Need Espresso Maker Advice

[barelfly]

Old Glory thank you! I appreciate it! I’m also trying to get my wife to find a better coffee for her Keurig. She gets cups from Amazon - I’ve tried them…..oh my. I’m spoiled with fresh ground beans and espresso pulls every morning. I’ll see what I find in there. Appreciate the link!

[barelfly]

Pt 2 - will give it a watch. It’s all I can do for a bit until the temps get over 30* so I can go ride

- edit - now that I think about this, my machine is set from factory for these times, so, that’s the repeatable part of this. I just have to ensure the grind and my tamp are consistent.

Thanks Daniel!

[barelfly]

YES! If anyone would understand the OCD, this group would! So, this morning’s pull turned out great when timing and weighing the extraction. 25 seconds on the run time did put out 40g of liquid. Gave about a 2:1 ratio with the 18g dose. I did adjust one click on my grinder this morning, seemed to be a bit more golden color in the crema. A great pull! Then I jacked up the milk trying to be fancy and froth on my own rather than letting the machine do the work. but thank you for the video

[Old Glory]

I use Trade Coffee as a subscription service for my drip coffee. Here is a referral link. I think you get a free bag if you sign up.

http://s.trdcfe.me/3pSTCb

[Old Glory]

I have had very good results with these guys:

https://www.klatchroasting.com/collections/espresso

The House Espresso is very very good. Though I like my espresso roasted on the lighter side.

[Dr. Pepper]

barelfly This guy is pretty slow to listen to, but this is how you adjust the dose on the Breville Oracle.

It took me about 7 discarded cups, but I now (with the Starbucks Espresso Roast beans we are using; if we change beans I would have to recheck, and likely recalibrate) have an 18 gm dose of grinds in the portafilter, and with a 25 sec run, draw 40 cc (gms) of extraction.

Fun for those of us with a healthy (?) dose of OCD!

Daniel

[rickgregory]

last question - anyone do a mail order service for beans they can recommend? For years, I’ve gone to Cost Plus World Market and purchased a variety of their whole beans. I ran out yesterday and went there to restock and like many things these days, supply chain issues. So, tried a few other varieties as well as a new brand - Dallmayr Espresso de Oro. See how these taste.

Two thoughts: First, there's a lot of good info in https://reddit/r/coffee, esp their weekly 'what are you brewing' threads. Second, SCG sells a variety of coffees https://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/coffee.

[barelfly]

This thread has stirred up MEMS… After reading through this a few more times, I’ve started reading elsewhere about some of the equipment I’m using. I realized I have a pressurized basket, so that will be replaced by Sunday. Also, looking at the portafilter and wondering if a bottomless is just for a bit of show compared to a double spout type portafilter. Regardless, I’ve spent some time looking at all these fancy machines on some of the sites that were mentioned earlier (Seattle, Whole Latte, etc.)

and, tomorrow I’ll be weighing my espresso pulls to see how I’m doing with my grind and tamp ……

last question - anyone do a mail order service for beans they can recommend? For years, I’ve gone to Cost Plus World Market and purchased a variety of their whole beans. I ran out yesterday and went there to restock and like many things these days, supply chain issues. So, tried a few other varieties as well as a new brand - Dallmayr Espresso de Oro. See how these taste.

[barelfly]

I put one of these on my list of items for our family gift exchange. wanting to have a better cup of coffee at our lake house. I’m really not a fan of drip coffee….so we will shall see what plays out

[Old Glory]

My Rocket R Cinquantotto Dual Boiler and Eureka Atom Grinder

[CandySueQ]

I have a Black & Decker Expresso Mio. It works very well. $20 on Amazon.

[rickgregory]

Remember some of the machines have a built in grinder which is at least $150 of value

[Midway]

Dr. Pepper Like your beekeeping "investments", I was a professional sports photographer for years. NFL, MLS, MLB, NCAA Football and Basketball, I even shot the US Open and Sr. US Open Golf Tournaments. I had a day job and sports photography was a hobby I occasionally got paid for but nowhere near recouping the cost of all the professional model lenses and camera bodies. I did have pretty good seats though. My mind has a persistent way of convincing me I have justifiable reasons to buy stuff.

[Draznnl]

Thank you everyone for all your advice and warnings. Given that we're talking about a double shot of espresso for me a couple of times per week, the occasional mocha or cappuccino for my wife and avoiding trips to the coffee shop to make a batch of barbecue sauce, a big, fancy machine isn't called for. On the other hand, avoiding the 2-3 mile drive to that coffee shop, including a trip around the traffic circle from hell, and saving the cost of the aforementioned espressos, mochas, etc. does justify us getting a moderately priced machine and a burr grinder. I'll let you know once I convince the Mrs. of this logic and we pull the trigger.

[Dr. Pepper]

MrSkimo I'm a backyard beekeeper (4 hives currently, wife made me reduce from a max of 7). Someone once asked me if I sell the honey. I laughed at that one! If I were to try and recoup my investment I'd be charging $200 per 8 oz bottle.