espresso making mags?

[tgapp]

Its been a few years, but the couple lower end de’longhi machines I’ve tried at friends houses were not good. Granted, the grinders they had were also not good.

If I was limited to <$500 right now I’d get a Cafelat Robot (which is what I’m using currently) or a Flair (lots of good reviews from friends and up higher in this thread). My robots been lots of fun, easy clean up, and makes tasty espresso. These newer “lever” machines also seem to have an easy learning curve for some reason.

i agree with this x100. flair or robot. can't go wrong - i have a flair but have friends with robots who love theirs. you could also get an espresso forge, those are really cool. and honestly, you can get "god tier" espresso from one of those little levers. as in - better than any cafe within 500 miles of wherever the fuck you live.

also i'm getting a new (to me) lelit bianca in a few days. i am so fucking stoked.

[rod9301]

Don't know why it's so hard to get a good ristretto in a cafe.

In Tahoe, only one place that's decent, and in France, where i am now, zero around me.

In Italy, no problem.

I remember, years ago, in Auburn, got an espresso from an Asian lady in a cafe.

Horrible, and it was gushing out of the machine.

Me:. You know, the espresso would taste a lot better if you grind the beans finer and it comes out slower.

Her: yeah, but that would take too long.

Looking around, nobody in the shop but me.!!

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[jm2e]

Why is it that with certain beans my puck gets stuck up in the brew head? I've tried 7g, 8g, 9g. Several different grind settings. My unrefined palate finds the coffee acceptable, but for all I know it's garbage and I should abandon it.

Using: Breville grinder set at 14, 15, 15, 17, & 18. Breville Bambino machine. One cup single wall filter basket (had to order separately because machine only comes with pressurized baskets) (two cup basket is in the mail) To be clear, I get a lot of souply pucks with whatever bean/grind/weight/tamp I use. This one bean is just the worst example and has me wondering if I'm just doing things altogether wrong.

Edit: if I do a finer grind setting, and tamp the shit out of it, and force the machine to run for 40-50 seconds, I get a drier puck that doesn’t stick to the brew unit. But the shot just dribbles out and feels wrong the whole time.

[tgapp]

Why is it that with certain beans my puck gets stuck up in the brew head? I've tried 7g, 8g, 9g. Several different grind settings. My unrefined palate finds the coffee acceptable, but for all I know it's garbage and I should abandon it.

Using: Breville grinder set at 14, 15, 15, 17, & 18. Breville Bambino machine. One cup single wall filter basket (had to order separately because machine only comes with pressurized baskets) (two cup basket is in the mail) To be clear, I get a lot of souply pucks with whatever bean/grind/weight/tamp I use. This one bean is just the worst example and has me wondering if I'm just doing things altogether wrong.

Edit: if I do a finer grind setting, and tamp the shit out of it, and force the machine to run for 40-50 seconds, I get a drier puck that doesn’t stick to the brew unit. But the shot just dribbles out and feels wrong the whole time.

usually a soupy puck is the result of the pressure cutting and the puck "sucking up" towards the group head once it's not under pressure any more. it sounds like you have a ton of headspace between your filter screen and your basket, which is what is causing that to happen.

not a bad thing at all. the only thing you should care about with your pucks is that they aren't channeled (eg, there isn't a black hole looking thingy in the middle of it).

if it tastes good yer doin' it right. i had a shot today that never even got higher than 6bars of pressure, i was sure it was sink-bound until i sipped it and found out i had a winner.

[tgapp]

is shot porn appreciated it? felt cute, might delete later.

[Doremite]

I already appreciated your prior shot porn posted 5/13. Welcomed!

[tgapp]

I already appreciated your prior shot porn posted 5/13. Welcomed!

yeah okay so looking back on that i recognize that my espresso work area looks a little "lived in", but this is tgr and not the gram. i just love beautiful crema

[jm2e]

How much coffee went into that 28.5gm shot?


