Coffee Appreciation

Anyone has a bit of knowledge in La Pavoni machines?

There is this nice looking copper professional on eBay.

Will I make better coffee with it than I would with my Gaggia Baby Class D?
(I have modded it with a brass head plate, IMS shower screen and Rancilio steam wand)

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=252111322116&globalID=EBAY-GB&alt=web

No

Potentially yes, but probably no.

They're really tricky to master - there are no temperature controls on them and they quickly overheat which causes your coffee to over-extract. Having said that, if you have the patience for it and want to learn all about the effect of temperature and how to handle it then you will have a better understanding of espresso than 99% of the button pushers out there, once you get the hang of it.

Thanks for the information.

I thought that might be the case. Shame as it looks good!

The Gaggia Baby I have works rather well, it is just missing pressure and temperature gauges (although I wouldn't know what to do with them).

I followed @Colm89 good advice and changed changed the original alloy head plate (73gr and 4 holes letting water through) to a brass one (206gr and 6 holes letting water through) to regulate head temperature better.

Been using the v60 for a few months now and just want to say how fucking brilliant it is. Find regulating the strength easy and now we're grinding a little coarser it never seems to over extract. Making a carafe-full fills my work thermos perfectly as well which is nice. Cafetière has been rendered obsolete.
Might get a little Bialetti for the occasional espresso but really chuffed with the v60 so prob won't bother unless someone wants to give me one.

Get one, it's cheap and rad. Even cheap, supermarket beans come out tasting good.

We shall rebuild.

have you had the bodywork powdercoated? Looks frrrrrrreeesssshhhh

Nice innit. Yep, body and frame blasted and powder coated. Picked it up this morning.

Lovely. I refurbed my Expobar Office Pulsar when I bought it, and it was a massive pain in the arse. Hard water can make a real mess of machines!

Yes, domestic machines are a fiddle. Too much stuff, not enough space. This has been thoroughly pleasant so far, but i havent put power and water to it yet.

Looks truly incredible.
I ran out of coffee earlier so wandered to Higgins coffee man. Such a good bean buying experience- now have a few varieties to try through the office machine....
Would coffee again, etc.

Wow. Great job. That thing looks FIT.

The fruit of an intense evening. It's hot, it's dry and it's pretty. Tomorrow we brew.

Coffee porn....I need a bigger kitchen.

^^A garage full of bikes and coffee porn #doingitright

I rarely drink espresso at home but thought I'd order some Red Brick for a change last week. A quick look at the 3 beans used and I thought, hmm, that might work as filter as well; bargain. Tried some this morning in an aeropress........

Nggghhh. I was wrong. Very Wrong.

Try extracting for longer or a finer grind. I actually like Red Brick as a filter style coffee as sometimes it's too acidic for espresso (in my opinion).

Just received some Nicaragua honey/washed processed beans and some Kenyan Peaberry from Bella Barista. Need to let them rest, but tasting great so far.

Will give it a go thanks.

Anyone know of any good coffee shops near Thameslink? It's appraisal season and I don't want to have to trot my charges up as far as Prufock.

garage full of bikes and coffee porn #doingitright

this

Its a bit blobby but its the first flat white out of the completed project. Tastes of win.

Such a beautiful machine. Is it manual lever/paddle pressure? Or just on/off on those levers? Are the steam wands static? (I'm not very machinery minded, just interested in workflow!)

I'm glad you asked... The groups are fully mechanical. When you turn the handle (it goes a quarter turn to the right) it seals the exhaust valve and activates the pump via a microswitch. Turn it off and the exhaust valve opens and relieves the residual pressure. On most machines this is handled by an electrical solenoid valve - i prefer mechanical things to electrical ones.

There is no facility for preinfusion, its just on or off. It has 53mm portafilters which give a deeper coffee bed, I've always been a fan of that. The steam wands just move fore and aft which is a bit archaic, i might be tempted to fit later model ball jointed valves. Those are brand new wands in the pic, you bend them to the shape you want which I've now done. They're fine, you just need to remember not to yank them sideways.

Wow! Love the Day-Glo!

P'raps a stupid question but whereabouts, Farringdon / Islington way? Might be able to recommend a few.

Workshop Holborn is a minute away!