Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

Raymond Lin said:
Do people really use bottle water for their coffee machine? I live in Hererford and the water has hardly if at all limescale in it, our kettle after 5 years of use is really clean still.
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Here you can see the water scale from drips.. not as bad as 'tup north but something that would be annoying none-the-less..
 
Raymond Lin said:
Do people really use bottle water for their coffee machine? I live in Hererford and the water has hardly if at all limescale in it, our kettle after 5 years of use is really clean still.
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to quote home barista....

Water for Espresso

Finally, a note about water, the other constituent of good coffee and espresso. Water for coffee should be pure and odor free. Charcoal filtering to remove chlorine and sediments from municipal water is a good idea. Further filtering is required if the water is from a well having iron, sulfur, heavy metals, or organic contaminants. Alternatively, consider bottled water.

Note that "pure water" in this case does not mean distilled or free of all minerals. Natural water contains calcium carbonate and some magnesium carbonate; these constitute the water's hardness. Overly soft (low mineral) water will create a light bodied, metallic and excessively bright tasting shot. Overly hard (high mineral) water will scale the machine, while the chalkiness of the calcium carbonates precipitating as the water heats will interfere with proper extraction. The best coffee water has about 5 grains (90 mg/L) hardness and 150 mg/L total mineral content. For espresso machines, water at about 3 grains (50 mg/L) and 90 mg/L total mineral content is used to reduce descaling costs. This is a compromise on the ideal water for espresso, but the 90 mg/L shots are almost indistinguishable from shots with the higher 150 mg/L mineral content. If your tap water is excessively hard or soft, look into bottled water or water treatment options, many of which are not expensive.
 
Flibster said:
Neat espresso for me. :D

It's meant to be served with a glass of water, can't exactly remember why, but it is.

Lotus biscuits go down well, as do pain au chocolate. ;)
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for me the best complementation for an espresso is a bit of mint chocolate like "after eight",right after the espresso

hummm delicious:D
( take care if you are diabetic:rolleyes:)
 
I emailed Steve @ Hasbean and just got a reply.

Hi Raymond,

I do a search on blogs that lets me know when people mention us. but I love photography and love your site, really nice work, I'm watching it now in my rss feeder some great shots.

Best Wishes
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I didn't know people do that, but its hell cool nevertheless !
 
I don't like this thread. Read it initially a month or so ago, and went out and bought some locally freshly roasted coffee, but pre-ground, along with a cafetiere. Been enjoying that for a while, but I've been eyeing up a grinder and espresso machine for a wee while.

Anyway, went and ordered the following at the weekend, which should arrive this week sometime. I'm excited! :D

- Iberital MC2 Doserless Grinder (HappyDonkey)
- 57mm Tamper (HappyDonkey)
- Gaggia Classic + free accessory pack (House of Fraser)

Took absolutely ages to decide on that lot. Spent most of the weekend geeking it up large, reading about coffee machines. Even some YouTube-age...! However, I'm completely clueless when it comes to coffee itself. I enjoy nice coffee, but I've no idea what I'm doing. HasBean has a great looking "Coffee Assistant", where you enter some taste keywords and it'll recommend you some coffee. Erm, yummy, smooth, hot? Eventually I gave up and ordered a few random 250g packs beans from HasBean to try out. I'll try and put some thoughts into words and hopefully it'll help me when I order again in a couple of weeks. In the end I went for:

- Australian Skyberry
- Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira
- Nicaragua Limoncillo

No idea what they'll be like - all the coffee on the website sounds nice. The Australian Skyberry has a picture of a Kangeroo, so it must be great, right? :p
 
sloth said:
I don't like this thread. Read it initially a month or so ago, and went out and bought some locally freshly roasted coffee, but pre-ground, along with a cafetiere. Been enjoying that for a while, but I've been eyeing up a grinder and espresso machine for a wee while.

Anyway, went and ordered the following at the weekend, which should arrive this week sometime. I'm excited! :D

- Iberital MC2 Doserless Grinder (HappyDonkey)
- 57mm Tamper (HappyDonkey)
- Gaggia Classic + free accessory pack (House of Fraser)

Took absolutely ages to decide on that lot. Spent most of the weekend geeking it up large, reading about coffee machines. Even some YouTube-age...! However, I'm completely clueless when it comes to coffee itself. I enjoy nice coffee, but I've no idea what I'm doing. HasBean has a great looking "Coffee Assistant", where you enter some taste keywords and it'll recommend you some coffee. Erm, yummy, smooth, hot? Eventually I gave up and ordered a few random 250g packs beans from HasBean to try out. I'll try and put some thoughts into words and hopefully it'll help me when I order again in a couple of weeks. In the end I went for:

- Australian Skyberry
- Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira
- Nicaragua Limoncillo

No idea what they'll be like - all the coffee on the website sounds nice. The Australian Skyberry has a picture of a Kangeroo, so it must be great, right? :p
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You've ordered the wrong size tamper, the classic take a 58mm tamper.
 
sloth said:
snip :p
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congrats on your purchase of coffee machinery and speciality coffees :cool:

i look forward to hearing how you get on mastering the classic it appears to be a poular choice and I am sure you will get some good advice on operating it from here or on the coffee forums- i am in the market for one myself :)

also please post some pics when you are up and running :)
 
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help me guys:)

I just try to buy an Gaggia MDF coffee grinder for Coffeeitalia.es ( Caffè Italia)for 175 euros + 15 euros delivery ( in Portugal I cant find anything of it) and I made the on-line order for it

after a while a guy call me on the phone (I put my phone number in the registration) and ask me if he could exchange my order for the Gaggia MDF ( who is not in stock at the moment) for the most expensive La Pavoni Jolly Dosato Nero,but they are offering it to me for the same price of the Gaggia MDF:confused:

what do you think, I am getting a nice deal here,or not???
 
