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Tell us about your espresso machine

Mazzer is the defacto standard.

Was my first espresso grinder. Will be my last.

Into the 2nd set of burrs. It did not need burrs replaced but a new set fell into my hands at a price I could not refuse

Thanks. I’m not really researching grinders until I get some consensus as to how much improvement I can expect from my little Gaggia. If the grinder won’t make an appreciable difference to my entry-level machine’s espresso I’ll probably wait a while longer to upgrade both at the same time.


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Mick, I would be interested in how much volume you seem to be able to grind with your Mazzer prior to replacing the burrs. I have an older Mini (from the 90s) and I am on the third set of burrs but I have ground at least 1500 (likely more) pounds of beans.

Espresso is the least used process. These latest burrs should out last me.
 
I have a couple of pre millenium la pavoni europiccola units with the dual switches. I make do with a rok grinder (the original one with the metal base). I need to ask them if the shaft is changed if the spec of it can be fully updated to that of the gc grinder with the new burr set and improved adjustment mechanism, though I question how incremental the gain will be. May get a eureka mignon specialita eventually, it's one of the only good electric grinders with a footprint that makes sense for me, that and I can get away from conical.
 

Whilliam

First Class Citizen
A thirty-year-old brass La Pavoni Europiccola, now in storage with a heating block that needs replacement. Grinder is by Rancilio, and that's also in storage. (I think I might also have an Olympia grinder in storage somewhere, too.)

I miss them.
 
I actually need to change the gaskets on my main one. I think I am going to try those blue silicone piston seals everyone is making drunken boasts about.
 

Tirvine

ancient grey sweatophile
Thanks. I’m not really researching grinders until I get some consensus as to how much improvement I can expect from my little Gaggia. If the grinder won’t make an appreciable difference to my entry-level machine’s espresso I’ll probably wait a while longer to upgrade both at the same time.


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IME a better grinder improves the quality in any machine. Fresh beans ground evenly and measured, loaded, and tamped well are all going to have a bigger impact on the final product than any relatively decent machine. The Gaggia ought to benefit from a good grinder.
 
Yeah, a lot of people don't get that. Even with good grinders, different types of burrsets and rpm can create radically different end products.
 

Tirvine

ancient grey sweatophile
A thirty-year-old brass La Pavoni Europiccola, now in storage with a heating block that needs replacement. Grinder is by Rancilio, and that's also in storage. (I think I might also have an Olympia grinder in storage somewhere, too.)

I miss them.
Time to pull 'em out, fix 'em up, and get overcaffeinated!!
 
6CBA1479-EA54-4143-B3C0-FCA48318107D.jpeg
Since March 2021 I have an olympia cremina lever from 1969 (fully refurbished and re-chromed by the Italian seller), paired with an Eureka Mignon flat burr grinder. Still in my learning curve. I can handle Dark roasts, and make a decent cappuccino, but still struggling with lighter roasts.
 
View attachment 1388219Since March 2021 I have an olympia cremina lever from 1969 (fully refurbished and re-chromed by the Italian seller), paired with an Eureka Mignon flat burr grinder. Still in my learning curve. I can handle Dark roasts, and make a decent cappuccino, but still struggling with lighter roasts.
Nice .I've had a 1967 and 1978.Sold my last one a couple of weeks ago.
 

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My Saeco recently expired in a smoky, circuit-breaker tripping electrical explosion, so I'm sportin' a shiny brand new Gaggia Classic Pro. Mods so far include a bottomless portafilter and an IMS basket (and a real tamper, of course). Next up is the OPV mod. It already pulls a very good shot, the new basket was a major improvement over the supplied ones. If anyone has any suggestions or advice, I'm all ears. I'm also a hand grinder of many years' standing, and am using a 1zpresso JX Pro with good results.
 
My Saeco recently expired in a smoky, circuit-breaker tripping electrical explosion, so I'm sportin' a shiny brand new Gaggia Classic Pro. Mods so far include a bottomless portafilter and an IMS basket (and a real tamper, of course). Next up is the OPV mod. It already pulls a very good shot, the new basket was a major improvement over the supplied ones. If anyone has any suggestions or advice, I'm all ears. I'm also a hand grinder of many years' standing, and am using a 1zpresso JX Pro with good results.
OK, time for a photo with my latest array of gadgets and gizmos, or at least most of the key ones, including a couple of very useful accessories 3D printed for me by my daughter.
20221102_184337.jpg
 

Whilliam

First Class Citizen
Il Pavoni. Big, brass and broken. Needs a heater block. Using an Aeropress in the meantime.

