Descale your espresso machines regularly!

[wachuko]

Just made myself an Americano with my newly descaled and cleaned machine. Much better. Had to grind a little finer but only one tweak required. Nice to be able to taste the dark chocolate and hazelnut in these beans again.

We love ours… got to finally take it out last night. It lives in our apartment in PR.

Painted the recessed area as it had faded with time…the plate with the EXPOBAR


Made my espresso and a latte for my wife… then there was some milk left and made myself another one as a cortado…



Wife was quick to drink her cup…



But I have never descaled this machine…. I do the normal back flush with Cafiza… and clean & grease the E61 assembly…

Will add that step to the maintenance task list for next time…

 

[markba633csi]

They are nice machines, aren't they? I just had to do a small repair after 7 years- the teflon pipe between the boilers
split and was leaking- a piece of 6mm tubing for 3-D printers fit perfectly- some are copper but mine is teflon
How is your Breville grinder? I nearly bought one but ended up getting an old San Marco instead- big brown beast:

 

[wachuko]

How is your Breville grinder? I nearly bought one but ended up getting an old San Marco instead

Best 200.00 that I have spent. I have several high-end single-dose grinders that I paid stupid money for them… what a waste of money... but guess I had to learn the hard way…

So happy with this one that I got one for the Rocket at the house in Ocala…

 

[wachuko]

They are nice machines, aren't they? I just had to do a small repair after 7 years- the teflon pipe between the boilers
split and was leaking- a piece of 6mm tubing for 3-D printers fit perfectly- some are copper but mine is teflon

They are great machines! I only had to replace the Teflon pipe and heating element last year.

Too bad they are no longer made. Replaced by new machines from Crem One when they acquired the company.

I bought a few spare parts last year, just in case those become scarce…

 

[SouthernChap]

Best 200.00 that I have spent. I have several high-end single-dose grinders that I paid stupid money for them… what a waste of money... but guess I had to learn the hard way…

So happy with this one that I got one for the Rocket at the house in Ocala…

Honestly, the Breville grinders (Sage in the UK) are remarkably good, especially given what they cost.

I wonder if you're like me? I honestly tried to like the light roasts that all the cool kids are drinking now but a medium to dark roast is what I grew up with and what my taste buds have 'solidified' into preferring. A lot of the cool high end single dose grinders have flat burrs and those seem to suit the lighter roasts better, bringing out more clarity and less body/mouth feel.

I have a friend with Weber EG1 and a Marzocco Linea Mini and he does like his light roasts. I got the chance to borrow his Weber for a couple of weeks (why I don't know, I could never have justified spending thousands on a grinder, especially with my Gaggia Classic; I mean I've modded it and added a PID but still...) and despite wasting an awful lot of beans I simply could not get a grind that made an espresso that I liked; everything tasted thin and without substance. My friend now, of course, considers me a tasteless barbarian!

I bought a Niche Zero a couple of years back and it does do a really nice job of helping some of the complexity in the coffee come forward, but still seems to make for a decent body; it has conical burrs of course.

All that said, I still have my Sage Dose Control grinder and having compared the two, I'm not sure that the Niche gives me £330 more than I could get with the Sage.

The Niche is a nicer machine to use though and looks a lot prettier.

 

[pontiac428]

Mmm-hmm, yes Lovie, but does one really taste the difference between a Rolhoff single-cut polyhedral burr grind over a double-roller reverse-feed frosted borosilicate expeller grind? You may choose the one that doesn't bruise your beans, but I'll take the one that doesn't bruise my ego in a room like this!

For the record, if it's after 11 am, I just go for the Nescafé Instant.

 

[wachuko]

Mmm-hmm, yes Lovie, but does one really taste the difference between a Rolhoff single-cut polyhedral burr grind over a double-roller reverse-feed frosted borosilicate expeller grind? You may choose the one that doesn't bruise your beans, but I'll take the one that doesn't bruise my ego in a room like this!

For the record, if it's after 11 am, I just go for the Nescafé Instant.

Ohhhh but you are missing on the hints of chocolate, caramel, and …

Honestly, the Breville grinders (Sage in the UK) are remarkably good, especially given what they cost.

I wonder if you're like me? I honestly tried to like the light roasts that all the cool kids are drinking now but a medium to dark roast is what I grew up with and what my taste buds have 'solidified' into preferring. A lot of the cool high end single dose grinders have flat burrs and those seem to suit the lighter roasts better, bringing out more clarity and less body/mouth feel.

I have a friend with Weber EG1 and a Marzocco Linea Mini and he does like his light roasts. I got the chance to borrow his Weber for a couple of weeks (why I don't know, I could never have justified spending thousands on a grinder, especially with my Gaggia Classic; I mean I've modded it and added a PID but still...) and despite wasting an awful lot of beans I simply could not get a grind that made an espresso that I liked; everything tasted thin and without substance. My friend now, of course, considers me a tasteless barbarian!

I bought a Niche Zero a couple of years back and it does do a really nice job of helping some of the complexity in the coffee come forward, but still seems to make for a decent body; it has conical burrs of course.

All that said, I still have my Sage Dose Control grinder and having compared the two, I'm not sure that the Niche gives me £330 more than I could get with the Sage.

The Niche is a nicer machine to use though and looks a lot prettier.

I tried all those light roast… not for me… stuck with medium roasts… love the espresso beans from Caffe Lusso… Grand Miscela Carmo and Lionshare

My nicer grinder is a Kafatek Monolith Conical

 

[pontiac428]

Ohhhh but you are missing on the hints of chocolate, caramel, and …

Oh, I get hints of Swiss Miss chocolate, nuances of mango nectar, and sometimes a suggestion of Dr. Pepper on those days when I don't rinse out my coffee cup!

 

[GrifterGuru]

Oh, I get hints of Swiss Miss chocolate, nuances of mango nectar, and sometimes a suggestion of Dr. Pepper on those days when I don't rinse out my coffee cup!

Any hint of mint and orange chocolate with an after-taste of smooth velvetty hazlenut coffee per chance? No? Must be just me then with my el-cheapo Tassimo and large mug mixing various concoctions during christmas!

 

[SouthernChap]

Mmm-hmm, yes Lovie, but does one really taste the difference between a Rolhoff single-cut polyhedral burr grind over a double-roller reverse-feed frosted borosilicate expeller grind? You may choose the one that doesn't bruise your beans, but I'll take the one that doesn't bruise my ego in a room like this!

For the record, if it's after 11 am, I just go for the Nescafé Instant.

Eh, I'd kinda like to be a coffee w***ker but with all the money I'm spending on my workshop I just don't have the resources.

Besides, now that I've given up WDTing I'd get drummed out of the "Honourable Guild of Coffee W***kers".

Seriously though, I envy people just a bit that can enjoy instant. It would be a damn sight cheaper. I'm a believer in consuming what you enjoy and screw everyone else. My current lunch joy is a sandwich of white bread, butter, cheap supermarket sweet piccalilli and British style corned beef (not to be confused with the posh type that's not made of lips and bumholes).

Coffee-wise, though, just the smell of Nescafe makes me retch.