He was happy with the Vivaldi, the disappointment was with the Silvano. The next owner of the Silvano was overjoyed, however, so take it for what it's worth.
"I've Scaced many HX/E61 machines, seeing shot variances of up to 8-10F or more. [The BDB] stays within 1F." - Mark Prince
He was happy with the Vivaldi, the disappointment was with the Silvano. The next owner of the Silvano was overjoyed, however, so take it for what it's worth.
So silly of you to post this response after being called on your error. I recall that Jerome in fact liked his his QuickMill Silvano. I recall these posts even if you do not.
EricBNC Said:
Very nice looking set up! That is a Sweet nice espresso machine! I thought your Quick Mill Silvano was top of the line but the Mini Vivaldi looks even better.
I use the Smart Grinder every day with the BES900, I have never had a problem, it was also usable straight out of the box, no shims required. Like any grinder it sometimes takes a sink shot to dial a new bean in but once that is done, great coffee every time :)
(First CG Post)--have been enjoying this thread immensely, and have learned a lot. Am new to espresso, but with the zeal of a convert have been squandering (enjoyably) enormous amounts of time getting up to speed. Wanted to share some what I've experienced.
Initially, I had a hard time dialing in the Breville (my current model maxes out at 10 bar, after the initial one with its OPV problem was replaced) because it seemed the shots were very short. Flavors seemed to emphasize the high citrus, woody notes, without much sweetness. Blonding, even after the OPV setting was corrected, seemed to occur much too early.
Purchased an 18g VST basket (and a 15g, though haven't used it yet). This added easily 4 to 6 seconds before blonding, compared to the stock basket, and blonding, when it does occur, is now more gradual. Flavors are richer, more complex, deeper, and sweeter. It's very gratifying to be able to change grind and temperature, and to a lesser and less controllable extent, tamp, and taste the resulting differences in the shot.
Am using a Baratza Preciso, and with denser beans am all the way down at 4 e (mostly single origin, some of which I've roasted; these beans seem to emphasize citrus and floral tones), and with lighter beans (commercial espresso blends, whose flavors seem centered on chocolate and tobacco) at 5g. I realize that that's quite a bit lower than others seem to be using, but I need to go that low to get the pressure up to around 9 bars. My scale is a little flaky, reads to the nearest gram but not with much conviction, so it's possible I'm underdosing consistently. Have ordered a scale that reads to the nearest .1 g, and will see if that changes things.
Edit: Apparently it's typical to need to grind finer with the VST baskets, because of the greater total hole area. The basket is contributing less back pressure, so the coffee needs to contribute more. This may be partially responsible for the richer, deeper flavors that I notice relative to the stock Breville basket. Big improvement in usability, because the termnination point for the shot seems to be less critical with the VST basket.
With both the stock basket and with the VST, puck sticking is infrequent. The Breville basket is very tapered, which may have been designed for easy puck release, but probably creates a shadow effect which causes under and over-extraction. (There's a good paper from VST which I think is referenced elsewhere in this thread). Puck release with the less tapered VST basket is fine.
My experience with milk frothing parallels other posters'--very controllable and very fine, very stable foam. Doubt that I'll ever get very far in the field of Latte Art.
I just recently purchased, as mentioned previously and this morning I try to make a great Americano in the morning with nothing but epic failure, over and over again. I had such delicious, caramel sweet mornings ( and sometimes afternoons), but this morning, no matter what I previously did, I under extracted over and over again with appox. 4 bars of pressure and the grossest shots came furiously pouring out. I grinded at the same setting as before, tamped at same pressure but noticed when I flip the portifilter upside down to rid of residual grinds on the life's and rim, the puck just drops out!
I did it numerous times before and it sticks there. The roast I use is unknown and bought at Esprsso Planet, which apparently roasts every 2 weeks (no date on pkg). So, my big question is...using a vac pot and opening up .5lb of grind, how quickly do the beans go stale, days? Wouldn't be so great if I have to constantly open new bags weekly with such a short lifespan...
