got my screen going
next onto the pump timer
next onto the pump timer
Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread
- Thread starter Siliconslave
- Start date
its a curse, although there are some decent places around now, but it does ruin starbucks etc (not that it wasn't ruined already). I tend(ed) to drink tea and chai in chain shops outside emergencies.
yes, i've seen that - tried installing the visualisation package hes using on my Pi but it ground things to a halt
The brew temperature does seem very low when the ready light first goes on, but apparently the temperature displayed via the serial port isn't directly representative to the output temperature (according to some other research i can't find right now)
The brew temperature does seem very low when the ready light first goes on, but apparently the temperature displayed via the serial port isn't directly representative to the output temperature (according to some other research i can't find right now)
yer, its a super fine adjustment - too fine really for the quality of the grinder, but it does make it crazy accurate.
yer, same with the dial on the Eureka, its a little too small to get a good, fine grain adjustment although i did manage to hit this:The cuff on my Mazzer is something of the opposite - it takes a lot of oomph to adjust it meaning micro-adjustments are really hard to do because it's difficult to control for small changes. Usually end up tapping the leaver with a rubber mallet to do it.
20g in 40.01g out in 35seconds (inc a 10seconds pre-infusion) - annoyingly on the last of the beans
can't you use a smart plug with the sages?
i'm not going to ask how you know... but time to start experimentingIts here! But the coffee tastes like bigfoots dick
quick and basic guide:
- Work out which (if any) bag has the oldest roast date, as Saint says it needs a week to rest ideally, sometimes two.
- Next make sure you're not using a pressurised (dual wall) basket, you want to the one with lots of holes in the bottom.
- Next you need to weigh everything
- Zero your scales (you do have scales don't you?) with the portafilter on.
- Grind coffee into the portafilter and work out how much you have in there weight wise.
- Zero your scales with a cup on and use the double button on the machine (doubles are generally easier to get right than singles)
- Weigh the espresso, you want to aim for around 1:2 in and out so 18g coffee = 36g of espresso out, adjust the grind to hit that magic 1:2 ratio - weight can vary but ratios work
- if you want a longer drink pour it over boiled water - don't use water from the machine, it'll taste awful
Thats maybe a little early, it will get better with time but shouldn't be undrinkable. What sort of ratio are you getting (weight of grounds in vs espresso out) - too bitter usually suggests its over-extracted. Confusingly this means either your grinding too fine and not getting enough water through, or your running too much water through the coffee puck so you need to reduce the extraction time.
What ratio of grounds to espresso are you getting at the moment? As i remember it the sage has timed shot button so that shouldn't be a concern...
Consistency as in repeatable results is down to a number of things, typically it's the grinder and grounds distribution in the basket. When you get the portafilter out from under the basket give it a little tap on the side to settle the grounds and even out the distribution before you tamp.
Make sure you take the tamper off the magnetic holder and try and give a good, flat even pressure onto the coffee. It should be flat in the basket and smooth over the top and right to the edges.
Are you filling the hopper with beans or just putting a little in at a time? the grinder won't work as well with only a dose worth of beans in it, but equally don't over fill as it'll go stale. Try and just put a days worth in at a time.
Make sure you take the tamper off the magnetic holder and try and give a good, flat even pressure onto the coffee. It should be flat in the basket and smooth over the top and right to the edges.
Are you filling the hopper with beans or just putting a little in at a time? the grinder won't work as well with only a dose worth of beans in it, but equally don't over fill as it'll go stale. Try and just put a days worth in at a time.
practice does improve things massively - took me a while to get used to my new machine but well into my stride with it now.
Time wise your looking for around 25 seconds ideally so grind a touch courser if anything
Don't use the pressurised basket - its designed to make really bad coffee look better by creating a false crema and just disguises whats going on. Its a little harder to get better looking coffee with the single walled basket, but once you nail it you'll get better tasting and looking coffee
Is pressure/flow profiling worth it.
Ive been looking to upgrade my machine for a few months now (currently a trip out Silvia)
started off looking at MaraX, but after a hard look, i though it wasn't that big a upgrade for the money i'll spend.
so my now Base machine i want is the Lelit Elizabeth, and while it is a good upgrade to what i have. it will still only let me make a standard(ish) Espresso
(tho should let be get good shots more often)
Is it worth upgrading to a Bianca for the manual pressure Profiling to get that extra wee bit out of my coffee
Ive also been watching a lot of videos on the decent De1 which really appeal to my computer/food Nerdship
however the fact the don't have any UK/Eu dealership. i don't fancy shipping it back to the USA if it goes faulty, so is there a UK/EU machine that do the same type thing (have been looking at the crem one llfp)
One of the things I liked on the marax is you can add flow control later, apparently it can really help on lighter roasts especially & is always nice to have another variable to play with
I'd love a DE1 but there twice the price of the Bianca so still can't justify it!
Probably difficult to get that amount of value out of it. Thinking about it a different way i'd imagine putting £1k into a new grinder would give a better improvement
don't worry about the numbers on the grinder, they generally aren't that consistent between models, you just don't want the burrs to be touching! If you have adjusted too much and they are you'll get a high pitched chirping noise.
so... in a bit to get the misses into coffee i've started making lattes which (after ~20 years of only drinking black coffee) i don't actually mind too much 
Its certainly interesting learning to steam milk isn't it, specially with the skimmed stuff - any recommended videos/guides?
First attempt:
Its certainly interesting learning to steam milk isn't it, specially with the skimmed stuff - any recommended videos/guides?
First attempt:
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I'm not sure about that tbh, only done about 5 in total and that was probably the best
yes, two hole, although not sure of the size. I'm squarely at the blob of foam dumped on the top phase at the moment
they are lovely looking cups! Theres a local farm with one of those locally as well but i'm not a big milk person, used to be lactose intolerant and think whole, untreated milk would finish me of
pretty sure the automatic tampers are for coffee shops looking for crazy consistency, you can get spring loaded tampers that click on a set pressure & even ensure a level puck for a lot less than the puqpress...
the fred in that offer is the mc2 in a different shell, not sure if the machine is any good either tbh but your better going with separates if you can. the Silvia isn't a bad choice but can be prone to rusting, the gaggia classic isn't a bad starting point either.