Decided to start a little thread, documenting my journey and the vertical learning curve i seam to have been on. Like most, i got furloughed when covid kicked off and got bored so decided to get more into coffee. One thing after another with lots of reading on various forums, YouTube tutorials and what not,i bought a gaggia classic. [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/ATQnfMS.jpeg] Along with that i decided to get a 1zpresso for my grinding as i have a wilfa svart for all my pour overs etc. Well after wasting a good 500g of beans on the gaggia, i decided it wasn't for me, and promptly sold it. Decided on the sage duo temp pro which i was initially going to buy in the first place,quick look and £249 later john lewis delivered my shiney new machine [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/TWUem7I.jpeg] Now as much as i loved the 1zpresso, my shoulder didin't so, that got sold in favour of an eureka mignon from [@Black Cat Coffee](https://www.coffeeforums.co.uk/members/16888/) Next up the upgraditus got a hold of me as i wanted a fancy looking machine, and i got a bit of a dark horse off ebay A la macatec elba one, e61 grouphead. [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/Pg6PmPa.jpeg] I had long lusted over a dual boiler, mainly the lelit Elizabeth, with its pre infusion, quick heat up times it really is a fantastic machine, but id also noted the acs minima, another machine along the more traditional looks, and the looks along with the bigger boilers swayed it for me. [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/uxgb5uM.jpeg] So in the never ending revolving door of grinders with me, after having a eureak zenith 65, a niche and another mignon i saw a lightly used 2019 mazzer major on ebay, i added a Daniel wong doserless kit at the time, since gone to a funnel, even added ssp redspeed burrs [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/4P2ynGd.jpeg] I was going to used bottled water, either ashbeck or longhill, but then i spoke to a few in the know and did a bit of digging and settled on using ro water, remineralised with potassium bicarbonate, this will never scale the machine and makes for a tastey espresso to. After only having the minima for a short while a lever machine caught my eye, a 2014 londinium l1 - that was it i was in love, i sold the minima to fund the l1 and that was me set, the londinium moved home with me. [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/NF46adN.jpeg] i had a stunning set of handles turned by nick, they really sent the machine to another level, and i was happy in my own little coffee world, id been toying with med/lighter stuff but always found then too bright, to acidic to my taste, then one day the pressure relief valve blew on the l1, scared me to death, and that set about a refurb of the machine, but id lost all confidence, and decided now we had a bit of equity, that i would buy my first propper new machine, i lusted over the top spec londiniums but at £3500 ish they were just too much. the next machine came from bella barista, a crem one profiler, very capable machine, but arrived faulty, so had to go back, i have an amazing wife who said just get the machine you want, so i did, an lr24 stunner it was too, but sadly again came with issues and i returned the machine, :( after a little search i settled upon the lelit bianca- id always fancied a vesuvius profilong machine, but they too were expensive, so the lelit was the machine of choice, (2months later the ves dropped in price!!) [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/xOGfGUS.jpeg] and there a sat, happy as a pig in mud, the lelit a fabulos machine, quiet rotary pump, flow control, great heat stability, tbh it was almost boring as it just did its job, i still longed for another lever machine, once there in your blood they stick, they just look amazing. and what should pop up but an acs leva…a machine id been quite skeptical about, any lever seems to be quite polarising, just seems to be that way. id heard rumors read stuff saying how the machine was a miss match of parts, no good etc. but they still looked amazing, id followed the machine for a while and at the price it came up, prompted by a life even i thought stuff it! we're here once, get it! and that leads me to now. [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/ErMqxfw.jpeg] its been an up and down journey, ive jumped on fads bought stuff that i totally didnt need, learnt less is definately more, when it comes to coffee, ive noticed that each step ive taken up the ladder, ive inproved my coffee, each machine has been better than the last, starting would i imagined id of spent so much for a coffee - hell no, am i glad i did - yes jake

@"Cuprajake"#p12617 That’s quite a quite a journey Jake! It’s amazing how much you persevered. A classic example for some one to learn and understand what it takes to keep the passion for coffee alive. The best part is your wife firmly supporting so that you get what you desire. Enjoy making coffee with Evo. She offers plenty of possibilities to keep you busy. Hope she stays with you for ever!

Unlike Jake, we mostly stayed pour overs - mainly the Indian filter for a good part of our life with occasional £100-£150 machines. When the last machine died on us in late 2020, we kept moving the goal post from Gaggia to Minima to Evo. The 150 quids to £2500 is indeed a massive upgrade. Sure, she is our end game machine.

Jake’s corner was great reading during the pandemic

Fabulous post @"Cuprajake"#144 most interesting. It's terrific to have that pictorial guide to your journey. Thanks for taking the time to share.

@"Cuprajake"#p12617 Great post, shows the journey for many of us. Some go there in one big jump, others take the longer road, which is probably more fun..

id of saved a small fortune going big first, but i dont think id of learnt or appreciated the subtle changes. ive had some fabulous products half not pictured haha

So with a great machine comes great responsibility 🤣 i mean gadgets and we all love new stuff True to form ive ordered a funnel, doesn't fit, ive ordered a ims basket, and a normcore 58.5mm push tamper, with a plan to machine it down to fit the basket, for a mrs safe tamp🤣 Few internal pic [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/8Yb02jB.jpeg] Then an arty one [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/E2J62vo.jpeg]

Great journey to finally end up where you are today. Best way to learn what you do a don’t like regarding machines and your coffee.

Really enjoyed reading about the journey! That’s quite a few machines! Some very nice looking machines too! I love the turned handles on the first lever machine.

nick didnt, they were a very hard thing to make, had to design and make special mandrels due to the way the londinium handles are made,

My Coffee Journey

Cuprajake

Thats the one.

