The Big Espresso Coffee Machine Thread

[hademall]

New Zealand = Passable
Australia = It’s ok.
Rest of the world = Oh my God! This is fantastic.

Went to Italy a few years ago. Worst coffee I ever tasted.

 

[hademall]

Made my first Cappuccino's using the new machine today. Passable for a first attempt.

What brand of coffee machine is it?

 

[Immortality]

Round 2 a definite improvement. I've paid for coffee that was much worse.

What brand of coffee machine is it?

Breville.

Currently using Ozone Coffee, Empire blend beans

 

[losh1971]

Grind it fine and pack the grounds tight. This will help reducing the bitterness.

 

[hademall]

Round 2 a definite improvement. I've paid for coffee that was much worse.



Breville.

Currently using Ozone Coffee, Empire blend beans

As Losh said, grind the beans fairly fine. The finer the grinds the less you need to pack them hard into the basket. It's all about the consistency of the water flow as it makes its way through the grinds. If the water comes through too quickly it will not have a chance to extract the oils from the grinds which produce that smooth golden brown pour you need to see.

If the water struggles to come through the grinds, then you have packed them too tight.
If you are using already ground coffee beans from the shop, they can sometimes be too course therefore allowing the water to run through them too quickly which often produces a black pour.

I use my own grinder which allows you to change the fineness of the grinds, whereas the shop ones are a bit hit-and-miss.
I get my beans from Aldi. Good, different!

 

[Immortality]

Mr24 played around with the grinder settings for the machine, started with the recommended settings but when a bit finer.

 

[hademall]

Mr24 played around with the grinder settings for the machine, started with the recommended settings but when a bit finer.

Yeah, it takes a bit of practice before you get that consistency.

 

[lmoengnr]

If the water struggles to come through the grinds, then you have packed them too tight.

Time for a commercial espresso machine.

 

[losh1971]

I like the machine to force the water through somewhat as it seems to be the way to reduce the bitterness. Yes agree the finer grind helps get that crema. I've used shop ground but its always been too course for a small home machine like a Breville that we have. I use the gold packet gear from Coles and WW. It's not the best I've used but it seems to be about the best one Coles and WW stock and is often on 1/2 price sale. Mainland might have more options than we have as we don't get close to the range of products mainland stores carry.

 

[Immortality]

This is what Mr24 bought.