Coffee Appreciation

That is a good price and sounds in good nick

On the Aeropress, I think the beauty is that its really difficult to make a shit cup of coffee with it. For years I stopped using it after getting really into pourover, but recently rediscovered it after buying the Aeropress Go for a tour last summer.
It'll never outshine a decent V60 or Chemex, but its perfect for times when you dont have scales or a thermometer, or for those mornings when you're running late for work and dont have time to nail all the variables to making a pourover. Quick and easy to get average results.
With more effort, it can make really nice coffee - theres some great recipes on aeroprecipe.com - but if I'm going to put that much time into coffee, or if I'm making more than one cup, V60 is still best.

Any advances on/alternatives to a Moccamaster?

If you want a cheaper alternative, the Wilfa Classic is decent (I've got the Moccamaster and the Wilfa). Not quite as solidly made but the principle is the same.

https://www.wilfa.co.uk/product/kitchen/classic-plus/

Contigo Byron (from tesco) goes in a basic wire cage pretty well. Fine for park trips with kids and stuff - or slurping mid commutes.

Was getting weak, hollow tasting coffee so did 2 v60 brews at very different grind settings (one quite coarse "Filter" the other "Mocca" on my Wilfa Svart). Mocca took 4 mins and the coarse only took slightly less at 3:45. Taste was about the same. Can't work out what's wrong. Also, the coffee just looks pale and a bit stale when brewing. Beans were roasted about 1 month ago. Has anyone else had the same experience?

Don't have a wilfa but I say that my grind is medium to medium fine for a v60. What coffee to water ratio are you using?
The barista hustle wheel is a good way of adjusting v60's to get a good brew but you need to be roughly in the right ball park to start with:
https://www.baristahustle.com/blog/the-coffee-compass/

I use 15g to 250ml usually. Might try more concentrated brew. But that ratio usually works with the coffee I use. Feel it's probably an issue with the beans or maybe the water.

Have you watched Hoffman’s method? 4mins from first pour to end of draw down actually seems fairly quick to me. So I’d just verify that. Ratio I’ll normally go for is 65-70g per litre - which you’re a little lighter on too

Not sure what method you're using, but have you tried agitating the grinds a bit more either during the bloom or nearing the end?

Not seen that coffee compass before - looks interesting.

I'm also doing 15g to 250ml with a v60, I'd definitely notice a difference generally with that much of a difference in grind size so it sounds like something going on with the coffee itself to me.

Pretty sure hoffman's method says 3 mins 30 for a 500ml water / 30g coffee brew. Which is what I get. It certainly doesn't taste hollow though.

@chris0 which beans are you using?

Any other German thrash metal fans here? Certainly not a collaboration I saw coming
https://thebarn.de/collections/beans/products/black-sunrise?variant=33012644249680

Yes, a follow Hoffmans method. I've got a few different types of beans from the same roaster. Trying 2 so far (washed Costa Rica and a Brazilian) but same issue with both. It's weird the brew times are so close I'd expect maybe a minute or so difference with those grind settings. Will try a new filter in the Britta and see what happens.

@chris0 Stupid question but are you noticing significant difference in grind size on those two settings? I’m using a svart too, just did a test grind at those two settings and I would also expect a significant difference in brew time.

Hi All, I’ve recently decided to take the plunge into the world of espresso after using a Moka Pot for years, and now have a Gaggia Classic (pre 2015) and a Porlex tall grinder on the way.

I’m going to be using up my Christmas supply of medium ground with the stock basket to start with before getting fresh whole beans from my local roaster and grinding my own.

Any tips to stop my first few dozen cups being undrinkable would be gratefully received! Will be drinking as straight espresso as well as milk-based variants too.

Don't be disheartened if the shots with the coffee you've had since xmas doesn't make great coffee. I got a secret santa of some pre-ground coffee from a coffee shop and it's pretty bad (and this is compared with my home-roasted stuff which I'm sure isn't on par with pro roasters!).

The Porlex will do fine enough for espresso, however the steps (clicks) are quite far apart so you'll likely need to be adjusting the dose rather than the fineness for the most part. Grinding espresso by hand can be hard work. I got an attachment for mine that allowed me to pop it on a drill (as far as I know, new Porlex grinders actually have a hex bit on top as opposed to the old penta bit so don't actually need an adapter).

If you haven't already, I'd grab a blank for the portafilter and some Cafiza/PulyCaff for backflushing. Seems like the sort of thing that might be missed by a newcomer to the world of home espresso!

My first setup was an old Gaggia Classic with a Zassenhaus hand grinder so not a million miles away from what you've got (also used a Porlex as espresso grinder for my La Pavoni, though did upgrade to a motorised grinder once I had the space for it).

Would also recommend looking into upgrading the steam wand for one from the Rancilio Silvia, can't actually remember how bad the original wand was but remember very much appreciating the upgrade when I did it.

I feel a bit stupid ask but is your water hot enough? Also 4min brew time for 15g to 250ml seems a bit too long which makes me wonder that you're getting weak, underextracted-sounding coffee
I believe there are 3 major factors that affect the flavour:

• coffee to water ratio
  
• ground size
  
• water temperature
  
  

So since the ratio and ground size seem alright (maybe even too fine considering the brew time), I'd say you up the brew temperature? Also blooming might help

Hope not, I just bought one and am waiting for it to arrive.

@chris0 I am not familiar with the Svart, other than by name, but something else that could be causing the issue is fines in your grind? I don't see how those two grind types can have the same brew time.

Are there are any fines in the coarse grind that could be clogging the bottom of your filter? During your draw down for the coarse grind do you notice a fast first half and a very slow, long second half? If so, that sounds like fines in the grind. If that's the case, you'll want to stir the grounds up as much as possible to stop them from sitting at the bottom of the filter clogging it up.

Sounds weird though, have never experienced this issue.

Right, blackflush kit on order - thanks for the heads up!

I knew about the wand upgrade, seems like a pretty common mod for the classics. What's difficult to know is, as a newb, how much difference the small stuff actually makes. I've just seen a forum post saying the the user was making noticeably better espresso after going from a 58mm tamper to a 58.35mm tamper, which I just don't get. Maybe it's like us cyclists being 'able to tell the difference' between a Shimano BB and a Hope BB...

Now I'm confused which tamp to get - stick to 58mm for the standard basket or anticipate an upgrade to a VST basket and upsize a tad on the tamper but risk it not fitting in the stock basket!

Pretty sure my 58mm tamper was marginally too small for both the stock and vst baskets. I think 58.5 would be perfect

Edit: got big and small mixed up

There's noticeable play in the fit between a 58mm tamper and a standard basket tho. Not that I ever bothered to buy a 58.4mm one.

I use hot water at just off the boil so around 97 degrees. I wondered about fines. Will try another grinder and see what happens.

I did buy a bigger tamper and found it definitely helped.

Other mods worth looking into:

OPV Valve adjustment
Brass shower plate
IMS shower screen
Replacement of bimetal thermostat with PID

All of which have been noticeable upgrades.