Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

DarkShadow said:
My friend went on this journey recently and he's really enjoying it. Keen to hear your thoughts Ray
Click to expand...

The price is cheap enough for me to give it a go. I don't drink that much at home so a bag of 225g can take like a month for me to finish as I only drink it on the weekends. So having my own home roasting machine, roasting every other week and then putting it in my Fellow vacuum jar might be the ideal workflow. If I only need to roast like 125g or so, it won't take very long either.
 
I think roasting your own would be fine as an interesting hobby, but I can’t imagine it cost saving and you’re likely to be less consistant and less variety
 
I'll mix it up with some home roast and some store bought means. Add variety that way.

For £75, it's a fun little side project if anything. I can also use it to roast my own nuts?
 
Last edited:
IMG-3825.jpg


Not espresso, but I spotted this in the September 1954 edition of Mechanix Illustrated!
 
Ordered some green beans.....could have easily spent a LOT more. Obviously not going to use the Geisha as my first attempt lol

qlUU0yk.png
 
Last edited:
Jonny69 said:
^ It should be fine. Citric won’t attack any of the metals there. The blue/green colour you saw was probably it taking the chloride/oxide layer off one of those copper pipes where over time the pipe has reacted with the chlorine in your tap water
Click to expand...
hadn't clocked his post before but citric does leech the copper out of brass, and you get significant copper sulphate sediment if you put the descaling water aside
for other descaling purposes after use, I syphon fluid back out of boiler;
it takes significant flushing before water is clear after a descale, I usually descale when boiler still hot and leave fluid in for 20mins odd which may not be best choice.
jpaul said:
barista max ... any white smoke ?

------------

reconsidering my preferred acid for descaling, as I'm nearly out of citric and it's blue residue - will try Sulphamic/famic, although it's not on Amazon , and seems more $$$

so online comments
Blue water denotes attack on the copper in your boiler, which if continued could lead to boiler failure.
Using citric acid could cause plugging of the tube leading to the pressurestat and cause it to stop working. Calcium citrate which is a byproduct of citric acid descaling is much more insoluble than is Calcium acetate. In spite of the need for flushing to remove taste, diluted vinegar is a much friendlier descaler.

I found this https://www.entkalker-tipps.de/en/sulfamic-acid-as-decalcifier/ which advised 10-15gms per litre.

...https://scottiestech.info/2009/04/22/descaling-appliances-which-acid-is-best/
Click to expand...
Indeed I changed my pressurestat recently thinking this, but couldn't see plugging, ultimately it was pump failing
 
New rabbit hole unlocked. Green beans are smaller than roasted...part of me expected them to be bigger as it has water vs it not....i guess the water cause it to expand during roasting.

mZhmmEUh.jpg
 
glitch said:
Any Decent DE1 owners in here? Can't find anyone from a search, but wondering if there are any lurkers...
Click to expand...
Despite being a nerd forum, I suspect most people are like me and despise the idea of a touchscreen, digital pile of electronics :P

I like my coffee gear because it’s just purely mechanical, user serviceable, and will last forever. Last think I want is another computer to get between me and my coffee!
 
Dis-a-point-ing!

I am genuinely surprised nobody has one, having spent some time with a Decent Ambassador (and yes, he did spoil me) they are an incredible machine, but the lack of polish and refinement from an aesthetic standpoing marks it out as a no-go from me.

The Bengle on the other hand... that floats my boat.
 
glitch said:
Dis-a-point-ing!

I am genuinely surprised nobody has one, having spent some time with a Decent Ambassador (and yes, he did spoil me) they are an incredible machine, but the lack of polish and refinement from an aesthetic standpoing marks it out as a no-go from me.

The Bengle on the other hand... that floats my boat.
Click to expand...

I know someone who does, only because when I posted my Niche on FB like 5 years ago this person asked me “do you have a De1 too?”
 
mid_gen said:
I've managed to find some brass Y connectors on Amazon which are coming tomorrow, so it's just going to have to wait until they arrive and I'll give it a good rinse.

If it's knackered then I'll be tossing it in the bin and buying something that isn't made by Lelit.
Click to expand...
Do you have a link to what those brass fittings were or the sizing? I was doing maintenance on my Bianca and just moving the tubes for inspection and one of them snapped so I was clearly right on the point of failure anyway!
 
Got my roaster over the weekend and just made my first batch.

Weighted 200g of beans out, aiming for under 15% dehydration for a medium roast. (should be between 11.5% to 15.6% according to Google.

Completely winged it by sight and sound. Watched the colour changed and adjusted the temp and fan speed accordingly. Ended up with 170.7g which is a 14.65% dehydration which is bang on the money.

There is quite a lot of chaff though, not sure what I can do about that, perhaps it's the nature of these beans and this method of roasting.

Second to last photo I placed it next to some beans i got from Method Coffee from Worcester, which is a medium roast. Mine is almost the same, probably 30sec too long to match that colour.

ETa5RtX.jpg


sHPBv2W.jpg


oF2XXf5.jpg


hk2KZR4.jpg


scY9Rin.jpg


Into a vacuum jar it goes!

HxoruJU.jpg
 
Last edited:
alex24 said:
Have you tried brewing any yet? Also did it smell good?

Well done on the execution, pretty good for a first go!
Click to expand...

Not yet, I was told to let it rest for a few days to let the co2 to release first and develops flavour. So I’ll try it Thursday at the earliest.
 
Makes sense - I usually leave a bag until it’s 2 weeks or so post roasting based on some advice I read (probably here).

Is it easy to clean after?
 
alex24 said:
Makes sense - I usually leave a bag until it’s 2 weeks or so post roasting based on some advice I read (probably here).

Is it easy to clean after?
Click to expand...

Very easy to clean, just blew out some chaff in the garden and that was it.

I didn’t roast until 2nd crack so there’s no coffee oils left behind.

I partly roasted it today so that it’ll be ready for my weekend coffee in the morning at home. So that’s very likely when I’ll try it.
 
Last edited:
glitch said:
Dis-a-point-ing!

I am genuinely surprised nobody has one, having spent some time with a Decent Ambassador (and yes, he did spoil me) they are an incredible machine, but the lack of polish and refinement from an aesthetic standpoing marks it out as a no-go from me.

The Bengle on the other hand... that floats my boat.
Click to expand...

I have always been interested in them but I think it would go one of two ways. You either go too far down the rabbit hole with the complete control over everything and you endlessly chase your own tail...or you settle on a profile and lose the main thing that makes the DE1 so impressive. I also really don't like the noise of the pump. Lots of people seem to settle on just using a lever machine profile from what I read.

I have a LM Linea Micra which is a great machine. At some point I might mod it with pressure/flow profiling but currently I quite like the fact its a very simple machine. I love the styling of it as well. I used to have a Londinium R but the thing took so much time to heat up that I had to plan every coffee or leave it on all day. Not massively useful if people pop in or you decide you want a quick cup.

I would love to get something like the Cremina as its quick to heat up and a manual lever but the pricing make La Marzocco look borderline reasonable. Even second hand from 50+ years ago they are silly money secondhand.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom