espresso making mags?

[mattig]

Finding a good used deal can be a waiting game. The same week I bought my machine, someone listed a lightly used one on Craigslist for roughly 30% less. Still under warranty.

[tgapp]

I’m happy with my “cheap” espresso setup. I feel like it makes a pretty good drink for my current skill & knowledge. I think about possibly upgrading, but a 5-10x increase in investment is a long way off.

i honestly think that you can make absolutely amazing espresso for fucking cheap. more money does not necessarily mean better coffee, it just means more convenience and more milk drinks.

Every time I look at this thread I see this pic and drool:

ha, thanks!! it's usually pretty good but sometimes it's just bang-on. i love seeing the leopard spots in espresso too. it's a sign of fines making their way into the cup, which is generally considered to be a good thing.

[XXX-er]

that piece shrouding the brew head is just chrome plated plastic held on by 2 screws and it does nothing, after a bunch of years the plastic will break the shround falls off leaving just the 2 screws & some plastic on in the machine

I duno if you could get a new plastic shroud, I took the screws/ left-over plastic off and left the brass brew head visible, no difference in operation

a good cheap machine IME is the Breville Roma

I'm kidding about instant coffee

[tgapp]

didn't want to derail this thread too much but i just wrote up a coffee roasting trip report/coffee FAQ in the padded room. i'm obviously a total nerd, and no one else probably gives a fuck, but go check it out if you're into that sort of thing.

[jm2e]

https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...d.php?t=336081
Cool share. Thanks.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[jm2e]

Just realized what I want for Christmas. Stoke!

[tgapp]

Just realized what I want for Christmas. Stoke!

what exactly is that? just a mug?

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

[jm2e]

Um, yea. But this mug always brings the stoke!


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[plugboots]

It probably drips on your shirt while you drive.

[tgapp]

Just got two of these:

https://fellowproducts.com/products/...BoCizcQAvD_BwE

And I fucking love them. Best travel mug ever?

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

[plugboots]

And I fucking love them. Best travel mug ever?

No.

I love drinking coffee out of an open mug but not while I’m driving.

[tgapp]

And I fucking love them. Best travel mug ever?

No.

I love drinking coffee out of an open mug but not while I’m driving.

they have one with a splash guard that seems pretty smart. but I hear you re: drinking from an open mug. it's not like I'm a rally driver though, just takin' my time and enjoying my brew.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

[jackattack]

I have a 16oz Miir Travel Tumbler

https://www.miir.com/products/travel-tumbler

The lid design is the best, IMO. The angle provides a significant trough that the coffee sits in so you can slurp it when it's too hot to drink straight out of the lid, this is a game-changer over most tumblers I've used in the past. It has never leaked on me if I close it properly (this was not the case with the hydroflask.) The overall size is really nice too, not too bulky.

[neufox47]

I’m a fan of my ember. Especially for a strong Americano with two double shots. I do about 1 to 1 water. I drink it over 30 minutes or so and it gets cold being only about 5 oz of liquid.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[tgapp]

Been pulling this Panama Elida Natural from Klatch as a single origin espresso this week, and I couldn't be more pleased with it. Strawberry and cocoa butter. Really pleasant.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

[comish]

Anyone used or tried the Breville dual boiler machine? Looking to upgrade from the Aeropress to actual espresso for skiing. Have an Expobar HX machine + Rocky for home, and thinking this might not be a bad option? Thoughts? Reviews? I'm starting to dive into the abyss that is CoffeeGeek etc., but thought the TGR world could give me what I'm looking for. This is for Espresso or Capuccino in the morning. I will have either ground the beans the day before on my Rocky or purchase a new grinder as well for there.

[tgapp]

Anyone used or tried the Breville dual boiler machine? Looking to upgrade from the Aeropress to actual espresso for skiing. Have an Expobar HX machine + Rocky for home, and thinking this might not be a bad option? Thoughts? Reviews? I'm starting to dive into the abyss that is CoffeeGeek etc., but thought the TGR world could give me what I'm looking for. This is for Espresso or Capuccino in the morning. I will have either ground the beans the day before on my Rocky or purchase a new grinder as well for there.

yeah the BDB is an incredible value. a buddy has one and it pulls great shots. only downsides are -

1. smaller PF size means slightly more limited accessory compatibility (not a big deal)
2. the machine is more often replaced than repaired (unlike the e61 machine you currently have). that said, Breville's warranty is world class.

check out the hot water tap/slayer mod on that machine - it's a fully-reversible, 10 minute modification that allows the BDB mirror the performance of a $10k machine.



Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

[John_B]

yeah the BDB is an incredible value. a buddy has one and it pulls great shots. only downsides are -

1. smaller PF size means slightly more limited accessory compatibility (not a big deal)
2. the machine is more often replaced than repaired (unlike the e61 machine you currently have). that said, Breville's warranty is world class.

check out the hot water tap/slayer mod on that machine - it's a fully-reversible, 10 minute modification that allows the BDB mirror the performance of a $10k machine.



Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

Well you just got my hopes high for an "incredible value". I forgot how mutually exclusive the coffee world can be with affordability. Besides your earlier coffee sampling that is.

[tgapp]

yeah I recommend BDBs to pretty much anyone who wants a machine but doesn't want to fork over $3k. for the price there just isn't anything else that even comes close. it's not a buy it for life product (plastic internal tubing vs copper lines, etc), but given your use case, it may well last your entire life.

and seriously the shot profiling mod is amazing and it takes like 10 minutes. that machine can easily outperform your Expobar in shot quality, so don't be surprised if the BDB ends up being your main squeeze.

lmk when you get it and I'll mail you some beans to break it in

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

[retirwntm]

Damn that BDB is nice. Is that the $1450 plus one on Amazon? My Gaggia is 7 y o now and I’m casually looking for a new one. But damn. That, new skis, a new mtn bike. These things add up. I may need to start dancing again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bennymac]

We had the breville and loved it. It would break down every 1.5yrs or so and we would have to ship it away for service if we couldn’t repair it ourselves (sometimes we could)

Eventually they said they would just give as a discount on a new model which was not what we wanted from an environmental standpoint (moved up to a profitec)

Regardless it lasted us a long time and it was a great machine. Didn’t know about the mod!

The breville grinder that we had used a plastic “wheel” inside (not sure the correct term). After awhile it stopped working right. We figured out that the wheel had worn down from use - which basically means the plastic was going into the ground coffee. You can find aftermarket 3D printed new wheels but that spurred us to move to a better grinder (eureka silencio)

[tgapp]

We had the breville and loved it. It would break down every 1.5yrs or so and we would have to ship it away for service if we couldn’t repair it ourselves (sometimes we could)

Eventually they said they would just give as a discount on a new model which was not what we wanted from an environmental standpoint (moved up to a profitec)

Regardless it lasted us a long time and it was a great machine. Didn’t know about the mod!

The breville grinder that we had used a plastic “wheel” inside (not sure the correct term). After awhile it stopped working right. We figured out that the wheel had worn down from use - which basically means the plastic was going into the ground coffee. You can find aftermarket 3D printed new wheels but that spurred us to move to a better grinder (eureka silencio)

nice man! you might have mentioned this before but what profitec do you have? those are great machines

and yeah bennymac's experience is pretty reflective of everyone i've known who has used Breville machines (including the folks on home-barista). they make great coffee and they have great customer service, but it is more of consumer machine.

if you wanted to prioritize durability at the same price point i'd look at a lelit marax: https://www.totalespresso.com/produc...t-mara-x-pl62x

[rod9301]

For whatever it's worth, i just got a lucca m58, with my old mazzeri grinder, and it makes a great espresso.

Sent from my Redmi Note 8 Pro using Tapatalk

[Vegetable Lasagna]

Bdb is great. I’ve had one for 4+ years I bought used ($700ish) and have had no issues. Replace gaskets every couple years and you avoid bigger issues. Temperature control and programmable preinfusion are outstanding out of the box and no machine I am aware of comes close to those capabilities. Even the super pricey prosumer machines don’t have those capabilities. As stated earlier, the “slayer” mod is very easy and makes the machine even more capable. Steaming is often reported as “weak” but it works great and is very easy to get the hang of. It is also programmable for power. Not sure what the person above is referring to about the portafilter. It is 58mm, standard size of commercial machines. Easy to find funnels, cups, tampers, etc. The lower cost brevilles have the smaller portafilters.

Can’t recommend the BDB highly enough, really. Paired mine with a Niche Zero grinder and have no urges to upgrade and just focus on the coffee now. As long as you are comfortable opening it up every year or so and replacing some gaskets (which truely is required of any worthwhile espresso machine), it will serve you well for a long long time.

[tgapp]

^^ dang you're right, the BDB is 58 whereas others in the breville lineup are 54mm. sorry, i'm a jong.

also stoked to see some niche zero love on here. that thing is a fucking miracle worker. i use mine daily for both pourover and espresso.

finally - a note to everyone on this thread: if you are careful with the water you put through your machine everything lasts worlds longer. get a $8 tds reader on amazon, don't use hard water, descale regularly as needed. scale is the destroyer of ALL espresso machines.