Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

Ok I've had another play this morning. Dialled in the grind quantity to give 17g (which causes the last bit of coffee to go everywhere as the basket spills over), set the grinder to 4. Between setting 4 and 3, the espresso moves from an overly quick extraction to a ristretto choke, where the machine can barely get water past the coffee.

There's no backflush plate in there to my knowledge. Just a black plastic disc with a hole in it underneath the basket, which looks like it should definitely be there.

I've played with different tamping force to no avail.

It must be the beans.

Next thing I'm going to try is programming the double shot volume to give 35g of espresso.
 
What size basket do you have? They are usually graded as something like 16-18g, 18-20g etc.

When you say "spill over" do you mean the grinds start to spill over, or do you mean the water when pulling the shot? If the latter.. that's not a good sign.
 
Dj_Jestar said:
What size basket do you have? They are usually graded as something like 16-18g, 18-20g etc.

When you say "spill over" do you mean the grinds start to spill over, or do you mean the water when pulling the shot? If the latter.. that's not a good sign.
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It doesn't say but it's apparently a 53mm filter.

When I say spill over I mean the former, i.e. to get 17g the grounds will be spilling over the side of the filter.
 
Participant said:
Ok I've had another play this morning. Dialled in the grind quantity to give 17g (which causes the last bit of coffee to go everywhere as the basket spills over), set the grinder to 4. Between setting 4 and 3, the espresso moves from an overly quick extraction to a ristretto choke, where the machine can barely get water past the coffee.
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Thats defiantly progress :) next thing to check is the amount of coffee your getting out on the 'ristretto choke'. May also be worth reducing the amount of coffee your putting in the basket a little, try going to 15g?

Participant said:
When I say spill over I mean the former, i.e. to get 17g the grounds will be spilling over the side of the filter.
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again this can be normal, just need to balance it carefully before tamping. My last set of beans would be overflowing at 18g ground but the next set (same roaster and blend) is fine :)
 
Check out my latte art LOL

VxTVIEJl


Hmmm Imgur no work
 
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Have fancied grinding my own beans at home for a while but the price of good electric grinders / the effort of cheaper manual ones has always put me off.

I remember reading a while back that cheaper electric grinders are a total no-no, is that still the case? Saw this which is very tempting to give a go at that price, or am I 100% just pouring money away?

https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/MiddleofLidl.htm?articleId=23030
 
dl8860 said:
Have fancied grinding my own beans at home for a while but the price of good electric grinders / the effort of cheaper manual ones has always put me off.

I remember reading a while back that cheaper electric grinders are a total no-no, is that still the case? Saw this which is very tempting to give a go at that price, or am I 100% just pouring money away?

https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/MiddleofLidl.htm?articleId=23030
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Cheap blade grinders gives uneven grind thats why people say it is not the best.

It works fine for things like V60 or filter coffee or Cafeteria but i wouldn't put it through an espresso machine.
 
Delonghi do an excellent burr grinder for entry level/brewed coffee it's there cheapest burr grinder think is about 40. Just make sure you get the burr model not the blade

Also I once bought a blade from lidl May have even been that one and it was naff. It was either grinding way to coarse and clumpy or grinding into a powder. I tried to use it once then just got rid of it as I couldn't be bothered with the faff of trying to return an opened and used grinder.
 
I have a clever dripper and a cafetiere, so maybe it would be ok, but now you've mentioned you can get a decent DeLonghi one for 40 odd, there's one with a proper burr grinder on amazon for £35 so that looks a better buy really
 
Hate being really snobbish about coffee and things, but really wouldn't bother with a blade grinder for anything other than spices. They give a grind size that's too inconsistent for almost anything.

Delonghi and Krups I think both to cheap burr grinders around the £40 mark, if you're were spending more I'd say the Sage Dose control is decent for espresso at that price point - or the Wilfa Svart for filter/pour over/aeropress.
 
I'd say manual grinders aren't too bad. I can do enough for a large cafetiere or a double espresso in the time it takes the kettle/machine to heat up. Makes a nice part of the ritual if you go for that :)
 
dl8860 said:
I have a clever dripper and a cafetiere, so maybe it would be ok, but now you've mentioned you can get a decent DeLonghi one for 40 odd, there's one with a proper burr grinder on amazon for £35 so that looks a better buy really
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Yeah that sounds about right. It'll be more than up to the job for filter coffees. If you end up getting an espresso machine you'd need to upgrade it for sure tho so if you have intentions for the future better future proofing now.
 
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