miched Senior Member Joined: 25 Jul 2012 Posts: 16 Location: Pretoria, South Africa Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Thu Aug 16, 2012, 1:03pm Subject: Breville Barista 860 pressure gauge - which mark indicates 9 bar?
Hi fellow coffee geeks!
The front panel of my Breville Barista Express sports a very handy pressure gauge, but it shows no numbers - just an 'espresso range'. Would anyone here know which mark indicates 9 bar? See pic below!
miched Senior Member Joined: 25 Jul 2012 Posts: 16 Location: Pretoria, South Africa Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sat Aug 18, 2012, 3:28am Subject: Re: Breville Barista 860 pressure gauge - which mark indicates 9 bar?
Hey Nobby,
I'm all for going with the taste in the cup, but as someone new to the world of espresso, I'd like to make sure that I have all the variables right, and knowing where I am on the pressure scale is a good starting point. I can play with the various factors later - right now I want to be sure I have the basics right!
NobbyR Senior Member Joined: 10 Jul 2011 Posts: 1,607 Location: Germany Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Poccino Opus One, Ariete Grinder: Eureka Mignon Istantaneo,... Vac Pot: N/A Drip: Melitta Linea Unica de Luxe Roaster: N/A
Posted Sat Aug 18, 2012, 3:47am Subject: Re: Breville Barista 860 pressure gauge - which mark indicates 9 bar?
Well, as long as your extraction parameters are right once you've dialed in your grinder (rule of thumb: 25 ml in 25 seconds for a single or 50 ml in 25 seconds for a double shot, the dose of coffee depending on your personel taste, but at least 7 g), and your espresso has a full body and tastes fine, brewing pressure will be just right as well. It's not really important if the actual pressure is 8 or 9 or 10 bar (that's probably the so called "espresso range"). That's why I said: Who cares?
The pressure gauge on your machine has no scale. It's useless.
As a newbie to the world of espresso you should concentrate on working consistently: use a scale for dosing, distribute the dose evenly, and try to tamp with equal force each and every time (which mostly means as hard as you can). Use fresh beans.
By the way, the Breville Barista Express also comes with pressurized filter baskets (dual wall filters). Don't use them, take the regular ones (single wall filters).
*** "This drink of the Satan is so delicious that it would be a shame to leave it to the infidels." (Pope Clement VIII on coffee)
miched Senior Member Joined: 25 Jul 2012 Posts: 16 Location: Pretoria, South Africa Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sat Aug 18, 2012, 4:52am Subject: Re: Breville Barista 860 pressure gauge - which mark indicates 9 bar?
Thanks, Nobby!
I've found this site an incredible wealth of info! I'm getting around 60mL in 24 to 25 seconds (on the single-wall filter baskets), and am quite anal about the repeatability and consistency of everything. I can keep the pressure within one bar from shot to shot, so consistency is ok.
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