Need Espresso Maker Advice

[Midway]

Living near Seattle I have lots of great roasters to try. I currently have Olympia Coffee, will try Espresso Vivace next, have the Caffe Lusso that came with my new grinder and have put together a list of other top local recommendations to try. Starbucks is not on the list and I’m sure there are great out of state roasters but I have more local options than I will ever get to.

[Midway]

Nice. A better scale arrives Tuesday that will allow me to weigh the dose and the shot. My new single dose grinder doesn’t retain much if any coffee so I won’t need to weigh after grinding but I'll confirm. For over 14 years I just grinded to fill the portafilter, leveled, tamped, and pulled by measure, not weight. This should take my game up a few notches.

[barelfly]

That’s a nice machine!

And Yep, buying a scale really changed my brew as well. Weigh whole bean, then weigh the grounds to ensure I get what I put in, then weigh and time my brew.

[ssennott]

This is my coffee set up, I weigh the beans after grinding then I also weigh the shot coming out, by doing this I have different recipes for different coffees and I am able to easily repeat what I make.

[Midway]

I am early in the process of dialing everything in. I'm told it takes grinding 3 to 5 pounds of beans to season the new burrs. I'm not going to run cheap coffee through it and throw it away. I'll just drink what I grind and live with the results. One thing is less waste and the beans and grind are always fresh.

The first few days the portafilter was channeling and spritzing and espresso OK but not great. The bottomless design shows all puck prep flaws. The last two days the shots were great!

[barelfly]

I started buying fresh beans earlier this year - amazing the difference. It’s game changing and like you say…omg to most espresso, unless it’s a specialty shop. I get my beans from three places locally that roast a few times an week and that has been the best thing I’ve done for my morning coffee. Like you say, the cappuccino I make can compete with any shop in town! And I even learned how to do art

Yes, rabbit hole…on dialing in and making latte art!

[barelfly]

Yes, love the set up…and it is just as bad as bbq…many rabbit holes to dive down! Did you notice any flavor differences in the single dosing?

[Christobol]

I'm likely the resident espresso nut, and my stuff is WAY overboard for most people. I travel with a hand grinder and an Aeropress because I can't get marginal coffee from most coffee shops. Most places sell burnt or way over extracted coffee/espresso. I will say that the single most important thing to any coffee setup, especially espresso, is use fresh beans that you like. As someone said a couple of years ago in this post, make a cold brew and you'll get a concentrated brew that'll be great for sauces. Just make sure you have beans that have a great flavor to your liking. Most espresso shops make terrible espresso, as a true barista is adjusting their espresso machine throughout the day as both the beans and the air change (humidity, temperature, due point etc).

So grab some good beans, do a medium grind and make a low water cold brew at least 12 hours and no more than 36 and you'll be much better off than 99% of coffee shops. Oh and I have only had 2 espresso shots that were within the range that I make at home, and that was from a very well known boutique coffee shop that ships fresh coffee worldwide. FWIT I buy extremely light roast coffees, anything labeled as medium tastes burnt to me.

[FireMan]

I’ll still go with mine.

[FireMan]

Yup, that’s the line I was thinkin.

[FireMan]

Works for me. She still servin ya coffee?

[Rfhd69]

What an awesome set-up!

[Midway]

I replaced my 14-year-old Quick Mill Andreja Premium Espresso maker after the pump failed with an Izzo Alex Duetto IV Plus and have been using it the last 5 months. It has been a nice upgrade and has dual rotary pumps vs. the single vibratory pump in the Andreja Premium. I received a new KafaTek Monolith Conical Espresso grinder (MC5) to replace my 14-year-old Mini Mazzer Espresso Grinder last Friday . I wanted to single dose grind and am loving it so far. I added a nice scale and bottomless portafilter with VST baskets to help me get everything dialed in. This hobby is as bad as grilling.

[Midway]

My Andreja Premium failed this week and I was about to order a Rocket R58 Cinquantotto, it is sold and serviced by a local company, My wife is more concerned with form (appearance) over substance. They all seem to be in the same class so I had her pick her favorite looking machine between the Quick Mill Vetrano 2B Evo, the Rocket and the Izzo Alex Duetto IV. I wanted the Rocket, She insisted on the Izzo. I plan on replacing the pump and release valve on my Andreja and gifting it.

[Old Glory]

Mt Dad loved his Moka Pot. It is actually and Italian Invention. He spent time in Miami and was a huge Cuban Coffee fan. Too sludgy for me but people love them.

https://www.seriouseats.com/moka-pot-history-coffee-maker-italian-caffetiera