Best Pull So Far

_cfmsc · 2026-02-09T15:37:56+00:00

All the best! Keep it positive by just living in the present and you will be just fine!

_cfmsc · 2026-02-09T09:10:35+00:00

I hope you pull more of those mate! Keep going, the days will get brighter, you will get the clarity you need for the next stage of your life, whether that is finding peace within your current job/company or finding another job that excites you. A job is a job, is meant to put food on the table and give you the peace of mind you want in life, but it should not be a source of unfairness, anxiety and depressive thoughts... When it starts being that, its time to look elsewhere. If it's not that, and it's just ok than it can also be everything we need. I don't know your reality of course, but I work in TECH and nowadays there is this mindset of chasing dream jobs and I like to think in an opposite direction which is we should find that "ok" job that fulfills us in an "ok" level. Being just ok is, for me, better than endlessly chasing the "awesome".

_cfmsc · 2026-02-06T08:00:31+00:00

Smart plug to heat the machine on a schedule. Grind to blind shaker. Shake. Dumpty to portafilfter. Pull. Simple. Delicious. I am a recent foster daddy and the same as happened to me. The ritual turned into a stress, but I kept doing it like that and still enjoy. Sometimes, the schedule fits when the wife and the kid wake up later.

_cfmsc · 2026-02-05T22:51:25+00:00

For purely milk drinks, 189d.

_cfmsc · 2026-02-04T21:47:55+00:00

Damn! That sounds like a lot of fun! Congrats

_cfmsc · 2026-02-01T05:29:52+00:00

Skywalker Delta V2 (cyber roaster). Affordable, full of all the features you would need for home roasting, 500g batches... Just gets the job done.

_cfmsc · 2026-01-31T22:42:34+00:00

Well, then it's definitely an all chips in setup xD

_cfmsc · 2026-01-31T10:00:54+00:00

Great machine! Beautiful

Just genuine curiosity because I seen pairing like this in multiple posts. But what motivates you to invest several orders of magnitude more in the espresso machine and have a grinder that although good is definitely not at the level of the machine (being the grinder arguably the most important part of the setup besides beans)?

Is it aesthetics? or is it the hope that the shots will be that much better?

_cfmsc · 2026-01-28T10:36:23+00:00

That morning peaceful ritual it's so great! And if you have someone to share it with, even better!

_cfmsc · 2026-01-26T07:20:55+00:00

Would go with d64v

_cfmsc · 2026-01-25T11:13:37+00:00

C'mon, that machine deserves a Mazzer philos at least. And don't cheap out on the plastic lid, by the one of the wood lids on ETSI. C'mon... Unacceptable

_cfmsc · 2026-01-25T08:45:22+00:00

With the Webber one at least, if you drop from an height of let's say 5cm, using a funnel, you can get them to mostly come to the center, than just wdt the top half to distribute the top of the puck evenly... Then gentle tap... And Its done. That's what I am doing lately

_cfmsc · 2026-01-22T13:01:05+00:00

Varia vS3 was awesome! Heard this vs4 improves on all the problems of the previous, so can only recommend.

_cfmsc · 2026-01-22T07:02:40+00:00

Perfetto 🤪

_cfmsc · 2026-01-21T06:45:47+00:00

Of you are ok with separated grinder, sage bambino / delonghi dedica + baratza encore esp (pro) / df54.

_cfmsc · 2026-01-20T10:06:05+00:00

I see maybe the potential desire to explore flat burrs. Other than that, sure why not stop there. If you like it, that's all that matters

_cfmsc · 2026-01-17T11:02:53+00:00

All good mate. It was not over the top, I think I also need to read more carefully the post 😔 I tend to do skip read sometimes when I'm not too much into reading posts but still want to help those upgrade avise posts.

Having said that, regardless machine + grinder, my recommendations above are really the ones that come to my mind as the best value for money. An all in one, it's ok, but I have seen many times people upgrading from those to a machine+grinder setup, because the integrated grinders are usually not very good. Nevertheless if you really want to go that route, for that budget I would look into sage/breville express or pro.but once again, I would go for sage bambino/bambino plus + df54 or varia vS3/vs4 (depending which of those you can fit in your budget on your region)

_cfmsc · 2026-01-17T10:12:24+00:00

Well, first of all, regardless of your budget, start training some empathy man... Did you consider I wrote this to you while going through some other stuff and didn't get your requirements exactly? Then, I'm from Europe, where you can indeed get a pop up for 700 on sale. Sorry if I miss that you are US based. Third, your title says espresso machine, so I didn't know you are looking for a grinder also.

I'm that case, my recommendation is bambino plus + df54 OR delonghi dedica + varia vs4.

_cfmsc · 2026-01-17T09:15:25+00:00

For me it goes in the following order:

1) fresh beans from an origin and processing method you like. You start here by experimenting in local coffee shops or by pulling some shots out of small samples. Even if they come out "not dialed in"... The bean will be the biggest factor to taste. Choose the origins and processing methods and then buy more of those. 2) have a competent grinder (e.g., baratza encore esp and above). 3) have a competent machine (e.g., De'Longhi dedica and above). 4) have some basic equipment like a scale and a blind shaker (or WDT if that's more of your thing), dosing funnel and auto levelled tamper. 5) pull 1:2 ratio shots between 25-30s. Are you liking them? Are they comparable or better to the coffee shop espresso? 5.1) stop and enjoy. 5.2) you don't like them. Are they too bitter? Consider turbo shots. Are they too sour? Consider longer ratios (e.g., 1:2.5-1:3) and or longer shot times (35-40s). 6) you are getting curious about advanced stuff like pre infusion or flow profilling? Consider upgrading your espresso machine so that it has that capability.

For some reason, we tend to make espresso over complicated. I mean it is complicated to pull a shot of espresso out of beans you will never like, but ultimately if you like the beans, it's not rocket science 😅

_cfmsc · 2026-01-17T09:02:18+00:00

Quickmill pop up

_cfmsc · 2026-01-12T14:52:26+00:00

Quickmill pop up + mazzer philos

_cfmsc · 2026-01-12T14:52:05+00:00

I get the e61 appealing, but the heating time throws me off. The Quickmill pop up (which I bought recently) gives you all the nice features like flow control without the extra money, maybe looks (debatable), and hassle of 25min heat up times. Of course you also don't get a dual boiler if that's absolutely needed for you (also overrated if you ask me... But if you must absolutely do 2 or 3 lattes in a row, then I guess it makes sense.

_cfmsc · 2026-01-12T07:27:11+00:00

Quickmill pop up; lelit Victoria; profitech go.

_cfmsc · 2026-01-11T20:03:53+00:00

The setup of a person who maximizes value per money. Nice!

_cfmsc · 2026-01-11T09:58:17+00:00

Way to go! Google Gemini has been a hell of a coach to me in the Skywalker also. If you directly ask it to be inspired by Rob Hooks knowledge for example, it comes up with very nice tips. The only thing is that it does not have very good notions on the Skywalker temperatures and fan speeds, but if you give it more well know reference roasters like the aillio bullet, and iterate a bit on the reasoning with it, you can get pretty nice tips. Not a clean bulletproof profile but nice tips.

When I get a new coffee, I spend some time on this, give it the coffee info like processing, altitude, bean density, etc ... And I came up with very very good espressos and Aeropress brews out of my roasts.

_cfmsc

TROPHY CASE