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Espresso: Espresso Machines
First week with Gaggia Classic/Baratza Preciso

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MochaJoe
Senior Member

Joined: 31 Oct 2012
Posts: 66
Location: Omaha, NE
Expertise: Just starting

Espresso: Gaggia Classic
Grinder: Baratza Preciso

Posted Wed Nov 14, 2012, 5:45pm Subject: Re: First week with Gaggia Classic/Baratza Preciso

Toyman The whole dang panarello flew off! So you purge the wand right before steaming the milk on the drip tray, but then do you shut the stream off before you before you place into the milk? Or keep it open as you place it into the milk? Also, how did you temp surf? Like I described or different? D4F, I cant spend another $200 on my machine just yet ;P I will watch that video again when im not sitting in my Human Development class lol

toyman
Senior Member

Joined: 30 Oct 2012
Posts: 25
Location: PA
Expertise: Just starting

Espresso: Delonghi EC155, Gaggia...
Grinder: Baratza Preciso on the way
Drip: Cuisinart

Posted Wed Nov 14, 2012, 7:02pm Subject: Re: First week with Gaggia Classic/Baratza Preciso

MJ - yep! Whole dang pannerello! I shut it off before I place it in the milk. It's been working well for me. My initial process was preheat for 20-30 min with the pf in place. Then I would dispense about 2 oz of hot water in my cup(s) to preheat. Once the light kicked back on I'd pull my shots. Got some feedback here about temp being too low, so I discontinued that process with better success. I now just hit the button quickly before I replace the pf right before I dispense to eliminate any steam. Let me know how the Sylvia wand works out.

D4F
Senior Member

Joined: 15 Mar 2012
Posts: 1,222
Location: USA
Expertise: I like coffee

Espresso: Gaggia Classic PID
Grinder: Preciso

Posted Wed Nov 14, 2012, 11:19pm
Subject: Re: First week with Gaggia Classic/Baratza Preciso

Calendar Said:

The newer units seem different. I'm finding the 2 to 3 range for my Preciso for espresso. I purchased mine in July.

Posted November 14, 2012 link

You may be in for an adjustment/movement of the calibration screw. My "11" is on a machine with the OPV adjusted to about 9-10 bar. I have had 2 and the first was also about 10-11 and purchased in March. Both were refurbs and adjusted at Baratza.

D4F
Senior Member

Joined: 15 Mar 2012
Posts: 1,222
Location: USA
Expertise: I like coffee

Espresso: Gaggia Classic PID
Grinder: Preciso

Posted Wed Nov 14, 2012, 11:23pm
Subject: Re: First week with Gaggia Classic/Baratza Preciso

MochaJoe Said:

D4F, I cant spend another $200 on my machine just yet ;P I will watch that video again when im not sitting in my Human Development class lol

Posted November 14, 2012 link

I could not justify that price either. DIY could be about $85, perhaps less. I used the Auber PID and RTD sensor and made wiring, but not for everyone.

Posted Thu Nov 15, 2012, 8:12am Subject: Re: First week with Gaggia Classic/Baratza Preciso

I bookmarked the Auber website. Cool thing is they make a (PID?) temp controller for my Big Green Egg (another obsession) also, that I was unaware of. Might be a package deal in the future. Although, installing it on my Big Green Egg will be a lot more straight forward than the Gaggia. I'm enjoying the heck out of my shots, and getting a lot better at understanding what I'm tasting. You don't know what 'good' tastes like unless you have 'bad'. I wouldn't want to lose that experience or the learning process that goes along with it.

