Coffee Appreciation

On the list.

Any recommendations ?

^ https://www.getbrogue.com/billy-lloyd-coffee-cups-for-rapha-cycling/

Edit: ;)

Rapha coffee paraphernalia can >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I'm quite a fan of these: https://www.acmecups.co.uk/collections/cups/products/150ml-flat-white-cup-evolution

Acme cups are lovely to drink from..I never liked their colours though

I like those

Any recommendations ?

Something white - and thick-walled preferably, like these https://www.coffeehit.co.uk/ancap-verona-competition-cappuccino-cup-saucer-150ml-5oz.html or these https://www.coffeehit.co.uk/javan-cup-and-saucer.html for example.

That is quite the thing.

^^^^^ nice.

I have a rapha espresso cup/saucer from about 2011 when the h-van visited Wilmslow.

Day to day we use cheapo hotel-ware cappucino cups from nisbets. Functional (and white & thick walled as per above).

I have finally gotten round to adding a temperature sensor to my old Pavoni Europiccola (coming out of the top of the sightglass), so project PID is a go. I already have readouts of the sensor working, next step is hooking up the relay to my Arduino and doing some careful testing with switching it on and off. Once both in- and outputs are working I can do some rudimentary tuning to get the PID parameters in roughly the right direction, and then the real tuning can start. For now the switching is done externally, the Pavoni's own pressostat is still in the loop as a failsafe, but at some point I hope to completely take over control.

Also featured in the picture:

1. My custom tamper, it is working fine but I need to disassemble it to paint and polish it before doing final assembly. I have designed it so that I can replace the handle with a handle with force regulation, but for now I'm tamping by feel.

2. My doserless Compak K6 with a 3D-printed chute and a small laser-cut scoop for the grounds that stay in the chute.

3. Two Ikea Växer hydroponics sets. As there will be 12V and an Arduino anyway, I can easily switch some grow LEDs on and off automatically. So I will be making a little herb garden underneath my coffee station.

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https://www.bluestarcoffee.eu

Just passed me a couple of coffees of anyone is interested

Freegift - free scoop come clip thing
Basket5 - 5% off

Bern

Logging some data with the Pavoni still running off the pressostat shows that this is worthwhile upgrade. A nearly 15 degree difference between the lowest and highest temperature. (Temperature in celsius and time in minutes, to be clear. Sorry for my sub-par axis labelling.)

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Nice! Interested in your data. I've heard of people turning off the machine and wrapping a wet cloth around the group to prevent the temperature rising too high with multiple shots, which seems a bit, rudimentary.

Normally not an issue for me as I'm normally just making 2 at a time, but it's good to see some proper data about the issue.

I only make one cup per day, as I'm a recovering caffeine addict myself and my other halve doesn't drink coffee at all. So I'm afraid I won't be able to comment on its characteristics when pulling multiple shots. But I will probably be buying some cheap coffee this or next weekend to experiment with temperatures, so I'll try to see what shots in quick succession are like.

It seems the PID values are roughly where they should be. In this chart I'm still running it off the pressostat, but I'm also running the PID parallel.

1. the blue line is the input (temperature)
   
2. red line is the heater output (I run it full gas until 15 degrees below the setpoint, only then does the PID kick in)
   
3. black line is the setpoint (roughly as I added it in Photoshop).
   

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Had a Starbucks and a Costa today :/

#servicestationlyf

Sorry for the spam, but this is the last one for now. 🙄

PID has taken over and it's holding its temperature quite well, green being heater wattage, red being temperature and blue being the setpoint. The dip in temperature was me opening the steam valve to check its response.

All that's left is tidying it up into a neat box with a couple of buttons.

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Bicicletta in Saffron Walden. Good stuff.

I have a (very) well used Gaggia Classic that’s looking for a new home.
It’s over ten years old and so has a few bruises, for example the steamer handle fell off a long time ago. I have been making do with a pair of pliers, however you can buy a plastic replacement. Also, the portafilter handle is loose and is held on with gaffa tape! It works, but a replacement is fairly cheap.

Saying all that, it’s a brilliant little machine that’s capable of producing really good espresso when paired with a decent grinder. It’s just had it’s vibation pump replaced and new thermostat fuses fitted too.

It’s free, but requires collection from SE13.

Pm!

I only make one cup per day

Wow, that's quite some dedication going through all this faff for on cup a day.

May be a dumb question, but if it's just for one cup can't you just set a timer for x seconds when you switch it on (until the machine reaches your desired temp)??

Sorry for the spam, but this is the last one for now.

Nope! Keep us (me) updated with the progress. I may go down a similar route so am very interested to hear how you get on. Are you considering attempting to monitor the water temperature at the group? I imagine that may be a more invasive procedure, but would yield more accurate results I reckon.

I am certainly interested in measuring the water temperature at the group, but I'm unsure how to go about it. I'm hesitant about drilling in the grouphead itself, partly because I don't want to buy an (expensive) new one if I ruin it, but more so because any hole would need to be airtight up to (give or take) 15 bar.

These guys have figured out a way to mount a manometer on top of the of the piston rod, for which they have drilled a hole in it lengthwise. But that also needs modification of the lever, because the pin can no longer feed through. A solution would tapping thread in the lever and then putting in bolts from both sides which leave a small room in the middle to feed the wire through, but I don't think my fabrication skills are up for that.

More pictures here, looks like they use some sort of spring to keep the lever pins in the piston. https://www.home-barista.com/levers/la-pavoni-europiccola-brew-pressure-gauge-kit-t45609.html

But I can't come up with another way of getting a temperature measurement right above the shower screen.

Ha, I suppose I could have even just glued on a thermometer to the outside of the boiler. But I like the tinkering, and I think that if I drink just one cup per day it'd better be a good one.

Edit, soz, ramble nonsense without reading the rest of the posts. Great work.

Have just managed to get some coffee, any kind will do thanks very much, on a remote Japanese island. Panicked when the hotel staff looked at me quizzically when I asked for some. Was well into withdrawal symptoms, feeling much better now. Homesick for ye olde espresso machine :)

Always carry a few of these for emergencies!