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The Silvia Pro is certainly a very capable machine. I rarely bother with steam, but if I do I know it's available anytime I might happen to need it. Basically got the Pro version for the build quality and it doesn't disappoint. Rancilio is releasing a Pro X version soon which offers a brew...

Yes no doubt using a pressurized basket is an effective crutch to lean on if using relatively stale coffee, just don't expect anything really decent from it. They cause a false amount of pressure to extract something that looks decent from the coffee, when espresso traditionally speaking relies...

Not to beat a dead horse, but it's far better to be proactive than reactive, as in using balanced/quality water so descaling isn't needed. Also a known fact that Breville machines for the most part don't do well with descaling. In your case since it's done and you're looking for a fix I'd say...

FWIW the BDB is quite notorious for internal leaks, often caused by o-rings. Often issues are brought on by descaling as it tends to affect internal sensor(s) and seems to snowball from there. Of course Breville will offer a fix of $350-400 in which they basically go through the machine or send...

Yes as Seattle Coffee Gear happened to be selling them through their eBay store and it was a smooth transaction.

Actually mine was still doing fine and I did eventually sell it. Anything mechanical can/will give out in time and I just didn't want to be without espresso for any length of time if that original element was to go out. Regardless of care/use/water quality a heating element can only...

Sorta... the one I had was 16 years old and of course still going strong with regular cleaning/preventive maintenance, but after my heavy use I knew it'd be a matter of time before I'd have to really tear it down and replace the heating element, which is a bit involved/costly due to the design...

For me the only method that will ever do is espresso... a moka pot would be 2nd, followed by press if it came to that. Never tried Turkish, but imagine that could be quite awesome as well as I strongly prefer heavy texture over clarity any day. Some of my equipment purchases were from...

Never used one, but majority of opinion/reviews on them from actual users (not lame Amazon reviews, etc) is that they're a pretty good option for the price point. I've seen complaints regarding an issue with the impeller that forces the coffee out of the grind chamber wearing out to the point of...

My first 'real' electric was the Capresso Infinity and it did indeed grind fine/consistent enough for pretty good espresso, even for standard baskets. It doesn't have much fine grinding range and does have some retention issues, but for the crazy low price it's a solid choice. If you'd be fine...

Thing is there really is no 'best' as all grinders work in different ways depending on use, expectations, budget, etc. Yes quality grinders can be costly, but something that you shouldn't be passive on. What is your intended use? Does that machine come with a pressurized basket? Are you OK with...

I look fwd to manual grinding every day as it makes the espresso process far more involved and worthwhile. Interesting concept, but based on videos I've seen it must be cranked CCW, which might pose a problem for some users. Being dominant right-handed I know that sort of thing would throw me...

I would definitely trust most anything far more than paper, which seems sort of odd.

There are so many variables involved that any given number is just a basic guideline and nothing more. I've never known or read of a death actually being caused solely by caffeine and I doubt it's really likely/possible. I would imagine the body's defense mode would kick in somehow to prevent...

Honestly neither of those will really cut it for decent espresso range grinding. Ignore most Amazon reviews as majority of them are a promotional joke at best. That Cuisinart is a waste that crushes at high RPM and leaves dust/boulders and a ton of static. Never used the Bodum, but haven't read...

Looks as if it could be seeping out around the electrode as in between the electrode shaft and the insulator that helps prevent this from happening. If that's the case the only likely fix is element replacement. Had that to happen on a FF X5 single boiler machine and tried a few different fixes...

A typical boiler setup is going to take a bit to superheat everything. Some like the Breville Dual Boiler and Profitec Pro 300 have group heaters (maybe others do as well) and can be ready in maybe 8-10 mins tops. The Classic can be rather consistent if you have a routine dialing it in with...

Yes it certainly can happen, but most machines are built to pretty much offset that. Larger boiler(s) equal more thermal mass/less heat loss during the extraction. Some have a type of ring heater/coil in the group to keep things consistent there regardless of what takes place leading up to it...

Have used mine quite a lot and still see no need to bother with the manual recommendation for calibrating. A scale is likely similar to a torque wrench in that the optimum accuracy is usually in the middle of the range. Don't see the need to push for 2,000 gram accuracy when my average weight is...

