Psyd wrote:Well, it kinda depends on your definition of 'real'. If you follow the destructions, no, it won't. I've destroyed a few of the 963's using a technique that makes acceptable espresso

I have not priced 963's, but I bet after you blow up 4 or 5 you could have gotten an entry level machine that is designed to work at 9 bar. I do enjoy reading about some of the creative ways people modify a machine to make the most of it.

I wonder through the thrift shop now and then (maybe one day I will find a Cremina) and have seen a few sitting on shelf's. One day I may get one just to play with it.

I have not found any Creminas on my occasional excursions into a thrift shop; however, I have found and purchased a brand new Gaggia factory and a older very clean 8 cup Europiccola. I have seen plenty of the steam pressure driven machines. I guess that is what you are referring to when you reference a 963?

cannonfodder wrote:I have not priced 963's, but I bet after you blow up 4 or 5 you could have gotten an entry level machine that is designed to work at 9 bar.

Well, maybe not. I just looked on eBay, they appear to be selling for $4-10.

Thanks for the advice everyone. MY machine is the Krups XP1500....it brews both drip and espresso, and was a gift for getting into college. I drink a fair amount of drip coffee as well, as one can just brew and then drink when desired without as much work or attention.

It does work on a steam system, not a pump, so it looks like there is little I can do. I looked at some of the threads about grinders, and I simply do not have 200-300 dollars to drop at the moment on a coffee grinder. Any other way you would recommend getting a creamier and less burnt taste? Now, im no amazing connoisseur, but the coffee isnt bad by any means, it just isnt as amazing as it could be.

Thanks again, this site is really amazing.

circussteve wrote:Any other way you would recommend getting a creamier and less burnt taste? Now, im no amazing connoisseur, but the coffee isnt bad by any means, it just isnt as amazing as it could be.

You may not view this as helpful, but I would recommend a hand grinder and French press. If you have fresh coffee from a good roaster, you will enjoy amazing coffee. Not espresso, but I'll take amazing coffee over lame espresso any day. See Confessions & Frustrations of a FORMER Starbucks Junkie for an interesting discussion of this alternative.

You do not need to spend $200-$300 for a decent grinder. You can find a Solis Maestro for about $109 or a Maestro Plus for about $150. These grinders will carry you over into your first pump machine while not breaking the bank. I use one with my LaPavoni Europiccola when I travel and get excellent results.

The burnt taste partly comes from the fact that the brew temp is high and mostly for the fact that at the end of the extraction as the boiler empties the shrinking volume of water progressively super-heats past the boiling point (because it is under pressure) and eventually turns to steam resulting in burnt coffee. To reduce the burnt taste I recommend slightly overfilling the boiler (2oz should do) beyond the volume of coffee you want to brew. This way when you achieve the volume you desire you can just pull the carafe and let the rest of the water go into the drip tray or a cup before it super-heats. The extra water in the boiler give you a buffer that insures that the water used to extract your coffee will not be the superheated water or steam burning your coffee at the tail end of the brew cycle.

This worked really well for me when I had my Krups steamer.

P.S A stovetop moka pot makes way better coffee than a krups steamer and is cheaper to boot.

ladalet wrote:The burnt taste partly comes from the fact that the brew temp is high and mostly for the fact that at the end of the extraction as the boiler empties the shrinking volume of water progressively super-heats past the boiling point (because it is under pressure) and eventually turns to steam resulting in burnt coffee. To reduce the burnt taste I recommend slightly overfilling the boiler (2oz should do) beyond the volume of coffee you want to brew. This way when you achieve the volume you desire you can just pull the carafe and let the rest of the water go into the drip tray or a cup before it super-heats. The extra water in the boiler give you a buffer that insures that the water used to extract your coffee will not be the superheated water or steam burning your coffee at the tail end of the brew cycle.

P.S A stovetop moka pot makes way better coffee than a krups steamer and is cheaper to boot.

There are a few tricks to make a steamtoy produce acceptable espresso, and not all of them are good for the machine. The seals on the thing will withstand 180 psi when new, and do it for a coupla years. You can trick 'em into near nine bar, and time them with the steam outlet, and yeah, once you're done they usually aren't. I use the rest of the pressure to steam milk, and let whatever is running thorough the grounds at that point collect in a drip can. I've pulled shots out of those little steamtoys that'd amaze pros. Father Guido Sarducci wasn't overwhelmed, but he was happy (at the time there wasn't anything else available, so we were both making do...)
I'd put my steamtoy up against a mokapot most anytime. Cappuccini at ten paces?