I've Got a New Coffee Machine So What Next?

try2bhelpful on 12/10/2021 - 17:47

I've been seeing some really interesting discussions that have been imbedded in individual Espresso Machine posts. I thought I might create a forum post to allow people to have a source of information that doesn't get lost when individual posts are closed. Not sure if people will use this but I thought I might try.

I'm a rank Newbie and I've just bought a Bambino Plus because I'm particularly interested in the frothing function for my hot chocolates and the man can get his espresso, and cappuccino, hits. I've been doing a bit of Googling around and have found some reasonable newbie videos from the ukcoffeeblog guy. Including an undocumented feature that allows you to get quickly heated hot water out of the steam wand so the man can use it in his tea without having to boil a jug. I'm only just scratching the surface with the Bambino but I've already decided the drip tray is way too small. This has resulted in me deciding to locate my machine close to my sink in case of overflow. I would love some more ideas on how to get the best out of my new machine.

I see this as a source for providing useful info on grinders, accessories that are useful, and those that aren't, maybe comparing machines, what mods are worthwhile etc. If this turns into an unwieldy mess maybe we can break this up into individual machines or functions or it can just die.

I hand this over to the community to use, or ignore, as is your want. I won't be offended if people decide to ignore it or even rubbish the idea.

Electrical & Electronics Coffee Machine

Comments

  • tsunamisurfer on 12/10/2021 - 17:56

    What is 'the man'?

    • bobbified on 12/10/2021 - 18:10
      +3

      The one with the sac! 🤣

    • Hithere on 12/10/2021 - 18:45
      +1

      Hey now you better listen to me everyone of you
      We got a lotta, lotta, lotta, lotta work to do
      Forget about your woman and that water can
      Today were working for the man

    • try2bhelpful on 12/10/2021 - 22:06
      +2

      “The man” is my partner of 40 years. Just a term of endearment.

  • DASHCAM NOW DUDE on 12/10/2021 - 18:04

    Too broad.

    • barbarella on 12/10/2021 - 20:11

      is that a sexist comment?? haha :)

  • BlueJay87 on 12/10/2021 - 18:11

    Are you going to be teach your partner how to make his own coffees, which you don't drink yourself?

    • try2bhelpful on 12/10/2021 - 22:07

      Nah, that’s his job.

  • [Deactivated] on 12/10/2021 - 18:38
    +3

    Hi try2bhelpful! You have started on an amazing journey! Making coffee is a very subjective thing, but here are some of my tips for what they are worth. Others will have equally valuable, and possible totally different advice!!

    I think one of the most important things is to keep it clean. Always do a rinse shot with the empty portafilter attached after you've finished making your coffees. Another tip is to make sure the portafilter is the same temperature as the group head before making coffee. You can leave it attached while it warms up, and flush some hot water through it to help get it up to temp.

    Don't rinse the portafilter in the sink between shots, as this cools it down, and great coffee is all about temperature stability (and it also all about using good beans and the correct grind, dosing, loading, tamping haha). Get yourself a burr grinder, and learn how to dial it in. Expect to have to make small adjustments as the coffee ages, and large adjustments when you change blends/brands/batches.

    This is a very personal choice, but my preference is to always tamp the same (usually a very firm tamp), and adjust the grind to get a 25-30 second shot. It is easier to regulate the grind than to try to remember and adjust your tamp pressure each time.

    Make sure your tamp is level, so the coffee is level all the way around the basket. This will stop the water channelling. Also, load the coffee to the level that you can see a light impression of the showerhead on the top of the coffee. Loading too little coffee will encourage channelling, or worse just slosh through the grinds, wasting coffee.

    I'm sure others will have excellent advice. Find what works for you. Be prepared to tip a lot of espresso down the drain while you're learning (or freeze it in cubes and make iced coffee later).

    Good luck!!
    Scott

    • try2bhelpful on 12/10/2021 - 22:09

      Thanks for the info.

      • RockyRaccoon on 13/10/2021 - 07:45
        +1

        Btw after all that it’s easy to forget to drink it…..

  • SBOB on 12/10/2021 - 18:58
    +2

    thought I might create a forum post to allow people to have a source of information that doesn't get lost when individual posts are closed. Not sure if people will use this but I thought I might try.

    on all things coffee?
    There are plenty of dedicated forums for just this, which would be a much larger and more useful resource for information than some thread on a bargain forum.
    All your questions would likely already be covered in some basic FAQ sections or previous forum posts.

    • try2bhelpful on 13/10/2021 - 07:54

      Can you please provide a few links for the forums you think have been particularly useful. Thanks.

      • SBOB on 13/10/2021 - 09:43

        coffeesnobs.com.au would be a decent starting point

  • SF3 on 12/10/2021 - 18:59
    +2

    I've got a new Coffee machine so what next?

    Buy coffee?

    • Ocker on 12/10/2021 - 19:04

      No brainer (for some)

    • KaTst3R on 12/10/2021 - 19:28

      After buying coffee, remember to buy a grinder.

      • peteru on 13/10/2021 - 16:38

        As a rule of thumb for people who don't know exactly what they need, you should spend at least as much on the grinder as you spent on the coffee machine.

        Pairing a $900 machine with $200 grinder will lead to disappointment. On the other hand, a $900 grinder with a $600 machine can get you great results.

  • yellowfever on 12/10/2021 - 19:31
    +2

    Watch James Hoffmann
    Most answers are on his channel

    https://youtube.com/channel/UCMb0O2CdPBNi-QqPk5T3gsQ

    • try2bhelpful on 12/10/2021 - 22:09

      Thanks.

