Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

Trying a new roaster, interestingly the bags they're using don't have the CO2 valve. Anyone seen these before?

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Yallah - Arabic/middle east doesn't seem like a good marketting name ? (maybe Arabica bean are from arabia and i never knew)

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nespresso alternative : did their price increase disproportionately with beans - that's an expensive game
nespresso/barista-express/dedica machines with thermoblocks should be more economic on electricity - current 4units a week on HX
 
yes duo pro is £100 cheaper than 400 bambino+ which still has some criticisms on effectiveness of its new thermoblock,
dtp+sage grinder's a good combo.

CO2 : should be buying just in time to use, so you open them as gassing occurs, if the bag is blowing up thats a good confirmation of recent roasting too; supermarket bags with a CO2 valve , you won't know.

milk throthing with colder milk does seem to put signiuficantly more volume in -
I use dried milk powder for hot chocolate and the last couple of weeks reduced water / room temp helps.
 
Ah ok thanks very good points

I'd seen Bambino Plus for 299 or something from one of the big retailers so about 50 difference if buying Duo Pro from Sage with discounts ?
 
Had my first go on the Sage earlier, dialed in the grind wrong and either tamped too hard or ground it too fine but in the end it was a decent cup of coffee I made, can only improve from here!
 
I'm no expert but I'm more concerned about how fine or coarse the grind is than tamping pressure. I tend to put a fair bit of tamping pressure in but nothing measured or consistent.


I also found in some research online that the pressure gauge on Sage machines isn't really reliable and the "espresso range" isn't the best indicator for a quality pour. I have measured my single and double shot buttons (Sage Barista Express) to match the water out to 17g and 20g of coffee respectively. I max out the gauge typically, while checking that the pour is smooth and steady.
 
I'd seen Bambino Plus for 299 or something from one of the big retailers so about 50 difference if buying Duo Pro from Sage with discounts ?
ok didn't know you can get £50 off sages, although I'd seen that for gaggia pro taking it to 379 which would cross-over with bambino+

yes the sages have a higher pressure for the pressurized pf some folks use, so there is a mod where you reduce the pressure by putting a dimmer in the pump circuit,
and if you turn it real low you can get a very long pour espresso - forgotten the catchy nick name for that.
 
Pretty much got the grinder and tamping sorted.

Any tips on frothing milk? I either get too frothy or just hot milk haha, I am after the velvety, microfoam look if possible.
 
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Pretty much got the grinder and tamping sorted.

Any tips on frothing milk? I either get too frothy or just hot milk haha, I am after the velvety, microfoam look if possible.

I tried and tried but failed...

There is a correct angle...but tips I've seen after you do it is you knock it on the table to get rid of the larger bubbles, or better still, pour it into another jug and then pour it to your cup with that. A bit of a faff but I've seen it on MorganDinksCoffee YT Channel.
 
Pretty much got the grinder and tamping sorted.

Any tips on frothing milk? I either get too frothy or just hot milk haha, I am after the velvety, microfoam look if possible.
If you like Silky Milky you need to learn from our mate Lance:

 
heater mechanical relay in my HX was showing/making a lot of sparking - death rattle
found relay is controlled by pressurestat, so did a tear down on that,
put citric acid in the wet side of device, soaked the microswitch in alcohol , no obvious debris but reassembling problem seems to have gone, maybe coincidental ?

Steaming the daily hot chocolate at elevnses today, still haven't found a bigger than 300ml jug I'm using,
I dunk the the tip several times so that any chocolate at base of jug gets incorporated.


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Can anyone help recommend a cheap manual or electric grinder that can create a good grind that works with Hario V60 pour-over paper filters?

I want something small - something that can grind enough beans for 1 or 2 cups at a time. I don't really have space for an electric grinder, so I think a manual one will be fine, and I don't mind a bit of effort.

Normally I buy packs of ground coffee from a supermarket, and these are good for filters - so I'd like something that can achieve a similar grind (is that fine/medium?) I've tried using a Cuisinart spice grinder, but it came out far too coarse.

I'm looking at the Hario Skerton, or the Hario Mini Mill.

But any other thoughts or recommendations appreciated, thanks!
 
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So Knock sell their factory 'seconds' on ebay. I got an Aergrind for £75 (bit less with an ebay code they had on at the time). The thing is, its perfect. I'm sure it just the previous version, as they recently released a v2.

I'm impressed with it and perfect for at work.
 
Yep, was going to recommend those two :)

I have a Mini Mill and there are a couple of simple mods you can do to make it much more consistent. I use that for pour over and electric grinder for espresso.
Cheers, that's good to know. Is the mini mod the one where you use duct tape? I was reading a site about that yesterday.

And what setting do you have it on for pour over?
 
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