Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

I just have a gaggia, fairly standard one was about £170 a few years ago.

I find buying fresh beans and grinding your own has a massive effect - pre ground tastes dull (like starbucks coffee!). Only a cheap blade grinder as well.

Areopress is nice, different but nice - I don't use it at home anymore though.
 
Hamster said:
Siliconslave,
I'm having some second thoughts about the grinder. I see from this thread that you have a Skerton grinder for work. How are you finding it? I don't really want to be spending £100 on a grinder and I'm wondering whether it's worth paying a bit more for an electric one like the Dualit for £70. Then again I don't want to spend £70 if the Skerton produces equally good results, albeit with a little more elbowgrease! Would appreciate your input :)
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I've sold it actually - didn't really end up using it because i'm too lazy and its too noisey to be doing in an open office.

the Skerton was a much better grinder than the dualit in terms of burs etc but effort:result wise i would go with the Dualit :)

What i've ended up doing now however is making a travel mug in the morning and forgoing my afternoon coffee for a cuppa & espresso when i get home or a walk and a decent coffee in town if i need it.

Telescopi - getting a decent grinder is annother step change over using a blade - getting the right grind can transform your espresso (and resultant drinks)
 
Siliconslave said:
I've sold it actually - didn't really end up using it because i'm too lazy and its too noisey to be doing in an open office.

the Skerton was a much better grinder than the dualit in terms of burs etc but effort:result wise i would go with the Dualit :)

What i've ended up doing now however is making a travel mug in the morning and forgoing my afternoon coffee for a cuppa & espresso when i get home or a walk and a decent coffee in town if i need it.
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Thanks for replying. I'll probably only be using it a couple of times a day at most so i'll probably go for the Skerton and maybe later use that at work and buy an electric for the home. The major issue that reviewers have with the Skerton is it's inconsistency producing coarser grinds but i'm not sure how much of a big deal that it when using an Aeropress.
 
Today I shall be mostly enjoying:

This in my Chemex.

Amazingly good coffee, not cheap, but not the most expensive I've bought either - it's around £38/kg but is perfect for the chemex as it's quite subtle.

Yum. :D
 
ooh, sound good - I'm a fully paid up member of the Bourbon fan club, red or orange preferably.

Do they sell online or in-store only?

Today I'm mostly drinking horrible filter stuff at work :( on the train for Christmas **** ups so got a semi decent coffee at Coffee Carisma in Farncombe in the morning then couldn't justify a second dose in Richmond (although i did have a chilli hot chocolate :D)
 
Nice one. :D

Firstly - Tamper - 58mm - try a US Curve or a flat bottomed one.

Secondly - remove that piece of black plastic crap off the steam wand. It's not needed and is really nasty.

Thirdly - enjoy! :D
 
Right - need some help here people. A bit of background info:

I like coffee. We were given a Russell Hobbs coffee grinder as a wedding gift. I only ever used a cafetière, or a french press as I now know it's called ;), but earlier this year purchased a cheap (£80) espresso machine (cookworks 15bar thing half price 40 quid) as the missus would be worried that it wouldn't get used much. Ha - it does 2 double shots a day minimum!!.

The coffee I was getting was lovely and smooth and not bitter (freshly roasted beans from a local supplier) and has done me fine (so I think).

Fast forward a few months. The grinder had an unfortunate syrup/burr interface fail and the upshot is that my grinder is now cattled. I did some research - put up a post in gd here and have just ordered a Rancilio Rocky doserless grinder.

I'm now worried that my coffee machine will not be up to the job. I have my eye on the Rancilio Silvia - a good machine by all accounts, but have to justify spending another +£400 on the coffee maker. The reviews are favourable, and the crema and gloss of the coffee are a million miles from what I can achieve with my cheap setup. I fully understand the law of diminishing returns (hifi sales for quite a while ;)), but going from Carte Noir instant to my Russell Hobbs/Cookworks combo is like comparing (imho) Dog water to coffee.

I want more.

I had to use all my guile and 17 years of retail experience to persuade swmbo that I *needed* the Rocky (with an upgrade of the machine *maybe* at a later date). How can I sell the Silvia to her? She's not too fussed by coffee, but knows I am. After reading this entire thread and doing lots of research, I think I'll be disappointed using such a good grinder with such a low end machine :eek:

Help :eek: - tell me why I (and more importantly swmbo) needs such an expensive machine? (I've already convinced her that if I upgrade the coffee maker, the Gaggia Classic is the *benchmark* and that spending a few pounds more makes sense 'in order to get the machine I need - no point scrimping a few pounds if we're (I'm) spending £280 anyway').

Well - over to you :)

/edit milk steaming I really couldn't give a flying fig about. If I wanted a cup of (foamy) milk and sugar, why would I ask for coffee ;)
 
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FAO: Rancilio Silvia owners

Hi

Just bought a silvia and have some questions as a new owner:


1. Noise/Vibrations

The cup warmer seems to vibrate a lot when running, is this normal and are there any ways to decrease it?

