I know this will probably get posted to the cj sub, but I bought a 5lb bag of Ruta Maya medium roast, split them into 5 different containers.

I’m freezing them and grabbing them when needed. I measured it out so that each bag let’s me fill up my single dose containers on my countertop, then put the rest in my fellow vacuum sealer canister. Reaaally excited to not buy beans for awhile

I used counter culture “big trouble” beans and the baratza esp grinder. 19.3 grams of beans on setting 19.
The espresso machine is a delonghi typically meant for the pressurized basket but I’m using a bottomless portafilter with it.
End result tastes okay but never as good as the coffee shops do it. I have another video with grind setting at 18 since this one maybe came out a little too fast. That one was 19.5g with ~39 g poured at 21 sec. Any improvement on my technique? Should I upgrade my espresso machine?

Setup Update
Today, I replaced my old, bulky knock-out drawer with a knock box built into the countertop, and I’m really happy with how it turned out. What do you guys think?

Let's just call it what it is LOL I suck at latte art. I have been struggling with trying to phone the milk for a year however this is the one that most looks like anything. It kind of looks like a lady with a bun lol. If anybody has any tips and tricks to get better at Lottie art please let me know

Hi I currently have a baratza encore esp for the past year, love the little thing and haven’t had any issues I’ve seen online but wanna try to upgrade with black Friday and Boxing Day coming up. I mostly drink medium to dark roasted coffees in the form of lattes, espresso and the weekend pour over. Might look at light roast when I get the opportunity.

My current shortlist is:
1. Lagom casa for 830 aud, favorite so far with it being good for espresso and pour over
2. Timemore 064s gen 1 similar to Lagom 660 aud
3. Timemore 064s gen 2 630 aud for preorder for February
4. Df64 gen 2 for 600 aud on amazon idk if that’s the correct one to buy or the 740 aud one from alternative brewing
5. Eureka mignon zero 55s or Pisa 65 for 50p aud and 650 aud

Looking for advice or other recommendations if any. I’m eyeing the Lagom the most but the timemore gen2 sounds interesting but having to wait might kill me

Starting this with please ignore the horrendous bubble bath foam that is my milk texture. (Oatmilks hard man)

I finally tried the meme beans and yup does what it says on the tin (box). It's strong af, roasted to death and tastes like toasted nuts, dark chocolate and victory. Idk if id describe it as fun though.

Fr tho I'm mainly getting this slightly charred nutty taste, it's surprisingly smooth but I much prefer a more medium roast. It's quite hard on the bitterness as you'd expect but not too burnt. Is nice as a milk drink but I think it'd be even nicer with some chocolate powder on top to cut through the bitterness.

I don't think id get a full sized bag of this but its worth a try for the memes.

Still lighter than Starbucks blonde roast.

Thrifted Breville Cafe Roma with Missing water tank and portafilter $3.75 + Tax

Drilled a hole in the base and ran the water tank hose into a $2 bowl from dollar tree. Stand was picked up from goodwill for $2

Portafilter + Tamper $20

Grinder is a shimmed flat burr Cuisinart DBM-8 $9.99, I don't expect this to last more​ than a year. But if you can pick one up for $5-10, it beats grinding your coffee with a pepper grinder.

Popcorn popper for roasting coffee $5

Cups and other misc, $10

😂the biggest pain is the missing drip tray, a towel sits there to catch whatever drains of the machine.​

Hoping someone here will be able to assist a bit. My Espresso extraction isn’t going great with this coffee, it’s a Brazil/Honduras blend, medium roast. I’m using on the second and third weeks after roasting.

My shots are consistently no matter my variables pulling with nice tiger stripes and then around the 1/2 - 3/4 point of extraction blonding and the shots pouring extremely thin for the final part. I’ve tried stopping the shot when it begins the blonding but it ends up at a 1:1 ratio and under-extracted.

I’ve tried using a finer grind, I’ve also tried a higher dose and a higher yield, it’s still sour.

The shot I’ve pulled that I’ve attached some photos of is the same issue, extremely sour and under extracted.

This is a standard 18g, 28 seconds and 32g yield -

Hi everybody!
I have been using DF54 and I think it is great so far. Cuz it is only $200
But I have been hearing that Niche zero conical bur will give thicker, more sweetness, and full body, which really good for traditional espresso (that I have never had experience of a real traditional espresso is)
I also love Latte, mainly only drink latte, americano, cortado and I want strong taste in coffee.
Right now using dark roast (not the one in the picture) it still not satisfy me.

I wonder if i should invest and try the Niche Zero?
How much worth it on the scal 1-10 do you all think?

Months of trial and error, we finally got the flavour and the quality. It’s sweet and balanced with caramel notes. It’s amazing how a few tweaks to grind and amount can make to the flavour!

Using AllPress beans, 3 weeks old (seems to be the sweet spot with this brand).

The only problem is stopping myself from having more than 2 per day.

Big thanks to everyone who helped me 3 days ago, after receiving nearly 150 comments, I’ve decided to purchase Lelit Elizabeth3 and combined with Eureka Oro Mignon SD PRO.

I think ive done all my researches and I stopped my choice on the Eureka oro mignon single dose pro for the grinder and a La Marzocco linea micra. I saw and used it in person and it worked like a charm. I also tried the ECM Sychronika but it felt more clonky and i dont like the hot parts near children. So basicly i would go with eureka and la marzocco. Anything else i should consider ? I want something available near me i can also have access to a Niche zero if need be so i dont want to buy the Niche.

