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Finally made it through this whole thread and wanted to post for some advice. My ~9 year old Jura Z5 finally needed to be replaced. I didn't get the memo that I was supposed to use the filters AND descale every filter change, and only started descaling a year ago or less. I think the scale buildup had become structural at that point, and descaling just pushed it further towards a leaky death. I have jumped into the deep end of the pool now and didn't know just how little I knew. Rocket Mozzafiato R and Sette 270W. The Sette didn't make it much past a pound of beans before dying entirely, threw errors at me the whole time it did work and then just stopped. Never got consistent dosing and dialing in the grind was really hard. Couldn't get a good shot out of the Rocket with what I was doing on the Sette, yet I will get it replaced and maybe the new one will work? Since I really can't go without coffee for however long it takes Baratza I went looking for a grinder. Best grinder I could easily get locally was the Breville Smart Pro Grinder, so hopefully that won't die on me so fast while I figure out how to get the Sette fixed. Haven't tried it yet but will do so in the morning. The problem I am having seems to be grind, dose, and tamp. Even then I thought I had a good grind size, it would start to flow in under 3 seconds and be done in 10-15 seconds and tasted awful. Once or twice I managed to get nothing to come out of the machine, so I figure that was too fine and too much pressure? But I literally can't get anything in between fast and awful and totally plugged up. Good news is I burned through the last of my Illy and discovered that I love close to Bhodi Leaf (mentioned earlier in this thread) and got 3 pounds of fresh coffee from them. Will give it a whirl on the Breville grinder and Rocket tomorrow. I really like the idea of the Sette and hope I can get it fixed. If they really are bad quality would I do better getting something else? I was thinking $500 or less if I could, but want a setup that will last a long time...
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Apr 9, 2017 05:56
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I was able to get a pretty good shot with the smart grinder after five or six attempts. It came out around 5 seconds, so I figure one step finer and focus on dose and tamp after. I think it started to curl in pretty fast too. Is curling is the dose or going or tamp or all three? The beans I am using had tasting notes of cherry tomato and green apple and I'll be damned it was right on. I can't wait for the chocolate graham cracker bag. Will be keeping the Breville grinder probably, good to have a backup and something to use for French press after my Sette is fixed (if it ever works, which I am nervous about). SCG had recommended a Eureka, maybe I should have listened? Will be fun to get good at this. Cranking out a shot and steaming milk at the same seems unattainable at the moment, but will be baller when I get there. While I don't want to get into roasting my own beans my guess is I'll do that too eventually.
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Apr 9, 2017 22:00
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Scaramouche posted:Don't know if it's the case with yours, but I've been seeing quite a few Sette W's with fuse/electric problems. Resulting in either A)totally dead not turn or B)turns on and random lights and indicators flash, will start a grind, and then stop. I'd contact Baratza directly if you haven't already, they have pretty good post-sales service, even if you didn't buy it from them directly. Sounds like what I had precisely. For you espresso goons: if it starts to flow a little early (4-5 seconds instead of 7), and it 'curls in' pretty fast, what is the remedy? I tried increasing the dose and tamping a bit more, and that just stopped things up entirely, so I think maybe my grind is okay. Is it just a matter of tamping a little more, or dosing a little more? Or do I need a finer grind?
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Apr 10, 2017 17:52
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bizwank posted:For starters, only adjust one variable at a time. Flow rate is a function of water pressure, tamp pressure, quantity of grounds, grind setting and grind consistency. You need to lock down and rule out as many of those variables as possible in order to find the one that's fluctuating and causing the problem. Super helpful, thanks! I really didn't know what I didn't know getting into this, but I'm happy to learn. I know with the milk I will get that with practice. Agreed I need to work on variable elimination and control changes closely. Good idea on the training class. Watching videos and reading about the process really is no substitute for getting in there and doing it.
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Apr 11, 2017 04:19
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Hauki posted:
We demand pics. As for grinders, Baratza has had my grinder for a week and hasn't even acknowledged receiving it. Any tips for a grinder that will last a long time and give good consistency for espresso use? I figure I'm just out the money for my Baratza and the Breville Smart Pro is okay but not great. Should I just get the Eureka Mignion?
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Apr 22, 2017 06:12
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wormil posted:I've been putting off posting this because it's a social problem but maybe you guys can help me come up with a coffee solution. Wife and I both love a good cup of coffee. The problem is she is dead set on having drip coffee in the morning whereas I don't mind using a french press. (I don't have an explanation other than she's always had drip in the morning and can be a bit Rainman about change.) I looked at the Bonavita, too many bad reviews and reviews suggesting it dies after 2 years. Looked at the Technivorm and $300 is a lot of money for a coffeemaker with only very good reviews. Zojirushi has glowing or hating reviews, sign of poor quality control, no thanks. Is that it? Bunn? Can't you just get a good kettle and do pour over for her drip style (CCD or Chemex or V60 or whatever) and French press for yourself? Go Wild and just use the same grind for each and enjoy life.
