Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

[jpaul]

difference doesn't surprise me , I currently use skimmed milk powder+water a lot of the time, but,similarly, double cream from different supermarkets/dairies can very different times to beat up;
milk temperature (albeit should be the same from the same fridge) is very big player for milk foam, and having a thicker jug with high heat capacity (mine doesn't) so it is slower to heat up helps,
I think my foam improved with colder winter water I draw.

 

[Dj_Jestar]

I exclusively use oat milk now and I think it foams way better than dairy does. I prefer the taste, too.

 

[jpaul]

with increased price of milk , wondering if the gap to oat milk price changed , seems not £2/L .....
is that still the barista oat versions then ?

 

[LuckyBenski]

with increased price of milk , wondering if the gap to oat milk price changed , seems not £2/L .....
is that still the barista oat versions then ?

Sadly all fake milks have gone up loads. Haven't bought dairy milk in 10 years but Sainsbury's cheapo soya milk went from 69p pre-covid to 89, £1 and now £1.15.

That's store own brand, so add a bit extra for branded, and a chunk extra for oat, looking at £1.50+

I've found Aldi or Lidl (can't remember which) have a decent cheap oat milk but it's not a barista variety.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Sadly all fake milks have gone up loads. Haven't bought dairy milk in 10 years but Sainsbury's cheapo soya milk went from 69p pre-covid to 89, £1 and now £1.15.

That's store own brand, so add a bit extra for branded, and a chunk extra for oat, looking at £1.50+

I've found Aldi or Lidl (can't remember which) have a decent cheap oat milk but it's not a barista variety.

The Barista version for Oat in Lidi is my favourite, even prefer it over Oatly or Alpro. Not bought it for 6 months though, £1.19.

Vemondo Barista Oat Milk - | Lidl UK

Vemondo Barista Oat Milk - At Lidl UK

www.lidl.co.uk

 

[Cadder]

Thinking about moving from our Sage Barista Express to a better machine with a standalone grinder.

What would the experts in this thread recommend as a reasonable upgrade? Something around the £1-1.5k mark

 

[Begbie]

Sadly all fake milks have gone up loads. Haven't bought dairy milk in 10 years but Sainsbury's cheapo soya milk went from 69p pre-covid to 89, £1 and now £1.15.

That's store own brand, so add a bit extra for branded, and a chunk extra for oat, looking at £1.50+

I've found Aldi or Lidl (can't remember which) have a decent cheap oat milk but it's not a barista variety.

Unless your vegan, why not just go milk? Full of less crap than the stuff pumped into 'oat milks'.

You never get the same texture or taste from anything else.

 

[LuckyBenski]

Unless your vegan, why not just go milk?

I was vegan for a few years and my girlfriend 10 years, so don't really keep dairy at home. Some people are lactose intolerant too so they need alternatives. It's not always choice!

Agree dairy milk has the classic response to steaming, naturally. But even before I was vegan I never got through milk before it went off.

 

[Dave85]

Thinking about moving from our Sage Barista Express to a better machine with a standalone grinder.

What would the experts in this thread recommend as a reasonable upgrade? Something around the £1-1.5k mark

I have been looking at moving the Profitec Go Espresso machine and a BARATZA ENCORE ESP from Sage touch so might be worth looking at it. Great reviews of both of them and adds up to under your budget at just over 1k.

 

[jpaul]

serendipity confirmed in new research - if we start giving nut milks to young children we can maybe avoid some allergies - peanut milk incoming.

I have been looking at moving the Profitec Go Espresso machine

Does it have the steam power of a heat exchanger if you want milk - that was my revelation moving on from Silvia ( first love ), Rocky still misses her.
- to hell with anthropomorphism in cars

 

[Dj_Jestar]

Think my machine was overdue a descale :/

 

[Dave85]

eek what do you use for descale as looking for a cheaper alternative than the sage sachets.

 

[Dj_Jestar]

Critic acid. Bulk buy crystals from Amazon. Think I bought a 2.5kg bag for about £10 3 years ago which is just about to run out. I use 2 or 3 tablespoons (depending how bad it is, today is a 3 spooner..) in 2 litres of water which is enough to clear out the boiler and flush the grouphead for a sparkly clean machine.

It's also great for the kettle. One tableapoon, boil kettle, leaves it clean like new. Can even use it to make really lemony cakes as well.

 

[iron_monkey]

Critic acid. Bulk buy crystals from Amazon. Think I bought a 2.5kg bag for about £10 3 years ago which is just about to run out. I use 2 or 3 tablespoons (depending how bad it is, today is a 3 spooner..) in 2 litres of water which is enough to clear out the boiler and flush the grouphead for a sparkly clean machine.

It's also great for the kettle. One tableapoon, boil kettle, leaves it clean like new. Can even use it to make really lemony cakes as well.

I do exactly the same, citric acid is a great cleaner and totally harmless, you can eat it.

 

[Dave85]

Excellent will be looking at this cheers

Edit: out of curiosity sage list the safety sheet for the expensive cleaner. Basically a blend of these and even has rough percentages. Each packet is 25g. Can buy each ingredient in bulk and make lots for not much more than 100g in total.

Malic Acid 30-60%
Sulfamic acid 10-30%
Citric Acid 1 - 10%

Weight-%

Interesting they dont have much citric acid.

 

[LuckyBenski]

Can even use it to make really lemony cakes as well.

Don't forget sherbet!

 

[iron_monkey]

The mrs doesnt like sour sweets so i use some to make my own haha

 

[jpaul]

yes I'm abandoning citric for espresso - as discussed before here

I've never/ever seen a white residue from decsaling the calcium carbonate is dissolved

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

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/​

 

[Begbie]

eek what do you use for descale as looking for a cheaper alternative than the sage sachets.

Yep citric acid too.

 

[Dj_Jestar]

I've never/ever seen a white residue from decsaling the calcium carbonate is dissolved

That's from before I used the citric acid. I have to empty the tank to then fill it. For fun I left the cafetierre on the side to settle, and then dropped a tablespoon of crystals into it to see what happens. Pics below.

Settled:



30 mins after mixing citric acid in: