(GPGT)Espresso machine hoot

[The_King]

bro you hoot already?

no, i get a lever machine instead, as i need the cash for a NAS, ma silver speaker, etc...

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/e.../those-who-appreciates-coffee-4425935-26.html

 

[calbay]

all grinder will have the same problem that you mentioned....

Of course it's different.

A doserless is grind on demand, you need how much, it grinds how much straight to the portafilter.

You don't need to pour in as much and at least they remain in beans form not powder. That is already a very big difference.
In beans form, you can use various methods to preserve it and minimise the amount exposed.

If it's a doser, you need sufficient powder in the chamber to work well.
Of course there's a trick which is what i have to live with since i'm using an old school professional doser.

That is you put in only enough beans, grind all into the chamber then empty into your portafilter. This step however has a flaw that is you prolong the time needed to put your grinds into the portafilter
That is a long step just to do exactly what doserless does.

The main advantage for a doser, is to standby powder so a barista or someone can dispense powder quickly without waiting.
The doserless grinders had already improved a lot in recent years, they are much faster, reliable and neater with additional features like timer, auto dispension, etc.

Even cafes are going for doserless nowadays

 

[Adolez]

BEAUTIFUL!

 

[derazor]

Of course it's different.

A doserless is grind on demand, you need how much, it grinds how much straight to the portafilter.

You don't need to pour in as much and at least they remain in beans form not powder. That is already a very big difference.
In beans form, you can use various methods to preserve it and minimise the amount exposed.

If it's a doser, you need sufficient powder in the chamber to work well.
Of course there's a trick which is what i have to live with since i'm using an old school professional doser.

That is you put in only enough beans, grind all into the chamber then empty into your portafilter. This step however has a flaw that is you prolong the time needed to put your grinds into the portafilter
That is a long step just to do exactly what doserless does.

The main advantage for a doser, is to standby powder so a barista or someone can dispense powder quickly without waiting.
The doserless grinders had already improved a lot in recent years, they are much faster, reliable and neater with additional features like timer, auto dispension, etc.

Even cafes are going for doserless nowadays

I read this article also and if at home I only make 1 or 2 cups then doserless would be better rite?

https://www.espressocoffeeshop.com/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=25 here

 

[Lazy_Tiger]

Currently I'm using french press, my aeropress is on the plane.
FP, Aeropress and Espresso. The settings differ a lot?

I have a Hario Slim now, I might just bring it to use for work use together with the Aeropress.

BTW, if I don't want to spend the $ now.. the Hario Slim pairs well with the Silvia?

For the grinder, the requirement should be
1) able to grind fine enough
2) Stepless highly recommended
3) minimal retention
4) ease of changing grind settings for different application
5) Burr of course

Anything else that I may have missed?

The settings differ a lot. Almost at the opposite ends of the spectrum with FP being the coarsest and Espresso being the finest (only turkish grind is finer). I won't recommend hario slim for espresso (I have a hario slim and a porlex) because the particle size varies too much. You can end up with boulders and dust in the same grind setting. Hence extraction is inconsistent.

Hand grinders also don't work well with french press precisely because of the same reason the french press needs a very course grind and the fine dust that hand grinders produce cause over extraction in the french press.

I find hand grinders work best with aeropress and this is my travel set up. From my experience Aeropress seems very forgiving of the quality of the grind and produces good coffee more consistently with less trouble.

I agree with all your points except maybe (2). Some stepped grinders offer very small stepped adjustments hence making it practically no difference to the step less models.

For pt (5) the burrs need to be of good quality and sharp. Anything 50mm and above should be adequate. But I think what is more important than size is the burr assembly. You can ask the vendor to dismantle the burr assembly for you to inspect. Top and bottom burrs should be "stable" and not shaky when assembled (no free play). THis is crucial when grinding fine grinds because even a little free play between burrs will cause inconsistency in the particle size. If this "stability" is not there then micro-adjustment becomes irrelevant.

Eventually you might want to invest in 2 grinders. 1 for dedicated espresso and 1 for brewed.
Swapping back and forth between espresso and brewed grind is too leh cheh because espresso grind is very sensitive and may need to experiment and find the sweet spot again for expresso after adjusting out for brewed.

Your AEROpress is on a plane? Derazor is a steward/ess or pilot?

 

[Lazy_Tiger]

Throw in $100 or $200 more for accessories.

Accessories can get free. Be thick skin and demand.

 

[derazor]

The settings differ a lot. Almost at the opposite ends of the spectrum with FP being the coarsest and Espresso being the finest (only turkish grind is finer). I won't recommend hario slim for espresso (I have a hario slim and a porlex) because the particle size varies too much. You can end up with boulders and dust in the same grind setting. Hence extraction is inconsistent.

Hand grinders also don't work well with french press precisely because of the same reason the french press needs a very course grind and the fine dust that hand grinders produce cause over extraction in the french press.

I find hand grinders work best with aeropress and this is my travel set up. From my experience Aeropress seems very forgiving of the quality of the grind and produces good coffee more consistently with less trouble.

I agree with all your points except maybe (2). Some stepped grinders offer very small stepped adjustments hence making it practically no difference to the step less models.

For pt (5) the burrs need to be of good quality and sharp. Anything 50mm and above should be adequate. But I think what is more important than size is the burr assembly. You can ask the vendor to dismantle the burr assembly for you to inspect. Top and bottom burrs should be "stable" and not shaky when assembled (no free play). THis is crucial when grinding fine grinds because even a little free play between burrs will cause inconsistency in the particle size. If this "stability" is not there then micro-adjustment becomes irrelevant.

Eventually you might want to invest in 2 grinders. 1 for dedicated espresso and 1 for brewed.
Swapping back and forth between espresso and brewed grind is too leh cheh because espresso grind is very sensitive and may need to experiment and find the sweet spot again for expresso after adjusting out for brewed.

Your AEROpress is on a plane? Derazor is a steward/ess or pilot?

Thanks for the reply

Nola from AMZ la LOL....

The french press and aeropress is optional la.

Just want to get the grinder for the espresso.

Wondering any maintenance required for the grinder? I read it can be an heirloom product like watches LOL. I think razors also can haha..

Another bro here said about stone appearing on coffee, i ask my friend like no such occurrence leh. QC that bad meh

 

[Lazy_Tiger]

Thanks for the reply

Nola from AMZ la LOL....

The french press and aeropress is optional la.

Just want to get the grinder for the espresso.

Wondering any maintenance required for the grinder? I read it can be an heirloom product like watches LOL. I think razors also can haha..

Another bro here said about stone appearing on coffee, i ask my friend like no such occurrence leh. QC that bad meh

Stone never happen to me but I read it happened before. Need to change the burr set after that.

Grinder need to clean. I dismantle and thoroughly clean the burr sets 2 twice a year. Once a month use grindz to absorb the old coffee oils from the burrs if I won't want to dismantle.

I doubt it can be a heirloom piece because the motor is not user serviceable and will die one day.

For espresso only then even a rocky rancilio is pretty decent. I have one on these too and it works ok for espresso.

 

[testerjp]

Stone never happen to me but I read it happened before. Need to change the burr set after that.

Grinder need to clean. I dismantle and thoroughly clean the burr sets 2 twice a year. Once a month use grindz to absorb the old coffee oils from the burrs if I won't want to dismantle.

I doubt it can be a heirloom piece because the motor is not user serviceable and will die one day.

For espresso only then even a rocky rancilio is pretty decent. I have one on these too and it works ok for espresso.

You have everything, you working for which cafe?
Highlander?

 

[aaur4man]

TS when can go ur HSE try?

Hope can learn something from u too...

 

[Delsamor]

Nice one TS. I admired your passion for a good cup of espresso and the fun of creating a perfect cup by your own hands. I will be building a mini bar counter with your kind of setup when I move in to my BTO flat.

If you don't mind, maybe you can organize a small edmw group to your house for coffee appreciation and sharing of interest? I don't have much hands on experience on this type of machine and would like to learn more also.

Oh ya, like what the other forumers mentioned, your beans will "spoiled" if you didn't manage to consume it. Do invite your neighbours to sometimes, its a great way to build neighbourhood rapport too.

 

[Delsamor]

What grinder are u using now? The macao mc4 should be very similar to what I using now. Compak K3. Same burr size. IMO doserless is better because easier to clean.

The K3 unfortunately has a lot of grind retention. I must always grind 3 seconds of beans out, and throw that portion away before grinding the portion for the espresso. Especially if it is going to be the first drink of the day. It was the same problem with my rocky.

May consider baratza vario for future purchase as I heard grind retention is minimal.

Anyone else uses pour over methods? Currently (in order of preference) using aero press, hario v60 , wood neck drip pot and vacuum pot, vietnamese coffee filter.

More haolian from me… I also have a nespresso, a dolce gusto, a jura automatic machine and a silvia. Sadly all these machines are now in storage and only used as backup.

