Coffee. Grinder and Cafetiere or Pods in a machine
Discussion
dapprman said:
As some one who prefers a longer cup than an espresso I find mine works very well and compared to my parent's Tassimo, vastly superior. Only downside is you are limited to Nespresso's own pods (for the moment anyhow), but that is the same for all the pod machines aside from the original Nespresso. I also now rarely use my 'classic' machine, really just during the summer for the occasional iced coffee.
Depends on what you want though and also costings. When I got mine (already had, and still have a classic) it was £1 for the base Vertuo machine, though I had to take out 12 months of non-discounted subscription (credit lasts for 2 years I think and I worked out if the machine did not work for me I'd still use all the credit in time).
I wonder if that is because Nescafe coffee usually seems to be nicer than Kenco, rather than being down to a better extraction process.Depends on what you want though and also costings. When I got mine (already had, and still have a classic) it was £1 for the base Vertuo machine, though I had to take out 12 months of non-discounted subscription (credit lasts for 2 years I think and I worked out if the machine did not work for me I'd still use all the credit in time).
I use Vertuo and original Nespresso pods at work when they are company supplied, but I ended up with a Nescafe Dolce Gusto at home. The Vertuo pods are too expensive and the original Nespresso pods are too small.
Purely out of curiosity I'm tempted to pick up a used Tassimo machine from ebay or gumtree, so I'll have tried them all.
Sway said:
Really enjoying it. Once I'd dialled it in, it's now producing coffee pretty much as good (to my palate) as the 'third wave' coffee from my local (superb) café. I'm using the same beans as them.
I did have to adjust the top burr setting manually to get it to grind fine enough. I've also got the funnel I posted earlier in the thread, and tamp quite firmly.
One thing that seems to make a huge difference is running 3-4 'empty shots' through both group head and portafilter before loading it with coffee and running an espresso. That seems to add about 5s to the extraction time.
I'm using 18g of coffee, and getting 38-40g of output in around 28s. Thats with a medium roast from Clifton roasters.
Thanks… I’ll try running the empty shots first.I did have to adjust the top burr setting manually to get it to grind fine enough. I've also got the funnel I posted earlier in the thread, and tamp quite firmly.
One thing that seems to make a huge difference is running 3-4 'empty shots' through both group head and portafilter before loading it with coffee and running an espresso. That seems to add about 5s to the extraction time.
I'm using 18g of coffee, and getting 38-40g of output in around 28s. Thats with a medium roast from Clifton roasters.
How much does the top burr setting make? I’m currently grinding at setting 15 so pretty much in the middle? Any finer and I have found the extraction is too slow…
Therefore should I play with the top burrs and then readjust the selectable settings
I have a dosing cup and calibrated tamper on the way..
I want to get a naked portafilter too..
giblet said:
Sage Barista Pro owners - any regrets? Made the mistake of going down the rabbit hole of feedback on Reddit and there seem to be a fair few folks saying the machine is alright but the grinder is hit and miss
Had mine since October 2020. Makes about 6 cups a day. Still very happy with it.giblet said:
Sage Barista Pro owners - any regrets? Made the mistake of going down the rabbit hole of feedback on Reddit and there seem to be a fair few folks saying the machine is alright but the grinder is hit and miss
I have the Sage Barista Touch which I believe has the same grinder… only had it a few weeks but so far am really liking it even though I’m still playing with settings etc…miles ahead of the nespresso and much more versatile. Initially my main worry was the cleaning and maintenance and it’s fairly minimal so far and there is an odd satisfaction of grinding the beans and the whole process of making the coffee.. don’t think I’ll be able to go back to pods.
This is my first bean to cup machine (coming from nespresso ) and think it’s a great introduction to the world of coffee. Can definitely see myself upgrading in a few years time to a more professional machine…
My one caveat is price… I managed to pick a brand new one up for around £550 at a time when retailers are charging over 1K for the machine . For 1K I would probably not buy and thinks it’s way overpriced and would rather spend that extra on a dedicated grinder and a separate machine etc but at the price point I paid and for my very very amateur attempts at playing barista i am loving it so far ..
The smell of fresh beans and freshly brewed coffee in the morning can’t be beaten …
Sway said:
Without adjusting the top burr, even at it's finest setting it was extracting too quickly.
If you're getting your shots out in 30ish seconds, then there's no need to change it.
What grams in/grams out/time are your shots currently?
Getting my shots at around the 28 s make for 15g input and 30g output..If you're getting your shots out in 30ish seconds, then there's no need to change it.
What grams in/grams out/time are your shots currently?
I’ve tried 4 or 5 different beans so far and I’ve found anything below a size 14 setting and it will hardly extract ..
fizz47 said:
Getting my shots at around the 28 s make for 15g input and 30g output..
I’ve tried 4 or 5 different beans so far and I’ve found anything below a size 14 setting and it will hardly extract ..
Surprised you're not getting a nice balanced extraction with that...I’ve tried 4 or 5 different beans so far and I’ve found anything below a size 14 setting and it will hardly extract ..
Maybe tweak the water temp (after trying preheating)?
As soon as I hit those sort of numbers, the resultant espresso was bloody lovely.
What sort of beans/roast have you tried?
Blown2CV said:
sounds like it needs one of those pokey prong grind distributor things.
That's a good idea - I have noticed my freshly ground basket is fairly 'clumpy', at the moment I'm giving it a quick 'whisk' with a straightened paperclip before tapping to level it out then tamping. Sway said:
Blown2CV said:
sounds like it needs one of those pokey prong grind distributor things.
That's a good idea - I have noticed my freshly ground basket is fairly 'clumpy', at the moment I'm giving it a quick 'whisk' with a straightened paperclip before tapping to level it out then tamping. I made one with a cork and some needles. There is one on Amazon - better looking - for 30 quid.
This is also very useful. I use it and dose directly from the Niche to the portafilter.
Coffee Dosing Ring, Espresso Dosing Funnel Stainless Steel Coffee Dosing Ring Replacement(Stainless Steel Black) https://amzn.eu/d/fDJUpC5
This is also very useful. I use it and dose directly from the Niche to the portafilter.
Coffee Dosing Ring, Espresso Dosing Funnel Stainless Steel Coffee Dosing Ring Replacement(Stainless Steel Black) https://amzn.eu/d/fDJUpC5
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