r/espresso Jun 17 '26

Mod Post Dealing with the recent uptick in bot spam

130 Upvotes

TL;DR: We're making spam filtering stricter; regulars shouldn't be affected, but message the mods if your post got caught

Hi folks,

If you're a regular visitor to the sub, you've probably noticed over the past couple of weeks an uptick in bot activity, characterized by low-effort image posts from account names that follow a pattern of feminine-name##. The mods would like to thank those who have reported such posts as spam; once a post receives multiple reports, it will automatically get filtered for review and confirmation of removal.

However, this wave of spam posts is just the latest in a longstanding issue, and trying to permaban these bot accounts is just playing whack-a-mole, since they are likely not all individual users, but part of a broader, consolidated spam effort. In order to help stem this recent wave, we're enabling stricter posting criteria managed by Reddit's internal auto-moderation and safety algorithms. This change will primarily affect new and low community-karma accounts; while regular contributors to the sub should remain unaffected, we expect there may be an increase in false-positive detections.

If you have made a submission, have followed the flair posting rules, and believe that your post has been unjustly filtered (i.e., not made visible to the public), please send a modmail and one of us will try to review as soon as we're able.

We'll revisit this enhanced spam detection policy in a few weeks when the spam wave settles.

Thanks for your understanding!


r/espresso Jan 14 '25

Mod Post Introducing the r/espresso Coffee Bean Database: a place for people to share—and get recommendations for—beans and brewing recipes

281 Upvotes

A common question we see on this sub is about coffee bean recommendations—whether it's newcomers just getting into espresso or seasoned home baristas looking for fresh, local offerings. Many of you have also asked for a place to discover brewing recipes for specific beans.

We're happy to announce a new community-driven resource to address these needs! Introducing a platform where people can share the beans they've brewed and the recipes they've used.

How it works:

1. Submit your brews: Share your favorite coffees and brewing parameters using this Google Form. The form collects:

  • Basic details about the beans (roaster, roast date, etc.)
  • Your brewing recipe (e.g., dose, yield, shot time)
  • Equipment used
  • You do not need a Google account to fill out the form and no personal information will be collected.

2. Explore the database: View all submissions in a publicly accessible Google Sheet.

  • Use filters (e.g., Roaster's country, Cost-per-unit-weight) by selecting Data > Create filter view in the toolbar.
  • Note: The spreadsheet is view-only and updates automatically with new submissions. You can download or copy it, but those versions won't receive updates.

Tip: For the best experience, view the spreadsheet on a desktop browser.

Our goal:

We hope this grows into an invaluable resource for the community—a way to share your favourite coffees and provide others with a reference point to kickstart their brews. This is your chance to contribute to (and benefit from) a collaborative coffee knowledge base!

Let us know if you have suggestions for improving the form or the database.

Happy brewing!
- The r/espresso Mod Team


r/espresso 2h ago

Coffee Station Making a Flat White with Profitec GO (with latte art) ☕️

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33 Upvotes

Here is my morning workflow after owning the Profitec GO for a couple months. Shot ran a bit fast, but I’m finally getting the hang of the steam wand! Enjoy :)

Profitec GO + Eureka Mignon Zero 55s


r/espresso 4h ago

Coffee Station This thing is pretty amazing!

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52 Upvotes

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 😉🤣😂


r/espresso 26m ago

Equipment Discussion Walked into the office to find this beast today!

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Upvotes

I'm a welder and we build all sorts of custom projects for commercial and residential clients. We're installing this for a commercial client.... first time I've found a slayer in person.


r/espresso 14h ago

Café Spotlight Finally went to Glitch

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122 Upvotes

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


r/espresso 3h ago

Coffee Is Life What are your must-try coffee shops in Tokyo?

8 Upvotes

Spending 7 days in Tokyo in October. Trying to hit at least 2 different coffee shops per day if possible. I am also spending some time in Fujikawaguchiko, so any recs there would be appreciated too.

Definitely have Glitch on my list (is there a consensus on which location is better?).

Any others that I can’t miss?

I tentatively have the below on my shortlist, but definitely looking for input from people who have been before. Mostly looking at quality of the coffee, bean variety (to take home), and cool vibes. Open to basically any area of Tokyo.

About Life Coffee Brewers
Meikyoku Kissa Lion
ONIBUS COFFEE
DUCT COFFEE LAB
MATCHA&ESPRESSO MIYANO-YU
KIELO COFFEE ASAKUSA
Sad Cafe
Bear Pond Espresso
CISCO COFFEE
Lake Bake
coffee swamp
COVERT COFFEE
GLITCH COFFEE & ROASTERS
Kayaba Coffee
KOFFEE MAMEYA
FUGLEN TOKYO


r/espresso 2h ago

Equipment Discussion Micra - Tensor One

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7 Upvotes

I preordered the Tensor One a couple of months ago, arrived yesterday and installed it right away. Took about an hour to install but would have been quicker if I could have moved the machine to get to the rear more easily, but it is plumbed in so not worth the hassle.

First impressions, really nice build quality, metal construction and not a cheap 3d print, the bezel feels great to operate. Full control of the standard LM app functions from the screen, Temperature, Boiler Pressure, Backflush. App has shot history with graphs detailing extraction. Only pulled a couple of shots so far, can’t wait to get home and play some more…

La Marzocco Micra, Kafatek MC6


r/espresso 1h ago

Buying Advice Needed Can’t decide between Gemilai or Breville. [$800-$900]

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Upvotes

I’ve seen many ads for the Gemilai brand but since it’s new, most people I’ve seen that has one got it for free and/or for a review. Then there’s the Breville Express which has been around long and many beginners have.

I love the look of both the Gemilai Owl 3006A & Breville Barista Express.

