espresso making mags?

[zion zig zag]

My wife just sent me this, I think I may need to chill out on obsessing out loud to her:

[retirwntm]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rX7wtNOkuHo


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[retirwntm]

yeah that + a good basic machine (gaggia classic) + good coffee will get you to the 90% mark pretty quickly. within a few months you'll have better espresso than anywhere in a 100 mile radius of you. unless you live in seattle or san francisco or similar, of course.

good luck man!

Just bumping this to report that the scale plus consistency with ratios etc AND the Kinu grinder have made my shots seriously improve.

They’ve become much better regarding flavor and crema texture.

I can’t say enough about the grinder. It’s well weighted and creates a really good hand feel and functions very ergonomically. I’m still dialing in the best grind size for my liking but it’s part of the fun.

I’ll be checking in again with more questions for sure but have been really pleased with these changes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rod9301]

Quick comment on machines

In two different locations, i have two different espresso machines and grinders.

1. $4,000 set and the other $1,200 set.

They both make excellent ristretto, can't tell the difference.

The cheaper machine is a single boiler, so i never steam milk on it, just nuke it and use a $12 propeller thing to foam it.

Sent from my Redmi Note 8 Pro using Tapatalk

[cravenmorhead]

I've since upgraded my Flair to the Pro 2 brew head so that I can pull larger shots (20g dose instead of 15g or so). The pressure gauge and add-on temperature strips ($5 for the latter) are also handy. I'm very happy with the quality of the shots I can pull, even with an Encore grinder (though I've de-indexed it and set it to the fine end of its grind settings).

Also the $12 spinny milk foamers do great work. Overall, very happy with this as a budget setup.

[tgapp]

https://www.home-barista.com/buysell...2.html#p777241

denver/boulder area mags, this is a killer deal for someone who wants a god-tier machine. pretty insane price IMO.

[mntlion]

https://www.home-barista.com/buysell...2.html#p777241

denver/boulder area mags, this is a killer deal for someone who wants a god-tier machine. pretty insane price IMO.

"Not Found"

[tgapp]

"Not Found"

damn, that sold fast. insane deal, $1300 for a recently restored dual boiler

[neufox47]

It shows up for me. Man if I wasn’t buying a house right now...


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[tgapp]

It shows up for me. Man if I wasn’t buying a house right now...


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

actually yeah, it's up again. weird.

that is an absolutely insane deal. my god. @neufox47, how goes the roasting lately?

[neufox47]

Pretty good. I’ve probably been bouncing around between too many different beans but I like the variety. I’ve gotten the hang of the roaster and started doing it in the garage instead of under the exhaust fan. Much easier to hear first crack.

Thanks for the help.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[comish]

So there is an Alex Duetto III for sale in LA. Im trying to figure out if I would rather have a Lelit Elizabeth, new w 3 yr warranty and $150 in my pocket or the Duetto? Seems like the Liz is pretty dang cool machine especially w pre-in fusion. Checks all my boxes.

Thoughts? Why would a Duetto be better?

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[tgapp]

So there is an Alex Duetto III for sale in LA. Im trying to figure out if I would rather have a Lelit Elizabeth, new w 3 yr warranty and $150 in my pocket or the Duetto? Seems like the Liz is pretty dang cool machine especially w pre-in fusion. Checks all my boxes.

Thoughts? Why would a Duetto be better?

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

honestly if the duetto has been well maintained there's no doubt I would go with that machine:

- e61 grouphead means way more aftermarket part compatibility (including flow control, which is a big deal, and way better than the preinfusion on the Elizabeth)
- bigger steam and brew boilers, by far (better for Sunday morning lattes and entertaining)
- e61s are fucking cool, you get to pull up a fucking lever to pull a shot. plus you can put cool wood on it

the thing to do is to pull the mushroom and see if there's any scale build up (look for pictures online or DM me and I can help you). if there isn't, you're in business. scale kills machines. everything else on an e61 is super user serviceable, there are a million videos and instructions and everything you need to work on that machine yourself. they're like the 80s Toyota pickup trucks of the coffee world.

OTOH, I have a Lelit machine and I couldn't recommend it more enthusiastically. fucking killer machines, they punch well above their weight class in price vs performance. my only advice would be to seriously consider a Lelit MaraX as an alternative to the Elizabeth (e61 heat exchanger with some very smart internals that overcome the biggest downsides of a HX machine). it's better at steaming milk and you can add flow control later too. a ski partner of mine just got one and he loves it.

TL;DR: great choices either way

Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk

[zion zig zag]

Over the past week I've noticed reduced pressure and temp out of my steam wand. I descaled the machine last night but that didn't seem to fix it. Symptoms: no longer getting decent microfoam and I have to heat the milk 15ish seconds longer to get it hot enough, and sometimes it seems to never reach temp. Thoughts?

[PowderAlltheTime]

It sounds like you may have done this already, but check the holes of wand. Sometimes one or more of them get plugged. Also with the tip off you can check to see if the problem is pressure with the boiler.