For American coffee, I use Folger's Instant with a pinch of salt. (Horrors!)
 
I fell into the espresso rabbit hole when I picked up a little steam powered espresso machine at a yard sale. It made really strong sludge that tasted terrible. A little online searching told me that I needed a better grinder and fresh roasted coffee and a pump powered machine. So 18 years later and dozens of grinders, espresso machines and coffee roasters later I finally have the perfect setup ---- and high blood pressure and I'm not supposed to drink coffee anymore
:sob::c17:

I have a lot of electronics and engineering background so I geeked out with experiments on heat and pressure control and how it affected the taste/texture of the espresso. I owned a Cremina lever for several years and learned a lot from how you can manage the temp and pressure with a manual lever machine like that.

My current setup works so perfectly (and I can't drink coffee these days) so I'm always getting people over for coffee as I still love the whole process (and especially the aroma) of roasting coffee and preparing espresso etc.

Grinder is a very old Mazzer Major that I've modified to be a single dose with very low static - if I put in 20g of beans, for example, I will get back 19.999g of ground coffee. I reshaped the outlet chute, made some sweepers inside the grind chamber, made a paper mache spout (less static than other material I tried) and tipped the entire grinder so the ground coffee falls straight down. I also have a squeeze bulb on top of the feeder so I can blast out any stray grounds remaining.

The espresso machine is an older La Spaziale S1 double boiler with very good temp regulation of the brew water and enough capacity to brew back to back shots as fast as you want. But I found that the group head itself would heat up when doing back to back shots so if I set the boiler temp for a perfect first shot, the 4th shot would be too hot. Most people deal with that by setting the boiler temp for the 3rd or 4th shot and then pulling 2-3 warm up blank shots. Since mine isn't plumbed in, I hated the idea of draining half the tank with warm up flushes (plus we're in a terrible drought here in California so I don't like to waste water) -- so I rigged up a group head heater with a PID controller. This has several advantages - the whole machine warms up really quickly because I don't have to wait for the hot water in the boiler to get the group head up to temp. Once the boiler water is hot, the group head is already hot and maintained at a constant temp. With this setup my first shot will be at the exact temp I set and I could pull 12 shots in a row and every shot will be exactly the same temp without any cooling or warming flushes needed. I also have a control on the pump so I can vari the pressure.
Yeah, I'm a geek 🤓 that's what I do.
1670701339425.png
 
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I fell into the espresso rabbit hole when I picked up a little steam powered espresso machine at a yard sale. It made really strong sludge that tasted terrible. A little online searching told me that I needed a better grinder and fresh roasted coffee and a pump powered machine. So 18 years later and dozens of grinders, espresso machines and coffee roasters later I finally have the perfect setup ---- and high blood pressure and I'm not supposed to drink coffee anymore
:sob::c17:

I have a lot of electronics and engineering background so I geeked out with experiments on heat and pressure control and how it affected the taste/texture of the espresso. I owned a Cremina lever for several years and learned a lot from how you can manage the temp and pressure with a manual lever machine like that.

My current setup works so perfectly (and I can't drink coffee these days) so I'm always getting people over for coffee as I still love the whole process (and especially the aroma) of roasting coffee and preparing espresso etc.

Grinder is a very old Mazzer Major that I've modified to be a single dose with very low static - if I put in 20g of beans, for example, I will get back 19.999g of ground coffee. I reshaped the outlet chute, made some sweepers inside the grind chamber, made a paper mache spout (less static than other material I tried) and tipped the entire grinder so the ground coffee falls straight down. I also have a squeeze bulb on top of the feeder so I can blast out any stray grounds remaining.

The espresso machine is an older La Spaziale S1 double boiler with very good temp regulation of the brew water and enough capacity to brew back to back shots as fast as you want. But I found that the group head itself would heat up when doing back to back shots so if I set the boiler temp for a perfect first shot, the 4th shot would be too hot. Most people deal with that by setting the boiler temp for the 3rd or 4th shot and then pulling 2-3 warm up blank shots. Since mine isn't plumbed in, I hated the idea of draining half the tank with warm up flushes (plus we're in a terrible drought here in California so I don't like to waste water) -- so I rigged up a group head heater with a PID controller. This has several advantages - the whole machine warms up really quickly because I don't have to wait for the hot water in the boiler to get the group head up to temp. Once the boiler water is hot, the group head is already hot and maintained at a constant temp. With this setup my first shot will be at the exact temp I set and I could pull 12 shots in a row and every shot will be exactly the same temp without any cooling or warming flushes needed. I also have a control on the pump so I can vari the pressure.
Yeah, I'm a geek 🤓 that's what I do.
View attachment 1570269
Very nice setup that you have made with the temperature control. When first looking at the photo and not reading the text I thought is that a grinder or a funky light bulb. :biggrin1:

High blood pressure on not, are not the effects from one cup not necessarily a big problem for a daily drinker, though that would vary person to person and depend how much caffeine was in the coffee. And it is hard to know how much caffeine is in a given bean. Good that you are still treating your friends and guests to nice cups of coffee.
 