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Apr 23, 2017 04:38
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Scaramouche posted:oh dang guess what line we are carrying now after some wheeling and dealing at SCA last weekend: That eagle brings back serious memories. I think my parents had a brass machine with an eagle on it in the early '80s, but a non lever machine. Maybe something with a single chamber that put steam through coffee in a primitive manner, but nothing fancy and I doubt it had a modern brew group. If they weren't three feet tall I would have seriously considered a blast from my past, but the rocket fit under my counters. Grinder talk: I'm pretty sure Baratza customer support hosed me entirely. I sent back the grinder and UPS says they delivered it, it they say it never showed up. I can't get a refund from the place I bought it because I don't have a grinder (broken or otherwise) to return. I know the Breville Smart Grinder Pro isn't really a prosumer grinder. Any recommendations for something along the lines of a Eureka Mignion or Rocket Faust or whatever that won't break immediately and will produce nice even grinds for years to come? I figure I need to be in for at least $500 but could do $1k if needed budget wise.
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Apr 25, 2017 04:30
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Carpet posted:So I bought a thing... So very nice. How do you like the Mignon? I went with the 270W and now that it's back from repair I like it, but wish I had done the Mignon instead since Baratza has been a pain to deal with. The Breville Smart Grinder was okay as a stopgap but having something that can do espresso fine is going to be a lot of fun. As for the Rocket, I know people like the Exobar or Profitec, but drat if Rocket isn't a sexy machine.
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May 15, 2017 05:39
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dik-dik posted:I'm looking to upgrade my espresso machine and man it seems like since I bought my machine 3 years ago the options have really exploded. If you were looking to spend $2-3k on a machine what would you be getting? I'm very tempted by the Lucca M58 at this point. Two of us recently purchased Rocket machines (the Appartamento a few posts up and my Mozzafiatio R). The Lucca certainly has some nice features as well. Depending on your use case and where you are coming from even things like the Breville Oracle offer unique perspectives on the price point. What do you have that is three years old and why are you looking to upgrade?
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May 15, 2017 23:32
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dik-dik posted:I have a Gaggia Classic with a PID and a Baratza Vario. I'm looking to upgrade because I made a bunch of money betting on politics online and need something to spend it on. Gambling money from politics? Half tongue-in-cheek: get a Slayer You are spot on that it is fiddly stuff. I would value a scale over a timer. If timing and profiling are your bag, then check out Decent espresso? Their + machine looks pretty interesting. Really you need two analog gauges: one timer counting up one way and a scale that weighs the shot going the other way on another dial. And analog pressures and temperatures at the boiler and brew head. Ultimate steampunk espresso machine mods.
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May 16, 2017 02:59
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Aeropress?
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May 16, 2017 04:53
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I could use a little advice, since what I am seeing online is a bit counterintuitive. I know the answer may just be 'git gud' but maybe y'all have some wisdom for me. I got my 270W back from Baratza and it seems to be working, which is better than not working. I think I a, having trouble dialing it in. With the Breville Smart Grinder, I think I was going way too coarse and over dosing to compensate. Now with the 270 I am going much finer and the scale tells me I am dosing 18.5g. I was getting flow pretty fast, but it was tasty. In an effort to slow down the shots, I started going finer, but now the shots have started tasting acidic to me. Here is where I need help: the Internet tells me that to correct acidic shots I need to go finer and longer, but it seems I got into this pickle by going finer to begin with? I am to the point where I will need to add a shim to go finer, and I wonder if coarser and higher dose is really what I need to do?
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May 17, 2017 04:23
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Scaramouche posted:Well there's quite a few variables, I'm assuming the bean has remained constant throughout this? Sometimes acidity can come from slower roasted beans which means that unless you hit a perfect "window" of extraction they'll have that taste. So it'd be good to know which beans are involved, and maybe post a picture of the grind to see if there's fine/distribution problems. dik-dik posted:This guide was very helpful for me when I first got my espresso machine and grinder: http://www.home-barista.com/tips/mano-lite-short-guide-to-dialing-in-espresso-sos-and-blends-t13975.html These were very helpful. I added another shim to my grinder on the theory that I'm still not going fine enough. I know that there should be some detectable grain and not just like talcum powder, but maybe i just need to go finer. I am getting 2oz in 24-28 seconds from 18-19g of coffee, so I'm in the zone there. I am about to open a bag of light roast Ethiopian that was roasted less than a week ago so I think I'm in for fun getting it dialed in.
