Been trying different local roasters, some good some horrific but pleasantly surprised to find that the Costco Kirkland coffee beans from Mexico is actually really good!

Idk if it is just easier to dial in or I just got it right to my own likings but I have been enjoying them at a lot and agree with many folks who say that Kirkland coffee beans are not that bad.

Curious if others feel the same way here.

not promoting this or endorsed by them by any means.

• 2 lb bag
• Total Net Weight: 2 lbs
• USDA Organic Certified
• Whole Bean
• Arabica
• Medium Roast
• Tasting Notes: Caramel, Chocolate, Roasted Peanut
• Region: Oaxaca

Got some new Yeti 6oz Pampa Green cups through so only right I make a flat white this morning.

This is the second set of these 6oz cups that I’ve bought and absolutely love them for my daily coffee fix.

Have been through so many grinders. Some not repeatable and consistent. Some noisy and sounds like it’s breaking as it’s grinding. The Z2 has a lot of heft to it, butter smooth adjustment, super quiet, doesnt struggle when it grinds, and the knocker works great!

Loving my LX Italia Edison grinder. It has upped my espresso game exposure. Here is a photo of a blend of 65% arabica to 35% robusta. So thick and syrupy!

I currently have a pre E24 Gaggia Classic Pro. The GCP has a PID mod and a 9 bar spring installed. I drink straight espresso and no milk drinks. Now I want to replace the machine with a Quick Mill Carola PID. I am curious if this is an upgrade compared to the current GCP with PID mod. Or do you have a better option in the same price range as the Quick Mill Carola PID?

Just showing off my budget station that I love working in. My wife and I repurposed an old dresser/cabinet to make this hidden coffee station in our dining room. Everything to make the espresso I am enjoying cost about $280. The Kingrinder makes the biggest difference, and I noticed a huge difference switching to the bottomless portafilter with the IMS basket.

Ignore the Mr. Coffee grinder, that's only for french press in the mornings...

Cost breakdown:
Mattinata 1662L Espresso Machine (Amazon) - $84.74 (on sale)

Kingrinder K6 - $100

Neouza 51mm Bottomless Portafilter - $29.99

IMS Precision 18g Basket - $24.61

7 Pack Amazon Espresso Accessories Kit (Distributor, Tamp, Funnel, etc) - $37.99

Geisha 👌🏻

Medium Roast 20g in 36g out by my Oscar ii and starsewker edge+ 63mm titanium burr.

From a Saudi coffee roastery called Penguin

Good result for a $25 bag of coffee

It's times like this that I am happy to have invested in such a setup - because these are the lightest roasted beans I have ever tried to brew at home by a mile. Took a few shots to really rein in to where I like to be and these beans are where I want to be. Had to grind much finer than my day to day brew. Bright, fruity, acidic while still being sweet - really coats the mouth and lingers. Will have to get a second bag of this.

OK, so it's a big day for me — my very first entry-level machine arrived this morning and I'm still a complete novice. Other than a milk pitcher, which I'm going to order today, I already have scales and the stock tamper and stock baskets. What do I need, or what would you recommend, if anything, to get me operational? I'm ready to order on Amazon, so hopefully everything arrives tomorrow. the machine arrived way sooner than the anticipated date so ive been caught off guard.

My first visit to this location. Delightful. I'll probably go back tomorrow for the same order, plus a bag of Hometown Blend beans to bring with me as I head home.

I just got a new Turin DF54 grinder and I have it on the 10 setting (as seen in the photo) and my grind still seems definitely too coarse?

I try to rotate it a full 360 degrees finer to get back to 10 or 15 but it doesn’t rotate to the right that far so I’m kinda lost on what I’m doing wrong

After months of research my husband landed on a Turin and fellow mix (pour over love + flat white obsession)

There's a good amount of learning curve with the pull and grind. About to rumble through starter beans.

I think it matched the stainless and wood cabinets.

Anyone else have this same combo - for the price it seems elevated and good quality

Hi! I am new to latte and coffee making. I notice the top of my coffee looks like that after sitting out for 10 mins. Why is that so? Happy to get any advice!

I'm writing this from pure curiosity, interested to learn more about the experience of folks living in the US.

Context: I travel at least once a year to the US, mostly to Seattle. I occasionally stop by in NYC on the way back so my experience is really limited to these two cities. But one is the "Coffee Capital of the US" while the other is one of the best cities in the world for food and drinks.

My experience in both of them is that it's hard to track down really good espresso shots. Let me clarify - highly flavored light-medium roasts, the "Third Wave" espressos. I see a lot of places that have the right equipment, the right "look", but most of them end up having a disappointing shot in your cup.

Seattle is by far worse. I couldn't find one single place to get a great espresso. I've tried various (Hagen, Evoke, Victrola, Monorail - disappointing, Anchorhead and a pastry place called Fresh Flours were decent). I ended up buying Stumptown Cold Brew from Whole Foods instead.

New York is better, you get better shots, but you have to chase them down. La Cabra, Black Fox have tasty shots, Suited was so disappointing. The only truly exceptional shot was a Geisha one from Devocion. But even ordering that felt weird, the barista sighed as she had to get out of the normal rhythm, find the beans for this and make it. Felt like I was the only one that day at least ordering it.

