Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

Snookums said:
Theres a Delonghi Dedica I've been looking how would that do second hand?
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had posted on these before ... can get one for 115, review was ok, takes ese pods & grind.
or gaggia classic 2nd hand on ebay probably ~£150 but gumtree maybe a better resource -
(both take afaik only high pressure filter baskets - have never tried that)

Muska said:
where I thought I would end up and that was an Appartamento
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I remember your post - did you try an e60 in a shop before buying ? is de-scaling a faff (even if using bottled water)
[with an HX, I drain by syphoning out whole boiler, overfill with de-scaler to get top of boiler, after removing high water mark sensor, heat, and siphon out ~ 2 hours]
 
I use only bottled water (Volvic) so I have not performed a full descale as of yet, I'm led to believe using bottled water should negate the need for this somewhat. The manual advises against descaling the boiler in the preventative maintainance. I do remove the shower screen once a week and clean the group head along with back flushing (daily, but not with Cafiza though, only water, I'm sure I read somewhere contradictory evidence that it removes lubrication somewhere) and my baskets/portafilters get de-greased also.

I never tried an E60 in a shop, I did do huge amounts of research though.
 
Muska said:
@nantucket66 I found myself in your position fairly recently, looking at purchasing a DTP or Silvia, knowing full well I would be upgrading soonish if I did I decided to step up to where I thought I would end up and that was an Appartamento. I absolutely love it and don't regret it at all. I'm not sure I'd consider the Sage dual boiler in the same league personally, in aesthetics or build.

Keep in mind though I am happy to spend lots of time learning how to get the best from my machine and don't mind weighing my beans into the grinder/shot out. :)

Side note, I managed to snag this job lot of ACME cups from ebay for £41 the other day :)
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Nice cups! Thanks for the comments on the Appartamento - just what I wanted to hear in a way. We live in a moderately hard water area. The Sage has been descaled once over the past 12 months, I change the water filter every couple of months and give it a good clean after every use. Once a week I run a tank of water through without the portafilter attached.

I pull no more than 4 shots a day, 3 for me, 1 for other half. Although if I'm busy and out and about, it may only be 1 each.

In terms of maintaining the Rocket - is it much more of a hassle? do I need to move to bottled water? I don't mind if it's recommended. Thx!
 
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I'd recommend bottled water, it's also recommended in the owners manual, and it only works out to 50p fer 1.5l bottle from the supermarket. Better to prevent limescale in the first instance, and it should help with shot consistency/taste, so I've read :)

As for cleaning, I'm not sure what you have to do with a Sage but it's not really much trouble. Personally, once my machine is warm I perform a couple of back flushes (water only) as a sort of cooling flush first thing. Once a week I take the shower screen down and clean it in cafiza, clean the group head and inspect the gasket (takes about 3-5mins tops) clean the baskets in cafiza and scrub the portafilters well, although I always clean the basket and portafilter after each shot. :)

Hope that helps, I tend to make around 3-5 double shots a day if I'm home.
 
Did you invest in a smart profiled base distribution tool/tamper , or do you already have good bottomless portafilter shots (unlike me)
I use about 1litre of water a day, so currently too mean to go bottled.
 
My bottomless portafilter shots are not great (I'll add a video sometime) I tend to over tamp or it pours far too fast and I get the odd spurt from the sides. I think having a tamper that's .4mm smaller than the portafilter, I think I get some channeling to the sides. I'm currently considering purchasing this distribution and tamping tools:

http://mahlgut-manufaktur.de/produkt/mahlgut-dozer-buzzer-bundle/
 
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before my post, I was re-thinking about a smart tamper (discussed in thread a while back) and after watching
Bottomless Portafilters | So Misunderstood
which confirmed my technique is bad, had seen
Mahlgut Palm Tamper Overview
and agreed with the first comment
$150, ahem, yeah, no.

There would need to be a residential barrista course included for that price, or noble metals in the tamper.


I use a motta convex 58mm, current IMS filter basket could take 58.5mm, but maybe not other baskets

 
After a bit of digging one found there is something similar with the same principles for about 10% of the cost on eBay. I do like the idea of an adjustable, calibrated tamper though.
 
there seem to be 3 varieties ... the one with the grub screw looks best, not sure if the puck on the others will not rotate as you try to pack it down
41046010221_758ae2f37c_b_d.jpg

Try some other baskets too (earlier posts) the ims I now use seemed better than marzocco 17g - I need to make comparison again (different side profiles, ridgeless)
 
jpaul said:
there seem to be 3 varieties ... the one with the grub screw looks best, not sure if the puck on the others will not rotate as you try to pack it down
41046010221_758ae2f37c_b_d.jpg

Try some other baskets too (earlier posts) the ims I now use seemed better than marzocco 17g - I need to make comparison again (different side profiles, ridgeless)
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The *cough* tampers with the machined flutes/slopes aren't tampers. They're copies of the OCD distribution tool. Should not be used for tamping. You need a flat *or occasionally slightly convex* base for a tamper.
 
received an email from espresso solutions ... anyone going ?

London Coffee Festival starts this week and we'll be there!
You can find us at SO14 in the Soho Zone.
There, you'll be able to demo the new Orion Bean Doser from Acaia, as well as their Pearl and Lunar scales. We'll be introducing the Ceado grinders & the awesome Fellow brewing products, showing off Clockwork Espresso's new PUSH Tamper colours and brewing up a storm on our 3Temp Hipster brewers!
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definitely looking into getting one of the imitation Push tampers where you can set height with a grub screw - find me a deal ?
maybe that's the solution, hopefully will not damage top edge of basket.

crummy (over-weight) website https://www.londoncoffeefestival.com/Videos ... (with trailes wondered if it was really a coffee festival ? - lol)
 
Grimley said:
/\/\/\/\/\ I paid both a visit yesterday. It's not everyday you meet 2 former & the current world Barista Champion(s) :p :D
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Dale, James and Gwilym? All lovely guys.

Did you have a go on the Square Mile pac man machine? I'm wondering what the top score was in the end.... I think I had a reasonable shot at it. ;)
 
jpaul said:
can't see any videos of barista competitions yet (precocious ?)

just


Hotel Chocolat, cakes, energy bars, not too many top knots/beards/sunglasses ... maybe the gratuitous gear shots are later on (Chakka Khans good)
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It's all done through livestream. Not ideal tbh. But here you go.
https://livestream.com/accounts/571321

To be fair though, the LSFX guys who handle it all are excellent. Spent 5 years working with them at the UKBC.
 
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