|
Jhet posted:Would you trust the hoses and plastic to not immediately go soft and start melting? I always expected they use the cheaper material so they keep it from getting hot enough so it doesn’t melt. No i wouldn't trust it now that you mention it
|
#
?
May 19, 2021 05:47
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 08:15 |
|
|
Sibarist Fast papers seem cool. They drain really fast. I did a much finer grind for them, basically what I'd use for an Aeropress. The result was a really sweet coffee, much sweeter than my standard V60. It also brewed in about 2:20, instead of my standard ~3:30. The only "downside" was the reduction in clarity, as the papers let through some fine material, so there's a bit more body to the cup. Edit: This cup is so sweet it's like I added a spoonful of sugar.
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2021 14:31
|
|
|
Espresso machine is back from the shop now to dial the grind/tamp back in first cup ran way too fast
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2021 15:30
|
|
|
SOS from espresso land. Now espresso-less. My machine is down for the count and disemboweled on the bench. It's a Nuova Simonelli Oscar I. I got a text from my wife at work that, "there is just steam coming out of the espresso machine." AFAICT the pump died but I would like some feed back. This may have been brought about by the clogged up dispensing bit?   Here is what I can tell you so far. The group head was pretty caked up with gunk when I took it apart.   Since I had no idea what the problem is or where to start I started by tearing everything down so I could physically put my eyes on where the parts are. The boiler seemed to be completely full when I checked it out; the whole unit seemed unusually heavy. The pump makes noise when I turn on the machine but there is no water making it past the 3 way valve after the pump. Also, the noise is much quieter than usual not the house shaking racket I associate with the pump normally running. By disconnecting the line immediately after the pump and before the 3 way valve I was able to hear the pump run and it produced an anemic flow of water.  All of the bits on the machine seem pretty robust. I was also contemplating adding some upgrades to it as well (over pressure valve, gauges) but I need to get it back to baseline before I will do that. I am mechanically savvy but not well versed in the hydraulics of the Espresso machine. Coffee friends - what do you think is going on here? ThirstyBuck fucked around with this message at 16:41 on May 19, 2021 |
|
#
?
May 19, 2021 16:38
|
|
|
It's probably all full of scale if it's never been cleaned.
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2021 17:21
|
|
|
Thumposaurus posted:It's probably all full of scale if it's never been cleaned. I was told it was descaled before I bought it. I believe that about 50%. "C'mon sonny, thems all highway miles" When I look in through the top of the boiler I did not see much, if any, scale but that doesn't mean that it's not plugged up somewhere else.
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2021 18:01
|
|
|
It's the scale in all the skinny lines that gets things broken.
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2021 18:19
|
|
|
I don’t believe that a person who never cleaned the group head descaled the machine
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2021 18:57
|
|
|
Sweeper posted:I don’t believe that a person who never cleaned the group head descaled the machine Yep.
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2021 19:06
|
|
|
That nasty group head is probably on me. This is my first machine. I've had it about 1.5 years and I've never had the screen or group head apart (whoops!). The guy I bought it from was pretty knowledgable and had just upgraded to an Appartemento. It wasn't someone flipping a junker that they found in a Goodwill trash bin.
ThirstyBuck fucked around with this message at 19:46 on May 19, 2021 |
|
#
?
May 19, 2021 19:42
|
|
|
ThirstyBuck posted:That nasty group head is probably on me. This is my first machine. I've had it about 1.5 years and I've never had the screen or group head apart (whoops!). The guy I bought it from was pretty knowledgable and had just upgraded to an Appartemento. It wasn't someone flipping a junker that they found in a Goodwill trash bin. What do you do for your water? Have you tested it / softened / treated it before putting it in?
