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aldantefax posted:Thinking about setting up the La Pavoni again now that we're moving everything to the new place. I'd like to swap the Baratza 270wi that I have for something else, so looking for recommendations in that price point. I didn't really care for the grind to weight feature since it never worked quite right and the motor whine is just a little too high pitched for me, so it grates on my ears a bit and just makes the experience just that little less bit pleasant. The noise doesn't bother me with my 270wi, but yeah the grind by weight portion doesn't work well for mine either. I always end up weighing the output anyway because the integrated scale reading during the grind just lies to you. If I lift up the grounds cup a little and put it right back down most of the time it recalibrates to the actual weight, but I don't trust it all at this point. They don't make it easy to manually grind either, so overall I'm pretty disappointed with it. I believe the Niche is still pretty well thought of for something that is sub $1k, and they seem to be slowly getting their poo poo together on the production/sales side.
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Aug 9, 2021 19:12
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I'd advise the Specialita over the Silenzio - it has the bigger burrs, even if the digital timer is just a gimmick. It definitely has enough range to get to Aeropress range, and can probably do pourover even if I've not used it for that - it'd be a pain to dial back into espresso ranges if I loosened it up that far.
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Aug 9, 2021 19:18
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Canuck-Errant posted:I'd advise the Specialita over the Silenzio - it has the bigger burrs, even if the digital timer is just a gimmick. It can, and it is
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Aug 9, 2021 22:20
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I'm half seriously considering hacking together a raspberry pi based machine that automatically dispenses a set mass of coffee from a box Like press a button, a valve opens and fills a cup until it is at a preset weight Use some sort of calibration algorithm to train it to close the valve at the right moment I don't really mind grinding manually but for some reason the act of whipping out the drug dealer scales and counting beans for every cup annoys me a little
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Aug 9, 2021 23:05
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edit: double post sry
eke out fucked around with this message at 23:18 on Aug 9, 2021 |
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Aug 9, 2021 23:15
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Lord Stimperor posted:I don't really mind grinding manually but for some reason the act of whipping out the drug dealer scales and counting beans for every cup annoys me a little can always just get a test tube rack (or pay weber like three hundred dollars for a coffee-specific test tube rack) and predose 18g or whatever portions
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Aug 9, 2021 23:18
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It takes like 5 seconds to measure the beans
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Aug 9, 2021 23:19
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I like weighing out the beans most because if I do a little more or a little less, I get to see how that affects things! Half a gram too much?? Perhaps I should grind coarser to accommodate!
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Aug 9, 2021 23:23
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Mu Zeta posted:It takes like 5 seconds to measure the beans I don't like getting the bags and scale out, opening both, weighing out, looking for stray beans under the table, then putting everything away eke out posted:can always just get a test tube rack (or pay weber like three hundred dollars for a coffee-specific test tube rack) and predose 18g or whatever portions That, on the other hand, is actually just dorky enough for me to try. I had thought about getting a few small metal containers for travel but this kind of makes sense. (Continues to scroll AliExpress for perfect containers for five hours) E: they even have little brown ones that would block the sun, but they're in an ugly shape and expensive Lord Stimperor fucked around with this message at 23:43 on Aug 9, 2021 |
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Aug 9, 2021 23:40
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UV light probably doesn’t make any difference unless you’re counting out your beans a month or more in advance or storing them in a place that gets direct sunlight for at least part of the day
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Aug 10, 2021 01:58
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Lord Stimperor posted:That, on the other hand, is actually just dorky enough for me to try. I had thought about getting a few small metal containers for travel but this kind of makes sense. (Continues to scroll AliExpress for perfect containers for five hours) Let us know if you find something cool. I like the idea of pre-measuring beans for the week in dorky little tubes. I looked at the Weber page out of curiosity. Cool stuff, but crazy expensive. Love the promo video for EG-1 Onyx. The dude is living a fantasy hipster cool guy life, which I suppose is what is required to afford a $4,195.00 single-shot coffee grinder.
