They’re the only place I order from too.
Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread
- Thread starter Siliconslave
- Start date
They’re the only place I order from too.
Soldato
Over the past year, I have been trying a whole bunch of different coffees (about 60 over 19 suppliers), to find the 'best' one.
In my journey, I found that I really really do not like fruity coffees or those that have quite high acidity. It seems I have a preference to a typical washed southern/central american chocolatey/nutty type taste with low acidity.
I tried coffee from James Gourmet, Square Miles, Black Cat, Rave, Wogan, Bristol Coffee, Clifton Coffee, North Star, Extract, Pact, Coffee Compass, Redber, UE, Horsham, Union, Origin, Caravan, Dark Woods and Ozone.
There were many great coffees, but just taking the edge, for me, is Origin Resolute.
A few others that I really liked are Cararvan Market Blend, Union Revelation, Pact House, Clifton Coffee Company Village/E1, Wogan Nicaragua P3/Honduras/Brazil, Square Miles Red Brick (can't remember what blend it was that I had).
Given my preference, any recommendations as to what I can try next?
In my journey, I found that I really really do not like fruity coffees or those that have quite high acidity. It seems I have a preference to a typical washed southern/central american chocolatey/nutty type taste with low acidity.
I tried coffee from James Gourmet, Square Miles, Black Cat, Rave, Wogan, Bristol Coffee, Clifton Coffee, North Star, Extract, Pact, Coffee Compass, Redber, UE, Horsham, Union, Origin, Caravan, Dark Woods and Ozone.
There were many great coffees, but just taking the edge, for me, is Origin Resolute.
A few others that I really liked are Cararvan Market Blend, Union Revelation, Pact House, Clifton Coffee Company Village/E1, Wogan Nicaragua P3/Honduras/Brazil, Square Miles Red Brick (can't remember what blend it was that I had).
Given my preference, any recommendations as to what I can try next?
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Atkinsons in Lancaster, which is made up of a roaster and 3 individual coffee shops, all really good.
Abe & Co in Manchester. I order from here at least once a month and the owner hand delivers local orders. I've even had beans which were still warm from roasting a couple of hours earlier!
Abe & Co in Manchester. I order from here at least once a month and the owner hand delivers local orders. I've even had beans which were still warm from roasting a couple of hours earlier!
Caporegime
I've tried Origin Coffee (Stronghole/San Fermin) and Union Revelation is my go to from the Supermarket when it is on discount to £11 a bag every few months.
From what isn't on there is my local one call Method Coffee.
https://methodroastery.com/collections/coffee, try these 2
Ethiopia - Koke
Peru - La Libertad
If you prefer blend, their Oca is pretty nice, I get it quite often as it is cheaper in the local deli in Hereford at like £5.50 a bag.
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great list there
Personally I tilt more towards the fruity, lighter roast end of things, but other places i'd suggest trying are:
- https://www.steampunkcoffee.co.uk/
- https://workshopcoffee.com/
- https://www.djangocoffeeco.com/
- https://www.neighbourhoodcoffee.co.uk/
- https://www.tampcoffee.co.uk/
- https://www.crankhousecoffee.co.uk/ (just added as i'd forgotten them )
finally not one for your taste buds, but long and short are back and do some amazing light / fruity roasts https://longshortlondon.com/
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Thoughts on buying the Sage Smart Grinder Pro to replace the Barista Express grinder?
I wasn't planning on upgrading my grinder right now - that's a long term upgrade to something notably better/more expensive (alongside changing espresso machine too). However, idoodirect have a 25% off voucher and you can get a refurbed BCG820BSS Smart Grinder Pro for £131 all in (reduced from £174 which was a reduction from £204). A worthwhile upgrade from the Barista Express (even if it's temporary)?
I wasn't planning on upgrading my grinder right now - that's a long term upgrade to something notably better/more expensive (alongside changing espresso machine too). However, idoodirect have a 25% off voucher and you can get a refurbed BCG820BSS Smart Grinder Pro for £131 all in (reduced from £174 which was a reduction from £204). A worthwhile upgrade from the Barista Express (even if it's temporary)?
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Is the grinding mechanism the same as the BE grinder ? refurbed grinder might suggest burrs are a bit worn and they look like they are the same,
maybe stepless mod on BE , with new burrs ?
e: stepless mod https://www.instructables.com/Barista-Express-Step-less-Grinder-Mod/
maybe stepless mod on BE , with new burrs ?
e: stepless mod https://www.instructables.com/Barista-Express-Step-less-Grinder-Mod/
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I'm not sure if it is the same grinder. The BE has 16 settings, whereas the Smart Grinder has 30 and Smart Grinder Pro 60.
Soldato
- Joined
- 29 Jul 2013
- Posts
- 8,598
What did you go with in the end? I’m considering a similar set up.
Also interested to know the outcome.
I feel like I'm at the limit of my BE grinder and would like to upgrade. I initially considered a used SGP for £140 to serve as a stop gap until moving to something notably better, until I realised that significantly better 'endgame' grinders are available for small chunk more over the SGP.
I only drink espresso/flat white. No preference on single dose or otherwise. It would be great to have the option of timed grinds rather than purely manual (although I'm not against a manual grinder).
Current list:
Eureka Mignon Specialita 55mm - £369
DF64 Gen 2 - £353
DF64 - £359
DF64P - £326
Eureka Mignon Manuale 50mm - £239
Baratza Encore ESP - £159
Not sure if I'll get hit with import fees with any of the DF64 grinders as I would be buying direct rather than through Bella Barista.
