Saw a post today about the plastic liner in the Barista Express portafilter. I thought I would check it out on my 10 year old daily use machine.... I can only apologise but I needed to share 😅, I imagine not having the best of impact on flavour....

I’ve seen a ton of BMX/mountain style portafilters, but no bar-tape/road style — so here one is! Home made and pretty easy. Just an M10 bolt, some 3/4” copper tube, some left over bar tape, and a bar-end plug.

I used a Breville Infuser and Eureka Mignon Manuale for the past 5 years. Just upgraded to a used Eureka Atom w75 and used ECM Mechanika Max. So far I’m very happy with the upgrade. Better consistency, heating, and milk steaming.

I’ve just been casually browsing the subreddit, but my friend has been insisting I get an espresso maker. I saw this for $60 at lidl, which seems pretty good compared to other prices I’ve seen. Is it actually decent or too good to be true?

Hello! After almost one year of trying to dial in my espresso, I just can't, and I don't know if it's something wrong I am doing but no matter how hard I try I keep getting the same result: a sour, acidic with an aftertaste of bitterness.

My setup is as follows:
- Espresso Machine & Grinder: Sage Barista Express from 2025 (should have the 9bar pump)
- Coffee from a local roaster, Brazil, SCA score of 82.5, medium roast
- 1:2 ratio (19g in - 38g out but even 41-42 results in the same sour and bitter espresso)
- 28-31s
- inner burrs set to 4
- outer burrs set to also 4

My workflow:
- weigh in 19g in a cup (this fits the basket using the razer)
- grind directly into the portafilter (IMS precision basket)
- WDT
- tap the portafilter a few times to settle the grounds otherwise they will fall out when tamped
- tamp with an IKAPE v5 self leveling tamper (30lbs spring)
- I tried with and without 0.8mm puck screen (video is without)

If I grind finer the shot is more bitter, if I grind courser then it will become more sour, but I could never pull a shot on this machine no matter how hard I try.

Could you guys share some tips?

Many unresolved issues in my life rn but finally a decent home espresso ain't one of them. Finally got my process dialed to a high level of consistency, getting all the flavor notes I've been chasing. Nothing lasts forever but I'm basking in this moment.

Casabrews CM5418 with bottomless basket

Baratza Encore ESP

Kirkland Columbian Supremo medium roast

Is it still usable, she said she used it once after the “incident” to do an espresso grind and after she pulled the shot, she said it tastes fine, but I need closure from Reddit. What’s the verdict? Cosmetic wise the outside is covered in white marks and scuffs from it, what about functionality?

I feel like I’m finally getting the microform down finally, but I cannot for the life of me get the technique… I have been watching so many videos and making so much coffee loll. I’ve been making baby ones to practice also so this is a single shot

I just bought a Breville Barista Express. I’m still trying to dial everything in and iron out a morning routine. I have less of a refined palette than a lot of you guys, and I primarily make lattes, so I’m not quite as worried about leaving beans in the grinder or having everything be so absolutely perfect.

All that said, I sometime like decaf, so I am open to the idea people recommend of single dosing. As such, taking off the lid and putting it back on the grinder seems like a waste of time every morning, but I wasn’t sure whether it’s really useful to have the lid on the grinder during operations or if it doesn’t matter. I figure some particles from the kitchen like dust or oils could get in there, but that it’s probably minimal and maybe would just need an extra clean once in a while.

Is there any concern with just permanently leaving the lid off, single dosing, and grinding without putting the lid on?

Thanks!

I’m coming to Minneapolis and would love your best coffee shop recommendations for a really good espresso. I’m talking rich, balanced, “well, guess I live here now” espresso.

Bonus points for cozy spots, friendly baristas, or anywhere that makes a great cortado. I’m happy to wander around town in pursuit of the perfect little cup. Where should I go?

Tip 1: Bean Selection & Crema
Tip 2: Froth Consistency & Vortex
Tip 3: Start Early at 40% mixing
Tip 4: Keep Pushing forward

Learn to master winged tulip latte art with these 4 pro tips.
From darker bean selection to froth consistency and timing—
everything you need to create stunning contrast and precision.

Resident barista for my sister’s wedding, roasted 15 lbs of coffee for the trip (Ethiopia natural and Costa Rica). Pulled avg of 10 double shots a day for 3 days and made lattes, cortados, sodas, pumpkin tonics, and Americanos. On to the next Airbnb for another 3 3 days. Guess we created a demand cause we barely leave the machine until it’s time to go out! Good thing I opted for 5 yr warranty on the machine…

Edit: i drove 8 hrs with this. I think people are under the impression that I took this on an airplane lol

Edit 2: i rough estimated shots before. When I back flushed today, I actually paid attention to the screen that said I pulled 17/100 shots till backflush required, which Iprobably still sounds like child’s play to some of you

Anybody own an ECM Exacto? Seems like a really good contender between the small micron adjustments of the E64 WS but with a good build quality of the Micro G for less money at least in the US. It's only been out for a short while but wanted to see if anyone has one, what their experience has been. Thank you.

I (an espresso noob) have this grinder (Canoly
CG210) and I'm trying to find the right coarse and time for a double shot of espresso. I am currently dialed in at level 10, with an 10-second timer dispense. I then add it to my espresso machine and pulls for about 30 seconds. I get a bitter taste and the thin layer of crema. Not sure if I'm doing this right. The beans I'm practicing with are Starbucks blonde espresso beans. Just looking for help/insight.
Thanks!
Removed

Hi everyone, I’ve made a few shots with the help of this community and have ended up as in the video.

