Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

Just thought I'd report in over my experiences.

So far so good, I'm using hasbean premium espresso blend and a double shot of that is lethal lol. I'm not getting silly crema, just average and Im sure thats to do with the size of the grind as well.

This has been a great decision so far though.
 
Hey folks, lovin this thread, got a gaggia colour for christmas, and have been using it for the last month with great results, but i seem to now have a problem with my pour, it either comes out black for about 10 seconds and then goes weak blond or just does not come out at all and when i remove the filter the pressure has built up and releases with a puff off steam and a splatter..
Problem i though must be related to the grind or the filter being clogged, so cleaned the filter to a shine and left in boliing water for 10 mins, tried draining water through it, which came out ok. went to make an espresso and was semi ok not like the first couple of weeks, when i would get a nice flow with no apparent hindrance.
Then i tried several different grades of grind and they all produced the same type of results, pretty quick to go blond maybe 10 seconds.
have tried tamping hard and soft....
Any tips on what im doing wrong and can do to get consistant results ?
Cheers for any replys
 
PeN said:
but i seem to now have a problem with my pour, it either comes out black for about 10 seconds and then goes weak blond or just does not come out at all and when i remove the filter the pressure has built up and releases with a puff off steam and a splatter..
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sounds like your beans are going stale.... your doing the right thing, you should be grinding to stall the machine then backing off a little (grinding a notch courser) until your getting a ~25second : 30ml (or 30ml for a double basket)... If your blonding too soon its generally down to the bean freshness.
 
I get the beans from hasbean and they were roasted just a couple of days ago, i seem to get different results on the same grind that was fine the day before, for example if i put the filter on without any grinds in it and do a pour the filter will retain water when i take it out, then i clean it again and it goes through fine, but when i add the grind it varies each time and sometimes bubbles out of the spout when it first comes out...

But for the first couple of weeks it would come out great everytime....

I clean the filter everytime i use it, then the next day i will put it under a tap and see if the water is coming through and it will not have an even flow, i clean and it is fine for water flow, it's doing my nut in as i just get a small taste of heaven everytime, and is a total gamble as to whether i get a full cup.
 
very odd :S might be worth checking your tamping is constant (try tamping on scales.. sounds silly but you can get a feel for it that way) also check your not getting channeling round the edges of the puck - is your tamper the right size for the PortaFilter? if not try tamping four times in each 'corner' (ie North South East & West)

It can be really frustrating to get bad/good pours... so many things vary (for example your beans go off really quickly in fresh air so your gind should in theory vary at least daily....)

Make sure your cleaning out the filter each time, and ideally dry it with a bit of kitchen towel :)

I'm going through a pretty bad fase at the moment with by bottomless - getting really bad channeling 6/10 times :( still not a bad shot just really annoying!
 
Thanks for that, will try the tamper trick, am using the stock tamper with the kit and there is a good 2 mill gap around the portafilter, usually i just tap it flat then press down hard to secure the grinds but results can vary.

It is a bitch when you think you have it down only to fail miserably, thanks again for you help
 
I'm now using a Zassenhaus hand grinder and a De Longhi 15 bar espresso machine. Results are excellent, far nicer coffee than my old Bodum Cafetiere.

Has anyone got any recommendations for beans to try next? I'm currently half way through a bag of HasBean Espresso blend.
 
p4radox said:
I'm now using a Zassenhaus hand grinder and a De Longhi 15 bar espresso machine. Results are excellent, far nicer coffee than my old Bodum Cafetiere.

