Quote:
Originally Posted by Razor Ramon HG
Nothing too fancy is needed to get a decent shot even for a noob.
Grind beans, put grinds into portafilter, tamp, insert into machine, push button.
All you really need to do is to adjust your grinder until it's the right fineness for your beans where you get 36g of liquid in around 25-30 seconds (assuming an input of a standard 18g double basket).
If you get a bottomless portafilter, you can see if you have channeling (where the espresso is coming out from only one or a few spots rather than all equally down the middle of the basket).
I used to get a bit of channeling, but since I made the WDT tool (I posted it a few pages back in this thread) it's been pretty good.
If you're interested, you can try the Breville Barista Express. It's a good starter machine that also has a built-in grinder. Very popular machine and easy to resell if you decide to upgrade or it's not your thing.
For convenience, I'd probably skip the super automatics and just get a Nespresso. I did a lot of research several months ago and have yet to find one that really ticked the right boxes for me.
|
OK I just ordered the Barista Express "Impress" that I mentioned earlier as I think that will be better beginner machine versus the original.
For those that have owned the BBE and have experience with the integrated Breville grinders, what beans do you recommend?
I typically drink darker roasts when I go to coffee shops, but apparently some dark roasts are oily and not recommended?