MochaJoe
Senior Member

Joined: 31 Oct 2012
Posts: 66
Location: Omaha, NE
Expertise: Just starting

Espresso: Gaggia Classic
Grinder: Baratza Preciso

Posted Thu Nov 15, 2012, 2:22pm Subject: Re: First week with Gaggia Classic/Baratza Preciso

So I went to The Beansmith in La Vista and the nicest dudes work there. I was talking with Graham, the brother of the head roaster and he was very passionate about there business. I went in there to buy a few small amounts of beans to try out, but instead he gave me an 8oz bag of each of their two espresso roasts. It was roasted just yesterday, and the bag was still warm when he handed it to me :) He suggested I wait to brew any till at least tomorrow but I couldnt wait lol. I measured out 16g of beans, trying to overcompensate for grind loss as this was my first run with the Preciso. I set it to 9F, re-weighed, and got out 12.5g....so I ground some more until I had 15g. It looked like waaaay to little coffee for the basket, but I leveled it off, tamped with my calibrated tamper, and pulled the shot. It looked beautiful but ran super fast with 2.5oz coming out at 16secs. It tasted...eh. So correct me if im wrong but this means my grind is much to coarse correct? Side note-Tried steaming milk again and while the panarello didn't fly off, I seemed to only be able to make stiff foam with warm milk underneath. At least I was able to get the milk to temp in under a minute this time.... Edit-Also forgot to mention that while the puck was a good bit away from the top of the pf ore-brew, when I removed it after the brew the puck was stuck to the shower screen....it was odd.

D4F
Senior Member

Joined: 15 Mar 2012
Posts: 1,222
Location: USA
Expertise: I like coffee

Espresso: Gaggia Classic PID
Grinder: Preciso

Posted Thu Nov 15, 2012, 7:18pm Subject: Re: First week with Gaggia Classic/Baratza Preciso

The Preciso will retain little, expecially after the nooks and crannies fill. Weigh the output and you should use about 17.5 gms in the double basket. That may vary some with beans. Too fast could be too coarse, or not enough coffee, or poor distribution and channelling. Tamp should not matter much, many discussions on that. The puck expands a moderate amount, so the PF will not look full dry. Fill the PF with a known amount, about 17-18gms, tamp and then place a nickle on the puck and put it on the group. That is about proper spacing for dry coffee. If the nickle is pressed into the puck, then too much coffee. If not pressed at all, add a little more coffee next time and try again. When I get fresh coffee still gassing off there will be a lot of crema. I may get a shot glass of 3.5 volume oz of crema and see almost no espresso for a short time. If not, think too coarse. When all else fails, read the instruction manual :) www.EspressoMyEspresso.com, check out this article: 12 - EASY GUIDE TO BETTER ESPRESSO AT HOME

MochaJoe
Senior Member

Joined: 31 Oct 2012
Posts: 66
Location: Omaha, NE
Expertise: Just starting

Espresso: Gaggia Classic
Grinder: Baratza Preciso

Posted Thu Nov 15, 2012, 8:18pm Subject: Re: First week with Gaggia Classic/Baratza Preciso

Ah thanks much man! That link looks like the exact thing I've been looking for.

D4F
Senior Member

Joined: 15 Mar 2012
Posts: 1,222
Location: USA
Expertise: I like coffee

Espresso: Gaggia Classic PID
Grinder: Preciso

Posted Thu Nov 15, 2012, 8:54pm Subject: Re: First week with Gaggia Classic/Baratza Preciso

Try reading most of that site from the beginning. Though it is about espresso and Silvia, it is a similar journey to Gaggia.

MochaJoe
Senior Member

Joined: 31 Oct 2012
Posts: 66
Location: Omaha, NE
Expertise: Just starting

Espresso: Gaggia Classic
Grinder: Baratza Preciso

Posted Sun Nov 18, 2012, 3:02pm Subject: Re: First week with Gaggia Classic/Baratza Preciso

So I let my fresh roasted beans rest until today and set my Preciso to 9F. (I actually had it set to 10F before) Used 15.8g of grounds and was able to pull a beautiful shot, 2.5oz in 30sec with 1/4 crema after settling. Super stoked. Still having issues steaming the milk/frothing...For the life of me I can only get two things to happen; scaled milk taste with 1/2 stiff dry foam, other half just hot milk, or no foam at all...and this is with a thermometer. Oh well, at least my espresso itself has improved dramatically. Thanks for he link D4F!

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