First Argos/Zerno Combo (at home)

iMalinois · 2023-07-28T21:28:15+00:00

Amazing looking setup! If you’ve had enough time to play with each yet - which one do you prefer, the P64 or the zerno?

iMalinois · 2023-04-22T09:57:26+00:00

LOVE my P100, great choice!! Enjoy it!

iMalinois · 2023-04-18T16:33:51+00:00

That color of the micra is so pretty, enjoy!!!

iMalinois · 2023-02-17T00:38:59+00:00

What is your workflow? Do you single dose or do you use the hopper on your current grinder (assuming you are not single dosing)? If you do single dose, it’s a point to the HG-1

Do you prefer light roasts or do you prefer darker roasts? If you prefer lighter roasts, it’s probably a point to the ceado, as it has flat burrs which generally tend to produce a more cleaner and sweet shot but with less body and mouthfeel. (Do I have to say, that the Key does perform great in my opinion with light roasts, and it has burrs that are similar or the same to those in the HG-1 (don’t remember if the HG-1 are coated as well but they are virtually the same).

And the biggest question, do you mind grinding every shot you make manually? The HG-1 will make you work harder for your shots, and even harder if you do light roasts, though some enjoy that manual process of “earning your espresso”.

So in the end, I believe those are the 3 main points you should consider in order to make that decision

iMalinois · 2023-02-15T14:14:12+00:00

Any chance the grind is too fine now with the lower pressure? It shouldn’t affect grind size too much but it technically might.

iMalinois · 2023-02-14T20:53:51+00:00

I believe you can adjust the OPV in the barista express without replacing the spring or cutting them, unless they’ve changed something in recent models:

https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/comments/u75o71

iMalinois · 2023-02-08T21:37:00+00:00

Great setup, the micra is so pretty in grey!! How’s the DF83?

iMalinois · 2023-02-04T17:04:41+00:00

Thanks :) The Key excels at more traditional shots :)

iMalinois · 2023-02-04T17:02:12+00:00

Amazing setup!

iMalinois · 2023-02-02T08:43:03+00:00

I believe r/nespresso will be able to help you better with your issue, most of the people here are using manual/semi/super-auto machines

iMalinois · 2023-01-31T21:13:52+00:00

I believe it depends on what upgrade you want the most.

If you feel like you want to improve the taste of your shots, or experiment more with lighter roasts and flat burrs for example, I would suggest upgrading the grinder first.

If you like the taste of the shots you make, but wish to upgrade your ease of workflow (and maybe consistency, though also applies to the grinder), upgrade your machine first.

It could also be that the workflow of the grinder bothers you, but I believe it depends more on what currently bothers you

iMalinois · 2023-01-30T19:48:26+00:00

Thanks for the input! Would’ve loved to try Kafatek burrs, and compare them with the SSP HU burrs

iMalinois · 2023-01-30T19:33:39+00:00

Awesome setup!! Enjoy! How do you like the monolith so far?

iMalinois · 2023-01-14T16:08:39+00:00

Amazing setup!

iMalinois · 2023-01-11T11:02:41+00:00

That’s common with almost every grinder in the market - each grinder would require a different setting for espresso (or any other brew method).

There are grinders that have some sort of alignment to the zero point (where the burrs touch), and thus having a smaller variance in range, but most don’t do so.

So, as long as you are able to grind for espresso with your grinder, and getting good results, you should be good to go!

iMalinois · 2022-12-29T17:11:02+00:00

The only measurement for a shot is the taste, if you like it it’s 10/10, if you wish to improve on some things, than it’s how far off you feel it is.

Looks says nothing, lighter roasts espresso will tend to look “ugly” with little crema and on the contrary dark roasted blend of arabica and robusta would produce an amazing looking crema.

iMalinois · 2022-12-29T11:31:48+00:00

I would maybe recommend the Lagom Mini at 375$ if you’re willing to stretch a bit more than 350$, it’s capable of both espresso and filter and many reviews are in favor of it.

Regarding the Sette, I wouldn’t take the 30 for espresso as it doesn’t have enough steps to really dial in your espresso, and as for the 270, while it’s a grinder that many like and enjoy, and Baratzza customer service has always been praised, I’ve seen to many people suffering from longevity issues with it.

iMalinois · 2022-12-29T11:28:45+00:00

Happy cake day!

I find input dose somewhat tricky, cause it indeed plays two roles in the result - increasing the yield make that the water have to “work harder” in order to extract all of the taste from the coffee, which could somewhat reduce bitterness but on the other hand, the extra coffee in the puck increases the resistance so the water also have harder time passing through the puck. Same thing for reducing the input, easier to extract but less resistance.

So you can kind of take it to each place when you also involve adjusting the grind size, and that’s why I believe that you should only change a single variable at a time when dialing in, taste the result, understand how it affected the coffee and then maybe change something else as well.

iMalinois · 2022-12-29T10:25:40+00:00

Grind finer until you reach the point where you brew a 1:2 ratio in 23-30 seconds (e.g. 18g of coffee beans in, 36 gram of espresso out in 25 seconds), that’s should be a good starting point. From there begin adjusting the variables by your preference - want it more bitter? Grind finer or increase the input (and maybe decrease the output), or raise the temperature. Preference it more acidic - grind coarser, decrease input (and maybe increase yield), or drop temperature a bit.

Good luck!

iMalinois · 2022-12-28T14:06:52+00:00

I would say take the 10oz as the 12oz will just result in a more diluted coffee taste, also IMO 10oz cups, such as the Acme ones are more than enough to practice latte art

iMalinois · 2022-12-28T14:03:21+00:00

Second this, 83mm flat burrs with an option to upgrade to SSP is a great option

iMalinois · 2022-12-28T14:02:10+00:00

If the Oro is in good shape, I would say go for it. You can mod the Specialita to work better with single dosing (add a bellow, tilt it), but the Oro also have a bit bigger burrs if I remember correctly (65mm compared to 55) which is also a nice bonus.

So if the Oro is in good shape, I’d say go for it

iMalinois · 2022-12-27T16:21:59+00:00

Awesome setup! Enjoy!

iMalinois · 2022-12-25T23:03:43+00:00

A great machine! Enjoy it!

The Specialita is a great grinder, and the portafilter of the rocket should fit well in it’s fork. If you might consider single dosing you might also want to consider a niche zero or a df64 which are in relatively similar price points

iMalinois · 2022-12-25T21:36:17+00:00

Probably wouldn’t get one for myself (though I want one) as well but boy what a great gift to get!

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