Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

Ha too right! :D

Of course I could just order 2x 250g, but thought it would work out cheaper in one bag.

Just ordered from a local roastery that I've not tried before. Felt obliged to give them a try.
 
I usually go 1Kg packs from Rave

This was the blood spatter from bottomless pf, will have to get some cheap coffee for any further trials, but the grind would behave differently.

 
Flibster said:
Barista & Co cortado cups are lovely to drink from although you need to look elsewhere for the cups.
I'd also consider Acme and Loveramics.

But my favourite beverage containment vessels are the curved side diner mugs, like these.
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I go between these 2, a really tall one.

cMa4BZT.jpg

To this one that you have but branded.

ROmI6sQ.jpg

and this one if I am feel like it. Not often though, it is very delicate, I had 2 and already broken one.

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I'm looking to get a decent espresso machine but I really can't decide between 3.

Gaggia classic - seems to be well liked but much of that appears to be based on older models and the new ones are apparently completely different beasts. No idea if they are still good, reliable and easy to repair anymore.
Rancilio Silvia - More expensive but looks like a better build quality than the Gaggia and would be a good choice to learn on.
Sage duo temp pro - Kind of leaning towards this as it seems to be the easiest to use, has a PID and would be the shallowest learning curve. Downsides are if it breaks you are a bit out of luck.

Any thoughts guys. Occasionally I see a gaggia classic come up on gumtree but its hard to tell what condition its in and what model so you don't know if you are getting the better, older one. Rancilios are a bit rarer second hand but seem to be about £200 and then the sage duo temp pro can be bought for £270 new.
 
fez said:
I'm looking to get a decent espresso machine but I really can't decide between 3.

Gaggia classic - seems to be well liked but much of that appears to be based on older models and the new ones are apparently completely different beasts. No idea if they are still good, reliable and easy to repair anymore.
Rancilio Silvia - More expensive but looks like a better build quality than the Gaggia and would be a good choice to learn on.
Sage duo temp pro - Kind of leaning towards this as it seems to be the easiest to use, has a PID and would be the shallowest learning curve. Downsides are if it breaks you are a bit out of luck.

Any thoughts guys. Occasionally I see a gaggia classic come up on gumtree but its hard to tell what condition its in and what model so you don't know if you are getting the better, older one. Rancilios are a bit rarer second hand but seem to be about £200 and then the sage duo temp pro can be bought for £270 new.
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I'm going for the Sage Duo Temp Pro when the time comes. It looks good, has almost unanimously good reviews and it doesn't appear to be too much of a faff. The Gaggia Classic as you say, all the praise is for the older models.

The Sage Duo Temp from John Lewis is 300 and comes with a 2 year warranty and for 15 quid you get an extra two years. You're covered for 4 years and JL service is excellent.
 
TS7 said:
I'm going for the Sage Duo Temp Pro when the time comes. It looks good, has almost unanimously good reviews and it doesn't appear to be too much of a faff. The Gaggia Classic as you say, all the praise is for the older models.

The Sage Duo Temp from John Lewis is 300 and comes with a 2 year warranty and for 15 quid you get an extra two years. You're covered for 4 years and JL service is excellent.
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Yeah, thats what i'm gravitating towards as it seems to be good value for money, really easy to use and highly praised.
 
seems there is a rave deal ..why did I not get an email ? (because of the rain ?)
Have a 10% discount on all roasted and green coffee on us.
Use code: ISITSUMMERYET
at the checkout. Offer runs throughout the 25th April 2017 until midnight.
-The Team at Rave
*Excludes Subscriptions, Brew Equipment and gift cards. All discounted orders sent out 2nd class unless postage is upgraded.
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some folks seem to be having problems with the sette 270w too, a couple of videos, had not seen one in action before - so maybe not as desirable as I thought
vid 1
vid 2
anyone think the tamp force the guy applies in the second is excessive ? (not sure my HX vibratory pump would find its way through puck)

edit thought these people have some nice mugs & capp' cups
TOKYO DESIGN STUDIO
 
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Urghh, I've fallen into the trap of reading too much crap from coffee people. The takeaway is that unless I spend 2k on a machine and grinder I simply won't get coffee thats better than a coffee shop. Every time I think I have settled on a machine I read something negative about it.

I know that people are snobs and I am trying to ignore it all but I still can't decide on a machine for ~£300. The duo temp pro is still looking like a good bet but I read about lever espresso machines yesterday and now I want one of those!

The stuff about not making coffee as good as a coffee shop is BS btw. Chain coffee shops produce **** that needs sugar in to taste remotely palatable and even what appear to be well reviewed independent coffee shops are a lottery at best.
 
fez said:
Urghh, I've fallen into the trap of reading too much crap from coffee people. The takeaway is that unless I spend 2k on a machine and grinder I simply won't get coffee thats better than a coffee shop. Every time I think I have settled on a machine I read something negative about it.