[tgapp]

https://www.home-barista.com/buysell...xl-t72520.html

pretty damn good deal on the best consumer machine on the market IMO

[bennymac]

After reading that ad I’m now down the rabbit hole of pavlis and SCA water etc.

[tgapp]

After reading that ad I’m now down the rabbit hole of pavlis and SCA water etc.

I do Pavlis' water recipe. Super easy, 10/10 would recommend.

Descaling sucks.

Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk

[zion zig zag]

I do Pavlis' water recipe. Super easy, 10/10 would recommend.

Descaling sucks.

Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk

Found this:
1) Add 10g of Potassium bicarbonate to 1000ml of water to create a concentrate.

2) Then, add 37 ml of that concentrate to each gallon of distilled water

That it?
Use this:? https://www.amazon.com/Home-Brew-Ohi...s%2C201&sr=8-2

I don't know that I'm going down this rabbit hole as my water tested to right at 100 TDS and it seems good already, but it's interesting none the less.

[tgapp]

Found this:
1) Add 10g of Potassium bicarbonate to 1000ml of water to create a concentrate.

2) Then, add 37 ml of that concentrate to each gallon of distilled water

That it?
Use this:? https://www.amazon.com/Home-Brew-Ohi...s%2C201&sr=8-2

I don't know that I'm going down this rabbit hole as my water tested to right at 100 TDS and it seems good already, but it's interesting none the less.

yep, that's it. you can also mix each individual batch without using the concentrate but it's a little harder. 100 tds is good, but you may still need to descale from time to time.

i have enough potassium bicarbonate to last a few life times if you wanna try it out ever

[tgapp]

been playing a lot with blending and blending theory lately, and i've been pretty stoked on the results. this is my newest bullshit espresso blend (working name: "you know the drill"), running about 19g in and 50g out over 75 seconds at 200 degrees. here are the components:

panama elida estate natural catui, roasted to a stretched city+ (medium) - 65% of the total blend. this is a great naturally processed coffee, tastes like strawberry. i don't take it too dark because i want it to be punchy and sweet. this coffee has great body and a decent bit of acidity too.
bolivia fair trade organic, roasted to a light full city - (medium dark) - 30% - in most espresso blends this would be the base, but because i don't like straight chocolate bombs, it's toned down quite a bit, making the espresso fruit-forward rather than heavy and dark, but still retaining that chocolate component
kenya nyeri othaya gura - city roast (light & bright) - 5% - this coffee is an accent coffee in this blend, basically rounding everything out with an orange peel note.

so, in the small cup, it tastes like chocolate-covered strawberries with orange zest. not bad. probably not the best for milk drinks, but i'm too lazy for those anyway.

[Doremite]

been playing a lot with blending and blending theory lately, and i've been pretty stoked on the results. this is my newest bullshit espresso blend (working name: "you know the drill"), running about 19g in and 50g out over 75 seconds at 200 degrees.

50g out? I thought you were a 1.5 guy? Not to mention a fan of under dosing baskets. What have I missed in the journey? Love the blend adventuring btw. Not to mention the crema porn.

[schindlerpiste]

After 12 years, my DeLonghi Magnifica XS has finally died. Water no longer reaches the coffee. The machine still grinds the beans, and the pump still sucks water, but the water does not reach the ground coffee. Instead, it empties into the excess water basin. Then, the ground coffee is thrown into the waste bin while still dry and thus not caked.
In any event, I just bought a Breville Barista Express. What a disappointment, so far.

[mntlion]

FYI: UBS recharged grinder arrived (for my camper) it will grind beans ok, (but slowly) but not fine enough grind for espresso. Oh well. $25 experiment.

Odds are find for pourovers etc.

[beaterdit]

After 12 years, my DeLonghi Magnifica XS has finally died. Water no longer reaches the coffee. The machine still grinds the beans, and the pump still sucks water, but the water does not reach the ground coffee. Instead, it empties into the excess water basin. Then, the ground coffee is thrown into the waste bin while still dry and thus not caked.
In any event, I just bought a Breville Barista Express. What a disappointment, so far.

Sounds like just a bad three way solenoid, should be an easy fix. Could be as easy as descaling but I assume you did that. Not. a huge fan of built in grinders for this reason, I'd rather replace one or the other, not both. At any rate, your machine sounds fixable if you want to keep it, or sell it.

I'm seven years into my damaged packaging ebay Gaggia Classic, $300 shipped. Replaced the crappy plastic aerating steam wand with a. Rancillio Silvia traditional one. Also got a bottomless portafilter filter with a 21 gram basket, awesome for triple shots for work! Replaced the pump last summer for $35 and it's running like a champ. Prolly should descale more often, usually wait until it starts clogging, 3-4 months. Got the full rebuild kit for $40, gonna tackle that soon. I'll check out the water softening recipe mentioned. No complaints though.

Pulling some decent (to me) shots. This is a double with the OEM 14 gram basket. LMK what you guys think!