Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

its basically a normal portafilter with the bottom chopped off. Theres whats called a basket that sits in the portafilter that holds the coffee grounds. The portafilter holds this, lock & seals to the coffee machine and then channels the new coffee into the cups.

A bottomless/naked/crotchless portafilter does away with the bottom section and just allows the coffee to "drop" into a cup:
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NickK said:
So.... come on then - get those naked photos out! I'd be interested in seeing them.

If you've got yourself a naked basket this guide may be of use to you:
http://www.home-barista.com/naked-extraction-common-problems.html
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not got my basket through yet... and i've got a macro adapter on order for my camera so when they both turn up i'll get some shots :D

tem07 said:
MmMmMmMMmMmMmmmmm
Hey where do you work in Guildford if you don't mind me asking?
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i don't i live just outside g-ford down towards godalming and work in a large internet company in London, just drink (excessive) coffee as a hobby :D
 
yup, the misses thinks i'm nuts ;) shes going to love it when i get the camera setup on the tripod with lighting etc....

anyhows blurry phonecam pics ahoy:
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works really well, get a nice pour from it and i can fit a cup under easily. Need to refine the grind a little & work out why I'm getting splatter but works wonderfully!
 
NickK said:
mmmm..... hehe :)
I know what I want now - The Ascaos iMini grinder and the Europiccalo but with a house move coming up it's not going to bless my presence just yet..

Is the splatter at the start, end or all the way through?
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that would be a great combination.... the Europiccola is gorgeous and the iMini is an amazingly well formed little grinder. Maybe next year sometime once i've got the rest of my tech/car lust out the way :D

The splatter seems to be only at the start.... i think it might be cause my tamper doesn't fit exactly, the basket that came with it is about 2mm larger than my current one which i tried on the second shot... the second was a lot better but still had a bit.
 
just splashed out on a 6 month subscription to square mile - 6 lovely bags of random goodness - can't wait to see what i get first :D The bag of WBC Espresso blend i got from them was fantastic (as you'd expect... http://www.squaremileblog.com/2008/07/13/the-last-of-the-wbc-blend/)

Anyone used a Chemex drip filter thing at all? i'm strangely tempted as a cheap second brewer for larger quantities but i'm worried that my step less grinder will make it a pain to maintain two grind profiles :( maybe time for a hand grinder as well :D
 
hey, thanks for the comments :) i know i'm over filling the basket slightly... but for ease of leveling & with a lack of decent scales i'm not too worried.

grind wise i'm constantly adjusting the grind based on the Time : Volume ratio of 25 seconds : 30ml (or 60 on a double) and i do get a bit of blonding at the end of the pour... you can just see the light spot on this americano (pulled into hot water from the bottomless)

DSC_1708.JPG"


out of interest where did you train & where do you work at the moment?
 
BigBoy said:
I Trained in London whilst managing a small chain of coffee / pasty shops in the southwest called Presto. Training was by Union Coffee Rosters and their trainer was an Ausi bird called Clare (Cannot remember the surname some double barrelled thing) Am Currently a Bus Driver as i needed a change of job (Was fed up working food retail)

At Home i have an old La Cimbali Bistro machine 2 group 5lb copper steam tank jobbie, one of the perks of working for a coffee chain is you get to buy the old gear :)
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Cool :cool: Union do some very nice beans actually - my local decent coffee place (Taylor street baristas http://www.taylor-st.com/) use their stuff :)

And we totally need some photos of your beast of a machine :D
 
xander_uk2 said:
Silly question, but is there a recommended tamper size for the gaggia classics/babys?
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the classic is ~58mm i'm not certain the baby is the same size, but you can always just measure it :D I'm using a 58 flat based on my classic and it fits well & got my Dad a 58mm RB convex based a while back that is wonderful.


That grinder looks like a bargain... will be interested to hear how good it turns out to be :)
 
Raymond Lin said:
I am going to get a Gaggia Classic today :D and now I need a proper grinder (only have a blade one at the moment). I am torn between a Gaggia MM which is £60 or this Zassenhaus one I found online for £45. I also just found out that Zassenhaus has gone bankrupt in Germany so these could be a collector's item !

How good is this Zassenhaus ?

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Hey mate, is that zassenhaus on auction or is it a store? i could do with a second grinder as my one isn't easy to switch between profiles (ie for a French press...) If its one on an auction i'll leave it for you... otherwise i might have to get one (linkie please)
 
Raymond Lin said:
I was worried a bit as their site doesn't have online payment so i rang the number on the site and spoke to a lady who says that the item will come with an invoice and i just pay the balance with a cheque. :)

Should be with me within 7 days.
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Wow, thats a little weird... i work in online payments and pretty much no-one does that apart from some big business to business places... bonkers!
 
Raymond Lin said:
What is the red light under the right button mean? is it ready for coffee when its on or its ready when its off?

Also, mine was REALLY loud when i first turned it on and start the water pump, is that normal? And it took ages before any water was coming out.
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temp wise when the light goes on it should be upto temp... although you can temprature surf them to get higher or lower temperatures & the fluctuations in temp calm down allot when you've had it turned on for 15-20 min.

"Maximum temperature is acheived when the machine is well and truly heated up (15-20 mins) and when the boiler has just finished its cycle - ie. when the light goes off, and just as it goes back on again it is up to max temperature. If you need it hotter, the recommendation is to flick the steam switch for 5-10 seconds just before you brew the shot.

On the other hand, if youre shots are too hot, flush an ounce or so of water thru the group moments before you pull the shot - or until you see the "water dance" and steam stop. Then really quickly lock the PF in and brew away."

Noise wise when the pump doesn't have any water in it is damn loud, theres something in the manual about priming it iirc.... you shouldn't really allow it to run out ever in the futur :)

Milk frothing wise i don't really do it personally as i'm dairy but this is a pretty good guide: http://www.anothercoffee.co.uk/coffeeinfo/frothing.aspx

Those are great photos btw!

edit: oh and warming wise you can always get a plug timer.... or just turn it on pre-shower :)
 
NickKs just showing off about his fancy pants machine and portafilter ;) (jealous++)

Tamping wise you want to press down with ~ 30lb of pressure.

A good tamper is one that fits the basket well (although apparently a little gap is good to get a seal between the puck and the sides of the basket. Flat of convex based tampers are a matter of great argument.... convex is an American ideal iirc & flat is more traditional... personally i prefered the convex on trying it, but not enough to shell out for a new tamper :)

Beyond being the right size (58mm for a gaggia classic) and flat / convex based the rest is pretty much just visual... RB make very good, but expensive tampers, as do Thor...

Again how you tamp is something coffee geeks can argue over till the sun goes down, i go with leveling the basket with loose grinds (which is slightly overfilling it... but makes life a bit easyer) then tamping with about 20lb pressure, taping the tamper againt four sides of the PF then tamping down with the full 30lb, lift off slightly and turn a half to polish :)

nb i've never managed to damage or dent either the PF or my work surface while doing this... but you can get bits of rubber to go under the spouts while you tamp if you like...
 
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