Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

[jonneymendoza]

So actually fancy an Aeropress, both for home use and to take on hikes with me as be nice to have a decent coffee. Assume I'll want to go for the newer Go Travel version unless it makes worse coffee than the original?

So actually fancy an Aeropress, both for home use and to take on hikes with me as be nice to have a decent coffee. Assume I'll want to go for the newer Go Travel version unless it makes worse coffee than the original?

Just get the original

 

[neoboy]

Cheers, I'll have a look at the video. Weight and size difference seems negligible but original can make more coffee which is a bonus

 

[DJ85]

Can anyone tell me if the beko ceg5311x would be a good machine for £269? I see currys has a little sale on and fancied moving to bean to cup. There is also a millito solo but without the milk frother for 250? The solo with the frother looks a faff would rather have a seperate frother.

 

[Snookums]

Can anyone tell me if the beko ceg5311x would be a good machine for £269? I see currys has a little sale on and fancied moving to bean to cup. There is also a millito solo but without the milk frother for 250? The solo with the frother looks a faff would rather have a seperate frother.

Their website doesn't really offer any specifics about the grinder which general means its probably a blade grinder not a burr which will lead to a lot of inconsistency. Had a look at going second hand or getting a refurb?

 

[DJ85]

No I have never thought of that, where would be best to look, is a burr grinder the one to look for

 

[Raymond Lin]

Yes, value for money wise, Conical Burr is the one to go for (vs flat burr)

 

[Snookums]

No I have never thought of that, where would be best to look, is a burr grinder the one to look for

Yes as Raymond said a conical burr is the one to go for. A blade is just about the worse thing for a consistent grind.

I can't recommend what we have enough, a Sage Barista Express. Don't get me wrong there is better but its a much more plug and play set up than most. We got ours on eBay, idoodirect is the seller. They are the only authorised sage refurber.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393212182072?epid=21014331199&hash=item5b8d45be38:g:aTUAAOSwdsxhVDJi

We paid £275 for ours from them its been over 2 years and hasn't skipped a beat. If you're not in rush wait until ebay offer 20% off again as this seller is always in that offer so you can get another £75 off that price.

At this price mark thats about the only bean to cup machine I would consider looking at. The alternative is to go separate machines, something like a Gaggia Classic with an iberital MC2.

Pros to this route are; better set up, cheaper to fix, easier to upgrade down the line as you can upgrade 1 machine at a time.

Cons; Much less forgiving, steeper learning curve, more manual coffee production and the aesthetic of standalone machines in this budget are not to my taste which was our main reason for going bean to cup

EDIT: If you really want to learn about it all and do everything properly coffeforums is a great forum, they also have a classifieds section

 

[Begbie]

£200 is a bargain, everyone I know with one doesn't complain so unless you really want to fettle and tell people on the internet how their £200 grinder is actually useless and that they need to upgrade their £1000 espresso machine then go with the Sage.

Though I love my gaggia, so also - get a gaggia.

 

[jpaul]

Barista express - had seemed to be fewer on the web/ebay which I thought corresponded to manufacture moving to newer inferior (faster not heating) touch/pro models.

for *full* bean to cup I'd look at de'longhi ecam (older thread somewhere) which have a pedigree versus beko, or consider a delonghi dedica over a baristaexpress (many 685bk on amazon warehouse at £100, or red £90) with aforementioned MC2 - not sure you can get mc2 on amazon;
sage standalone grinders have an exhorbitant price versus mc2, used to be £50 no ?

 

[DJ85]

Thanks, I did have another look for integrated burr grinder and found a breville barista max for £299. I have been having a read and sage do seem the best place to be at. I'm Just after an all in one to replace nespresso machine not wanting a grinder,frother and machine.

 

[jpaul]

at £299 seems good value, especially if you want milk drinks where gaggia boiler size might be restrictive versus thermoblock ,
gaggias are so popular .. that I be concerned to know I wasn't buying a used example from someone who had poorly repaired/maintained it

 

[jpaul]

barista max ... any white smoke ?

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reconsidering my preferred acid for descaling, as I'm nearly out of citric and it's blue residue - will try Sulphamic/famic, although it's not on Amazon , and seems more $$$

so online comments

Blue water denotes attack on the copper in your boiler, which if continued could lead to boiler failure.
Using citric acid could cause plugging of the tube leading to the pressurestat and cause it to stop working. Calcium citrate which is a byproduct of citric acid descaling is much more insoluble than is Calcium acetate. In spite of the need for flushing to remove taste, diluted vinegar is a much friendlier descaler.

I found this https://www.entkalker-tipps.de/en/sulfamic-acid-as-decalcifier/ which advised 10-15gms per litre.

...https://scottiestech.info/2009/04/22/descaling-appliances-which-acid-is-best/

 

[Siliconslave]

Blue water denotes attack on the copper in your boiler

non-scaling water is the way forward, bit of a pain buying a ro filter / (the right) bottled water but for the long term gains i can live with it!

 

[Somnambulist]

Randomly popped into the Algerian Coffee Stores (been about since 1887 so they say) when I was in central London the other day and got some beans from their vast selection. Pleasant little establishment with all sorts of coffee (and some tea) related stuff. Still buying beans from my local place as it works out cheaper than the subscription services, although the quality can vary.

 

[LuckyBenski]

Randomly popped into the Algerian Coffee Stores (been about since 1887 so they say) when I was in central London the other day and got some beans from their vast selection. Pleasant little establishment with all sorts of coffee (and some tea) related stuff. Still buying beans from my local place as it works out cheaper than the subscription services, although the quality can vary.

We have a contractor who is based in Kent but always swore by Algerian Coffee Stores. Would stock up whenever he came in for a meeting. Even now after 2 years of no central London office, he still waits til he can go there!

 

[Siliconslave]

Last time i went i almost bought some skybury as i hadn't seen it for ages, only just noticed it was £21 for 250g before the bagged it!

It's not a bad place, with serious history and great if you want a reasonable, very cheap espresso in soho (£1 for a single!). They do a load of flavoured coffees with flavoured syrup coating the beans which i'm not keen on, i'm not sure its every the freshest roast, but generally reasonable.

 

[jpaul]

They do a load of flavoured coffees with flavoured syrup coating the beans which i'm not keen

sounds as though that would nack the burrs.

reconsidering my preferred acid for descaling, as I'm nearly out of citric and it's blue residue -

used up half a bottle of saeco cleaner 25%citric/15%lactic - no blue residue but perhaps it was weaker than my home brew pure citric

boroscope would be nice to inspect the boiler interior ... but wouldn't show me the over pressure valve/valves.

 

[DJ85]

barista max ... any white smoke ?

Is that good white smoke or bad? it arrives tomorrow, still figuring out how to get it into the house without being seen.

 

[jpaul]

It was a catholic reference ... where did you get it then.

 

[DJ85]

I ended up with currys as it only just down the road if any problems come up.