Espresso on Game Night (1 Viewer)

[Schmendr1ck]

Make sure you use a quality freshly roasted coffee. Lots of excellent roasters are out there that can put you on a subscription with coffee every 1-3 weeks depending on your consumption.

I buy green beans and roast my own, so my only freshness problem is when the coffee is too fresh. I have to wait a day or two for a new batch to de-gas before I can use it.

Quality? Well, that's open to debate. If you had espresso at Craig's, that was made with coffee I roasted, and I happily accept honest criticism.

sounds like you need a new grinder for sure. IMO the most important thing in a grinder is consistency. Keeps you from having to continuously redialing in your machine.

My Rocky will be here tomorrow. It's no Niche Zero but I expect good things.

 

[Italianjoe157]

I’m having an issue with my Breville Express purchased 2019. I have an Eureka Specilita Grinder with “fresh” lavassa crema beans from Amazon…grind size is dialed in but shots come out 7-10 seconds/double (17g). Do I need a new pump or some other maintenance?

Thinking about going all out for the Jura S8 and call it a day. Any thoughts coffee enthusiasts?

 

[tones215]

I’m ashamed to admit how much I’ve spent on my espresso setup. Olympia Express SL + matching grinder = -EV

 

[Leonard]

I’m having an issue with my Breville Express purchased 2019. I have an Eureka Specilita Grinder with “fresh” lavassa crema beans from Amazon…grind size is dialed in but shots come out 7-10 seconds/double (17g). Do I need a new pump or some other maintenance?

Thinking about going all out for the Jura S8 and call it a day. Any thoughts coffee enthusiasts?

I'm no expert but that's way too fast (as you know).

The most likely explanation is too coarse a grind.

Poor puck preparation and channeling is possible. So is under dosing.

But I would start with a finer grind.

You could also consider a different coffee from a local roaster.

Remember that free advice is worth what you pay for it.......

 

[Schmendr1ck]

My Rocky arrived today, and so far I've only had a little time to play with it.

I tried the only coffee I have right now, a light roast Sulawesi that I roasted for immersion brewing.

I was able to dial in the grind pretty easily, only took three shots to get a 1:2 ratio to pull in about 25 seconds. I did notice that this one had the best flavor of the three, but they all were too acidic for my taste because of the roast. Light roast espresso requires a bit more skill to get right than I have right now. My wife is picking up something a bit more appropriate, and I'll try again tomorrow.

Regarding the Rocky, I'm happy. It's a solid beast, easy to use and easy to dial in. It does have some retention, but I was warned about that by @CraigT78. So far that's my only complaint.

 

[Schmendr1ck]

Also, I forgot that Mrs S has access to my Amazon account. She's been giving me (light hearted) grief about my "expensive grinder" all day.

If only she knew...

 

[tones215]

Speaking of grinders, I spent all night last night and the better part of today troubleshooting my Olympia Moca. Good news is I now know the machine incredibly well after assembling/disassembling it 5+ times. The bad news is I FINALLY resolved the underlying issue and then immediately clogged the burrs by adjusting the grind setting too fine while the motor was off.

I’m half tempted to get a more reasonably priced, less finicky grinder (like your Rancilio) but my wife loves the aesthetic. Plus, I have to admit that I’m becoming endeared to it after spending so much time under the hood.

 

[Schmendr1ck]

Speaking of grinders, I spent all night last night and the better part of today troubleshooting my Olympia Moca. Good news is I now know the machine incredibly well after assembling/disassembling it 5+ times. The bad news is I FINALLY resolved the underlying issue and then immediately clogged the burrs by adjusting the grind setting too fine while the motor was off.

I’m half tempted to get a more reasonably priced, less finicky grinder (like your Rancilio) but my wife loves the aesthetic. Plus, I have to admit that I’m becoming endeared to it after spending so much time under the hood.

Well I'm hoping I don't have to dig into the Rocky anytime soon. It did a good job on a grind setting of eight earlier.

As far as the aesthetic goes, it seems to fit well with the Gaggia. Once she stops needling me about the price, maybe she'll complain about the appearance.

 

[tones215]

Well I'm hoping I don't have to dig into the Rocky anytime soon. It did a good job on a grind setting of eight earlier.

As far as the aesthetic goes, it seems to fit well with the Gaggia. Once she stops needling me about the price, maybe she'll complain about the appearance.

I really like the Gaggia. In fact, I like it enough that I’ve been wrestling with ways to justify it for the past couple of months. Alas, I’ve come up short so I’ve been trying to push it on friends who expressed interest in getting a high quality home machine.

 

[Schmendr1ck]

Day two. I wasn't able to pick up anything from a local roaster yesterday, but Mrs S grabbed a bag of Peet's Big Bang from the local grocery last night.

It was definitely better from the start - I ended up pulling three shots this morning, all at about 1:2 (18g in, 36g out). The first one took 45s (grind 10) and was too sharp and unpleasant, so it went down the sink. The second took about 15s (grind 8) and was a little acidic. I diluted it and drank it as a small Americano anyway, because I needed caffeine.

