Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

As well as coffee beans ... may want to get the pulycaf(maybe blind basket) and de-scaler(or citric acid) to go with that - they need to be cared for and will give many years of service.
 
jpaul said:
As well as coffee beans ... may want to get the pulycaf(maybe blind basket) and de-scaler(or citric acid) to go with that - they need to be cared for and will give many years of service.
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Well it seems to be producing ok coffee, a lot to learn. Need to figure out how to replace the steam want with a normal one as it's completely useless.

De-scaler is a good point, haven't got any of that stuff yet, do I need a blind basket though? It doesn't have a 3-way solenoid and I thought you had to have one of those to backflush?
 
Just replaced the gasket on my Gaggia, ordered a spare and also a group head as the old one is looking a bit mankey. Did think about a brass one but thought i'd stick with OEM.

Though now making pretty good coffee again, was getting a bit leaky of late with a really hard gasket seal that i just thrown out..
 
DiG said:
De-scaler is a good point, haven't got any of that stuff yet, do I need a blind basket though? It doesn't have a 3-way solenoid and I thought you had to have one of those to backflush?
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yes, don't need the blind filter .. puly-caf is still good for the disperson plate/screen and portafilter (works on t pots too)

Raymond Lin said:
Just replaced the gasket on my Gaggia, ordered a spare and also a group head as the old one is looking a bit mankey. Did think about a brass one but thought i'd stick with OEM.
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I used to cut these out with a scalpel, but now drive a wood screw into it - do you mean a group head ? they are dam expensive (my hx conversion head from pod was >£50) how do you wear it out ?
 
just watched it - thought review was poor
The guy does not make any comment over internal build quality/robustness of grinders (brass construction, well machined ??? - I have dismantled a Rocky)
Did not appear to discuss burr type used in machines
If he is a barista, then comparing on the basis of the taste of prepared coffee would seem appropriate lol - rather than noise/grind time/grind size
(if grinder that has ground faster heats the beans more, it maybe destructive to taste)

... are there other wilfa reviews, I cannot find a review by Gale, but maybe it is not available in USA.
 
0:35 I will do my best to compare and review the two ....
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thing I could not understand too, is why they did not extend (Wilfe) range to do espresso grind - that is a bit limiting;
no web evidence that users have made mods either.
I guess from a cost perspective the doser mechanism (maybe everyone wants on-demand direct injection into the pf now) would have added too much to the cost, however even with filter you may only grind a small quantity.

.... but if you can import one ~e100 with 5 year guarantee not bad
 
Thanks guys, those electric grinders look nice, but are a bit more than I was looking to spend.

If I want to go cheap would it need to be a hand grinder? Any reccomendations for one of them?
 
Anyone had the Colombian Suarez from Rave before? It was their cheapest coffee, but the tasting notes sounded nice and the reviews were great so I've ordered a pack.

Out of curiosity, what is everybody's go to pack?
 
I'm so happy that this thread is alive and well.

It was because of this thread, that many years ago I invested in a Rancilio Siliva and Rocky combo (the rocky was second hand off the bay). I added a PID (from Canada) to the Siliva which totally sorted out the temp fluctuations and gives me a pre-infusion as well. A couple of years back I bought a bottomless portafilter which I have found to be an excellent aid to improving my shots as you can see what is *really* going on with the pull, plus it's just so much nicer to watch the extraction up close at first hand, *plus* I can pull a double shot into one small espresso cup (why do so many machines supply a double spout portafilter instead of a single one?).

The Rocky has been utterly reliable and is very well made and heavy duty. Yes, it lacks the uber precision of a dedicated espresso grinder but it works for me and I love the fact that I can do a really course grind for a caffetiere and med/fine grind for my nice Mellita drip machine as well. (Melitta 1011-16 Look IV Therm Timer Coffee Filter Machine. Superb machine. Insulated jug instead of hot plate which keeps the coffee hot for ages but doesn't burn it and wreck the flavour. Perfect when you have guests and you just want to make a big jug of good coffee and let everyone help themselves whenever they want). All these brewing methods have their own merit.

