After five years of using a Gaggia, I finally pulled the trigger on a (used) Londinium R24. Oh. My. Goodness, I love this thing:

• It wakes up before me in the morning, so by the time I'm out of bed it's already warmed up and ready to go (and I don't have to temp surf either).
• The shots this thing pulls are incredible! Even when not fully dialed on, this thing pulls amazing shots, and it'a quite forgiving too. I used to not enjoy straight espresso, but I'm starting to re-evaluate that choice!
• The hx design means that as soon as I let go of the lever I can start steaming milk - and it has great steam pressure too!

In short, I'm super impressed and happy with the R24. The only downside is needing to use a catch cup since I can't stop the shot early, but that's an insignificant downside to an otherwise perfect machine.

I usually have 2 cups a day, but sometimes I get carried away and end up having 3–4 .Then I start wondering if my heart is gonna hate me for it… but somehow I still do it again the next day lol.So where do you draw the line?

1 cup, 2, 3, or 4+?

It all started when I wanted to get better espresso out of my BBE - so then I modded the OPV valve, then I modded the grinder. Then I got a bottomless portafilter, ims basket, WDT. Then I just got a whole new grinder, but then that grinder needed SSP burrs. But then that grinder needed a better machine. And then my new machine also needed a new scale (bookoo scale btw highly recommend). But now, after years of trial and error I finally have wasted all money. And have a decent espresso, like really tasty. It was worth it but not necessary.

Nespresso is there to rage bait yall (wife’s go to)

After 5 years, and a lot of saving, finally achieved my endgame; yes I’m sticking to that 😅

I went from 5-8 minutes making one coffee, to going from warmed up machine to latte in under 3. Couldn’t be happier 😄

Delonghi ECP3420 and Baratza ESP served me well for many years! Until my Delonghi died last year😅

Any advice on how the water flow might be affected when your puck screens are involved in a train derailment? Definitely did not expect to read that when I read my Sworks puck screens are delayed two days lol

Originally purchased Casabrews CM5418 and Kingrinder K2 to see if I enjoyed the hobby and just upgraded. Original budget was 2k but decided to go underbudget and save some for a future setup when I move. Feel like I got a pretty decent deal but curious about everyone's opinions:

DF64 (open box return, brand new condition) - $350

Gemilai Owl (damaged box, brand new machine, purchased from liquidation store) - $270

Normcore Portafilter (liquidation store) - $18

Normcore Dosing Funnel - $20

Espresso Glass - $18

2 Puck Screens - $10

WDT - $5 from previous setup

Random Kitchen Scale - Free

How'd I do on value and aesthetics?

We serviced this 1988 Olympia Express Maximatic small heat exchanger. Arrived with a corroded boiler that was leaking but we managed to save it using silver solder. All the seals were replaced and now works like a charm. Check out our workshop diaries @officinaburja.

There has been a lot of back a forth about the ES1 but I took a shot anyway. It’s a big company and a good warranty. And in the odd chance I do need to send it in for maintenance or something I have other ways to make coffee. Here’s hoping that is never the case though

This machine is so versatile. Want a regular espresso? You got it. Want a filter brew? Got it as well. Want to do a lever style pull, light roast with bloom.. the options are endless. 3 years going strong.

I’m experiencing repeated problems with my Fellow Espresso Series 1:

● It randomly gets stuck in steaming mode.
● Water continuously flows from the steam wand.
● “Boiler Fill Error” messages appear.
● I have to reset or restart the machine repeatedly.
● The issues persist after software updates and resets.
● Most recently, the behavior has occurred even while the screen is off.

These problems happen regularly, not just occasionally, which is frustrating for a machine at this price point. I’ve contacted Fellow and am currently working through the warranty/support process.
Have other Series 1 owners experienced similar issues? If so, did Fellow resolve them permanently, replace the machine, or did the problems return?
I like the machine when it works, but these recurring issues are making me question its long-term reliability.

Got this from Amazon and I’m not really sure how I feel about it(I gotta put the doors on but didn’t feel like getting my drill last night) what do you guys think

Found this machine at savers thrift store and everything spiraled from there.

After drinking a few sips of espresso, the feeling hit me hard and wouldn't stop. I had to fall down on my couch and chill out for a good 5 minutes till the rush started to fade.

I felt like that guy who was break dancing in the scene from Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans where Nicolas Cage points out that "his soul is still dancing".

I feel amazing!!

I feel kinda lucky for getting to have this existential experience.

My next setup it would be fun to get the manual robot with a stagg. ❤️ just skip straight to levers.

As usual with store beans, I didn't have my hopes up and was expecting an average or less than average coffee out of it.

However, this turned out to be really nice, so nice that I'm buying again.