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2021 22:43
|
|
|
ThirstyBuck posted:That nasty group head is probably on me. This is my first machine. I've had it about 1.5 years and I've never had the screen or group head apart (whoops!). The guy I bought it from was pretty knowledgable and had just upgraded to an Appartemento. It wasn't someone flipping a junker that they found in a Goodwill trash bin. Have you descaled it since you owned it? Depending on the hardness of your water and whether you're filtering before you put it in, you can gum it up in only a couple of months. I Brita filter my water and descale every ~6 months on mine, if I put straight tap water in I'd be descaling it monthly.
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2021 22:58
|
|
|
kemikalkadet posted:Have you descaled it since you owned it? Depending on the hardness of your water and whether you're filtering before you put it in, you can gum it up in only a couple of months. I Brita filter my water and descale every ~6 months on mine, if I put straight tap water in I'd be descaling it monthly. Nope. I just use filtered water. Sweeper posted:What do you do for your water? Have you tested it / softened / treated it before putting it in? I have not tested it but I have looked up the results from the municipal supply and nothing seemed to be crazy either hard or soft. I just use filtered water. All of the lines that I disassembled so far have been clean ie not gunked up with scale but I will look further to see if I find any.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 02:17
|
|
|
ThirstyBuck posted:Nope. I just use filtered water. You can get away without descaling for years in nyc or melbourne, which do have crazy soft water, but most places you need to descale somewhere between annually and monthly. this is true even if you filter your water since calcium is what causes scale and most filters don’t remove it. check in the pump for scale since that’ll be what kills it, not scale in the lines.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 02:59
|
|
|
What’s an ok hand grinder solely for using with an aero press? A few notes: I don’t need it for travel. This will just be for making one cup of coffee in the morning when I don’t feel like using my Baratza virtuoso because it’s too noisy. I don’t need a super expensive one. My palate sucks. I can barely tell the difference between a blade grinder and my virtuoso so please don’t tell me I need an OE Lido 2 to discover the nuances of my $6.99 bag of coffee from craft coffee.com. The only thing that I would like is it to fit in the aero press so I can grind directly into it but that’s not a must-have. I’ve seen the Javapress and the hario mini that might be ok but I have a hard time trusting Amazon reviews since so many are fake now.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 13:24
|
|
|
There's a nice grinder made just for the aeropress but it's pretty expensive. Sorry that that's probably not helpful.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 13:26
|
|
|
Porlex Mini. It’s not a great grinder, but it does what you want, and it’s cheap. Edit: check that it can hold enough beans. I don’t know how much you tend to grind at once. Gunder fucked around with this message at 13:57 on May 20, 2021 |
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 13:46
|
|
|
Get a cool old vintage one like the one I posted earlier that style is all burr grinders and they look cool. There are more modern looking ones from the 60's 70's if the wood and cast iron ascetic isn't your style. There's a bunch on etsy that people want too much money for but there's always a bunch on shopgoodwill.com that can go for cheap.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 13:47
|
|
|
For about $50 more dollars you can get a far better grinder than the mini that is on par with high end ones like the comandante. If you're willing to spend a bit more you can get the pro version which can also grind espresso if you ever choose down that route. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VNQYJDG?tag=tccmedia-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 15:36
|
|
|
nwin posted:I’ve seen the Javapress and the hario mini that might be ok but I have a hard time trusting Amazon reviews since so many are fake now. I did not care for the Hario mini. It’s okay, but it doesn’t feel very good while grinding and it’s still fairly loud, but not as loud as electric. I use it for French press while traveling and it does okay. I’m not sure if it would fit in an aeropress, but the crank handle comes off and needs to do when filling the hopper. But then the crank doesn’t attach to anything for storage. I’m not sure I’d use it in place of an electric grinder even if a baby’s room is right next to the kitchen. It’s loud for a lot longer too, because it’s manual.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 16:00
|
|
|
Well whatever buddy in the shop did for my machine it is now running super well. Before at an 8 (Baratza grinder) or so I would start to choke the machine out but today I had to take it down to a 4 before it ran optimally (although with occasional water drips down the steamer). Coffee is much better than yesterday. Have to say though I have gotten very used to the efficiency of my aeropress, can use about half the coffee for a quality cup, but its just not the same as a good espresso
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 16:26
|
|
|
