Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

[Maverrick]

1) Following Siliconslave's guide on how to make an espresso my machine takes an age to pour anything out of the portafilter, the only way to get a steady 25-sec shot is to not pack the coffee very tight at all - pretty much just use the weight of the tamper (it's a wooden/metal tamper, not the rubbish that comes with the machine so it's a fair weight). Is this normal? I really don't want this one to be faulty too

On a comercial machine, this would normally be down to one of several things. Most likely is the grind is not correct. if you rub the grind of coffee in the palm of your hand you should leave traces of coffee oil on the skin, and it should feel somewhere in between sugar and sand. If the machine has poor presure or the jets have some scale, this could also effect the flow. However as you said it was a display model this should not be likely. Try and get some pre ground coffee which has been ground for espresso and see if that works better. The other issue could be that you have to much coffee in the group handle and your shot is "choking" You need to have approx 7grams of coffee per shot, (so if running a double shot 14grams). If you run more than this it could cause you a problem.

3) Milk frothing/heating. It takes ages to get the milk up to temperature from cold, the froth comes up nice and quick but the milk stays cold unless I steam it for about 60-80 sec. Is this just me being a newbie and using fridge temperature milk?

If the nozzle has only one hole, then it is likely to take that sort of time for the milk to come upto temperature. Some machines you can get a diff nozzle which has two holes and this will speed up the steaming process. This for a novice will make foaming harder, but once mastered will give a better result.

4) The coffee comes out faster from the left hand portafilter spout (not sure what this is actually called...) compared to the right one, resulting in one espresso being finished before the other - is there a way to combat this?

It could be as stated that you have tampered at an angle, however in my experience the most common cause of this is that the machine is just not level. Like all things with gravity if it's not level it will favour the side which is lower. try adjusting the legs if they are able to be adjusted to compensate.

 

[domino]

The coffee comes out faster from the left hand portafilter spout (not sure what this is actually called...) compared to the right one, resulting in one espresso being finished before the other - is there a way to combat this?

have you tried running water through without the portafilter in situ? Look at how the water is dispersed over the shower screen. If it's even, then there's a problem with your coffee.

There are a million things to take into account, but it's important to get what works for you. How does your coffee taste? If it's bitter or gritty, it could be the beans you're getting. Try to get the freshest beans you can - where you know when they've been roasted. Best Before Date doesn't cut it - fresh coffee should be treated like fresh milk or fresh fruit. It goes off. Grittiness could also be due to the grind - what sort of grinder do you have? If it's a cheap blade one get rid of it - JMO of course, but a burr grinder would give far superior results. Someone on CoffeeGeek once said "take your coffee machine budget and add half as much again for your grinder" A good quality grinder can make all the difference. Of course, a new grinder may not be in your budget just yet, but you can get coffee from places like hasbean.co.uk and they will grind it for you. (don't keep it in the fridge once it's been ground either, the moisture will make the coffee deteriorate quicker. Cool dark place is best)

3) Milk frothing/heating. It takes ages to get the milk up to temperature from cold, the froth comes up nice and quick but the milk stays cold unless I steam it for about 60-80 sec. Is this just me being a newbie and using fridge temperature milk?

When I had a Gaggia Classic, I had to microwave the milk to take the chill off before I steamed it - the Gaggia just couldn't make enough steam for me to make a latte. I saved up and got a Rancilio Silvia

Is this your machine? The plastic thing is called a panerello wand, and it's job is to let air in for people who struggle to make foam with a regular wand. You could just take it off and experiment, or have a look on youtube, there are videos on there explaining how to steam milk properly.

 

[Maverrick]

Kona, I was going to send you a pm, but can't work out how you do that on this site. If you would like me to send you some pre ground one shot coffee sachets to allow you to test your machine, gimme a shout. I will pop some in an envelope and post them to you.

 

[NickK]

Kona, I was going to send you a pm, but can't work out how you do that on this site. If you would like me to send you some pre ground one shot coffee sachets to allow you to test your machine, gimme a shout. I will pop some in an envelope and post them to you.

You can't on OcUK, everything public makes it easier to moderate. There's a trust mechanism.

 

[Maverrick]

You can't on OcUK, everything public makes it easier to moderate. There's a trust mechanism.

I trust nobody

 

[Kona*]

Apologies for the late reply chaps - I'm down in Somerset (Frome) and only have net access via my phone which is very patchy around this area.

I have managed to find out that my machine doesn't have a 3-way solenoid so can't be back flushed, so I'll just keep with what I'm doing and running some fresh water through it after each use.

To reply to some of your questions...

I have checked the water running through the shower head and it's pretty evenly spread out, there is one spot towards the back where it seems to flow ever so slightly faster but not by much. The machine domino linked to is indeed my machine

I have tried frothing milk with the plastic wand removed and managed to produce a pretty decent froth, I'll take a look at the guide that NickK posted - hopefully it will give me some pointers!

I get my beans from Pumphreys Coffee in Blaydon (Gateshead) and they roast them on-site, I haven't asked when they were roasted but they are a really busy shop and I get pretty popular beans so I would imagine they are reasonably fresh, I'll ask the next time I'm in though.

My grinder is a cheap Emide Burr Grinder, the grind it produces can be adjusted but it's not always 100% even - This is my next upgrade I think, although that won't be for another month or so yet, cash is a bit tight at the moment! Can anyone suggest a ~£100 grinder? I was looking at the Ibertal MC2 Auto on Happy Donkey. When I get back home I am going to give the Weiss Distribution Method a try, hopefully this will improve my espresso quite a bit. I need to stop by ASDA on my way home and grab a yoghurt pot

I think that's all the questions answered, thanks for all of the helps chaps. I'll keep you all updated on my progress once I get back, Maverrick I might just have to take you up on the offer of a pre-ground shot to see how well-ground coffe faires in my machine (and with my newbie technique!) - I'll give you a shout once I'm back if thats OK?

