faulty and being sent back to amazon for a refund after only 4 months.
Soooo I'm using the opportunity to upgrade to a quality machine, has any one got any recommendations up to £600? I'm currently thinking of going for the francino picciono, does anyone have one?
Don't have one, but have used one for a few days.
I really like them. Being a twin boiler machine is a massive benefit. Steam milk while pulling a shot? Certainly. Speeds the process up greatly.
I can't think of a better machine for ~£600
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After reading various forums it seems the Cherub at around £640 is a better option, now to convince the missus.
I was also going to suggest the Cherub. A lot of people are raving about it which I know you've read on coffeeforums!!
It's a HX machine as opposed to dual boiler but they say you can steam at the same time as pulling a shot. Check out the dimensions before telling the missus!! It's a fair bit bigger (especially in depth) than the Classic.
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I was also going to suggest the Cherub. A lot of people are raving about it which I know you've read on coffeeforums!!
Check out the dimensions before telling the missus!! It's a fair bit bigger (especially in depth) than the Classic.
Yep it its massive compared to the Classic, I've already had the tape measure out.
Was looking at the similar heavenly too but the- heavenly doesn't have water tap as standard
- heavenly drip tray is smaller
- heavenly does not have a removable tank with in line filter, so harder to clear out descale solution
- heavenly has less storage space on top (not helped by the water tank lid)
Expensive business this coffee lark!
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I never remember what I buy from Monmouth (to be fair I don't go often), but they're very good and helpful there. Just ask them for recommendations. Idid that last time and they asked all sensible questions - how I brew, flavours I like, how I drink etc.Has anyone bought some beans from Monmouth Coffee in Covent Garden recently?
I'll be in the area on Saturday morning so it would be rude not to pick some up. Just looking for recommendations based on what other people liked from there
I never remember what I buy from Monmouth (to be fair I don't go often), but they're very good and helpful there. Just ask them for recommendations. Idid that last time and they asked all sensible questions - how I brew, flavours I like, how I drink etc.
Thanks
I'll read about the different types of beans they have on their site first. I quite fancy a bean that is sweet, like it has honey in it or something.I was also going to suggest the Cherub. A lot of people are raving about it which I know you've read on coffeeforums!!
Check out the dimensions before telling the missus!! It's a fair bit bigger (especially in depth) than the Classic.
Hmmm. Will have to check out the Cherub. Not seen one, but from the web site it looks interesting.
I recently got the Porlex Mini Coffee Hand Grinder. Does the job well and easy to clean.
Good day fine people.
I am due a kind of bonus from work shortly and intend on buying a Gaggia Classic. Currently £178 on Amazon and I have some vouchers I have acquired through the use of my credit card so putting the two together it would be rude not to buy one!
My question is, what if anything would I need to go with it? Other than coffee
I am due a kind of bonus from work shortly and intend on buying a Gaggia Classic. Currently £178 on Amazon and I have some vouchers I have acquired through the use of my credit card so putting the two together it would be rude not to buy one!
My question is, what if anything would I need to go with it? Other than coffee
Good day fine people.
I am due a kind of bonus from work shortly and intend on buying a Gaggia Classic. Currently £178 on Amazon and I have some vouchers I have acquired through the use of my credit card so putting the two together it would be rude not to buy one!
My question is, what if anything would I need to go with it? Other than coffee
Firstly, keep an eye on Amazon prices for the Classic as it goes down to £149.99 quite often and it's not even at that price long enough for camelcamelcamel to pick it up.
Another option is to buy look at the 'used' options as a lot of them are just damaged boxes. Drawback with this is that the warrantly is only 30 days. Personally I would pay the extra for a brand new Classic with the 2 year warranty.
To go with the Classic you'll want the following:
1) A burr grinder. Depends on your budget but the minimum to start off with is a hand grinder. Porlex and Hario make good hand grinders.
2) 58mm or 58.35mm tamper as the plastic one supplied with the Classic is rubbish. Creamsupplies do a nice Motta tamper. I use their 58mm flat base tamper.
3) Non-pressurized baskets. The baskets that come with the Classic are pressurized and make a 'fake' crema by forcing the coffee through a small hole at the bottom. A proper filter has loads of holes at the bottom for the coffee to come through. A few quid from ebay or a coffee supplier.
4) A set of scales that measure to 0.1g. This is to measure not only the weight of beans you're grinding but also the weight of coffee that you're producing. This will help you get a good ball park in extraction. You can get these for about a fiver from ebay.
