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Espresso maker

Brokenlink said:
I'm sure the bulk of it is user error on my part. There are a few things that bother me about this machine though. Mainly that it's kind of cheap and I can never get the fucking portafilter thing off and I spend five minutes wrestling it back and forth up and down and then eventually it just pops off and spills everywhere.
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this sounds like it might be a crappy cheap machine indeed; if the water is on top of the portafilter after making the espresso, there are two reasons:

- crappy machine, so, any of the machines suggested above, incl Andy's will be better--b/c they have the so called "three-way valve" which will suck-up all the water before you remove the portafilter

- your grind might , be too fine. (In which case the same will happen with the Breville) Or you might have both problems, fine grind, and a machine that doesn't "suck up the water"

but the problem is, when you get A New Machine, you could still have problems with grind, etc... e.g. a grind that's too fine, might create the s.c. "holes" in the puck and the water will get through them for an easy path--giving you watered down crappy coffee.

These types of machines have many variables.
 
I found some old pictures.
 

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Brokenlink said:
Want to expand on this? What reasons? Because I can't help but feel like this is a bit of an insult. The one I have is cheap and not consistent. Sometimes it makes a good shot and sometimes it is watery. Same grind, same pack, same blend.

As for beans, I roast my own.
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I have found that the same beans and same grind and same dose can produce different results over time, such as a week or two apart. I theorize it's because the beans have lost some moisture and the grinds are more fluffy and don't stick together as well as they did before they lost moisture, but that is just a theory I have. Just make an adjustment to your grind and see if that works. It may also very well be your machine as someone else said, but I'd try troubleshooting first before giving up on it.

I use a bottomless portafilter because I can see what is going on with the shot and make adjustments to the grind. If the shot starts to pour right away, my grinds are too coarse. If after 10 seconds it still hasn't started to drop, I probably have the grind too fine. I like to shoot for about 8 seconds for the first drop and finish before 30 seconds, preferably in about 18-22 seconds. Another advantage of a bottomless portafilter is you can tell how even your coffee puck column is. A perfect shot will start with even drips forming across the portafilter then merge into one (see the picture I posted in the post before this. If you have channels it will cause spurters or multiple streams to form from you portafilter. After you dose you can use a puck rake to spread it out before you tamp it. I use a 30 lbs calibrated tamper for consistency but I feel I don't need it anymore because I've done it so many times and know how much pressure to use, but in the beginning it was very helpful for me to try and eliminate as many variables as I could. A lot of people also use a puck filter to achieve even water pressure across the coffee puck, but I have yet to get one and try it out. The puck filter also keeps the grinds from getting into your grouphead.

I forgot to add that you should try a pre-infustion if your machine has this feature, but if it doesn't, you can do a pre-wetting and let it set for about 5 seconds. This will help in achieving a constant pressure across the puck.
 
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Thanks guys. So I tried a bit coarser grind today and yeah, it's the machine. It was ok, but nothing to write home about.
 
what I've found with espresso machines is it takes some experimentation to get it right. Back in 80's I had a cheap Macy's machine it took me a couple of months to get a decent latte out of it but once I had the drill down it was as good as any cafe. FFWD to 2018 and the boss decides to buy a Breville for the office, between different coffee beans, grinds and 4 other people using it I couldn't get a decent latte out of it and went back to Mr Coffee.
 
Brokenlink said:
A while back we bought a cheaper espresso machine. It's a piece of shit. I'm tired of dealing with it and am considering buying a new one. I want one that works and isn't a complete piece of shit. No, I don't want a Mokapot. No, I don't want to just make extra strong coffee. No, I don't care about the two shell method. I know some of you enjoy your espresso drinks. Help a brother out.
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So did you pick one out yet? Any conclusions?

I got my first espresso machine, a Breville Bambino, six months ago or so. My go-to drink is a 45ml shot @ 9 bar in a 6-7oz cup topped up with steamed microfoam milk. It’s got a 54mm portafilter and a 15 bar boiler to power the steam wand. It’s fully manual and allows for adjusting pre-extraction and extraction times. I did splash out and got myself a good tamper to replace the cheapie plastic one that this machine comes with. Tamper: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C3LG8NK5/ I like it because once you adjust it you never worry again about how much pressure you’re using.