Only thing I've ever noticed is that the scale is EXTREMELY responsive... as in breathing near it can cause it to register. Good that charging it seemed to have corrected whatever the issue might have been.

I've had a few scales over the years and by far the best for my use is this... https://myweigh.com/product/barista-scale/ Have had it about 2.5 yrs now and it's used multiple times daily and never a single issue. I use it for weighing dry doses as well as for determining my moisture loss for...

Yes some pumps do have thermal protection. Most vibe pumps are fine running up to 1 min, then need to rest at least 1-2 mins. Duty cycle can vary, but that's a decent timeframe to observe.

Kind of odd that a pump went out so early on. My most heavily used machine had about 10,000 doubles pushed through it and the pump was still in decent shape, but I replaced it anyway to maintain good/solid pressure. You should be able to find a similar pump (likely better) on Amazon/Ebay for...

Likely the PID has nothing to do with it, but those 'upgrade' parts certainly could be to blame. The flow through the new dispersion disc and screen might differ quite a bit compared to the stock configuration. I have read of many that changed to the 'latest/greatest' dispersion disc (steel or...

Home roasting is very fulfilling and I highly recommend it to anybody truly serious about the craft, BUT it is involved and does require quite an understanding of the process. For many years I bought from commercial roasters for home/commercial use and have done tens of thousands of extractions...

Guess I'm different in that I don't pay attention to what the so called 'gurus' find interesting as taste is highly subjective and experience/expectations wildly vary. What counts for me is what I find interesting from my roasting/extracting. I totally agree with the 3rd wave crap and I'm far...

Never actually 'cupped' in the traditional sense. Roasted to a full city level it's dominant on the cocoa side of things and has a bit of 'rustic fruit' if that makes sense. The texture is outstanding, which is what I strive for with my coffee choices, espresso extracting, etc. This particular...

The ground coffee receptacle is clear plastic and definitely not difficult looking at the coffee as it's blown out of the 'grind' chamber. That will allow you to see the dust/static as the grounds blow/stick to the inside of the receptacle. More power to you if it works for you, but it didn't...

I have little to add with the K-cup discussion, but guess they certainly have their place for those that want simplicity, consistency, easy clean-up, etc. My issues with them would be the cost per use and all the plastic waste. That can be offset by utilizing the reusable capsules/fresh ground...

The grinder you bought will surely have this burr type attached in pic. They are just OK, but a step up from blade 'grinding' for sure. They spin at high speed to spit the grounds out quickly without a lot of precision and usually a lot of static. The nubs on the burrs actually do most of the...

This is a typical double I extract from my unmodified Rancilio Silvia/Rocky. Around 18.8 grams of home roasted Altiplano Blend (Sweet Maria's) aged 6-7 days. Reddish brown, very thick/silky... Probably 2/3 of the volume is crema until it settles a bit and crema still clings to the demitasse all...

All three are pressurized baskets and the 1st one is likely to be used for pods.

I decided to start home roasting for espresso awhile back. I have been involved in coffee long enough to know exactly what I'm looking for in an espresso roast range and it is a great way to have fresh coffee when I want it and save a bit of $ as well. Tried a few popcorn roasters, which work...

Pretty much like this, except mine was a bit larger. Adding fuel hose (or similar semi-rigid tubing) is fine for a bit of added shock absorption, but I didn't find it necessary (at home) as the wood handle was soft enough. **Yes I said fuel hose as that is what I used (new of course) to cover...

Regarding the burrs... the "worn/flat" spots on edges are by design. Actually helps control/restrict particle size as ground coffee exits. For cleaning I recommend a good soak in a detergent (Cafiza, JoeGlo, etc) solution, followed by a hot water rinse and drying with compressed air or a hair...

We have a fully loaded mobile espresso van for sale. Ad has been updated with new info. Thanks for looking! Mobile Espresso Biz

Title says it all. Check out the provided link and thanks for looking! Wanna start a mobile food business?

According to what others have said about the Camano after actually using one... don't bother. Grinds like crap and build quality is even worse. A typical Turkish mill does pulverize the coffee into powder. Pic to the right.... BUT there are some models made by Zass, KyM and PeDe that use...

We have many customers that say "give me the strongest, darkest coffee you have" and that's when I have to tell them that's an ass backwards statement. Then go on to explain lighter equals more caffeine, darker equals more carbon (Charbux joke) and so on. You should see the look on their faces...

