Hi All

I have been using Illy pre ground espresso in my Gaggia, and get on with it pretty well, although I do think it can be a little bitter at times. I have tried the vacuum packed espresso (Lavazza etc) from the supermarket a few times, but each time it is horrendously bitter. So what does STW recommend? I know the correct answer is to buy a decent grinder, but that isn’t an option at the moment, so I’m looking for a decent pre ground espresso coffee

Cheers

Illy, I guess.

Bamboo – do the Gaggia pressure modification, take out the crappy plastic supra-crema insert in the portafilter and buy a proper double basket http://www.happydonkey.co.uk/

That will help a lot.

Also, turn the machine off for 5 seconds or a little longer before you start the pump. This will allow the head to cool a little and will avoid bitterness even more. The cheapo thermostat in the Gaggia overshoots the ideal 92-94ish degree C zone and will bring out bitter flavours.

+1 for getting rid of the plastic super-crema thing. Can recommend the bottomless filter from happy donkey. Can be a bit messy but when you get the grind and tamp right it’s very good. I’m also happy with the classic italian beans from happy donkey, though am grinding them myself. May be worth giving their ground beans a go.

EDIT: Just checked and they don’t do ground beans. Sorry was sure they did. Might be worth checking out the options on hasbean, seems a popular choice on here.

Shame a grinder isn’t an option, I found that I really needed to work on the grind and tune it to my machine to get the best out of it. I got the Iberital MC2 off Happy Donkey, a bit of a bargain I reckon.

Teacake – cheers for the tip about turning it off. I’ve changed the portafilter; the original one was a right pain as I kept dropping the crema insert into the bin!

Re the pressure modification, do you mean this Pressure Mod?

Any particular coffee recommendations? Hasbean has got such a selection that I don’t know where to start

Yes, that’s the mod I mean. It’s not as scary as it might look!

If you have a backflushing plate then you can do the following:
With the back flush plate in the portafilter, collect water from the over pressure hose (I think it’s the shorter of the two in the water tank, the other being the pump feed). Use this chart to set the pressure to approx. 9bar. This means that you’re aiming to get about 130ml from the pump (through the over pressure hose) in 30 secs.

I’d suggest doing a test first to see what you currently get from the pump in 30 secs. Then reduce the pressure on the Over Pressure Valve and take another 30 sec sample. Play about until you’re satisfied.

The pressure doesn’t need to be totally spot on, but higher pressures bring out the bitterness, not enough pressure won’t extract enough flavour. 8-10 bar is acceptable for me.

Brewhead being too warm is also a big cause of overly bitter coffee.

Remember water and electricity will try their best to kill you 😕 don’t let them!
More info: Link

With regard to coffees there is no “good” or “bad”, just try lots of different ones until you’re happy! Don’t keep your beans or ground coffee in the fridge or freezer as this exposes it to a high humidity environment and the person who roasted them took a lot of effort to get the water out in the first place! Even if you keep it in an airtight container in the fridge, condensation will form on the surface when you take it out.

I’d say that it’s good to go along to a place who roast their own coffee and get them to grind it straight into an airtight container for you. I keep mine in small jam jars – this means they’re only opened/closed about 4 or 5 times in total so minimal air exposure.

I could ramble on . . .
Email in profile if you want more geek chat!

If you’re not near a nice coffee place (I’m not) then I’m sure hasbean or similar have a great choice.

If you get mega serious and fancy a grinder – do not skimp! I did this and bought one which couldn’t actually grind fine enough for espresso.

Cute Italian girl recommended Segafredo, so that’s what I use. Regardless of the taste…

try Hasbean, they roast in small quantities and ship the next day, they will grind too I imagine. or, a couple of guys I know have started the Ouseburn coffee company, based in Newcastle. their coffee is taking over up here at the moment, it’s in a lot of coffee shops and cafes and it is good. try it!

You asked for a recommendation: try Monsoon Malabar from Whittards, thay’ll grind how you want it. I don’t like bitter coffee and I found Monsoon pretty smooth and I could buy locally.

Hasbeen don’t do it at the moment but they do do a bewildering array of others.

Another vote for Hasbean. Try the subscription, different coffee every week with a tasting video you can follow.

Cold Espresso with Mehari Equador Cigar… 8)

Cold Espresso with Mehari Equador Cigar… 8)

edit : Its not glitch, its just the forum recognising its worth saying twice…

Look for a local roaster and get them to grind it as you buy it. Better than asking about on here.

we are an ‘illy’ family.

Have you tried the red instead of the black ?

Also, their decaf is awesome – I can not taste the difference from the red.

Another vote for Hasbean. Been buying two packs a week from them for over 5 years.. If you need advice, speak to the owner, Steve.

Whittard’s Guatemalan Elephant beans. There is a reason the shops are always sold out.

Your shoveling shi* uphill using pre-packaged grounds to make decent espresso. The freshness of the beans from the roaster to your portafilter is possibly the most important part of the jigsaw. Vacuum packing beans & stacking them high in the supermarket is a convenient way of selling/buying coffee. Nowhere does it say it’s anywhere near the best option for making good espresso. You also need to be able to adjust the grind incrementally along with the tamp to give the pump something to push against.

So to move things on, save up & buy a good burr grinder. The machine you have is perfectly adequate but is crying out for good coffee. Get yourself a Kilo of Stromboli from this place Brodies Tea & Coffee I buy my beans from this place a kilo at a time. The beans are straight out of the roaster. They are glistening with the oils released from the bean during the roasting process & provide a rich full bodied liquor with about 10 mm of crema……..slurp.

D.

The difference between what you’re drinking now & what you could be is night & day 😀

Right now, whilst you think about getting a grinder etc, just order the Hasbean Espresso Starter Pack. Remember to select Roasted Ground for Espresso. See if you think that is a big improvement over supermarket fare then consider what to do next.

My advice would be to miss out all the faff, get a heaped teaspoon of instant coffee, shove it in your mouth and wash it down with a glass of water. Hot water, if you like.

It will taste no better or worse than any expresso you’ll find anywhere on the planet.

Cheers for all of the advice (except maybe for butcher), I’ve ordered some coffee from HasBean, so hopefully that will arrive tomorrow. If I get chance this weekend I’ll adjust the pressure valve on my Gaggia, and see how I get on from there. Maybe I’ll look to get a grinder after all, but for now I’ll probably stick with pre-ground HasBean in the short term if I like it.

Ian

another +1 for hasbean & getting a grinder

Something like Porlex Mini will allow you to grind to the right coarseness without breaking the bank, you don’t need a commercial grinder for the odd shot each day.

There’s also the Zen factor of manually grinding your beans* of course, all a bit like riding fixed / ss vs gears 😉

*phnar

There’s also the Zen factor of manually grinding your beans

And the smell. Possibly better than the eventual coffee. Mmmmmm

There’s also the Zen factor of manually grinding your beans

Yeah – I hear some people still have black and white TV as well!

^ or no telly at all in my case. 😛

All you’ll ever want is here and you can get it order it to you grind of choice. If you ever need any questions answered their really helpful.

http://www.ravecoffee.co.uk/#/single-origin-coffee/4552925319

Trying the Italian Job blend at the moment which is nice and you’ll not far wrong with the Monsooned Malabar
http://www.ravecoffee.co.uk/#/indian-monsooned-malabar/4552583869
Tasting notes and everything what more do you need 😯
Happy tasting Steve

It will taste no better or worse than any expresso you’ll find anywhere on the planet.

Puts on best John McEnroe voice….YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS 😀