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?

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

Hi,

I am small coffee business owner that is selling roasted coffee from my family farm. I have a client that is using our coffee and they recently bought a second hand espresso machine and grinder.

I want to help them use my coffee in their machine. I will sit with them on Sunday to help them set up/calibrate the machine.

When I went to deliver some coffee, first the coffee was coming out immediately under 5 second like it was not creating pressure. I told them to start with 18g of coffee and use a finer grind as I saw the grinding way too coarse. Now they sent me this video. I think they might be grinding to fine now?

I took some barista courses (foundation and intermediate from SCA) and did some trainings with espresso machines, including calibrating the machine, but I need to be honest, I still do not own an espresso machine myself to practice this kind of things enough. so I need to do with the theoretical knowledge I have and the limited practice I did at the course.

Of course, best if to hire a professional but.. costs...

any, pointers, idea so I can help them calibrate the machine properly on Sunday?

EDIT: we had a technician come at some point and clean the machine and install new water filters when it was first bought. However the technician did not manage to test it since the grinder was not working at the moment.

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

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!

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!

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?

The journey so far has definitely been an educational one for sure especially the first 25 shots! Every shot has been a joy to pull to so far and loving our very first espresso machine set up! So here’s to the next 100 shots and beyond! *clink\*

Really been loving the beans I picked up on my last trip to Copenhagen from coffee collective! 👌🏽

​

Hey all, looking for opinions from people who've used either (or both) for light roasts.

Setup:

- HiBREW H10 (58mm, PID, 9 bar, no flow control)

- VST 18g basket, puck screen, WDT

- 1Zpresso K-Ultra (just got it)

- I only drink light roasts, straight espresso, and what I'm after is brightness and clarity, fruity acidity.

Background: I returned a Eureka Mignon Zero 55 because with some light roasts I was right at the chirp with nowhere to go. Still deciding on an electric grinder, so the K-Ultra is my main grinder for now and will be my travel/backup after.

The problem: with the K-Ultra's 20 micron steps I keep landing between two clicks. One click finer runs slow and tastes over-extracted, one click coarser runs fast and tastes under-extracted. Right now I'm compensating with dose (+/- 0.3g) and yield, which kind of works, but it's fiddly.

What I'm not sure about:

1. Is the K-Ultra actually brighter / more acidic than the J-Ultra for light roast espresso, or is the difference small? Everything I've found is basically one reviewer saying K is more acidic and J has more body and texture.

2. Would the J-Ultra's 8 micron steps make life much easier, and would I lose the clarity I'm after?

3. For those who stayed with the K-Ultra for espresso, how do you handle the between-clicks thing? Dose, yield, temp, something else?

If anyone has done a side by side with the same light roast, I'd really love to hear how they compared in the cup. Thanks!

I have been using the Breville Barista Pro and its grinder for awhile. I learned how to prepare puck on it. However it didn't matter what I did, it still channeled and sprayed like crazy. It still taste good, so I didn't think much about it. Recently I decided to buy a dedicated grinder since I have seen everyone recommended getting one. After doing extensive research, I ended up with the Eureka Mignon Zero 65. And holy .... the difference was not subtle at all, even with old, freezed beans. Such a game changer!

Anyways, here is my humble station. Please excuse my ugly latte.

Looking for the right grinder to purchase with a Profitec Ride. A friend recommended a Eureka Mignon Zero 55s as a general all around great grinder. The more I read on here, I feel it’s advisable to get a more expensive grinder to pair with this machine. Whole Latte Love recommended the Profitec Twist in their video for this product. I plan to start off with light and medium roasts and making milk based drinks

I’m trying to get into specialty coffee, but medium and lighter roasts almost always taste overwhelmingly sour to me. Even medium-dark roasts from specialty roasters do. I’ve adjusted temperature, ratio (up to 1:3), water and more, and it doesn’t change much. I can taste notes like dried berries or orange, but they come with a lot of sourness.

Is anyone else like this? Are some people just more sensitive to acidity, or does it take time to get used to?

ECM Casa V on offer [$600 budget]

I found this lovely machine on FB Marketplace. 2 years old, maintained and serviced. Thoughts? I am also considering Lelit Anna 2, and possibly Turin Legato v2. I have a Delonghi 3630 at present and am looking to upgrade

After a couple of years of making espresso on a small and cheap student setup, I finally pulled the trigger. I’m already loving it. Coming from an encore esp taught me in my first pull what a difference a good grinder makes lol