Espresso help
- Thread starter Rowlers
- Start date
DevonStan
Forum GOD!
Did you mean ... ''OMG, I simply couldn't pay that for a grinder!'' Lee, I think you probably did ?OMG, I simply could pay that for a grinder!
I think I will accept sub standard coffee
I just don't think I can be of useful help, Lee. But I'd just say again the coffee forums are as useful/helpful to someone looking for advice from "old timers" as the shaving forums would be to someone not wanting to sink megabucks into their daily shave. And there will be guidance for those looking to spend as little as possible - and whilst the bulk of the talk will relate to equipment which, by the sound of it, is dearer than you want to pay you will get good, sound advice and ideas on how to get decent coffee for not a lot. I keep coming back to the thought that most people wouldn't dream of spending what most of us pay for shaving gear and would think it crazy to spend £100 or £200 on one razor. Likewise I suspect you see it as equally crazy to spend multiple hundreds.... or even two grand or more ... on coffee equipment. As always... horses/courses etc.
There will be decent used stuff on there (the coffee forums)... I recently sold my immaculate Rocky grinder on a forum for not a lot over £100 and that machine will see most of us out with little or no further expenditure and is a half decent grinder in the grand scheme of things. Ditto my Gaggia and Nuovo Simonelli machines had years of life in them and they sold, again, for not a lot more than £100 each. However I sense that those machines would have overtopped your desired spend... hence me saying I can't help, except to say you must be able to produce decent coffee by other means for not a lot of money, but I just don't think the Delonghi type machine is going to do it for you, and without a decent grinder I'm stuck to know what to say.
There must be others here who can advise? Otherwise, as you say, drink mediocre coffee or seek advice on the forums. Hope you get sorted.
Uncle Bertie
Forum GOD!
This tale of woe makes me so grateful I have a local coffee merchant that fresh grinds beans for me (and anyone else). We're drinking what they call Daterra Chocolate espresso from a single plantation in Brazil at the moment, combined with a dark roast Sumatran. It's bloody marvellous.
pjgh
Forum GOD!
Ha! Brilliant! You're definitely getting there ...
When I first got my Gaggia Espresso (the heavy plastic one from the '80s), it was a gift ... and the chap who owned it made wonderful coffee, so I knew it could.
Alas, I couldn't ...
I tried everything I could think of, scientifically checking my tamp on weighing scales, even went the whole hog into concocting a pressure gauge. It just took time. Like riding a bike, something inexplicable happens. One day you can't ... one day you can.
I gave that machine to my son, who didn't use it ... ever ... for maybe 18 months.
... and so it came back to me. I de-scaled it and carried on. Again, I could not get a decent brew from it. Until I could. It just happened one day. Perseverance.
One thing I did note - 15 bar of pressure. If that's for real, it could be too much. One thing I used to do with my machine was very briefly crack open the steam wand prior to pouring the coffee. VERY briefly! I had a feeling that the slight loss of pressure was the key. Now, I don't ... so it probably wasn't actually anything to do with it. Coffee is more magic than science.
I think it's time for one. Enjoy
When I first got my Gaggia Espresso (the heavy plastic one from the '80s), it was a gift ... and the chap who owned it made wonderful coffee, so I knew it could.
Alas, I couldn't ...
I tried everything I could think of, scientifically checking my tamp on weighing scales, even went the whole hog into concocting a pressure gauge. It just took time. Like riding a bike, something inexplicable happens. One day you can't ... one day you can.
I gave that machine to my son, who didn't use it ... ever ... for maybe 18 months.
... and so it came back to me. I de-scaled it and carried on. Again, I could not get a decent brew from it. Until I could. It just happened one day. Perseverance.
One thing I did note - 15 bar of pressure. If that's for real, it could be too much. One thing I used to do with my machine was very briefly crack open the steam wand prior to pouring the coffee. VERY briefly! I had a feeling that the slight loss of pressure was the key. Now, I don't ... so it probably wasn't actually anything to do with it. Coffee is more magic than science.
I think it's time for one. Enjoy
jaycey
Forum GOD!
I been using a Gaggia Classic for a few years. Done all the common modifications on it and bought an Iberital MC2 grinder. Happy Donkey baskets & tamp.
Once you learn how to set it all up and get decent beans (I use Climpson & Sons - The Baron) it can turn out spectacular coffee.
All in, cost me around £200
I love my morning coffee
Once you learn how to set it all up and get decent beans (I use Climpson & Sons - The Baron) it can turn out spectacular coffee.
All in, cost me around £200
I love my morning coffee