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Gunder posted:What sort of coffee are you making with your setup, and where would you like to see improvements? I'm making espresso mostly to have on its own at the moment, especially as I attempt to learn how to dial it in better. I want to see improvements in consistency and workflow. The reason for considering another machine is that I figure consistency beyond this point will rely on something where I can see or amend the pressure and temperature. Tell me if that's barking up the wrong tree.
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Mar 23, 2023 14:29
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Sir Sidney Poitier posted:I'm making espresso mostly to have on its own at the moment, especially as I attempt to learn how to dial it in better. I want to see improvements in consistency and workflow. The reason for considering another machine is that I figure consistency beyond this point will rely on something where I can see or amend the pressure and temperature. Tell me if that's barking up the wrong tree. You’re definitely correct about temperature and pressure being important variables, especially if you’re attempting to pull lighter roast shots. I think I’d start looking for machines that allow you to get better control over at least the temperature. Lelit Mara X perhaps?
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Mar 23, 2023 15:26
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has anyone tried pulling shots over a chilled steel ball? I've seen the technique a few times and wanted to give it a shot, was wondering if anyone had any recommendations before I go try to figure out what to buy (a metal whisky stone I'm guessing)
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Mar 23, 2023 15:50
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I haven’t tried with espresso but the problem with those whiskey stones, at least for whiskey, is they don’t cool your drink as much as you’d think, because melting ice actually absorbs a lot more thermal energy than the temperature change alone does. By all means give them a try - but don’t be surprised if you end up with a merely lukewarm espresso, instead of a chilled one
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Mar 23, 2023 17:09
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as I understand it that's the point, you're not trying to get a cold espresso, you're cooling it just enough right out of the pull so that more volatile flavor compounds are preserved. iirc a world barista winner used (maybe invented? not sure) the technique in their winning routine
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Mar 23, 2023 17:13
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Pentecoastal Elites posted:as I understand it that's the point, you're not trying to get a cold espresso, you're cooling it just enough right out of the pull so that more volatile flavor compounds are preserved. iirc a world barista winner used (maybe invented? not sure) the technique in their winning routine Yeah I think this is correct but also like... I don't know that I would enjoy the kind of movie that world class critics would appreciate if that makes sense. I suspect that my personal tastes lay somewhere closer to conventional relative to the people who are living completely in the hobby. Try it and let us know! I think they use a new shower hair collector thing to hold the ball above the cup.
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Mar 23, 2023 17:23
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I know what you mean, but I have the rest of my setup pretty well dialed in and if it doesn't change much it'll still probably be the least amount of money I've spent on an espresso thing, so why not? I ordered a small kitchen strainer and a 1" stainless steel ball bearing which was way cheaper than a whisky stone but it may not have enough mass. If I can't taste any difference I'll try getting a big whisky orb, and if I can't taste any difference on that I'll give up. At any rate I'll post about it!
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Mar 23, 2023 17:41
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Sir Sidney Poitier posted:Where is my money best spent next? Best advice as as Bambino user: Pre-heat by pulling two shots with a pressurized portafilter into your milk pitcher with an IMS basket or two in it. Steaming the two pulled shots will also heat up the heat block, baskets, and porta filter. I got a lot of sour shots when I first started, don't be afraid to run the Bambino 20g in with up to 50g out. This video also really helped: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZh8sjfKegw
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Mar 23, 2023 18:05
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Corb3t posted:Best advice as as Bambino user: Pre-heat by pulling two shots with a pressurized portafilter into your milk pitcher with an IMS basket or two in it. Steaming the two pulled shots will also heat up the heat block, baskets, and porta filter. To be honest this is the sort of fuckery I'd want to be able to put behind me by changing machine. It's what I mean by saying I want workflow improvements. Corb3t posted:I got a lot of sour shots when I first started, don't be afraid to run the Bambino 20g in with up to 50g out. This is what I'm experiencing now so that is useful to hear. I've been going off some 'espresso compass' image that I think someone shared here a while back, but didn't realise I could be going that far.
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Mar 23, 2023 18:26
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hypnophant posted:Are you using the same beans? for reasons relating to sorcery and the phase of the moon, some beans choke at the same grind setting where other beans might be dialed in. I don’t know how it works with flair’s flow control thing but for non-pressurized espresso, you get best results by dialing in every new bean - ideally every new bag, unless you know they’re from the same lot, or a very consistent blend. Not the same beans, no, but I hadn’t noticed much difference from bean to bean with the grind size on the pressurized portafilter which is why I ended up at the same number whenever I used it. The non pressurized I change grind size on every batch of beans. I only pull the pressurized portafilter out when my wife or a friend also wants one as I’m making mine, and I think I got a little too comfortable over the years with the settings I use for it. Either way I was still having difficulty pulling, so I ran it without any coffee and it was STILL difficult. But I pulled a murky brown shot out of clean water and the next few (again only water) pulled easy. So this is your regular reminder to deep clean your stuff. And I ordered some cleaners you suggested to give everything a proper cleaning. Thanks again for the double check
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Mar 23, 2023 18:37
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Sir Sidney Poitier posted:To be honest this is the sort of fuckery I'd want to be able to put behind me by changing machine. It's what I mean by saying I want workflow improvements. If you have money to blow, you could certainly pick up a Breville Dual Boiler and never have to buy another espresso machine again. I honestly don't mind since the manual shots timeout on their own while I'm grinding beens and doing puck prep. I'd argue there's no getting around basket and portafilter preheating. I also use the boiled water to preheat my shot glasses and mugs. Corb3t fucked around with this message at 18:56 on Mar 23, 2023 |
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Mar 23, 2023 18:51
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Corb3t posted:If you have money to blow, you could certainly pick up a Breville Dual Boiler and never have to buy another espresso machine again. I did consider this, but the other thing driving what I'd want out of my next machine is something that'll last forever and be maintainable. One of the criticisms I see of Breville/Sage stuff is that it's not serviceable and it sacrifices interior quality for exterior polish. Also I like the simplicity of the things like the Lelit Mara mentioned before - that you're not gonna press a button, have it make an odd noise, then have to figure out error code is being shown by various flashing lights. Maybe it's not true, maybe it's just a feeling I've got.
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Mar 23, 2023 18:58
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someone else mentioned before, but you are going with light roasts I would pull longer, like 3:1 or something. I find it much tastier. I've also started pulling with lower flow through my light roasts and I feel like its coming out better each tweak. love messing with my coffee, if only I could drink more than two in a day...
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Mar 23, 2023 19:00
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espresso is best hot, that whisky stone thing sounds badSweeper posted:someone else mentioned before, but you are going with light roasts I would pull longer, like 3:1 or something. I find it much tastier. I've also started pulling with lower flow through my light roasts and I feel like its coming out better each tweak. love messing with my coffee, if only I could drink more than two in a day... I've been doing this, it's good. But I've been doing medium-light roasts at 1:2 and you get the classic espresso texture plus a lot of the fruity flavors you'd get from a light.
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Mar 23, 2023 19:07
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I spent way too long trying to get the brew chamber on my Flair hot enough to pull a 18->36g shot in 30s that wasn't sour. Running the same grind out to 40g out in around 45s and voila - best espresso I've ever had. Not to say that there isn't value in getting a setup to replicate what high end machines can do, but I guess I'm saying don't stress about hitting the standard numbers.
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Mar 23, 2023 19:17
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TengenNewsEditor posted:espresso is best hot, that whisky stone thing sounds bad Today just for fun I tried 18g in 50g out and it was pretty interesting, still seemed to have good body but also I definitely was getting some sweeter notes that I couldn't pick up with 18g/40g. This is with a single origin medium roast.
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Mar 23, 2023 19:17
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i always run light roasts out to around 18g in, 45-50g out. What you lose in texture you more than make up in flavor imo
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Mar 23, 2023 19:22
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Bean icons suck, they all look like tylenol pills, so I made some of my own. Then I wanted a pile o beans, so I made some that tile nicely. Then I wanted them to be non-overlapping, so I did that thing too. BEANS (the faint lines between square tiles are a rendering issue that won't impact plotter cutters I believe...)
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Mar 23, 2023 23:41
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Where’s a good place to pick up used espresso machines? eBay ? Homebarista? FB marketplace is a hell scape dumpster fire.
