Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

Thanks for recommending the puly caf idea, will look into that.
Is my machine "Back flush-able":D
I haven't got a blank filter basket, are these available from gaggia etc for my classic?

So far Ive been getting some pre-ground coffee from Whittards, and my wife got me some from a local shop which roasts/grinds them selves in store and the difference is amazing!
the Whittards stuff tastes quite burnt and bitter and pours through quite quick, while the local stuff is totally opposite.


Edit: Just ordered a blanking plate and some puly caf from happy donkey, so will see how dirty it really is inside!
 
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if you have to buy pre-gound, I would go into starbucks and buy some beans and get them ground it right there and then re-seal.

At least you know it is freshly grounded, more than the ones in supermarkets.

Do Starbucks use different coffee in their shops than their pre-ground stuff? As I got 3 packs of different Starbucks ground coffees from Tesco when they had a 3 for 2 offer on and wasn't that keen on any of them.

I keep hearing how grinding your own coffee is a lot better so I might just take the plunge and get a grinder and some decent beans. I think this coffee machine should be fine for making normal coffee for now. Will probably get a machine that can make cappuccinos and stuff in the future.

Only problem I have now is that I cant bring myself to drink instant coffee, it tastes crap in comparison to fresh :D. Then again I've cut down from 8-10 cups of instant to 2 cups of fresh a day, which can only be a good thing.
 
Do Starbucks use different coffee in their shops than their pre-ground stuff? As I got 3 packs of different Starbucks ground coffees from Tesco when they had a 3 for 2 offer on and wasn't that keen on any of them.

I keep hearing how grinding your own coffee is a lot better so I might just take the plunge and get a grinder and some decent beans. I think this coffee machine should be fine for making normal coffee for now. Will probably get a machine that can make cappuccinos and stuff in the future.

Only problem I have now is that I cant bring myself to drink instant coffee, it tastes crap in comparison to fresh :D. Then again I've cut down from 8-10 cups of instant to 2 cups of fresh a day, which can only be a good thing.


In starbucks you can choose all sorts, they have all sorts of beans and blends on sale and ask them to grind it for you.

Fresh is always best, the shorter time between grind to cup the better.
 
Are there any decent pre-ground coffees available from the supermarket?

Not for espresso, just for a normal cup of medium strong coffee with milk. My sister bought me a coffee machine and Ive been trying different ground coffees each week from Tesco and a lot have tasted horrible. So far I think the Twinings one was the best.

I'll probably get a grinder and a better coffee machine in the future but this is ok for now. Makes a hot cup of coffee and is fairly quick. Just need to find a nice ground coffee to go with it.

I would use Hasbean online and order little ground coffee often. Failing that I would find a local specialist and get them to grind it there for you. I'd avoid the supermarket stuff
 
Thanks for recommending the puly caf idea, will look into that.
Is my machine "Back flush-able":D
I haven't got a blank filter basket, are these available from gaggia etc for my classic?

So far Ive been getting some pre-ground coffee from Whittards, and my wife got me some from a local shop which roasts/grinds them selves in store and the difference is amazing!
the Whittards stuff tastes quite burnt and bitter and pours through quite quick, while the local stuff is totally opposite.


Edit: Just ordered a blanking plate and some puly caf from happy donkey, so will see how dirty it really is inside!


Cool dude. You have the same machine as me. Gaggia don't officially approve backflushing, oestensibily due to health and safety reasons. The machine has a 3 way valve, which means that backflushing is required to clean out all the oils. I didn't do mine until recently, and the stuff that came out was pretty minging. I just followed the instructions on the back of the tub.

Whittards coffee is pretty terrible. If you can't grind your own, a local specialist is a good option. I used to use Illy from the supermarket, but it's expensive and you get a lot of it, so it goes stale really quickly. Without a grinder, I never managed to get more than 15 seconds extraction time, so it was always a bit weak and disappointing.
 
at the week end I was in a Kurdish Restaurant, Decided to try Arabic Coffee. had an intense smoky flavour with a nice lasting flavour. Would love to know what it was.

Anyone know of any Arabic coffees like it?
 
I would use Hasbean online and order little ground coffee often. Failing that I would find a local specialist and get them to grind it there for you. I'd avoid the supermarket stuff

I think I'll do that and then if freshly ground coffee is a lot better than supermarket stuff as a lot of people claim then i'll get a decent grinder. i really love coffee so it'll be worth it.

Would you recommend the Roasted Ground for Filter starter pack @ £17.50? I haven't got a clue what I would like so this seems like it would be my best bet.
 
