Coffee

[user 18729]

Anyone got any experience of the Sage BES875UK

We have the Small sage machine and the Sage grinder which we bought before investing in a machine- so essentially the same just without the grinder built in. Absolutely love it, great little machine. PID controlled and makes a really nice espresso after a bit of getting used to it

 

[strange-steve]

I've had Gaggia Classic for past 10 years and it's still going strong. Only had to take the head group apart few times over the years to give it a proper cleaning.
Paired with Ascaso mini.

Missed out on a Gaggia Classic by a fiver on ebay last night
Luckily there's plenty more of them on there.

 

[Leon103]

Missed out on a Gaggia Classic by a fiver on ebay last night
Luckily there's plenty more of them on there.

There does seem a lot on there. I think one went for £105 According to my notifications but I can't see it now.

 

[strange-steve]

There does seem a lot on there. I think one went for £105 According to my notifications but I can't see it now.

There was one that sold yesterday for £90 but in the description it said "unsure if it's fully working" which suggests to me that he knows it doesn't work but doesn't want to say so. The one I bid on went for £177 which seems about the going rate. I've got my eye on a couple more.

 

[strange-steve]

Also I just bought this and hopefully I wasn't ripped off, I saw it on Coff-hey, a second hand Mignon Specialita which is only a month old, returned to the shop due to a faulty display which they replaced and sold with a 12 month warranty. I got it for £285 which is about £70 cheaper than a new one.

 

[Drunkula]

One of my friend's wives tried to make them give up coffee - fekkin usual faddy clean-eating bull *****.

https://shirtloadsofscience.libsyn.com/why-not-to-quit-coffee-with-prof-claire-collins-46
https://theconversation.com/health-check-four-reasons-to-have-another-cup-of-coffee-40390
Prof Clare Collins also rails against stupid diets like paleo and keto.

I'm not that fussed on coffee but do like the thing where you add it to coke. Even the 17p Asda stuff I really like with it.

 

[Edison]

I'm not that fussed on coffee but do like the thing where you add it to coke. Even the 17p Asda stuff I really like with it.

I like the sound of that. Kahlúa and coke is good, so must work. I don’t have any coke in the house, I did get a free bottle of Pepsi Max Raspberry with a pizza at the weekend, that may be a stretch to far though!

 

[strange-steve]

Well my grinder arrived yesterday, less than 24 hours after ordering it which is great service from Coff-hey. Really pleased with it so far, although I've only been playing around with some cheap beans and a French press until I've got the hang of it (and until I get an espresso machine).

One little niggle is the grind adjustment dial on top:

This would be obvious to someone who knows about this sort of thing, but as a noob I looked at the dial and assumed that the numbers 0 - 5.5 represented the full range of the machine, that one full turn from 0 to 5.5 would take it from finest to coarsest setting. That isn't the case, it requires several full rotations to go from fine to coarse.

Now that's obviously a good thing, it gives a much greater degree of control, but in that case why bother with the arbitrary numbers? The numbers are entirely meaningless, they tell you literally nothing about how the grind is set because you don't know how many full rotations have been made. Why not just have the notches and the arrow?

Anyway that's just a minor niggle at what seems to me an odd design choice, otherwise I love it. It chews through 35g of beans in about 15 seconds which is amazing because I've been using a hand grinder up till now!

 

[Clint]

You could mill some malt in that and do some 330ml batches...

 

[strange-steve]

You could mill some malt in that and do some 330ml batches...

I like it, ferment in the bottle.

 

[strange-steve]

I've just bought a Gaggia Classic on ebay for £180. Now the fun begins!

 

[Brewista]

I've just bought a Gaggia Classic on ebay for £180. Now the fun begins!

I had a Gaggia Baby (same workings as the Classic) and a Rancilio Rocky grinder. Loved them. Some of the best coffee I ever had was made with them. Had to pack it in due to a heart issue unfortunately.

If you're anything like me you'll spend many hours trying to perfect your flat white!

 

[Session]

I've just bought a Gaggia Classic on ebay for £180. Now the fun begins!

Amazing - congratulations!

The thing that made the biggest difference to my coffee once I’d got my machine was getting a decent scale like this one:

https://coffeehit.co.uk/products/brewista-smart-espresso-scale-v2-2kg-0-1g
Anything that’s accurate will do, but knowing both how much coffee (beans) you are putting into your portafilter and how much coffee (liquid) you are getting out is the key to dialling in your shots.

 

[strange-steve]

Amazing - congratulations!

The thing that made the biggest difference to my coffee once I’d got my machine was getting a decent scale like this one:

https://coffeehit.co.uk/products/brewista-smart-espresso-scale-v2-2kg-0-1g
Anything that’s accurate will do, but knowing both how much coffee (beans) you are putting into your portafilter and how much coffee (liquid) you are getting out is the key to dialling in your shots.

Yeah I think there are a few more bits and bobs I'll need as well as decent scales, tamper and milk jug for a start. Any recommendations for a tamper, there seems to be a big variation in prices?

 

[Session]

Yeah I think there are a few more bits and bobs I'll need as well as decent scales, tamper and milk jug for a start. Any recommendations for a tamper, there seems to be a big variation in prices?

I think as long as the tamper fits your basket, most of the difference comes down to aesthetics.

There are some swanky ones which have a levelling function, but they can be eye-wateringly expensive. One of my mates has this one, but it’s $119 before shipping to the UK!

https://decentespresso.com/tamper

 

[strange-steve]

I just bought this tamper and these scales from Black Cat Coffee who offer free delivery over £25 even to NI which is great. This coffee thing is getting expensive though

 

[Subtle Duck]

I use a motta day in day out at work. They certainly do the job.

 

[Clint]

The thing is Steve if it's something you're really interested in you should indulge...you will get as much enjoyment from owning,using the equipment and nailing your process as you will from the end product.

 

[AlDaviz]

I've just bought a Gaggia Classic on ebay for £180. Now the fun begins!

Well done, I looked at prices for a new one a few weeks ago

 

[Pennine]

so ready to get into roasting now

you dont have to spend too much these days.