Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

This morning it's a double espresso in a cappuccino made with ground coffee in the proper cup rather than a pod. Unexpected noticeable difference. The coffee is a bit stale but it tastes a lot better. I might be wrong but I don't seem to be getting knocked down with the caffeine either.

Yesterday I ran a shot of Dowe Egberts through it for a laugh to see what happened. Never really studied coffee too closely but the grind is really harsh and dry and it made a mess of the espresso machine. It doesn't tamp down because it's like grit. What came out sprayed everywhere and was weak and watery. Suffice to say it went straight in the sink :D
 
Excellent thread, some amazing coffee p0rn shots there :D

Siliconslave said:
£50-100 - Dualit burr grinder
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I have this, it's a really good grinder, coming up to its first year and going well. Just get a baking brush to clean off the old coffee.

I need an espresso machine, is the Gaggia classic where it's at? Or should I be considering anything else? (Budget - sub £200)
 
I have a Gaggia Cubika which set me back 130 quid about 3 years ago. Great little starter machine.

Its definitely worth spending decent money on a grinder.

I have the dualit one - also available branded as a starbucks grinder. Cost me about 60 quid but it seems to do the trick

Aaron
 
Jonny69 said:
Yesterday I ran a shot of Dowe Egberts through it for a laugh to see what happened. Never really studied coffee too closely but the grind is really harsh and dry and it made a mess of the espresso machine. It doesn't tamp down because it's like grit. What came out sprayed everywhere and was weak and watery. Suffice to say it went straight in the sink :D
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if its too coarsely ground (ie for caffetier) you won't be able to tamp it and it just doesn't provide the resistance to the pressure from the machine so the water passes through too quickly & it doesn't brew properly.

Machine wise i've never had a problem with the classic, its a no-nonsense machine and the cheapest Gaggia with the better boiler and pump that make all the difference. I've not really kept upto date with the developments over the last two years since i bought mine but you can't go far wrong with it :) You should be able to pick it up for just under £200
 
YAY! Coffee thread.

The Bodum Antigua grinder is ok. Seriously needs modifying though to get a good consistant grind from it. I had one and it took a few days of tweaking to get it grinding consistantly - I think I ramped it up by about 15% in the end. The MC2 is probably the best budget buy.

As the boiler in my Gaggia Classic is in need of replacement *:(* I'm planning to move up a level now. Something with a bit more guts to it. So tempted to buy a Gaggia Achille - both a thing of beauty and a decent coffee machine. ;)

As for near espresso when at work - the Aeropress is very good indeed. Use one regularly at work and it produces very acceptable coffee - I mainly use it to make Americanos. I know a couple of people who use the Aeropress to tasting new coffees as its fairly transparant when it comes to producing coffee. You purely get the taste of the coffee.

Tamping is a very complicated issue. The consensus seems to be around 30 pounds of force. You can even get click tampers that click when you hit that force. I just use a big arse Iberital Elite with a slight convex base. Works nicely.
 
nice tamper :) i got myself a flat based RB second hand ages ago... but i ended up getting my Dad a convex RB as a Christmas pressy and I'd say it makes a huge difference, much better seal on the side of the basket i guess...
 
Flibster said:
YAY! Coffee thread.

As the boiler in my Gaggia Classic is in need of replacement *:(* I'm planning to move up a level now. Something with a bit more guts to it. So tempted to buy a Gaggia Achille - both a thing of beauty and a decent coffee machine. ;)
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Kitchenland said:
Our Price: £599.95
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Sweet ***** that's one expensive machine!

Looks nice though :)

How long have you had your classic?
 
melbourne720 said:
If anyone can find me the Gaggia Classic for sub 200, then please let me know - email in trust :)

In fact, it's not around much anywhere...
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I think I got my Classic for sub 200 in Whittards (in store). They were flogging the stainless steel ones much cheaper that brushed steel- if kept clean, the SS are much nicer anyway :)


I concur though, noobs should get a good grinder, real fresh beans, and enjoy nice cafetierre/aeropress/drip coffee whilst saving up for an espresso machine. I love my Classic, but it was really picky about grind & freshness of beans. In fact, after I bought it and used the free greshly ground beans from Whittards, I was really disappointed at how nasty the coffee was. Fresh ground beans from the local speciality bean shop (The Bean Shop) let me know I needed good beans ground on demand. So I got an Iberital MC2 for £117, much better!
 
The classic is great, but has two main drawbacks.

1) The steam wand is crap. Fortunatly, changing it is an easy mod and gets far better foam.

2) It's only a single boiler, so when making two large lattes, I've had it run out of steam and just blow hot air into the milk, which isn't really what you want.

When I buy a house, I'll upgrade to a dual-boiler machine, but the classic has been the best for learning on.
 
You don't need to get a dual boiler to get the performance you need, growse. I bought an Expobar machine 18 months ago which has a heat exchanger boiler which effectively works like a dual boiler. I routinely make multiple coffees and never had a problem with waiting for the boiler to catch up - the unit is also built like a tank, but isn't cheap!
 
growse said:
The classic is great, but has two main drawbacks.

1) The steam wand is crap. Fortunatly, changing it is an easy mod and gets far better foam.
snip
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Voila!

Steam wand mod

I see growse you've obviously read that thread (hope the wand is loosening up a bit), but just noting for others that for £20 you can get over problem 1.
Problem 2 is a real issue with the Classic. I'm lucky that it's just the GF that likes cappas. I like my coffee like my men (classic quote f.t.w.). Surfing the boiler temp does help with large milk sessions though fnar.
 
I agree with the frequency of sales affecting Whittards.

I bought a 500g bag of Jamacian Blue Mountain (unground) recently. Looking at the beans they had a 'dry' look to them and the taste was not in the same league when I bought a 250g bag of pre-ground a while back.

So getting the freshest beans is paramount too.. may have to have a look at the places that people have rated here too for beans.
 
NickK said:
I agree with the frequency of sales affecting Whittards.

I bought a 500g bag of Jamacian Blue Mountain (unground) recently. Looking at the beans they had a 'dry' look to them and the taste was not in the same league when I bought a 250g bag of pre-ground a while back.

So getting the freshest beans is paramount too.. may have to have a look at the places that people have rated here too for beans.
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Totally agree, I work and whittards and I only pick what has been freshly put into the caddies.

Rich
 
Thanks to this thread I have just spent £40 on a Krups grinder and a new Cafitiere (insulated stainless steel)

Currently playing around with the grind settings but I'm amazed at the difference in smell between freshly ground, and shop bought pre ground coffee :eek:

Just had an amazing cup using a bag of beans I picked up at my local starbucks.

I'm just storing the beans in the fridge in an air tight container?

EDIT: Yes, it is a Bur grinder. No blades :p
 
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melbourne720 said:
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Sweet ***** that's one expensive machine!

Looks nice though :)

How long have you had your classic?
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Not compared to how much some of the machines I've been looking at.

Had my classic for just under 2 years - sadly someone left the machine on with no water in it and has scorched the boiler. It's repairable, but I'm using it as an excuse. ;)

xander_uk2 said:
Just had an amazing cup using a bag of beans I picked up at my local starbucks.

I'm just storing the beans in the fridge in an air tight container?
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Please don't buy any more from there. They are terrible. :eek: Stick to buying from HasBean.

It you aren't going to use all the beans in a week, take a weeks worth out of the bag and then store the rest in a sealed bag *try sucking the majority of the air out of the bag first before sealing it* and then put them in an airtight container in the freezer. Will help preserve them a bit longer. Just remember to take them out a day before you need them. ;)
 
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