Show me your……….Espresso / Grinder Set-Up

I’ll hopefully be purchasing a Rocket R58 and decent grinder next year to complement the new kitchen once complete.

I’m looking for some inspiration for a cool set up, can be any machine / grinder…….

Cheers!

All I use for coffee is this…

and it’s used flat out everyday.

PS No use to you as your asking about griders etc. I know nowt about that 🙂

I photographed these machines for Londinoum Espresso, 1,2 and 3 lever machines, they have a ‘affordable’ single lever home machine in the works, I’ll be nabbing one of those to go with my Mahlkonig grinder 😀

Fully renovated Mazzer Super Jolly and Italian LaPavoni

Kitchenaid Artisan Espresso machine and Kitchenaid Artisan Burr grinder, the espresso machine uses two Gaggia Boiler units (one for the group head and one for steam) wrapped up in a fancy package, it can make a decent enough espresso but i wouldn’t say it’s any better than the Gaggia baby class it replaced for obvious reasons.

When this goes pop i may replace it with a Sage by Heston Blumenthal, a mate has recently bought one and i’m quite impressed with it.

I just took delivery of an eBay Super Jolly last week, a big step up from my little porlex. There is currently a space on the countertop where I’ll be putting a Rocket Apparamento once it arrives.

Rubbish at selling stuff 🙂

Rocket Giotto PID with Eureka Zenith. The grinder is brilliant and have found it more “diallable” than the electronic jolly.
Didn’t bother with the dual boiler on the rocket as you have to flush both anyway and the steam is more than powerful enough for domestic use.

[/url]2016-07-27_09-14-29 by monde35[/url], on Flickr[/img]

I favour the one button, all in one setup that is….

What is that machine Mr Smith? Great shot BTW

Mine?
Eureka Mignon grinder
Sage dual boiler machine

Untitled by Andrew Fraser[/url], on Flickr
Untitled by Andrew Fraser[/url], on Flickr

Bought this Gaggia for £25. The previous owner didn’t descale it so the solenoid was blocked. He mistakenly replaced the pump and refitted the pressure valve the wrong way around. He got the hell in with it and sold it cheap. I cleaned it out and now have working machine, winner!
Oh, and a hand burr grinder

Rancilio Silvia and Macap m4 for me:

My machines

A cappuccino

And an espresso in one of my favourite TdF cups

Simple but effective.

One button Jura bean to cup here. Nice beans go in the top, espresso comes out the bottom. I use an aerolatte jug and whist rather than steam or the froth attachment.

Downsides: well it uses three esspresso’s worth of filtered water (rinse, run rinse) for one cup. Water tank is on the back, so I have to pull it out to refill, could do with a finer grind, so quality is bean-dependent.

Previously I had a Gaggia Classic and it was unreliable. More trouble than it was worth.

Previously I had a Gaggia Classic and it was unreliable. More trouble than it was worth.

Mine has barely missed a beat in around 8 years of constant use – the only time I have issues with it is when I get a build up of grinds around the porto filter gasket and water can seep out of the sides a bit rather than through the filter itself – but that is down to my not cleaning it properly so entirely my fault.

How easy is a lapavoni to operate/maintain?

Quite fancy one… would happily buy a non worker for cheap if they are user servicable.

I’ve just bought my first Racilio Silvia. I have had loads of Gaggia Classics and a few Babys.. I’m not keen on the Baby the switches are no where near as good as the Classic. The Gaggia Classic is a brilliant machine I have the first ever Mark 1 with the 1425 watt boiler and the slightly newer still Italian made 1300 watt one. The very latest Romamia made ones are pap in comparison though 1200 watt and now they have gone down to 900w and done away with adjustable OPV valve and no three way solenoid on the group head!.. Yet the machine is more expensive! At least they changed the boiler from Alloy to stainless though but that doesn’t make up for it!

Home: Isomac Zaffiro & Malkhonig Vario

Away: Aeropress & Hario hand grinder

How easy is a lapavoni to operate/maintain?

Maintenance is easy. It’s about £30 for a set of seals (I think) and the whole thing comes apart with a couple of spanners and some pliers. I’ve done mine twice in about 5 years, once when I bought it then just a couple of seals when it grew a leak a year or so ago.