nwin posted:What’s an ok hand grinder solely for using with an aero press? hario slim, knock aergrind if your budget allows. the porlex has the same burrs as the hario and it’s not enough of an upgrade for the money, but the knock has steel burrs which cut much faster and with less effort. I have large hands and still found the hario skerton to be very uncomfortable to hold so i’d avoid that one too.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 16:53
|
|
|
Interesting about the noise level. I didn’t think a manual would be as loud as an electric. Maybe I’ll just bite the bullet with my baratza.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 17:21
|
|
|
nwin posted:Interesting about the noise level. I didn’t think a manual would be as loud as an electric. Maybe I’ll just bite the bullet with my baratza. I mean, it's not quite as loud, but it's still loud. I'm sure there are manuals out there that dampen the sound better, but they're going to be more expensive too. We just ran the grinder while the kid was awake and asleep and he got used to it pretty quickly. The dog would wake up if you ran it and want to go out for a walk though. Length of time with the loud noise made the electric a winner for me at least.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 17:35
|
|
|
nwin posted:What’s an ok hand grinder solely for using with an aero press? My opinion is avoid any hario grinder or porlex they suck rear end for your hands and even worse for french press. If you can spend $90 I'd grab this https://prima-coffee.com/equipment/timemore/chestnutc2-timem-pp It's mostly plastic so it might not last 15 years but still a good value.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 17:38
|
|
|
Mu Zeta posted:My opinion is avoid any hario grinder they suck rear end for your hands. I was going to suggest the timemore c2 as well. It's basically the same burrset at the c1 but with a couple of cheaper parts. Imo it's better to just buy something good rather than cheap things you're going to end up replacing anyways.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 17:39
|
|
|
nwin posted:Interesting about the noise level. I didn’t think a manual would be as loud as an electric. Maybe I’ll just bite the bullet with my baratza. It's worth noting that the Baratza grinders I've used have been the loudest coffee grinders I've ever heard. Apparently, the Sette is truly unpleasant to be around. Manual grinders will be really quiet by comparison.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 19:00
|
|
|
I really want to buy a comandante with the beautiful glass at the bottom. But I already have a Skeleton, Porked Mini, and a ROK.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 19:26
|
|
|
Neighbor hood is having a power outage so had to bust out the siphon brewer.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 20:05
|
|
|
I'd love to be able to make me and my partner dirty chai iced lattes as a summer treat from time to time... I used to work at a cafe and I recall that we just mixed chai concentrate (liquid from a box) with milk before pouring the espresso in. I know it's technically a tea question, but do any of you have favorite concentrate mixes so that I can do this at home?
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 20:22
|
|
|
Happy Pizza Guy posted:I'd love to be able to make me and my partner dirty chai iced lattes as a summer treat from time to time... I used to work at a cafe and I recall that we just mixed chai concentrate (liquid from a box) with milk before pouring the espresso in. I know it's technically a tea question, but do any of you have favorite concentrate mixes so that I can do this at home? Chai is the spices. Some tea shops will sell spice blends that you can add to milk/sweetened condensed milk and then mix into things. If you're sort of lazy, I'd recommend going with the sweetened condensed and just adding it to strong coffee. It works pretty okay and will absolutely taste good enough. If you're less lazy, I'd simmer a bunch of whole spices in milk and put in the fridge and use it for lattes. Otherwise, I'm sure there's stuff in the pre-made creamer section you can grab, but I don't have any recommendations.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 20:34
|
|
|
Happy Pizza Guy posted:I'd love to be able to make me and my partner dirty chai iced lattes as a summer treat from time to time... I used to work at a cafe and I recall that we just mixed chai concentrate (liquid from a box) with milk before pouring the espresso in. I know it's technically a tea question, but do any of you have favorite concentrate mixes so that I can do this at home? The tea thread will help with this.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 21:29
|
|
|
Happy Pizza Guy posted:I'd love to be able to make me and my partner dirty chai iced lattes as a summer treat from time to time... I used to work at a cafe and I recall that we just mixed chai concentrate (liquid from a box) with milk before pouring the espresso in. I know it's technically a tea question, but do any of you have favorite concentrate mixes so that I can do this at home? You can probably just make a big batch of masala chai and pour portions into your espresso. I usually a powder that lasts about a week. If you want a recipe for that my mom's chai masala is green cardamom peppercorn cinnamon ginger fennel clove You can generally use whatever you want though, I often will add orange zest or something like that to it.
