Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

GTanny · 10 Apr 2013 at 17:05

sorry for the repost before anyone else but i thought i should post update #1

so then the first part has arrived, many thanks to Bella B for next day delivery

came home to this (well not really this box was in a bigger plain box full of packing beans)

which opened up contained this

so i put it together and put some old beans in to play with

paired with my soon to be redundent Baby Dose 06 (its served me well but its time to get a more powerful beast)

First impressions are its a lot quieter and smaller then i was expecting (both good things) and although the box on arrival didnt seem that heavy for the size of the unit you can tell its high quality and made to last a very long time.

had fun dialing it in and was a lot easier then i expected, i did a test of either extreme to see the difference and even with old beans that i didnt actually like before when i got good shot on my hand grinder but when they are done using the mignon they are actually a nice espresso (beans were hasbeans kicker and blake blends, still not going to be picking any more of either up but it shows they can be drinkable)

Jolteh · 11 Apr 2013 at 10:58

Looks nice!

Thumbs up on the Rancilio steam wand mod too!

Scam · 13 Apr 2013 at 19:19

Not long til the London Coffee Festival, who's going? I've still not made it as of yet.. Have always been put off by having to book a 'session'. Why can't you just rock up for the day? I'm not organised enough

Got a code for 2 tickets for £16..

Flibster · 13 Apr 2013 at 20:57

Scam said:
Not long til the London Coffee Festival, who's going? I've still not made it as of yet.. Have always been put off by having to book a 'session'. Why can't you just rock up for the day? I'm not organised enough Got a code for 2 tickets for £16..

I'll be there, but working for the most part.

I'm going to be on the UK Coffee Events bit for the 4 days of the festival. I'll get a little while to wander around at a couple of points.

Not entirely sure what it is I'll be doing yet, but I'm looking forward to it. Knowing my luck, I'll be doing the washing up.

Just to point out, remember that the UKBC is happening on the Saturday and Sunday this year.

GTanny · 15 Apr 2013 at 11:51

Are they having live streams of any of the competitions? i think it was last year i watched the UKBC and it was really interesting to watch, if it helps they had to make up some espresso's, cappuccinos and a custom coffee drink of their own. was really good to watch.

i wont be going as i dont live near london, im also working which makes things much harder.

GTanny · 15 Apr 2013 at 13:51

sorry to esentially be the first reply to my own post but i thought an update was in order as my Cherub was delivered this morning and ive not got it setup and had my first drink from it.

i cant review it yet as im new the unit and still need to dial in my beans better but build quality seems top notch and after having the baby gaggia its a big step in steaming power and size.

i hope to be posting latte art soon but ill give it a few months yet before i set myself any expectations.

Siliconslave · 15 Apr 2013 at 14:29

very nice setup there, love the pressure release system on those - so nicely engineered

PS Flibster - did you ever get your kickstarter coffee machine through or is that still not completed?

Scam · 15 Apr 2013 at 16:44

Going back up to this:

E61 Grouphead said:
Hmm, surely the water will be too cool after 3 minutes? Hasbean recommend 80-85 deg. c water. The Hasbean guide I have seen also says to brew for 30 seconds after the initial 10 second stir.

Well there's a lot of variables involved when making 'home' coffee, such as kettle, amount of water boiled, amount of coffee (I dont weigh, just use a single AP spoonful) etc.

That's what works for me. I boil a lot of water to warm my AP and mug, and there's generally a lot left in the kettle so I'd imagine it doesn't cool down that fast. I know when I left it to cool for only a minute or so, I could smell burnt coffee a bit. Same goes with brewtime, that's just to my taste. I'm generally not drinking your light floral-esque coffee.

I try not to get too hung up on the finer details, exact timings etc. There is an element of science to it, but at the end of the day just experiment and do what works for you

Hamster · 15 Apr 2013 at 16:46

Lovely setup GTanny!!

Hamster · 15 Apr 2013 at 16:47

oops double post!

Flibster · 15 Apr 2013 at 23:33

GTanny said:
Are they having live streams of any of the competitions? i think it was last year i watched the UKBC and it was really interesting to watch, if it helps they had to make up some espresso's, cappuccinos and a custom coffee drink of their own. was really good to watch.

i wont be going as i dont live near london, im also working which makes things much harder.

I believe there will be a stream, was pretty well used last year. Spent some time on it, but did more tweeting and other tasks.

Siliconslave said:
PS Flibster - did you ever get your kickstarter coffee machine through or is that still not completed?

As far as I'm aware, no-one has one yet. Even then, it won't be a 230v one.

Flibster · 17 Apr 2013 at 21:58

Right. I'm confirmed as being on Livestream and tweeting duties for all 4 days. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.

If anyone's coming along, feel free to come say hello.

http://www.londoncoffeefestival.com/

Looking forward to it.

Wzd · 19 Apr 2013 at 12:55

Don't forget the 2 for £16 voucher code: 69XGEN

Look out for the LCF guys handing out postcards in London markets this weekend!!

BTW the Saturday lunchtime session is already sold out online!

