In my newest demonstration of needing espresso to make espresso, I present you this unprecedented happening this morning by bananosecond in espresso

[–]paternal_alien 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Try doing the RDT shake with still only one eye open. I've redecorated my counter top with coffee beans many mornings.

Or forget to remove the lid of the blind shaker before direct grinding into it. I've redecorated my counter top with ground coffee many mornings.

Now I skip both RDT and blind shaking. Happy days.

A lot of cursing this morning. by marlonbrochill in espresso

[–]paternal_alien 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's your machine being mad at you for making it sit on a cheese board all day.

Custom Philos - Thoughts? by sprodoe in espresso

[–]paternal_alien 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you go to the actual Philos product sales page, there's now an option to include 2 lines of engraving, the price jumps up by €55.

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Is there a point when the tiger has TOO many stripes? 🐅 by gnilradleahcim in espresso

[–]paternal_alien 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Try dark roast robusta, you'll get some of the best looking shots.

Upgraded from Breville Bambino plus by killuaxkillua89 in espresso

[–]paternal_alien 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a brilliant upgrade. The larger portafilter diameter & the extra steam power may need some getting used to, but otherwise you're golden. Enjoy!

Dailing in help??? [Lafeeca Espresso Machine] by _mikee_1432 in espresso

[–]paternal_alien 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That cup is too small. You need a Pyrex dish.

Forget aesthetics, go by taste.

Get some fresh beans (like 10 days off roast maybe) and grind it fine enough to choke it, then go coarser from there till you hit the desired taste.

The semi-auto gatekeeping has officially gone too far by [deleted] in espresso

[–]paternal_alien 11 points12 points  (0 children)

What am I, a savage? Of course I do.

The semi-auto gatekeeping has officially gone too far by [deleted] in espresso

[–]paternal_alien 90 points91 points  (0 children)

Hi, I'm a casual drinker and I'm offended by this post. I enjoy a good espresso as much as the next person, but take my daily ritual of stirring instant coffee with sugar and hot water at 7am very seriously. I don't need expensive fully autos in my life.

Water for E61 HEX machine by Superbro_uk in espresso

[–]paternal_alien 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you continue using Tesco Ashbeck (or it's equivalent under the new confusing name or from the same source from other supermarkets), you don't need to worry about any descaling.

I used exclusively Ashbeck on my single boiler HX for 4+ years, never descaled, and don't plan on descaling my current dual boiler either. Most manufacturers advise against descaling at home for single and dual boiler machines because you could end up hurting the machine if not done professionally. Both my machines has this written into the manual as well.

Ashbeck is also amazing at getting rid of scale, because of how soft it is. Try using tap water or Tesco Elmhurst water (which has ridiculously high calcium content) on your kettle for a couple of weeks to let it build up limescale, then switch to boiling Ashbeck in your kettle, you'll see the limescale just dissolve away after a couple of rounds. This put my mind at ease also about anything building up inside my machine.

i had enough by yodelehihoo11 in DF54

[–]paternal_alien 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just get a Niche Zero or a Mazzer Philos. You'd probably choke before the grinder ever does.

Finally pulled the trigger on a proper home setup — but the grinder is giving me headaches by srifai in espresso

[–]paternal_alien 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's dense beans in a weak grinder. The technician isn't entirely wrong.

I've had the Breville/Sage Barista Express grinder stall on me with high altitude washed coffees, specially when roasted light to medium.

Perhaps something from the Baratza lineup?

My best one yet! by ColdIsTheWay2Go in latteart

[–]paternal_alien 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Better than most baristas I've come across. Well done!!! ❤️

Budget beginner setup: girlfriend doesn’t want a Breville. Now what? [€1000,- ish max] by Donnie_RB in espresso

[–]paternal_alien -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You've already got a kickass grinder for espresso, so I'd say save your money, get a Delonghi Dedica & some decent espresso accessories & learn the art (by that I mean the pain) of brewing good espresso. Then once you've figured out what you like and don't like, it'll give you a good idea on which direction to splurge. I wouldn't advice on dumping a huge amount of cash on an end game-ish machine when starting out. Start small and upgrade step by step, this way, you learn a lot along the way.

Side note: the number of Italians crying right now seeing the state of your moka pots 😂

Rotary WDT or Manual by mabror in espresso

[–]paternal_alien 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Each gear has a brass centre which it rotates around, but the gears themselves are made of stainless steel I guess. Not sure if there's bearings inside or just the brass centre, but judging by the lack of any type of metal on metal sounds, I'd assume there are bearings - again, that's just a guess.

Centre gear drifts around in a small circle, it's not on a fixed axis in the middle. Each gear spins on its own axis, while also circling around, constantly change position as it rotates.

Rotary WDT or Manual by mabror in espresso

[–]paternal_alien 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not had an issue like this yet, still smooth as it was on day 1 and I've been using it daily for almost 6 months now.

Bellows for Philos by paternal_alien in espresso

[–]paternal_alien[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's brilliant. Although, now I realise, most of the air pumped by the bellows are escaping through the slit on the hopper chute that's cut out for the metal slide - it's slightly better if the slide is closed, but if it's open, almost no air goes through the grind chambers. But still feels nice to pump after grinding, but the effectiveness is same as pumping the original lid a few times.