Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

[Raymond Lin]

Thanks. But those say they are 75x65mm? That's absolutely tiny! Was hoping for a set that I could use for general cooking as well. I could barely fit my grounds 'bucket' from my Encore grinder on that?

Ha yes, these are perfect for espresso, to put under the cups and under the portafilter.

Smaller the better since the espresso cups are tiny too! I thought that's what you wanted in your original question as you wanted coffee scales, that's generally what people want coffee scales for. To time the extraction of an espresso.

I don't know any large kitchen scales with 0.1g reading, sorry!

 

[Scam]

I don't know any large kitchen scales with 0.1g reading, sorry!

Yeah I might be better off buying coffee scales (with a timer) like you mentioned and some separate general kitchen scales. I don't do espresso or pourover. I literally tare my grounds bucket on my scales to 0, then grind in bursts until I get the right amount. I leave 2-3 days worth of beans in my hopper at all times, because an empty hopper takes ages to grind. Otherwise I could weigh beans then grind them through I guess. I don't think there's a better way to grind the appropriate weight of beans from a Baratza Encore

EDIT: Well maybe not.. !! https://coffeehit.co.uk/products/baratzagear-single-dose-hopper

 

[dave28]

with the latte / cappuccino type coffee i found the quality / power of the frother and your knowledge of using them makes a massive difference.
I bought a £200 model from a famous brand and the frother on that was quite good for a home machine and i though i made a half decent cup with a lot of practice and experimenting

 

[Scam]

EDIT: Well maybe not.. !! https://coffeehit.co.uk/products/baratzagear-single-dose-hopper

Anyone have any experience using a single dose hopper like this? I usually just grind a bit directly into the bucket, take it out to weigh, grind a bit more, rinse and repeat and hope I don't overshoot my intended weight. This looks useful to weigh beans before but I'm worried they'll just ping around the top and not grind properly?

 

[Raymond Lin]

Anyone have any experience using a single dose hopper like this? I usually just grind a bit directly into the bucket, take it out to weigh, grind a bit more, rinse and repeat and hope I don't overshoot my intended weight. This looks useful to weigh beans before but I'm worried they'll just ping around the top and not grind properly?

You will get the popcorning effect, which means the last few beans takes longer for it to catch. That's why the Niche now have that little disc installed.

 

[Siliconslave]

i've got a 3d printed one on my eureka - as its basically big enough for about 30g of beans it actually doesn't suffer too much from popcorning. I guess i do run it a while on empty but i've never had much of a problem with popcorning on any grinder in terms of it having a noticeable effect on the coffee.

 

[Scam]

Thanks. Not sure how much/many beans it holds to reduce the effect. Friend of mine made the point I could try single dosing with my current hopper. Where's the fun in trying something different without having to spend money on gadgets first?

 

[Raymond Lin]

Thanks. Not sure how much/many beans it holds to reduce the effect. Friend of mine made the point I could try single dosing with my current hopper. Where's the fun in trying something different without having to spend money on gadgets first?

You could and to mitigate popcorning just place a small dish above it.

 

[Scam]

You could and to mitigate popcorning just place a small dish above it.

I'll give it a whirl. Thoughts on the Rhino Brewing Scale? Not too expensive that I'd be miffed at having to buy a separate kitchen timer (and possibly scales) I still like the idea of timer/scale combo for coffee...

 

[Kelt]

I'll give it a whirl. Thoughts on the Rhino Brewing Scale? Not too expensive that I'd be miffed at having to buy a separate kitchen timer (and possibly scales) I still like the idea of timer/scale combo for coffee...

Get one of these, much cheaper, and gets good reviews. USB rechargeable as well, which is a nice thing to have.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08PD3G7B8/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=A17YB4DAQTE8NU&psc=1

Got one in the basket myself, just looking for something else to bring the price up to £20 for the free delivery.

 

[jpaul]

I think the next machine need to have more room between the portafilter (with a sprout) and the tray.

I was going to say how are the scales you bought getting on ?

----
I wouldn't be buying USB rechargeable scales - this is proper basement electronics , like primemark, they have diverted budget to a rechargeable battery,
equally up to 3k at 0.1g accuracy, doubt that better to get 500g and hit the weight range you actually need to measure.
Aliexpress would be a good source, if I weren't afraid of some unreasonable inspection&customs charge, post brexit.

 

[Grimley]

i've got a 3d printed one on my eureka - as its basically big enough for about 30g of beans it actually doesn't suffer too much from popcorning. I guess i do run it a while on empty but i've never had much of a problem with popcorning on any grinder in terms of it having a noticeable effect on the coffee.

I want one! where from & how much?

 

[Raymond Lin]

I was going to say how are the scales you bought getting on ?

----
I wouldn't be buying USB rechargeable scales - this is proper basement electronics , like primemark, they have diverted budget to a rechargeable battery,
equally up to 3k at 0.1g accuracy, doubt that better to get 500g and hit the weight range you actually need to measure.
Aliexpress would be a good source, if I weren't afraid of some unreasonable inspection&customs charge, post brexit.

The scales? it's fine. It works, mostly. The battery indicator doesn't work as it's constantly telling me it is about to run out for the past year but that's about it. The other bad thing is that it takes about a second for it to "boot up". It's not instant.

Apart from that it's accurate, it does what it says, it fits under my portafilter and I like it's size. I use it for all sorts, including weighing cooking ingredients like when i make bread.

 

[Siliconslave]

I want one! where from & how much?

there are loads on etsy and ebay now but I swapped it with a kind OCUKer for some beans

 

[joffy]

I'll give it a whirl. Thoughts on the Rhino Brewing Scale? Not too expensive that I'd be miffed at having to buy a separate kitchen timer (and possibly scales) I still like the idea of timer/scale combo for coffee...

I've had these scales for a while and they've been great. Quite big for my Sage Duo Temp Pro though.

 

[jpaul]

I thought uneven particle size distribution was the more likely ramification of single dosing, with, last beans unloaded, looks like someones doing an app

https://www.home-barista.com/grinde...coffee-grind-size-distribution-t65000-10.html

I need to do some more googling, but probably need high quality photography gear (like Ray's)

 

[Scam]

I've had these scales for a while and they've been great. Quite big for my Sage Duo Temp Pro though.

Thanks. Good to know. I only have an Aeropress and Moka so was after bigger scales anyway.

 

[Junglist]

Stocked up on coffee. Had been drinking super-market beans the last week or so and you take for granted how much better freshly roasted beans are. Even just smelling the beans is a whole different experience.

 

[jonneymendoza]

Hi

So I am having issues with my exbobar lever office espresso machine where the filter holder no longer locks properly now and if I don't hold it while making a coffee it can sometimes just fall out causing a mess.

At first I thought it was the filter holder so replaced it with a new one but even that had issues.

I then bought a New filter basket but no joy and then finally I replaced the gasket for the first time a few days ago and that only made a marginal improvement.

Below are some pics




Below, if i take off the basket, it locks fine like this :





if i put back teh filter basket, it barely locks..



Another angle




How it looks fresh with new gasket and i also cleaned the shower

 

[jpaul]

For me pf has blown out for 2 reasons
mostly worn/non-pliable gasket that cause the pf not too lock as tightly, although handle is in same place (I had problems buying correct size conical gasket to replace it )
secondly (rarely) problems with the over pressure valve causing too much pressure and blowing off the pf (machine neededa good descale)