I've only picked up this hobby about 5 years ago so maybe I'm missing something but who's buying $175 conventional tampers when you can get really good leveling tampers for under $50.

Is it like driving a manual car? It's more enjoyable if you're good at tamping straight?

Hi everyone, for some time espresso coffee hasn't come out as creamy and good as before. Same coffee (50\50 arabica and robusta), coffee grinder (kingrinder k4), espresso machine (de longhi dedicates art), same grams.
I'll link you as it came before uploaded by me.
When packages...

I have revised this post over the years with updates as I felt necessary. Those updates, in italics and dated, have been moved to the bottom of this post. Dan/HB said something about how it plays better with Google searches that way. So my revision notes are still here. Just at...

Hi,
a couple of weeks ago my lelit anna (8years old) started to leak, I changed the water tube that was fixed to the valve system and the problem was solved. Directly after, when using the steam pipe, steam leaked from the group head( also when warming up). I changed the gasket...

Hi, everyone

I have an issue after connecting linea classic av with electricity without water connection to the pump, there's a pop and then smoke coming out from the down side of the machine. Is it because without water connection to the pump or something else?

I will...

Well it seems that I have the first La Marzocco Swan grinder in the USA. IMO the Swan is an important advancement in espresso grinders, addressing key grinding issues with very smart engineering solutions. Grinds retention issues due to static charge are solved by passing ground...

I have a DeLonghi EC155 which doesn't have a descaling function. I add a bunch of citric acid to the 32 oz tank and then release about 1/4 of a tank, and then let it sit for 20-30 minutes, and then release some more.

I read that some people recommend leaving the machine on in...

Carefreebuzzbuzz recommended Hacea coffee and I recently made an order. He mentioned that the service is top notch and I 100% agree. They even included a personalized, hand-written note with the order. That kind of care was much more common in the pre-amazon monopoly days. I...

How do folks handle getting subpar drinks in cafes? Since I got my Decent DE1 and got to where I can make pretty good espresso with it, I'm more likely to get a plain espresso at nicer cafes just to compare and see how I'm doing. But sometimes (sadly, probably more often than...

Hi,
I saw that some of the members on HB are Ikawa Home owners. Are you willing to share successful profiles (espresso) for:
Guatemala-Delicia SHB, Brazil Y. Bourbon, India Parchment, Monsooned Malabar (arabica)...or any other?

Thanks,
Cheers!