Hello All:

This is my first post after many hours of reading the wonderful discussions on this site! I may now know enough to ask more than the basic information, so I look forward to learning from all of you! Some of the most useful information I've read to educate myself is the series of three articles on the 1st Line web site teaching the fundamentals. See http://www.1st-line.com/education/fundamentals.html .

OK. I'll have to admit it. Blue Bottle Coffee Company in the San Francisco Ferry Building completely opened my eyes and tastebuds to the difference between really good espresso drinks and coffee flavored foam. So I bought their beans, ground them in my blade grinder and loaded that in my 25 year old Krups steam espresso maker. Believe it or not, my trusty Krups machine brewed a really tasty double shot. But the steam wand clogged up, I didn't know about descaling, so I threw it out instead of risking an explosion in my kitchen. I went onto eBay and bought a refurb Saeco Magic Cappuccino Plus machine for $129. Then one of the baristas at Blue Bottle, with a knowing look, told me the grinder is more important and that to learn more, I should start reading this site.

I wasn't getting anything like what I'd even gotten on my Krups with the new machine and my blade grinder. My old blade grinder cooperated by burning out as I experimented. So I researched and bought the Lelit PL53 display model for $199 and quickly improved the results. But I still don't get the intensity of flavor they do at Blue Bottle.

I've now read many posts about the pressurized 53mm portafilter in my Saeco, including some that say you can still experiment with dose, grind and tamp and that the portafilter instead of being actually pressurized is only a valve that opens with sufficient pressure. It artificially creates crema. But I've researched that too and found that some like crema, others don't, but all say that without artificially creating crema with a pressurized portafilter, crema can be a sign of freshly brewed beans releasing their CO2.

I use fresh beans, properly ground. So my shots already taste good, not bitter, but I still don't get the full intensity like they do at Blue Bottle. I haven't been able to get any results like their rich, creamy and almost chocolately double ristrettos. So here are my portafilter questions:

1. Is it worth taking the "pressure" components out of my pressurized portafilter? I've found instructions for doing that online.

2. Will it make much more difference to find a bottomless portafilter? They're hard to find and I've read about mixed results using power tools I don't have! There are no 53mm bottomless portafilters that fit my machine online. The one source I found is out of stock.

3. Can I even hope to get anything like professional results with a 53mm portafilter compared to a 58mm that may allow higher dosing?

(I know that there are other variables like being able to control the pressure and temperature and pre-infusion but am not yet willing to spend for a Rancilio Silvia, a machine that you folks regularly use as a starter and then plunk down sufficient change to upgrade.)

Then there's soy latte foaming ... hmmm. Here's what I know so far. The brand of soy you use makes a difference. I'm using the same brand they use at Blue Bottle, where they're able to create lovely microfoam and finish it off with latte art. I've even found online instructions for latte art but am way ahead of myself here! The baristas at Blue Bottle tell me to be gentle with the soy, not oversteaming it. I've found if I overheat it separates and tastes bitter. I get better results with non-fat regular milk drinks for my wife. But I must use soy due to dairy allergies. I have watched that lovely online video that teaches foaming and latte art starting with dish soap but can't start to do latte art if I'm not getting good foam.

The best I can do so far is a fair amount of foam that isn't very micro and some of the soy separates. I've tried a low setting on the steam wand and get worse results if I let the steamer fully heat. I'll try letting the steam start outside the pitcher to make sure I'm not injecting water into the soy at first. (A little self-reproach here that I need to be more careful to vary one element at a time.) I do start with cold soy and a cold pitcher. I have yet to plunge my meat thermometer into the soy but am told to keep its temperature no more than 140 degrees F. To be more consistent, I should probably start with the steam function fully heated and adjust the dial until I find the right setting. Can you offer any other suggestions?

In all, I'm having lots of fun with this!

The basket's diameter isn't having anything to do with how the shots are tasting. One of the most popular high end machines(that I happen to own), is the La Spaziale Vivald II, which has a 53mm group. True, that MANY machines use a 58mm, but there is no difference in taste.

First things first, get the pressurizing stuff OUT of that portafilter. That right there, is number one.

You've got a nice grinder, so no worries there. You've got GREAT beans, so no worry there(Blue bottle is a great roaster, many members here LOVE the coffee they put out)

Do you have a Tamper? You'll need one. Dont worry about getting some uber-fancy, with exotic wood handles or engraving(unless you want too). 53mm, metal piston. It should have some weight to it, but how much is a completely personal choice. RattleWare tampers are well made tampers, costing about $30 bucks. They come in 53mm(I used to have one).

Now, Im sorry to say, that you wont EVER get the results you get at Bluebottle, with you machine. It simply wont happen. But, you can probably get some decent espresso and milk drinks with some practice. Head over to the FAQS section, and do some reading about Distribution, Dosing, Extraction Times/Ratios.. The list is ENDLESS. There is no way you can research too much, so just read read read. Before I even registered on this site, I used to spend every evening, with a full presspot of coffee, my mouse, and the HB FAQS.

While professional level results will never be a possibility with your current equipment, that doesnt mean that you can learn how to make some nice espresso and espresso based drinks. NO home use machine is going to put out great espresso. But, whether you own the machine you DO own, or a $2000 1grp commercial machine, the single most important thing(aside from the grinder and beans), is YOU. Learn the technique, get your style down. Learn how to distribute properly, and learn how dosing changes the coffee.