    • peteru on 13/10/2021 - 16:32

      Oh God!

      Don't do that!

      You'll spend hours and hours watching and at the end you'll come to the conclusion that you'll never be able to afford to make an espresso, given the prices of all the gear! :-)

      His YouTube channel is a slippery slope :-D

  • dasher86 on 12/10/2021 - 19:53
    +1

    First things first would be freshness of the beans. Freshly ground beans will always perform better than pre-grounded.

    If you're using pre-grounded the dual wall baskets it comes will be required.
    If you're going fresh it is recommended to get a single wall basket.

    It's a bit of a slippery slope to upgrades and accessories
    Some worth while ones (I didn't check for the best price are

    Single wall basket

    https://www.amazon.com.au/NEOUZA-Bottomless-Portafilter-Dist…
    https://www.breville.com/au/en/parts-accessories/parts/sp000…

    Coffee scales to accurately measure gms and help 'dial in' your coffee.

    Dosing ring - keep things slightly tidier

    https://www.amazon.com.au/NEOUZA-Bottomless-Portafilter-Dist…

    Tamper
    https://www.amazon.com.au/Calibrated-Espresso-MATOW-Stainles…

    Or palm tamper and distributor
    https://www.amazon.com.au/Distributor-MATOW-Portafilter-Adju…

    Bottomless portafilter
    https://www.amazon.com.au/NEOUZA-Bottomless-Portafilter-Dist…

    None of these are required but can help in the process of making a better coffee.

  • Dont Care on 12/10/2021 - 20:00

    A kettle maybe?

  • barbarella on 12/10/2021 - 20:09

    invite me over for coffee?

  • Quantumcat on 12/10/2021 - 20:35

    Your man should use a kettle for his tea. Every time you use the coffee machine to heat water it will need to be descaled sooner.

  • iforgotmysocks on 12/10/2021 - 22:51

    Get a grinder, I have the Bambino plus as well and use this https://alternativebrewing.com.au/products/baratza-sette-30-…

    Otherwise Breville smart grinder could be a less expensive option.

    Also you'll want a single wall basket, you'll get better results. https://www.breville.com/au/en/parts-accessories/parts/sp000…

    As mentioned above James Hoffman is a good YouTube resource, he has some good beginner guides on getting your shot dialled in.

    • try2bhelpful on 13/10/2021 - 07:56

      Thanks.

    • gr70 on 13/10/2021 - 08:26

      I started with the Breville Smart Grinder (with a BDB) then got the Baratza 270. The Baratza has some weakness in the gearing (i think its plastic and under a lot of stress) and mine broke down after 18 months. They (five senses coffee) fix it for free but whilst waiting for that I bought another Smart Grinder from Myer to get me through and now I’ve just kept using it and am going to sell the Baratza. Baratza is better for its speed - 7 secs vs 20 - and the coffee came out smoother with less “clumping”, but I couldnt say I could taste a difference.

      • peteru on 13/10/2021 - 16:47
        +1

        Been there and upgraded from Sunbeam EM0480 to Breville Smart Grinder Pro and then to Eureka Specialita. This is a great grinder, I'm very happy with it.

        I considered couple of the Baratza models briefly, but there were just way too many downsides, including retention and reliability. The built in scales on the Baratza seemed like a great idea, but the precision and minimal retention of the Eureka Specialita is so good that it grinds to within 0.2g of target every time.

  • Waltervp on 13/10/2021 - 09:50
    -1

    I gave up on manual coffee machines due to the mess I made!! Now I get the fully automatic Jura machines second hand for say $300 and they grind beams and everything perfectly. No mess no fuss. Also do instant hot water. I love coffee from the stove percolator but there too I stuff up in my confused morning state, and burn them and make a mess…. love the fully auto Juras. Get a second hand one :)

  • OzHunterNSW on 13/10/2021 - 10:01

    I was considering your avenue of coffee hit, but bought a SMEG variable temp kettle, in stead, thinking I will stick to good quality instance coffee - particularly when 400g can be obtained at $16, on special, and last much much longer than whatever you may buy. Plus, I have the coffee in 3min, not 3 years.

    • SBOB on 13/10/2021 - 10:29
      +1

      Plus, I have the coffee in 3min, not 3 years.

      but you still have instant coffee…

  • tulip99 on 13/10/2021 - 10:20

    I've got a Bambino Plus! :-)

    I've had it for nearly 3 years. The steam wand stopped working after about 18 months - 2 years, but it still makes espresso. Now I heat the milk up in the microwave and whiz it up in my old Breville mikshake maker and it makes good foam.

    I love making double ristretto lattes using the double basket and pressing the single espresso button so you get more of the sweetness of the beans.

    I like Pablo and Rusty Pioneer, and Porter St, and I've just bought Sunset Blvd beans from Inglewood and I'm enjoying those.

    I also like Gloria Jeans 1kg of beans from Woolies. They have a roast date on them. $20kg and sometimes I can get them when they're 5 weeks old which I think is pretty good for supermarket beans.

    • try2bhelpful on 13/10/2021 - 10:23

      I use my platinum credit card to buy things because it gives me an extra year of warranty.

      Thanks for the tips. I will pass these onto the man.

  • peteru on 13/10/2021 - 16:27

    Join the CoffeeSnobs community to get some good and friendly advice. The members there have a lot more expertise on the topic that you will find here on OzBargain ;-)

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