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May 19, 2017 05:12
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Got a bottomless portafilter to help me learn to distribute and tamp better. It came with a triple basket, which I love the idea of, but I can't figure out how much coffee to use. I was doing maybe 20g doubles. Does that mean 30g triples with 60g espresso out of it?
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May 28, 2017 03:59
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JohnCompany posted:What's your specific setup? Assuming it's a 58mm basket, I wouldn't imagine even a "triple" reaching 30g of grounds, and a 60g result is super long for an espresso. Without knowing more I'd say fidget around with 23g grounds and aim for a ~35-40g shot, but that's for a "standard" third-wave style shot, if you prefer longer shots then you'd know that. This was helpful. I have a Rocket Mozzafiato and a Sette Grinder. I got the rocket bottomless and it came with a redonckulously large basket. I compounded my own problem by trying it out with these light roast Ethiopian beans that I didn't get dialed in ever. Next bag is something I am more familiar with. Even at 25-27 grams when I tamp the puck is well below the ridge in the basket, which is why I think I've been under dosing. When I do 25ish in and 50ish out it can be pretty tasty indeed. I found that in that configuration tamp pressure makes a huge difference. Too light a tamp and it flows in 2-3 seconds but too firm and it takes 10-15 to start moving, all at the same grind setting. Should I just use the double basket with the bottomless? I really like the idea of a larger shot, it just seems like I need either a really coarse grind or a huge dose to get it filled to the ridge, if that matters?
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May 31, 2017 06:46
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JohnCompany posted:If you're getting good shots at 25-ish g then keep pulling with 25-ish g, find a formula that works rather than following what weights I use for a different setup (23g was typical on the speedster we had at my last cafe), yeah. I've never really seen people using the ridge as a significant indicator, so I wouldn't worry if you're above or below it, but if others have they can say so. This is super solid advice, thank you. I switched beans, and had to grind them finer and I find also have to tamp a little harder. But that sounds like a mistake so maybe an even finer grind is the answer. I got the brewista scale and that does help in terms of overall amount and time, and the bottomless portafilter shows me how much I still suck. I don't get sprayers or anything but it often comes out of a few spots and at different rates. At least I'm having cool moments. Like being able to really pull different flavors from different beans. This Guatemalan with dark chocolate and graham cracker that you got a bit of off the Breville Smart Grinder was taken to a whole new level of dark chocolate and graham with the Sette and bottomless portafilter. But it took several horrible shots first to get a good one.
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Jun 2, 2017 04:37
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My local place (Bohdi Leaf) sells Nitro cold brew, but it's like $8. Luckily their rewards program gives free drinks and you can literally get any drink for free. 32oz Nitro Cold Brew, don't mind if I do! Their beans are so good I'm never buying Illy again. And to the goon with the cleaning problem: the superautomic recommendation someone made is good. I was able to get good enough shots and it told me when it needed cleaning. I went the other way and got a grinder and a Rocket, but it does take that daily rinse and a weekly clean.
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Jun 7, 2017 03:14
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Anyone take actual Barista or related classes? I won basically a gift certificate for an "experience" and I figured out how to turn it into a 2 hour 1:1 training session at Klatch. Seems legit and I am very excited. They say I can bring my own equipment and use it. I assume I would be a moron not to go through the hassle of getting personal training on my own equipment vs the $20,000 Professional stuff they have at their training center?
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Jun 23, 2017 06:08
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Popping in to say that Barista training was awesome. Taking my own grinder and machine were totally the way to go, even though my machine was finicky to set up and leaked the entire time. For a while it wasn't getting enough water from the reservoir, so it would stall part way through pulling shots, and I would forget to depressurize the portafilter and welp... the fourth time the trainer actually stopped me so I didn't get coffee everywhere again. Spent an hour and a half on espresso. Learned a lot about grinding and distributing and tamping. Turns out a big part of my problem was trying to distribute, when really all I needed to do is tap down once to settle the pile and then just tamp and go. Pulled and tasted a bunch of shots, adjusting grind and dose and volume and seeing the changes. Tried double and triple baskets and higher and lower doses for each. Big take away for me was to just spend the time to try and taste and adjust! Also did the thing where the trainer grabbed different portions of the shot, maybe every five seconds, and then had me taste from the end to the start (backwards). If any of you haven't done it, grab some little Dixie cups from your bathroom or whatever and totally do this. It was cool how the end of the shot was almost watery and sweet and changed to really intense at the start! When we got to milk the trainer diagnosed my problem in about five seconds. I just wasn't texturing enough. The big plus to bringing my own equipment was at the end, we talked workflow and the trainer helped me optimize it (I was doing things like totally backwards and now I can make coffee and steam milk at the same time like a total boss, and even get a little butt shaped 'art' at the end). Sure, it's no substitute for a real like multiday class or not he job training for being an actual Barista, but a couple of hours with a trainer was super awesome and I would highly recommend it. PM me if you actually want the contact info for the trainer I used (SoCal).