Jolteh · 19 Apr 2013 at 15:46

Anyone got any tips for dialing in their grinder quickly?

I ordered some beans from hasbean the other day and ended up wasting about a third of them getting back to the correct grind. Expensive at £6 a bag!

Siliconslave · 19 Apr 2013 at 17:19

seems to be luck more than anything sometimes - i'll generally put up with a reasonable pour if i'm dialling in and haven't got it perfect on the first couple of attempts.

Depending on how far the last attempt was out i'll adjust for the next one.

GTanny · 19 Apr 2013 at 18:14

i purchased some Lavazza Super Crema and it was delivered today, i have tried the Lavazzqa Espresso blend before and didnt think much to it but this is much better.

it was purchased as im still getting used to my new setup but the shots im getting are better then 4 out of the 6 hasbean beans i tried, im really impressed to be fair and although i will be buying some fresh beans when these are nearly gone im more then happy to use them until then.

i also picked up 2 packs of Asda extra special (one brazillian not sure on the other) and they were drinkable but far from great, also picked up a pack of Taylors Espresso and they are absolutey terrible and now in the back of the unit labelled 'emergency use only beans'

BunnyKillBot · 20 Apr 2013 at 06:31

Flibster said:
Right. I'm confirmed as being on Livestream and tweeting duties for all 4 days. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.

If anyone's coming along, feel free to come say hello.

http://www.londoncoffeefestival.com/

Looking forward to it.

Missed it last year, but will probably be coming along with my missus and mother in law

We actually had a stall operator approach our dairy farm recently requesting to use our milk. However, he later found out they have to use the milk supplied at the event by the organisers. Its a real shame because we sell real quality milk, and most of what gets used in coffee shops is mass produced holstein junk.

In fact, given the milk is between what, 30-70% of a milk based coffee beverage, very little thought is actually given to the quality of the milk used. Every day, people are brewing expensive controlled roasts, and then using trash milk like cravendale. Its bonkers.

Flibster · 20 Apr 2013 at 13:52

BunnyKillBot said:
Missed it last year, but will probably be coming along with my missus and mother in law

We actually had a stall operator approach our dairy farm recently requesting to use our milk. However, he later found out they have to use the milk supplied at the event by the organisers. Its a real shame because we sell real quality milk, and most of what gets used in coffee shops is mass produced holstein junk.

In fact, given the milk is between what, 30-70% of a milk based coffee beverage, very little thought is actually given to the quality of the milk used. Every day, people are brewing expensive controlled roasts, and then using trash milk like cravendale. Its bonkers.

Come say hi.

I know that competitors can use whatever milk they want. Have had some use stuff direct from the farm before.

I suppose some of the organised events and demonstrations may have to use the milk sponsor's product.

Cravendale isn't a bad milk. It's what I use at home. Partially, because it lasts so well *and I rarely have any milk in my drinks, it's mainly for the other half* and because it steams so nicely and it's so consistent. I can get it almost anywhere in the UK and know that I'll be able to get the same results.

Jolteh · 20 Apr 2013 at 22:21

GTanny said:
i purchased some Lavazza Super Crema and it was delivered today, i have tried the Lavazzqa Espresso blend before and didnt think much to it but this is much better.

it was purchased as im still getting used to my new setup but the shots im getting are better then 4 out of the 6 hasbean beans i tried, im really impressed to be fair and although i will be buying some fresh beans when these are nearly gone im more then happy to use them until then.

i also picked up 2 packs of Asda extra special (one brazillian not sure on the other) and they were drinkable but far from great, also picked up a pack of Taylors Espresso and they are absolutey terrible and now in the back of the unit labelled 'emergency use only beans'

I've not found anything from a supermarket that comes out as well as beans I've bought from roaster. I'm kind of reluctant to admit it, because I feel like paying £6ish quid for 250g of beans to be overpriced when you can grab a similar quantity from a supermarket for half the price.

GTanny · 21 Apr 2013 at 16:53

Jolteh said:
I've not found anything from a supermarket that comes out as well as beans I've bought from roaster. I'm kind of reluctant to admit it, because I feel like paying £6ish quid for 250g of beans to be overpriced when you can grab a similar quantity from a supermarket for half the price.

The operapa and the bourbon i got from Hasbean were definatly better imo (more chocolatey and creamier) but starting at £4.50+P&P per 250g it soon adds up, i know i can buy them in bulk but i found the life on the beans i got to be quite narrow and the others i got with the espresso starter pack were just not to my taste (i didnt mind Jabberwocky or Jailbreak, i picked up but didnt get on with the dark fruit taste of Blake but Kicker was just were unpleasent no matter how many times i tried it, i used it in drinks with syrups just to use it up)

A side note for anyone planning to pick up a Cherub, i have had the 4x1mm steam tip delivered and it is far better and more controllable without losing the ability to steam with speed, its still 4x more powerful then my gaggia and it doesnt have the issue of coming close to running out of steam no matter how many drinks i make

Edit: took a video of a shot i got with the cherub using super crema, should have kept it running to show the crema a bit better but i was very happy with the end result (i dont know how to embed a video so heres a link)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AggdV3jOV9I