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Aug 10, 2021 02:08
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A single bean is about 0.1g. A few tenths of a gram makes a difference in espresso so whatever dispenser/timer mechanism would need to be close to single-bean accurate. If I were gonna raspberry pi something it’d be a motorized dial for my mignon silenzio so it could remember the current position, switch to a pour-over position, then back to the espresso position.
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Aug 10, 2021 02:55
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Deathlove posted:I like weighing out the beans most because if I do a little more or a little less, I get to see how that affects things! Half a gram too much?? Perhaps I should grind coarser to accommodate! Same, but only because I get to see my laziness threshold. Morning brew is 20g but I can swing +-.3g before I put beans back in the container.
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Aug 10, 2021 04:13
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Dren posted:It can, and it is See, this is the good info. My current habit is espresso in the morning, and a Clever cup mid-morning. So going to and fro may not be the most fun experience.
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Aug 10, 2021 09:52
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Trip report: The Lagom P64 makes excellent espresso. Holy gently caress.
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Aug 10, 2021 10:20
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Bobstar posted:See, this is the good info. My current habit is espresso in the morning, and a Clever cup mid-morning. So going to and fro may not be the most fun experience. The dial goes from like 1-5 or something where 1 is the smallest and 5 is the largest. BUT 5 is not the largest. It’s an infinite dial it keeps going around and around. To get to pourover size from espresso size required two or three full rotations. And the problem, which I saw described elsewhere so I knew about it when I switched up the grind size, is that it’s easy to forget how many rotations in you are and gently caress up switching back. I thought “Oh, I’ll just remember” but then I didn’t. Then on the way back the grind didn’t seem quite the same on the same number settings and I ended up spending several cups dialing it back in. Also, if you tighten the dial all the way down the burrs touch and it will not grind. I think what may have gotten the numbers to match up again was going all the way to this point then back up but I haven’t experimented with it again. If that is the case, it’s maybe not so bad to switch because you could tighten the burrs all the way then move back to about the right spot. You’d only waste a cup, maybe two dialing back in. I think with a bit of practice you might not waste any? I’d have to try it out again but I make pourover so infrequently that I haven’t been bothered to try again. The silenzio is very quiet though! And it’s quite easy to minimize popping by sliding the little gate back over the beans when single-dosing with the supplied hopper.
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Aug 10, 2021 12:31
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Lord Stimperor posted:I'm half seriously considering hacking together a raspberry pi based machine that automatically dispenses a set mass of coffee from a box Alternative theory it's the drug dealer scales that are annoying and a better set of scales would be a better choice?
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Aug 10, 2021 12:41
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Dren posted:Also, if you tighten the dial all the way down the burrs touch and it will not grind. I think what may have gotten the numbers to match up again was going all the way to this point then back up but I haven’t experimented with it again. If that is the case, it’s maybe not so bad to switch because you could tighten the burrs all the way then move back to about the right spot. You’d only waste a cup, maybe two dialing back in. I think with a bit of practice you might not waste any? I’d have to try it out again but I make pourover so infrequently that I haven’t been bothered to try again. I'm sure you already know this, but just in case someone else doesn't know this already: If you're going to tighten your grind, make sure you're running the motor while you do it. It stops beans/bean fragments from pushing the burrs around in unhealthy ways. Also: The little gate on the hopper is also useful for making sure that the motor is already running when you drop the beans into the burrs. This, apparently, is better for the long term health of the motor. Gunder fucked around with this message at 14:30 on Aug 10, 2021 |
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Aug 10, 2021 12:53
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Dren posted:The silenzio is very quiet though! And it’s quite easy to minimize popping by sliding the little gate back over the beans when single-dosing with the supplied hopper. How quiet is quiet? Like, occasional office cubical usage quiet? Guessing that’s a pipe dream  although in the Covid times I can use my hand grinder because there’s no one else here anyway
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Aug 10, 2021 13:42
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Nuurd posted:How quiet is quiet? Like, occasional office cubical usage quiet? Guessing that’s a pipe dream Depends on your coworkers, I suppose. My TV room (20 ft from the grinder) and dining room (like 12 ft?) are adjacent to my kitchen. When someone is watching TV or my daughter is at the dining room table doing remote school I use the grinder and no one complains. It only runs for like 15 seconds. A dB meter app on my phone clocked it at 58 dBa with just the motor running, 80-84 while grinding. Gunder posted:I'm sure you already know this, but just in case someone else doesn't know this already: If you're going to tighten your grind, make sure you're running the motor while you do it. It stops beans/bean fragments from pushing the burrs around in unhealthy ways. Didn’t know about running the motor while changing the grind size. Good tip.
