Coffee. Grinder and Cafetiere or Pods in a machine

[paralla]

LordGrover said:

We ALL need a better grinder!

I don’t.

[Baron Greenback]

Great looking design what's the name? I wasn't looking for expresso just areopress coffee until lock down happened and youtube and bought wilfa grinder then neo flair manual expresso.

[number2]

Baron Greenback said:

number2 said:

Baron Greenback said:

My trouble is I over tamp and that has a big difference on my pressure needed and no way buying OCD tamper!

Over-tamp? https://www.baristahustle.com/blog/how-hard-should...

What's the problem you think your tamping is causing?

Tamping too hard make my flair neo brew too long! May go for a larger basket but need better grinder then!

Point I was trying to make is that you are unlikely to be tamping too hard. Grinding too fine perhaps. Either way, if you're happy with the end result, great, if not then what is it you'd like to change? Time is an input, and one of many.

[paralla]

Baron Greenback said:

Great looking design what's the name? I wasn't looking for expresso just areopress coffee until lock down happened and youtube and bought wilfa grinder then neo flair manual expresso.

It’s a HG-1 from Webber Workshops

https://weberworkshops.com/products/hg-1

[devnull]

James Hoffman has reviewed a bunch of £999-£1500 espresso machines. Very interesting review, and not wholly positive!

Have to say, I didn’t realise that they still used vibration pumps at that price point.

[seefarr]

devnull said:

James Hoffman has reviewed a bunch of £999-£1500 espresso machines. Very interesting review, and not wholly positive!

Have to say, I didn’t realise that they still used vibration pumps at that price point.

I enjoyed that but it left more questions than answers for me. Does anyone know why the majority of the machines are set with pressure higher than recommended? Or is it just a Hoffman thing where he likes less pressure than standard?

Also, now I need to figure out how to measure my own machine too. Any thoughts on cheap kit to do that?

[devnull]

seefarr said:

I enjoyed that but it left more questions than answers for me. Does anyone know why the majority of the machines are set with pressure higher than recommended? Or is it just a Hoffman thing where he likes less pressure than standard?

Also, now I need to figure out how to measure my own machine too. Any thoughts on cheap kit to do that?

Hard to pinpoint, but the experts in the field (such as Mr Hoffmann) seem to think that 9 is the accepted pressure for good tasting coffee. Certainly my hand-built La Marzocco Linea Mini is set to 9 bar from factory and comes with a calibration certificate. But it was nearly 4 grand. Very interesting to see that my Linea Mini sweeps up to 9 bar very smoothly and just freaking stays there for the whole pull. I didn't realise how much pressure variation there was on the "cheaper" machines.

The scace pressure tester he used in the machine is here https://www.espressoparts.com/products/scace-2-esp...

But it aint cheap!

[number2]

Yeah, may as well buy a machine with a group head manometer .

I like the Linea Mini so thanks for reminding me how much it cost so I remember at least part of the reason I went with the Bianca!

[paralla]

For the £3700 that a Linea Mini costs you can get a lever spring machine that doesn't have a pump at all.

https://londiniumespresso.com/store/lever-espresso...

[RobbieTheTruth]

seefarr said:

devnull said:

James Hoffman has reviewed a bunch of £999-£1500 espresso machines. Very interesting review, and not wholly positive!

Have to say, I didn’t realise that they still used vibration pumps at that price point.

I enjoyed that but it left more questions than answers for me. Does anyone know why the majority of the machines are set with pressure higher than recommended? Or is it just a Hoffman thing where he likes less pressure than standard?

Also, now I need to figure out how to measure my own machine too. Any thoughts on cheap kit to do that?

Cheap machines set at 15bar on the assumption that people will be using supermarket ground coffee.

That coffee is 'universally' ground for any machine, leaving it unsuitable for espresso. To combat that, they use a pressurised portafilter basket, where the water flow is regulated by a small hole. The shot takes 30 seconds, but it's pumped through at a high speed and bottle-necked at the hole.

Not sure why these expensive ones are set higher.,

[Puggit]

Got a Melitta Caffeo Solo for my birthday last weekend, bean to cup machine. £160 for a 'refurb' - clearly an unused machine in an opened box. Very happy.

Can anyone recommend a good source of beans please? Lots to choose online, but happy with a recommendation or two! Been using 'True Start' as its owned by a friend, but the amount of beans I'm getting through now means having to look elsewhere

[Arun_D]

Puggit said:

Got a Melitta Caffeo Solo for my birthday last weekend, bean to cup machine. £160 for a 'refurb' - clearly an unused machine in an opened box. Very happy.