It took me 3-4 months to get it dialed in with my grinder (Oxo) and beans (Peet’s Major Dickason’s), but I now can consistently turn out a flat white/latte Aussie-style cuppa that puts a smile on my face every morning. Love it. I only have one a day in the morning, so I don’t really feel like I’m missing out by not having a full automatic rig.

Then again, I’m a complete newb, and I still can’t make latte art to save my life. But to me, my coffee tastes as good as or better than anything I’ve had in a cafe.
 
Breville - adjust the coarse/fine and amount knobs
 
got a couple of $1,200 paperweights at this point. fuckers worked great. right up until they didn’t. switched to tea. less of a PITA. my dude still drinks coffee, but he’s got his own space for it. i don’t have any clue what equipment he has. he just tells me when he needs more beans lol.
 
littlebeast said:
got a couple of $1,200 paperweights at this point. fuckers worked great. right up until they didn’t. switched to tea. less of a PITA. my dude still drinks coffee, but he’s got his own space for it. i don’t have any clue what equipment he has. he just tells me when he needs more beans lol.
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yeah, when you don't have the correct grind setting, even an expensive machine can produce watery, weak, bland, coffee


oooh you mean they broke? Yeah the ones with more expensive "plumbing", actually probably need more care. They have real gaskets that deteriorate, wear out , leak, etc
 
AbsolutEnduser said:
yeah, when you don't have the correct grind setting, even an expensive machine can produce watery, weak, bland, coffee


oooh you mean they broke? Yeah the ones with more expensive "plumbing", actually probably need more care. They have real gaskets that deteriorate, wear out , leak, etc
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yeah - broke. well, stopped working. they got the full cleaning regularly, but eventually it wasn’t enough. and yeah that’s why we haven’t thrown them out. figure they have to be fixable somehow, but we haven’t figured out how to do it yet. we both tried for awhile. then my dude said fuck this shit. i tried awhile longer, but then said the same, and put them in a closet.
 
Did you find any youtube videos online to show how to do it?

They can be very useful, there are some really crappy DIY youtubes out there, but there are a ton of good or at least informative ones.
 
littlebeast said:
yeah - broke. well, stopped working. they got the full cleaning regularly, but eventually it wasn’t enough. and yeah that’s why we haven’t thrown them out. figure they have to be fixable somehow, but we haven’t figured out how to do it yet. we both tried for awhile. then my dude said fuck this shit. i tried awhile longer, but then said the same, and put them in a closet.
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The machine I keep in the mountains gave up the ghost this fall, after I accidentally left it on for two weeks. There are a few things it could be, so I've been working my way through them, starting with most likely and least expensive on up. Haven't found the issue yet, but one can still get every part for the thing, so it should be possible to resurrect it.

There is a lot of paraphernalia associated with coffee. A lot less with tea. But it's tea.
 
tzrider said:
The machine I keep in the mountains gave up the ghost this fall, after I accidentally left it on for two weeks. There are a few things it could be, so I've been working my way through them, starting with most likely and least expensive on up. Haven't found the issue yet, but one can still get every part for the thing, so it should be possible to resurrect it.

There is a lot of paraphernalia associated with coffee. A lot less with tea. But it's tea.
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WRT tea, i totally get what you are saying. when i first switched to it, it was a long period of major disappointment. but then i narrowed in on not only what type of tea i liked, but also specific brands (makes a big difference). i still drink coffee now and then, and it’s fine, but i’ve become a full-on tea snob at this point.
 
Yeah, I've been drinking tea (and coffee, but limiting it) for years and brand/quality is widely variant.

To say not all green teas are created equal is a massive understatement. :laughing

I've never been disappointed with the Prince of Peace loose leaf teas that come in the 300g containers.
 
Expresso doesn't require an expensive machine either, it's just preferred by some.

There are stovetop expresso makers that are used by many.
 
Still more shit to deal with than tea. Assuming you're not buying preground coffee (I'd rather drink tea), you'd need a grinder at the least.

Once in a while I use an AeroPress. Haven't made Turkish coffee in quite a while, as I seldom feel like chewing my coffee.
 
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