I don't know of any special crema gizmos, so I may have gotten that wrong, yes. However, drilling out any old portafilter to make it bottomless won't alter the pressure.
The saeco via venezia (Starbucks machine) is a pretty darn good machine. I had one for 15 years before my current rig.
They are fairly simple and parts are readily available so you can keep them going forever. They make pretty decent coffee too.
I tried disabling the pressurizer thing on mine then put it back in again as I didn't like the results.
The advantage of a bottomless portafilter is 2 fold:
1) it allows the use of a larger basket which most portafilters won't support like a 24g triple.
2) you can see how good your pack is based on the flow pattern out of thr basket. If it's not even across the basket then your pack is not quite right.
I occasionally have to use bottomless filters with 24g baskets for the odd customer. Normally one that serves a lot of tradies that want a giant 16oz coffee with a triple shot. Typically a busy bakery that fills up at 6am on the way to the jobsite.
They are fairly simple and parts are readily available so you can keep them going forever. They make pretty decent coffee too.
I tried disabling the pressurizer thing on mine then put it back in again as I didn't like the results.
The advantage of a bottomless portafilter is 2 fold:
1) it allows the use of a larger basket which most portafilters won't support like a 24g triple.
2) you can see how good your pack is based on the flow pattern out of thr basket. If it's not even across the basket then your pack is not quite right.
I occasionally have to use bottomless filters with 24g baskets for the odd customer. Normally one that serves a lot of tradies that want a giant 16oz coffee with a triple shot. Typically a busy bakery that fills up at 6am on the way to the jobsite.
Here's the current rig.
A magister something or other. Gifted to me by the boss.
San remo 64mm doser. It was sitting on the shelf at work not making money so I asked if I could have it. A fresh set of burrs and a clean and rebuild and it should outlast me.
I intend to do some surgery on the magister as I dislike the weird sideways steamwand. I intend to replace the steam tap with a VBM lollo leaver steam tap. We have the same thing on the Futura machines we import.
A magister something or other. Gifted to me by the boss.
San remo 64mm doser. It was sitting on the shelf at work not making money so I asked if I could have it. A fresh set of burrs and a clean and rebuild and it should outlast me.
I intend to do some surgery on the magister as I dislike the weird sideways steamwand. I intend to replace the steam tap with a VBM lollo leaver steam tap. We have the same thing on the Futura machines we import.
I wanted to get a doser but my daughter mumbled about weight... so we got the "Libra". Of course, being Italian, the "a" fell off, so it now is a "Libr". Or as my wife said it... it's a Liver.
We grind our coffee with a Liver Machine.
E61 is indeed the way to go. Get the grind spot on, the weight right on, and you can make the World's Best Coffee.
You know, at 19.6 gm per double... we haven't pulled too many triples with the bottom less basket... I think this is a syndicate to make us buy LOTS of coffee.
We grind our coffee with a Liver Machine.
E61 is indeed the way to go. Get the grind spot on, the weight right on, and you can make the World's Best Coffee.
You know, at 19.6 gm per double... we haven't pulled too many triples with the bottom less basket... I think this is a syndicate to make us buy LOTS of coffee.
It seems the "crema" is exactly what is not that good for health. In Western Europe countries were coffee was traditionally brewed (as it is consumed all day) caffe crema/espresso used to be a horeca coffee as a specialty not made at home. Apparently this was not a coincidence. This significantly changed when the lifestyle coffee period (oat "milk"...) and the companies selling such came from abroad. The rise in cardiovascular diseases may be partly explained.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0939475325000870
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0939475325000870
Last edited:
Agreed, e61 is the way to go.
If your basket is big enough, try packing in closer to 24g but pull the same amount out with the same 25-30s extraction. Less bitter and more yummy stuff.
Dosers are OK. I would have preferred an automatic. But when you get a commercial grinder for free, best not complain too much. It was a huge upgrade over the sunbeam I uses before.
If your basket is big enough, try packing in closer to 24g but pull the same amount out with the same 25-30s extraction. Less bitter and more yummy stuff.
Dosers are OK. I would have preferred an automatic. But when you get a commercial grinder for free, best not complain too much. It was a huge upgrade over the sunbeam I uses before.
Good roasters use A grade beans, which is essentially a guarantee of lower than a certain percentage of dud beans and foreign debris. I know this because my brother is essentially retired but works as a coffee roaster for a company owned by one of my old school mates (bro was a chef that owned a number of cafes when he was working). As for volumes, they roast 1,000-1,500 kg per week, so to guarantee quality they send staff to South America to meet with suppliers and source good beans.
I've watched the process and even A grade beans have the occasional stone in with them. They have a machine that removes these before roasting.
Therefore, I'm fortunate to have access to fantastic coffee; we even get a special blend made for us on birthdays sometimes.
Huh? When I mean crema, I means the foam. When the coffee comes out of the portafilter it's a foam. It settles into the cup and eventually rises to the top. I use clear cups so I can enjoy it... it's sort of like espresso porn... I've made videos.... oooh!!
