The General ACS Minima Thread
PortafilterProcrastinator the specs are amazing and Dave’s videos really help but I just wonder if for my needs the MaraX would be sufficient since I’m not making lots of coffee except once in a while. The water may need to be purged more often with the Minima in my scenario.
I contacted ACS and they are very nice. It would be very cheap but after taxes and duties it would be similar to the MaraX in the end. My other worry is that not much people seems to know that brand here in Canada so resale value may not be the best.
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Snooze I didn’t realise you haven’t purchased your Bianca yet. What’s your budget?
Bianca, Minima and Mara V2 - all are great machines. What ever you choose, you will be very happy in the end. If you add a paddle to Minima, there isn’t much that will separate Bianca and Minima except the noise.
Water sitting on a boiler isn’t an issue. You do make lattes, don’t you? Draw a cup of hot water after steaming. Flush out the water every 5-6 weeks and use that for cleaning. Even if you don’t steam daily, you know it is there should your taste buds change in future.
Would the noise bother you? Get the Bianca.
Are you worried you will regret buying Minima what ever may be the reason or do you think you get the upgradeitis sooner than you think because of a wrong choice? Get the Mara X, so that you can sell and move on. Better still, grab Bianca and make it an end game!
The more you think, the more you will be confused. Please take your time, it’s your money, buy what you think fits your requirements and don’t suffer from buyers’ remorse. GL 😊
LMSC Water sitting on a boiler isn’t an issue. You do make lattes, don’t you? Draw a cup of hot water after steaming.
A couple of questions on this. Should you draw a cup of hot water after steaming every time? I’m trying to find some information on this but drawing blanks.
In my case I tend to make myself 2 coffees a day and steam milk for both. What I’m wondering is whether I should be drawing a cup of hot water after each steam or is doing it once in the day enough?
Does it need to be directly after steaming or as long as I do it once a day is it enough? I.e. if I were to make myself a coffee and draw water for a tea for my wife in the morning will that be sufficient for the day / previous day?
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dutchy101 I would say, drawing a cup after every steam is an overkill. It is ok to draw after you have done steaming for the day. We steam once a day and I draw a small cup out.
Drawing a cup may be twice a week or a big cup once a week should be enough. But, I would flush out every 5-6 weeks.
Test the drawn water regularly for hardness. @Rob1 isn’t a great fan of static testing as this won’t tell you when scale has started forming. But, you are feeding with Zero and will be using RO soon. With RO, you should be ok.
Brilliant - thanks mate
@PortafilterProcrastinator Now I’ve moved the rubber grip further up the wand it has been a gamechanger for steaming.
As @HVL87 suggested, I’ve pushed the wand as far back as it will go and it now gives me a great angle to work with
dutchy101 Agreed. I’ve now tried this a couple of times and whilst it feels a bit awkward at the moment, I think it’s the best compromise.
Also think I need to toughen up my fingers! Steaming the milk by touch I’ve been told a couple of times it isn’t hot enough.
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Good luck with that one mate. Not sure I have any suggestions. Well sensible ones anyway
PortafilterProcrastinator Also think I need to toughen up my fingers! Steaming the milk by touch I’ve been told a couple of times it isn’t hot enough.
This is what stopped me from ditching the thermometer for so long. Now I hold the jug in such a way that I only gauge the temperature of the pitcher with one maybe two fingers with my right hand (I’m a lefty). As long as you have the steam wand in the spout you can keep the pitcher stable. Eventually you get used to that sharp rise in temp before closing the steam valve.
I’m not sure if you preheat your coffee cups but that’s another way to lose a lot of heat quickly, especially if they are thick ceramic ones like the loveramics ones I use.
PortafilterProcrastinator Also think I need to toughen up my fingers! Steaming the milk by touch I’ve been told a couple of times it isn’t hot enough.
I guess you need to train yourself….
Grif I made that one from a bit of downloaded YT video… I use this site. https://ezgif.com/ So if it’s not a gif in the GIF button below, I can make it and drag and drop it from my PC into my post.
I was looking for a video from a martial arts film or series that was someone plunging their hands and scooping hot coals…but I couldn’t find it.
A man committed to the cause 👏
Minima & Niche grind setting questions:
Well a week ago I received my Niche, really got it dialled in for my Moka pot while I was waiting for my Minima to arrive from Italy, it arrived yesterday. Let joy be unconfined. Almost.
I’m using a Santos Double Roast bean and the double basket that came with the Minima. The Santos is a dark roast oily bean. I find I can’t get 18g in it without a lot of spillage but 7g and care works OK. I had bought a 20g VST basket but it was too tall for the Minima naked PF, I’m going to see if I can exchange it for an 18g one.
I thought I’d start with setting the Niche in the middle of the espresso range on the dial, about 15. After 30 seconds I had a teaspoon full of coffer - a bit too fine then. After a number of spoiled cups I ended up on 25 which, with 17g of coffee in gave me 34g out in about 35 seconds. If I dialled it even 24 on the Niche it took 50 seconds to get the same 34g out.
It takes about 5 seconds before coffee appears, and it slowly ramps to 9 to 9.5 bar; temperature is set at 93ºC
So, my questions are:
Any comments on the 17g only in the Minima basket - I guess it depends on the bean?
I’m sure I read on this thread that other people were finding 15 on the Niche was working for them, the Niche came calibrated so I didn’t alter it, is anyone else finding they’re in the 25 range for their espresso?
A change on the Niche from 25 to 24 increased the shot time by 15 seconds, that seems a lot, not really the fine control I was expecting, is that normal?
Thanks in advance for you thoughts and suggestions.
Java_avaJ - depending on coffee, for me, I have coffees at setting 7, and some at setting 18. It depends on the coffee, your dose, he level of roasting, your basket shape and hole area.
As per 15 sec per mark… it depends. It can be 10, it can be 6, it can be 15… depending on how coarse or how fine you are grinding your coffee.
So… enjoy the Niche. In my opinion, nothing wrong.
As for the dose in the basket… try 18, see if it works. Try 17, try 18.5 or 19g… see what works for the coffee/roast you have.
Java_avaJ That’s interesting what you say about how long it takes for the coffee to start coming through compared to the total shot time. Seems short and then long.
At the moment I’m at about 16 on the niche but am noticing a shift depending on how long beans have been out the freezer.
Then I’m 18g (in a VST) and 36 or 54g out. First drips 8/9 seconds in and then 36 in 29-32s and 54g in about 38/39s.
Moving the dial in the niche half a number noticeably changes the brew time. I was really quite surprised. Think about how far you’re moving the thread - it’s a tiny change to grind size.
Java_avaJ Don’t worry about the number, it is perfectly normal for it to be higher than “normal”, especially at first.
At the beginning there are more fines, so you have to grind coarser to compensate. As the burrs bed in, the level of fines decreases and so you make the general grind finer to get the same resistance. I suspect the higher level of fines at first is why the impact of a small change is so dramatic.
When I first got my niche I was in the low twenties. Over time this reduced to the low teens. Now that I can play around with pre-infusion and use a vst basket I tend to be in the 6-10 range. It does depend on bean, dose and basket though.
The numbers are really useful for allowing you to quickly and easily change bean or brew method. I would completely ignore them for comparing against other peoples setups.