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Mar 24, 2023 19:10
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ThirstyBuck posted:Where’s a good place to pick up used espresso machines? eBay ? Homebarista? FB marketplace is a hell scape dumpster fire. liquidator auctions lol
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Mar 24, 2023 20:55
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Selling used espresso machines sucks. I have an Alex Duetto IV that has been sitting in my garage for like three years because I just don't want to deal with cleaning it up, fixing the small issues, and listening to people ask me to ship it.
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Mar 24, 2023 21:01
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Sell to OP
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Mar 24, 2023 21:25
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BlackMK4 posted:Selling used espresso machines sucks. I have an Alex Duetto IV that has been sitting in my garage for like three years because I just don't want to deal with cleaning it up, fixing the small issues, and listening to people ask me to ship it. This is why I saved the original packaging on my 2012 Rocket Cellini once I upgrade to a rotary pump model someday. I think it's $75 to ship anywhere now but at least it will be safe.
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Mar 24, 2023 22:04
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I got lucky and was able to score my old Gaggia Classic on FB marketplace to start my dive into espresso. But it of course really depends on where you live.
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Mar 24, 2023 22:25
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In case anyone is curious, or just likes grinder porn, I upgraded my ode with ssp reds, so could do a comparison shot. Can report on performance once they're seasoned. 
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Mar 25, 2023 11:20
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I want to buy a Profitec Pro 400. The difficulty is convincing my wife it is worth it. She doesn't drink coffee.
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Mar 25, 2023 12:51
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Sir Sidney Poitier posted:I want to buy a Profitec Pro 400. If you drink one coffee a day from a cafe it’s like $5, it practically pays for itself!!
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Mar 25, 2023 19:14
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How important is having a knock box for an espresso setup at home.
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Mar 25, 2023 19:20
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Mu Zeta posted:How important is having a knock box for an espresso setup at home. Pretty important? At first I tried to go without and I ended up accidentally knocking the PF basket into the kitchen bin quite often. Yuck. I’d recommend the Sage/Breville Knockbox Mini. It’s small enough to not get in the way and the removable knock bar makes it easy to clean. It also feels nice and solid.
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Mar 25, 2023 19:28
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Depends. Alternatives: sink - almost as easy to use, but not as fun. Trash - not as fun, have to be careful not to let the portafilter touch dirty surfaces. Personally I don't use one but that's because I'm right next to the sink. I like using it at my friend's café. If you use a shower screen then the trash bin is right out.
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Mar 25, 2023 19:35
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Mu Zeta posted:How important is having a knock box for an espresso setup at home. Depends on your portafilter. Mine takes stupid effort to take the basket out, so the bin is fine.
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Mar 25, 2023 19:38
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Mu Zeta posted:How important is having a knock box for an espresso setup at home. This was discussed recently and opinions vary wildly. I've never used one, I just use a spoon to dislodge it into the food recycling. Sweeper posted:If you drink one coffee a day from a cafe it’s like $5, it practically pays for itself!! I don't now I'm WFH full time and I already used that argument for my Bambino anyway! And for my home gym. I think the key will be to get her something.
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Mar 25, 2023 19:41
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What are you slapping your portafilter down onto if you're using your sink? Seems like you'd mark up the basket and your sink if you're tapping it hard against the bottom of the sink.
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Mar 25, 2023 19:42
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Hitting your basket against anything hard will eventually gently caress the rim up and lead to leaking
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Mar 25, 2023 20:12
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Who is hitting the basket and not the arm of the portafilter?
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Mar 25, 2023 22:06
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Everyone I've ever seen do it, hitting the basket is literally what knockboxes are designed for.
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Mar 25, 2023 22:46
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Mu Zeta posted:How important is having a knock box for an espresso setup at home. its really handy to have a way to dump the grounds quickly especially if youre making multiple shots
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Mar 25, 2023 22:57
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It's come up before in this thread and I never understood why people were so reluctant to say the obvious - it's basically required, it's extremely cheap, I don't get why anyone would not have a knockbox.
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Mar 26, 2023 04:02
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That's what I'm gathering. I was hoping I could skip it because I think they are ugly and they take up precious counter space. I want my kitchen to look like it's from a post-modern '90s Michael Mann movie.
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Mar 26, 2023 04:10
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My bin is right next to my espresso maker. I just fold up a cloth a few times to cushion the portafilter, give it a quick thwack, then rinse the remains in the sink. I'd probably get a knock box if I composted but so far this has been been working pretty well.
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Mar 26, 2023 04:13
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