That looks wonderfully even!The last 250g of the Bethania Hortensia. (Nicaragua).
When will you be giving them a go?
Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread
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When will you be giving them a go?
Caporegime
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I only did it on Sunday so this weekend? I normally have a cup when I get home after dinner but its too hot today for hot coffee.
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I thought my Classic had blown up in dramatic fashion this morning. I was pulling a shot and there was a big flash, a really loud bang inside the machine and the power in my flat.
I popped the lid earlier while the kids were watching a cartoon, just out of curiosity. Last weekend I replaced an O ring inside it and had disconnected the earth wire on the lid. Forgot to reconnect it… and it had found itself a nice source of high current to touch. Hence the flash and the big bang!
I’m calling that ‘got very lucky’. Reconnected it, lid back on and it all still appears to work fine.
I popped the lid earlier while the kids were watching a cartoon, just out of curiosity. Last weekend I replaced an O ring inside it and had disconnected the earth wire on the lid. Forgot to reconnect it… and it had found itself a nice source of high current to touch. Hence the flash and the big bang!
I’m calling that ‘got very lucky’. Reconnected it, lid back on and it all still appears to work fine.
So this wasn't as easy as copying a mates settings that uses the same machine and beans
The machine is choking on any grind setting under 15, 15 only gives me about 10.5-11g of ground coffee and I can't get any more in the basket, this barely gives 18g of yield on a standard double shot 30 second with pre infusion, fresh rave beans No 1/5/6 I think I'm missing something really simple but can't put my finger on it.
Are you sure you’re using the double shot standard basket? That weight almost sounds like you’re using the single. You should easily get 18 in the double. It will pile high above it when first ground, but gentle taps on the side should level it off before tamping.So this wasn't as easy as copying a mates settings that uses the same machine and beans
The machine is choking on any grind setting under 15, 15 only gives me about 10.5-11g of ground coffee and I can't get any more in the basket, this barely gives 18g of yield on a standard double shot 30 second with pre infusion, fresh rave beans No 1/5/6 I think I'm missing something really simple but can't put my finger on it.
If your machine didn’t come with a dosing funnel, I’d recommend one as it allows you to start with the grounds piled up more without them spilling everywhere!
Caporegime
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Tried it today, I think this batch is the best one. It has more flavour, more berry and fruitiness to it but not sharp.
I will order a couple of kilos next time.
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Yes, I wasn’t sure what it was when I posted but it is the thermostat. I’m guessing it has full power running through it on this machine!
Thanks @Diggsy so it appears my scales had lost calibration, what I thought was 18g of beans was nearer 30g, re calibrated and now I can start dialing in correctly.
After years of espresso, I've decided to buy a pour over (oragami) . Might even get rid of the gaggia. Can't be arsed with cleaning, messing about, grind settings etc anymore.
It'll go in the cupboard and see if I miss it after a while.
It'll go in the cupboard and see if I miss it after a while.
seems like it was these again - the gicar was confused and not starting the boiler heater even though water tank was full,
I extracted and cleaned them after 8 years, and now just a coiuple of years later seem same issue.
possibly I use the steam and hot water more , for drinking chocolate, so more fresh water coming through and more deposits.
I extracted and cleaned them after 8 years, and now just a coiuple of years later seem same issue.
possibly I use the steam and hot water more , for drinking chocolate, so more fresh water coming through and more deposits.
In theory that is better for a steam boiler because you are replacing the water more often. You should really be draining the service boiler monthly to avoid the water in there becoming very "hard". If you just use service boilers for steam then the water becomes very mineral heavy over time which obviously leads to much more scale. Replacing that water with fresh water monthly tends to avoid that happening so quickly. By all accounts, using the hot water tap regularly is kind of a poor version of that as it drains a fair chunk of water each time.
As i ended up chatting to Justin about how to make coffee last night for a couple of hours i figured that i might just make a thread on how to pull a decent espresso.
an Espresso can be the base of most coffee drinks, add water and get an americano or long black, add steamed milk for a latte, add steamed milk and milk foam for a Cappuccino etc etc
First thing you need are the beans, i'm using the Skyberry i get from my local coffee lady, but anything thats be recently roasted is good - coffee goes stale over time so try and use it up within a month of roasting ideally. Hasbean do a good selection and send out as close to the roasting as possible.
Ideally you want to grind the beans yourself. Once a bean is ground the coffee deteriorates at an alarming rate, losing flavor within the hour. I'm using the Iberital MC2 from happy donkey (~£100). Its a very adjustable grinder for making espresso, although i wouldn't recomend it for anyone looking to vary between methods of making it as the adjustment is very fine. The Dualit bur grinder is also acceptable for a starter(~£50). Make sure you get something that grinds, not cuts!