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Aug 10, 2021 14:27
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I am aware that cheap espresso grinders are garbage. That being said, I have an EC155 and need a similar priced grinder to go with it. I had an Ariete 3107 grinder pro, which worked well enough for my needs, but it completely died in 6 months. Is there something that’s reasonably ok at the $50-$100 price point? Or at least what’s the best of that price range? Ideally it’d also grind for drip, but I can take or leave that aspect if I have to.
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Aug 10, 2021 20:02
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Dren posted:The dial goes from like 1-5 or something where 1 is the smallest and 5 is the largest. BUT 5 is not the largest. It’s an infinite dial it keeps going around and around. To get to pourover size from espresso size required two or three full rotations. And the problem, which I saw described elsewhere so I knew about it when I switched up the grind size, is that it’s easy to forget how many rotations in you are and gently caress up switching back. I thought “Oh, I’ll just remember” but then I didn’t. Then on the way back the grind didn’t seem quite the same on the same number settings and I ended up spending several cups dialing it back in. That's very interesting, thanks. Looking into it more, maybe the Niche is right up my street. Single dose, easy to flip between espresso and coarser methods, both dial-wise and retention-wise, looks nicer (to me) than the Mignon ones. Shame that it's £499 before Brexit-related import duties 
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Aug 10, 2021 20:30
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Pilfered Pallbearers posted:I am aware that cheap espresso grinders are garbage. That being said, I have an EC155 and need a similar priced grinder to go with it. Assuming you are using a pressurized basket with that machine, it won't make a giant difference getting a fancy grinder. I used a Capresso Infinity with my cheap DeLonghi for a couple years before I upgraded, and it was fine. Just know stuff in this price range won't do well with unpressurized portafilters in higher end machines if you are planning on upgrading somewhere down the road.
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Aug 10, 2021 21:11
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Bobstar posted:That's very interesting, thanks. Niche is a uk company; how are there brexit-related taxes?  Pilfered Pallbearers posted:I am aware that cheap espresso grinders are garbage. That being said, I have an EC155 and need a similar priced grinder to go with it. As bandire points out, it’s a pressurized basket machine so any old grinder (or even pre-ground) will work. Refurb baratza encore is close to your price range and will work great for both drip and pressurized-basket espresso, so if you can save up for a bit that’s the one to go for.
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Aug 10, 2021 21:23
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hypnophant posted:Niche is a uk company; how are there brexit-related taxes? Because I'm in the EU and have to pay Dutch VAT and import duties and the charges the courier company decides to add for the pleasure of collecting those. Happened with the 9barista too.
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Aug 11, 2021 09:56
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Dren posted:Depends on your coworkers, I suppose. My TV room (20 ft from the grinder) and dining room (like 12 ft?) are adjacent to my kitchen. When someone is watching TV or my daughter is at the dining room table doing remote school I use the grinder and no one complains. It only runs for like 15 seconds. Gotcha, thanks much. I figured it would be squarely in the “quiet - for a grinder” range more than just “quiet”.
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Aug 11, 2021 10:43
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I think I've settled on an espresso grinder to go with the Breville Bambino and was telling my friend about my potentially new setup. He offered me a Barista Pro that's basically brand new for $600. I'm debating between getting the individual grinder and brewer set-up vs an all-in-one. I'm mostly leaning towards the Barista Pro, because of the good price and I'm potentially worried that I might end up not being 'into' making espresso. I assume this unit is acceptable in terms of making a decent shot?
