Coffee machine

[J Wakefield]

I have these 2 machines at home and both are great, the Sage is really incredible though a significant step up from units ive had before in terms of making coffee and the feel of it. 

 

[cadenceblur]

That sage looks like a replica of the Breville, but more high tech.

[Grease_Monkey]

That sage looks like a replica of the Breville, but more high tech.

 

If I am not mistaken the high end Breville machine and the Sage one is one and the same with a slightly different skin. Not to be confused with the 10k odd Breville that can be bought from @Home - although there is nothing wrong with that one either.

[cadenceblur]

If I am not mistaken the high end Breville machine and the Sage one is one and the same with a slightly different skin. Not to be confused with the 10k odd Breville that can be bought from @Home - although there is nothing wrong with that one either.

I have played with the @Home version, it's possible to get decent microfoam with some practice, takes a while though, the grinder is a bit hit and miss though.

[the nerd]

That sage looks like a replica of the Breville, but more high tech.

 

Sage and Breville are the same brand just in different regions!

[Stretch]

Question for those in the know....I have a basic breville, which one had for the past 5 years. It started tripping the plugs the other day.... Which googling seems to point to a thermostat. Worth repairing? Or time to replace?

[J Wakefield]

Sage and Breville are the same brand just in different regions!

 

Correct, if you buy it in UK its Sage, if you buy in Germany its Breville. 

[J Wakefield]

repost

Edited July 24, 2020 by J Wakefield

[Muzee]

No unfortunately not, it looks stunning, getting the Eureka Specialita. I have completely blown my budget by just getting the MaraX.

Congrats, hope its the Chrome Specialata to match. The bug has bitten so there is no such thing as a budget anymore, ask any cyclist..

 

Now comes the:

Precision milk jugs

High quality cups

Precisiion Scale (acaia lunar/Hiroia Jimmy/felicita arc)

Precision baskets and screens (ims /vst)

Knock boxes and tamping mats

Distribution levellers

Blind shakers

Chrome Polishers

Cleaning tools and detergents

Molykote 111

Wifi plug

Water treatment, softeners etc

Good fresh bi weekly beans

 

All in time..

Edited July 24, 2020 by Muzee

[NateChat]

Damn. I tick alot of those! [emoji85]

[splat]

Congrats, hope its the Chrome Specialata to match. The bug has bitten so there is no such thing as a budget anymore, ask any cyclist..

 

Now comes the:

Precision milk jugs

High quality cups

Precisiion Scale (acaia lunar/Hiroia Jimmy/felicita arc)

Precision baskets and screens (ims /vst)

Knock boxes and tamping mats

Distribution levellers

Blind shakers

Chrome Polishers

Cleaning tools and detergents

Molykote 111

Wifi plug

Water treatment, softeners etc

Good fresh bi weekly beans

 

All in time..

 

Wow, I clearly need to lift my game!

[Sniffie]

Good day! Question for all the knowledgeable coffee connosieurs. I am looking at moving up a level from my trusted bialetti. Thinking of an espresso machine in the 10k to 15k price bracket. I already have a Krupps grinder, so it doesn't have to be a bean to cup model. Should have a milk steamer though. Any recommendations, what to look for, what to avoid. Thanks.

Got myself the Silvia with PID, and after a few weeks of trying my Krupps grinder also the Rocky grinder. 

 

Few observations after a steep learning curve. (Remember I was a complete virgin)

The single most difficult aspect to get consistently right is the even distribution of the grounds before tamping. After trying all the methods explained on the www and youtube, I now have a system which works OK, most of the time. I found a little plastic container that fits snugly over the basket. I grind and weigh into this container, put the basket over it, flip it around, quick few shakes to loosen the clumps, few horizontal shakes to level it out, basket into the portafilter handle, and then I distribute it even more evenly with a wooden distributor and palm tamper I made myself on the wooden lathe. I then tamp with the palm tamper which has a collar so that it tamps to the same depth each time. Quick polish with the metal tamp and then I draw the shot. 

Questions:

1. Is this worth the money? 

https://onlinecoffeeshop.co.za/shop/barista-tools/coffee-tampers/palm-tamper-and-coffee-distributor-black-adjustable-58mm-base/

2. Does precision screens and baskets make a huge difference? Seeing that they are quite expensive.

 

Next on the shopping list is a dedicated scale. Kitchen scales are just to variable and inaccurate. 

[cadenceblur]

Maybe a dosing funnel followed by a quick stir with a toothpick will help - works for me anyway, I reckon those distribution tools are nice to haves but not really necessary - you can achieve the same results with the above mentioned suggestion IMO.

 

Rather put that money towards a precision basket and a good coffee scale ( many to choose on the market at present), my acaia has served me well in this respect

[Muzee]

Got myself the Silvia with PID, and after a few weeks of trying my Krupps grinder also the Rocky grinder. 