Can anyone recommend a good source of beans please? Lots to choose online, but happy with a recommendation or two! Been using 'True Start' as its owned by a friend, but the amount of beans I'm getting through now means having to look elsewhere

I'm really enjoying the selection from Redber. Sizeable choice but not daunting at all thanks to the detailed descriptions, handily including roast level. Always roasted to order with swift delivery.

[devnull]

Arun_D said:

Puggit said:

Got a Melitta Caffeo Solo for my birthday last weekend, bean to cup machine. £160 for a 'refurb' - clearly an unused machine in an opened box. Very happy.

Can anyone recommend a good source of beans please? Lots to choose online, but happy with a recommendation or two! Been using 'True Start' as its owned by a friend, but the amount of beans I'm getting through now means having to look elsewhere

I'm really enjoying the selection from Redber. Sizeable choice but not daunting at all thanks to the detailed descriptions, handily including roast level. Always roasted to order with swift delivery.

Thanks for the recommendation, I've made my way through the local roasters, so needed an excuse to find another!

[Mr Pointy]

devnull said:

James Hoffman has reviewed a bunch of £999-£1500 espresso machines. Very interesting review, and not wholly positive!

Have to say, I didn’t realise that they still used vibration pumps at that price point.

I think he needed to decide what the intended use of those machines was. He called them prosumer but the only thing that stopped the Sage being a clear winner was that it felt lightweight & wasn't shiny stainless steel. For domestic use that's irrelevant & it has way more useful features than any of the other machines (& made good coffee).

[Ronstein]

Puggit said:

Got a Melitta Caffeo Solo for my birthday last weekend, bean to cup machine. £160 for a 'refurb' - clearly an unused machine in an opened box. Very happy.

Can anyone recommend a good source of beans please? Lots to choose online, but happy with a recommendation or two! Been using 'True Start' as its owned by a friend, but the amount of beans I'm getting through now means having to look elsewhere

We're very happy with https://www.monmouthcoffee.co.uk/

[Turn7]

Puggit said:

Got a Melitta Caffeo Solo for my birthday last weekend, bean to cup machine. £160 for a 'refurb' - clearly an unused machine in an opened box. Very happy.

What do you think of the machine and what sort of coffee do you
Drink?

[Puggit]

Turn7 said:

Puggit said:

Got a Melitta Caffeo Solo for my birthday last weekend, bean to cup machine. £160 for a 'refurb' - clearly an unused machine in an opened box. Very happy.

What do you think of the machine and what sort of coffee do you
Drink?

It makes a cracking espresso - which is what I bought it for really. I can take that espresso and enjoy it or turn it in to a longer drink.

Downside with the machine is the amount of waste water it creates in to a shallow tray - which needs to be slopped out quite frequently. This is an internal mechanism, no way of catching it in to a cup for example.

[seefarr]

Ronstein said:

Puggit said:

Got a Melitta Caffeo Solo for my birthday last weekend, bean to cup machine. £160 for a 'refurb' - clearly an unused machine in an opened box. Very happy.

Can anyone recommend a good source of beans please? Lots to choose online, but happy with a recommendation or two! Been using 'True Start' as its owned by a friend, but the amount of beans I'm getting through now means having to look elsewhere

We're very happy with https://www.monmouthcoffee.co.uk/

+1 it's my regular at home.

[LordGrover]

I think I may be an Aeropress convert!

I'm not an espresso kinda guy, I've always enjoyed black Americano filter coffee.

I started out with a cafetière/french press but found it a bit messy and a faff. Moved onto a cone filter which was very good and then a Clever dripper - excellent. I've periodically used a mokka pot with mixed success, for whatever reason I've never been able to get consistent results.
I also have a Technivorm Moccamaster which is good, but it's rare that I want more than two cups so it's a bit of an overkill for my situation.

I've started experimenting with Aeropress and getting surprisingly good coffee despite forever changing method/recipes. It appears to be idiot proof.

[toasty]

Ronstein said:

We're very happy with https://www.monmouthcoffee.co.uk/

Are there any coffees that taste like coffee? I don’t want one that tastes of quince jelly, ripe goji or armpit Camembert.

Having just got a new bean to cup machine (sorry Robbie) I’m trying a few different beans but prefer to stay on the safe side.