Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

[Craterloads]

Often seen much debate around this.

I think those ratios are probably a good starting point, but I gather it's more about setting a baseline so you can then try longer/shorter times or larger/smaller yields, to see what works for you. Not that I've worked it out yet, it's been over 4 years and I still struggle to even tell sour from bitter...

Same on the timing. I personally start the timer and shot together. But I think it's a bit like weighing food raw vs cooked, as long as you do it the same each time you get a baseline to work from.

There's a brew guide on the Espresso subreddit which is pretty good - https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/wiki/guides/brewing-basics/

Cheers

Struggled a bit today trying to dial in, got the time and extraction dialled in but didn’t like the taste. Has a bit of an aftertaste, not sure how to describe maybe bitter, just not nice. The beans are light medium roast came free with grinder (freshly roasted). Never really had lighter roasts, perhaps not suited to milk based drinks. Will try again when the other darker roasts beans come along.

 

[iron_monkey]

lighter roasts need a higher brew temp which you cant adjust with the bambino plus, i just over extract it a bit and it helps imo. I start the timer as soon as i press the button, hold it until the coffee starts ccoming out, usually 8-10seconds and then stop it when it gets to double the weight, so 18g ground coffee and 36g extracted. This should take about 30 seconds, i find most coffees need a bit longer than this so i grind finer and as the coffee gets older i'll go finer.

 

[Craterloads]

lighter roasts need a higher brew temp which you cant adjust with the bambino plus, i just over extract it a bit and it helps imo. I start the timer as soon as i press the button, hold it until the coffee starts ccoming out, usually 8-10seconds and then stop it when it gets to double the weight, so 18g ground coffee and 36g extracted. This should take about 30 seconds, i find most coffees need a bit longer than this so i grind finer and as the coffee gets older i'll go finer.

Thanks for the tips. I’ve been timing from when I hear the pump buzz, holding for manual shot.

Been using some supermarket beans today and finding I have to go a lot finer than with the fresh beans. Think once I find some beans I like just gonna stick with them, a lot of work coming from a full auto machine

 

[haaammit]

Replacement for my 14 year old Rocky. Pretty chuffed with it. Grinds so much faster, finer, retains fewer grinds and much more granular control. Happy days!

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

Oracle tuning:

Redber signature blend- 22g in 48-50g out over 30 seconds yielded a beautiful shot with all of the chocolate sweetness and the nutty hints perfectly IMO on grind setting 21.

Swap out to another dark roast from Redber but this time decaf (not sure that’s relevant though?) and expected to be within a click or two, but I got ~90g out in 30 seconds twice.

I’m now at grind setting 15, and still getting 50g odd in 25s.

Does something sound odd?
It’s not a foul shot. As in not sour/bitter at all but nothing that would tempt me to buy another bag…

Do I go finer to get my trusty ballpark of ~2.2:1

 

[LuckyBenski]

Decaf goes stale much faster as the beans are damaged by the process, it opens them up somewhat. This is quite a good short vid on it. Hoffmann went into more detail a bit longer ago but I haven't found the video.

 

[Dave85]

Anyone else get the decaf project for next week from Hoffman?

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

Thank you Benski, I’ll look into it. Does the swinging grind size sound logical?
The decaf I’m referring to was bought two weeks ago and remained sealed.

Anyone else get the decaf project for next week from Hoffman?

I did. No going to be able to join into his live session though.

 

[Musty Pie]

Not posted in here before, or at least for a very long time.

Ive had my Bambino Plus since Christmas last year, and have loved learning about pulling good espresso.

Get pretty decent shots from Rave Coffee hand grinded with a TIMEMORE Chestnut C3 ESP PRO, with a non pressurised basket (stock) and a bottomless portafilter

However I'm thinking about a DF54 as it seems to be the best budget option for an electric grinder. Anyone think it will be much of a step up from the C3 ESP Pro? I'm the only one who drinks coffee at home, so hand grinding has never really been an issue for me, and i enjoy the process. But wondering if flat burrs etc or if the difference will make it a worthwhile investment? Second consideration is that kitchen counter space is a premium, hence the hand grinder and machine choice.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Not posted in here before, or at least for a very long time.

Ive had my Bambino Plus since Christmas last year, and have loved learning about pulling good espresso.