One last thing. Dont forget about other brewing methods, like Pour-over, and FrenchPress, and Syphon/Vacpot. Using bluebottle coffee, properly ground, for these brew methods, EASILY CAN PRODUCE the same cup you get at blue bottle. A pourover cone can be bought at the supermarket, with filters, and you should have change from a $20. Right now, Pourover is one of the most popular brewing methods in specialty coffee.

Thanks for your quick reply on SuperBowl day!

What are the characteristics of a professional quality machine that are essential for making great espresso? I would assume it would be things like precise control of pressure, temperature, steam delivery and consistency with these.

I do have a nice metal tamper bought on eBay for less than $7 delivered. It has some heft to it, fits my portafilter pretty closely. I agree with you about the cone filter method that I've been using for years and do easily equal Blue Bottle's quality level when using their beans and some will hate this, a simple new blade grinder! Another quality local roaster in the SF Bay Area is Graffeo, so I enjoy their product too. Now I don't freeze it or get it pre-ground.

I'll probably tackle depressurizing the portafilter next weekend and will report back to this listserv about that.

I'll check out your other advice too.

Now if I can figure out the soy steaming ...

drgary wrote:What are the characteristics of a professional quality machine that are essential for making great espresso? I would assume it would be things like precise control of pressure, temperature, steam delivery and consistency with these.

Pretty much.

I believe the biggest problem with home machines is temperature. All single-boiler/dual-use (SB/DU) machines have a temperature dead-band. Then, because the boilers are so small, the temperature can change a lot in the middle of the shot as the boiler refills. That means that there is difficultly getting the right temperature at the beginning and end of a shot.

Large commercial machines have gigantic boilers which remain very stable. These are controlled much more precisely as well, with some PIDs giving 0.1*F control. They also steam better because they have an entirely separate boiler full of steam.

Steaming on a entry level home machine requires some trickery and coercing, but it is definitely possible to get good results. I've managed some pretty good latte art with my machine. The two biggest tips are temperature surfing and milk (...soy?) rolling. SB/DU machines tend to steam a lot better when you can keep the boiler active the whole time, and getting a good rolling, or standing wave, motion in the pitcher is the key to incorporating the foam evenly.

...I've never used soy before though.

Good luck!

Thanks, Matt. What's PID? I searched the site and didn't see an explanation of the acronym. Also, what's a temperature dead-band? Is that a term for there being no temperature control or no way of getting a temperature reading?

I appreciate the advice on getting better steaming results.

OK. PID = Proportional Integral Derivative and designates a controller that automatically keeps what it measures within a specific range, as in a PID controller for boiler temperature. I looked up deadband too and it seems to designate a cheaper kind of controller, not as precise, I guess.

drgary wrote:What's PID? I searched the site and didn't see an explanation of the acronym. Also, what's a temperature dead-band?

In the context of this site, PID = electronic brew temperature controller. If you want a more technical definition, see Good all round explanation of PID stuff.

Deadband is commonly a reference to the difference between the top and bottom range of a thermostat/pressurestat (e.g., if it turns on at 210 and turns off at 230, the deadband is 20). PID controllers, by their nature, have very small deadbands. Some mechanical thermostats have huge deadbands (e.g., 30 degrees Fahrenheit); enthusiasts compensate for large deadbands by inserting a "temperature surfing" delay from a known starting point like the boiler heating element turning off before starting the brew cycle.

...yeah, what they said.

I use the term "temperature surfing" (perhaps confusingly) to describe both (1) brewing and (2) steaming procedures. Note that I am not very familiar with your machine, so the following procedures may not be applicable.

(1) I sometimes wait a set time after the boiler light turns off to start my shots. Often, people trick the boiler to come on, by pumping some water through the boiler. This cools the temperature and reactivates the heating element.

(2) While steaming, my process is a bit tiresome, but seems to work. I let the boiler reach full temperature. Then I bleed out a lot of the steam and condensed water, which allows the boiler to cool down some, and reactivate the heating element. When the element gets close to turning off again (about 10 sec), I start steaming. This causes the heating element to stay on the entire time I'm steaming, and seems to give me the best power.

But still, work on the most easily controllable variables first. I'm new at this, and honestly I don't worry about the brew temperature usually. I've got to get more consistent with my dose and try to stop my channeling problems first.

When I focus heavily on 5 different things I tend to accomplish none of them.

OK, I took the pressure device out of the portafilter. Here's a link with instructions that worked very easily for doing that: http://coffeegeek.com/forums/espresso/machines/343159 . I agree with the authors of that thread that the pressure gizmo had collected some ugly residue. It looked gross, similar to their picture.

Here's a sad tale where some of you will remember your beginner's fumbles and others will remind me to RTFM (FAQs)! Made a shot this morning with the non-pressurized PF. The flow was way too fast, 25 seconds for almost 4 oz even though fully dosed and tamped firmly. I used the Weissman technique of running a sharp object in circles through the grinds to remove any clumps. Oh well! My tamp had been tilted so I'd tried to correct it (no guffaws, please), which probably caused channeling. The result had little crema and was somewhat bitter. Thought I'd had the grind dialed in before but will need to make it finer and tamp more carefully but want to adjust things with grind more than relying as much on the tamp.

Still having little luck with soy foaming and will put a meat thermometer to use and will of course chill the foaming pitcher as well as the soy.

More next weekend when I'll have another chance to experiment (before making a decent cup of coffee in the Melitta -- I can still be trusted with that).

Thanks for all of your helpful tips, everyone!

I am humbled ...
Gary

Super lungo!

Just remember, if you drowned that shot in milk and syrup, it might still taste better than some coffee shops out there. Haha.

Keep having fun!