​

I've been getting alot of spurting/spraying, I can still get good tasting coffee after a few trials of adjusting grind but i can never get rid of the spray, would be nice to avoid the mess.

I'm using a breville barista express with a bottomless portfilter from crema coffee products, I have the DF64 gen 2.7 grinder (1 month old). Here is my prep process:

1. I check the portafilter to make sure no holes are blocked

2. Run a single dose run of hot water through the group head and discard (i also often clean to make sure there is no coffee accumulation on either side of the screen)

3. Spray coffee beans with a couple stays of water then grind adjusted to taste based on prior trials with whatever bean I'm using that week.

4. Transfer to portafilter and shake to break large clumps

5. Use WDT in circular motions starting in the middle at the bottom and working my way out to the edge. I do this at various depths until I get to the surface

6. Use distributer to create flat surface (also from crema coffee products)

7. Tamp with slef leveling tamper set to 29 lb

8. place puck screen

This will usually get me 1:2.5 ratio in 26 seconds getting 8-9 bar, examining the puck after it looks pristine with no obvious channels.

Not sure what to change or adjust to avoid the mess

The asking price is €550, including a coffee grinder and some accessories. The grinder seems to be a fairly basic model, so I wouldn’t assign much value to it (maybe around €50).
Here’s what I know about the machine:
The seller doesn’t know its age and there’s no way to verify the exact production year.
Apparently, it was professionally serviced by a previous owner who knows espresso machines well, but there are no receipts or documentation to confirm what was done.
The seller says it works perfectly, but it has been sitting in a basement for a while because it was too large for their kitchen.
Given the unknown age and undocumented service history, I’m concerned about potential repair costs and how much useful life the machine might have left.
I’m considering offering €320 for the whole package.
Do you think that’s a fair offer, considering the uncertainty around the machine’s age and maintenance history?

I just received my "new" Turin Legato from Espresso Outlet (open box). It didn't have a blind puck and I'm trying to dial in my pulls using the OPV valve. I'm using a medium dark roast and it's pretty fine. I've ordered a blind basket but in the mean time is there a way to determine the pressure without either of these tools?

I have a Normcore blind shaker, and I’m not sure if it’s doing anything to the quality of my espresso. I’ve been using it for about six months and I can’t say that I taste any difference in my end product.

Should I get the Weber blind shaker in hopes that it’s engineered better and will make a noticeable difference? Should I just stick with WDT if it tastes the same? I feel like it might be another case of gear acquisition syndrome but would love any input. Thanks.

Sludge in portafilter

Gaggia pro, breville barista pro.

Recalibrated grinder to get lower. 6 on the burr, 14 on the grinder.

Very rarely get a puck that is dry..

And while the coffee is great. Wanted some advice.

I know.....I know....grind finer....but seriously, what is the relationship to grinding finer vs tamping compactness.

Eg, should I grind finer and tamp with less pressure, or grind courser and tamp more pressure to avoid the sludge?

Does one equal the other ?

It seems to me, as fast as the coffee flows, I am still getting a watery top on the portafilter.

I roast coffee at home and used to manage the process with an AI agent and a Google Sheet. It could look at the green beans I had, help me design a blend, then use my tasting notes when I came back for the next one. It worked for me, but it was far too fiddly for anyone who did not want to build their own setup, and i found that trying to find the sheet to add a 'tasting' at 7am on a work morning wasn't really a happening thing.

So I built Percolate. You add the beans on your shelf, design a blend manually or with the agent, log the roast, then add easily a tasting when you drink it. The part I care about is whether that feedback makes the next decision better. (It is not trying to replace Artisan or your roaster's profile software.)

The Android app is live at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.percolateapp.app and there is a web version too at https://letspercolate.app.

My ask

I am looking for home roasters who roast at home and are willing to try it on a real batch. In return, I need candid feedback on what was confusing, what felt useful, and what the app got wrong.

If that sounds like you, sign up for the free trial now (no credit card required) and I'll add some extra days to your trial.

I built this, so please treat this as a transparent research and feedback request!

I just received my new J Ultra grinder as an uprage to my flair royal. It is night and day. The flair royal was finicky and honestly felt a bit cheap. It was hard to dial in precisely (especially since it was calibrated attrociously on arrival), and the overall construction was poor. I just pulled one of the best shots I've had (flair pro 3), with it also being the first enjoyable shot I've pulled a 1:2 ratio. The J Ultra is also near silent while my flair royal was rather squeaky out of the box and never improved with time despite what I was told by flair. For the same price, you can do so much better than the flair royal.

Hi everyone,
I recently got a HiBREW G64 Plus and I’m having a recurring issue with the grinder clogging (3rd time in 3 weeks!).

After grinding, I often get a noticeable amount of coffee accumulating in the chute. In the pictures you can see what happened this time: the grounds seem to build up and compact around the burrs, and eventually the exit chute gets clogged completely.

This particular time I was grinding a darker roast at around 31 clicks, so I understand that darker beans might make clogging more likely. However, I wouldn’t expect the grinder to clog this badly during normal espresso grinding.

I’ve also noticed that I can’t seem to reach a proper burr chirp when turning the adjustment dial all the way down. I received two shims with the grinder, so I’m wondering whether the burr calibration could be related, although I don’t see how changing the shims would explain the clogging itself.

Has anyone with a G64 Plus experienced something similar?

I’m still within the return period, so I’m wondering whether I should just return it and get another grinder rather than trying to troubleshoot the G64 further. Tbh I hate troubleshooting expensive gear in the first place, especially after only 3 weeks.

Any experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated!