Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

finally the Zassen arrived:)

first thing I grind some 20/30 grams of rice to "clean" the burrs inside

then I grind some 10 grams of coffee beans,and bin it
finally I grind a fair amount of beans,and I try to brew an espresso,but not one single drop of coffee comes out of the machine- I wait 30 ,then 45 seconds nothing comes out:D

then I realised that the coffee perhaps it´s too fine and in top of it I have tampered hard with the steel tamper:confused:

so I turn the bolt of the zassen a little loose,and i try again
this time the coffee starts pouring ,but only after some 20 seconds or so,and it takes almost two minutes to fill the espresso cup,and the crema is very rare on top


well,another try, another twist in the nut,and then I see the grounded coffee is coming with consistence like fine sugar:cool:

well,to my surprise, this time the coffee take the right time to fill the cup ( perhaps a little faster then it is supposed to be - around 20 seconds ) but the aspect of it and the crema is very nice
and the taste it´s completely different from the previous espresso I had made in the Krupps- much,much better really- and the coffee beans that I have are from a regular supermarket supply, now I need to find a shop who sells the "special ones" eheheh






last cup of espresso,with the "right texture of the grounded coffee beans


 
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:cool:

It's odd how the difference in grinder (and the settings) change the final result so much! Your journey to the darkside is almost complete!
 
Dogoid said:
coffee is like speed to me, alarming highs and disturbing come downs.
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My ex flatmate is hypersensitive to caffine. She'd have a single and be having hot/cold flushed and her heart would be pounding because if it. She's had people ask if she wanted an ambulance before after having a coffee.
The problem is that she can't predict the strength between places..

I've found that I can only really have one in the morning and one in the afternoon after lunch. I have to drink water or the dehydration gives me headaches. If I have an espresso after a dinner I'll be able to sleep but it's not a proper sleep although it means I can do without sleep :D
 
Hi Raymond

that is the Zassen model 156 (the so called "box mill")
yours is the model 158 - (the so called "knee mill") because it was appropriated to fix between the knees - at least in America:)

I first order the model 158 from Manutman,but after a week l have received a letter in order to do a bank transfer too their account in Germany:p

so I put it on the bin,and after a little more "goggling" I found the Zassenhaus-shop.de ,and in five minutes I had it ordered and paid by CC ,:cool:

they have a few models from the 78 euros to a 125 euros ,more or less

I just order that one,because it is the cheaper one ,and in the end the grinding mechanism is the same in almost all of their models- I´m well pleased with it:)
 
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You are lucky,because Manufactum has a site/shop in England:)

like they have specific sites for Germany,Switzerland and Austria


in my case,because I live in Portugal,I have to order from their International shop site,and in that case the same Zassen you bought,costs in that site 85 euros plus 16 euros for delivery to my door with DHL- grand total 101 euros + the cost of the bank transfer:(

so Manufactum have a great price for British customers ,not so great for countries in the south of Europe:D

http://www.manufactum.com/Produkt/0/1401220/ZassenhausCoffeeGrinder.html?suchbegriff=coffee+grinder

PS- I used a a bit of "broken" rice who is used to cook for the cats and dogs - because when I first turn the handle I see a small bits of metal in the bottom of the drawer ,so I think is better to use the burrs a bit in order they lost that sharp pieces in the edges
 
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Mmmm roasting... maybe next year..

I think I've just holy grailed myself this morning.. I've been attempting to get "wet' foam recently and it's been infuriating. This is where the foam is really soft without being hard like beaten eggs. Up till now I've been getting some hardness even when attempting to follow the wisdom of whirlpool etc.

Shot - crema 1/3 of the shot glass. The last few drops of showed signs of blonding but the rest of the shot looked very good. Smelt it.. thought hmm smells ok..
I thought as I was tamping the feel of the tamp and how deep it finished. The MCAL prefers to be slightly under-dosed and with a double the tamp top fitting flush with the top of the basket ('top' where the main cylinder starts to cone back to the handle on the reg barber). I had an odd feeling that it would be a good shot..