I know that people are snobs and I am trying to ignore it all but I still can't decide on a machine for ~£300. The duo temp pro is still looking like a good bet but I read about lever espresso machines yesterday and now I want one of those!

The stuff about not making coffee as good as a coffee shop is BS btw. Chain coffee shops produce **** that needs sugar in to taste remotely palatable and even what appear to be well reviewed independent coffee shops are a lottery at best.
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This is often overlook but the grinder is your first IMPORTANT step, and often more important.

Crap in Crap out.

Good beans is key.
Good grind.
Good brewing method.

I rather get a £300 grinder and brew with a Chemex than pre ground coffee into an £1,000 espresso machine.
 
to get you off the fence - ebays refurbs w/6month guarantee ~£200 .
I think i would take the risk .. protection against early failure, and if you look after it/descale, probably fine.
coffeforums recently had an internals picture/teardown and insides look ok. (versus hx+silvia i used)
 
Another thing to remember is that the machines used by coffee shops cost more than small cars. The grinders are in excess of £1k each, and the espresso machines themselves can reach into £10k+ territory (but most that I've seen are around £5k-£7k and yes, they lease them not own them, but still it's just a marker for how much quality to expect from a machine)
 
With machines that cost that much I would expect the coffee they produce to be much better in most cases. I assume its simply because the people making it are not up to scratch.

When I upgraded from a porlex manual grinder to a sage smart pro my aeropress coffees because really consistent and much better quality so I get the reason people emphasise the grinder at least. I know the smart pro isn't exactly top draw either but it really has made a big difference.
 
fez said:
Urghh, I've fallen into the trap of reading too much crap from coffee people. The takeaway is that unless I spend 2k on a machine and grinder I simply won't get coffee thats better than a coffee shop. Every time I think I have settled on a machine I read something negative about it.
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I haven't spent 2k on hardware to get where I am now. I bought a used classic for £150 about a year ago, sold that on for a £20 loss & replaced it with a 2nd hand silvia. Upgrade cost me just over £100. Adding a PID to the Silvia cost £180 & I've just bought a Eureka Mignon Grinder, £260 with discount & value of free coffee beans. With the Filters & Tamper I would figure that I've spent £600-650 tops. If I bought a flat white every day from a shop (Average £2.60) instead of making it at home would cost me a shade under £950. I'm never going to spend £300 on Beans, Water & Milk over the course of a year so the cost of hardware is going to pay itself back over that time & hopefully will last me over a fair few years to come, as well as saving me more money as time goes on. With practice & a bit of patience I will get to be as good as any shop barista. (I think I'm well on the way to that goal right now ;) )
 
fez said:
With machines that cost that much I would expect the coffee they produce to be much better in most cases. I assume its simply because the people making it are not up to scratch.

When I upgraded from a porlex manual grinder to a sage smart pro my aeropress coffees because really consistent and much better quality so I get the reason people emphasise the grinder at least. I know the smart pro isn't exactly top draw either but it really has made a big difference.
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Not really, it is more about reliability, and the ability to make shot after shot after shot without waiting. It can steam a lot of milk without much of a wait and designed to be worked hard with the build quality to match.

Your home machine will have a much smaller boiler, much "weaker" parts inside and won't stand the daily abuse of these £10k machines. Coffee is a lot of science, right temperature, pressure and extraction time. A £500 machine can get these criteria just the same as a £5k machines but a £500 machine won't be able to keep up with the frequency.

This is why I am happy with my Gaggia, it serves my purpose perfectly. I only ever need to make coffee just for me, I don't use the frother, I just make a double shot. Very simple and basic and I can't see how a £5,000 can help me to make a better cup, at least not worthwhile.
 
Oh I totally agree, the 2k comment was just what people have said is the amount you need to spend to compete with coffee shops. It's total bs but there are a lot of coffee snobs out there.
 
fez said:
Oh I totally agree, the 2k comment was just what people have said is the amount you need to spend to compete with coffee shops. It's total bs but there are a lot of coffee snobs out there.
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Good fresh beans, decent grinder and get a machine that can do the right temp and pressure and with a little practice you can get just as good coffee at home for like £500 IMO.

Things like wrong pressure or stale ground have much bigger impact.
 
Some late eBay bidding and I now have a Gran Gaggia Style for the grand sum of £10.15 delivered. It arrived yesterday and after putting a UK plug on it everything appears to be working! Tonights plan is to remove the pressurized gubbins from the portafilter and start learning, who knows if

a) The machine can make decent espresso
b) I can make decent espresso

 
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