The [coffee snobs'] espresso thread

[bonzo75]

Over the last few months I have tried different brands of Guatemala, Ethiopian, Yemeni, Costa Rican, Jamaican, Panama, Nicaragua, Brazilian, Hawaiian, and few others. My favorite were the Guatemala that cost me 15 quid for 100 grams, and the Costa Rican micro lot that cost 8. The Panama was ridiculous at 60 quid for 100 grams, and there was a Brazilian at 120 which I threw out after a couple of cups.

So I gather I like lower acidity, and a bit of fruitiness

 

[the sound of Tao]

It’s been good using the flow rate profiling to fine tune the key flavours that you bring to the extraction. It’s like rolling tubes. The PID helps with resolution. A lever profile adds mouthfeel and is a bit more WE than Elrog. It’s possible to tune out the resolution a touch for some added fullness and visceral body. The OCD leveller is simply more analogue and also makes single dosing far less solid state. But the secret is dialling in the grinder like dialling in a dipole. The Acaia scale and naked portafilter allow you to do waterfall plots and also run the bias on the tamp and shape and tune the shot so it is more a function of flavour as you like it rather than just using live beans as a reference.

 

[ack]

Great stuff Graham, congrats! Enjoy the new machine, looks beautiful! I need a leveller myself

 

[the sound of Tao]

Great stuff Graham, congrats! Enjoy the new machine, looks beautiful! I need a leveller myself

Many thanks Ack, I haven’t dbt’d the leveller but it is beautifully crafted and a quick use this afternoon coincided with very exceptional shots. I love it and am just completely happy with my choices.

Cheers
Graham

 

[DaveC]

Congrats Graham, beautiful machine!

I still have my lever machine, one thing I've been doing more is adjusting the preinfusion as my machine loads water into the lever mechanism using a pump, which also provides high-pressure preinfusion. This is intended to work well with lighter roasts and gives more body, but sometimes at the expense of brighter flavors. I can also turn the pump off and preinfusion happens at line-pressure, this brings out more bright, citrus flavors that can get buried with higher pressure preinfusion.

I got a leveler a few months ago, I like it but it's more of a pretamper and distribution needs to be very close to ideal before using it, at least the one I have.

 

[Steve Williams]

Congrats Graham, beautiful machine!

I still have my lever machine, one thing I've been doing more is adjusting the preinfusion as my machine loads water into the lever mechanism using a pump, which also provides high-pressure preinfusion. This is intended to work well with lighter roasts and gives more body, but sometimes at the expense of brighter flavors. I can also turn the pump off and preinfusion happens at line-pressure, this brings out more bright, citrus flavors that can get buried with higher pressure preinfusion.

I got a leveler a few months ago, I like it but it's more of a pretamper and distribution needs to be very close to ideal before using it, at least the one I have.

What does a leveler do?

my machine is all automatic and does preinfusions etc but I don’t know what a leveler does

 

[the sound of Tao]

Congrats Graham, beautiful machine!

I still have my lever machine, one thing I've been doing more is adjusting the preinfusion as my machine loads water into the lever mechanism using a pump, which also provides high-pressure preinfusion. This is intended to work well with lighter roasts and gives more body, but sometimes at the expense of brighter flavors. I can also turn the pump off and preinfusion happens at line-pressure, this brings out more bright, citrus flavors that can get buried with higher pressure preinfusion.

I got a leveler a few months ago, I like it but it's more of a pretamper and distribution needs to be very close to ideal before using it, at least the one I have.

Thanks Dave,
I was torn between this and your Profitec 800. My mate with the Tune Animas has an 800 and it is an awesome machine. I went the ECM because I sometimes (pre isolation) have to get up before 4am to commute to work and the shorter warm up time on the ECM became the decider. Plus I enjoy dropping over to my mates place (pre isolation) and pulling a shot on his setup for a change.

Pre-infusion is great and just as you describe and using a bottomless portafilter along with going the leveller as a pre tamp (which is how I’m using it also) it’s just easy to see how much better the extraction is with zero channeling through the puck. The truth really shows in the taste and the pre-infusion and using the leveller reminds me of really good power the way the noisy edge in coffee extraction is taken out.

I am really enjoying the precision this setup is allowing me. I love the build quality of the ECM and a Mazzer grinder is a joy for life. I will use these new machines probably for the next 20 years hopefully just the same way I did with my last setup and I am figuring I will value the wonderfully improved experience of my daily espresso rituals another 20,000 times over again.

I love good value in life.

 

[the sound of Tao]

What does a leveler do?

my machine is all automatic and does preinfusions etc but I don’t know what a leveler does

Steve,
The leveller is a grading distribution tool that is spun on top of the basket to ensure that the coffee puck created is perfectly flat and polishes the puck perfectly even so that channeling doesn’t occur through the coffee puck as the water infuses through it.

This means the sum of the coffee is being extracted rather than some of it being bypassed along the way.

Some these days choose to just use a leveller but I (like Dave) use it as a pre tamp. Audiophiles are the very original and best OCD lol.

 

[Steve Williams]

Steve,
The leveller is a grading distribution tool that is spun on top of the basket to ensure that the coffee puck created is perfectly flat and polishes the puck perfectly even so that channeling doesn’t occur through the coffee puck as the water infuses through it.

This means the sum of the coffee is being extracted rather than some of it being bypassed along the way.

Some these days choose to just use a leveller but I (like Dave) use it as a pre tamp. Audiophiles are the very original and best OCD lol.

understood. My machine has a pre tamp. They are perfect pucks when extruded

 

[LL21]

I've been a Jura fan for the past 15 years. In that time I have owned the J-Series, the S-Series and then the Z-5 which I loved. The Z-5 developed a mechanical issue which needed repa adjustable ir. Over the years if a machine needed repair you would send it back to Jura and they would send you a completely refurbished machine for $250. The Z-5 was an older model and Jura always has a trade up program. I exercised that option and bought my next greatest Jura the Giga 6 which makes 28 different coffee drinks all of which are fully adjustable to one's taste.

Lately I have been taking a lot of
espresso doppio
cortada
flat white

The foam made by this machine is superb and depending on the coffee drink chosen the water is heated to different temperatures
It even has 2 hot water settings for just hot water, one for making tea and another setting which is hot water specific for green tea only

https://whatsbestforum.com/threads/...of-coffee-in-28-iterations.30161/#post-631703

Hi Steve,

Just thought we would let you know that inspired by your enthusiasm and clear track record for being incredibly discerning...we just made that first step away from Nespresso and bought a very simple Jura, the A1 which simply makes espresso but where you have 3 settings of volume for the water. We never used all the frothing, milk things that came with the Nespresso machines we have owned over the years (at least 3 I think)...so we figured the less to break the better.

Looking forward to trying it!!! What coffee do you recommend? We have had Blue Mountain when we were in Vietnam...mindblowingly good. But for everyday drinking and adding cold milk anyway, thanks for any thoughts on what great whole bean coffees you like that are more widely available (since we are in London, the unique boutique local brands are probably different than in California, but presumably the bigger names are available).

 

[Steve Williams]

Hi Steve,

Just thought we would let you know that inspired by your enthusiasm and clear track record for being incredibly discerning...we just made that first step away from Nespresso and bought a very simple Jura, the A1 which simply makes espresso but where you have 3 settings of volume for the water. We never used all the frothing, milk things that came with the Nespresso machines we have owned over the years (at least 3 I think)...so we figured the less to break the better.

Looking forward to trying it!!! What coffee do you recommend? We have had Blue Mountain when we were in Vietnam...mindblowingly good. But for everyday drinking and adding cold milk anyway, thanks for any thoughts on what great whole bean coffees you like that are more widely available (since we are in London, the unique boutique local brands are probably different than in California, but presumably the bigger names are available).

Sky's the limit with coffee. I find it everywhere. Here in the USA I have found some very good whole bean varieties on Amazon Prime

Lloyd I have owned 5 or 6 Jura machines and I am betting this won't be your last

My present model is the Giga 6 which makes 28 different kinds of coffee drinks

 

[musicfirst1]

I have an 'Expobar Brewtus, but I think the next frontier is perhaps roasting one's own beans. Check out Bean Bon on Kickstarter..

 

[Steve Williams]

I have an 'Expobar Brewtus, but I think the next frontier is perhaps roasting one's own beans. Check out Bean Bon on Kickstarter..

too many good beans out there for me to think I can do better

 

[musicfirst1]

I agree, but I'm always fighting the freshness battle..

 

[Sablon Audio]

For almost 20 years, I had an original Francis Francis however that broke down at the start of this year. Since it was already difficult obtaining spare parts and it was inevitable that something else would likely fail, I replaced it with a Sage. Whilst just the entry level model, I have been impressed by both the carefully considered design and the quality of espresso it delivers so effortlessly.

I briefly experimented with a few grounds / beans and concluded that I preferred Waitrose’s ‘One’ (white labelled from Saquella) over Illy / Lavazza / Monmouth Street. Just baby steps compared to some on this thread, however there’s only so much faff I want to handle first thing in the morning.

 

[bonzo75]

Waitrose, Illy, all are not that good. Try from various roasteries, you can order online. Recently we have been ordering from extract coffee roasters, their Brazil, Mexico, Rwanda, and the limited edition Columbia were all very good. Their decaf is excellent as well. Not expensive.

 

[Sablon Audio]

Thanks Kedar, I’ll give them a try sometime.

 

[rando]

for everyday drinking and adding cold milk anyway, thanks for any thoughts on what great whole bean coffees you like that are more widely available

Forget widely available, cast an increasingly wider net from your front door until you find a roaster who delivers consistent results and delivers them in a secure manner.

As well, a few roaster's wares to inspect who may not be close enough to pop by on a bike when requested. Should you feel compelled to contact any of them I can assure they will steer you in the right direction for your machine and tastes. Expect nimble choices where faltering availability limits their established offerings.

In no particular order:

Dark Woods

Square Mile

Whittard

Monmouth

Colonna - Beans and pods

 

[StreamFidelity]

My favorite beans called Martella Coffee Maximum Class Espresso come from a small Roman roaster (Italy).

Nice crema

 

[ack]

Wow, looks sensational!