Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

the-evaluator · 22 Feb 2017 at 10:35

When I give my machine a proper clean I soak the shower screen, portafilter, basket and so on in a Cafiza solution. It doesn't do any descaling (personally I don't see that's necessary on these parts - the boiler is a different story) but it does get rid of the coffee oil deposits.

SPG · 22 Feb 2017 at 13:12

Well I caved in... Bought an aeropress.

Threw every other method of making coffee either in the bin or in the loft.

I buy my coffee from coffeebeanshop.co.uk

Really like the breakfast blend and dabble in the roasters choice but always nothing hits the breakfast blend for my palate tbh.

Really nice and fresh coffee.

Grimley · 22 Feb 2017 at 16:42

Illgresi said:
Word of warning based on my experience today. Purchased some Deathwish Valhalla from Amazon, which being £15 I assumed was a 1 kg bag. Turns out the reason the weight hadn't twigged in my brain was because it was given in imperial (which simply doesn't compute with me!). When it arrived I realised it was a 340 g bag! Amazon took the return no bother thankfully. Seriously though, £15 for 340 g!!! I must assume the beans are gold plated.

Cough* Perfectly decent roaster in your town (possibly) *Cough
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@56.3...AvUV0-RllOMouhzTQA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

Illgresi · 22 Feb 2017 at 18:12

Grimley said:
Cough* Perfectly decent roaster in your town (possibly) *Cough
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@56.3...AvUV0-RllOMouhzTQA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

Thanks for the tip, I'll try them out next time!

Only lived here since the summer, so don't know the shops very well!

Participant · 22 Feb 2017 at 18:42

ESAM4200 arrived...I'm happy! Can finally make lattes and cappuccinos at home. It seems to be a really good bit of kit.

Grimley · 22 Feb 2017 at 18:58

/\/\/\/\/\ I bought the ESAM2800 from the catalogue shop for my little sister for Xmas. I tried it out after getting it to work for her & for the price its not a bad bit of kit.

shez · 23 Feb 2017 at 12:20

Just dusted off my gaggia classic having not used it for a year after moving house.
Now i'm in search of a half decent grinder to hopefully up my espresso game.
From a quick peruse of the internet, the popular options are;
- Iberital MC2 - seems rather idiosyncratic/marmite option
- Sage BCG600 - shiny, bit cheaper than the MC2, not much feedback
- Rancillo Rocky - good feedback significantly more expensive

Appreciate any more feedback, thanks

the-evaluator · 23 Feb 2017 at 12:51

I had an MC2, it was great for filter and pour over brews but I found it awful for espresso. It didn't quite go fine enough and the grind was quite variable when it was cranked down.

The MC2 was replace with a Rocky which has been excellent.

jpaul · 23 Feb 2017 at 21:30

If you look back - glitch talked me out of changing a Rocky for an MC2, so Rocky and I remain together for nearly 20 years (Audrey was upgrdaded - but that is another story)

I would also look at Eureka Mignon (stepless & asthetic) if considering Rocky price level ... or 2nd hand SuperJolly (which you can probably pass on to children)

Dj_Jestar · 24 Feb 2017 at 00:22

Eureka Mignon gets my vote. Stepless, compact, great design, and chuteless.

Raymond Lin · 24 Feb 2017 at 08:08

jpaul said:
Eureka Mignon (stepless & asthetic) if considering Rocky pri

Of the 2, which is better?

My Mc2 just died this morning after 11years.

scrap that, must be a lodged bean....shook it and it works again!

jpaul · 24 Feb 2017 at 21:42

No - the Eureka (and Rocket Giotto ?) are the real deal - adult products that don't need advertising gimmicks like George Clooney

Dj_Jestar · 25 Feb 2017 at 03:07

The mignon is better than the rocky.

re: Rocket Giotto - it's a semi-automatic heat exchanger with an E61 group head. It's definitely the real deal. I've got the Cellini which is identical to the giotto, only with straight flanks instead of angled:

taken on day of delivery which was about 18 months ago. Teh shiny :E

nst68 · 27 Feb 2017 at 11:09

Raymond Lin said:
Bought these at Smokey Barn to give them a chance.

When you signed up to the Smokey Barn site did they send a welcome email that contained your user id and password (in plain text!)?

This happened to me and I'm not sure if I'm being paranoid about them not storing hashed password.

Fingers crossed the coffee I ordered will be good

Dj_Jestar · 27 Feb 2017 at 13:15

The only test for if they store an unhased pword is if you click the password reset link and they send it to you. They may email the password without storing it.

Still, it is less than ideal.

the-evaluator · 27 Feb 2017 at 16:12

I think my Silvia is dead

I turned it on yesterday and it instantly tripped the MCB. I've just done a test and brought it into the study (which is on its own ring) where I unplugged everything else, plugged in the Silvia, turned it on and the MCB went.

Faulty heater I assume.

Grimley · 27 Feb 2017 at 18:57

/\/\/\/\/\/\ The Silvia has a small boiler so steaming a lot of milk makes it run dry, hence burning the element out. You can get replacements from here.
http://www.theespressoshop.co.uk/
You need to refill the boiler by pressing the espresso or hot water switch for about 10 seconds after steaming milk. I got a set of specific instructions with mine when I acquired it to do this each time as its not covered by the machines warranty.

jpaul · 27 Feb 2017 at 21:02

had a similar issue on a different/Bezzera machine type, which 'fixed' itself and was I think some moisture ingress as documented below for silvia.
I had a lot of splutter from anti-vac valve that went away after extensive descale.
Rancilio Silvia boiler element repair (Tripping RCD/GFI)

Peter (the guy from ebay) said that there was a small chance of saving the element if the resistance wire was intact, which it was.

Click to expand...

Since the element consists of a copper tube filled with magnesium oxide (MgO) as an electrical insulator, and the resistance wire in the centre, it was possible that the fault was due to a very small amount of moisture seeping into the element through a crack in one of the ceramic seals. MgO is hydroscopic, and only has dielectric strength (i.e. insulation resistance) when it is completely free of moisture.
It is possible to remove the moisture by placing the boiler in an oven at 175C for three hours, allowing it to cool, and then breaking off the ceramic seals and re-sealing the element with anti-creepage paint, epoxy, or some other insulating sealant. I used white enamel paint.

the-evaluator · 28 Feb 2017 at 08:28

Brilliant, thanks guys. I'll do some reading.

Scam · 28 Feb 2017 at 14:22

Anyone been to Coffee Island on Upper St Martin's lane? I bought some beans from there, a bit pricey at £7/250g but they are very nice. What amazed me was the amount of money they've clearly poured into the place. I know nothing about commercial coffee equipment but I was like :eek:

It's a greek mini-chain I believe, so they do ibrik-style coffee which I've not tried :confused: