Espresso Enthusiasts

[Lioness~]

Agreed! Especially as some of us are having our morning coffees precisely because we don't function well until we've had it 😁

Exactly 😴😂

It is like.....what came 1st, the egg or the chicken.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Agreed! Especially as some of us are having our morning coffees precisely because we don't function well until we've had it 😁

Exactly; one's first coffee is consumed for precisely this very reason.

 

[Apple fanboy]

As some of you will know I’m much more of a Tea drinker than coffee, but I had two delicious lattes today.
The first at the Mercedes Benz dealership in Oxford and the second at Chipping Norton on the way home.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

As some of you will know I’m much more of a Tea drinker than coffee, but I had two delicious lattes today.
The first at the Mercedes Benz dealership in Oxford and the second at Chipping Norton on the way home.

The quality of coffee served in even pretty ordinary places - rather than simply specialist coffee spots - has really improved over the past twenty to thirty years.

 

[adrianlondon]

The quality of coffee served in even pretty ordinary places - rather than simply specialist coffee spots - has really improved over the past twenty to thirty years.

Absolutely.

When I was a teenager, the choices were to sneak into pubs underage (and have a beer!) or go to a tea room and sit with people in their 60s drinking tea with slices of cake. So, of course, we had beer 😁

Nowadays, my teenage relatives are going to coffee bars to hang out. Of course, if all they drink is frappuccino type drinks then they're not healthy, but still a better atmosphere at that age than a pub.

 

[Madhatter32]

I was at a function over the weekend. Alleged coffee served out of a stainless steel urn with a dispenser spout. The tank was near the bottom, granted, but it came out like oil straight from the well. And tasted like oil. First coffee I have had in many years that was, quite literally, undrinkable. Not sure if my palette has risen to snob heights but now I can understand why some people might not like coffee -- or alleged coffee.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I was at a function over the weekend. Alleged coffee served out of a stainless steel urn with a dispenser spout. The tank was near the bottom, granted, but it came out like oil straight from the well. And tasted like oil. First coffee I have had in many years that was, quite literally, undrinkable. Not sure if my palette has risen to snob heights but now I can understand why some people might not like coffee -- or alleged coffee.

Oh, yes.

Actually, I remember a similar horror - that stainless steel urn with a dispenser spout - as present at many conferences and seminars and briefings I have attended over time; a cheapskate way of pretending to appear sophisticated and - perish the thought - professional.

Agree: The stuff that emerges from that spout, is, quite literally, invariably undrinkable.

 

[mtbdudex]

It’s granted to us in this thread we’re “normal”, to others who know us we’re “coffee snobs” for sure.

Our actions speak volumes.

 

[mtbdudex]

Lesson learned first time this happened to me.
My daughter gave me coffee for Christmas, whole beans, one of them had flavoring stuff on it, slightly oil look, I don’t know what it was, but the beans then we’re getting stuck all inside my hopper.
This Dehlongi you cannot take the hopper apart, don’t ask me why, was not aware till I tried.
Had to carefully scrape it all over, try to rid stuck whole beans off all the surfaces that they were stuck to.
Then with a slight wet water towel, get in there, wipe it clean and dry .

 

[Macky-Mac]

Lesson learned first time this happened to me.
My daughter gave me coffee for Christmas, whole beans, one of them had flavoring stuff on it, slightly oil look, I don’t know what it was, but the beans then we’re getting stuck all inside my hopper.
This Dehlongi you cannot take the hopper apart, don’t ask me why, was not aware till I tried.
Had to carefully scrape it all over, try to rid stuck whole beans off all the surfaces that they were stuck to.
Then with a slight wet water towel, get in there, wipe it clean and dry .

there are grinder cleaning tablets available on the market for those of us with grinders that aren't easy to dismantle. What I have are sort of coffee bean in size. Pour the specified amount into the grinder and grind away....it does mean afterwards you grind several loads of old beans to make sure the cleaner product is all removed. The cleaner is a formula of grains and cereals.

 

[adrianlondon]

there are grinder cleaning tablets available

oo - never knew this.

I have a standard Delonghi "bean to cup" machine (which I really like, by the way) and a friend bought me some Malaysian butter-roasted beans once. They gummed up my grinder after a while, but I cleaned it with an old toothbrush and ran some old (not buttery!) beans through it and it came out good as new.

Maybe I got lucky - I'll investigate these cleaning tablets in case I come over all experimental again 😁

 

[mtbdudex]

@Macky-Mac , truly thx I searched for and just bought these!
“Removes coffee oils”, exactly needed.

 

[avro707]

Very elegant cups. 🙂

 

[mtbdudex]

Well Sunday I truly tried to use the cleaning stuff.
It totally clogged my Delonghi grinder, it’s been so frustrating 3 days.
Followed the directions, cleared out coffee beans, poured 70 grams in, grind them grrr grrr .. and clogged.

They came out ground , clumped then stopped.

I tried everything, reread manual, went to YouTube, etc.
First, I found out the hopper and grinder are not serviceable by customer.
I decided to take apart machine, bought security torx set to do it, 4 bottom screws.

After removed screws, the locking tabs still prevented me from taking apart.
Mind you, I’ve dis assembled nearly anything, have special tools to gently pry, push locking tabs, etc, these locking tabs like you need a special jig to set all 6 on at once to push then they unlock. A service center would have that.

So, I made a super suction top to suck out as much as possible, nope

I then decided to get better access to the grinding gear.. had to cut away the bean diverter / hand protector.
Much better, could really clean, but still stuck beneath it

Carefully took of the screw (it’s backward threaded), lock washer, clip.

