Espresso Enthusiasts

[steve123]

Since I mentioned the Atomic to my wife, she dug it out and its sitting on my kitchen counter. I have a big decision for the morning; will it be Silvia or Atomic? I'm leaning towards my first cup being from the Atomic so that I can remember why I bought the Silvia.

She is definitely a gem!

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

She is definitely a gem!

Wife? Silvia? Both?

 

[svenmany]

Wife? Silvia? Both?

I would have given the nod to my wife, but then Atomic complained about her installing an induction cooktop. "She cut me off at the knees, I tell ya! Vote for Silvia!".

Now that my Atomic has proven to be unusable, I think I'll find him a better home. He's gonna scream bloody murder when he gets wind of my plan.

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

I would have given the nod to my wife, but then Atomic complained about her installing an induction cooktop. "She cut me off at the knees, I tell ya! Vote for Silvia!".

Now that my Atomic has proven to be unusable, I think I'll find him a better home. He's gonna scream bloody murder when he gets wind of my plan.

If your appliances are talking to you, you may wish to consider (shudders!!!) decaf for a little while...

 

[Macky-Mac]

I would have given the nod to my wife, but then Atomic complained about her installing an induction cooktop. "She cut me off at the knees, I tell ya! Vote for Silvia!".

Now that my Atomic has proven to be unusable, I think I'll find him a better home. He's gonna scream bloody murder when he gets wind of my plan.

curiosity had me looking on ebay to see what an old Atomic might cost. I was quite impressed by the asking prices, so before you decide on a new future for the Atomic, you might invesitage its value

 

[dannyyankou]

Love coffee. Been using one of these machines for maybe 15 years and they hold up very well-

https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/jura-j8-fully-auto-espresso-machine/?catalogId=79&sku=1145032&cm_ven=PLA&cm_cat=Google&cm_pla=Electrics%20%3E%20Espresso%20Machines&cm_ite=1145032_14571727833_pla-1830762825772&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgJyyBhCGARIsAK8LVLOSAR_y3WqzKKsMyVRjfAKhRvywy6GkdaMoNqzdsuLAn5XOcZwgC7saAumpEALw_wcB

We have the J9 model, which has been discontinued, but this is practically the same. It's incredibly easy to use and you get consistent results every time.

 

[Kurwenal]

Many thanks; much appreciated.

I did start reading the piece, - but decided that I would forego reading it to the end - as I found myself deploring both the folksy tone, and clear lack of (scientific) rigour of the article.

👍👍👍

 

[svenmany]

curiosity had me looking on ebay to see what an old Atomic might cost. I was quite impressed by the asking prices, so before you decide on a new future for the Atomic, you might invesitage its value

Thanks for the heads up. I see that I can probably get $500 for it.

It would be hard to sell the Atomic; too many memories. I started as a grad student at Berkeley (US) in 1982. I walked over to the original Peet's coffee shop in north Berkeley and checked out the espresso makers on the shelves. That's when I bought the Atomic; I just loved how it looked. I think I bought it right off the shelf. Then I went back to my dumpy apartment and made espresso on my coil cooktop. How could I possibly sell it?

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Enjoyed a coffee from El Salvador today, with organic hot milk and a dash of organic double cream.

 

[Lioness~]

The worst when I’m tired is to get a focused hit on the knock box. When I miss, the used espresso grains are not going where I want it to go 😴😂

Sipping on wonderful espresso finally ♥️

 

[Macky-Mac]

Thanks for the detailed (and mouth-watering) tasting notes.

That sounds absolutely delicious.

The Yemeni coffee is vanishing at an unfortunate rate, so I'm rotating my my daily coffee among several others.

I've acquired some Ethiopian coffee from the Harrar region, something I've only had once in the past. It's what I'm having today. It's very chocolatey with a fruit note of some sort of berry. The aroma when I first opened the package was wonderful.

 

[quagmire]

Two things.

First in another tip to keep up with machine maintenance. Earlier I stated I did a backflush once a tank. When I did my first clean with cafiza and removing the group head, noted coffee oils built up on the back of it. Since then I have been doing a back flush after each session per breville's recommendation. Went to remove the group head one month later and it was still pretty much clean with just some grounds to clean out. Guess to show the back flush after each session actually matters! I still soaked everything in cafiza to make it extra clean.

Second in another resupply, the roaster sent in a sample of their dark roast blend. Made up of coffees from Mexico, Brazil, Honduras, and Sumatra. Sipping on that right now and it is very good!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

The Yemeni coffee is vanishing at an unfortunate rate, so I'm rotating my my daily coffee among several others.

