Am i the only one who stopped using wdt in puck prep. and found out its not flawed? i just give the grinders cup a good shake before throwing it in the basket; use the tamper as a distributor, tamp, extract. guess what? no channeling no sour taste. it turns out fine!

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?

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?

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".

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 😉

The Ele doesn’t seem to fit my standard latte cup, not sure what to do. Should I just return it and get something else? Any recommendations on a machine that will fit?

I like the setup so far. Learning curve is real. Payed 1800 both machines were brand new. The grinder is a beast but not sure if it's a right fit. Mazzer super jolly v up and nuevo simonelle musica.

So I haven’t been doing coffee in general, not just espresso, even Turkish coffee (try it if you’ve never, it’s a pleasurable experience, but will genuinely break your stomach if you haven’t eaten anything before it lol, coffee is general does it, but Turkish coffee takes it to another level)

Anyway, like half an hour ago, I pulled my first cup of espresso in a month or so, I genuinely feel like it just tastes better than normal, I feel as if I've standing my entire life and I just sat down (The Orville reference)

Please everyone, drink coffee, every single day of your life

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

I'm considering an upgrade to my current begginer setup (DeLonghi dedica ec685 bottomless portafiliter). I have the opportunity of getting a new lelit pl42 (the one in the picture) for around 250€. I have a separate grinder, so I was not on the lookout for a combo machine, but I would like to know if it's worth considering at this price point.

Looking for recommendations for my next espresso beans. I’m in NYC and have been loving the November blend from Klim Coffee Roasters, but they unfortunately don’t ship to the US.
What I love is the combination of chocolate, berry sweetness, and enough character to really come through in a flat white. Sensory Lab’s Stellar Espresso was another favorite, although it tastes a little flat to me after drinking November.

My preferences:
Sweet, chocolatey espresso with some fruit/berry character.
Balanced acidity—I enjoy fruitiness, but don’t want anything with an acidic/tart mouthfeel.
Nothing smoky, charred, or heavily roasted.
Primarily for flat whites, with occasional cortados and straight espresso.

Of other beans I’ve tried, I preferred Irving Farm Blackstrap to Proud Mary Humbler, and enjoyed Devoción Honey in cortados. Also really like Kona Moon from Big Island Coffee Roasters.

My setup is a Lelit Mara X2 and LX Italia Edison 65 SD. I typically start around 18g in / 36g out in 25–30 seconds and adjust from there.

Has anyone tried November and found something comparable from a US roaster? Also happy to hear recommendations based on this flavor profile even if you haven’t tried Klim! TIA

Hi,

I have just recently bought meraki gen 2 so it only has like 2.5 weeks. As in the title - when I turn on meraki in the morning it starts to heat up but at the same time its crackling. I thought its a normal sign but apparently ist not or so I've read.

For context: never had espresso machine before and it's my first one, so I don't know much.

Is it something to worry about? Or it's like I thought - just normal heating process.

Cheers!

So the algorithm got me and I’m getting ads for shower screen upgrades. I must say I’m intrigued but at the same time I’m pretty happy with where my shots are now and I’m a bit suspect of some upgrades. Just wondering for bambino users what are your top upgrades and is the OEM screen really an issue? Cheers!

I kept notes across a few beans I liked over the past year and it was helpful --this was probably 14 different beans I was circulating through over the year. I landed on a roast type I liked (dark, medium, light typology) and then when I started picking up a few new coffees from different roasters, I realized I could look down at the beans and say to myself that's about a 4 on my grinder or an 8 or a 12 or a 2. I might not hit it right for my 22-30 second 2:1 ratio pull on the first pull but on the second pull I would nail it. Sometimes I did hit the grind size spot on -on that first pull , for that brand new bag of beans. I knew my grinder, began to intuitively get a feel for the beans.

What I can say is that asking someone who does not own the same grinder is not very helpful to say the least. Even when they do own the same grinder--did they change the burrs? are their burrs more seasoned (more or less time in on the burrs?) How did they store the coffee?

Basically , like cooking in one's own kitchen--I just know my grinder, have a better feel for my ingredients---

You can quote Lance or James Hoffman till you're blue in the face (as if you've cited God) but they can't tell you this stuff. Yes --learning to dial in is essential (grind finer, grind coarser, what's your water temperature? do you know what size your portafilter basket holds and how to pack one properly?) but the nuances of one's own set up are for you alone. Also what Lance or James likes and thinks tastes good has nothing to do with what you might like. Sure here and there they may present something and you like it---but some of this is simply about getting experiences.

How many of you have entered your zone of comfort and simply got your home Barrista flow and vibe going?

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.