Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

jpaul · 30 Dec 2018 at 20:44

Somnambulist said:

can you make porridge in it .. could be great for work. ?

Dj_Jestar said:
Been using filter jugs with my machine since day dot

mine has an inline/tank filter and you can buy water softener resin loose on ebay, which is what is in these and the filter jug cartridges afaik (also a carbon filter),
so have toyed with a diy solution. ~£1 a refill.

Ayahuasca · 2 Jan 2019 at 09:45

Well the Sage Barista Express has been a revelation, drinking far more milk now though!

Saint1972 · 2 Jan 2019 at 15:31

Ayahuasca said:
Well the Sage Barista Express has been a revelation, drinking far more milk now though!

Had mine for almost 3 years now, use it almost every day. Love it. Where do you get your beans?

Ayahuasca · 2 Jan 2019 at 15:44

Saint1972 said:
Where do you get your beans?

A local roaster for now but long term it’s going to cost too much I think. I wasted 3 or 4 cups getting the grind and amount right at first.

Grimley · 2 Jan 2019 at 15:51

/\/\/\/\ Try the nearest decent coffee roasters. Nearest to you that I'd be willing to try is Atkinsons or Django.

jpaul · 2 Jan 2019 at 22:48

not sure about the local roasters ... expensive yes ....
you have to wait 7-10 days anyway to be espresso ready, so distance postage not a problem.
I need to find the utube video but the big boys have some fancy roasting ovens, with very accurate temperature profiling now, so a very repeatable product, can the locals match it ?

If they offered competitive pricing under a monthly subscription I could patronize them .. but just getting to the high street, parking etc is always a problem.

Saint1972 · 3 Jan 2019 at 15:19

Ayahuasca said:
A local roaster for now but long term it’s going to cost too much I think. I wasted 3 or 4 cups getting the grind and amount right at first.

I use Hasbean and sometimes Rave,although with Rave the packaging is slightly different and the postie struggles to get it through my letterbox(ffnnnaarrr) so if im not in I have to get to the sorting office.And im lazy.Halfway through Hasbean Xmas roast,really nice.

Scottland · 3 Jan 2019 at 16:08

I've switched to York Emporium recently for subscription coffee, the online management is a little better than Hasbean's so I can pause it or add an extra package during the month if I want more etc.

Ayahuasca · 4 Jan 2019 at 14:48

Has anyone messed with the brew temperature on their Sage? Only just learned you can decrease/increase it -4 or +4c in 2 degree increments.

Saint1972 · 5 Jan 2019 at 13:28

Ayahuasca said:
Has anyone messed with the brew temperature on their Sage? Only just learned you can decrease/increase it -4 or +4c in 2 degree increments.

It changes extraction yield,bitterness/sweetness of the coffee.Someone who knows more than me will probably explain better. I haven't really altered it that much,maybe i will have a go.I just want to get coffee down my throat

.

Scam · 19 Jan 2019 at 20:29

Anyone tried one of these?

https://fellowproducts.com/prismo/

jpaul · 20 Jan 2019 at 12:33

Scam said:
Anyone tried one of these?

they lost my attention me with this word LOL

Meet Prismo, the AeroPress® Coffee Maker attachment that unlocks espresso-style coffee when you don’t have an espresso machine. Syrupy and full-bodied, Prismo’s quick punch of caffeine will save the day…or at least your morning

Grinder (Rocky) tear-down/clean yesterday ~ 40minutes.
I don't unmount the burrs, just unscrew top holder, and using wooden implement scrape any residue from chamber walls ... usually using a vacuum cleaner.
hopper and dosing chamber washed with hot/soapy cloth.
what's your practice ? I cant believe rice or grindz would remove residue.

Scam · 20 Jan 2019 at 13:24

Syrupy? What's wrong with that?

I've always thought espresso looks syrupy when it comes out -- not that I've ever owned a machine myself..

Participant · 20 Jan 2019 at 16:47

Made the mistake of tearing down the grinder on my Delonghi ESAM4200 to allow the grind to go finer. Now the coffee barely passes the grounds even on the coarsest setting. On the plus side, it's all clean in there now and the coffee tasted fantastic. Think I need to go back in and take it back a couple of notches on the cogs though.

