espresso making mags?

I knew it would be a little acidic today, but I couldn’t resist. I appreciate the comment though tgapp. It’s a good reminder that I should head over and buy a week before I’m dry. That’s an easy enough change to make.

Visual inspection of the new VST basket compared to the basket that came with the bottomless portafilter…. not a lot of difference. It seems cheaper basket manufacturers really up’ed their game when the high tech baskets came out. In the machine, totally different ballgame. Shots this morning were fast, rich, no channeling, no spray, really gorgeous and velvety through the new basket. I pulled a few, never got the grind perfect. The last one was close and 19 in and 46 out in 30 seconds. I’ve never had the urge to shoot espresso porn, but when this roast rests a little longer and I get a few god shots pulled I’ll get the DSL out and set it up to get a good slow mo video.

Nice looking shot, mate. I’ll check out the link!

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Originally Posted by lowsparkco

Nice looking shot, mate. I’ll check out the link!

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keep in mind that coffee is green, but if you buy me 5# I'll roast you half for free.

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Originally Posted by jackattack

keep in mind that coffee is green, but if you buy me 5# I'll roast you half for free.

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It’s only 75 bucks a pound.

I used to roast at home quite a bit, actually all the coffee I drank for 9 months I roasted, but it was tedious doing small batches. The most expensive coffee I ever bought green was down valley from that same farm, a nice Geisha that was $25 a pound from Sweet Marie’s about 12 or 13 years ago. Wish I remembered the farm’s name, no telling what it goes for now, probably similar to this.

When I lived in Costa Rica I visited that area several times. We had a marketing arrangement with Boquete Outdoor Adventures and would go visit and paddle in the fall. Definitely worth the trip. Had a pretty epic misadventure when I cracked the bell housing on a Range Rover four wheeling up this dry creek bed. We leaked tranny fluid all the way back to San Jose. That’s a different story though for a different day.

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Originally Posted by Doremite

Follow tgapp, he knows the way. The budget question is an important one. You tend to get what you pay for in terms of output quality but the # can get stupid high for a home set up. You also start to get into fractional increments most pallets don’t have the experience or patience to appreciate. That said, if $1,000 isn’t a horrifying #, you can make some great espresso at home. Some of us blew by that # years ago but took years of practice to understand what the up costs deliver.

Learning takes a lot of patience, curiosity and dedication. I’ve probably pulled 10,000+ shots at home and still learning. My wife can pull shots but isn’t near as calculated as necessary so my set up a bit unnecessary for her but I am the barista 95% of the time. Unlike zzz, I don’t mind pulling shots for others ;)

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I just wanted to do espresso shot so > 10 yrs ago I did the research and settled on the Rancillio Sylvia @ more than 600$ CAN, I did 5 shots a day x 365 x 10 is north of 18000 shots before it finaly shit the bed

The Sylvia is now 1100$ so It made sense to get it fixed, I sent it to the big city where they fixed it like new for 600+ including some shipping and parts and I'm aiming for another 18000

But the Sylvia is built like a tank I don't know how many of those plastic all-in-ones could have gone 18000 shots ??

I can’t imagine having a Sylvia and a grinder for a whole office to use.

I used to have a small staff at my office, maxed out at 5 including myself and had a superauto. I still had to show someone who to froth milk once a week.

Probably the best bet is to put a superauto in and give a short reading for how to make a few different drinks. Then ask everyone not to touch any of the settings but ask you if they have a question. Then dial the grind, brew temp, and duration of the shots for a short and tall when you make your own drinks. Plumb it into a line with a water filter or teach everyone to refill the reservoir.

I had a couple of vendors that would ask for early appointments because they liked the coffee so much. Usually just an Americano, but they were in love.

Actualy the Rancillio SYlvia is really about as simple as it gets, I think even bike mechanics or computer geniuses could operate one without fucking it up if they can remember

So I was at a buddies place and he has 5 identical very expensive coffee m/c around his big expensive house, I forget the brand but they are like >2000 a piece so I asked WTF ?

so he said he had bought one for each of his stores and as he visited each store he found each one was used until dead and literaly left to rot

so he took them all home and bought each store a Melitta cone and now he has 2000$ M/c all over his house\

so apparently the best bet was a Mellita cone which they have not managed to fuck up yet

I own a Sylvia. I use it every morning.