5) A pitcher for steaming milk if you intend on making drinks with milk. Motta do very nice pitchers, especially the Europa range but they are fairly pricey. Again, Creamsupplies are the cheapest for these.
6) A brush to clean your shower screen and gasket area after you've made your espresso. Motta do a cheap one and I think it's much easier to use than the more expensive Pallo brush. Cheap from Creamsupplies.
7) Some sort of cleaning powder like Puly Caff. I use Puro caff again from Creamsupplies which is essentially the same thing.
8) Most important of all: Freshly roasted beans!!
Other things that you'll find make life easier are:
1) Knock box/drawer to tidily get rid of the coffee puck from the portafilter after you've made your espresso.
2) Blanking disc or blind basket for backflushing the Classic. Backflushing regularly is a quick way of keeping the shower screen and group clean. Only a couple of quid from ebay. There's a video on youtube of someone covering the holes on a normal basket using clingfilm for the same effect.
3) At some point you'll want to descale your Classic. There are quite a few descalers. Gaggia and Saeco liquid descalers are the same. You can also get descaling tablets or use food grade citric acid which is the cheapest option. The hardness of your water will determine how often to descale.
I've probably forgotten something so I'll add an -edit- if I remember anything else. Hope this helps and enjoy your new highly addictive hobby!!
^So a £149 Gaggia will now cost the poor guy £350
I was looking at them in the highstreet today and getting tempted again. Thanks for putting me off and making me realise I can't afford it. Having said that all the additional items would make great presents for people to buy me!
On a cheaper scale here.. I have a question. Does anyone know of a kettle that both filters water and has a temperature control? Does anyone use a kettle with a temperature control? I normally just wait 3mins...
Me and the girlfriend have gone through two kettles in as many years so we definitely need to start filtering our water. I hear you can taste the difference in coffee too (but I'm not so sure..!).
I was looking at them in the highstreet today and getting tempted again. Thanks for putting me off and making me realise I can't afford it. Having said that all the additional items would make great presents for people to buy me!
On a cheaper scale here.. I have a question. Does anyone know of a kettle that both filters water and has a temperature control? Does anyone use a kettle with a temperature control? I normally just wait 3mins...
Me and the girlfriend have gone through two kettles in as many years so we definitely need to start filtering our water. I hear you can taste the difference in coffee too (but I'm not so sure..!).
I already have a Porlex grinder so that isn't a problem. Have some scales but they don't measure to .x but really is it that important?
The tamper is what I remember reading about on here. How much more are we talking for all that stuff? Some of it you sounds cheap anyway from what you say so that's okay.
I was looking at the used options before but didn't want the 30 day warranty only it just doesn't seem very long for something that I intend on using most days and don't want it breaking or needing to pay through the nose to get it sorted.
The tamper is what I remember reading about on here. How much more are we talking for all that stuff? Some of it you sounds cheap anyway from what you say so that's okay.
I was looking at the used options before but didn't want the 30 day warranty only it just doesn't seem very long for something that I intend on using most days and don't want it breaking or needing to pay through the nose to get it sorted.
^So a £149 Gaggia will now cost the poor guy £350
I was looking at them in the highstreet today and getting tempted again. Thanks for putting me off and making me realise I can't afford it. Having said that all the additional items would make great presents for people to buy me!
That sounds like a plan!! The thing to remember with things like baskets, tampers, jugs etc is that they will be with you forever so are a one-time-only purchase unless you get the urge to upgrade.
I use a Brita jug and a normal kettle. Once the water has boiled, I plonk my thermometer probe in it and an alarm sounds when it's got down to the temperature I've set it for. Very handy for all brew methods:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Min-Max-Thermometer-Tecpel-DTM-3103/dp/B0054Y0VX8
It's well built and a very accurate thermometer too.
There are kettles with filters built in and there are kettles which keep your water to a certain temperature (Bonavita do these but they're quite expensive and not sure if availalble in the UK yet) but I've not come across one that has both filter and temperature control. Also Ealing is a hard water area and the filters don't really help much with that so it's probably a good idea to descale your kettle quite often. An alternative is to use bottled water such as the cheap Ashbeck water from Tesco (low TDS).
I want one of these!!
http://www.amazon.com/Bonavita-Vari...id=1362870200&sr=8-2&keywords=Bonavita+kettle
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