My Livia 90 just died. So after reading all the buzz I decided to give the Breville Dual Boiler a try. It was delivered this afternoon. I set it up and ran a full water tank through it. After that I put a blind filter in and it pegged the guage past 13. Guess there's still a few uncalibrated ones left. Man I'm just not having a good couple of weeks! This is like the third or fourth device I had problems with lately. My Vario just broke the other day. Was grinding and bam, both adjustment levers flew to the bottom all by themselves. Turned out the Vario stripped the belt pulley. Baratza is sending me a new one though. That's good. I called Breville and they are sending me a new Dual Boiler as well. It will ship tomorrow and be here Friday. Good thing both these products were still under warranty. So everything will work out soon enough. I was really looking forward to some good espresso. Miss my coffee. I can keep the Breville until the new one arrives. I'm going to try and make a capuccino with it right now. Boy I sure miss my Livia. Great coffee for 10 years.
It just occurred to me that with every new sale Breville is creating a refurb (save those few who calibrate the OPV themselves). They will have to liquidate those eventually. Those essentially new units would be a great deal for those waiting for a price drop, especially if they offer a full warranty.
...Purchased an 18g VST basket (and a 15g, though haven't used it yet). This added easily 4 to 6 seconds before blonding, compared to the stock basket, and blonding, when it does occur, is now more gradual. Flavors are richer, more complex, deeper, and sweeter. It's very gratifying to be able to change grind and temperature, and to a lesser and less controllable extent, tamp, and taste the resulting differences in the shot...
...Apparently it's typical to need to grind finer with the VST baskets, because of the greater total hole area. The basket is contributing less back pressure, so the coffee needs to contribute more. This may be partially responsible for the richer, deeper flavors that I notice relative to the stock Breville basket. Big improvement in usability, because the termination point for the shot seems to be less critical with the VST basket.
I just got an 18g VST/La Marzocco Strada basket today. Although pricey, I like the basket. With the stock Breville basket (which is fine otherwise), the precisely weighed 18g I grind right into the portafilter tends to mound up and overflow before it is tamped down, making a bit of a mess. The VST could easily take a larger amount of grounds without overflowing. Second, there is no imprinting on the top of the puck from the group head screen and hence never any puck sticking. I, too, had to go several clicks finer on the grind to get the equivalent volume in the same amount of time. I would have to do an A/B test to notice any taste difference (nothing immediately noticeable) but there is much better crema with the VST.
I just recently purchased, as mentioned previously and this morning I try to make a great Americano in the morning with nothing but epic failure, over and over again. I had such delicious, caramel sweet mornings ( and sometimes afternoons), but this morning, no matter what I previously did, I under extracted over and over again with appox. 4 bars of pressure and the grossest shots came furiously pouring out. I grinded at the same setting as before, tamped at same pressure but noticed when I flip the portifilter upside down to rid of residual grinds on the life's and rim, the puck just drops out!
I did it numerous times before and it sticks there. The roast I use is unknown and bought at Esprsso Planet, which apparently roasts every 2 weeks (no date on pkg). So, my big question is...using a vac pot and opening up .5lb of grind, how quickly do the beans go stale, days? Wouldn't be so great if I have to constantly open new bags weekly with such a short lifespan...
The roast I use is unknown and bought at Esprsso Planet, which apparently roasts every 2 weeks (no date on pkg). So, my big question is...using a vac pot and opening up .5lb of grind, how quickly do the beans go stale, days? Wouldn't be so great if I have to constantly open new bags weekly with such a short lifespan...
Typically people like to use roasted beans within 2 weeks. If this place roasts every 2 weeks, and you came in on the 13th day and bought some, you could potentially be dealing with stale beans.
Also, as time goes on, I know I need to make my grind finer and finer. You mentioned that you have it at the same setting.
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 