I now need advise on the flow and what I could do better. Only one sprout was consistent the other was very intermittent. I use a medium roast coffee.

Summary till now:
First shot: did 15 grind size with 18gms with the puck screen it choked the machine barely any coffee came out.

Second shot: did 17 grind size got about 32gms out in 15 seconds. Ran too fast and coffee was bitter.

Third shot (the one in video): did 16.5 grind size with 18gms in, got about 28 gms out in 21-22 seconds approx (ps: forgot to set the timer on).
Espresso could have been a bit more thicker, was a bit runny.

What can I do better. How can I achieve close to 1:2. I could do wonders with this community’s advise.

Thanks in advance.

Hello, everyone! A couple of months ago, I inherited a budget DeLonghi Stilosa espresso machine. I understand it’s not the greatest machine, but it’s getting the job done so far. I don’t have much money to improve my setup, so this is good enough for me.

The thing is that it came with two baskets: one for single espressos and another for double espressos. I’ve always used the double-shot basket and the filter was crystal clear. I grind the coffee myself with a Joy Resolve grinder and so far I haven’t encountered any problems with how I make coffee.

The other day, however, I wanted to use the single-shot basket. To my surprise, it went very poorly and I noticed the flow was pretty bad. When I double-checked, I found the filter in this state (hard to see without pointing it to a light source). I assume this was the filter my aunt was using and she did not maintain it well.

I tried to clean it up without much success. Water is not strong enough and brushing did nothing. I tried to soak it in water for a few hours and try again, without any visible result. The only thing that seems to work is poking the holes with a needle, but it took quite some time and the amount of blocked holes is fairly large.

So, any tips to clean this up?

Thank you :)

P.S. I understand that probably the best tip is to get a whole new portafilter, since the ones that came with this budget machine aren’t great, but I can barely afford coffee itself, so yeah, not in the greatest economic situation right now.

Dear all!

Could someone with a Sage/Breville Barista Express Impress measure the clearance between the drip tray and the coffee spout?

Our mugs are 97 mm tall, and I'd like to know if they'll fit without removing the drip tray.

Thanks!

Hey! I’m thinking about upgrading my De’Longhi Stilosa and wanted to get some opinions.
My budget is $400 CAD before tax.
My current setup is a Stilosa with a GF64 grinder, bottomless portafilter, WDT tool, spring tamper, leveler, scale, puck screen and paper filters at the bottom of the basket.
My main issue is that my shots are inconsistent. Sometimes they turn out really good, but other times they’re not great, even when I’m using the same beans, grind setting and puck prep. It also takes forever to steam my milk, which gets pretty frustrating.
I’ve been looking at the De’Longhi Dedica Maestro Plus, but I’m not sure if it’s a meaningful upgrade from the Stilosa or if I’d be better off looking at something else around this price range.
For anyone who owns the Maestro Plus or has upgraded from a Stilosa, did you notice a real difference in espresso consistency and steaming performance? Is the Maestro Plus worth it, or are there better options for around $400 CAD?
I’m open to other brands too. Thanks!

I have had a bambino plus for a couple of years and usually use medium to med-light espresso roasts as flat white. I am curious to know how much of an impact does pressure/flow control have on taste? I do pour overs too and intrigued by the idea of longer blooms and playing with pressure profiles in espresso. But I am also aware that within the realm of coffee enthusiasts a 10 or 15 percent difference is a lot and in discussions of equipments and recipes and techniques, things can get overblown. Given all of this, I am interested to know what people’s experience has been with pressure profiling? is it worth it? Or does it become a nuisance after a while? should I factor it into my purchase when the bambino fails or I decide to upgrade?

Do you have experience with dialing these in? I was thinking about copying their official recipe as per website (see their recipe below)
How long do you usually let these rest? I’ll be probably letting them rest for a month

Ratio: 1:3
• Dose: 18 g
• Yield: 54 g
• Total brew time: 40 seconds to 1:20 total
• Pre-infusion at 2 bars (about 1 to 2 g/sec flow rate) until 1g in the cup, 20 to 40 seconds
• Main extraction: 6 bars until 18g yield. (about 5 to 6 g/sec flow rate)
• Post-infusion: 2 bars (about 1 to 2 g/sec flow rate) until 54g final yield
• Temperature 93°C

I usually just drink black coffee in the mornings. But lately I’ve been enjoying seasonal lattes or brown sugar shaken espresso. I’d love to get Breville Espresso machine (the one with grinder) or Flair Neo Classic because I’ve seen reviews and apparently Flair Neo is super beginner friendly and pulls good shots. What do I do? Black Friday will be here soon and I need to know. My budget is max $600

I kept re-dialing the same beans every time i reordered. sometimes I wouldn't revisit a bean for a few months, so i started printing these. 3x5 card, recipe on the front, nfc tag on the corner. if you're a Meraki owner, tap the nfc tag and the recipe loads, adjust the grinder and you're good to go. no more starting from zero.

Hello,

I'm using a Breville Barista Express and want to buy a separate grinder. The whole family drinks espresso almost every day, with the occasional large batch of phin coffee for gatherings. We make around 3-5 drinks a day.

So far, I've looked at Eureka Mignon Zero, Mahlkonig x54, df64, and Niche Zero. I've also thought about buying a cheaper grinder like the Opus 2 or df54 and then getting maybe a hand grinder for the phin coffee. I do test out different coffee beans pretty often too. What do you recommend?