Put tape over bean sensors so could see gears grind. Yes, they spin but still stuck with crud below them

I tried to remove the grinder, it would not come off. Took long needle nose pliers, pull and pull, nope.

Took to the garage, turn on air compressor, blast air from top.
Bam! That cleared the corn buildup

Well, after all that we’re back in business again.

The machine was dry when I went to clean it, I can’t explain why it clogged.
Unless those oily beans had residual oils below the grinder then corn fine powder became mud.

I’d never buy a machine in future that can’t service the hopper / grinder.

Sorry for rant, no coffee/ espresso

 

[adrianlondon]

Wow.

I've had my Delonghi Magnifica for about 12 years (not sure exactly how old it is as it was dumped on the street with a "Free - please take" sticker on it, and the manuals taped to the top, when I found it) and the grinder looks as sparkly clean as it did when I got it.

What did you do with yours??? Still, I'm glad you did whatever it was as your dismantling post was fascinating. I say this as aI sip my latte.

 

[mtbdudex]

Wow.

I've had my Delonghi Magnifica for about 12 years (not sure exactly how old it is as it was dumped on the street with a "Free - please take" sticker on it, and the manuals taped to the top, when I found it) and the grinder looks as sparkly clean as it did when I got it.

What did you do with yours??? Still, I'm glad you did whatever it was as your dismantling post was fascinating. I say this as aI sip my latte.

a couple posts up, I explain where I used "oily beans"...

Espresso Enthusiasts

Lesson learned first time this happened to me. My daughter gave me coffee for Christmas, whole beans, one of them had flavoring stuff on it, slightly oil look, I don’t know what it was, but the beans then we’re getting stuck all inside my hopper. This Dehlongi you cannot take the hopper apart...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[adrianlondon]

a couple posts up, I explain where I used "oily beans"...

You did, but I assumed (yeah yeah) that there was more to it. Seems an easy mistake to make, so thanks for the warning.

I once ran some butter-roasted beans through my machine which gummed it up. but it cleared itself out after I ran some light-roasted beans through it! It seems I was lucky.

I have this machine, which probably helped as it's quite a simple one:

De'Longhi ESAM3300 Magnifica Super Automatic Espresso & Coffee Machine, Silver

Capable of preparing espresso, coffee, cappuccino, latte drinks, and more, this super-automatic machine features a unique beans-to-brew system that grinds coffee beans right before brewing for exceptionally aromatic espresso. The appliance comes equipped with two stainless-steel boilers that prov...

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[Macky-Mac]

The machine was dry when I went to clean it, I can’t explain why it clogged.
Unless those oily beans had residual oils below the grinder then corn fine powder became mud.

a horrible experience for you but a very interesting report for all of us to read!

And you're probably right about the oily beans being the culprit.....those flavored beans are dangerous!

 

[Lioness~]

Good to know about these coated flavoured oily beans - in case I would like to try them, I will use my electric standalone grinder that I grind all kind of things with.

I don't pour my beans directly from the bag into the hopper. But into a can, so I do see the beans before I feed the machine with them, fortunately. Good strategy.

I haven't tested the mountain grown Lavazza beans earlier.
But they are really good - worth the double price against other Lawazz beans, for sure.



I do have tested other mountain grown beans earlier, but it was not yesterday, and with another machine. I do recall they were good, but not much more actually.

 

[mtbdudex]

Good to know about these coated flavoured oily beans - in case I would like to try them, I will use my electric standalone grinder that I grind all kind of things with.

I don't pour my beans directly from the bag into the hopper. But into a can, so I do see the beans before I feed the machine with them, fortunately. Good strategy.

I haven't tested the mountain grown Lavazza beans earlier.
But they are really good - worth the double price against other Lawazz beans, for sure.

View attachment 2608297

I do have tested other mountain grown beans earlier, but it was not yesterday, and with another machine. I do recall they were good, but not much more actually.

Nice, NBD, new beans day
I just placed order for these seeing you had them, well you have the 7/10 strength, I could only get 5/10, will see.

Btw, all good with machine, started the day proper with a double shot coffee.

 

[Lioness~]

Those beans are of course good, like all Lavazza beans, but to me it's the mountain-grown, the black ones, that are something extra special.

Unfortunately they are not always easy to find.

Nice, NBD, new beans day
I just placed order for these seeing you had them, well you have the 7/10 strength, I could only get 5/10, will see.

Btw, all good with machine, started the day proper with a double shot coffee.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Enjoyed a mug of Ethiopian coffee this morning.

 

[avro707]

I just placed order for these seeing you had them, well you have the 7/10 strength, I could only get 5/10, will see.

Lavazza usually okay provided you can get fresh packs. These are usually available in my local supermarket but the packs are not always fresh. 🙁

When I'm in a hurry I use the Lavazza modo-mio coffee pods (and a small machine) - I can steam the milk on the big machine. I find the Modo mio pods do way better coffee than the Nespresso machines (with the big bar-coded pods). The modo-mio pods taste like actual coffee.

 

[Madhatter32]

Enjoyed a mug of Ethiopian coffee this morning.

Me too!! Coincidence or divine inspiration? What are the chances?

 

[mtbdudex]

Well I hardly do it, but applied the “24hr coffee rule” just now.

Day 4 of 4 Snow skiing in Colorado, this is my morning start.. but made too much yesterday and the hotel room complimentary bag of decent Lavazza ran out.
60 seconds microwave.. caffeine

Now we’re off to the mountains again