Very nice setup that you have made with the temperature control. When first looking at the photo and not reading the text I thought is that a grinder or a funky light bulb. :biggrin1:

High blood pressure on not, are not the effects from one cup not necessarily a big problem for a daily drinker, though that would vary person to person and depend how much caffeine was in the coffee. And it is hard to know how much caffeine is in a given bean. Good that you are still treating your friends and guests to nice cups of coffee.
I think it might be the coffee oils rather than the caffeine (or a combination). I know that if I prepare the same coffee beans thru a paper filter the BP effect is lessened but it's the texture and mouthfeel of a ristretto that I desire. I occasionally have just one - 16 grams of ground coffee gives me 16 grams of thick, gooey espresso that is like letting a small piece of dark chocolate melt on your tongue.

Yeah about the "light bulb" thing - if you haven't already guessed what it was originally sold as, you're better off not knowing :) but it fit this purpose really well.
 
Here’s mine. Rancilio Silvia Pro X (dual boiler). I paired it with a Eureka Mignon. I’ve had it a year now. It’s been rock solid and super easy to dial in a workflow. Not as sexy as an e61 machine. But I really like it.

I’m really only into the traditional dark Italian roasts. Cappuccinos in the morning and macchiatos after lunch. Iced lattes in the summer occasionally.


E96D5B80-3722-46F9-9EB4-AE99D44FA444.jpeg
 
I fell into the espresso rabbit hole when I picked up a little steam powered espresso machine at a yard sale. It made really strong sludge that tasted terrible. A little online searching told me that I needed a better grinder and fresh roasted coffee and a pump powered machine. So 18 years later and dozens of grinders, espresso machines and coffee roasters later I finally have the perfect setup ---- and high blood pressure and I'm not supposed to drink coffee anymore
:sob::c17:

I have a lot of electronics and engineering background so I geeked out with experiments on heat and pressure control and how it affected the taste/texture of the espresso. I owned a Cremina lever for several years and learned a lot from how you can manage the temp and pressure with a manual lever machine like that.

My current setup works so perfectly (and I can't drink coffee these days) so I'm always getting people over for coffee as I still love the whole process (and especially the aroma) of roasting coffee and preparing espresso etc.

Grinder is a very old Mazzer Major that I've modified to be a single dose with very low static - if I put in 20g of beans, for example, I will get back 19.999g of ground coffee. I reshaped the outlet chute, made some sweepers inside the grind chamber, made a paper mache spout (less static than other material I tried) and tipped the entire grinder so the ground coffee falls straight down. I also have a squeeze bulb on top of the feeder so I can blast out any stray grounds remaining.

The espresso machine is an older La Spaziale S1 double boiler with very good temp regulation of the brew water and enough capacity to brew back to back shots as fast as you want. But I found that the group head itself would heat up when doing back to back shots so if I set the boiler temp for a perfect first shot, the 4th shot would be too hot. Most people deal with that by setting the boiler temp for the 3rd or 4th shot and then pulling 2-3 warm up blank shots. Since mine isn't plumbed in, I hated the idea of draining half the tank with warm up flushes (plus we're in a terrible drought here in California so I don't like to waste water) -- so I rigged up a group head heater with a PID controller. This has several advantages - the whole machine warms up really quickly because I don't have to wait for the hot water in the boiler to get the group head up to temp. Once the boiler water is hot, the group head is already hot and maintained at a constant temp. With this setup my first shot will be at the exact temp I set and I could pull 12 shots in a row and every shot will be exactly the same temp without any cooling or warming flushes needed. I also have a control on the pump so I can vari the pressure.
Yeah, I'm a geek 🤓 that's what I do.
View attachment 1570269
Obviously, I can't give medical advice to strangers, or anyone, really. My high blood pressure is under control with medication and I allow myself one espresso or cappuccino each morning. I've given up alcohol and a lot of other things completely, but I'm not giving up espresso.
 
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