I think I've finally stopped at the vbm lah.

My advice to newbie is to continue to use pour over method first (I find aeropress the most consistent) and save enough to buy a HX machine with proper E61 group head at least. I started off with a silvia and while it made good coffee the results were inconsistent and is less forgiving to beginners because it required temperature surfing.

For home use, only one word to you. POWER

 

[derazor]

Nice one TS. I admired your passion for a good cup of espresso and the fun of creating a perfect cup by your own hands. I will be building a mini bar counter with your kind of setup when I move in to my BTO flat.

If you don't mind, maybe you can organize a small edmw group to your house for coffee appreciation and sharing of interest? I don't have much hands on experience on this type of machine and would like to learn more also.

Oh ya, like what the other forumers mentioned, your beans will "spoiled" if you didn't manage to consume it. Do invite your neighbours to sometimes, its a great way to build neighbourhood rapport too.

I think go there empty handed feels cheapo.

If go maybe can go bring some beans and maybe some wine haha.

We are not ngiao rite?

 

[Delsamor]

I think go there empty handed feels cheapo.

If go maybe can go bring some beans and maybe some wine haha.

We are not ngiao rite?

Yes of cos. It would be perfect for a gathering!

 

[Lazy_Tiger]

You have everything, you working for which cafe?
Highlander?

Not highlander. I work for Lazytiger cafe. Only customer is me. Maybe my partner sometimes. Or occasional guest. My cats don't drink coffee.

 

[derazor]

Not highlander. I work for Lazytiger cafe. Only customer is me. Maybe my partner sometimes. Or occasional guest. My cats don't drink coffee.

Bro ask you.

If you buy a pack of fresh beans? Do you drink daily or only at night or weekends? If that's the case can finish it before it stales? Now still siao on pulling shots or white elephant liao?

I also scared spend so much at the end don't use abit waste $. Also some bros here said coffee machine is low value can't sell used one.

Cheers.

 

[Lazy_Tiger]

Bro ask you.

If you buy a pack of fresh beans? Do you drink daily or only at night or weekends? If that's the case can finish it before it stales? Now still siao on pulling shots or white elephant liao?

I also scared spend so much at the end don't use abit waste $. Also some bros here said coffee machine is low value can't sell used one.

Cheers.

I usually buy 1 bag per week. Sometimes 1 bag can finish before the week ends. I drink daily on average of 2 shots a day. Sometimes can be 5 drinks a day if need to work late. So for me its a daily habit.

Some mathematics. I bag of beans is usually 250g. I use 18grams for espresso (Using VST overdosed type of basket) + about 5 grams wastage each time. SO thats about 23 grams per drink. So 1 bag is only about 10-11 drinks only.

Don't forget there is a lot of wastage when changing the blend of beans cos usually need to recalibrate the grinder and dosage to match the taste profile.

Beans can last about 3 weeks. Some would say 4 but thats just stretching it. Some roasters would recommend using the beans only after a few days after the roasting date for the flavour to "peak". Newly roasted coffees contain a lot of CO2 that can cause some problems when brewing esp for pour overs.

 

[chikyblink]

I think go there empty handed feels cheapo.

If go maybe can go bring some beans and maybe some wine haha.

We are not ngiao rite?

Nice one TS. I admired your passion for a good cup of espresso and the fun of creating a perfect cup by your own hands. I will be building a mini bar counter with your kind of setup when I move in to my BTO flat.

If you don't mind, maybe you can organize a small edmw group to your house for coffee appreciation and sharing of interest? I don't have much hands on experience on this type of machine and would like to learn more also.

Oh ya, like what the other forumers mentioned, your beans will "spoiled" if you didn't manage to consume it. Do invite your neighbours to sometimes, its a great way to build neighbourhood rapport too.

TS when can go ur HSE try?

Hope can learn something from u too...

Wah seh you guys serious or not? Or just say say only?
If serious den I'll start planning and organising liao.

 

[chikyblink]

Wondering any maintenance required for the grinder? I read it can be an heirloom product like watches LOL.

You want heirloom grinder? Get a hand powered grinder like the HG One.
Check out what they say abt heirloom!

http://hg-one.com/the-hg-one-grinder/features/heirloom-caliber-construction/

Confirm can pass down to your kids and grandchildren!

 

[chromehead]

aeropress can handle turk grind like a boss because of the paper filter

turkish grind is really fine like fk. put in FP you are going to drink sand water