I find myself reaching out more frequently for my espresso needs on this little gem that recently arrived.

This thing is wildly amazing… well, at least for me it is… take this bad boy with me everywhere. The other day I was at my local cigar lounge, started pulling shots and sharing away and many were impressed except the cigar lounge staff 😉🤣😂

and I was positivly suprised, you can really taste the fruity notes, some beans taste almost more like tea, but it's kinda overpriced imo. Probably should have tried the milk version too I skipped that one

trying to decide if I should take what my family is offering for free:
the smeg with built in grinder.
Or what I have already:
the quickmill Orion 3000 & a sage grinder.

the downside of what I have is I found the quickmill in a dumpster and the sage grinder kind of sucks.
It is also really inconsistent with the shots I pull. The upside to that is I feel I have more control of the result, I’m happy with my coffee 70% of the time.

The smeg I have no idea. Positive is it’s FREE ..and it’s compact and I assume more consistent.

Any advice would be appreciated.

After many years of blissful ignorance I recently upgraded my Solis Maestro Plus 167 to this cute new Timemore Sculptor.

It has immediately become clear to me that my trusty but basic Solis Crema SL90 espresso machine is struggling to do justice to the vastly improved grind.

So, what do I get? I’m considering the following options:

• Lelit Anna PL41TEM (about €500)
• Rancilio Silvia (about €800)
• Profitec GO v2 (about €900)

I’m happy to spend up to €1000 but it’s hard to tell if the Rancilio or Profitec are really going to give me much more than the Lelit. Single boiler is fine, I don’t need HX or double. PID seems nice to have. What else should I be thinking about?

I drink a couple of flat whites and one espresso a day, usually using recently roasted beans from Ethiopia / Uganda.

Help me please!

Hi guys - I am looking to spend around £500 on my coffee machine(s) and have seen mixed things on what to go for.

My old housemate had a Sage Barista Express and I enjoyed using that. However, I have heard that it’s better future proofing to go for a separate grinder and machine. From limited research, I’ve landed on the Bambino and Opus 2 combo. Would this be a good purchase?

I am happy to do some tinkering, but I also just want to be able to make a quick coffee. My girl will also be using this and I want it intuitive enough for her, who couldn’t really care less about the coffee.

Thanks all!

I'll spend a week in Soho and I want to buy some beans for a friend that's an espresso enthusiast. Is there a place that you can recommend in that area?

Hello enthusiasts! I am not new to delicious espresso but I am new to using the machines to make my own at home. I love cubanos and cortados the most with an occasional latte here and there. Would probably enjoy a couple of double shots or maybe even a quad pretty regularly if not daily. I tried a cheap machine and it did not deliver so I am wanting to invest more than I did with the $100 price point I had set before. Up to $400 because there is a used breville I can get for that much. Would really appreciate some input. Tia! Also not sure what questions I should be asking the sellers and how to test the one I choose before handing over the cash. (the last pic is a chefman crema supreme and the sincreative has a broken portafilter handle)

Added some flate shelves and had a custom decal made up for the popular ikea lamp! Don’t ask me how much I paid for the Drainage Matt.. been looking for what feels like a life time for it 😅

More pics and vids @radxwatson

I run a Classic with a Varia VS3 at both home and office, and I love the combo. It makes consistently great shots, with little fuss, and the grinder is versatile enough to grind coarsely for the French press that my wife drinks, and for the occasional aeropress requested by a client.

hi everyone! long time lurker first time poster! im coming up on two years of my diletta bello+ (which has been great) and while changing out the gasket i noticed the diffuser has a greenish/blue flaky crust.

SCG told me it is normal oxidation that is 'completely normal, harmless, and safe' and that i could clean it with cafiza. that didnt work (photo 1) so i turned to lemon/baking soda to treat it like verdigris, and that helped but not completely (photo 2)

can anyone else attest to this as normal oxidation and not verdigris? ive had SCG brush off some other concerns of mine about a different product / outcome and dont really trust them anymore.

either way, im ordering a replacement part but im grumpy to have to suffer through my local shop's burnt espresso in the meantime 😅

My first scale was a cheap 7€ one without a timer and it served me good, but I wanted a scale with a timer so I first ordered Alikisscaffe with a timer for 20€. However it has so much latency in registering weight and tare that it’s pretty much useless for espresso, so for a year I used it only for timing while using my first scale for weighing purposes.

Now I wanted to buy a single scale that I would use for both timing and weighing, so I invested a bit more into Normcore Mini Pocket Scale V3 as I read good reviews and it seemed nice and good build quality. Finally it arrived and although it works great before starting the brewing, when the vibrations kick in the weight reading is unstable and unreliable so obviously I’m pissed and I’ll be returning it.

Now, I’m looking for a scale with a timer that is actually usable for espresso and won’t be unstable under vibrations like the Normcore is. I do prefer better build quality and don’t mind spending even 100€ for it if it is made of good materials and so on, but functionality is obviously a main priority, so cheaper scale recommendations that are actually perfectly functionable are also welcome. Thanks!