Squid Vicious · 22 Jan 2019 at 16:15

Had to replace the group head gasket on my gaggia classic the other week as after 3 years of service it had started to leak - resulting in a loss of pressure, mess and less than ideal results with the coffee.
It's a relatively straightforward job, only issue was that the first screw to be removed was seized so had to take some care not to strip the head - however with a little care managed to remove and replace the gasket without issue, restoring the classic to it's former glory.

Also took the opportunity to replace the standard steam wand with a more highly regarded one from the rancilio - so picked up a pre-modified version of amazon to save any faffing about with the nut.
Again a very simple process to switch and after a few weeks with it I'm more than happy with the result - quick and easy to froth milk and MUCH easier to clean!

Street · 23 Jan 2019 at 23:53

Squid Vicious said:
Also took the opportunity to replace the standard steam wand with a more highly regarded one from the rancilio - so picked up a pre-modified version of amazon to save any faffing about with the nut.
Again a very simple process to switch and after a few weeks with it I'm more than happy with the result - quick and easy to froth milk and MUCH easier to clean!

I did the same to my Classic a while back, really simple little mod and it seems to work better too. I also bit the bullet and got a PID kit for mine too, I don't know if it's made any difference to the coffee but it makes it look cool with an LED read out on the side!

jpaul · 29 Jan 2019 at 16:57

talking endlessly have a 10% offer today until midnight - SnowJoke

Pulsedriver · 5 Feb 2019 at 16:14

Hey folks, new to the party here, having tried instant, filter, cafetiere, tassimo (awful) and Dolce Gusto I purchased an aeropress the other day, it's great!

I like the Costa ground coffee, but trying 'cafe direct' at the moment as it was on offer, not too bad, if not a touch strong.

The Dolce Gusto tasted like dishwater / weak tea, so this is a different level!

Just a question for those aeropress owners, what is the difference between;

1) Filling the chamber to level 4 with hot water, plunging - and drinking directly from the cup like that (as its a cup full worth)

vs

2) Filling the chamber to level 2 with hot water, plunging - and then pouring hot water into the cup to top up the level aka Americano

Are they not both essentially doing the same thing?

At the risk of answering my own question, option 2 seems to taste better...

NickK · 5 Feb 2019 at 23:08

So to get the best coffee ... Beans > Roast > Grind > extraction machine..

I would suggest you try a ground coffee, for example - try something from Has Bean or one of the other specialists

There are so many different tastes.

If you over extract then you start pulling out some of the taste profile that may not be good ("blonde"). So when and how - it's if it's a good decent thickness/depth without going blonde. Better to get a good shot and add water in my view of you want to get a longer drink.

LuckyBenski · 8 Feb 2019 at 23:18

Pulsedriver said:
Hey folks, new to the party here, having tried instant, filter, cafetiere, tassimo (awful) and Dolce Gusto I purchased an aeropress the other day, it's great!

I like the Costa ground coffee, but trying 'cafe direct' at the moment as it was on offer, not too bad, if not a touch strong.

The Dolce Gusto tasted like dishwater / weak tea, so this is a different level!

Just a question for those aeropress owners, what is the difference between;

1) Filling the chamber to level 4 with hot water, plunging - and drinking directly from the cup like that (as its a cup full worth)

vs

2) Filling the chamber to level 2 with hot water, plunging - and then pouring hot water into the cup to top up the level aka Americano

Are they not both essentially doing the same thing?

At the risk of answering my own question, option 2 seems to taste better...

In the simplest terms, the longer the coffee is exposed to hot water, the more of the bitter flavours are extracted. Whereas the oils and various other flavours are extracted earlier and in smaller quantities. So brewing longer (including the duration it takes to push more water through) will push the balance of all the flavours towards the bitter side. Some like it but it's an eye opener that the flavours are exposed at different periods of brew. Try a ristretto - an espresso shot stopped early. Very different flavour-wise to what we consider "a nice strong espresso"!