Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

With all this talk about HasBean, I thought I should give them a try (not sure why I haven't yet). Thought I'd give their Espresso starter pack a whirl, 4 different 250g bags for £20.
 
For anyone around the Newcastle area I can thoroughly recommend Baristocracy roastery that has recently opened in North Shields. They only opened a couple of months ago so aren’t opened every day, but the guy who owns it really knows his stuff. I’m dropping some heavy hints to my wife for Xmas as he plans to do a coffee lover experience/education day soon
 
Totally new to the whole coffee machine thing and wanted to get the Mrs a nice machine for Xmas. I have seen the
"DELONGHI ECAM23.460" on a competitor site for a good price. Is this a decent machine for a beginner to the whole bean grinding machine or is there better for the price range of £300ish?
 
DezUk said:
Totally new to the whole coffee machine thing and wanted to get the Mrs a nice machine for Xmas. I have seen the
"DELONGHI ECAM23.460" on a competitor site for a good price. Is this a decent machine for a beginner to the whole bean grinding machine or is there better for the price range of £300ish?
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Which website I didn't know ocuk sold coffee machines?
I'm looking at the ecam44.660 at the minute on Amazon they always have some good deals on coffee machines.
 
This might be a bit of a daft question but how does one achieve that “creamy” expresso texture? I’ve got an aero press and a dripper but neither get close. Do you need to use a proper espresso machine?
 
This is going to sound and look like I’m being stupid. I just paid 1036 yen for a cup of siphon coffee in Starbucks.

In Ginza 6, like Harrods, they have a Starbucks and a Starbucks Reserve Bar, it is next to a regular Starbucks, I went to the reserve bar and you pick how you like your coffee, your choice of beans and get to watch them make it. It’s an whole process of grinding, pass it over to you to smell the grind and then making the coffee.

The whole thing was so posh, when I got my cup I went and sat down in a seat that I liked and it turns out it was with the “regular” paper cup people and was asked to sit in the “VIP” area lol!

The coffee was nice though, I give you that and it’s fun watching the process but I won’t be making a habit paying £7 for black coffee any time soon, but when you are in Tokyo, and one of the most expensive district and the most luxurious shopping mall...it comes with a price tag. Worth doing once for sure.
 
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Is it possible to get a half decent espresso machine for around £120? I guess the main concern would be finding one with sufficient pressure to get good crema. I'm really not a fan of the capsule systems, and I already have an 'ok' coffee grinder (but equally dont mind buying ground beans, from HasBean etc) that works fairly well with my stovetop espresso maker.
 
Cookeh said:
Is it possible to get a half decent espresso machine for around £120? I guess the main concern would be finding one with sufficient pressure to get good crema. I'm really not a fan of the capsule systems, and I already have an 'ok' coffee grinder (but equally dont mind buying ground beans, from HasBean etc) that works fairly well with my stovetop espresso maker.
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Refurbished or on sale Gaggia Classic is probably your best bet.
 
might consider a delonghi dedica £170 black friday deals
Delonghi Dedica Pump Espresso Coffee Maker with Milk Frother. Black EC685.BK
reviews on seattle coffee (see my earlier posts)
...BUT you need to buy ground coffee or get a grinder

EDIT got price wrong £138.99
 
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Brewista Smart Scale II arrived today ( :o ) got it for half price.

Amazing stuff. (For a set of scales).

Turn on and it calibrates instantly. Place cup on, re-calibrates. Start to pull shot and it starts timer when the liquid hits the cup. Stops timer when you remove cup, displaying weight and time for 5 secs before calibrating again.

Has different modes for manual/auto combinations of tare and timer. I can see this very easily working amazingly for baristas (... and over keen at-home enthusiasts like me)
 
Dj_Jestar said:
Brewista Smart Scale II arrived today ( :o ) got it for half price.

Amazing stuff. (For a set of scales).

Turn on and it calibrates instantly. Place cup on, re-calibrates. Start to pull shot and it starts timer when the liquid hits the cup. Stops timer when you remove cup, displaying weight and time for 5 secs before calibrating again.

Has different modes for manual/auto combinations of tare and timer. I can see this very easily working amazingly for baristas (... and over keen at-home enthusiasts like me)
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Half price is well worth it. Not sure full price is tbh.
I've got the first gen ones and yup, they're damn good. I tend to use them in manual mode as none of the auto ones worked well enough for me. Although I am on my second set - the load sensor started playing up.
Things to be aware of though, they are very sensitive to heat. I've got 2 silicone mats on top of mine for insulation.

I ordered a set of the Voom scales from kickstarter - they should arrive next year. Look much more my sort of thing. Got in on the $79 super early bird, so still expensive, but will be able to sell on for no loss if needed.
 
Ayahuasca said:
Must not buy, must not buy... http://www.delonghi.com/en-gb/produ...kers/primadonna-elite-ecam-65075ms-r132219005

Think it may be possible for a further 10% off as well and the gift vouchers on top.
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Don't do it! As nice as it is, I had to send mine back, it has the same "innards" as all the other delonghi machines (therefore same coffee result), with the key differences being the colour screen (very nice), design (very nice), and automatic milk drinks (******* awful - does not get the milk up to temperature resulting in luke warm drinks). You'd be better off with a much cheaper model, same insides with manual milk and the results will be much better. My Delonghi "perfecta" is still going strong after 4-5 years constant use (average 4 coffees per day) without skipping a heart beat and that only cost £300 in the sale (down from £600). I tried the upgrade to the one you linked and coffee results were similar yet I was £1k out of pocket... So as long as you have good beans you can get away with a much cheaper delonghi machine.

I've now upgraded instead to the sage oracle (it had £400 off not too long ago) with the trusty Delonghi machine sitting on my office desk.
 
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