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[Doremite]

How much coffee went into that 28.5gm shot?


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17g per 5/13 post

[rod9301]

yeah okay so looking back on that i recognize that my espresso work area looks a little "lived in", but this is tgr and not the gram. i just love beautiful crema

What beans are you

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[retirwntm]

What underwear? Boxers or briefs?


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[tgapp]

17g per 5/13 post

yep so usually i find that i get better results underdosing shots - you have more headroom in the chamber and therefor more room for the coffee to bloom during preinfusion. so, 17g in an 18g basket, 18 in a 20g basket, etc. for ratios, i like around 1:1.5, that seems ideal to me. i don't understand what all the craze is with 1:2 or 1:3 shots, they feel so watery.

What beans are you

i can't remember what that shot was. i roast coffee every two weeks, with half of my roasts being "dual purpose" (v60 or espresso), and the other half being just v60. when i pull a shot, i meander up to my coffee bar, eye the jars i have lined up on the windowsill, and make an ad hoc blend of whatever looks tasty. usually it'll be like 70% base coffee (some sort of washed south american or a rwandan/burundi is common) and then 30% of an accent coffee (whatever natural processed i have kicking around, or a kenyan, or whatever really). what my process lacks in consistency it more than makes up for with the joys of accidentally discovering amazing blends.

lately i've been doing a lot of single origin espresso with natural processed coffee - i just had my very last shot of this: https://www.bodhileafcoffee.com/prod...32191463653456 and i'm pretty stoked on it. tastes like mangos.

What underwear? Boxers or briefs?

thongs man, thongs 100% of the way. offended that wasn't an option. what is this, some sort of underwear binary?

[jm2e]

I’ve only had a one cup filter basket for the last few weeks. I usually put 7-8g in (have done 6g & 9g).
The one shot auto button gives me between 20-30g and takes 20-28 sec including preinfusion. I can override it, but honestly have no idea what I’m doing or what a shot is “supposed” to taste or look like. So I’m really just trying to get the mechanics of it all worked out.


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[tgapp]

I’ve only had a one cup filter basket for the last few weeks. I usually put 7-8g in (have done 6g & 9g).
The one shot auto button gives me between 20-30g and takes 20-28 sec including preinfusion. I can override it, but honestly have no idea what I’m doing or what a shot is “supposed” to taste or look like. So I’m really just trying to get the mechanics of it all worked out.


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honestly at the risk of sounding reductive, if it tastes right then you're doin' it right. not much more to it. good espresso should be taste like rich coffee, with big mouthfeel, balanced sweetness, and no real acridity. some bitterness is okay. shots can be either chocolatey and subdued or bright and potent, both are good depending on what you want. my espresso usually tastes like jammy fruits with some acidity.

send me your address and i'll send you some beans, and if it still tastes fucky at least you can blame it on my shitty beans.

[Doremite]

yep so usually i find that i get better results underdosing shots - you have more headroom in the chamber and therefor more room for the coffee to bloom during preinfusion. so, 17g in an 18g basket, 18 in a 20g basket, etc. for ratios, i like around 1:1.5, that seems ideal to me. i don't understand what all the craze is with 1:2 or 1:3 shots, they feel so watery

How do I determine my basket size? Using an Expobar Office Lever and been trying to dial in my world around 18g in. I have no ability currently to weigh out. Relying on the dosage scale on my grinder for weight in. Curious if my fixation on 18g is off-base and should play w/ dosage weight.

I can’t seem to find any basket size stats online for the Expobar. By eye 18g doesn’t overwhelm the basket. Maybe 50/50 (?) after tamping.

[old goat]

Shouldn't you guys be working on a Covid vaccine. It might be simpler.

[tgapp]

How do I determine my basket size? Using an Expobar Office Lever and been trying to dial in my world around 18g in. I have no ability currently to weigh out. Relying on the dosage scale on my grinder for weight in. Curious if my fixation on 18g is off-base and should play w/ dosage weight.