A thermoblock is basically a maze of passages with an imbedded heating coil that flash heats the water as it passes through. See image below...

As I mentioned some time ago I think this part of the forum needs to be renamed... Any person that truly appreciates all things coffee knows there's no such thing as "espresso beans" and I get tired of customers asking me the difference :x :x :x I tell them they're all COFFEE BEANS...

I highly encourage customers to bring their travel mugs, a previously purchased cup, etc. when they get drinks from us. It saves us from using a new cup/lid and we give them a .25 discount for making the effort. Seems as if some places don't allow this, but I say why not?!? As long as the...

I wouldn't suggest anybody click on any sort of link if one is indeed provided by this guy. Google search of said name shows nothing relating to coffee. AND I for one could care less as to what is ever discussed over at CoffeeGeek. That place is full of know-it-alls that actually know very...

I've been working with my roaster to come up with a signature espresso blend to call our own... and a new creation is finally born. Even though it won't be available to others, I thought I'd tell about it here in case it might interest some home roasters on here... In the past year (at the bar...

A local brewery/restaurant recently decided to open a small coffeeshop alongside their store. A place you can buy all sorts of coffee, pastries, etc... I recently took a peek at it because of their recent advertising for their specialty drinks. What did I see??? A very high end Fetco drip...

So do tell... what type of equipment you have in your coffee lab/kitchen..... as well as how often you use this equipment..... I'll start by naming off what I've been blessed with. Have 2 espresso machines in the kitchen... one is a KitchenAid Pro Line that hardly ever gets touched. This is...

......There isn't more action in this part of the forum, since most people buy less than stellar equipment then usually ask a billion questions as to how to get the most out of it.... What happened to those that like to tinker with something to make it that much better, like myself...

A short time ago I contacted Metropolis Coffee to see if they would send us samples to use in our mobile espresso van. Just wanted to get an idea of what they offer on a wholesale level.... 3-4 days later 7 lbs. of samples arrived.... How's that for being generous. They sent 3 different bean...

Re: I like coffee Will all of you SPAMMERS stick this garbage up .........

Why title this part of the board index "coffee beans and espresso beans" when everything coffee related comes from coffee beans. A bean is a bean is a bean..... just different places of growth, different forms of processing and roasting.... There is no such thing as an espresso bean and I have...

Recently I got in touch with a member of this forum, coffeeloverlisa as she was/is wanting members here to give her beans a try. I asked for something espresso specific and she hasn't covered that base yet, so I went to her site at www.rocketfuelcoffee.com and looked through what she has to...

I have a KitchenAid Pro Line espresso machine and matching grinder, both in mint condition and am looking to sell soon. I recently acquired a Cremina lever machine and really have very little use for the Pro Line setup. Will consider best offer as I really have no idea as to what I should price...

I recently decided to give Coffee Klatch beans a try to see how they compare with others. So I ordered three 1 lb. bags of their top espresso blends. The first was Belle Espresso, the second one was West Best Spro (or something like that) and the third one was their most recent WBC Championship...

Any of you out there use Black Cat from Intelligentsia? If not you should be..... It is outrageous for espresso and does well in milk also. I've been using it for close to 2 years now and it always impresses me. I just received a 3 lb. shipment yesterday after not ordering for about 7 weeks...

I don't know if any of you have heard of Espresso Toscano from Counter Culture Coffee in Durham, NC, but it is the BOMB. I recently tried 3 12 oz. bags of it and I can now say it's the best espresso roast I've tried yet. Smooth, buttery, the strongest overall taste of any blend yet and also has...

Can you suggest some espresso blends? The only problem I've experienced with flavored beans is that some flavors are overpowering when brewed as espresso. Thanks for any info. Later!

From what I've read on different forums most espresso purists believe in using only non-flavored beans for espresso. What's wrong with using flavored beans for this purpose? Espresso is a form of extraction, not by the beans used. I've been using flavored dark roasted beans with great success...

I don't want to sound like a total newbie, but could someone explain how to backflush a machine properly? I recently bought a Capresso 351 unit at a fantastic price and it works great. It's a huge step up from the cheap DeLonghi that I was using. I've read and totally understand the manual that...