I'm comfortable going up to £370 for the Mignon Specialita, but not sure I can justify another £200 for something like the Niche Zero. Where does the value come from? I can't imagine an espresso from a Niche is going to taste 1.5x better than a Mignon Specialita, especially when you consider that I'm upgrading from an in-built Barista Express grinder.
Anything else worth considering?
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Soldato
great list there
Personally I tilt more towards the fruity, lighter roast end of things, but other places i'd suggest trying are:
- https://www.steampunkcoffee.co.uk/
- https://workshopcoffee.com/
- https://www.djangocoffeeco.com/
- https://www.neighbourhoodcoffee.co.uk/
- https://www.tampcoffee.co.uk/
- https://www.crankhousecoffee.co.uk/ (just added as i'd forgotten them
finally not one for your taste buds, but long and short are back and do some amazing light / fruity roasts https://longshortlondon.com/
Thanks! I'll add them all to my list! That'll take me a good while as I only make coffee at home on the weekends.
The Oca one sounds more my preference than the other 2. I've tried a couple of Ethiopian coffees and not a big fan. Single origin wise, I prefer Colombian or Brazilian.
Soldato
I can't make many comparisons, but I would definitely spend a bit more and get something better than the SGP. My sister has the SGP and I have the Eureka Mignon Manuale and the build quality of the Eureka is miles ahead, really solid. Also, it's stepless so you can make more minor adjustments. Not that the SGP is a bad machine, it's great for the price especially on sale (which I think it does quite often), but if you can afford something better for not TOO much more, which will mean you won't feel you need to upgrade until maybe MUCH later in the future (if at all) then that's worth it to me.
If I were to buy again, I would probably buy the Eureka Mignon Zero as the Manuale doesn't have the sound dampening and so is quite noisy, plus it has 55mm burrs rather than 50mm, not that that makes too much difference, but it's still a difference. I converted mine into single dose (the Zero wasn't out when I bought mine) by buying a single dose hopper and bellows, but I don't have the angled forks and dosing cup, plus I have the hold the button down to grind as I use a dosing funnel meaning I can't use the normal forks.
If you're not fussed about single dosing, the Specialita is really good. I use one at work.
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Caporegime
Grinder wise there are quite a few options these days under £500 which are all very good. Its been about a year since I was looking at this sort of stuff but depending on what you want to drink ie. espresso vs pourover and the roast level you enjoy the DF64 (flat burrs) is very well reviewed, the lagom mini (conical) does well.
Honestly, there are some good youtubers that are worth checking out as they all do "grouptests" and I don't think they have any particular biases. James Hoffman and Lance Hendrick are good options.
Honestly, there are some good youtubers that are worth checking out as they all do "grouptests" and I don't think they have any particular biases. James Hoffman and Lance Hendrick are good options.
Soldato
I'd look at a stepless if you're going the espresso route. I've got a Baratza Sette 270 with a single dose mod and its perfect - noisy but fast as hell with absolute minimal retention.
I'm now settled on going for something notably better/more expensive than the SGP, for the exact reasons you just said.
My requirements are as simple as they come. I make 2-3 double shot flat whites a day and that's it. Sometimes I'll go for an espresso only, but no requirement for something that's capable of grinding filter coffee, aeropress etc well.
At the moment my shortlist is made up of the Niche Zero, DF64 Gen 2 and Eureka Mignon Specialita. Still open to other options, but these appear to be the most recommended under or around £500.
Niche Zero - £553
+ Stepless, easy to dial in, simple to use
+ Close to zero retention
+ Quiet
+ Aesthetically great + well built
+ Reviews very highly for espresso
- Significantly more expensive than the other options
DF64 Gen 2 - £429 via UK supplier with 2 year warranty / £353 from China with 1 year warranty
+ Stepless, easy to dial in, simple to use
+ Near identical burrs to SSP multi-purpose
+ Low retention
+ Anti-popcorn
+ Plasma generator which reduces static build up
+ Built for espresso
- Loud
- Multiple reports of grinders arriving misaligned followed by poor after sale service when ordered direct from DF64 Coffee
- Difficult to find black in stock from a UK supplier
Eureka Mignon Specialita - £369
+ Stepless
+ Quiet
+ Low retention
+ Built like a complete tank
+ Ability to time grinds on top of manual dosing
+ Potentially best bang for buck out of all the options
- Not designed for single dose, would require Etsy mod
- Grind wheel not great (can be difficult to go back to previous settings)
- Aesthetically the worst looking
If the Niche Zero was similarly priced to the others then it would be a no brainer.
DF64 Gen 2 is going to be tricky to get find in stock unless I go the direct from China route, which may cause me problems.
The Eureka Specialita, while a great grinder, seems to be a step down compared to the others. I'm ideally after something that will last me for the foreseeable future, would I not just be looking to upgrade in another few years? Or am I just massively overthinking it and whatever I go for will be a significant step up from what I'm currently using?
Dilemma
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Caporegime
If cost is the issue but you can still afford to, get the Niche. The difference will be insignificant over the life time of the grinder. I am coming up to 4 years of ownership now for mine, the difference in cost spread over the ownership gets smaller and smaller by the day.
I was in a similar boat, but just decided to get an Opus (and a picopresso for the odd occasion, aeropress didn't quite cut it, also worktop space was an issue). The filter is used daily (Sage precision brewer).
Opus is grinding too fine for the picopresso, still dialling it in.... Very happy with it despite it being a bit plasticky, it did replace a Melitta Molino (that I put up with for far, far too long) so that's not really surprising.
Opus is grinding too fine for the picopresso, still dialling it in.... Very happy with it despite it being a bit plasticky, it did replace a Melitta Molino (that I put up with for far, far too long) so that's not really surprising.