Get pretty decent shots from Rave Coffee hand grinded with a TIMEMORE Chestnut C3 ESP PRO, with a non pressurised basket (stock) and a bottomless portafilter

However I'm thinking about a DF54 as it seems to be the best budget option for an electric grinder. Anyone think it will be much of a step up from the C3 ESP Pro? I'm the only one who drinks coffee at home, so hand grinding has never really been an issue for me, and i enjoy the process. But wondering if flat burrs etc or if the difference will make it a worthwhile investment? Second consideration is that kitchen counter space is a premium, hence the hand grinder and machine choice.

In terms of quality, I doubt you will taste the difference, but in terms of convenience, 100x.

Once you have an electric grinder, it's hard to go back to a hand grinder, aside for the novelty factor.

 

[Musty Pie]

Yeah I guess thats the biggest improvement, just wondered if the flat burrs would make much of a difference at all either.

Ill keep an eye on them for a price drop, although wont hold my breath on it.

 

[Irish_Tom]

Anyone else get the decaf project for next week from Hoffman?

My beans arrived today.

Some people on Reddit are freezing their beans because decaf goes stale quicker. Not sure if that’s worth it if they arrived today and the Live Stream is on Sunday…

 

[LuckyBenski]

Thank you Benski, I’ll look into it. Does the swinging grind size sound logical?
The decaf I’m referring to was bought two weeks ago and remained sealed.

I think so, some people do adjust grind as their beans age. Maybe 2 weeks and sealed isn't that far along, but it's possible.

 

[jpaul]

with a bulk If I'm will not be using fresh beans for 2+ weeks I freeze (and then thaw initially in fridge, then up to ambient in room, still sealed)

the extraction/grind difference above maybe not freshness, just different beans/roasts normal for me

 

[Dave85]

My beans arrived today.

Some people on Reddit are freezing their beans because decaf goes stale quicker. Not sure if that’s worth it if they arrived today and the Live Stream is on Sunday…

Yeh bit extreme I have been on decalf beans for a while now and find they really only get crap after about 3 week.

 

[rG-tom]

Slightly late posting of my Black Friday upgrade:

It's amazing how tiny it is compared to the Sage Oracle.

It's a truly amazing machine, extremely quiet, very powerful (I turned the steam up to full power and then back down again as it's like a volcanic eruption They're actually more powerful steam wands than the commercial machines, we have a LaMarzocco Strada at work and this is far more powerful), very consistent and so so pretty

Is it better than the Sage?

Without a doubt.

Espresso: A a noticeable but not exponential improvement here. Far less of a step change than when I moved from the inbuilt grinder to the Atom 75 grinder with the sage, but still does bring out a lot more.
Milk: Here it is an exponential change - much nicer microform (when i get it right), really really silky.

In terms of build quality and consistency though it's night and day, as you'd expect.

This (or a mini) has been my dream machine since they were launched, so it's great to finally have it! I have no desire to be going down the shot profiling rabbit hole so machines like the decent just weren't in the running.

 

[Street]

It's a truly amazing machine, extremely quiet, very powerful (I turned the steam up to full power and then back down again as it's like a volcanic eruption They're actually more powerful steam wands than the commercial machines, we have a LaMarzocco Strada at work and this is far more powerful), very consistent and so so pretty

Coming from an old Gaggia, I still can't get used to the steam power on mine! I've turned it down to 2 in the app but it's still very powerful. I might drop it to one and see how it is, but it is definitely easier to make better milk more consistently so far.

 

[mid_gen]

Coming from an old Gaggia, I still can't get used to the steam power on mine! I've turned it down to 2 in the app but it's still very powerful. I might drop it to one and see how it is, but it is definitely easier to make better milk more consistently so far.

Well I was all jealous until I read that it has an app. That's a shame One thing I really like about espresso machines is the manual engineering of it, and why I'll never touch anything like the Decent.

 

[Street]

Well I was all jealous until I read that it has an app. That's a shame One thing I really like about espresso machines is the manual engineering of it, and why I'll never touch anything like the Decent.

That was the only downside for me, as I'd have preferred it without an app too. At least the app is mainly just used for setting brew temp and steam power. You can also run through a backflush cycle with the app automatically instead of doing it manually and the timer function/remote on is handy so I can fire it up while I'm in bed and have it warm and ready.

 

[jpaul]

Lovely macchine - all hail - surprised if espresso is not massively improved with the thermal/brass inertia, so you can pressure profile via the app or the lever - got a screen capture ?
( >3x upgrade on an oracle
can't imagine improving on current hx bezerra steam, but a multiplicity of control on the brewing is enticing