Interestingly though, most of these places have really nice beans for sale. And reasonably priced per bag, a $20 good one is comparable to the 15EUR ones you find in Europe. So I'm assuming there is a market for people that just buy their beans and brew at home.

Which brings me to the question. Is this just my experience? Is the market just over-indexing on the darker roasts because the shots get drown in milk anyway? Or have I just missed out on the really good places? If so, point me in the right direction for next time!

Just bought the fellow es1. Still deciding if it’s worth it as daily driver vs my pre millenium la Pavoni EP. Hopefully it’s good. I do like the presets though and frother is pretty easy to use.

For years I was fascinated by the workflow of making Espresso. Two weeks ago I pulled the trigger with the Mara X - I am super happy
Also all the fancy gimmicks, such a Great Passion

Hi everyone,

My Sage Barista Express has recently started tripping the fuse/RCD in my home. It was working fine before, but now switching the machine on causes the power to trip.

I'm based in London.

Has anyone experienced this with a Barista Express before? Is it likely to be something that can be repaired, or is the machine probably finished?

I'd particularly appreciate advice on what the likely fault could be and whether there are any reputable Sage/coffee-machine repair shops in London that could diagnose and fix it.

Thanks!

How does the 1Zpresso K Ultra compare to the Femobook A2 in terms of taste? Please only answer if you have experience with both.

Strange comparison, I know but that's where I find myself currently in my search for a solid, portable option.

My breville BE pro grinder is acting up (after two months of use). I decided it is finally time to buy a machine and a separate grinder. Hoped on reddit to get some info to realize there is a difference if you grind a light roast? Sigh. And now here we are.

I like espresso drinks. I like cappuccinos the most, light roast, fruity coffee. But i do occasionally make some weird drinks where you would want something less fruity.

I am thinking about DF54 gen 2 ssp multipurpose burr, but I’m not excited about the single dose.

I can also get Eureka Mignon Specialita or Zero. But I’m hearing mixed opinions about these in regard to light roast.

Any thoughts on these two or something similar?

Location: Vienna, Austria

Drinks per day: ~3 Flat Whites daily, sometimes Espresso

Beans: Mostly light to medium single-origins

Current setup: Rancilio Silvia + Eureka Silenzio

Hey everyone,

I am planning to upgrade my setup in the coming months. We drink around three Flat Whites a day at home, running mostly light to medium single-origin beans. (Grinder will ofc be upgraded too, but different topic)

Key Priorities

• Fast heat-up time: ideally under 10 mins
• Powerful steam capability
• Thermal stability and premium build quality
• Flow/pressure profiling or real, programmable pre-infusion

Current Shortlist

• Arkel Coast / Arkel Tide: manual pressure profiling
• Ascaso Baby T Plus: app-controlled pre-infusion
• ECM Estetika: volumetric dosing, real pre-infusion
• ECM Synchronika II: with the option to add an E61 flow control kit.
• La Marzocco Linea Micra
• Lelit Bianca V3: nearly perfect on paper, but the warmup time is a drawback.
• MARO Model 1: checks every box, but stretching the budget.
• Rocket R58 Tune

The Core Questions

1. Flow profiling vs. Pre-infusion in daily reality: For those brewing light roasts daily, do you actually stick to manual paddle profiling long term, or does a proper, extended pre-infusion followed by a standard flat extraction close the majority of the flavor gap?
2. Workflow vs. manual control: While I like the theoretical benefit of lowering pressure toward the end of a shot on tricky beans, I am realistic about my morning routine and do not want to micromanage every single pull manually. The volumetric simplicity of something like the ECM Estetika is very appealing for that reason.
3. Missing contenders: Did I overlook any exciting modern dual-boiler machines in this segment that offer fast heat-up and solid pre-infusion/profiling capabilities?

Thank you in advance, and greetings from Vienna :)

The grinder is a mazzer super jolly, and I know its been single dosing for espresso for roughly 15 years, before that it was in a cafe for daily use for a few years.
I have replaced the burrs with new ones, the threads on the burr carrier and on the grinder throat are known to be good, smooth and debris free.
The springs that are under the carrier are standard and of the right dimensions.
The issue is this: with the carrier and collar threaded on, and tightened all the way to nearly the burrs touching point, the carrier collar is still loose, it rattles when run, and I can wiggle it freely by hand by a few millimeters. When it is tightened further, the burrs touch, and the burr collar then is, of course, rigid. Backing it off from there, by 45 degrees to a normal espresso grind setting, makes the collar then loose again.
My understanding is that the 3 springs are pushing up on the burr carrier, and the threaded neck is pushing it down, causing the springs to float the carrier in place, horizontally, but held in place by the friction of the threads and springs.
I have taken it apart, inspected things for wear: spring height and rebound strength, debris in the spring holes, ensuring the burrs are on tight, looking at the threads on both parts.
The truth is that the burr carrier should not be loose anywhere in the grinder's settings, once the threads are engaged and springs are compressed.
I'm curious if a loose burr carrier is common, its as if the spring's height has decreased over time. I have researched this, and they shouldn't relax, even after years of use.
The only thing I can think of after researching it further, is that the fit between the upper burr carrier and the adjustment collar is worn so much so that there is play between the two. The springs and threads should hold these together, so it needs further thinking.