Has anyone got any recommendations for beans to try next? I'm currently half way through a bag of HasBean Espresso blend.
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Tried any of these, They are all great IMO

Bolivia Machacamarca
Brazil Cachoeira Canario
Costa Rican El Portillo CoE
Kenya Gethumbwini Peaberry
Guatemala Finca San Francisco Tecuamburro
Yemen Mokha Matrar
Has Bean Decaf Espresso Blend (for the late night)
Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira Bourbon
Australian Skyberry

Bolivia Machacamarca and Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira Bourbon being my favourite, Skyberry is also excellent.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Tried any of these, They are all great IMO

Bolivia Machacamarca
Brazil Cachoeira Canario
Costa Rican El Portillo CoE
Kenya Gethumbwini Peaberry
Guatemala Finca San Francisco Tecuamburro
Yemen Mokha Matrar
Has Bean Decaf Espresso Blend (for the late night)
Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira Bourbon
Australian Skyberry

Bolivia Machacamarca and Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira Bourbon being my favourite, Skyberry is also excellent.
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agree the Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira Bourbon is a superb single estate

i would also try the toba sulawasi https://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/Has-Bean-Toba-Sulawesi-Espresso-Blend.html - thats my favourite hasbean blend :)
 
PeN said:
But for the first couple of weeks it would come out great everytime....

I clean the filter everytime i use it, then the next day i will put it under a tap and see if the water is coming through and it will not have an even flow, i clean and it is fine for water flow, it's doing my nut in as i just get a small taste of heaven everytime, and is a total gamble as to whether i get a full cup.
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I mate

in my Krups XP 4020 I had a problem with the 3 filters who come originally with it
because they are " pressurized" filters,they tend to be clogged pretty quick,after a few dozens of shots,and the symptoms are like that that you said about your coffee pour

that kind of filters have inside of them a very microscopic tiny net of tunnels,in order to "pressurized" the liquid and then do a "fake" crema in the coffee

so when they are clogged,nothing comes out,and when you force open the porta -filters you feel the pressure and steam releasing with a wishhhhhhhhhh sound :)

I have found a after market filter who fits my machine,who is not pressurized,and I get a real crema with it and better thing is ,it never gets clogged:)


in the left the 3 original pressurized filters, and in the right the after market normal filter


http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/3283/krupsxp4000filtersct9.jpg
 
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Hi,

Well I have A Dualit coffee grinder on way and was wondering what machine I should consider?
Noticed both the Gaggia Espresso Pure and Gaggia Evolution on their website, reconditioned for a good price.
Cant seem to find a difference between the two though, apart from the price.

Which is recommended?
 
Flibster said:
I have new toys!

But no coffee at the moment... arse...
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:D

Well if it makes you feel any better, the plastic filler cap on my MCAL has cracked (the brass bit is ok so it all works fine).. and I just blew up my old PSU that I was using to provide power for the interim LED lights for my chilli.. but the replacement should arrive today or thurs..

Hmm Achilles?
 
Raymond Lin said:
So, got paid, grinder time !

Ascaso i-Mini or Iberital MC2?

The Iberital MC2 is £35 cheaper, is the Ascaso £35 more expensive? I am also guessing that they use the burr grind set internally too ?
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I've not tried the I-Mini but it does look like a very good machine. Once drawback with the MC2 is that you have a timer on the grinding, its triggered by the button and only turns off if you hit the power switch on the side. It sounds like the I-Mini keeps grinding untill you pull away. Not a big thing but a benefit none the less.

The mini also looks a lot nicer than the Mc2 from the photos...

ascasoiminiwa5.jpg
thumbiberitalmc2autowt5.jpg


Both have stepless external adjustment (on the back right of both of them) from what i can see so not great for switching between grind profiles (it would take me about 10min to get a stovetop grind out of my MC2)


all in all there not much in it - if your happy to pay the extra £35 for the looks of the mini i'd go with that :)
 
Siliconslave said:
blimey, thats amazing honesty! it does have its upsides though, Steve is renowned for being a very nice guy to deal with, this just cements his reputation even more :)
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It does indeed, I told him that if he can get his hand on it, i would buy it from him but unfortunately that the importer is not very helpful unless you go directly to the factory.

I wonder how Happy Donkey gets them ?
 
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