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Jul 1, 2017 05:11
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For camping you have to at least use a hand Grinder with ceramic burrs, individually sealed kawaii lompok Civet coffee, and an aeropress (or if you are 'car camping' a vintage Chemex might be acceptable). Might be a bit tough calibrating the pid on your kettle over the campfire, but precise temperature control is a must, even in the woods or nature or underpass or Walmart parking lot.
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Jul 3, 2017 23:56
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So, apparently the Sette grinder is to noisy for my cohabitants. Is the Eureka Atom really the quiet grinder of choice? In other news, got 18 and 22 VST ridge less baskets. Looking forward to dialing in tomorrow, I have read that the baskets are more demanding and like a finer grind, is this true? The depths of the coffee nerd interwebs also suggest that you need a special VST tamper, but my BS alarm was ringing off the hook before I actually bought a different tamper. I don't want to go too far down the rabbit hole I just want consistent lattes when I'm half asleep before six am.
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Jul 4, 2017 05:28
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mulls posted:Is it too loud all the time or just in the morning when they are sleeping? Part of why I bought the Lido hand grinder it's quiet in the mornings when no one else is awake I get complaints all the time now. I should probably just return the Breville Smart Pro, find someone to buy a gently used Sette, and get the Atom. The Rocket tamper that came with my machine actually fits the VST okay, it's silly how much some tampers cost!
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Jul 4, 2017 18:56
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There Bias Two posted:I'm looking to get a decent lower-end manual grinder. I've been eyeing up the Javapresse featured on Amazon for Prime Day. Has anyone had success with it? I have one. It's totally fine. Sometimes I get the handle to pop off while grinding but it works fine and is very portable. Fits nicely with an Aeropress.
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Jul 5, 2017 02:20
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Scaramouche posted:I won't say espresso got me started drinking coffee (chocolate mochas did that) but it did get me to start trying to drink better coffee. And now I work at a high end epsresso equipment retailer. PM me if you want the gear hookup I have dropped at least three grand on gear this year and now I find this out? I have needs if you are willing to hook a fellow goon up...
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Jul 9, 2017 06:35
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Are you still out east?
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Martytoof posted:Oh ho ho ho I'm going to take you up on this at some point One of us! One of us! If you like the intensity maybe try americanos to see if that gets you a punch of flavor in a bigger cup? Given the amount of espresso you drink, figure out how much. Only you spend a year in going to the local shops, and then consider the ROI of having a grinder and machine at home. On my old super automatic, I think my full cost worked out to between $0.50-$0.65 per cup, and that is including the machine and coffee and water filters and cleaning supplies and everything. When that machine was finally dead it was a no brainer to invest in a new setup. As long as I can keep scale at bay with my new setup I should be solidly down to $0.50 a latte or less, in part because I stopped buying Illy coffee and found better, cheaper, fresher coffee locally. Don't think of it as an expensive hobby, think of it as saving money by it yourself!
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Jul 9, 2017 16:33
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Still in Toronto 
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Big Beef City posted:Have you seen the art on the label for my latest cab? gangbusters I'm sorry but I have no idea what this means.
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Jul 11, 2017 03:59
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The answer is always another espresso.
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Jul 15, 2017 05:49
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Martytoof posted:So my whirlwind discovery tour of coffee shops in the area has revealed a pattern of which espressos I like and which ones I don't. There's one place right by me that I've been to twice, and each time I get an espresso there it tastes.. green? I don't know how else to describe it. Very much tastes like there's grass in my coffee. Is this a thing that happens with different roasts or what is happening? I'm just not going to go there, much like I stopped going to starbucks because their espressos taste like an ashtray 75% of the time. Talk to the baristas. Talk to them about how things taste and ask them about it! It is entirely possible that the grassiness is intentional (all sorts of things are possible and they could like the green flavors, or it could be they don't know and have something screwed up and nobody told them).
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Jul 17, 2017 04:56
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I have hard water and I use a Mavea filter and an in tank pack.