The steam wand also seems to make a tremendous noise (particularly at the start of steaming) compared to previous experience with a gaggia classic at my parents, although admittedly I don't drink cappuccinos that often, so it may be my technique is poor!

2. Drip Tray

Should the drip tray cover be removable as mine seems like it should but the right hand side doesn't come off as the gap doesn't seem big enough between the panels to allow it to lift out?

thanks
 
BUSH said:
Hi

Just bought a silvia and have some questions as a new owner:


1. Noise/Vibrations

The cup warmer seems to vibrate a lot when running, is this normal and are there any ways to decrease it?

The steam wand also seems to make a tremendous noise (particularly at the start of steaming) compared to previous experience with a gaggia classic at my parents, although admittedly I don't drink cappuccinos that often, so it may be my technique is poor!

2. Drip Tray

Should the drip tray cover be removable as mine seems like it should but the right hand side doesn't come off as the gap doesn't seem big enough between the panels to allow it to lift out?

thanks
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Hello,

The Silvia uses a vibratory pump, like most Cofee machines in the domestic market (and especially at this price range). It is most likey this that is causing the panel vibration. I just used the hot water to warm my cups before pulling shots.

What sort of noise are we talking about here? The Silvia is an excelllent steamer (very powerful for its class) :)

The drip tray cover should definitely be removable. Rancilio really need to sort out that tiny drip tray.
 
Quink said:
Right - need some help here people. A bit of background info:

I like coffee. We were given a Russell Hobbs coffee grinder as a wedding gift. I only ever used a cafetière, or a french press as I now know it's called ;), but earlier this year purchased a cheap (£80) espresso machine (cookworks 15bar thing half price 40 quid) as the missus would be worried that it wouldn't get used much. Ha - it does 2 double shots a day minimum!!.

The coffee I was getting was lovely and smooth and not bitter (freshly roasted beans from a local supplier) and has done me fine (so I think).

Fast forward a few months. The grinder had an unfortunate syrup/burr interface fail and the upshot is that my grinder is now cattled. I did some research - put up a post in gd here and have just ordered a Rancilio Rocky doserless grinder.

I'm now worried that my coffee machine will not be up to the job. I have my eye on the Rancilio Silvia - a good machine by all accounts, but have to justify spending another +£400 on the coffee maker. The reviews are favourable, and the crema and gloss of the coffee are a million miles from what I can achieve with my cheap setup. I fully understand the law of diminishing returns (hifi sales for quite a while ;)), but going from Carte Noir instant to my Russell Hobbs/Cookworks combo is like comparing (imho) Dog water to coffee.

I want more.

I had to use all my guile and 17 years of retail experience to persuade swmbo that I *needed* the Rocky (with an upgrade of the machine *maybe* at a later date). How can I sell the Silvia to her? She's not too fussed by coffee, but knows I am. After reading this entire thread and doing lots of research, I think I'll be disappointed using such a good grinder with such a low end machine :eek:

Help :eek: - tell me why I (and more importantly swmbo) needs such an expensive machine? (I've already convinced her that if I upgrade the coffee maker, the Gaggia Classic is the *benchmark* and that spending a few pounds more makes sense 'in order to get the machine I need - no point scrimping a few pounds if we're (I'm) spending £280 anyway').

Well - over to you :)

/edit milk steaming I really couldn't give a flying fig about. If I wanted a cup of (foamy) milk and sugar, why would I ask for coffee ;)
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Hello,

The Gaggia Classic is on offer at £200 at the moment and is available at Comet iirc. If you are not bothered about steaming then it may be worth a look.

If you're really only interested in Coffee then pick up an Aeropress and wait for the right deal on a Silvia (after Christmas perhaps) :)
 
Flibster said:
Nice one. :D

Firstly - Tamper - 58mm - try a US Curve or a flat bottomed one.

Secondly - remove that piece of black plastic crap off the steam wand. It's not needed and is really nasty.

Thirdly - enjoy! :D
Click to expand...

cheers. :)
Any reason for going for a curved bottom tamper?
 
Shoei said:
cheers. :)
Any reason for going for a curved bottom tamper?
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Raymond Lin said:
There are both sides to the argument.

The pro camp says that it's where most of the water goes through so you need to compact it a little bit more.

I have he US curve one.
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Preference really. I prefer flat or US Curve. Euro curve seems really extreme to me.

You can also get rippled bases, curved-flat bases, curved ripple bases....

Take a look at the Reg Barber web site - so many shiny things...
 
the curved base also seems to seal the edges better for some reason - I guess it pushes out slightly... If i was buying again I'd get a US curve I think
 
Well that was easier than I expected - Rocky arrived today - tried it out - works well, but not with our current coffee machine - so - Silvia has just been ordered :cool::cool:

I'll let you know how I get on - I'll be back asking for tips :D
 
mingeroonie said:
This might be useful to some of you.

A well known catalogue shop is selling the Gaggia classic for £199:99 (save 1/3)
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That's where I got mine from. See several posts up.
Reserved the only one they had. SWMBO wasn't happy about carrying the box though :D
 
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