I think I'll do that and then if freshly ground coffee is a lot better than supermarket stuff as a lot of people claim then i'll get a decent grinder. i really love coffee so it'll be worth it.

Would you recommend the Roasted Ground for Filter starter pack @ £17.50? I haven't got a clue what I would like so this seems like it would be my best bet.

Well, that's quite a lot of coffee to get through. It's a good selection, but if it was me I'd try them individually over a period of time. Ground coffee will go stale very quickly, but obviously I don't know how much you drink
 
Well, that's quite a lot of coffee to get through. It's a good selection, but if it was me I'd try them individually over a period of time. Ground coffee will go stale very quickly, but obviously I don't know how much you drink

Only about 2 cups a day so it probably would go stale, I didn't think of that. I'll just try the one for now then, any you'd recommend? Their number 1 seller: Bolivia Machacamarca BV Maria and Mario Andrade 2010 sounds nice from the description, might give that a shot.
 
Probably a good idea. I haven't tried many yet, so I'm just going for the most popular and working back. The Bolivan one is highly rated, so is probably a good starting point
 
The Machacamarca is excellent. Works in any method of coffee making I've found. Filter is my main drinking method at the moment. The Hario V60 is a great toy. :)

I also really enjoy the Australian Skyberry, Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, El Salvador Finca La Fany Bourbon 2010-2011 Crop amongst many others...

If you're after a good decaf - Guatemala Finca San Francisco Tecuamburro Decaffeinated - I got this as part of the in my mug subscription with the standard full-caff version and actually preferred the decaf... I know... blasphemy!

And now... some pimping. ;)

http://www.caffeculture.com/

It's a trade show primarily - but this year it has the pleasure of hosting the World Barista Championships :D
It's free to attend *just make up a company name.. I did* and there's several championships happening there this year. World Aeropress Championship, Latte Art, Cup tasting amongst others. I really want the Brew Haha to come to prominence and to take it's place alongside the WBC. Oh, Steve from Hasbean is competing in the Aeropress Championship. Should be good for a laugh anyway. ;)
 
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320 grit wet and dry - keep it very wet. It will take a few minutes and you will need to keep the paper on something that it flat to get the best finish on the wand.

You'll pretty much have to take a majority of the chrome off the fixing point. I also took a little off the end as well. Clean it out and refit it regularly to get the movement that you want.
 
320 grit wet and dry - keep it very wet. It will take a few minutes and you will need to keep the paper on something that it flat to get the best finish on the wand.

You'll pretty much have to take a majority of the chrome off the fixing point. I also took a little off the end as well. Clean it out and refit it regularly to get the movement that you want.

Cheers dude. Looks like a trip to B+Q for me :/
 
Got myself some Sulawesi Kalosi from an independent coffee shop in Clitheroe whilst up at the other half's parents last weekend. It's lovely!
 
I've stashed some Italian ESE pods in the cupboard for those days when I don't have any ground coffee. Emergency caffeine situation this morning was solved with a couple of them :D
 
scruffeh; how does the silvia wand compare to the gaggia one, i suppose it gives a more direct steam as the gaggia one has a lot of dead space in it which i think draws in a lot of cold air when steaming, does it speed up the steaming process at all.

as mentioned above id avoid starbucks beans all together ive never got a good espresso from them (i did have a decent filter coffee from them but it wasnt great). due to funds im currently using supermarket coffee but i use the Illy preground stuff as i only have a hand grinder and it takes ages and i normally want a latte just before i go to work or when i get back, i also have some Illy beans for when i have time (id love to try some stuff from hasbean but i always seem to spend my money on other things before i remember to order).

currently im using Illy for espresso (latte, Cappucino) and LeVazza Red for filter but i only drink filter at work to keep me going on long night shifts. i also use nescaffe gold blend but the less said about that in this thread the better :D

also this thread needs more pics :)
 
scruffeh; how does the silvia wand compare to the gaggia one, i suppose it gives a more direct steam as the gaggia one has a lot of dead space in it which i think draws in a lot of cold air when steaming, does it speed up the steaming process at all.

I haven't had a great deal of time to test it - I realised that the original rubber seal broke as I was installing the new wand, so it was losing steam out of the join with the main unit. Have replaced it with the seal that came with the new wand now.

First impressions are that it has much more power, and seems to create a whirlpool within the milk, which I think is required to produce microfoam. It should be faster as well, but I'll need to test it over the next few days - will post my findings here. It definitely looks a lot better without the POS plastic wand that it comes with!
 
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