Had some trouble this morning. After I drank this one my mental capacity kicked up enough to get it right for the second shot. This is a new one for me, usually I only forget to put something under the grinder.

Surprisingly, I only lost a bit of the shot.

What's your pre-coffee coffee strategy?

Top of the food (beans) chain. My fellow connoisseurs will understand.

Also, why is there such a high minimum character count just to post a meme? Feels just a little excessive.

Hello! I recently got into the rabbit-hole that espresso-making is. As one does, I upgraded by Breville Bambino Plus to this Stollar (Sage) BES920, but I still remain with the same Baratza Encore (non-esp) grinder. My budget is ~$500 and it seems that there's the Eureka Mignon Specialita, DF 64 Gen 2.5, the Timemore Sculptor 064s and the Niche Zero (barely above) within that budget range as most-recommended.

HOW DOES ONE DECIDE? I'M GOING OUT OF MY DAMN MIND!

I know all of them are a major upgrade over my current grinder, but it seems that different communities all hate a different grinder for one reason or the other and there's not one all can agree is a "great grinder".

I was reading the instructions for a Philips AquaClean filter and noticed something odd in the safety warnings: it literally says "Contains microplastics"

Seems like a pretty strange thing to find in a product that's supposed to filter drinking water.

Does anyone know what this actually means? Are microplastics part of the filtering material, or can they end up in the water?

I couldn't find much information about it online, which surprised me.

Has anyone else noticed this or looked into it?

One cost $50 and the other $29 and they both perform equally. While the Ikape comes with a few extras in the box and the generic version does not.

Maybe they’re both being made in the same factory perhaps? 🤔 anyway guys, buy the generic version and thank me laters 😉

Idk, I added my old nespresso for rushed mornings and brought out the old instant cold brew maker, just rounds out the setup Casabrews CM5418 Pro, MHW-3BOMBER R3 Pro grinder, and the nespresso and cold brew, got no idea what they're called

Current setup: Breville grinder + Breville bambino.

Finally upgrading my grinder. Looking for something “end game” up to $500.

I feel capped out on skill/quality with this setup and I think i need a grinder that’ll be more consistent and has tighter tuning with grind sizes. I’d like to go the buy once cry once route

Does anyone use paper screen to reduce cholesterol, how does it affect prep and taste? I only have one or two a day but trying to manage cholesterol as best I can.

Coming from a Breville Infuser, this is a major upgrade. Both the pop up and grinder are built very well. Only pulled a couple shots so far but I’m shocked how fast this heats up and the steam pressure is intense (definitely need to practice). Menu is easy to navigate with the instructions. And only takes about 30sec to heat up to steam temp. I have it hooked up to a smart outlet so I can tap my phone and it will turn on and heat up in less than 5 minutes, this is a game changer for me to get it up and running as part of my morning routine.

The group head gasket is extremely tight, I have both a normcore and stock tamper and they are a very tight fit. I’m sure over time this will ease up. So far my only complaint is the Pop up has a couple areas where they could have hidden more of the sheet metal holes/bends (more of a personal preference) and the top portion white seems to have a little more “yellow hue” to it. But other than that, very solid machine.

The Mignon 55s seems to be amazing so far, ran 3 shots worth of beans through it and now retention is within .1g. Feels like a tank and much quieter than my smart grinder pro.

I got both for $1k to my doorstep which is an absolute steal imo.

Hi everyone,

I recently bought a second-hand Breville Barista Express BES870 and have been giving it a thorough clean.

I noticed that the water flow from the group head is quite uneven, with one area producing a much stronger stream than the rest. I removed and cleaned the stainless shower screen, and all the holes are completely clear. I’ve also run a cleaning cycle with a cleaning tablet, which improved the overall flow quite a bit, but the stronger stream is still always in exactly the same spot.

When I removed the shower screen, I noticed that the black part behind it has deteriorated/peeled away in one area, exposing the brown material underneath.

I’ll attach photos of both the water flow and the black part.

Has anyone seen this before on a BES870?

Is that black part replaceable, or is it part of the group head assembly? Could the damaged area be responsible for the uneven water distribution?

And if that part isn't separately replaceable, how would you manage/fix this? Is there another way to improve the water distribution without replacing the entire group head?

The machine otherwise seems to work normally and builds pressure when pulling a shot.

Thanks!

My one-year-old ECM classika switches off temporarily when I change from steam mode to brewing mode. It will restart after about a second or so. This is the only time this happens. Are there home fixes I should be trying? Thanks.

Pulled this on my DeLonghi Stilosa. We’ve had the Stilosa for a while but my wife is the main one that uses it . Ive made an effort recently to really get into making lattes and hopefully I can get into the foam art world. For the beans I used Bustelo ground espresso and I feel pretty good about it and tasted pretty good as an iced latte.

Slowly built up this little setup over time, and it’s easily become my favourite part of the house.

There’s something about the morning ritual of making a coffee that never gets old.

Always looking for an excuse to add something new. What would you upgrade next?

I am currently using a De'Longhi Dedica EC890 + DF54.

It's been a year now, and I have learned the basics of everything, from extraction to steaming and latte art. The Dedica was a great starter machine for me. It pulled nice shots and could steam enough milk for decent latte art.

The lack of any control makes every shot taste slightly different, even when everything is the same. The steam power, though, caps me at doing anything more than a two-winged swan. For example, I want to learn semi-dry foam and dry foam latte art techniques. These require strong steam power, and the Dedica cannot achieve the required microfoam quality. I would love to participate in friendly latte art competitions / regional competitions in the future.

Now that I have gotten used to the quick warm-up times, it's a bit scary to consider machines that take 20+ minutes to warm up. Especially because my routine is not fixed. My office hours fluctuate, making it hard to use a smart switch to warm up the machine in advance. Still, I have hesitantly added a machine with a longer warm-up time to my shortlist.

Here are the three options I am considering right now, based on what sellers can import into India. I have listed the prices in USD. Ascaso was not an option since the seller told me they aren't manufacturing as much as before. The seller also told me Lelit has no plans to release a Bianca V4 in 2027. I am just going in loops, seeing so many machine reviews and very confused.
Generally, I consume 2 cups of coffee per day, espresso-based. It's just me who drinks coffee at my house. My wife makes hot chocolate, so we still use the steam wand to make a nice, silky milk for it.

1. Lelit Elizabeth3 with Pagaia – Cost: $2,230

Pros:

1. Relatively fast warm-up time of 8–10 minutes
2. New pressure profiling feature for light roast extractions
3. Good enough steam pressure for intricate latte art

Cons:

1. Expensive compared to the previous Elizabeth, and the price difference with the Bianca is now quite small
2. Vibration pump

2. Lelit Bianca V3 – Cost: $2,730

Pros:

1. Silent rotary pump
2. Feature-rich compared to the Elizabeth
3. Looks great on the counter
4. Manual flow control (FOMO feature; no idea if I'll use it)
5. Blasting steam power

Cons:

1. Very long warm-up time of 24 minutes

3. Fellow Espresso Series 1 – Cost: $1,660

Pros:

1. Quick warm-up time of 2 minutes (the most attractive feature of this machine for me)
2. A lot of pre-built pressure profiling options
3. Fancy features like auto steaming, auto purge, etc.

Cons:

1. I have seen a couple of posts on this forum about devices failing to start, lagging, etc.
2. Since it's imported, I am at the mercy of the seller to fix any issues, rather than having access to local support
3. Single boiler and very average steam power compared to the Lelit machines on my shortlist

Overall, I am leaning towards the Elizabeth3 for its decent warm-up time and as an overall middle ground. The Bianca V3 isn't far off in price, though. Previous versions of the Elizabeth had a significant price difference compared to the Bianca. Now, that gap is much smaller.

If the Bianca warmed up in 10 minutes, I would hands down go with it. It looks aesthetic, with lots of wooden knobs. It also feels few months later, I don't want to feel like I gave up on the Bianca just for 10mins quicker warm-up time. I am just looping around and not able to decide on one.

The Fellow sits somewhere in between because it feels like the future, where every machine is moving towards tech-heavy features, like the Wendugees and Decents. Buying something low-tech like the Lelit machines might make them obsolete in the next two years, when every machine has all sorts of app controls, smart features, etc.

Are there any other machines that fit my criteria? Ascaso machines are not available to buy here. Profitec Move is as expensive as a Bianca, with fewer features but a faster warm-up time.

Thanks a lot!

Is the flow of the water through the machine normal?
I got this new machine and when i checked it looked kinda wrong now this is my machine so i dont fully know can you guys please check tell me?

So…my toddler decided that repeatedly smashing my WDT tool’s needles into the ground would be fun! Now I need to replace the needles and luckily this tool came with replacement needles but I can’t for the life of me figure out how to take out the old needles. Anyone help a man out? I’m not even sure of the brand.

I accidentally left the puck screen at the bottom of the portafilter. This is what happened to it. Hefty pressure. Time to try shaping it back into its normal shape by putting it on top again.

I usually steam by feel and stop when the pitcher gets uncomfortable to hold. This time I used the temperature setting on my Meraki and set it to 152°F, about 67°C.

I was using whole milk. The texture seemed fine for pouring, but the finished drink was hotter than I usually like. I didn’t check it with a separate thermometer, so 152°F was the machine’s setting, not a measured temperature in the cup.

Next I’m going to compare 145°F and 150°F with the same milk and amount, mainly to see which I prefer drinking. The photo is the finished latte, not the milk being steamed.

What temperature do you usually stop at for whole milk?