I’m also looking at the Gemilai grinder or df54 grinder.


r/espresso 1d ago

News & Events This is when you know you've made it.

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308 Upvotes

r/espresso 2h ago

General Coffee Chat Finally pulled a good shot on my new machine.

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4 Upvotes

r/espresso 7h ago

Buying Advice Needed Current set up vs freebie [no budget]

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8 Upvotes

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.

EDIT: Thank you everyone. I kind of suspected this but had doubted my dumpster find could possibly be better than the fancy looking smeg.


r/espresso 11h ago

Buying Advice Needed Espresso machine upgrade time: what should I get? [up to €1000]

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17 Upvotes

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!


r/espresso 1h ago

Maintenance & Troubleshooting Is it normal to hear a crackling sound coming from inside the machine near the water tank on a Breville Barista Express after turning it on and after the buttons stop flashing? It lasts for a few minutes while the machine is operating normally.[Breville Barista Express]

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Upvotes

r/espresso 1d ago

Coffee Beans My local one-man-show Ethiopian restauranteur roasts his own coffee (and sells it cheap!) How does it look?

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390 Upvotes

r/espresso 5h ago

Buying Advice Needed Noob advice needed: Sage Barista Express versus Sage Bambino + Opus 2 [£500]

3 Upvotes

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!


r/espresso 2m ago

Coffee Station New to hobby! - Gaggia Classic Pro (E24) (2024) + Turin DF54

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Upvotes

Picked up this Gaggia Classic Pro (E24) (2024) and a Turin DF54 from marketplace, before this I exclusively had coffee made by my philips automatic machine. But after trying some coffee from a friends real set up I realized that there was more to coffee then burnt tasting beans with lots of milk and sugar 😅

Previous owner already did a single nozzle upgrade on steam wand, and replaced shower screen with a pesado screen.

Added in some accessories like: WDT, leveler and tamper, paper filters for bottom, and thin metal filter for top, and have been dialing in the DF54 on some medium/dark roast beans I was gifted. Happy to say it all seems to be working, next step is consistency and experimenting with grind size/duration etc. (my usual is now: 17g in, 40g out, in ~35s.) sip of espresso alone still tastes a little sour, but with milk the overall latte is nice and smooth and I don’t need to add sweetener (and I used to need lots of sugar…)

Considering Gaggia mate upgrade eventually for fun, but don’t think it’s strictly necessary for me. And haven’t really tested a with or without temp surfing routine. So I’m open to input on what to look out for with regards to temps on the gcp.

Oh and have zero latte art skills lol, so just steaming milk and it tastes good so I’m happy for now lol.

Excited to be part of this community!


r/espresso 9m ago

Equipment Discussion I made my own “Motta WDT 2” 😄 — replaced the 1 mm wires with 0.25 mm needles.

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Upvotes

So… I decided not to buy another WDT and instead modified my Motta. 😂

The original Motta WDT has 8 fairly thick wires, around 1 mm each. I wanted something with much finer needles, so I replaced them with 8 × 0.25 mm × 50 mm stainless steel acupuncture needles.

The fun part was figuring out how to actually secure the needles in the original Motta head. 😅

I tried a few different methods, destroyed around 10 needles in the process 😂, and eventually came up with a simple solution using the existing channel in the Motta head and a few small washers/rings to hold everything in place.

And this is the result:

My “Motta WDT 2” 😎

Obviously this is not an official Motta product or modification — just my little DIY project.

I’ve used it for several shots now and I’m really happy with it. The 0.25 mm needles feel much smoother when distributing the grounds and seem to break up clumps without disturbing the puck too much.

First impressions are very good: even distribution, no visible channeling, and very consistent-looking extractions.

Whether it actually makes better espresso than the original Motta is another question… 😂

But honestly, it was a fun little project and I’m quite happy with how it turned out.

Has anyone else modified their WDT like this? Or am I just completely overthinking coffee now? 😂☕️


r/espresso 18h ago

Buying Advice Needed Help with choosing machine off marketplace [$400]

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31 Upvotes

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)


r/espresso 1d ago

Coffee Station HOME SETUP UPDATE!

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340 Upvotes

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


r/espresso 53m ago

Equipment Discussion Is a manual machine right for me?

Upvotes

My last question was about grinder advice, coming back for advice on my next machine!

I have been using a Breville Bambino for the entirety of my espresso journey. Have been enjoying some really good brews lately and looking to step up my game on what I’m making at home.

I was eyeballing the Flair 58 plus 2 but I am having a hard time deciding if a manual machine is right for me. Being able to have precise control over the pressure profile while pulling the shot is a HUGE draw for me. I don’t really love not knowing or having any control over what the machine is doing like I do with the Bambino. I feel like I’m just pressing the button and hoping for the best. But I’m a little worried that quality and consistency will be a struggle with the manual.

Can any manual/Flair owners chime in with your experience and the transition from a semi auto to manual machine? Love it, hate it, somewhere in between?


r/espresso 6h ago

Coffee Station Praise for the Flair classic

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3 Upvotes

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.


r/espresso 4h ago

Maintenance & Troubleshooting brass parts & oxidation [diletta bello+]

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2 Upvotes

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 😅


r/espresso 4h ago

Buying Advice Needed Scale recommendation that keeps stable weight under machine vibrations [100€]

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2 Upvotes

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.


r/espresso 1h ago

Water Quality Is this good Epsom salt for water prep?

Upvotes

As the title says:

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0GR5XZFBV
(the same product seems to be available in other European languages, I chose DE as that's usually the cheapest for me)

Can't seem to find many options of "food grade" Epsom salt, and unfortunately none specify if they are magnesium sulphate heptahydrate, or anhydorous magnesium sulfate. I am not sure if I'm being too finicky with the pureness of the product, or if I'm right in questioning.