Thank you

LMSC

Cuprajake The 21g?

Cuprajake

LMSC thanks for the link, I’ve ordered from blue Star, there Ireland, I’ve had londinium seals from them in the past.

I e decided to stick with the stock baskets, going to sell the IMS baskets, not sure if I’ll keep the stock shower screen, or the IMS. IMS is currently in the leva

Cuprajake

Yeah same as the stock dimensions

Cuprajake

Does look well

End game for me now

LMSC

Cuprajake Good to know. What’s it the IMS is different, which you do not enjoy / like ? Did you find it over extracting? You and Systemic have the 83 mm flat burr. I thought he didn’t find a difference.

LMSC

Cuprajake I am thinking if you may want to swap the shower screen and pull a couple of shots on the IMS. I am just curious if you will find a difference again!

Cuprajake

Acs is like a mirror lol

LMSC

Cuprajake Very nice shot!

Meldrew

Liquid Gold

Cuprajake

Heres a quick work flow vid

LMSC

Cuprajake

Your other videos are more likely to be the actual workflow; you should have had a proper WDT, PI and pour, which was good throughout.

You may still do your WDT with the dosing funnel. But, after WDT, remove the dosing funnel, distribute the puck evenly on the surface (because our funnel sits inside) and tamp. This is what I do.

Eiffel

@Cuprajake

If your intent is to show workflow, mine is similar except that I do WDT without the funnel in place to ensure an even coffee bed in the basket

I noticed that you’re not really using any préinfusion in this shot (the pump is working just before you release the lever and it doesn’t seem that a stable pre-infusion pressure has been reached). These is also some strong hints of channeling in this shot, which might also explain why its so fast. There could be many reasons for this, although better WDT comes to mind first.

Cuprajake

Eiffel

I must admit i usually double wdt 😬 i just didnt in the vid as the grounds looked ok .

I know myself im playing with too many variables at once, its just a learning experience i had the bianca nailed

Cuprajake

Eiffel

Do you have any vids of your extraction as per above

I find that if i grind fine that the basket sweats and hold the infusion that i over extract

If i pull the lever and get a few sec infusion and release its better, if not a tad messy

This is a light roast tonight

Cuprajake

It ran fast this shot, its the bom jesus which is quite dark, compared to what i was pulling this morning, i was out in the dial.

Also channeld, you can see the squirt.

Im still struggling with basket prep on these 54mm baskets,

No one seems to make stuff thats easy to find like the 58mm

My tamper doesn’t fit, my funnel doesnt fit, i cant even find a stock basket.

I have a second video but i squirted the steam wand all over the top 😂

LMSC

Cuprajake Jake, I think you are probably over thinking this

You definitely do not want to start extraction as soon as the pump kicks in.
If your screen is beading, all over the screen, IMO, it is enough. You do not necessarily have to wait for drops into the cup.
3: If it isn’t beading as you would like, you can either pressure profile or grind coarser. The pressure profile is beans dependent. I won’t do this in the case of Kenyan or Ethiopian as an example. I would definitely prefer pressure profiling difficult to extract beans like Guatamelan or Rwandan. Otherwise, I will keep grinding coarsely until I see the beads in about 5 to 6 seconds, max 10s.
I heard 54mm basket gives the best cup. I haven’t experienced and I believe when Dave attests to this.
Your video clips on the other thread were good. What was wrong with those shots? I think you will be ok when you get a proper tamper.

Cuprajake

You’re right, I’m way over thinking

I’m some where in between with dial grinding, plus I’m moving beans for me and the Mrs

LMSC

Cuprajake I face a challenge of a different type!

I struggle making a long black using > medium roast (not fruity and acidic) for my daughter. She says she has gone off coffee. The trouble is the girls have a stupid Didica, which she think is the best coffee machine in the world!

I have tried temp from 90/94 to 90/98 to 92/100-94/100 for medium or medium dark. She always finds the cup stronger and bitter. I find the cup actually good - not bitter, not stronger not acidic. I just don’t know what else I can do.

Edit: The trouble is I find the cup as good and so is her her friend.

Cuprajake

Is that with all Beans she likes?

I think I have got to the bottom of some of my issues.

When I got the leva I had a mess with the pre infusion pressure, I’ve only just realised that it’s hitting 3bar, so I’ve dropped it down to 2bar, on the way I went the wrong turn and found 4bar😅🤦

Second issue is I cannot tamp, hence the use of level tampers like my old decent then the force tamper, I cannot wait for my modded base to come back

LMSC

Cuprajake that with all Beans she likes?

Yeah. She can’t take any fruity or an acidic content in long black. As long as they are absent or as little as possible, she is ok. So, I am experimenting with bags she may like. I may try the Brazilian from North Star next

Perhaps, she finds the Evo with IMS over extracting. I dose 15g for her. Perhaps, I will get a double basket (non IMS brand) to dose 14g and see. If it is milk-based, she is fine with roast type.

Cuprajake When I got the leva I had a mess with the pre infusion pressure, I’ve only just realised that it’s hitting 3bar, so I’ve dropped it down to 2bar,

Good to hear the progress you have made! How do you find the shots after reducing the PI to 2 bars?

Meldrew

Cuprajake which tamper do you prefer. Can I ask also ask what size tamper do you use for the vst basket. I have been looking around at the tampers like the force, decent and the eazytamp. The recommended size I believe is 58.4 for the vst. I have read different opinions when using which refers that you need 58.5 someone ever suggested 58.6. It’s getting more and more confusing the more you read. The eazytamp is made in Australia which is something I like the sound of as I try nowadays to look at alternative sources other than China. My reasoning is that we have become too reliant on China and should be becoming more self sufficient or sourcing goods elsewhere when we can.

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