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sloth said:
Anyway, went and ordered the following at the weekend, which should arrive this week sometime. I'm excited! :D

- Iberital MC2 Doserless Grinder (HappyDonkey)
- 57mm Tamper (HappyDonkey)
- Gaggia Classic + free accessory pack (House of Fraser)
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:cool: (I'm not sure about the Tamper as Raymond has stated, most tend to be 58mm. The MCAL is titchy at 49mm)
Expect plenty of frustration - it may be worth popping down to your local super market and picking up some grinder-fodder (canned roasted beans) to help you get to the right level of grind. You will waste *a lot* initially so save the hasbean beans until you have it setup.

I would perhaps also buy some espresso pre-ground.. the important bit here is to get a feel for the size of the grind between your fingers. This will help you get your grinder towards the right settings.

Try making an espresso with it - you'll notice the smell, how flat it looks in the cup. Taste it - I recommend just a sip (too much caffine by the end of this!).

Next try the canned beans - check the grounds, do they feel right? If so then it's time to make an espresso with those..
Did it come out like espresso???? Or were the grounds too coarse where water "gushes" through and the coffee is weak. Or too fine where the machine protests and the coffee comes out too slow..

Again - smell it. Look at it and then sip it - it probably will be better.. this may take you a while to get 'dialed in' with the grinder.
Don't worry - that's always the case...

Then onto the fresh beans...

Remember that beans give off CO2 after the roasting, they'll be degassing for about 2-4 days after. So they'll taste good but will hit their peak in the first week.

sloth said:
In the end I went for:
- Australian Skyberry
- Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira
- Nicaragua Limoncillo

No idea what they'll be like - all the coffee on the website sounds nice. The Australian Skyberry has a picture of a Kangeroo, so it must be great, right? :p
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You'll smell that lot without opening the pack! I have some skyberry too for after the Kenyan..

One option is to put the unopened packs into freezer. This will slow their ageing. I do this - and when I'm ready for a pack I'll take it out of the freezer, open it and then pour the beans into smaller re-sealable plastic boxes. I don't put them back into the freezer but leave them on the side to get to up to room temp.
I'm not sure it's a good idea to grind frozen beans!

Now you're about to enter the world where people will spend hours arguing about how to tamp.. getting the best out of the grinder (only at night when the power is steady?? :D).
The important bit is the coffee itself.. find what you like and don't be afraid to take a blind leap..
 
netby said:
eheheh

seems I will be the first to review the La Pavoni grinder:)

in the meantime I´m learning a lot about the espresso machines
now I know why the Electra is such a special one,after seeing this video from that Brazilian guy ,Jomar :)

http://www.qvinho.com.br/cafes-especiais/qvtv1-dicas-espresso/
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I've not experience with the Pavoni. Although I have seen a few people have them according to their HB equipment profiles.
However the Pavoni name is very well known from the Europiccola "Crome Peacock" manual coffee lever machine (which is fully manual - ie you have to push rather than it having a spring).

His is the Copper & Brass finish. I thought long and hard about the finish as the brass and the copper scratch easily. So I went for the Chrome/brass. I already have a small scratch in the brass but hey in five years time I'll give the MCAL a full reworking over and in the meantime it'll be a new group head seal each year or so..
The MCAL''s reputation (well earned) is to be fussy about the coffee you use with the output being less crema than other machines but that then leads to the very balanced crystal clear taste. The steaming is obscene - as near to perfection you can get in my view. Only limited by the boiler capacity but it's not envisioned to be a continuous shot machine.

Anyway... I'm off for a coffee... ;) :D
 
thanks NickK

well,after my last post i spend a few hours reading in the coffee geeks fóruns , and in the end I have cancelled my order:)

I only find one review about La Pavoni JDN ,and it was negative;the motor is very weak,only 95W

that´s when I found that blog of Jomar,and the guy knows a lot about espresso coffee machines,like you do:)

and now I know that in order to have great results you need a great "gear"
by the words of Jomar ( and he is a specialist in wines primarily) the Electra with piston and spring is the Rolls-Royce of home espresso coffee machines for "aficionados" and coffee hobbyists:)

and the grinder is fundamental too, for example he is using the Mini Mazzer ( one of the best) like the Rancillio Rocky and some others in that level,although they are a bit expensive for regular guys like me
in the lower price side ,the Iberital MC2, the Gaggia MDF and Cunnil Tranquilo are good choices:)


so in the end I´m feeling a complete "noob" in everything with matters about espresso coffee ,but in the end is like everything else,you need to hit some brick walls with your head,until you see the light:D
 
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