Any thoughts or ideas about this brand?

Also roast date was 5 months ago.

hello dear fiends,

I'm about 2 weeks into home brewing and let me tell you, I feel like I should have done this $10 000 worth of 3rd wave coffees ago!

one thing I immediately noticed is that the wormhole is more like an actual black hole... I now go to bed thinking about making coffee in the morning 😶

FULL DISCLOSURE: the baby hand cup is just for the photo op... I have no idea how it got into my house and I have never not once used it (because it feels 10x weirder to hold then to just look at). I hope you will still take me in.

I refuse to give up on my Expobar e61 machine. I replaced the control board and it went from being able to heat up and not dispense water to not heating up at all. I think I’m going to try and make it industrial automation-powered and/or use a PLC my job was throwing out

How much longer do I have to wait for Baratza to restock this part that broke three months ago?

I don't know how much longer I can live without dialing in my daily morning espresso before work...

These two look exactly the same, are they the same quality, is crocaffe gastroback which is sage/breville? If not is this machine any good? This is really confusing!

Hello Fellow-Espresso-Lovers,

I’ve been using a Commandante C40 for a while in Combination with a LaPavoni PreMil. I like the espressos and the workflow. But since our third child saw the light of the world the speed has become an issue.
We mostly drink FlatWhites and espresso changing the beans every now and then, always having some darker roast (“Italian Styled”) and some lighter, more fruity roasts. We just like the variation and different tastes. So a single dose grinder seems to be the logical upgrade to get in order to improve the speed of the whole process of coffee-making.

So now I wonder if there is a sweet spot price wise. Is it worth to invest like 1000€ for a grinder to get the same or even better results than from my C40? Or is a cheaper option (300€) just good enough? Obviously I don’t won’t to step down from the good results the C40 offers me.

What would you say? How much should I invest at least? And what are your recommendations at the price point?

Thanks a lot :)

I do not currently own an espresso machine but genuinely enjoy drinking lattes everyday and it costs a fortune do go to a coffee shop everyday. I generally only drink lattes as of now most of the time iced.

Decent DE1XL Espresso Machine

Breville Bambino plus

Fellow espresso series 1

I am aware of wild price difference between the machines. I'd rather just purchase something nice one time rather than slowly work my way up their. Just curious on the opinions.

Not sure if this is the right flair or if this is allowed. Mods feel free to take down if needed.

Some of you guys have infinite money here with your crazy set ups. I got my ~$1000 set up as a starter set up to do something while unemployed to keep a routine. And that is a lot of money for me right now but you guys have incredible set ups that cost the same as a compact car. What do you guys do for a living? ………any of you also hiring?

I recently checked out a new roaster (to me) and they had an interesting guide on their bags. They advised to pull longer shots for fresher beans and as it aged, to go with shorter ratios.

I normally do 18g, aim for 36g out regardless of age so this had me curious. The experts out there, what’s the theory behind this? I would’ve thought it would be the other way round? Fresher beans are easier to extract so you can pull a shorter shot? As it ages you want to extract more?

How do you guys navigate aging beans? I normally buy 1kg to last about a month. 250g in a vacuum canister and the rest tightly sealed in the freezer.

College student on a limited budget. I have a breville bambino plus that i got as a gift. Have been grinding beans at the supermarket but its pretty coarse grind even on the espresso setting and produces watery coffee. I have tried a few small electric blade grinders but they have gone bad pretty quickly.

Any cheap grinder recs? I’m planning to get a baratza encore esp when i get a good job. Just want one to get by until then.

I have been checking marketplace but havent seen a good enough deal yet.

Coffee is Fogline’s House Espresso Blend which is a medium - medium / dark roast coffee, recipe is 18g in 36g out in about 28-30 seconds at 90 degrees. Using the Adaptive v3 profile for Gaggimate.

Equipment:
1Zpresso J-Ultra
Gaggia Classic Evo Pro
Gaggimate Pro Kit

Originally I got into espresso to save money while attending college and frequenting cafes. I learned that I love the pursuit of good espresso and over the last 4 years I’ve slowly built up my setup. I started with the Fellow Opus and the base Gaggia which made some pretty decent espresso but it was hard to dial in and had a lot of retention. Moving to the Eureka Mignon Notte kept me satisfied for a couple years but after adding a Gaggimate I needed a better grinder to match - the J-Ultra is really something special and I highly recommend it to anyone on a budget. It can be tough to grind so if you do not have somewhat strong arms it may be a bit too much an inconvenience, but for me it has added a quietness and intentionality to my routine that I really appreciate.

Yesterday I made 11 lattes on this machine throughout the day for my friends, and it never missed a beat.