My sympathies.

I've acquired some Ethiopian coffee from the Harrar region, something I've only had once in the past. It's what I'm having today. It's very chocolatey with a fruit note of some sort of berry. The aroma when I first opened the package was wonderful.

That sounds absolutely delicious (and I have had - and thoroughly enjoyed - coffee from the Harrar region, although I am especially partial to coffee from Yirgacheffe).

 

[Lioness~]

It was Ice-espresso here today. Too hot for hot espresso, in my liking.
Good that I had prepared some fresh iced espresso in the freezer.

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

It was Ice-espresso here today. Too hot for hot espresso, in my liking.
Good that I had prepared some fresh iced espresso in the freezer.

It's been bl**dy cold here lately, so if I wanted iced espresso, all I would need to do is put it out on the back porch for a few minutes...

I did try one of those cold-coffee contraptions (bought cheaply from Aldi). Couldn't find any difference between it and ordinary coffee with a few ice cubes, except I had to wait 24 hours for it. Being an instant-gratification sort of person, that really sucked.

 

[svenmany]

First in another tip to keep up with machine maintenance. Earlier I stated I did a backflush once a tank. When I did my first clean with cafiza and removing the group head, noted coffee oils built up on the back of it. Since then I have been doing a back flush after each session per breville's recommendation. Went to remove the group head one month later and it was still pretty much clean with just some grounds to clean out. Guess to show the back flush after each session actually matters! I still soaked everything in cafiza to make it extra clean.

What are your thoughts about backflushing the Rancilio Silvia? I've seen videos showing people doing it (even by coffee professionals that I've watched before), but I found this video from Whole Latte Love (where I bought my Silvia) where the presenter said "The manufacturer does not recommend you back flush those machines."; he was referring to the Silvia and Gaggia machines. I will note that he did NOT say "The manufacturer recommends you not backflush those machines."

 

[svenmany]

What are your thoughts about backflushing the Rancilio Silvia? I've seen videos showing people doing it (even by coffee professionals that I've watched before), but I found this video from Whole Latte Love (where I bought my Silvia) where the presenter said "The manufacturer does not recommend you back flush those machines."; he was referring to the Silvia and Gaggia machines. I will note that he did NOT say "The manufacturer recommends you not backflush those machines."

I see that in the current Silvia manual they do show backflushing in the maintenance. I also found this:

Rancilio doesn't recommend Silvia backflushing?

I read a few articles on back flushing Miss Silvia and also that Rancilio doesn't recommend back flushing. I never back flushed in the 5 years I have had this machine. I recently burnt out the pump on this machine (brew switch accidentally left on). During the troubleshooting, I removed the...

www.home-barista.com

which suggests Rancilio changed their position. But, it could be the position changed because of later versions of the Silvia. I have version 1. What to do, what to do....

I think I'll contact Whole Latte Love.

 

[Lioness~]

Found a new good way during the heat of the summer to get my espresso intake, and even some protein/collagen with it. But of course these formulas doesn't contain a lot of good espresso.
But I usually keep my freezer prepared for the summer season with froozen espressos portions (as posted in this thread earlier) so with some of those added it tasted quite good.

 

[Lioness~]

Still HOT here, and I'm continuing with my Ice-espressos - delicious!

The only backside of it is that it's so easy to drink many of them. So a bit warning, watch out for too much caffeine.

 

[GrayFlannel]

Ordered some beans from “Rave” yesterday. Arrived this morning, roasted yesterday! Can’t get fresher than that.

Typically coffee beans for espresso should rest for several days after roasting. Otherwise buying direct from a roaster where roasting is guaranteed to be within a couple weeks is more than sufficient the freshness flavor is indistinguishable.

 

[GrayFlannel]

1st time I made the big cleaning and descaling my Sage Espresso machine - took probably over an hour. I hope it goes faster as I get used to it 😓
But it was still a complicated story with having the manual nearby and reading up to follow the steps.

Especially comparing to the Siemens machines that I've had, which told me on the display exactly every step and what to do. So we get what we pay for, surely.

Have you considered changing to better water to avoid having to descale?

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Many thanks for your concern, both of you.

Much appreciated.

Just decided that a few days off line - immersed in reading a few real books - might be a good idea.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Placed an order for a number of coffees, as, inexplicably, my supply of coffee seems to be dwindling rapidly.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Sipping an afternoon mug of coffee, almost the last of my coffee from El Salvador.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

My coffee supplies have been replenished, as a (very welcome) delivery of coffee arrived this afternoon.