I can’t seem to find any basket size stats online for the Expobar. By eye 18g doesn’t overwhelm the basket. Maybe 50/50 (?) after tamping.

damn that's a nice machine. a few options:

1 - i have some baskets i can send you (seriously) but you might need a bottomless portafiler for them. pretty sure your machine is a 58mm group though
2 - what you can do is grind your dose into your basket, tamp, then put a quarter on top of the tamped puck. lock the puck in, then take it out. if the quarter has punched into the puck or disturbed it, you do not have enough head room for your basket. you need a smaller dose.

[Doremite]

damn that's a nice machine. a few options:

1 - i have some baskets i can send you (seriously) but you might need a bottomless portafiler for them. pretty sure your machine is a 58mm group though
2 - what you can do is grind your dose into your basket, tamp, then put a quarter on top of the tamped puck. lock the puck in, then take it out. if the quarter has punched into the puck or disturbed it, you do not have enough head room for your basket. you need a smaller dose.

Interesting. Thanks. Yes on 58mm but do not have a bottomless.

Will try the quarter trick for sure (shortly).

*edit - just ran 15g and it cleared at least a quarter’s worth of headspace. Will start creeping up as the day wears on. Thanks again for the advice.

[tgapp]

Interesting. Thanks. Yes on 58mm but do not have a bottomless.

Will try the quarter trick for sure (shortly).

*edit - just ran 15g and it cleared at least a quarter’s worth of headspace. Will start creeping up as the day wears on. Thanks again for the advice.

you might want to try that trick with a nickel, since it's a bit thicker.

i actually have a 20g basket that should work without a bottomless pf if you want it. it's a high precision basket, which IMO is the most meaningful upgrade you can make on any machine - more important than a fancy grinder or anything else. and like, i could sell this on some coffee forum for $15 or whatever or i could just put it in the mail to a mag.

also if you're not super confident in your espresso making skills, i highly, highly recommend getting a bottomless. easiest way to diagnose shot channeling, grind, or distribution issues - you get so much information from your extraction just by looking at how the cone forms.

[Doremite]

^Will absolutely take that basket if you’re willing. PM sent. Thanks!!

So just fill the appropriate amount of gs in that thing to clear the nickel? Are you dosing 17gs in a 20g basket??

Will look into a bottomless. Had it on the brain awhile back but never pulled the trigger. Perhaps soon I will have 20 qs about my cone health.

Been at it somewhat casually seriously for about 8 years but always room for improvement. Finely getting a decent grinder upgrade a few months back has kicked my motivation to improve into gear a bit. Sette 270wi.

[tgapp]

^Will absolutely take that basket if you’re willing. PM sent. Thanks!!

Will look into a bottomless. Had it on the brain awhile back but never pulled the trigger. Perhaps soon I will have 20 qs about my cone health.

Been at it somewhat casually seriously for about 8 years but always room for improvement. Finely getting a decent grinder upgrade a few months back has kicked my motivation to improve into gear a bit. Sette 270wi.

yeah sette's are great. i got one after tearing my shoulder labrum when a shift pre-released (fuck shifts, seriously) because i could no longer hand grind and i was blown away at the grind quality and workflow. it's really a smart grinder.

the only reason i upgraded to a niche is because i'm too ADD to fill a hopper with a preset espresso blend and just run it. every shot is a new blend.

[Doremite]

^Just ran at 17.3g programmed at 17. Slight nickel indent but tastes better than anything I’ve been pulling at 18g. 16-16.5g might be my sweet spot w current basket. This tastes awesome.

[retirwntm]

Interesting about the bottomless pf. I’ve been seeing and hearing a lot about using one.


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[rod9301]

Interesting about the bottomless pf. I’ve been seeing and hearing a lot about using one.


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Yeah,i got one it it's worth it.

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[retirwntm]

Cool thanks. Coronavirus is making me a much more involved coffee enthusiast.


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