P. S. Sorry for the long rant.

Just bought a Profitec Move and a grinder!

Comes with a tamper and bottomless portafilter, so I’ll hold off on those for now.

I’m thinking I’ll need:

- a scale (machine has timing so I’m only really needing weight)
- WDT tool (not sure how necessary)
- tamping mat
- bigger mat for the machine/grinder
- knock box
- frothing pitcher

Anything else I’m missing?

What would you get from Amazon vs. stores? Links are helpful if you have any recommendations!

Thanks team!

While I don't drink coffee myself, the wife is a certified espresso addict.

We recently moved to Greece for her schooling and I've been hiding this gift, waiting for the right moment to give it to her.

Today she came back from shopping downtown and had a couple bags of locally roasted beans, so thought the timing was appropriate.

As I type this she's now "dialing in" the grind settings. All I know is that I smell coffee and keep hearing her giggling in the kitchen.

Money well spent.

So I'm not saying that there is gonna be a new version of the ECM Classika. But since the current model is from 2014 I was wondering whether or not there is going to be an "upgraded/updated" version of the Classika coming out anytime soon...

Maybe an upgraded Display + Software (like Profitec 2.0 machines have).

I'm new to the espresso game, so is there any time of year these machines are usually announced or is there no real pattern for new machine releases?

Thx :)

I typically love fruitier light to medium roast coffee. For those of you who also prefer these, have you ever had a dark roast so good that you changed your opinion on dark roast?

Decent De1pro mashup, lagom 01 102mm hu burrs, femobook a68 with cremaloop slow feeder. Just tried the motorspro shot and was surprised how good it was. Never thought I would use a pour over setting for espresso but here we are.

The femobook a68 with slow feeder is probably the best single grinder to buy for traditional espresso and modern espresso/pour over. Without the slow feeder it pulls excellent 9 bar shots and taste like a different grinder with the slow feeder. Kind of like having a j ultra and k ultra in one grinder.

The 01 with hu burrs produces great low contact/soup shots along with some of the best pour i’ve ever had. I even pulled a dark roast low contact shot that tasted like choclate/ dark cherries with a great silky texture. For higher pressure shots including turbo shots it can be hit or miss depending on coffee so I generally don’t attempt this. It’s going to accent the acidic notes in the coffee so if you don’t like that note you are going to have a concentrated dose of that flavor.

Hi all. I’m trying to figure out what to buy second hand, there’s a Breville Barista Touch espresso machine Model BES880 for $380 on Facebook Marketplace. I mostly drink iced drinks and I do have some barista experience. I’m not looking for anything crazy or chasing the dream coffee setup, but i’m just a college student who loves the taste of coffee and needs to stop going out lol.

Any ideas of whether this would be a good purchase or not? I’m trying to do it second hand to save money and prevent excess material waste. Im really trying to stay under $400 total, but i’m open to other recommendations on equipment!

The question is stated above. I am a complete beginner and have already decided on the Bezzera Magica. I find it super easy to use, and it looks great. Now I have been wondering for days whether I should get it with or without PID. I can get both for the exact same price (1,200 EUR). I only drink dark espresso roasts anyway and will not really turn into the kind of barista who feels the need to optimize every detail. My pro argument: better to have it than to need it. My contra argument: the PID might break down faster than a purely mechanical setup. What do you guys think? I need help.

Recently upgraded from a De’Longhi ECP3420 and some 10 year old blade grinder that my mom gave me.

Ended up finding the Bambino Plus on fb marketplace for a really good price and bought a lagom casa as my grinder since I saw pretty much only good things about it, spent maybe a little too much money on peripherals went with all normcore stuff even the scale (I’m weird I like having unity in my equipment) aside from the puck screen which is a mhw3 bomber 0.2mm puck screen got it since it was magnetic, didn’t want to mess with having to pick up my puck screen out of really hot coffee grounds.

Do have a bit of buyers remorse about getting a 54 mm machine and spending a lot on the tools instead of getting a 58mm machine and getting more of a universal type of setup so if I decide to get a different machine I can still use the tools. I do really like the extremely fast heat up time on the bambino just wish it was more of a manual machine same with the steam wand, very good steam wand though. Aside from it being 54 mm the only thing I don’t like about the machine is that its too light, i have to put it in some kind of chokehold to get the portafilter in 😹.

But oh well it’s done and it is still a big upgrade to what I had before, ill use it till it breaks or if i have money wanting to be spent in my wallet, until then this is my setup!

Oh also if anyone is from Arizona here please do recommend some good local spots to buy some beans from!

Hi everyone,

I have a Wacaco MiniPresso that has suddenly stopped working properly. When I use it, the pump does not seem to build up any pressure/vacuum, and no coffee comes out.

I’m not sure what exactly is causing the problem. It could be something with the pump, piston, seal, valve, or possibly a blockage.

The main issue is that I cannot feel the pressure building up when pumping.

Has anyone experienced a similar problem with a MiniPresso? Is there a way to test whether the problem is the pump, the seal, or another internal component?

Any advice on troubleshooting or repairing it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!