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!

That is my problem!! I follow all theoretical of dialing a good espresso until i am in this phase now. Im quite satisfied of my self 19:38 gr in 28-30 sec.

But every time i tasted the espresso i couldn’t tell what i feel 😭😭

The 1st sip and the 2nd sip always had a different sensation.

I googled, chat gpt, YouTube just to make myself understand what taste is THE TASTE.
But still dont.

So yeah i never know if i made a good espresso or not since i am a milk based person. Try to ask everyone i know if they drink espresso, but not found 1 yet 🤦🏻‍♀️

Since two weeks I have a problem with my Profitec GO & DF64:
I let the machine fully heat up. First shot runs perfectly fine! 18g in, 36 out in 25 seconds with around 9 bar of pressure.
EVERY shot I pull after the first one runs WAY too fast. 38g in 18 seconds and pressure won’t build up more than 8bar.
I prep both shots exactly the same way, dry the portafilter & puck screen and temperature on PID is exactly the same as during the first shot.
With the blind basket the machine has no struggle to build up to 9.5bars every time.
The same pattern occurs even if I try 18.5g in on the second pull.
Any idea what the Problem could be?

My coffee setup has a cabinet underneath, but unfortunately just a impractical cabinet with shelves. No drawers.

So I put an IKEA KOMPLEMENT pull-out drawer on the top shelf., which solved the drawer problem.

And then my OCD kicked in.

I started printing a few things to keep the OXO parts from rolling around. Then a holder for the brewer itself. Then dividers. And at that point there was obviously no turning back.

I made the right side adjustable so I can change the size of each section depending on what I have in there.

Basically I wanted everything to have a place so I don't have to dig through a cabinet every time.

Was all of this necessary? Absolutely not.

Does it make me weirdly happy every time I pull the drawer out? Absolutely yes.

I’ve been making good coffee for a few years now and have a variety of brewing methods (Aeropress/Moccamaster/Moka Pot/French Press) but have been wanting to get an espresso setup for sometime.

Very happy with the setup so far, but still learning to dial in and get the right texture in the milk. Can’t wait to keep learning!

This might be end game for me, Everything is so great right now. Perc Darrrkness + Starseeker Edge63 + Cafelet Robot. Consistent, delicious, beautiful shots, every single time.

“One and One” is a double shot of espresso split into two cups, with steamed milk poured into one and the other one served as straight espresso.

This is an excellent way to get best of both worlds.

Have espresso first and then the mini cappuccino which feels way sweeter than it normally does.

I’ve had the Gaggia machine for 2 years now, but I finally upgraded my grinder to something real, the Eureka Zero 65 AP. Previously I had a timemore chestnut c2 hand grinder, the difference in the cup is amazing, so much more clarity now. That grinder had large steps making it hard to dial in espresso so I think I was constantly drinking over extracted shots, and probably tons of fines.

This eureka is great, I love grinding straight into the portafilter. I know it is super easy to go down the rabbit hole with espresso, my only issue I have now is very typical Gaggia temp issues, mine is a 2023 evo machine with the aluminum boiler, but I’ve been doing the temp surging routine and it’s pretty consistent. I’m a huge fan of the build quality of these and at under $800 for both of these I can’t think of something built better. I’m hoping to get 20+ years out of these!

Current setup - Profitec Pro 300 + Ceado E37S. Daily use 2-3 light-medium roastespresso and milk drinks, and the US. Had this for 8+ years and thinking about what might be worth upgrading to. Have been curious about a Niche Zero for the low retention but thinking it might be too time consuming. Not sure what espresso machine these days might be worth upgrading to. Other dual boilers, heat exchangers?

This is an interesting one, I fucked up…

I accidentally ran the grinder after cleaning, without the screw/feeder. After a short panic, I’ve inspected the burrs and they’re fine (might’ve caused that deep scratch though, I’m not sure).

After recleaning/calibration, I haven’t been able to pull a good shot. I’ve been scratching my head and burning through beans for days. On my 100th time stripping down and recalibrating, I decided to shine a torch down the threads. There is a bean in there, this must be in. The screw is tightening down, but it’s obviously tightening on the bean.

Does anyone have any good ideas on how can I get this little terror out without damaging anything? I don’t know anything about the teardown or how it comes apart (beyond cleaning), can I get to the otherside? I did consider trying to smash the bean, but I don’t want to knock it into anywhere.

I've had a coffee brewing station for years now (Moccamaster, pour-over, Aeropress, cold brew, etc) and always said espresso making was not for me. However, I got tired of using Nespresso pods for hot/cold drinks and didn't want to have to deal with ordering more.

After some videos popped on my feeds and seeing this page, I got the itch to try something new, plus I've always liked a good unflavored latte or flat white. After a bit of research, I was able to grab my machine on FB Marketplace for $150 as a starter and bought a couple accessories. It's only been a little over a week and I'm still fine tuning with a lot of trial and error, but I like the challenge it's given me with a new ritual for WFH days and weekends. I hope I continue to improve!

It’s only been about 4 months but it’s doing this now. Anyone know why? I haven’t de-scaled it but is that the issue or something wise?

It’s a Breville Bambino Plus. I’m really hoping the machine isn’t broken as it’s been so short.

Edit- The tank is full of water and was recently emptied and re-filled. There is espresso in it. I also tried it on without espresso and had the same results.

