Coffee Theory - Espresso

5-minute read
Coffee

Brief πŸ”—︎

There are different types of coffee:

  1. Espresso
  2. Filter coffee

I mostly drink espresso, as it takes less time to produce. Filter coffee works better if you want to taste the flavor of high-quality coffee beans like Geisha.

Espresso Machine πŸ”—︎

Functionalities πŸ”—︎

  1. PID: For better temperature control.
  2. OPV: You can adjust the pressure on the brew head.
  3. Grouphead: There are different types of groupheads. Check for compatibility before you choose a machine or coffee gears.
  4. Pump: Rotery pump; viberate pump. Rotery pump is better.
  5. Boiler: Single/dual boiler; Boiler heated or heating block.
  6. Build quality: What material is used. Brass (better maluability, cheaper, better heat retention) is definitely fine for the espresso machine, but stainless steel (healthier? more expensive) is better.
  7. Dimension & Weight: It must fit into your counterspace.
  8. Heat up time: You cannot wait for 30 min just to make espresso. There is usually programmable wakeup feature, but I generally don’t wanna rely on it.

Models For Recommendation πŸ”—︎

Entry levels

  1. Rancilio Silvia M V6
    • Pros:
      • Good build quality
      • Reliable and consistent, proved by time
      • Worth the money at the pricepoint
      • Lightweight as a good espresso machine
    • Cons:
      • Outdated design
      • Not too much control to the user
      • Grouphead is somewhat E61 compatible, but not entirely
      • The factory screw for the grouphead looks bad
      • Not standard E61
  2. Profitec Go
    • Pros:
      • Slightly more expensive than Rancilio Silvia, but has both PID & OPV
      • Also good build quality, just not proved by time
      • Still small form-factor shape, similar weight compared to Rancilio
      • Modern design
    • Cons:
      • Quality not proved by time
      • Also brass boiler
      • Probably E61 compatible, but not 100%
      • Buttons, unlike Rancilio
  3. Ascaso Steel Duo Plus
    • Pros:
      • I like the design
      • Feature-rich
      • Use a heat block, not sure a good thing or bad thing
    • Cons:
      • Too expensive
      • Larger dimension

Professional level (I won’t declare espensiveness & huge body as cons for these)

  1. Lelit Bianca V3
    • Pros:
      • E61 grouphead
      • Variable pressure
      • Good build quality
    • Cons:
      • Inflated price in NA
  2. ECM Synchronika II
    • Pros:
      • E61 grouphead
      • Good build Quality
      • I like the design more than Bianca
    • Cons:
      • Heat up slower, around 7 minutes
  3. La Marzzoco Linea Micra
    • Pros:
      • La Marzzoco
      • Small dimension
      • Quick startup
    • Cons:
      • Grouphead has it’s own shape
      • Expensive

Coffee Grinders πŸ”—︎

Theory πŸ”—︎

  1. We need the grinder because grounded coffee lose their flavor over time, you need to grind fresh to get the best out of coffee beans
  2. Particles from grinding matters, burrs matter, burr alignment matters, grinding speed matters
  3. Bean > grinder > espresso machine
  4. Espresso & filter coffee require different burr sets. Espresso need more fine particles, while filter want less fines. Espresso grinds finer.
  5. Burr size matters

What To Look For πŸ”—︎

  1. Motor type: brushed, brushless, servos
  2. Alignment
  3. Serviceability
  4. Build quality
  5. Prebreaker
  6. Bean feed rate controller (auger)

Models For Recommendation πŸ”—︎

Entry Levels

  1. DF64 Gen 2
    • Pros:
      • Good value per dollar
    • Cons:
      • Dimension a bit big for the burr size
  2. DF64V
    • Pros:
      • Brushless motor
      • Better look
      • Smaller form-factor
      • Metal (likely alum alloy) chute
    • Cons:
      • Beans may stuck

Other than the above 2, there is no good entry-level grinder (from my perspective)

Professional Level

  1. Zerno Z1
    • Pros:
      • Good design
      • Good build quality (almost all metal)
      • Small form-factor as 64mm burr carrier
      • Lots of mod opportunities
      • Good customer support & community support
      • Good alignment
      • Supports blind burrs, with or without screws
    • Cons:
      • A bit too expensive
      • Waitlist (will transition into general availability)
      • No chute knocker
      • Brushed motor
      • Delivery costs 100usd
  2. Lagom P64
    • Pros:
      • General availability
      • Small form-factor
    • Cons:
      • Expensive as a 64mm grinder without blind burr support
      • No lid
      • Not too much customizability
      • Not too much advantage over DF64 gen 2 that’s worth the triple price
  3. Weber EG-1
    • Pros:
      • Blind burr
      • 80mm
      • Nice design. Not good enough for me though. (I prefer rocker switch over button)
    • Cons:
      • Too expensive to worth the price
      • Takes too much space
  4. Mazzer Philos
    • Pros:
      • Good alignment
      • Good value for the price
      • Made by a well-reputed manufacturer
      • Tool-free cleaning process
    • Cons:
      • Too big as 64mm carrier
      • Design not very nice. Has plastic
      • No blind burr support
  5. Ultra Grinder
    • Pros:
      • Has many producer for this design, you can choose your own model based on price & design & build material
      • Pretty cheap as a 98mm burr carrier, with pretty reasonable build quality
    • Cons:
      • Pretty heavy. I’m not joking
      • Lack support for NA power supplies
      • Need to sort out shipping yourself

Espresso Gadgets πŸ”—︎

Just pick products that makes you feel good when preping espresso. they don’t really matter too much in terms of impact on shot quality

  1. Portafilter
    • Bottomless?
    • Flat?
    • Build material
  2. Basket
    • Ridgeless?
    • Flow speed
    • Number of holes
  3. Tamper
    • Leveled?
    • Constant force?
    • Build material
  4. Dosing Funnel
    • Magnatic?
    • Material?
  5. WDT Tool
    • Material?

Portafilter πŸ”—︎

  1. The OEM bottomless portafilter for each manufacturer
  2. Weber
  3. Sworks Design
  4. CafeSing
  5. ζ₯εŽ»δΈ€ε‘³

Basket πŸ”—︎

  1. VST
  2. Sworks Design
  3. Wafo
  4. Weber
  5. Pesado
  6. ζ₯εŽ»δΈ€ε‘³

Tamper πŸ”—︎

  1. Normcore Tamper
  2. Bravo Tamper
  3. Force Tamper
  4. Tough Tamper (all stainless steel)

WDT Tool πŸ”—︎

  1. Normcore
  2. CafeSing
  3. Tough

Dosing Funnel πŸ”—︎

  1. Forzcon
  2. Matow
  3. Tough

Shaking Cup πŸ”—︎

  1. Tough
  2. CafeSing

My Pick πŸ”—︎

What I have right now πŸ”—︎

  1. DF64 gen 2 (Entry level choice)
  2. Rancilio Silvia V6 M (Entry level choice)

What I’m Planning To Get πŸ”—︎

  1. Zerno Z1 (For build quality, design & blind burr)
  2. Ultra Grinder (For 98mm burr exploration)