Cheers,

Craig

 

[Maverrick]

Not a problem, as and when send me your address and i will post you a few to try.

 

[Kona*]

Well I'm back in the grim north

I tried the WDT and I have managed to get a ~25 sec double shot with a little bit of crema, nothing spectacular by any means but it's an improvement over my other bitter attempts, it was also pretty even flowing over both the espresso glasses - one didn't fill faster than the other!

I can't get any worse, can I?

Anyway, another quick Q if you lot haven't got fed up with me by now...

My machine vibrates quite a bit when dispensing water through the shower with the portafilter removed, so much so that the glasses/cups/etc on top of the machine like to dance around. This also makes the drip tray vibrate quite badly, making any cup on the tray move too - it's a bit of a pain to hold the cup in place while I could be preparing other things. Is this usual for a lower-end machine?

Maverrick, as you don't have your trust enabled could you email me at craig _dot_ gilbert _at_ gmail _dot_ com please? I'll send you my address, thanks

That my lot for now

Cheers,

Craig

 

[Maverrick]

The crem on that pooring dosen't look to bad at all. Does the crem sit in the glass for any period of time or does it start to dispappear quickly ? If it starts to go, it may still require a slight tweak still a bit finer.

 

[Reppyboyo]

Whats the verdict on Zassenhaus grinders?

I dont drink coffee enough to warrent a leccy one so would prefer a hand mill and I heard some mixed reviews of them.

 

[p4radox]

Whats the verdict on Zassenhaus grinders?

I dont drink coffee enough to warrent a leccy one so would prefer a hand mill and I heard some mixed reviews of them.

I'm far from an expert but I'm happy with mine. Good quality build, and the adjustable knob gives a decent range of coarse/fine grind.

 

[Bes]

Wahoo- Just picked up a Zass here in Germany- lovely second hand thing... Is there a good demand for these in the UK? I got talking to the woman that owns the store here and she said she basically has loads of the things and doesn't sell an awful lot of them... I was under the impression they were very in demand in the UK? (Quality used ones).?

 

[Amps]

He's usually pretty nice about it, he'll probably send you a new one within a day or two if you email him.

I have placed over 100 orders with hasbean and i have only had one go missing which infact turned up after 6 or 7 days. The one that did go missing they replaced that day. Superb service

 

[Raymond Lin]

Wahoo- Just picked up a Zass here in Germany- lovely second hand thing... Is there a good demand for these in the UK? I got talking to the woman that owns the store here and she said she basically has loads of the things and doesn't sell an awful lot of them... I was under the impression they were very in demand in the UK? (Quality used ones).?

If you are after a manual burr grinder you'll be hard pressed to find a better one.

 

[NickK]

Wahoo- Just picked up a Zass here in Germany- lovely second hand thing... Is there a good demand for these in the UK? I got talking to the woman that owns the store here and she said she basically has loads of the things and doesn't sell an awful lot of them... I was under the impression they were very in demand in the UK? (Quality used ones).?

People that can be bothered making good coffee = small market.

People that can be bothered making good coffee and prepared to put the elbow grease in for each coffee = very small market.

 

[Kona*]

Maverrick, I have received the packets of coffee today - thanks very much

Do you work in a coffee shop or do you just have your own heat sealing machine to make those little packets?

Cheers,

Craig

 

[Maverrick]

I work in the coffee industry, but not a coffee shop. The packets are vacuum flushed so they will last for upto 12 months. The ones I sent you have 3-4 months life still in them. Let us know how you get on with them, I suggest you time a 30ml shot using one, then compare the crem to one of yours and the timing. You should be looking for approx 5seconds till it starts to poor, then about another 20seconds to reach 30ml. Those timings are based on what I would expect a comercial machine to achieve, so may not be entirely accurate for a domestic machine.

 

[manveruppd]

Wahoo- Just picked up a Zass here in Germany- lovely second hand thing... Is there a good demand for these in the UK? I got talking to the woman that owns the store here and she said she basically has loads of the things and doesn't sell an awful lot of them... I was under the impression they were very in demand in the UK? (Quality used ones).?

I know that within Germany they're cheap as chips because everyone's grandfather left them one in his will - there's a cafe in Munich where the walls are literally lined with the things! But if you can get a few cheaply while you're there you'd probably sell them for a profit over here.They usually go for £30 on the 'bay, and mostly to UK or US buyers. Sometimes you get one selling for a lot less simply because the seller didn't list it properly (eg. doesn't put "Zassenhaus" in the title or description, or just lists it as "kaffeemühle", forgetting that few buyers from the anglo-saxon markets will think to search in German). I got mine for about £17 because the seller wouldn't do Paypal, so for anybody from outside Germany the charges for bank transfers would cost more than the grinder - fortunately I had a friend there willing to pay the seller for me.

 

[Siliconslave]

Wahoo- Just picked up a Zass here in Germany- lovely second hand thing... Is there a good demand for these in the UK? I got talking to the woman that owns the store here and she said she basically has loads of the things and doesn't sell an awful lot of them... I was under the impression they were very in demand in the UK? (Quality used ones).?

could you drop me an e-mail (in trust) if you don't mind picking me one up... i could really do with a "work" one

Cheers

 

[Reppyboyo]

Im having trouble finding a good one.

I read on a lot of coffee forums saying that newer Zassenhaus mills are terrible whilst the older ones (thinking back 50 years now) are brilliant.