Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

Scam said:
You'll always get grit with a French press. Aeropress really is miles better. Cleaner cup, no grit, better flavours using the inverted method (probably to do with the fact you use it with an espresso grind, rather than coarse like the French press).
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Thanks very much! Shall look into getting an Aeropress then :)
 
Got a Gaggia Classic and Eureka Mignon (mat black!) combo this week. Bit of a step up from the previous tiny delonghi machine and Tesco ground coffee.. Got some beans from happydonkey and trying things out..

I've thrown out the single basket and I'm using a double which I believe should be 15g-18g?
Also got a bottomless PF which I've not really used as I've been trying to do timings on the double spout one (about 25secs from pressing the button, right?). The bottomless has a triple basket though, bit worried about how much caffeine I'd be in-taking with that!
 
Sounds good pretty much.

Have you done the OPV mod for the classic? Well worth it and I would do it before messing with timings. I also wasn't impressed with the beans I got from Happy Donkey so don't be too disappointed if it doesn't turn out too amazing.

You should be able to swap the basket around into the bottomless portafilter btw?

Another thing to check - if you have a pressurised basket, bin it. They suck. You can tell by looking at it from both sides. The side you put coffee in will have tons of holes. In a normal basket both sides have this many holes. With a pressurised basket the bottom side will just have one hole.
 
toString said:
Got a Gaggia Classic and Eureka Mignon (mat black!) combo this week. Bit of a step up from the previous tiny delonghi machine and Tesco ground coffee.. Got some beans from happydonkey and trying things out..
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Good combo!

I've thrown out the single basket and I'm using a double which I believe should be 15g-18g?
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Yep. I use 17g in my double.

Also got a bottomless PF which I've not really used as I've been trying to do timings on the double spout one (about 25secs from pressing the button, right?).
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Yep.

The bottomless has a triple basket though, bit worried about how much caffeine I'd be in-taking with that!
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Not enough!
 
Yeah I've read a bit about the OPV, although I have a 5mm allen key to adjust it - I don't have the 17 or 18mm rachet (or any tools in general!) to open the valve bit... So will have to wait til I buy some tools I guess. Also I think I need to buy some sort of gauge to measure the 10bar. Was considering just doing it blind though, I read it's roughly 270 degree ccw turn.. We'll see, not sure I'd even notice the difference!..

Pressurised ones have gone too, will try and exchange the baskets, I heard the bottomless is a good learning tool as well, so that might be good for me now.

Also, where do you get your beans from now FT? The price seemed good at donkey, but if there's better I'll give it a try. Taste is ok, but seems quite oily, but maybe that's normal.. first time I've ever used a grinder so I'm used to pretty dry grounds..
 
toString said:
Yeah I've read a bit about the OPV, although I have a 5mm allen key to adjust it - I don't have the 17 or 18mm rachet (or any tools in general!) to open the valve bit... So will have to wait til I buy some tools I guess. Also I think I need to buy some sort of gauge to measure the 10bar. Was considering just doing it blind though, I read it's roughly 270 degree ccw turn.. We'll see, not sure I'd even notice the difference!..

Pressurised ones have gone too, will try and exchange the baskets, I heard the bottomless is a good learning tool as well, so that might be good for me now.

Also, where do you get your beans from now FT? The price seemed good at donkey, but if there's better I'll give it a try. Taste is ok, but seems quite oily, but maybe that's normal.. first time I've ever used a grinder so I'm used to pretty dry grounds..
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The oil is because they're over-roasted I think. I'm not sure but I seem to recall the HD beans being like that. I often order my beans from HasBean but I've also tried some local Manchester roasters - http://www.ancoats-coffee.co.uk/ are quite good. Coffee oils in the actual coffee itself are a good thing btw - just oily beans themselves aren't great :)

You probably won't notice the difference much with the OPV mod right now, you're right. It will definitely help eventually though so I think you're correct to leave it on your to-do list once you have the right tools.

The naked portafilter is definitely an awesome learning tool. Just be prepared to make a lot of mess the first few times you use it :p
 
toString said:
Cheers will try HasBean when these are gone. I feel like the grinder will need a proper clean after these 2 bags!
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That's something I really should do sometime myself. I haven't cleaned my grinder (phrasing) in over a year of use. Thankfully I'm taking better care of the Classic at least.
 
Well I went into town today to see the 3rd stage of the TDF, I stopped at Taylor st. Baristas, Prufrock & Monmouth just off Shaftesbury Avenue en route. Flat White in each, all excellent.
 
So I have had my Gaggia Classic for a little over 4 months and it is probably my most prized possession. I was using pre-ground coffee mostly Taylors espresso and for me and wifey it was fine.

I know the viewpoint regarding pre-ground and grinding your own Coffee beans on this thread having read it on and off for a while.

The equipment I have is Gaggia, double basket - non pressurised. 50mm Tamper (not ideal as I didn't know it was 58mm) replacement Silva wand. No OPV mods at all unfortunately.

I was going to buy the Porlex tall grinder at the end of last week but instead ordered the Krups Expert GVX231 which arrived Saturday morning.

It certainly isn't the best grinder in the world I know.

I purchased a 1kg bag of Lavazza beans as I know I would go through a lot dialing in. The major flaw of course with a cheaper grinder is its ability to evenly and consistently Grind! This is demonstrated and accepted as I knew what I was purchasing.

I have probably got it as best as I am going to with a ~2oz shot taking about 20 seconds. It isn't great but one setting finer and my Gaggia refuses to penetrate through.

So I have had a latte or three with the above beans. Its comparable to the Taylors pre-ground
with no noticeable improvement in flavour.

I purchased some nice beans from Labatorio Espresso in Glasgow which comes from the Dear Green Roastery which the shop uses itself. The Coffee is fantastic imo.

So in your guys opinion... giving the above as not being ideal. Do you think I'd notice an improved difference in taste with the freshly roasted beans with the setup I unfortunately have?.

I really had it in my mind I could set it up to a reasonable level where I could then use the new beans and mimic the Coffee that Cafe serves but I think I am going to be disappointed.
 
I'm not all that surprised that mass produced and transported beans aren't coming out much better than mass produced and transported pre-ground. Personally i'm not a big fan of the Lavazza stuff anyhows.

How did you get along with the Dear Green Roastery stuff? I wouldn't expect it to be as good as the stuff you get from the cafe, after all you've got ~£250 worth of machine and a little experience vs 10 to 50 times that worth of equipment and and someone who makes more coffees a week than you've drunk in your life...

It might be worth addressing some of the cheap / free areas you can do on your current setup - NSEW tamping (technique to try and minimise variation in the tamp with a too small tamper), OPV mod (will probably bring your closer to the 25 second mark), temp surfing, removal of horrible bovine pollution from the finished product :D
 
Lol Siliconslave regarding the milk.

Well I decided I'd just go ahead and open the Fresh Beans I purchased on Saturday. I made a latte using of course that horrible Bovine stuff that I know I need to cut out my diet.

It was a little better tasting. Not at all ground breaking but it certainly didn't swing in either way to the bitterness or sourness that was the lottery of the Lavazza.

I shall go seek out NSEW tamping but most likely I'll purchase a 58mm tamp. Is Temp surfing when you try to time when to press pour at the time the boiler comes on?.

Thanks anyway for your advice. I know I won't get the perfect Coffee with my cheap setup but I just want to get the best I can and knowing it is still miles better than the instant that went before it.
 
Is it me but I think this chart is backwards and totally deceiving !

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The guy getting a Mocha is getting twice as much caffiene in his system surely.
 
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