281–290 of 292 posts
I am Italian, so coffee is almost a religion for us
The more I think about the more I feel that this is the wrong solution to the problem. Disclaimer: I'm doing a small open source espresso controller project, check it out if you're interested, but it's not ready for prime time yet: https://github.com/variegated-coffee . My thinking is that this machine appeals mostly to people who already has an espresso machine. It's not particularly technologically advanced. It's a…
An E61 is the wrong choice. They have fluidic mechanical pressure ramp system. A modern machine ought to have adjustable computerized pressure profiles.
The more I think about the more I feel that this is the wrong solution to the problem. Disclaimer: I'm doing a small open source espresso controller project, check it out if you're interested, but it's not ready for prime time yet: https://github.com/variegated-coffee . My thinking is that this machine appeals mostly to people who already has an espresso machine. It's not particularly technologically advanced. It's a…
This is perfect for me. There must be dozens of people like me. Dozens!
If you are passionate about Espresso, I really suggest to try Kamira ( https://www.espressokamira.com/ ). It's very easy to make and maintain and you can have espresso at home like the one in the bar. I am Italian, so coffee is almost a religion for us
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The cup itself may be aluminum, but there is a plastic lining on the inside of the cup and on the inside of the lid that keeps the coffee from coming into direct contact with the aluminum--just like in canned foods
I hate to defend Nestlé, but they claim that the coating is shellac. https://easytoespresso.com/are-nespresso-pods-safe/
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To chime in on the litany of reasons why this is not a good idea--sifting boiling water through plastic is not safe for consumption as plastic nano and micro-particles will leech from the plastic into the liquid. This happens by design when using these pods, meaning you are getting a small serving of plastic every morning, alongside your coffee. What a moronic design.
While it's likely not wrong that these things produce a bunch of suspended microplastics in your drink, we actually still don't know how unsafe microplastics are so I don't think you can outright state it is unsafe (not saying we shouldn't be worried about microplastics, I certainly am looking forward to more research on the topic to determine their impact because I am also worried, but it's just fear mongering to ca…
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10311-024-01727-1
The brass in most high end heads slowly leaches lead into the boiler water. Arguably, this doesn’t matter at a coffee shop, since the boiler turns over the water in a few hours. At home, it takes a month or so.
Anyway, I settled on a Flair Classic lever machine (one moving part, all stainless steel and silicone gasket on the water contact path), and previously, a PID kettle.
It turns out that water boils at espresso temperature at ~ 2000 ft, so when the PID kettle died, I replaced it with an antique enameled cast iron kettle (my induction range heats it up ridiculously fast).
I boil the stainless espresso machine head in the kettle with the espresso water, which achieves the same thing as continuously circulating hot boiler water through it in commercial espresso machines.
I put the money I saved on the machine into a small commercial-grade burr grinder (like for the decaf beans at a coffee shop).
I haven’t noticed any consistency issues vs. a $3500 machine at work. That thing can crank out four espressos in parallel all day long, but I don’t need that at home.
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Should I mention audiophiles? The first feeling when you turn on a new system, it will never come back, until you get an arguably better system... And the rabbit hole is deep. How much did you pay for grinder? I think this is worth (for espresso lover) far more than 1250 euro machine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTFsBqhpLes&list=PLxz0FjZMVO...
Audiophiles are a bad analogy since you can setup a blind taste test of coffee equipment. And different people will make the same identifications. Which suggests that we all tasted the same thing. Where as you can’t tell the difference between cables. I’m all for being skeptical, especially with something as subjective as taste. But it always amuses me that people never bother to check their skepticism. Has it ever o…
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An E61 is the wrong choice. They have fluidic mechanical pressure ramp system. A modern machine ought to have adjustable computerized pressure profiles.
Does this additional complexity do anything bad to reliability ?
If you are passionate about Espresso, I really suggest to try Kamira ( https://www.espressokamira.com/ ). It's very easy to make and maintain and you can have espresso at home like the one in the bar. I am Italian, so coffee is almost a religion for us
Looks cool, but how does it actually differ in functionality from a regular mokka pot? Where is the pressure coming from?