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  • t-bone
    Senior Member
    • Dec 2009
    • 438

    Originally posted by rilu
    thanks, t-bone, this is really helpful! and you're certainly lucky to have won such a machine :D but could you say what would have been your first choice (or choices) were you to purchase a machine? thanks again!
    It's been a few years so I can't say I remember 100% where I was leaning for an upgrade, but a few I remember from the shortlist are:

    Expobar Brewtus
    QuickMill Alexia/Anita/Andreja

    or a used commercial single-group machine like a Rancilio S series.

    Comment

    • Skye X
      Senior Member
      • Oct 2010
      • 180

      Originally posted by cowsareforeating View Post
      from a friend in the know, they use a lot of bean per shot, and extract basically a single shot out of a double's worth of beans which gives a very sweet and fragrant shot but can lack depth sometimes..
      It depends, of course, on the barista, as well as the bean/roast. One of my friends has a buddy who works there, so we've tried quite a few varieties, and there are wildly varying levels of complexity and flavor, of course.

      I think the best possible recommendation came from taking two of my classmates there last year, and neither of them being coffee connoisseurs, both remarked that they felt there was no need for cream and sugar (how they normally take it) and both took bags home.

      In any case, it's still my favorite, followed by Four Barrel.

      What's yours? We should grab the other bay area members and have an SZ SF coffee/tea tour day.

      Comment

      • Chinorlz
        Senior Member
        • Sep 2006
        • 6422

        Originally posted by t-bone View Post
        It's been a few years so I can't say I remember 100% where I was leaning for an upgrade, but a few I remember from the shortlist are:

        Expobar Brewtus
        QuickMill Alexia/Anita/Andreja

        or a used commercial single-group machine like a Rancilio S series.
        I recently "discovered" the expobar Brewtus 4 via wholelattelove and I'm loving it... although I don't think I'm quite ready to drop the $2k at this specific moment on it. The dual PID, dual boiler system is great and makes the user a little more efficient with steaming the milk instead of doing the single boiler and letting your freshly pulled espresso's crema dissipate while the boiler gets up to good dry steam temp. Plus, the machine looks awesome as hell:

        www.AlbertHuangMD.com - Digital Portfolio Of Projects & Designs

        Merz (5/22/09):"i'm a firm believer that the ultimate prevailing logic in design is 'does shit look sick as fuck' "

        Comment

        • Chinorlz
          Senior Member
          • Sep 2006
          • 6422

          I'm not sure Rilu. I don't know a ton about the different types of machines. I've been using a Rancilio Silvia for about a year now and it does a pretty decent job of everything. I'm reaching a point though where I want more direct control of everything and want the entire process to be just a little bit more efficient without having to "fudge" the machine so to speak. You have to fiddle and tweak the Silvia to get it quickly up to temp and then surf it to get to proper brewing temp and then wait for the boiler to heat up again to reach steam temp.

          That brewtus has independent boilers for steam and brew and you can control the temperature digitally. I really like that. I certainly will not be spending $6k on a machine like the GS3 as awesome as it is... someone is selling a brewtus IV on coffeegeek for about $1800 which is not bad.

          Don't get me wrong, the Silvia is a great machine and easy to use/maintain and definitely a great way to make your own drinks at home... I got mine for I think around $400-450 on the secondhand market and you should expect to be able to do the same. Score a good grinder on the secondhand market as well and you should have a full respectable home setup for under $1k :)
          www.AlbertHuangMD.com - Digital Portfolio Of Projects & Designs

          Merz (5/22/09):"i'm a firm believer that the ultimate prevailing logic in design is 'does shit look sick as fuck' "

          Comment

          • t-bone
            Senior Member
            • Dec 2009
            • 438

            Oh yeah I forgot about the grinder! I ended up trolling eBay for months and eventually snagged a Mazzer Super Jolly without a hopper for I think around $400 shipped. $30 for the smaller hopper and it's been perfect for the last 2 years without any repairs or adjustments. I would definitely recommend this route over buying any of the pro-sumer grinders new.

            Comment

            • mpcec
              Junior Member
              • Jun 2008
              • 28

              t-bone (and any other home baristas), whats your dialing in process like? Not sure if this is applicable but if you have company over, what kind of indicators do you use to tell when your shots are finished?

              Comment

              • mpcec
                Junior Member
                • Jun 2008
                • 28

                I don't have a home setup myself I was just curious as to what everyones personal process is. Essentially what is you basic goal when you buy new beans, do you look to reach a specific volume in a specific extraction time, or do you eyeball it off flow rate?

                Also I'd love to hear what beans you guys typically use.

                Comment

                • cowsareforeating
                  Senior Member
                  • Jan 2011
                  • 1032

                  ^ aeropress gives really low acidity if you' liked it

                  Comment

                  • Chinorlz
                    Senior Member
                    • Sep 2006
                    • 6422

                    Originally posted by rilu
                    Yeah, got some more info today on Silvia, and it seems to be a decent choice. My main concern are these temperature fluctuations. How long did you need to get the right timing? Or would you say it's difficult to find it? Also, which Silvia model did you have? It seems there are some important differences between the models before 2009 and the one after, which should have a fairly simple procedure for getting the right temperature timing.
                    (I've seen some people say that Silvia is so difficult to use without a PID that even Gaggia Classic would be a better option, given it's cheaper, but I'm not interested in Gaggia because of the aluminium boiler.)
                    As for the grinder, already have a decent one! :) It's the cheapest in the category of decent ones, but still has fine reviews (MiniMoka M-203 by DeMoka).
                    I think mine is a V2 Silvia. I sort of play it by ear since it's not PID'd I don't know exactly what temp I'm running at regularly (one of the big reasons i want to upgrade). When I get fresh beans, I'll ever so slightly tweak the dial on my mazzer mini to get the grind exactly right so that i extract a double shot (2 oz) in about 20-25 seconds.

                    I was surprised by how subtle my adjustments need to be on the fineness of the grind to result in pretty significant changes in extraction time. I end up sometimes having to pull 3-4 shots with a new batch of beans to get it set up just right.

                    There are a number of unknowns with the Silvia such as what bar you're running at and what temp you're brewing at which is a little annoying to me. I know a lot of this is factory set etc, but I want to know these things real-time and also be able to adjust them at home easily.

                    I tend to use local beans so I get mine from Texas based roasters in Houston and San Antonio that I've developed a relationship with and these folks are super passionate about what they do so you know you're getting beans that have a lot of love put into them :) Amaya in Houston and Browns in San Antonio.

                    Damn... all this talk is making me really want to get that expobar.....
                    www.AlbertHuangMD.com - Digital Portfolio Of Projects & Designs

                    Merz (5/22/09):"i'm a firm believer that the ultimate prevailing logic in design is 'does shit look sick as fuck' "

                    Comment

                    • comedyzen
                      Senior Member
                      • May 2009
                      • 279

                      I love my Silvia and the accompanying Rocky grinder. Been using both for over 4 years with no repair issues at all. Just wondering how often people have been desalinating. I TRY to do it bimonthly. As for the grinder, I have done nothing at all and feel like I should be doing some sort of preventive maintenance before something goes horribly wrong.

                      Chinorlz, I feel you about the double boiler. After years of solid pulls on the Silvia, I have pushed it to the max and know it's limitations. I'm gearing up to buy a "next level" machine as well. I am also trying to get some latte art going but the Silvia just doesn't froth to get to that outcome...at least for me.

                      Comment

                      • aussy
                        Senior Member
                        • Jul 2011
                        • 555

                        Oh no, I knew reading this thread would be dangerous. The extent of my coffee 'snobbery' is the quality of bean used (friend's uncle owns a small roastery, so I have access to beans aplenty!). I just use a french press and call it a day. Still haven't tried siphoned or percolated coffee.

                        I do however have a cheap espresso machine that I've only used with regular roast. I think I'll pick up some proper roast and give it a go. Hopefully I hate it so I can avoid the perils of lusting after expensive appliances.

                        Comment

                        • t-bone
                          Senior Member
                          • Dec 2009
                          • 438

                          Originally posted by mpcec View Post
                          t-bone (and any other home baristas), whats your dialing in process like? Not sure if this is applicable but if you have company over, what kind of indicators do you use to tell when your shots are finished?
                          I always aim for a double ristretto extraction of about 1.5oz in 25 seconds or under. I have a bottomless portafilter so that I can watch the flow and ensure there is no gushing or inconsistent flow-through. I can usually leave my grinder within a small range, adjusting slightly coarser for a brand new bag of beans (usually about 5-7 days post-roasting) and finer after a week or so (if they last that long). The best indicator for shot quality is blonding time, which unfortunately gets shorter and shorter as the beans age, so the total volume is usually what I go by.

                          After a lot of dosing and tamping tweaks, I have settled on filling the basket up, using a SLIGHTLY-less-than-flat knife back to distribute and "Chicago Chop" level the grounds just barely concave under the rim, then the standard light-tamp, tap, tamp-and-twist. I have actually found that adjusting tamp pressure over the course of a week is another way to avoid endless grind tweaking, as it really does have a great effect on flow-rate.

                          Phew, enough coffee-nerdery for one day.

                          Comment

                          • comedyzen
                            Senior Member
                            • May 2009
                            • 279

                            Rilu Haha...I drank a lot of ocean water this year and got desalinate on my mind. Yes, descaling is what I meant to say. Hmmmm, never knew about the 500 shot rule. Thanks for sharing. My wife and I each have 1/day. So 120 pulls every 2 months falls way short of 500. The descale package says to run a tank of water after the application, but I always do at least 2 for good measure. I also always use Brita'd water, never "straight from the faucet" water.

                            Very interesting on your rice grinding trick. I will look into that. Thanks for the tip.
                            Last edited by comedyzen; 12-29-2011, 10:05 PM.

                            Comment

                            • Faust
                              kitsch killer
                              • Sep 2006
                              • 37852

                              Originally posted by t-bone View Post
                              I always aim for a double ristretto extraction of about 1.5oz in 25 seconds or under. I have a bottomless portafilter so that I can watch the flow and ensure there is no gushing or inconsistent flow-through. I can usually leave my grinder within a small range, adjusting slightly coarser for a brand new bag of beans (usually about 5-7 days post-roasting) and finer after a week or so (if they last that long). The best indicator for shot quality is blonding time, which unfortunately gets shorter and shorter as the beans age, so the total volume is usually what I go by.

                              After a lot of dosing and tamping tweaks, I have settled on filling the basket up, using a SLIGHTLY-less-than-flat knife back to distribute and "Chicago Chop" level the grounds just barely concave under the rim, then the standard light-tamp, tap, tamp-and-twist. I have actually found that adjusting tamp pressure over the course of a week is another way to avoid endless grind tweaking, as it really does have a great effect on flow-rate.

                              Phew, enough coffee-nerdery for one day.
                              Ok, when can I come over for a cup?
                              Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

                              StyleZeitgeist Magazine

                              Comment

                              • t-bone
                                Senior Member
                                • Dec 2009
                                • 438

                                Any time! I'll make sure to have fresh beans.

                                Just had an Americano after dinner and am currently descaling my machine for the first time in way too long.

                                Coffee.

                                Comment

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