I get a 500g bag of Square Mile beans every month (an enduring christmas and then birthday present) which are consistently wonderful (and yes I know, expensive) and I top up in between with either Hasbean beans (from my local hipster coffee shop, as long as they continue to give me 350g for the price of 250g) or Monmouth beans (from my local trendy cafe 100m away from my house). I also occasionally top up with 1kg bag of beans from the rain forest (we get though enough that it doesn't sit around too long). I really enjoyed the Rave Coffee Signature Blend, I thought it was very nice indeed and relatively good value. This week I bought a 1Kb bag of Spiller & Tait Signature blend coffee. This is a slightly darker roast than most of the beans that I buy, with traces of oil on the bean and a consequently more pronounced smokey taste to it. I am typically not such a fan of the stronger roasts but I confess I am warming to it and strangely, I have found myself drinking more straight espresso's than before (as opposed to dropping a large espresso into heated milk which is my mon-fri routine) as I think these beans taste better without milk.

Ramble over but one of my top 5 philosophies remains that... life it simply too short for crap coffee...
 
Egon said:
Anyone had the Colombian Suarez from Rave before? It was their cheapest coffee, but the tasting notes sounded nice and the reviews were great so I've ordered a pack.

Out of curiosity, what is everybody's go to pack?
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Yes I have two bags of it sitting on my sideboard. Lovely coffee. Fast becoming my staple.

Currently working way through a bag of Anfilloo Suddi at the moment. Best coffee I've had in years. Seriously good.
 
gEd said:
A couple of years back I bought a bottomless portafilter which I have found to be an excellent aid to improving my shots as you can see what is *really* going on with the pull
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so can you get the bottomless shot into a cup ?, or does it go everywhere.

gEd said:
Yes, it lacks the uber precision of a dedicated espresso
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your Rocky can easily go stepless,per my earlier post, still working for me 2 months in.
 
jpaul said:
so can you get the bottomless shot into a cup ?, or does it go everywhere.
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Yes, it forms into a single stream in the middle. It doesn't spray out of every hole. If it does, you need to work on your technique which it the main point of the BPF in my view. That and the fact that it's great to watch it
jpaul said:
your Rocky can easily go stepless,per my earlier post, still working for me 2 months in.
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Yeh I know but I've not felt the need to do this mod yet,I am getting good results. I will likely do it when I have some time
 
EdwardTeach said:
Thanks guys, those electric grinders look nice, but are a bit more than I was looking to spend.

If I want to go cheap would it need to be a hand grinder? Any reccomendations for one of them?
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I started off with a Hario Skerton hand grinder via Amazon, since that was usually the recommendation for cheapest half decent hand grinder on here. It just got replaced with the Wilfa grinder in that video; a good chunk of my coffee drinking is in the morning before I leave for work and I found using a hand grinder - well, that one anyway - was making the process take too long and with the Wilfa I can have my beans ready to dump in the Aeropress in 5 seconds. Quality wise it's early days but while the coffee quality seems a LITTLE bit better, what I mainly paid for was efficiency. The whole ritual of grinding fresh beans wasn't that precious to me! The Hario took a few minutes, mostly because even though it comes with a slip-on rubber base, it still moved around the worktop a bit and I kept having to re-tighten the nut clamping the handle down as it tended to work it's way loose. Doing several cups at once was a headache too.
 
Dj_Jestar said:
Yes I have two bags of it sitting on my sideboard. Lovely coffee. Fast becoming my staple.

Currently working way through a bag of Anfilloo Suddi at the moment. Best coffee I've had in years. Seriously good.
Click to expand...


I am yet to order from Rave, but will be doing so soon. I have been getting my beans from a local roasters called hot numbers who have a couple of shops in Cambridge and supply some others. Looking forward to comparing the two.
 
Somnambulist said:
I started off with a Hario Skerton hand grinder via Amazon, since that was usually the recommendation for cheapest half decent hand grinder on here. It just got replaced with the Wilfa grinder in that video; a good chunk of my coffee drinking is in the morning before I leave for work and I found using a hand grinder - well, that one anyway - was making the process take too long and with the Wilfa I can have my beans ready to dump in the Aeropress in 5 seconds. Quality wise it's early days but while the coffee quality seems a LITTLE bit better, what I mainly paid for was efficiency. The whole ritual of grinding fresh beans wasn't that precious to me! The Hario took a few minutes, mostly because even though it comes with a slip-on rubber base, it still moved around the worktop a bit and I kept having to re-tighten the nut clamping the handle down as it tended to work it's way loose. Doing several cups at once was a headache too.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the explanation. I think I may skip a hand grinder then. I will probably go for a cheapo electric for the time being.
 
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