Operation is more fiddly. I love it. I probably make a good enough espresso 4/5 times if I know the coffee. When it’s a good one is bloody great though. It’s pretty picky with beans, seems to like a medium or darker roast, thankfully easily available from our local roasters. People get frustrated with them as it does take a while to get used to it. The pulling of the lever is just another variable to learn.

Get a broken one and fix it. Won’t take much and you’ll love it after.

I’m nuts one is in my garage workshop though to be fair!

I’m selling one of the Gaggias, possibly both if anyone is interested. The Mark one on the right is a bit modded, OPV valve adjusted to 9bar and Rancilio Silivia steam wand upgrade bottomless portafilter. The other is standard.

I have found the Krups grinder the model above to be as good as anything too for my machines and such a good price compared to the Rockys and Gaggia offerings.

Just the standard Gaggia and Iberital grinder (all in need of a clean)…

A regular clean and de-scale keeps the Gaggia sweet. Makes a lovely espresso…

Some cool pics here. The Gaggia’s seem to be a popular choice.

MrBlobby – The colour of that espresso in the last pic looks great!

A cappuccino

Bubble holes in the foam, you sir, disgust me. 😀

Give the foam a light mix with a spoon or wire whisk and don’t reboil milk.

eureka Olympus 75E

I like my espresso out of bodum double walled glasses, trouble is i keep breaking them as they are rather fragile.

My old Baby Class on the left which is now out at my work for caffeine top-ups during the day and the Baby Gaggia on the right was an Amazon bargain @ £60 so i bought it as a spare back-up machine. 😉

No pics but a rather boring combi of Isomac Tea III and Mahlkonig Vario (currently awaiting new burrs so I’m using the backup grinder, a Rossi RR45).

Mr Blobby, that extraction looks a bit on the quick side!

I have to say that I look at these gadgets and wonder how long it takes to clean them, including taking apart and reassembling. Then I thought that it must be part of the housekeeper’s duties cos life is simply too short to deal with all that crap.

😉

Cinnamon girl I’d wager that apart from instant granules, it’s about the quickest cleanup of any method of making hot brown drinks. I run some cleaner through it once a week, wipe up some spilt grounds now and then. Fairly sure that’s faster than cleaning a French press or mokapot after every use. So is it Mellow Birds or Nescafe you’re unwittingly admitting to here?

bob_summers – it was a rather tongue in cheek post! What sort of cleaner do you use then? Presumably if you have hard water then it’s needs to be descaled regularly?

Edit: the only coffee snobbishness on my part is a refusal to drink instant coffee. I use an electric coffee filter machine as well as a cafetiere with coffee from Aldi or Sainsbury’s. 🙂

I use Joe Glow in a blank portafilter; 5 x 10sec cycles then 5 x 10sec rinses, so less than 2min per week. Descaling when I remember but we don’t have very hard water here.

Some nice machines and setups here !

A topic full of win

I have to say that I look at these gadgets and wonder how long it takes to clean them, including taking apart and reassembling. Then I thought that it must be part of the housekeeper’s duties cos life is simply too short to deal with all that crap.

Any time spent making coffee or cleaning the apparatus pales into insignificance compared to the hours waiting for the other half to decide on something/get ready/do her hair or make-up/take a bath etc. I find making a coffee is the perfect antidote to wasting time.

Mr Blobby, that extraction looks a bit on the quick side!

It’s never quite perfect! That one could perhaps do with a couple of turns on the grinder 🙂

Any time spent making coffee or cleaning the apparatus pales into insignificance compared to the hours waiting for the other half to decide on something/get ready/do her hair or make-up/take a bath etc.

^^ This. Back flush once every couple of weeks, descale once a month or so. Doesn’t take that long.

I do rather fancy one of those LaPavoni. If my Gaggia ever dies…

Wot … no mention of the good old fashion stove top Moka yet?

Wot … no mention of the good old fashion stove top Moka yet?

Clue is in the title…

Espresso

🙂

Clue is in the title… Espresso?

Doesn’t a Moka produce coffee by passing boiling water pressurized by steam through ground coffee? Surely that’s the same process as any of the machines?

Or is it that my coffee snobiness is behind the curve here? 😀

Not enough pressure for proper espresso. You need around 9 bar, a Moka pot is nowhere near that (around 1 to 2 bar.)