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Aug 11, 2021 20:30
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Get the pro. It's basically the same as the Bambino, except it lets you control temperature and the grinder will do fine for the espresso you'll make. The only downside is that the thing can't get hot enough to extract a light roast properly, but that's also the case with the Bambino, so no loss there. As long as you're happy to stick to dark and medium roasts, you'll be fine with the pro.
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Aug 11, 2021 21:04
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hypnophant posted:Niche is a uk company; how are there brexit-related taxes? Ended up just buying an encore new from crate and barrel cause they had it. Thanks for the suggestion!
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Aug 11, 2021 21:40
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obi_ant posted:I think I've settled on an espresso grinder to go with the Breville Bambino and was telling my friend about my potentially new setup. He offered me a Barista Pro that's basically brand new for $600. I'm debating between getting the individual grinder and brewer set-up vs an all-in-one. I'm mostly leaning towards the Barista Pro, because of the good price and I'm potentially worried that I might end up not being 'into' making espresso. I assume this unit is acceptable in terms of making a decent shot? It is most certainly acceptable. Enjoy it!
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Aug 12, 2021 03:11
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Thanks for the replies guys. I will be picking up the unit in 1-2 weeks from him. Anyone have some opinions on the Crema Breville products? It seems that a lot of YouTubers that I've been watching use the tamping tool. They also seem like the only company to make things specifically for the Breville in terms of aftermarket parts?
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Aug 12, 2021 20:17
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obi_ant posted:Thanks for the replies guys. I will be picking up the unit in 1-2 weeks from him. They certainly aren't the only company making 54mm baskets and parts, but at a glance everything looks ok and the prices are fine. I would avoid that style of tamper/distributor, as the spinny distributor is worse than useless. Normcore makes a nice spring-loaded tamper and they have a size that fits the breville basket. Other good upgrades are a bottomless portafilter (crema has a wood-handled one, normcore has one slightly cheaper with aluminum handle) and a premium basket. The basket is unfortunately a bit tricky as VST doesn't offer a 54mm basket and while IMS does, it requires a bit of modification to fit the breville. The crema one would be a good option if it's good quality, but I can't tell that without seeing it in person.
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Aug 12, 2021 21:23
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hypnophant posted:They certainly aren't the only company making 54mm baskets and parts, but at a glance everything looks ok and the prices are fine. I would avoid that style of tamper/distributor, as the spinny distributor is worse than useless. Normcore makes a nice spring-loaded tamper and they have a size that fits the breville basket. Other good upgrades are a bottomless portafilter (crema has a wood-handled one, normcore has one slightly cheaper with aluminum handle) and a premium basket. The basket is unfortunately a bit tricky as VST doesn't offer a 54mm basket and while IMS does, it requires a bit of modification to fit the breville. The crema one would be a good option if it's good quality, but I can't tell that without seeing it in person. I literally just got a used Normcore tamper from my coworker yesterday (he bought the wrong size). The clearance is a little tight, at least with the official Breville unpressurized basket, and I kinda don't like that the additional pieces of the tamper means more effort to give it a good clean, but otherwise it seems to be working pretty decently for my Bambino Plus Edit: Just checked all four of my baskets again (single and double, pressurized and unpressurized), and the clearance is fine, with just a tiny bit of play, even. But it's tight when there are grounds getting into the space between the basket wall and tamper 404notfound fucked around with this message at 22:26 on Aug 12, 2021 |
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Aug 12, 2021 22:17
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That’s how it’s supposed to fit, otherwise you get an untamped ring around the edge which contributes to channeling. It’s really a very good tamper for the price.