I’m stoked for you that you found something you like, I’ve seen you make this same post a bunch of times. That being said…. when you’re a hammer everything looks like a nail.

There’s a time and place for a superauto.

How do you teach everybody in your office to be a barista? Know your audience and all, but I can’t imagine figuring out how to get everybody up to speed on dosage, tamping, extraction times, etc.

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Originally Posted by lowsparkco

I own a Sylvia. I use it every morning.

I’m stoked for you that you found something you like, I’ve seen you make this same post a bunch of times. That being said…. when you’re a hammer everything looks like a nail.

There’s a time and place for a superauto.

How do you teach everybody in your office to be a barista? Know your audience and all, but I can’t imagine figuring out how to get everybody up to speed on dosage, tamping, extraction times, etc.

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my kid has had 2 or 3 units that they have bought at Costco in the time i have had a Rancillio, i don't really want to learn about other espresso m/c cuz that would mean mine is broken

I'm not against super-autos but it could be more to break down/ not take care of, my buddy with the 5 super auto's couldn't get his staff to empty the used grinds bin so instead they left it full/ rotting went out and bought a takaway coffee, this didn't just happen once it happend 5 times

Remember Marie Antionette words " if they have no espresso let them taste styrafoam "

It must be all Neanderthals that far north

Definitely have to have one person who is “in charge” of a superauto. Refill beans, dump the hopper, etc. - they also don’t last as long generally, that’s a fact. Lots of moving parts. But there’s a reason they exist. I had a Saeco, and it lasted 5 damn good years. Paid for itself many times. If I had needed to fix it I could have, but I didn’t have any need for it anymore.

My last real job had a cimbali s30. I had no issue occasionally dumping grounds or refilling a hopper in exchange for the great cup of coffee that was a button push away.

I was never that convinced by the auto steam wand but for straight espresso it pulled a better shot than most baristas.

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Originally Posted by ghosthop

My last real job had a cimbali s30. I had no issue occasionally dumping grounds or refilling a hopper in exchange for the great cup of coffee that was a button push away.

I was never that convinced by the auto steam wand but for straight espresso it pulled a better shot than most baristas.

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So you’re saying, the $20k coffee machine was reliable. Good data point.


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For those of you with a grinder with a bellows to clear retention like the DF64, do you blow the retention into your portafilter and include it with your shot or discard it? I started discarding it and feel like I notice a slight difference especially with lighter longer pulling shots. The retention is definitely finer than the rest of the grind.


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Originally Posted by neufox47

For those of you with a grinder with a bellows to clear retention like the DF64, do you blow the retention into your portafilter and include it with your shot or discard it? I started discarding it and feel like I notice a slight difference especially with lighter longer pulling shots. The retention is definitely finer than the rest of the grind.


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I would definitely discard the fines. Makes sense the static would pull the finest particles to the shoot. Consistency in your grind is important, adding some grounds you know are inconsistent would be counter productive.

Trying out a superauto to compare with the Nespresso.
To be clear, this is for milk drinks since my gut won’t let me go straight.

#TGRsacrilege
#HappyBirthdayToMe
#AreWeStillDoingHashtags?
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I bet it outperforms most coffee shops if you put good fresh beans in it.


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I've been consistently pulling cafe quality shots with just over $200 invested.

First, a Delonghi 3420. $120 on Black Friday a few years ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au92VvBYLrA

Then, as in the video, add the following. All parts sourced from Aliexpress (Amazon is just aliexpress with a 50% markup):
51mm bottomless portafilter
Timemore-style hand grinder with 6 core burr. (Burr is important: the standard 5-core burr will barely get a fine enough grind for espresso, and won't give you fine control over the grind size at that end of the settings. The 6-core burr will let you perfectly dial in grind size to each specific bean and roast. There is a 7-core that goes even finer, but I haven't tried it.)
Heavy-ass 51mm tamper
Dosing ring
Needle distributor
2mm screen
Zip tie

The important thing is to wait ~15 minutes after you turn it on, to let the brew group heat up fully. (EDIT to add: leave the portafilter in the machine, so it heats up along with the brew group.) The water heats up right away, but the brew group takes a lot longer. If you're in a hurry, you can run a couple long shots of water through once the light turns green, which works almost as well. Also, you have to pull the handle farther over with the bottomless portafilter. Instead of pulling it straight, you have to ram it all the way to the right or coffee will spray everywhere.