Adjustment of the grind is pretty much the biggest control you have over your pour, its all trial and error but you want your shot (30ml) to pour within ~25seconds. The best bet is to make it as fine as you can, this may well stall your machine so work backward from there.
add beans and grind to portafilter
once you've ground your beans into your portafilter (basket that fits to your coffee machine) you need to flatten off the top with your finger (or spoon, bit of useful sized wood etc) tap the basket down and "tamp" the coffee down with a tamper. The one i've got here is a reg barber but the plastic ones that come with the machine are ok to start with. you need to put a decent amount of weight behind the tamp (30-40 pounds) so use most of your body weight.
flattening and tamping the coffee
the next step is pushing hot (85-95 °C / 185-203 °F) water through the coffee. To do this most people use a coffee machinei'm using a gaggia classic, a good compitent machine thats at the lower end of the market for ~£200. Below this your better off using a cafetiere, stove top moca pot or similar. I'm using a double shot basket in my machine so i get more lovely coffee.
The machine should be preheated so it has time to get to temperature, the portafilter locks into under a "group head" kind of like a highly pressureised shower that forces the hot water through the coffee at about 9bar of pressure. The coffee should take a couple of seconds to start appearing and should come out as a treacly looking substance, too fast and the grind needs to be thinner, too slow and you get a "Ristretto" so back off on the gind a little.
not the best pour, but gives you an idea. My Skyberry is getting a little old & the grinder needs to be a little finer
you should get a nice thick redish brown crema (head) on the shot which will form much like the head of Guinness. Enjoy your espresso in two min before it starts to deteriorate so drink now!
I remember reading Siliconslave's espresso thread years ago when I was setting up my first coffee corner and it honestly saved me from burning through bags of stale beans with bad technique. That thread breaks down grind size, dose, and temperature like no other guide out there. But when I moved from home setup to helping a friend open a small café, I realized that commercial volume changes everything. You cannot manually dial in every shot during a rush. That is when I learned about the franke coffee machine and how its automated brewing consistency actually respects the fundamentals from that thread while handling fifty drinks an hour. The Franke A line uses real grinders and pressure profiling, not just cheap superautomatic tricks.
that should give you a reasonable basis to try making a coffee, have fun
This Siliconslave thread taught me more than any expensive barista course ever did, especially about grind distribution and why a cheap tamper ruins your flow.
Pulled the trigger yesterday on a Sage Bambino plus - ticks the boxes as a first machine in that I can enjoy it whilst it's probably going to be easy for my OH to use.
Any suggestions/recommendations for other kit to go with it? I'm guessing the tamper out of the box isn't going to be great, and I don't have any other equipment in relation to a coffee station/puck prep. Got a budget of around £200 - surely that's enough to cover a few things? Should already mention we have a Encore ESP as a grinder that we got last year mostly for Aeropress...
Any suggestions/recommendations for other kit to go with it? I'm guessing the tamper out of the box isn't going to be great, and I don't have any other equipment in relation to a coffee station/puck prep. Got a budget of around £200 - surely that's enough to cover a few things? Should already mention we have a Encore ESP as a grinder that we got last year mostly for Aeropress...
I've a question for all of the frequenters of this thread.
Just how particular are you about the preparation of your coffee for espresso. I'm getting bombarded on IG with reels on coffee prep. OK I've bought a Leveler and a Dosing funnel from Amazon for about 30 notes and for me it has improved things.
I still use an egg whisk that I cut down a few years ago for breaking up the clumps.
I know they are influencers and they are more or less salesmen for this stuff, I'm thinking a push down coffee grind stirrer and a spring loaded tamper that costs £££, does it really make a difference for that kind of money? Is it worth buying this kind of kit? I did look around at the London coffee festival 3 weeks ago and found nothing.
Just how particular are you about the preparation of your coffee for espresso. I'm getting bombarded on IG with reels on coffee prep. OK I've bought a Leveler and a Dosing funnel from Amazon for about 30 notes and for me it has improved things.
I still use an egg whisk that I cut down a few years ago for breaking up the clumps.
I know they are influencers and they are more or less salesmen for this stuff, I'm thinking a push down coffee grind stirrer and a spring loaded tamper that costs £££, does it really make a difference for that kind of money? Is it worth buying this kind of kit? I did look around at the London coffee festival 3 weeks ago and found nothing.
Personally prep is half the battle won.
As for spring loaded tampers, well that’s a can of worms probably left closed.
I prefer one, but others may be incandescent with rage at the very thought.
I’ve tried a few WDT tools and haven’t found one that makes a blind bit of difference. A cork with a few pins stuck in it will do the same job.
Just to add, the money best spent for me was a good puck screen and a “Big bang” bottomless portafilter basket.
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I went through all this in the past.
Literally found nine of it really makes a difference, not compared to buying decent beans. Also just faff, like the taste difference from me making sure everything is as perfect as can be to just pouring beans in and tamping is virtually zero.