Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

Grimley said:
I think I jokingly jealously hate you. ;) I Soo want to visit Prufrock right now but cant. Not been there for a couple of Years & that machine is the reason. I tweeted on my twitter feed back in feb I would like to drink a coffee made by that machine.



I think I paid £7.50 for 500g of Kenyan Peaberry at the end of 2018 from them & I thought that was a bargain. I still think that £12 for the same coffee (500g) is a reasonable price almost 4 years later, you can pay that for 250g for Kenyan Coffee at some roasters.
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Not bad price for online coffee roasters! £12 for 500g is reasonable, even Union from Sainsbury's is £14 for 700g.

Anyone got any discount codes for Wogan though?
 
Raymond Lin said:
Not bad price for online coffee roasters! £12 for 500g is reasonable, even Union from Sainsbury's is £14 for 700g.

Anyone got any discount codes for Wogan though?
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They do have a promo code active according to their Instagram : INSTALAUNCH for 10% off. Seems they are also including 100g of a surprise coffee till the end of the month on all orders also.

Shame about the price increases but expected considering everything going on in the world .I was holding off buying till I visited Bristol in November but that’s been cancelled .
 
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currantloaf said:
They do have a promo code active according to their Instagram : INSTALAUNCH for 10% off. Seems they are also including 100g of a surprise coffee till the end of the month on all orders also.

Shame about the price increases but expected considering everything going on in the world .I was holding off buying till I visited Bristol in November but that’s been cancelled .
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Cheers, 500g x 2 should tide me over for a month and a half.
 
I’m finally going to make the move from my trusty Gaggia and deciding between the Lelit Mara X and the Elizabeth. As someone that makes exclusively espresso, my main desires are:

-Minimal warmup time between shots
-Ability to tweak variables (for me)
-Ease of use (for my wife who just wants to make a coffee and doesn’t care about all that nonsense)

Any thoughts from the forum? I’ve watched so many comparison videos already!
 
How do the footprints work out for you? The Elizabeth is quite a bit bigger overall! That being said it does warm up quicker and allows for push button operation. You can configure temperature (can't on the mara), shot time and turn off the steam boiler from the looks of it.

The MaraX is a bit more manual, with the classic E61 letting you turn the water on and offer, can even add the pressure control paddle if you want. Its also a load smaller than the Elizabeth...

I'd probably go with the 'beth tbh from what you wanted.
 
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Matty8787 said:
Can anybody recommend me a good tamper? May seem random... Without getting my calipers out I reckon the size is 53/54mm
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Google your make and model and find out the exact number. Even better, do some research too.

My Gaggia is meant to be 58mm, but I bought one that is 58.4mm for a better fit.
 
Siliconslave said:
You can configure temperature (can't on the mara), shot time and turn off the steam boiler from the looks of it.
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you can read out/record the brew head temperature though ... the other Mara owner had posted that a while back ...
I think the occasion of the E61 brewing lever and it's pre-infusion are attractive.

-----------------

this new grinder looks interesting - bellow+hopper $500
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Matty8787 said:
Good advice, I'll do that.
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if you subsequently change the portafilter some are narrower least ways I had bought a motta
(1 Motta Tamper - Curved Base 58mm (Wooden Handle) (Used As Demo) £9.66 £9.66 S)
which fitted my original LM portafilter, but the 58 only just fits through my newer IMS V which is bulbous, narrowed neck
jpaul said:
its's got a flat base!! my IMS mine has a convex base & ridgeless, which also matches the convex tamper , LM remains mothballed.
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jpaul said:
you can read out/record the brew head temperature though ... the other Mara owner had posted that a while back ...
I think the occasion of the E61 brewing lever and it's pre-infusion are attractive.
Click to expand...
You can set a pre-infusion on the Elizabeth afaik - the mara you can put a group head thermometer on it, but then you can't have a pressure dial as well. You do have a high/mid/low setting on the maraX but no PID (89C to 91C / 91C to 93C / 93C to 95C)

jpaul said:
this new grinder looks interesting - bellow+hopper $500
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Nice to seem people putting more time and money into single dose grinders :) Doesn't look like a bad option!
 
I may have asked before but can't recall if it was answered - which scales are accurate but don't cost an arm and a leg?

A friend of mine sent me a photo of his new setup and his Acaia scales cost him £299 apparently. Not for me...
 
Cadder said:
I may have asked before but can't recall if it was answered - which scales are accurate but don't cost an arm and a leg?

A friend of mine sent me a photo of his new setup and his Acaia scales cost him £299 apparently. Not for me...
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Any scales that does 0.1g would work. Coffee orientated scales just adds a timer.

I'd like an Acaia but honestly....I only use the scales to weight beans, don't even use the timer now i am using the Hario Switch. I am also not that bothered whether it is 17.5g or 18g of beans i am using...But anyway. Rave sells a nice looking one for £35. That should do the trick.

The ones on Amazon I found seems to be some random scales and then they photoshop coffee stuff on top.

p.s. 0.1g scales are more important for espresso. Not so much, at least personally for me, for pour overs.
 
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I use scales that only resolve at 1g, I did do some calibration with coins to check the weight I was getting


Definitely need some boiler insulation for my HX - found my machine was typically using 0.2 Kw/h when steaming a hot-chocolate mid-morning on for 10-15minutes (drink itself takes ~ 1minute)
whereas in the evening with several espresssos spread over 40 odd minutes of on time, it is usually 0.5Kw/h, brewhead usually takes 15minutes to be up to temp.

Pretty much sold on a 600ml steaming jug to go with my 350ml one, the small one is a creating a lot of chocolate spray,
 
The gearbox on my Sette 270 Wi has gone this morning, sounds like a bag of spanners now. It's ~£100 for the part, I can probably replace it easy enough myself - but tempted to sell it for parts and pick up something new.

Not in to single dosing, so any ideas? Eureka Mignon XL seems pretty decent, but would really miss the grind by weight from my Sette. Could get the Vario W+ but doesn't feel that would be anything other than a side grade? Thoughts?
 
Siliconslave said:
Time for some retro coffee

zzURdAX.jpeg
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Found time to pay a visit last weekend. It is a thing of beauty. Though I did prefer the new school Coffee. Proof:
photos.app.goo.gl

Visit To Prufrock October 2022

5 new items added to shared album
photos.app.goo.gl photos.app.goo.gl
 
I know they're not a patch on fresh beans but if you're after something in a pinch I've found that 'taylors of harrogate' lazy sunday coffee beans aren't awful. I had to get some the other day as I ran out of fresh beans and wanted to try something that wasn't the regular Lavazza Rosa/Super Crema and I was pleasantly surprised.

Though that didn't stop me getting some fresh beans from Wogan's yesterday
 
Junglist said:
I know they're not a patch on fresh beans but if you're after something in a pinch I've found that 'taylors of harrogate' lazy sunday coffee beans aren't awful. I had to get some the other day as I ran out of fresh beans and wanted to try something that wasn't the regular Lavazza Rosa/Super Crema and I was pleasantly surprised.

Though that didn't stop me getting some fresh beans from Wogan's yesterday
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Managed to grab some from Bean Brothers in Huddersfield. Pretty good actually. Looking forward to dialling things in tomorrow.
 
I took advantage of the Sage Barista Express offer that was on HUKD yesterday where it worked out around £370 down from £670.

Great deal and even better that I had been eyeing one up.

I must have been one of the last ones to get one as I looked on the site this morning and they are sold out now.

Hopefully the learning curve isn't too steep!
 
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