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Jul 22, 2017 05:59
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Hamburlgar posted:My Gaggia Classic arrived a couple days ago. Makes awesome coffee, but the 3 way solenoid to send the excess water into the drip tray wasn't worked. How is it not working exactly?
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Jul 23, 2017 04:11
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Hamburlgar posted:After running the machine for a shot, the 3 way solenoid should activate and send the excess hot water down the drip tube into the drip tray. This would prevent the grinds staying soggy as all hell making them difficult/messy to clean out. So when you take the portafilter off is it still pressurized, sending hot soupy coffee grounds spraying everywhere? If not the solenoid may be working to relieve the pressure, just not putting the water where you want it...?
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Jul 23, 2017 04:43
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I switched beans and had to go as fine as my Sette with two shims can go to get things right. Pucks are nice but do have some water on top. With the beans I was using before I was several notches coarser and the pucks were not wet on top at all. That being said this Kéan coffee is really good stuff.
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Jul 24, 2017 05:54
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Welp, I'm up to using four shims on my Sette. I'm kind of regretting not just getting a Eureka or one of the better Baratza Vario grinders. The Sette is just so loud and it's not nearly as adjustable as I was hoping. The range of adjustment just isn't all that wide. That being said, the workflow is easy and I love having basically no retention. It is nice having the built in scale, really good for my amateur use.
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Aug 8, 2017 05:16
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dik-dik posted:Don’t use your coffee grinder for spices. I'm picturing someone using a Mazer or Eureka or some big fancy grinder for garam masala or like nutmeg or cloves. Maybe that's how they make flavored coffees like the powdered international crap Mrs Mango loves?
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Aug 14, 2017 04:32
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Ultimate Mango posted:Welp, I'm up to using four shims on my Sette. Soooo, Baratza is just straight up replacing my Sette now. I would rather get a non-Sette grinder but they didn't want to give me that option. Who knows if the new one will be better, it I get to dial in again, hooray.  I am all for innovation and new designs but buyer beware for sure. Maybe in 10 years all grinders will use a design like this and be bulletproof.
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Aug 15, 2017 04:01
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Scaramouche posted:This could be interesting for people in Canada at least. We got a letter from Baratza saying they're changing up how they want to handle warranty/return problems. "Oh boy," you guys are probably going "here comes the screw job". Turns out it's the opposite; they want us to have customers with problems contact them directly and they'll handle everything else. They're also subsidizing us in free parts for repairs/replacements to give away to customers based on previous year's total sales. I've only had 3 guys with problems lately (which, based on the amount we sell, is quite small) and Baratza basically sent them pre-paid shipping labels to take back the bad grinder and then mailed them a brand new one. That's pretty freaking good. If that's the case maybe that's why I am finally getting a new grinder instead of sending the same one back again? What a welcome and refreshing policy change. It might save them a lot of money long term.
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Aug 17, 2017 05:50
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Baratza Sette number three was DOA. Foolish me packed number two back up fully before plugging in the third. Grinder number four is on its way to casa del Mango. In other news, I got a few pounds of Ethiopian that had spot on tasting notes of Honey, Dark Chocolate, and Berries. drat good stuff. Bodhi Leaf is great for any SoCal goons who don't live close to Kean or Portola.
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Aug 19, 2017 04:55
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Baratza Sette #4 was a dud out of the box. There was a little piece that holds the portafilter holder and can adjust for different sizes, and at first I thought it was missing but nope it's just rattling around inside the grinder. Good times. Here is the glory hole shot. 
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Aug 28, 2017 05:24
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MrEnigma posted:I really want to try the 270/270w but there seems to be such hit or miss with them, and that's kind of scary. I have an revile smart grinder pro I used like twice, it's just taking up counter space, but you probably want something nicer. The Sette is a great idea but I'd wait for Sette 3.0 at this point. Not even the second generation, but the third. Hopefully Baratza just agrees to give me the full refund I requested. Anyone here have an opinion on the Eureka Atom? I'm thinking it might be what I want to replace the Sette.
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Aug 29, 2017 04:26
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I have finally gotten four of the five awful Sette grinders back to Baratza. They are working to initiate a refund and I will be sending back the last one. Its a shame that the product is total and utter crap, I really loved the weight based dosing and the overall workflow, but I'm totally done with them. After one defective and four, yes four DOA units, I'm just done. I ordered an Atom. Mrs Mango won't complain about the noise and I'll just learn to dial in based on time and weigh my grounds or some poo poo. Its totally totally dumb that Baratza could not get things figured out, but I figure the Atom should be fine. I suppose I should return my smart grinder pro that is also unused at this point...
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Aug 31, 2017 01:15
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