Just like when you pour beer and get a nice head on it.
OK, i read through that.... I see... so you Northern Folks need paper filters but then the resulting coffee is... blah! I mean, in the USA, many drip afficionados use paper filters... heck, we have them too.... but we prefer the drip flavor through a metal/gold filter. And for espresso....
Well, one thing to note... is the doses. When I drink drip, I drink it by the cup... mug... usually 12 ounces, but for espresso, even diluted into a double shot in the dark, it's s till three ounces. So maybe the total does isn't so.. ahem... so.... yeah...
Besides, there's worse things to die from.
You could go out and buy a Bose system and get run over as you load it into your van. See? Bose kills.
Salud!
Last edited:
Of course the crema is the foam. It contains the cafestol.
Coffee without the crema is probably blah! in the USA. Not here.
Coffee without the crema is probably blah! in the USA. Not here.
Dosers are fast and accurate. In the bars they make sense. I grew up around them... watching them.... the work is fast, click, click! two doses, tap, tap... twice, lower lever ( 45 or 90 degrees ) and the coffee comes down to the cup(s). Now they got them fancy electronic button. Not the same really, I prefer the lever.
The main thing, is to get the grind dial. so we went to separate grinders, one for espresso and one for drip. Both are burr grinders so the grind is consistent bu the expresso grind is so touchy that once the machine has been dialed to the beans we don't want to reset it for drip.
Some day... I hope to get out of these... make it manual... no need for a lousy pump!
https://www.profitec-espresso.com/en/products/pro800-neu
Gentleman, I don't drink coffee or espresso but my better half does so the first thing I do each morning is make her a cup of coffee. I love that audio nerds apply our nerd-it-it-y to most all our endeavors and who'd have thunk diyaudio.com was throwing it down with how to maintain a great espresso machine! I may need to find one to tinker with!
Coffee without crema is like flat warm beer.
I can deal with a WiiM Ultra digital front end... but not coffee without crema. I've spent a big chunk of my life... since I was in my early 20s, with a reasonable facsimile of the machine I grew up with when I was a kid... when my aunti would make us kids a cafe con leche before sending off to school.
Maybe, that's what happened to us? 😉 😳
Jean-paul.
"American beer" has gotten very good.
By that, I mean ales like Lagunitas, Sierra Nevada, etc... I don't think we export that.
If you mean stuff like Budweiser, Miller Beer.... I do agree with you. When it comes to Lagers and Pilsners I can't say I've had a good one made in the USA.
But when it comes to ales, I think the best ones I've ever had are in the USA. Specially the West Coast.
NOTE to people in Denver. Once upon a time, Coors was a very good beer... like up to '82. Always kept chilled. After that, they went big and pfft...
"American beer" has gotten very good.
By that, I mean ales like Lagunitas, Sierra Nevada, etc... I don't think we export that.
If you mean stuff like Budweiser, Miller Beer.... I do agree with you. When it comes to Lagers and Pilsners I can't say I've had a good one made in the USA.
But when it comes to ales, I think the best ones I've ever had are in the USA. Specially the West Coast.
NOTE to people in Denver. Once upon a time, Coors was a very good beer... like up to '82. Always kept chilled. After that, they went big and pfft...
Our 'filter' coffee is famous, and a lot less fussy to make, not many machines involved.
The powder is packed in the upper half of a 'filter', and hot (boiling) water poured in, it collects the esence of the coffee into the lower vessel, which is then mixed with milk, sugar and water to taste.
In South India, the ladies (sadly, a disappearing custom) used to roast and grind the day's worth of beans, and prepare the 'decoction' for that day.
Believe me, it is very good. Really frsh and memorable.
There must be videos on line, check them out.
The powder is packed in the upper half of a 'filter', and hot (boiling) water poured in, it collects the esence of the coffee into the lower vessel, which is then mixed with milk, sugar and water to taste.
In South India, the ladies (sadly, a disappearing custom) used to roast and grind the day's worth of beans, and prepare the 'decoction' for that day.
Believe me, it is very good. Really frsh and memorable.
There must be videos on line, check them out.
That profitec looks like a gorgeous machine.
We have one of these in the staff room
https://www.lasanmarco.com.au/product/la-san-marco-85-leva-1-group/
I makes fantastic coffee.
We also have a faema teorema 2 group in our showroom which I what use the most as it is closer to my desk and steams milk better.
We have one of these in the staff room
https://www.lasanmarco.com.au/product/la-san-marco-85-leva-1-group/
I makes fantastic coffee.
We also have a faema teorema 2 group in our showroom which I what use the most as it is closer to my desk and steams milk better.
Sort of on topic, but I've jokingly been offered a place servicing coffee machines for the business I mentioned above under the tutelage of another dude (as I'm retired) just because I'm the Mr Fixit in the family and have repaired a few family machines and appliances. They are dealers for Wega, Storm, La Marzocco and San Remo.