Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

Raymond Lin said:
I think i will do the 9 bar mod in mine soon...it is still 100% stock internal, only changed the steam wand to the Silvia wand.
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I think pre-2018 machines have an adjustable valve included as standard so its just a case of getting a pressure gauge that fits your PF and trying not to electrocute yourself while you tweak it :)
 
Thanks, everyone!

The Dedica looks interesting for the price but as Hoffmann says, it's probably worth paying a little bit more for a better experience.

The video Siliconslave posted does point towards the Gaggia, but comes back to my original question. JH says he would still want to mod a brand new one which would invalidate the warranty, so you might as well go for an older one (which are meant to have better internals anyway) and mod that or buy one pre-modded.

His complaint about the steam wand is meant to be solved by the addition of a Rancilio Mk2. By the time you've done that, changed the springs to adjust the pressure, replaced the GH gasket and bought a VST basket, you've added another, what £60 – £70?

Go for a second hand one and do all those mods, even if you have to service the solenoid & OPV, it's still going to work out cheaper.

It's certainly food for thought.
 
Siliconslave said:
I think pre-2018 machines have an adjustable valve included as standard so its just a case of getting a pressure gauge that fits your PF and trying not to electrocute yourself while you tweak it :)
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Yep, you can change mine. Pre 2018 model. It's fairly easy, thought he guy I bought it off had already done it. It's not quite as easy as running the water and adjusting on the fly, as the valve is also the main water inlet IIRC. So it might be a lot of testing and adjusting.

Also blew my front lights the other week (had a mare, ended up with the boiler in the oven and I electrocuted myself :/). Anyone changed them before?
 
@Irish_Tom the other thing you need to ask yourself is do you want / need an espresso machine - the fact your talking about steaming milk makes me think so, but good pour over can be as good, if not better than espresso for an americano. You just won't get a latte style drink, even if you froth your milk :)
 
Begbie said:
t's not quite as easy as running the water and adjusting on the fly, as the valve is also the main water inlet IIRC. So it might be a lot of testing and adjusting.
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exactly - I found I can't unscrew the spout on my pf, so the pressure gauge I'd anticipated £17 would be a waste of time;
as the hoffman video reminds us temperature can be too high, too, needing pid/surfing - the geek in me wants a temperature probe more than pressure guage.

Irish_Tom said:
The Dedica looks interesting for the price but as Hoffmann says, it's probably worth paying a little bit more for a better experience.
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it's nonetheless potentially half the price - hoffmann hasn't opened it up and loooked a quality inside eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baVoeQNHkqU
temperature 'issue' fix https://hackaday.io/project/162176-...stability-in-the-delonghi-dedica-style-ec685m
 
jpaul said:
exactly - I found I can't unscrew the spout on my pf, so the pressure gauge I'd anticipated £17 would be a waste of time;
as the hoffman video reminds us temperature can be too high, too, needing pid/surfing - the geek in me wants a temperature probe more than pressure guage.


it's nonetheless potentially half the price - hoffmann hasn't opened it up and loooked a quality inside eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baVoeQNHkqU
temperature 'issue' fix https://hackaday.io/project/162176-...stability-in-the-delonghi-dedica-style-ec685m
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Why not? Is it just tight? Or does it not unscrew? If it has threads on it - man up :D
 
Begbie said:
Why not? Is it just tight? Or does it not unscrew? If it has threads on it - man up
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I soaked it in pulycaf, tried differential heat putting spout in boiling, put it in a work bench vice ... something other than the spout, like the handle, was going to break;
checked it is a right hand thread ; with coffee machine ocd - I really wanted to clean those threads
- wheel nuts on the car are easier
 
jpaul said:
I soaked it in pulycaf, tried differential heat putting spout in boiling, put it in a work bench vice ... something other than the spout, like the handle, was going to break;
checked it is a right hand thread ; with coffee machine ocd - I really wanted to clean those threads
- wheel nuts on the car are easier
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£17 on the gauge or £40 on a complete PF + Gauge.

I am leaning on the latter, but seems like a waste just to use once.
 
jpaul said:
I soaked it in pulycaf, tried differential heat putting spout in boiling, put it in a work bench vice ... something other than the spout, like the handle, was going to break;
checked it is a right hand thread ; with coffee machine ocd - I really wanted to clean those threads
- wheel nuts on the car are easier
Click to expand...

Wow. Mines screws off by hand.
 
Siliconslave said:
@Irish_Tom the other thing you need to ask yourself is do you want / need an espresso machine - the fact your talking about steaming milk makes me think so, but good pour over can be as good, if not better than espresso for an americano. You just won't get a latte style drink, even if you froth your milk :)
Click to expand...

That's a good point, I might be getting ahead of myself. :p

Maybe spending the cash on a good grinder would be a better idea at this stage in my coffee journey.

jpaul said:
it's nonetheless potentially half the price - hoffmann hasn't opened it up and loooked a quality inside eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baVoeQNHkqU
temperature 'issue' fix https://hackaday.io/project/162176-...stability-in-the-delonghi-dedica-style-ec685m
Click to expand...

That's interesting — so potentially with some modding, it could be brought up to scratch.
 
Raymond Lin said:
£17 on the gauge or £40 on a complete PF + Gauge.
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Took another look - looks like a 200psi gauge and 3/8bsp adapter to replace the spout can be had for <£10 - need to check clearance height beneath pf.
and that spout probably has locktite on the threads so .. once I've remove the plastic handle will be tempting it with a blow-torch.
 
Siliconslave said:
The quality of the grinder makes a huge difference, almost as much as the quality of the beans :)

What are you using to make coffee today?
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Until a few months ago I was drinking a lot of instant — like six to eight cups a day (sometime more). :o

The ‘your morning routine’ thread in GD made me reassess things and I decided to try having less coffee but making sure it was better coffee when I did drink it.

