Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

I'm diving in with some entry level stuff - a Dualit espressivo and a Delonghi KG79. Any tips for a good brew with this kit? :)

[edit] Seen the mentions about modifying the KG79 to get finer grounds, will have to crack it apart and do that!
 
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So instead of going down the black hole of making espresso at home I decided to invest in a filter machine. Picked up a Melitta Epour and a Wilfa Uniform+ grinder. Working my way though a selection of beans from Rave, very happy so far. The Seasonal organic blend is delicious!
 
So instead of going down the black hole of making espresso at home I decided to invest in a filter machine. Picked up a Melitta Epour and a Wilfa Uniform+ grinder. Working my way though a selection of beans from Rave, very happy so far. The Seasonal organic blend is delicious!
Filter coffee is great. I love that stuff as well as the stove pot coffee. If I didn't want to make lattes I would have stayed with a filter machine.
 
I'm really enjoying this machine and grinder. The grinder already puts out a fine enough grind for espresso (may have already been modified?), going to head to the coffee shop on our small high street tomorrow as they roast and sell their own beans. My wife was enjoying using the steamer function for some hot chocolate last night. Great bit of kit.
 
try again with your naked portafilter and you might find less spitting if distribution is much better now

I placed down a kitchen towel to test. It's 100x better, a few dots rather than sprays but still there.

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I placed down a kitchen towel to test. It's 100x better, a few dots rather than sprays but still there.

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WDT definitely makes the naked portafilter less messy to use. After a year of WDT I find I still get similar small amounts of random spritzing like that fairly often. I think the internet makes you think it’s possible to avoid any spritzing but I think it’s almost impossible to eliminate regardless of how good your puck prep is. (Or I’m still a bad barista)
 
WDT definitely makes the naked portafilter less messy to use. After a year of WDT I find I still get similar small amounts of random spritzing like that fairly often. I think the internet makes you think it’s possible to avoid any spritzing but I think it’s almost impossible to eliminate regardless of how good your puck prep is. (Or I’m still a bad barista)

I think I’ll stick with my single sprout, I know for definite that WDT is making the difference and the sprout is saving me from the mess.
 
Are you both using precision baskets?

I only use my bottomless PF, mostly for ease of tamping, cleaning, more clearance for cups and rarely have any significant spritzing (I've got white counters too so would definitely see). I don't use a WDT either, I'll stir the grounds in the Niche cup before transferring, levelling (manually, not a tool) and tamping. Surprised, especially with your Niche that you still get a lot of it.
 
Are you both using precision baskets?

I only use my bottomless PF, mostly for ease of tamping, cleaning, more clearance for cups and rarely have any significant spritzing (I've got white counters too so would definitely see). I don't use a WDT either, I'll stir the grounds in the Niche cup before transferring, levelling (manually, not a tool) and tamping. Surprised, especially with your Niche that you still get a lot of it.

VST basket.

The problem isn't so much about the lumps. I put the dosing cup into the portafilter then shake it like a cocktail, well, not that extreme. But when I remove it, you get.

1 - a ring of clearance on the edge - that's a massive channel
2 - often one side has more ground than the other side

So I would level it with my hand or tap it down. This "tapping" i find is problematic. If I tap it from the side, the forces, just pure physics, pushes the grounds sideways, meaning now one side has more grounds and one edge has a massive clearance on the edge.

So I tap it from underneath? Which is impossible to do that with a single sprout, literally impossible. I know I could with the naked portafilter but i only use it to test how the shots are coming out, I really dislike using it daily. It's good for visuals but not practical for the potential messy reason.

I don't like the double sprout because some cups I have are too narrow for it.

The WDT allows EVEN distribution above everything else. This is even without using the distributor, which I also have and use.

PS I think you should try using a white kitchen towel. I have a white counter too but the white towel shows it up more.
 
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Fair enough! The main thing is just having a workflow that suits and results that satisfy :)

Yeah, if you can do it without, that's good. I tried it without for Yearsssssssssss, when i got the Niche it improved the consistency but this improved it even more. You have also notice that I didn't use any adjective in trying to quantify it by taste but only objective and real world measurements in the timing from a stop watch.
 
I only use my bottomless PF, mostly for ease of tamping, cleaning, more clearance for cups and rarely have any significant spritzing (I've got white counters too so would definitely see). I don't use a WDT either, I'll stir the grounds in the Niche cup before transferring, levelling (manually, not a tool) and tamping. Surprised, especially with your Niche that you still get a lot of it.

some of the Niche reviews have comments about static giving clumping which could be disippated by stiriing, a WDT could accomplish same task, albeit wdt handle looks insulated.

I've never had anything other than a dosing rancilio rocky, which happens to have a metal grind container, which I think/theorize may helps avoid static/clumps.
 
Could you point me in the direction of a budget electric grinder for filter, moka pot, v60/aeropress (not decided which yet) and French press? I currently use the Hario hand grinder when I can be bothered but often reach for the pre-ground coffee early in the morning...

I've been watching James Hoffman quite a bit and recently saw his £50 burr grinders video which led me to deleting my shortlist!

What's the minimum you'd spend on a grinder that won't be making espresso?
 
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