Coffee Appreciation

Me too.

Got a Sage Barista Express to sell. All working fine, just impulse bought the next model up.
This one includes the grinder, and has steaming wand.
And usual accessories (tamper and milk jug)

https://www.johnlewis.com/sage-barista-express-bean-to-cup-coffee-machine-with-milk-jug-stainless-steel/p3495241

£250

Can get some pics if interested (it's boxed up atm as I'm moving house)

Here's a tip I just discovered for actually getting decent latte milk on the Gaggia Classic + Silvia wand.

https://coffeeblog.co.uk/gaggia-classic-latte-art-hack-throw-manual-away-make-perfect-consistent-microfoam/

Basically you purge and start steaming after only a few seconds. On my first try I just waited for 10 seconds, then steamed as usual and got very nicely stretched microfoam. I don't know why it makes such a dramatic difference but it does.

For years I've been waiting for the steam light before purging and have been producing utter shite.

It's payday so I splurged on a Motta coffee distribution tool... And it works!!!

Just pulled an absolutely perfect shot first time, no channelling, no spraying, nothing...

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That's a beauty.

They’re great. I bought one when my new machine arrived a while back and it’s made pulling consistently good shots a breeze.

Great to hear, I'd never seen one before and was a bit worried it was a silly impulse buy...

I only popped in to my local roasters to buy coffee for my other half and wound up with a bit more than I bargained for...

I remember the disapproval when the OCD tool was released but looks like loads of people are now making knock offs.

Basically you purge and start steaming after only a few seconds. On my first try I just waited for 10 seconds, then steamed as usual and got very nicely stretched microfoam. I don't know why it makes such a dramatic difference but it does.

I was sceptical of this at first but I've given it a go over the last few days and it does actually seem to make a difference! If anything, it really cuts down the time taken steaming the milk.

I have a theory, which is that the steam starts at a lower temperature for the stretching part and has risen in temperature significantly by the time you're in the heating of the milk stage.

Waiting for the steam light usually ends up with a lot of steam pressure and temperature at the beginning, which starts to drop off during foaming until the thermostat kicks in again. I think you want it the other way round, where you start with cooler steam for effective frothing in cold milk, then, as the temperature comes up, the hotter steam can work more efficiently further down to heat the milk up.

Be interesting to see how much steam has condensed and dissolved in the milk in each case. I suspect a lot more water is present in the final drink when you wait for the steam light. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but it probably is a thing.

That's cool. Glad it works. I read somewhere that only opening the valve partially helps too.

I do that anyway because I use a small milk jug. I still think it’s a steam temperature thing, but I have no way of measuring that.

Unless I borrow a thermocouple and logger from work, of course...

Dialing in a grinder for espresso. Talk to me.

60ml (2oz) in 25 to 30 seconds? A 20 sec grind time fills the portafiliter to the right level.

The coffee seems bitter when I set a grind size to do that in the right time.

output by weight not volume - start at 2:1 then tweak from there?

20g of coffee in the portafilter for 40g of liquid out in 25-30 seconds is the ballpark to aim for. I usually weigh about 18g of grounds when dialling in a new bean but eyeball it after that. 60ml is a lot, I'd start with a finer grind.

James hoffman has a couple of videos on it, part 2 came out a couple days ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFwJF-_SUr0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eK0eidOA_U

fills the portafiliter to the right level.

Also, weigh your shots. If you have your portafilter filled to a certain point, then make the grind finer and put more coffee in, you can fill it to the same point. Those two variables both give you a longer extraction time. So going by how much you fill the portafilter is not a great way to measure how much ground coffee you're putting in.

Similarly, grind time varies with the fineness. If your machine grinds for a given amount of time, and you make the grind finer, the flow of coffee through the machine will be slower. So if you aim on having the weight of coffee the same, but making it finer, you should increase the time to keep that consistent.

How much coffee you put in will also depend on the size of your portafilter, the usual 18-20g is generally geared towards ~58mm baskets which are the norm these days. My machine has a 51mm basket so I end up around 15.5g instead. Just another thing to consider.

Anyone use a shaker thing for distribution?

Something like this: https://lynweber.com/accessories/blind-shaker/

Or a copy on ebay: https://ebay.us/r0Yryh

Seems better than the "Weiss distribution method". Whoever Weiss is, they are getting way too much credit for stirring grinds with a needle.

Hive mind.

Bean to cup machine, up to and around 300. What is recommended?

For the old people.

Sage are the go-to machines I think?

I've had to cut right back on my coffee due to various health happenings, had a forced 2 week cold turkey break then back in at a single 9g/150ml v60 per day.

Happily on my 2nd brew today, getting the Rivers Dripper bak into action. I managed a 2 brew day midweek too. I think this might be the right level for now.

It's like starting out for the first time again, kinda nice.

/csb

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This might be of interest to you. Half and half decaf blend

https://shop.3fe.com/product/lightweight-champion-blend

You've got the same machine, milk jug and mug as me. For a second I wondered when I took that photo.

Good shout, 2nd coffee today didn't work out as well as the midweek one had, so it is back to the drawing board & this could well help.

Great minds etc etc...

Bit late but Which doesn't really recommend anything in that price range for bean to cup. Just this one model - Beko CEG5301X for £249.

All the Sage models are £500+

Tried this on my Silvia and the steam wasn't nearly hot enough to stretch the milk. Was hoping it was gonna be a time saver!