So I dusted off an old cafetière and got some pre-ground blend from the supermarket.

That was a step up and then I got some ‘posh’ stuff from the local farm shop (I can’t remember what it was now). Then I discovered that a local café sells coffee from a nearby roaster.

I was enjoying that (still pre-ground blend) and came across Hoffmann on YouTube. The first thing I learnt was that I have been using a cafetière wrong my whole life! His technique definitely does make a difference. The second thing I learnt was that I should really buy whole beans and grind them myself.

So now I’m waiting for a Hario Mini Mill to be delivered and I also found out that the roaster who supplies the local café sells direct and does single-origin beans. So I’m waiting for some beans from them as well.

Binging on JH made me think about espresso which led me to my original question about the Gaggia. But I may be getting ahead of myself.

I guess I should see how I get on with the fresh beans and hand grinder. Then maybe look at a decent electric grinder before moving onto an espresso machine…

It feels like I’m starting out on a slippery slope though!
 
Irish_Tom said:
It feels like I’m starting out on a slippery slope though!
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Yeah but it's so much fun :D

I had a very similar entry, from cafetiere to instant pods, then a cheap espresso machine, then a better one... But getting the grinder was the single biggest step in my coffee quality journey. My taste almost instantly started improving after that too. A grinder is also more versatile than any single coffee brewing device, so definitely recommend it. FWIW I have a fairly budget electric grinder for espresso, and a Mini Mill for pour over/Aeropress. That way I can have them both setup just right and have "slow coffee" or "fast coffee".

Enjoy the journey!
 
Irish_Tom said:
Until a few months ago I was drinking a lot of instant — like six to eight cups a day (sometime more). :o

The ‘your morning routine’ thread in GD made me reassess things and I decided to try having less coffee but making sure it was better coffee when I did drink it.

So I dusted off an old cafetière and got some pre-ground blend from the supermarket.

That was a step up and then I got some ‘posh’ stuff from the local farm shop (I can’t remember what it was now). Then I discovered that a local café sells coffee from a nearby roaster.

I was enjoying that (still pre-ground blend) and came across Hoffmann on YouTube. The first thing I learnt was that I have been using a cafetière wrong my whole life! His technique definitely does make a difference. The second thing I learnt was that I should really buy whole beans and grind them myself.

So now I’m waiting for a Hario Mini Mill to be delivered and I also found out that the roaster who supplies the local café sells direct and does single-origin beans. So I’m waiting for some beans from them as well.

Binging on JH made me think about espresso which led me to my original question about the Gaggia. But I may be getting ahead of myself.

I guess I should see how I get on with the fresh beans and hand grinder. Then maybe look at a decent electric grinder before moving onto an espresso machine…

It feels like I’m starting out on a slippery slope though!
Click to expand...

I want to say you are jumping a bit too fast to get a machine before your grinder even arrive but then I can't speak….I am the poster child of jumping into things with both feet lol.

What I would say is that the MOST important thing about coffee, as is with most cooking, is rubbish in, rubbish out. So if you have good coffee then half the battle is won, the second half is about extraction, and in extraction, the grinder plays a bigger role than the machine (or lack of).

If your preference and your own life has been drinking instant, meaning that either black coffee or black coffee with a dash of milk added then I would guess…correct me if I am wrong, that you don't really need a machine at all. A V60 or Aeropress would be where I would go to. You still get that clean-tasting cup of black coffee and can add some milk. Just like how you have been drinking instant, but now on another level.

When I make espresso, 9/10 I add water to it to make an Americano anyway because i am too lazy to steam the milk. So lately I've been just drinking V60. Sometimes using the hand grinder for fun, sometimes the Niche.

Coffee is more than just a cup, it's a hobby!
 
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LuckyBenski said:
Yeah but it's so much fun :D

I had a very similar entry, from cafetiere to instant pods, then a cheap espresso machine, then a better one... But getting the grinder was the single biggest step in my coffee quality journey. My taste almost instantly started improving after that too. A grinder is also more versatile than any single coffee brewing device, so definitely recommend it. FWIW I have a fairly budget electric grinder for espresso, and a Mini Mill for pour over/Aeropress. That way I can have them both setup just right and have "slow coffee" or "fast coffee".

Enjoy the journey!
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Thanks, Benski. The fact that you use a Mini Mill for non-espresso is reassuring. :)

Raymond Lin said:
I want to say you are jumping a bit too fast to get a machine before your grinder even arrive but then I can't speak….I am the poster child of jumping into things with both feet lol.

What I would say is that the MOST important thing about coffee, as is with most cooking, is rubbish in, rubbish out. So if you have good coffee then half the battle is won, the second half is about extraction and in extraction, the grinder plays a bigger row than the machine (or lack of).

If your preference, and your own life has been drinking instant, meaning that either black coffee or black coffee with a dash of milk added then I would guess…correct me if I am wrong, that you don't really need a machine at all. A V60 or Aeropress would be where I would go to. You still get that clean tasting cup of black coffee and can add some milk. Just like how you have been drinking instant, but now on another level.

When I make espresso, 9/10 I add water to it to make an Americano anyway because I am too lazy to steam the milk. So lately I've been just drinking V60. Sometimes using the hand grinder for fun, sometimes the Niche.

Coffee is more than just a cup, it's a hobby!
Click to expand...

Thanks, Raymond. You're right about drinking instant black, although I will usually opt for a Flat White or Cappuccino if I'm out — not that that's happened for a while! But being able to recreate that at home appealed to me.

However, from what everyone has said, it sounds like I should try and nail my immersion brew and/or explore a V60 before getting carried away. :D
 
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