Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

Is there a kind of OCUK generated user guide for the Classic seeing as it is so popular on here, a buyers guide and use guide would be pretty sweet.
 
FeFiDoh said:
Is there a kind of OCUK generated user guide for the Classic seeing as it is so popular on here, a buyers guide and use guide would be pretty sweet.
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Not at the moment. For the pressure/OPV mod I used both the following guides (it was actually extremely easy, contrary to what I expected from just looking at the guides):

http://www.jamesgleave.com/2012/07/96/modifying-gaggia-classic-opv-to-9-bar/

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?3859-Adjusting-the-OPV-(over-Pressure-Valve)-Gaggia-Classic

I haven't modded the steam wand on my classic as it's extremely rare that I have anything other than espresso/americano. If latte/cappuccino and the like are important to you then you should definitely look into it though.

In regards to the pressure mod, Hamster on here kindly lent out his pressure gauge. haz_pro currently has it but Hamster has said that he is happy for others to use it as long as that person then sends it on to the next person in line that needs it. If you trust message both Hamster and haz_pro about it I'm sure you'll have a good outcome :)
 
Yeah not sure I am going to go and mess with the internals of a machine I have literally just bought. Not had chance to use it yet but will do shortly and knowing my luck and my ham fisted approach I will break something.
I tend to drink americano more than anything else so the wand isn't crucial to me thankfully. As far as pouring the actual drink the same method as in the booklet I assume, knowing this forum people have all sorts of different ways of making a cup.

*edit*

Where can I get espresso glasses on the high street as I do not have any. It also says to use the scoop for measuring , how many grams is this roughly in beans? I have a burr grinder so need to weigh it out and grind it. Usually I have around 17g for the aeropress.
 
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the scoop that comes with most machines is approx 7g of coffee as thats the standard weight per oz of espresso.

i currently use 16g of coffee and weigh it using 0.1g scales (about £5 off ebay) but it varies from bean to bean, the lavazza super crema i had worked great with 14g but the current coffee i have needs a bit more.

espresso shot glasses can be quite hard to come across on the highstreet, whittards normally have them although the the lines on the ones i had measured in at 1.3oz. House of Fraiser and debenhams may be an option... personally i would just order some online (got got mine from espresso underground and they were about £2 each if you order 6 or £4-5 each for 1-5)
 
FeFiDoh said:
Yeah not sure I am going to go and mess with the internals of a machine I have literally just bought. Not had chance to use it yet but will do shortly and knowing my luck and my ham fisted approach I will break something.
I tend to drink americano more than anything else so the wand isn't crucial to me thankfully. As far as pouring the actual drink the same method as in the booklet I assume, knowing this forum people have all sorts of different ways of making a cup.

*edit*

Where can I get espresso glasses on the high street as I do not have any. It also says to use the scoop for measuring , how many grams is this roughly in beans? I have a burr grinder so need to weigh it out and grind it. Usually I have around 17g for the aeropress.
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Hey bud,

As mentioned above I am happy to send the gauge on to you following hamster confirming I can.

My machine, like yours, is very new. I done the mod after owning it around a week or 2, what a difference it made! As long as you take your time, and use the correct size tools (to not damage any heads) then Phillips never need know. At the end of the day it is up to you, but believe me the difference it makes is astounding.

In regards to the espresso cups, I have got most of mine from charity shops where you can often pick up bargains! I also have 2 glass measure shot things which I purchased from sainsburys for about 2.50 each (these are good for dialling in shots).

Hope this helps!

In other news, I just made my first espresso which I truely felt has beaten every shop bought espresso I have ever had. :)
 
I bought some from debenhams but in the rush I was didn't even consider how tall they were, so got home and put them under the filter and they were to tall! In the end I ordered some on line from that happy donkey place about £2 each or so. I did make an Americano earlier and it was pretty tasty so once I get the hang of it sure I will see better results.

I will consider that mod in a few weeks when I don't have the same fear of messing it up and an more comfortable with it all thanks for the links though I have them saved.
 
Looking at that gif just noticed you are making it in a glass, how do you know when to stop the water? With shot glasses it says around 3/4s full otherwise it will start to effect the taste.
In other news the shot glasses I ordered yesterday turned up along with my Puly Caff and blanking plate the day before but I still have not received my non pressurised basket.
 
FeFiDoh said:
Looking at that gif just noticed you are making it in a glass, how do you know when to stop the water? With shot glasses it says around 3/4s full otherwise it will start to effect the taste.
In other news the shot glasses I ordered yesterday turned up along with my Puly Caff and blanking plate the day before but I still have not received my non pressurised basket.
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Probably simply from experience of making espresso and knowing the right kind of volume of liquid to end up with. Alternatively he could have measured out the right amount previously and then tipped it into that glass - meaning that from then on he would know the correct level to fill it to.

Another alternative is that he's got his machine, grind and tamp properly adjusted so that he knows that 20ish seconds gives the perfect amount of espresso.
 
Close :) it's a combination of things. I mostly use a marked measure jug and have Americanos so generally it's dialed in correctly for a double espresso.
The machine is also modified with a P.I.D which has a built in timer so I can do a single button press to get an exact time of pour.

Finally I know the cups and have a pretty good idea of the level & if you keep an eye on the colours you can generally tell when the espresso is dialed in well or if it's blonding towards the end of the pour.

On the cup side it's totally your preference, there are loads around :) a bottomless portafilter is great if your cups are tall and has the added benefit of helping you improve and troubleshoot your technique :)
 
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Frap !

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Long time lurker of this thread, actually managed to get through the 100+ pages. :eek: Some amazing knowledge being dropped in here.

Been an avid Aeropress user for the last 6 months, but decided to delve into the world of espresso. Here's my first setup:

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Haha, it seems to be a very popular setup! I'm loving it so far. Although, I don't know about you, but it was a bit of a steep learning curve to begin with.

I think I wasted about 300g of beans trying to get the grinder dialled in correctly...
 
I think it took about half a bag.

The settings gears are quite fine so if you are quite a way off, you need turn it a few turns to get it right and the micro adjust it.

Sometimes changing beans is a PITA because of this, can waste quite a lot of nice coffee this way !
 
Yeah, it's both awesome and kinda ****** how much you can fine tune with the grinder. Still, I'd rather have the ability to do so.

Just wondering, do you have the Rancilio steam wand on your Classic? I recently took that 'turbo frother' off and it made a hell of a difference for micro foam. I've heard a lot of good things about the Rancilio.
 
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