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  • Right, I have a Gaggia Classic, picked up from here, tamper, beans and I thought I was ready to go when I picked up a Sboly burr grinder but, oh no, under no circumstances will this do - I've got to drop at least a weeks wages on an appropriate grinder suitable for espresso!!

    Is this the coffee equivalent of 'nothing less than Ultegra will do' or will the Sboly be suitable on the finest grind settings....I understand buying pre-ground is also a no-no....Is my flirtation with 'proper coffee' over before it even started?....I can't afford to drop 100 odd quid on a suitable grinder quite frankly!

  • Generally you don't have to spend big to get very nice coffee, but espresso depends entirely on finding a sweet spot of flow rate which is primarily determined by grind size. Therefore the grinder is the most important part of an espresso setup.

    That said, you can try with your grinder, you might even be able to mod it a bit finer, and if you can;t go fine, then try using the pressurised portafilter. There's nothign wrong with that, it will still taste nice and you can steam milk to go with it and practice latte art.

    I started with a classic and a modded dualit grinder like yours. I made bad espresso, but I made tasty milk drinks and learned a bit until I got a used commercial grinder for £60 on gumtree.

    Just try making coffee and see what you get within your limitations.

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