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 22:33
|
|
|
Does anyone have any thoughts on the Xbar Kickstarter? It looks like a new variation on the manual espresso machine, but uses compressed air for pressure (via a Schrader valve) instead of mechanical pressure. If I hadn't already gotten my Cafelat Robot I'd probably be more interested, but it still seems interesting on its own. (I keep checking KS to see if anyone's started a project for a new single-dose grinder that might actually be in stock sometime, but in vain)
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 23:13
|
|
|
Canuck-Errant posted:Does anyone have any thoughts on the Xbar Kickstarter? It looks like a new variation on the manual espresso machine, but uses compressed air for pressure (via a Schrader valve) instead of mechanical pressure. If I hadn't already gotten my Cafelat Robot I'd probably be more interested, but it still seems interesting on its own. It looks cool, but I always have issues when they don't put all the parts into the machine. Like if you're going to pump air pressure to store, then put the air pump on the machine. Instead you get to find a drawer to stick it in when you're not using it. Cool concept and it probably makes a pretty decent pour. It also looks like it would be easy to tip over because the bottom doesn't look like it will be as heavy as it would need to be to weigh it down. It might be fine, but you can't tell by looking. I'm about 90% sure it would get tipped over in my kitchen, because people don't always look at what they're doing. What's with manuals not having any sort of tray for the mess I'm inevitably going to make?
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 23:32
|
|
|
Jhet posted:What's with manuals not having any sort of tray for the mess I'm inevitably going to make? Manual espresso machine makers subscribe to the Miss Frizzle school of coffeemaking
|
|
#
?
May 20, 2021 23:41
|
|
|
Just bought an espresso machine but I don't have the sort of fancy pants grinder that deposits grounds directly into the basket, so I just try to do by hand. Any tips in filling a portafilter without making a gigantic mess of my counter?
|
|
#
?
May 21, 2021 16:08
|
|
|
AKA Pseudonym posted:Just bought an espresso machine but I don't have the sort of fancy pants grinder that deposits grounds directly into the basket, so I just try to do by hand. Any tips in filling a portafilter without making a gigantic mess of my counter? Buy a canning funnel for standard size jar openings. It's not exactly the right size, but it's close.
|
|
#
?
May 21, 2021 16:13
|
|
|
AKA Pseudonym posted:Just bought an espresso machine but I don't have the sort of fancy pants grinder that deposits grounds directly into the basket, so I just try to do by hand. Any tips in filling a portafilter without making a gigantic mess of my counter? Unfortunately grinding directly into the portafilter just makes the mess in a different place on your counter. Get a portafilter funnel like this in the appropriate size: https://smile.amazon.com/Espresso-MATOW-Stainless-Compatible-Portafilter/dp/B08773SNB3
|
|
#
?
May 21, 2021 19:07
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 08:15 |
|
|
AKA Pseudonym posted:Just bought an espresso machine but I don't have the sort of fancy pants grinder that deposits grounds directly into the basket, so I just try to do by hand. Any tips in filling a portafilter without making a gigantic mess of my counter? Sorry but my brain conjured up an image of a grinder that doesn't have a dispenser bin, you just have to hold your hand cupped under it and catch the grounds
|
|
#
?
May 21, 2021 22:04
|
|
