Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

Just cracked into Wogan's Nicaraguan Finca La Bastilla, its supposed to be their medium to light roast, but dialed in at 1:2 i'm getting quite a bitter cup without a huge amount of definition - will keep having a play with it and see if i can get something better out.
 
You can try it out with a modded popcorn machine, iron skillet or even just oven roasting but as mentioned your results won't be great & you'll waste a load of greens in the process.

You'd probably be better off buying in bulk and splitting it down, maybe get a vacuum sealer if you don't have one - makes a huge difference if your freezing.
 
Raymond Lin said:
I think i will do the 9 bar mod in mine soon...it is still 100% stock internal, only changed the steam wand to the Silvia wand.
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I think pre-2018 machines have an adjustable valve included as standard so its just a case of getting a pressure gauge that fits your PF and trying not to electrocute yourself while you tweak it :)
 
@Irish_Tom the other thing you need to ask yourself is do you want / need an espresso machine - the fact your talking about steaming milk makes me think so, but good pour over can be as good, if not better than espresso for an americano. You just won't get a latte style drink, even if you froth your milk :)
 
About to open my bag this afternoon, never managed to get on with their Nicaraguan Finca La Bastilla, always a bit too dark & bitter for my tastes, the Peruvian Café Femenino was better so looking forward to trying the costa rican
 
its a bit of an odd one really, and not just because he called my baby ugly.

Felt a bit rushed for the subject and favouring the sage when the pressure was all over the place and criticising everything else for not having the correct pressure felt off. I know they put a load of nice touches into the range but the 'disposable' nature of it was off putting.

I do now want to put a e61 pressure gauge on my mara X but thats a waste if i don't put a flow paddle on...
 
jpaul said:
yes - that re-asserted the need to check the pressure - back to the blow-torch, for spout removal.
he wasn't aware of the mara s/w problem which impacts steam flow, where it can re-fill the boiler at inopportune moments, giving steam flow variability.
I thought mara could do a profiled pressure pre-infusion, probably better than the sage, maybe I'm confusing their hx and double boiler capabilities.
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The mara does a pre-infusion as default, but its not configurable - He referred to it as a slow build in pressure which isn't really correct. The steam pressure thing is where its trying to avoid the need for a cooling flush, in brew temp priority mode if you pour a shot (without a flush) the machine then boosts the steam pressure afterwards to allow you to steam your milk straight afterwards. If you try and do milk without the shot before hand it takes a little time to get the steam upto pressure (as its holding back to keep the brew temp down). You can change that by turning it to steam priority mode but then you need a cooling flush.

That Elba look nice, like the fact that they've included a e61 gauge and dropped the hot water tap (useless on a home machine tbh, tastes horrible & you have a kettle for that)
 
The bianca is worth looking at if you can stretch to that - dual boiler means no steam silliness, PID so temp control and paddle controlled pressure so you can profile or can set the pressure where you want it :)
 
Raymond Lin said:
Whoa....i wonder if that includes or Ex-VAT.
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looks to be wholesale so may not do an individual sale, and given the choice why wouldn't you get the jet engine instead?

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Finally got round to adjusting the OPV valve down on my MaraX yesterday - don't know why i've been putting it off so long. Took about 10min all in to pop the top off, get a spanner in and loosen it slightly while holding the pipe to stop it twisting too much. Now running at 9.5 bar which has massively improved the crema, just trying to get the coffee dialed back in perfectly again now :)
 
the weber EG-1 was the expensive niche before the niche existed ;) - theres defiantly a part of me thats very temped for £1160, if it weren't for the crazy tax bill i just had :(
 
I've not got a convex tamper, but recently got a dosing cup and know what you mean about the gap ring - my solution is to knock it down a couple of times onto a cloth on the counter to re-distribute the grounds in the PF - seems to work ok & I don't think i'm getting any channeling round the sides.
 
heeeed said:
I got given a cheap knock off levelling/distribution tool and despite being sceptical I’m actually a convert and it is more consistent
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I've seen reviews saying they are pointless and reviews saying they are the best thing every - might have to try a cheap eBay one at some point.
 
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