The third one was good. Grind setting of 9, took about 25s, and was definitely the smoothest, most pleasant of the three. I wouldn't say that it was sweet, but it was enjoyable and reasonably balanced.

Also, I made Mrs S a brewed decaf, then steamed some milk for her using the Gaggia. She really enjoyed the end result, so I think I'll get some relief from the expensive grinder comments today.

 

[Leonard]

My wife prefers brewed coffee to espresso, but loves having steamed milk. So I get a little credit for that as well. Although she does like to give me crap about the cost of my coffee setup.

 

[tones215]

So I FINALLY got the grinder set up and my OCD can be focused on actually making espresso! I won’t bore you with the details, but Johnny from Cerini is a fucking Saint and was beyond patient in helping me diagnose all of the issues (most of which would have been avoided if I swallowed my pride and called him sooner, but we won’t go there ).

Anyone have bean recommendations? I support my local places as much as I can, but I would appreciate a more economical option that’s easy to work with while I hone my craft (I may or may not have ripped through 3+ pounds of local artisanal beans this past weekend lol).

 

[Leonard]

Paradise Coffee - I like both the Espresso Classico and Espresso Nuevo
Atlas Coffee

Home-Barista.com Coffee Section

 

[CraigT78]

Although she does like to give me crap about the cost of my coffee setup.

Anytime my wife gives me crap about the cost of something, I turn around and point at the children.


Then I duck.

 

[CraigT78]

 

[JeepologyOffroad]

Finally decided to dump the shitty home coffee. Plan is just to use the nespresso every now and then during a busy day (I drink a ton of coffee). Solid deals on both so figured why not.

If anyone is looking for an entry espresso machine I landed the breville from bed bath and beyond for $350 with their price matching

 

[HaRDHouSeiNC]

Finally decided to dump the shitty home coffee. Plan is just to use the nespresso every now and then during a busy day (I drink a ton of coffee). Solid deals on both so figured why not.

If anyone is looking for an entry espresso machine I landed the breville from bed bath and beyond for $350 with their price matching

View attachment 765438
View attachment 765440

so for my nespresso Ive learned how to hack the pods to do more fun stuff if you want.
I like the flavored COFFEE pods, yes expensive, but I get some occasionally cause the caramel ones were pretty good.

First, buy a box of the double espresso pods. The coffee uses the barcode on the pod to tell it what to make...
Either single espresso, double espresso, or large cup coffee mode.

What I did was cut the bottom off the double espresso pod so just the ring remains.
Then you put the double espresso ring under the flavored coffee pod, and whala you get flavored double espresso.
With the larger coffee size pod I even ran it a second time for maybe 1/2 or less the cycle there was still coffee in there.

I do the same thing with this reusable pod here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082KCRFJM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use the double espresso ring under that large stainless coffee pod. You have to cut the lip off the ring though as well
since the stainless pod ring is a little thick and doesnt compess like the aluminum pods do and you can just have double
rings with no issues.

Ive used the Lavazza coffee in the stainless pod and cafe bustelo as well. You still get the frothy texture too with that reusable
stainless pod.

 

[Schmendr1ck]

I made Mrs. S a decaf latte the other night, and she liked it so much that she requested another tonight.

Then one of my daughters saw it and said, "Um, Dad? Can you make me one of those too?"

I still can't do foam art worth a damn, but the coffees are getting popular around here.

 

[JeepologyOffroad]

Finally fired up the breville. Anyone else using this machine and willing to share some tips? Not quite there yet.

 

[CraigT78]

 

[bsdunbar1]

View attachment 763014

You get nacho cheese sauce out of one of those things???

IN!

 

[CraigT78]

My morning pick me up. Americano.

 

[bsdunbar1]

My morning pick me up. Americano.
View attachment 781832

 

[Schmendr1ck]

My morning pick me up. Americano.
View attachment 781832

Looks like a long black.

 

[CraigT78]

Looks like a long black.

I don't know what this is

 

[Schmendr1ck]

I don't know what this is

It's basically an Americano - that was the joke.

The difference is whether you put the water on top of the espresso (Americano) or the espresso on top of the water (long black).

 

[CraigT78]

It's basically an Americano - that was the joke.

The difference is whether you put the water on top of the espresso (Americano) or the espresso on top of the water (long black).

Only a heathen puts espresso on top of hot water

 

[Schmendr1ck]

Only a heathen puts espresso on top of hot water

I will admit that I've tried it both ways, and it seems like you keep a little more crema if you add the espresso last. I like that, so that's the way I usually make mine. It's a subtle difference, but I guess I understand why there are two different names.

BRB, starting the "Long Black is not an Americano" thread.

 

[CraigT78]

add the espresso last. I like that

Heathen.

 

[tones215]

I’m a big fan of the iced Americano. That’s an entirely new layer of heatheness.