Milk for cappuccino - less milk than normal, got just 'ch' noises continuously, thought that's pretty good and I decided to drop the wand faster than I would normally. It rang out in my mind from all the reading I've been doing about foam and milk that "often people attempt too much foam. A rise of 30-50% in volume is what should be aimed for". So I dropped and surfed the lower boundary until the sides got uncomfortably hot and stopped. Cleaned the wand and gave it a blast of steam to clean out any milk suck back.
The whole process seemed far far quicker than I've done before.. but I thought.. ahh just trust what they say.. if not it's just cafe au lait.. *shrug*

I bunged the coffee shot into the mug (philistine!) and started pouring. "Milk?" I thought.. then I looked closer. And closer and ... closer. It was milky soft, minute bubbles without any hard 'chunk' of foam in the pitcher. At the top of the mug the pour seem to slow down like the matrix as a very soft cap of foam poured out. Mummah! Still a little too perhaps but I think that's a minor change.

I still can't recollect all the details but I think it all came from relaxing and in a slightly "lazy morning" state doing things without thinking too much.

I've also found that the wand steam holes make a difference in how you hold the pitcher. I read that with a single hole you'd hold it at the side so that the jet creates a whirlpool. This has never worked for me but I discovered (according the author) that if you have more holes then how you hold the pitcher differs. For three (MCAL) or four holes then it's better to hold the pitcher with the wand pointing into the centre. The natural geometry of the 3/4 holes cause the milk to cycle in a standing wave against the side of the pitcher rather than a whirlpool. The milk turbulence then dies down leaving a semi-stable standing wave surface and it's easier to get a steady 'ch' 'ch' rather than a big gulp of air. Maybe this is different if you have 3/4 and a large pitcher I don't know.. but I thought I'd scribble this down for those attempting latte art this weekend.
 
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eheheh

take it easy ,mate:)

I´m not even tempting to make an "art latte",first I need to learn how to brew a nice espresso with my gear

and remember I´m working with a cheap Krupp of 130 Euro and supermarket grade coffee beans:D

so I´m happy with my results,by now

my last cup of espresso,still the coffee is coming to fast ,i think I need to turn the nut of the Zassen a little more


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg3hroYjxJw
 
Ahh the beans! :D This would explain a little why it's fast (nowt wrong with the machine). I found that with supermarket beans there's very little between gush and choke.

It sounds like you have the right setting to be honest - just need that freshness!
 
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am looking at la pavoni

i like the cllassic looks and the idea of manual pull (less to go wrong)

69fd_1.JPG


any advice appreciated
 
ThriceNightly said:
am looking at la pavoni

i like the cllassic looks and the idea of manual pull (less to go wrong)

69fd_1.JPG


any advice appreciated
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Ahh the Chrome Peacock :D

Ok, there's plenty out there on it. Infact I have a few interesting links from originally researching them:
http://www.pavoniexpress.com/
http://www.coffeegeek.com/reviews/consumer/lapavoniprofessional/bmiano3

The pavoni has several finishes/models. It's good to know which is which as they differ in cost. Also note that the pressure valve is *not* standard but depends on the model.

There's the europiccolo - which is decent, and has a smaller boiler than the professional. This means it'll heat faster, but will also overheat quickly.

The criticisms for the pavoni are:
a) prone to the pavoni shuffle - the base is light and so if the pressure isn't applied right (and the portafilter handle no held) then it will move. After a while owners get used to it and it doesn't move.
b) it's full manual so you'll have to put pressure on the lever in a consistent fashion to get the brew.. but you'll get total control. There's many ladies that don't like the amount of pressure (and the fact that you need to height to get the pressure right).
c) No gadgetry.. no heat exchangers, no pump, no soleniods.. so you will have to get used to how to control the temperature (no control on the heat so you'll have to 'surf' the temps)..

BUT...

It's a good and well respected manual. It'll work for a long time with just the seals being replaced very few years. It's a real lever machine and if you like the hands on feel then you'll like it.. but it'll take time to get used to it.
 
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netby said:
seems that Gaggia Achille is a great lever machine,with the great advantage that it not overheat,so you could get espresso after espresso without being worried with burning it:)

great review

http://www.home-barista.com/gaggia-achille-buyers-guide.html
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http://www.home-barista.com/forums/were-various-gaggia-achille-problems-ever-fixed-t7996.html

The reason I veered off the Achille. Although it may be advanced there's plenty of issues occurring with them at the time.
 
shame,it looks really like a great product:(

then the La Pavoni Europiccola seems the best price/quality ratio, with prices around 300 / 350 £:)
 
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