[_HH_]

Glad you got there Wisey!

I hope you won't mind me admitting to a small chuckle when you mentioned milk frothing. If espresso is a journey I'd say latte art is more like Frodo's trip to Mordor...

...but he got to Mount Doom in the end

 

[salty]

Great to hear this @Wisey ;

 

[Baffo]

An update from me -

really happy with my machine, grinder & airscape....

Beans - surprising to my me I'm trying different coffee brands - black cat, rave, Bella barista, pact....I thought I would've just stuck with the one I liked, to be fair I just look for the good offers & try them.
I have just bought one from extract coffee roasters after seeing the offer on here.....must admit I'm a bit disappointed, got a bag the other day & it had been roaster on the 23/12/20.....all other coffee I've received has been roasted a day or 2 before..

machine/grinder - really like them both...all beans maybe need a slight tweak to dial in but really easy

cup - I'm so fussy with coffee/cups - I don't drink it at work as it doesn't taste right - whether it's the water/the cup I don't know.... I acquired this cup a few years ago, 1 broke when I moved house. I found them but a dozen were £38..the Yorkshireman in me wouldn't pay that when I only wanted a couple.........found some new on e bay - 12 for £13.....DONE!! So happy!

overall, do I love my machine - yes.....am I glad I bought it - yes....if I could go back would I still buy it - yes!

the only negative is I haven't got into the milk frothing yet....Making coffee from scratch didn't please the Mrs anyway with kids about so I reduced the hate by not them frothing milk also...I've never put time aside really to master the frothing which is something I should do..but I make 3 a day, 2 when kids are about so I don't really have the time to put into mastering it...or when I do on an evening, I choose to put the PS5 on 😂

fortunately I don't feel the massive need to upgrade, yeah some machines look nice but do I feel I need to drop an extra £800 on one? No, I'm happy with mine!

Hi Wisey, would you mind sharing "what happened"? You clearly have gone through a process of learning and development that did not find space in these pages which ultimately had you make better shots (I think?). I think it would be helpful to many other starters like me

 

[Wisey]

@Baffo

hi mate....

basically I was a total newbie to coffee only ever having a nespresso machine & then dipping into Tesco bought ground coffee for cafetière

I didn't know where to start in buying a machine & grinder, I was looking at decent but not totally basic..

After speaking on here I eventually got the sage duo temp pro machine & eureka mignon specialista grinder.

I started off just not making nice tasting coffee, it was suggested I forget what the double espresso tasted like & just make it into what I like...eventually I did (& thinking I've never had a double espresso so no wonder it doesn't taste right)....

So I now pull shots in the required time (25-30 seconds)...

I haven't strayed from 17g, I always use the same no matter what brand im using....

I've got coffee from various roasters just depending on the best discount I can get

this site can be really useful for you mate however, be aware some people don't have a lot of patience

for me as a compete new person, I wanted advice from more experienced people but a lot expect you to just read other posts already written....which to me isn't what I wanted...I mean look at mine, can you be bothered to read through 12 pages of writing?!

Also, I did allot of research & questioning at all stages - which machine to get etc etc

again - to me £700 is a decent amount & I didn't want to make a rash decision & regret it but for some it's like a 'go buy it right now'....some experienced people just seemed a bit patient

anything you want just ask

 

[Baffo]

@Baffo

hi mate....

basically I was a total newbie to coffee only ever having a nespresso machine & then dipping into Tesco bought ground coffee for cafetière

I didn't know where to start in buying a machine & grinder, I was looking at decent but not totally basic..

After speaking on here I eventually got the sage duo temp pro machine & eureka mignon specialista grinder.

I started off just not making nice tasting coffee, it was suggested I forget what the double espresso tasted like & just make it into what I like...eventually I did (& thinking I've never had a double espresso so no wonder it doesn't taste right)....

So I now pull shots in the required time (25-30 seconds)...

I haven't strayed from 17g, I always use the same no matter what brand im using....

I've got coffee from various roasters just depending on the best discount I can get

this site can be really useful for you mate however, be aware some people don't have a lot of patience

for me as a compete new person, I wanted advice from more experienced people but a lot expect you to just read other posts already written....which to me isn't what I wanted...I mean look at mine, can you be bothered to read through 12 pages of writing?!

Also, I did allot of research & questioning at all stages - which machine to get etc etc

again - to me £700 is a decent amount & I didn't want to make a rash decision & regret it but for some it's like a 'go buy it right now'....some experienced people just seemed a bit patient

anything you want just ask

Thanks! And, as a matter of fact, I did read through the 13 pages of this! I skipped the bits about water leaking which weren't really relevant for me. I just "saw myself in you", trying to learn how to make the journey more rewarding (but keeping in mind that no matter what, it'll be a long journey and it *will* be frustrating at times).

Do you still dislike your espressos if you try them? To be honest I don't know what to think, across the UK I find most of the cool "coffee shops" make near-undrinkable brown lemon water, but when I go to Italy I'm like loving the hell out of what they make there. I still don't know if I can say I like espresso.

 

[Missy]

Thanks! And, as a matter of fact, I did read through the 13 pages of this! I skipped the bits about water leaking which weren't really relevant for me. I just "saw myself in you", trying to learn how to make the journey more rewarding (but keeping in mind that no matter what, it'll be a long journey and it *will* be frustrating at times).

Do you still dislike your espressos if you try them? To be honest I don't know what to think, across the UK I find most of the cool "coffee shops" make near-undrinkable brown lemon water, but when I go to Italy I'm like loving the hell out of what they make there. I still don't know if I can say I like espresso.

You want a dark roasted bean and you'll be away! Coffee compass are my go to for dark sticky coffee "like in Italy" (Where my hubby manages to ddissolve 3 tsp sugar in the teeny tiny ristretto!)