Result: Thick layer of beautiful crema, no obvious channeling, no spray, a delicious shot.

I suspect it might take more work to get the grind size right on a little 3420 than on a professional machine, since the pump isn't nearly as powerful. Fortunately I've found the magic range, within which all coffees seem to fall, and I'm never off by more than 1-2 notches to start. Also, the steam wand is really short with only the rubber nipple on there, so you have to get exactly the right size of frothing jug for the amount of milk you like. (You'll need a bigger jug for lattes than for cappuccinos unless you don't mind wasting a lot of milk.) But considering my little 3420 has already lasted for several years of nearly daily use, and it takes very little of my scarce counter space, I'm very happy with the results!

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Originally Posted by neufox47

I bet it outperforms most coffee shops if you put good fresh beans in it.

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I keep seeing this said in this thread. Really?

Now i cant tell if i am spoiled by the coffee shop across the street that my company has an open tab at, or if my taste for espresso is fucked (its always the same 2 baristas). I VERY rarely buy espresso from other coffee shops because im too cheap, so i dont have much to compare it to. But it is a WAAAAAY better latte than the nespresso pods i drink at my inlaws place.

I guess that all depends on the cafe.
I’m not consistent enough to touch the best cafes I’ve been to in the Bay Area, LA, PDX, Seattle, Zurich, Copenhagen etc. I can routinely crush anything local.
If it’s working for you, keep it up.


Super automatic machines don’t use pods. Good coffee in nearly always results in good coffee out.

Cross-posting because this thread was right at the top when I posted in the other thread, and there's coffee people in here!

Looking for a collapsible coffee filter cone for camping (for pour-over, as kids these days call it).

BUT, all of the ones I see are for single cup or small pots; the largest I have see fits a #4 filter, which works sorta but isn't ideal. We want to be able to make a large pot (directly into a thermos), so using something like a #6 filter. Any ideas?

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Originally Posted by californiagrown

I keep seeing this said in this thread. Really?

Now i cant tell if i am spoiled by the coffee shop across the street that my company has an open tab at, or if my taste for espresso is fucked (its always the same 2 baristas). I VERY rarely buy espresso from other coffee shops because im too cheap, so i dont have much to compare it to. But it is a WAAAAAY better latte than the nespresso pods i drink at my inlaws place.

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Super automatic =\= nespresso.

I say that as more of a slight to most commercial coffee than an endorsement of a super automatic.

In Reddit Roasting there was a discussion among commercial roasters about what they did if they had the burner go out for a minute + and the general consensus was to just blend it into the other batches.

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Originally Posted by Danno

Cross-posting because this thread was right at the top when I posted in the other thread, and there's coffee people in here!

Looking for a collapsible coffee filter cone for camping (for pour-over, as kids these days call it).

BUT, all of the ones I see are for single cup or small pots; the largest I have see fits a #4 filter, which works sorta but isn't ideal. We want to be able to make a large pot (directly into a thermos), so using something like a #6 filter. Any ideas?

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Why not a plastic v60? Gotta be as light as the collapsible metal ones and proven to make good coffee. The v60 02 will make 20 ounces easy.

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Originally Posted by jackattack

Why not a plastic v60? Gotta be as light as the collapsible metal ones and proven to make good coffee. The v60 02 will make 20 ounces easy.

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It's not an issue of weight, it's space savings for our camping setup. And we're wanting to use a #6 filter, to make way more than 20 ounces. We already have a plastic #6 cone, but it takes up a ton of room in a very small camper. There are 2 of us, both pretty big coffee drinkers, so we're making a pot of ~60 ounces.

I am assuming that what I find (if I find anything) will be silicon or similar, not metal, but of course metal will be fine if it serves the purpose.

Do you use a Jetboil stove for camping?
They sell a French Press adapter that is compact, just tell the kids its pour over, wtf do they know.