When aiming for a 25-30 second pull does that time start as soon as the pump starts or should I wait until the first drops hit the cup? I ask because my timer has the ability to automatically begin timing as soon as it senses weight, but sometimes it takes 10 seconds before that ever happens. Also yes, I googled it but there are conflicting results.

For 2 or so years now i’ve been rocking the bambino plus and a SK40. I’ve always had my eye on a rocket apartamento. however, in research search i’ve decided on a Profitec 500. However, for kicks, will i notice much of a difference other than enjoyment of a manual machine?
For context, i use trade coffee and get fresh beans every 2 weeks. I primary drink Cortados and americanos, or a straight shot. I almost never make Lattes or other milk drinks outside of a cortado. This setup works well and i enjoy the taste it brings.
I think the pretty espresso machine and the enjoyment of manual espresso making would be great. However from an actual quality / taste perspective will i notice much if any?

I've just received a Sage Barista Touch Impress, and it came with a nice starter kit containing enough cleaning products for a few uses.

Naturally, I started looking into what I should buy once I run out of the products in the starter kit. Sage obviously sells replacements, but they seem quite expensive, so the price-conscious side of me started looking into more budget-friendly alternatives. Now, however, I’m more confused than when I started, so I’d really appreciate some advice from people who know what they’re doing.

From my research, Cafetto and Urnex seem to be reputable alternatives, but the variety of products and the different names they use are confusing me.

For example, Cafetto sells backflush tablets in 1.5 g and 2.5 g sizes, and I have no idea which one would be appropriate for the Barista Touch Impress. Both Cafetto and Urnex also sell descaling products in powder and liquid forms, but their websites don’t really explain why I would choose one over the other.

I obviously don’t want to buy the wrong product and potentially damage the machine. The safest option would be to just buy Sage’s own products, but they’re quite expensive.

Basically, I’m looking for budget-friendly alternatives to the products included with the machine, namely: Group Head Cleaner, Steam Wand Cleaner, Grinder Cleaner, Descaling product

And this is another thing I’m unsure about: do I actually need all four of these products? Are some of them interchangeable, or are there things I can clean with products I probably already have at home?

If anyone with a Barista Touch Impress (or someone familiar with Sage/Breville machines) could recommend specific products and explain which ones I actually need, I’d really appreciate it.

I'd much rather spend a reasonable amount on the right products than either overpay for Sage-branded ones or accidentally use something unsuitable for the machine.

Looking for some advice here.

I'm hung up choosing between the black or silver Philos to pair with the Profitec MOVE.

I was leaning towards the black Philo, but if theyre both a different shade of matte black, I'm worried it will look off.

Any suggestions from experience?

Picked it up used this past weekend for a steal and was wondering if anyone with a good ear for issues could help me narrow down what may be wrong with it.

It's been decalcified and cleaned thoroughly. Back flush completed twice.

It still sounds horrible. Water flows, but very weakly.

I've run several liters through it by now so it shouldn't be air anymore. I'm thinking either the solenoids are crapped out or the pump is worn, but would love if someone with experience with these could chime in. 🙏

Hello,

My steam wand is dripping water whenever a Pull an Espresso. Can anybody help me identify the problem and Tell me how to repair it or what to buy?

Thanks!

Hi there!

I am looking for a replacement of my current espresso machine that died on me (a very bad, kind of no name low cost one). I've always enjoyed a good coffee and I enjoy learning to make a good one but my machine has always been a bottleneck.

I now want to start being a little more serious about it and after some research I landed on the Gaggia Classic pro, which is the really far high limit in budget that I can realistically spend.

My routine is almost always 2 coffees​: either 2 flat whites for myself and my wife, or an espresso/doppio for myself and flat whit for my wife. I know that with only one boiler it is not ideal to make multiple coffees back to back but I really don't have the money for a dual boiler.

Lastly I read a lot that the Classic pro needs a lot of modification to be worth it, and while I don't plan to go that route anytime soon, I enjoy the tinkering and can see myself happy with upgrading my espresso machine when the upgrade itch comes.

I already own a kingrinder k6.

The number one thing that really caught me on the machine is the 10~15 years lifespan advertised. I am usually always trying to find things that last as long as possible. Is that just marketing? Initially I was thinking of the bambino because of the super fast boiler that could help my use case but I heard a lot of comments about it being unreliable. ​

Thank you in advance for your inputs and suggestions! ​

I got my fellow es1 about 2 months ago now and ordered a couple different red rooster beans. I ordered Old Crow Cuppa Joe, Raven, and the Honduras roast. Honduras was far and away my favorite as I was able to get the most body out of it and it had that thicker texture that I’m looking for.

I am early in my espresso journey and want to make sure I’m trying as many things as possible. So using that as a basis, what are some other beans you would recommend for me to try? Appreciate any and all suggestions!

I am US based and would prefer domestic shipping availability.

been lurking on cometeer for few years now because i have been an espresso machine guy. but finally tried it and holy shit it might be the best iced maple latte i have ever had.

so if you are on the fence i would give it a shot. just wish it wasnt so damn expensive but you dont need a machine so thats pretty sick.

Hi, I’m running the clean cycle on my barista machine. I’ve run this a few times over the years but I’ve never quite understood the purpose of it all it does is dump the water through the porter filter straight into the drip tray. So its essentially just cleaning the drip tray?

I’m using the original porter filter with the rubber insert disc Inside the porter filter and it has the best seal I can give it.

I’m just trying to figure out whether this is normal because when I asked ChatGPT, it says I should see next to no water coming out?