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Aug 12, 2021 22:32
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I read an article about new tiny coffee carts in NYC. They use these auto espresso machines from Eversys and apparentlly the quality comes pretty close to the best specialty coffee shops. You just press button and it even does passable milk foam. The big thing though is that they can sell a latte for cheaper than Starbucks since you don't need to train someone for 20 hours and go through 15 gallons of milk. Kind of scary for the baristas out there if these keep getting better. Coffee costs way too much now and I can't see myself sitting down in a cafe for the foreseeable future. More coffee carts please. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm6Up22cDa0
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Aug 12, 2021 22:53
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Mu Zeta posted:I read an article about new tiny coffee carts in NYC. They use these auto espresso machines from Eversys and apparentlly the quality comes pretty close to the best specialty coffee shops. You just press button and it even does passable milk foam. The big thing though is that they can sell a latte for cheaper than Starbucks since you don't need to train someone for 20 hours and go through 15 gallons of milk. Kind of scary for the baristas out there if these keep getting better. Coffee costs way too much now and I can't see myself sitting down in a cafe for the foreseeable future. More coffee carts please. This article? https://www.grubstreet.com/2021/08/blank-street-nyc-coffee-cart-startup.html It's just startup hype. I've never worked in a cafe but I've taught a few people to pull shots and steam milk and that doesn't take 20 hours or 15 gallons of milk, and modern commercial machines are all doing volumetric/gravimetric shots and ghost steam anyway so the only thing this machine is adding is grind & tamp. It's not nothing but it's not revolutionary, and it doesn't automate the most difficult part of making espresso which is dialing in. The real innovation, as the article points out, is the real estate strategy; new york real estate is expensive and cutting costs any way you can is going to help.
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Aug 12, 2021 23:28
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also i think literally every step of espresso at starbucks is automated, except steaming milk? and maybe that's automated too by now, for all i know
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Aug 13, 2021 00:16
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Yeah, I used to work for a company that distribute Eversys machines as part of our wholesale business, since they're ideal for offices - we would set them up and calibrate them, and they just kind of worked for everyone to make a good coffee with. I've been working in cafes for years, and I'm becoming more and more of an advocate for things like volumetrics, gravometrics, and puqpress, since it helps make each coffee that much simpler and more consistent, and makes it so I can focus on talking with my regulars and making the job fun. I'd honestly be pretty happy working in a good neighbourhood shop that used something like this, so I could focus on just putting out super high quality interesting coffee.
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Aug 13, 2021 00:19
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eke out posted:also i think literally every step of espresso at starbucks is automated, except steaming milk? and maybe that's automated too by now, for all i know Yeah but Starbucks tastes terrible while the specialty coffee people interviewed in the piece seem to be all for these newer automated machines. I just wasn't aware that things had advanced that far so that they made better coffee than most stores. I just want more affordable places outdoors to buy quality espressos and these things don't require much training. Mu Zeta fucked around with this message at 01:12 on Aug 13, 2021 |
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Aug 13, 2021 01:09
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Mu Zeta posted:Yeah but Starbucks tastes terrible while the specialty coffee people interviewed in the piece seem to be all for these newer automated machines. I just wasn't aware that things had advanced that far so that they made better coffee than most stores. I just want more affordable places outdoors to buy quality espressos and these things don't require much training. Starbucks is terrible because they use mediocre beans roasted to a light char so they can extract something strong enough to flavor a milkshake as cheaply as possible. The machine is not the relevant factor here. Also: I got a single origin espresso at a blue bottle in midtown for like $3 not too long ago and drank it in bryant park. Affordability and location are tied to real estate, not the technology. It's a good business model and I like a good coffee cart, but that's nothing to do with the machine. Also also: someone is still going to have to dial in the superauto every time the beans change and that's the part of the process that really requires training. The mechanical part of making espresso can be taught in an hour. Here's Scott Baca, a pretty good barista, talking about Matt Perger, also a good barista, talking about the machine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaTDOZT8LdM He kind of predicts the model of not trying to charge what a specialty shop charges for something not hand-crafted though.
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Aug 13, 2021 01:29
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