 

Few observations after a steep learning curve. (Remember I was a complete virgin)

The single most difficult aspect to get consistently right is the even distribution of the grounds before tamping. After trying all the methods explained on the www and youtube, I now have a system which works OK, most of the time. I found a little plastic container that fits snugly over the basket. I grind and weigh into this container, put the basket over it, flip it around, quick few shakes to loosen the clumps, few horizontal shakes to level it out, basket into the portafilter handle, and then I distribute it even more evenly with a wooden distributor and palm tamper I made myself on the wooden lathe. I then tamp with the palm tamper which has a collar so that it tamps to the same depth each time. Quick polish with the metal tamp and then I draw the shot. 

Questions:

1. Is this worth the money? 

https://onlinecoffeeshop.co.za/shop/barista-tools/coffee-tampers/palm-tamper-and-coffee-distributor-black-adjustable-58mm-base/

2. Does precision screens and baskets make a huge difference? Seeing that they are quite expensive.

 

Next on the shopping list is a dedicated scale. Kitchen scales are just to variable and inaccurate. 

 

 

 

 

Steps after grinding should be 

 

 

 

1. Blindshake (your method should work, can also use a cocktail/toothpick stick to swirl/mix further)

 

2. Level. the link you provide for the 58mm will work for this, this has a tamper too. I bought a 58mm levelling  tool (also known as knock off OCD tool) for around R500 from equipment cafe in Randburg JHB, their online presence sucks but they supply most coffee places, i think they ship too. Can also check with Baristas friend (allcoverred (at) gmail.com )

 

3, Tamp using consistent pressure at 90 degrees (hand to elbow straight in line with tamper). consistency is key here. Finish with polish, one spin should be ok.

 

 

 

IMHO precision screens and baskets do make a difference, but everything else also needs to be configured for that. Competition baskets vary with most around 58.5mm etc, so your tamper needs to be precision as well, although this is not critical. Locally these baskets are priced ridiculously, can look at the La Marzocco baskets made by VST (Cape coffee), these are not bad. 

 

Precision scales make a huge difference if you want to weigh beans/grind as well as brew correctly. The Felicita arc (based on the Acaia Lunar) is probably your most economical option. 

Edited July 27, 2020 by Muzee

[Mathieu_Schneuwly]

When i got my silvia i also tried to use a krups grinder and got thoroughly rejected. 

The silvia is a tough nut to crack. Part of the reason is the pressure is very high. There is a pressure relief valve inside the machine that you can use to adjust the pressure to calm things down a bit. I adjusted mine down to 8 or 9 bar and bought a much better grinder, best decision ever for consistently easy good shots. 

Got myself the Silvia with PID, and after a few weeks of trying my Krupps grinder also the Rocky grinder. 

 

Few observations after a steep learning curve. (Remember I was a complete virgin)

The single most difficult aspect to get consistently right is the even distribution of the grounds before tamping. After trying all the methods explained on the www and youtube, I now have a system which works OK, most of the time. I found a little plastic container that fits snugly over the basket. I grind and weigh into this container, put the basket over it, flip it around, quick few shakes to loosen the clumps, few horizontal shakes to level it out, basket into the portafilter handle, and then I distribute it even more evenly with a wooden distributor and palm tamper I made myself on the wooden lathe. I then tamp with the palm tamper which has a collar so that it tamps to the same depth each time. Quick polish with the metal tamp and then I draw the shot. 

Questions:

1. Is this worth the money? 

https://onlinecoffeeshop.co.za/shop/barista-tools/coffee-tampers/palm-tamper-and-coffee-distributor-black-adjustable-58mm-base/

2. Does precision screens and baskets make a huge difference? Seeing that they are quite expensive.

 

Next on the shopping list is a dedicated scale. Kitchen scales are just to variable and inaccurate. 

[splat]

Got myself the Silvia with PID, and after a few weeks of trying my Krupps grinder also the Rocky grinder. 

 

Few observations after a steep learning curve. (Remember I was a complete virgin)

The single most difficult aspect to get consistently right is the even distribution of the grounds before tamping. After trying all the methods explained on the www and youtube, I now have a system which works OK, most of the time. I found a little plastic container that fits snugly over the basket. I grind and weigh into this container, put the basket over it, flip it around, quick few shakes to loosen the clumps, few horizontal shakes to level it out, basket into the portafilter handle, and then I distribute it even more evenly with a wooden distributor and palm tamper I made myself on the wooden lathe. I then tamp with the palm tamper which has a collar so that it tamps to the same depth each time. Quick polish with the metal tamp and then I draw the shot. 

Questions:

1. Is this worth the money? 

https://onlinecoffeeshop.co.za/shop/barista-tools/coffee-tampers/palm-tamper-and-coffee-distributor-black-adjustable-58mm-base/

2. Does precision screens and baskets make a huge difference? Seeing that they are quite expensive.

 

Next on the shopping list is a dedicated scale. Kitchen scales are just to variable and inaccurate. 

 

Sounds like you have created your own Blind Shaker method.

(I had to Google a few things in the list above)

 

I bought the Motta leveller because I was battling to tamp straight. It distributes/levels and tamps at the same time. I don't have the patience to fiddle with clumps and don't want to add another step to the process.

 

My scale is irritating because it's not consistent, which was the point of getting a scale.

It depends on how I put the empty portafilter on it and take a few goes to reach the same weight, which makes me think that when I weigh it with ground coffee its probably not accurate.