The ultimate cheap shot

Beginner and pro baristas share tips and tricks for making espresso.
oldbrit
Posts: 23
Joined: 11 years ago

#1: Post by oldbrit »

Here's a little game or contest we might play:

Starting from no equipment of any kind save a kitchen sink with a water spigot, stove top, microwave, kitchen counter, trash can, pot holders, paper towels, cups to serve your pulls, and whole bean roasted coffee, what would be the absolute cheapest equipment to buy to make a top-notch espresso pull for the least amount of money?

I have several suggested rules:

1. You must specify the exact equipment by model, if you buy anything.

Edit: We've gotten a lot of great responses, but many use espresso devices that don't require electricity. So, here's a suggested revision:

1.B The coffee device must have a power cord attached - preferably 110V.

2. Anyone should be able to buy the same equipment for a similar price. It's cheating to find an Elektra at an estate sale for $50.00.

2B. It's cheating to specify $10,000 worth of equipment and then claim you win because your equipment makes the world's best pull.

3. There's nothing wrong with a method that requires practice to get it right, but it must be consistently reproducible.

4. You get bonus points if you can pull a ristretto with your setup.

5. You can specify a particular coffee bean, but the cost of the beans is not included in the contest.

6. Optional for extra credit: Tell us how you'd make a cappuccino following these same rules.

NOTE: I have no clue how to determine the winner, except by popular acclaim. There's no prize other than the amazed adulation of the participants and paparazzi.

EDIT - RULE REVISION - See Rule 1B!

erik82
Posts: 2147
Joined: 12 years ago

#2: Post by erik82 »

A Hario skerton with OE mod and a bacchi espresso. Same quality espresso as an prosumer machine.

oldbrit (original poster)
Posts: 23
Joined: 11 years ago

#3: Post by oldbrit (original poster) replying to erik82 »

$450 USD for the Bacdchi:
http://sorrentinacoffee.myshopify.com/p ... hine-italy

Hario Skerton with OE upgrade: $55.00.

At $500.00, you're the winner so far since there are no other contestants. :D

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tamarian
Posts: 501
Joined: 12 years ago

#4: Post by tamarian »

My travel gear: MyPressi Twist (no problems pulling ristretto) and a Hario Skerton. For milk, I heat it with stove or microwave, then froth it with $2 Ikea milk frother

oldbrit (original poster)
Posts: 23
Joined: 11 years ago

#5: Post by oldbrit (original poster) replying to tamarian »

OK. $170 for the Mypressi Twist, $40 for the Skerton. That's $210.

How do you heat the water?

Out of curiosity, how many ounces of espresso do you get with 1 cartridge?

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tamarian
Posts: 501
Joined: 12 years ago

#6: Post by tamarian replying to oldbrit »

Either microwave the water (in a glass) or use stove top (water in a small Turkish brewer), depending on what the hotel has. On the road I use a mini camping stove.

I usually make 5 doubles then throw the cartridge, to avoid ruining 6th or 7th shot.

sgmonkey
Posts: 65
Joined: 11 years ago

#7: Post by sgmonkey »

Skip the Skerton and go for the Hario Slim Mini.

A step up would be a Baratza Virtuoso/Preciso and a Bellman steamer. Oh, you could forgo the mypressi and get the Bellman "espresso" machine. Not sure if you'd call it a shot, but apparently it's capable of doing something close to a latte and latte art (from the videos I've seen anyway :P)

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[creative nickname]
Posts: 1832
Joined: 11 years ago

#8: Post by [creative nickname] »

I really doubt that some of the suggestions above rise to the level of a "top notch" shot, which is what you asked for. Obviously I can't say that for sure without tasting the shots people are getting out of their stovetop steamers and Mypressis, but let's just say I have my doubts.

This might violate your Rule 2B, but maybe not. Caravels are generally available in sufficient quantities that you can find a nice one on italian ebay (or via a sale through one of the forums) for under $500 in less than a month of monitoring. Or at least that has been my experience so far. With a Caravel and a Vario (let's say about $900 for the combo, assuming that you also get a refurb Vario), I can pull ristretto shots that are just stunning; they are a significant step up from what I can do with my Breville Dual Boiler, which is a much more expensive machine, and they are competitive with shots I have gotten at great cafes that use much more expensive setups. It takes a bit more leg-work than just ordering a Mypressi, but it will be worth it for the quality in the cup.

The next step, for me, will be adding a Pharos to my collection. At that point, the whole set-up will be a bit cheaper (around $700), and I expect the shot quality to be a bit higher, given the Pharos's giant burrset and great reputation. If it works out as planned, I'll probably get two, and pair one with my Caravel at home and the other with my work Caravel. I think it would be pretty hard to beat that pairing in terms of the quality/cost ratio it provides.
LMWDP #435

MWJB
Posts: 429
Joined: 11 years ago

#9: Post by MWJB »

[creative nickname] wrote:I really doubt that some of the suggestions above rise to the level of a "top notch" shot, which is what you asked for. Obviously I can't say that for sure without tasting the shots people are getting out of their stovetop steamers and Mypressis, but let's just say I have my doubts.

.
Being an internet forum, and us not being able to taste each other's shots, a degree of "benefit of the doubt" should surely be a given? I'm happy to accept you get what you consider "top notch" shots from your Caravel...but it would be just as easy to express doubts. Hey, if you sold me your Caravel for what you paid for it, that would make it qualify for #2!? :wink:

I have both the Mypressi & the Bacchi, I don't try to replicate shots from one to the other (nor even from shot to shot on the Bacchi, not after 7 minutes of hanging about) but both have delivered stunning, if very different, shots.

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[creative nickname]
Posts: 1832
Joined: 11 years ago

#10: Post by [creative nickname] »

Fair enough! I'll take your word for it that you can get excellent shots out of these machines. And please accept my apologies if my doubts came across as rude, which wasn't my intent!

Would you say that it is easy to deliver those kind of results on demand? Or is it a finicky process that sometimes delivers great shots, but at other times, not so much? Or to put it another way, what percentage of shots on those machines would you say are sink shots, and what percent are excellent? On the caravel--even without a top end grinder--I pull drinkable shots 99% of the time, and the majority of my shots exceed the best I can get out of my dual boiler pump machine.

I ask this only because I'm pretty sure that consistency is an important component of a decision for most people, even those trying to drink great espresso on a shoestring budget, including the OP, given condition #3.
LMWDP #435

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