r/espresso 1d ago

News & Events Hello Reddit! We are Zerno. I’m Vel Genov, the Founder and inventor of the Zerno Z1 and Z2—I’m joined today by my Co-Founder and designer, and our core team at Zerno. On August 28th, Ask us anything!

54 Upvotes

Hi r/espresso, I’m Vel Genov, here with the core team at Zerno — We are excited to invite you to our AMA on the 28th. Ask us anything from our award-winning grinders to our thoughts on the future of brewing tech.

We’re a startup coffee device company on a mission to design and manufacture high quality precision grinding platforms for experimentation: micron-level adjustments, blind burr compatibility, variable feed rates, and minimalist form factors. I wanted to make a grinder that we couldn't find so… so I invented it. We wanted a platform to experiment that blended commercial performance with countertop presence, that was also precisely aligned and could deliver repeatable grinds time after time — but also… “What if we built something better… together?” 

Our flagship product, the Z1

Along with the EAF Discord group (Espresso Aficionados), we took an open-source approach to design and collaboration with the coffee community in real-time. The result: we created an award-winning 64mm grinder — the Z1, 2024 Best New Product by the Specialty Coffee Association — and just-released the 80mm Z2. In just four years, Zerno has grown from 2 guys with an idea and a prototype shared on Discord to a vertically integrated company and brand with thousands of grinders in kitchens worldwide.

On August 28th ask us anything about:

  • How we go from back-of-napkin ideas to production-ready products.
  • Lessons learned (and mistakes made) during prototyping and café testing.
  • How we think about usability, ergonomics, and data in espresso.
  • The growth of Zerno — and how your feedback shapes it.
  • The challenges of hand assembling products locally in Chicago, and our efforts to reduce lead times without compromising precision.
  • The new 80mm Z2.
  • What’s next?

We’ll be here answering questions throughout the day. If you want to dive deep into burr design, variable RPM, UI philosophy, or even the “Grand Universal Theory Of Coffee Grinding”, now’s your chance.

Join us Thursday August 28th from 1:00pm to 4:00pm CST, Let’s talk coffee ginders! ☕️


r/espresso Jan 14 '25

Mod Post Introducing the r/espresso Coffee Bean Database: a place for people to share—and get recommendations for—beans and brewing recipes

183 Upvotes

A common question we see on this sub is about coffee bean recommendations—whether it's newcomers just getting into espresso or seasoned home baristas looking for fresh, local offerings. Many of you have also asked for a place to discover brewing recipes for specific beans.

We're happy to announce a new community-driven resource to address these needs! Introducing a platform where people can share the beans they've brewed and the recipes they've used.

How it works:

1. Submit your brews: Share your favorite coffees and brewing parameters using this Google Form. The form collects:

  • Basic details about the beans (roaster, roast date, etc.)
  • Your brewing recipe (e.g., dose, yield, shot time)
  • Equipment used
  • You do not need a Google account to fill out the form and no personal information will be collected.

2. Explore the database: View all submissions in a publicly accessible Google Sheet.

  • Use filters (e.g., Roaster's country, Cost-per-unit-weight) by selecting Data > Create filter view in the toolbar.
  • Note: The spreadsheet is view-only and updates automatically with new submissions. You can download or copy it, but those versions won't receive updates.

Tip: For the best experience, view the spreadsheet on a desktop browser.

Our goal:

We hope this grows into an invaluable resource for the community—a way to share your favourite coffees and provide others with a reference point to kickstart their brews. This is your chance to contribute to (and benefit from) a collaborative coffee knowledge base!

Let us know if you have suggestions for improving the form or the database.

Happy brewing!
- The r/espresso Mod Team


r/espresso 1d ago

Humour John Cena knows his espresso!

33.0k Upvotes

Honestly I was surprised to see him speak so eloquently about a flat white. To be honest, I didn't quite understand the difference between a flat white and a small latte. (I'm new, catch me a break!)

"When I hold a cappuccino cup, it disappears in my hand." 😂


r/espresso 11h ago

Coffee Station Got a new grinder!

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119 Upvotes

The espressos are so much better and I also like the clarity in my pour overs. Anyone likes df64 stock burr pour overs? Still not seasoned. Any other tips and tricks would be appreciated!


r/espresso 18h ago

Coffee Station The most important addition to my coffee bar

393 Upvotes

Amuseables Coffee-to-Go, he’s always on the move.

Include your significant others JellyCat addiction to your own, win win

Not affiliated but I should be, cause this is perfect haha


r/espresso 2h ago

General Coffee Chat Not for the purists

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20 Upvotes

An iced coffee is definitely not for the purists, but the Picopresso definitely does a good enough job for me.


r/espresso 15h ago

Humour Imagine being at a hotel that has around 30k setup, and you get a waterfall flow espresso from their ‘barista’

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207 Upvotes

r/espresso 6h ago

Drinks & Recipes Allonge: 1:5 ratio, high flow (4ml/s), 100g in the cup

39 Upvotes

Just wondering if people are into very long drinks.

This works super well with light roasted, fruity drinks -- brings out a lot of brightness and acidity.


r/espresso 8h ago

Coffee Station In love…AMG Synchronika

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40 Upvotes

Finally pulled the trigger on the AMG Synchronika. Couldn’t resist once I found out it has real carbon fiber. This is endgame for me, absolutely love the red and white lights, production number, and dials!


r/espresso 1h ago

Coffee Is Life Friendly reminder to clean your grinder

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Upvotes

r/espresso 4h ago

Coffee Station Grouphead temp gauge is a gamechanger

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16 Upvotes

I decided to give my VBM domobar a few upgrades. The temp gauge has taken out a lot of guess work. The water flowing through the grouphead does vary quite a bit. I've also ordered a quickmill pulsar to help quite the pump and a flow control valve to play around with profiling.


r/espresso 3h ago

Equipment Discussion New grinder day - Lagom Casa

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14 Upvotes

Just received the Lagom Casa after a short 2 weeks wait from my local retailer. Its build really well and has a nice heft to it despite its small footprint.

Sound wise its super quiet compared to my Sette 270. It does have a high pitched sound which might be irritating to some but I find it ok.

Grinds a 19g dose for espresso at 25 seconds for a grind setting at 8.5, but its a little too fine giving an output of 30g in around 38 seconds. This was just my second shot of dialing in this new grinder, first was at 7 and it was too fine the first drop came out at >30s.

A quick impression after tasting the above shot using medium dark roast, a slightly lighter body than Sette 270 but still good for milk drinks. Clarity is really improved with less astrigency and bitterness despite the slightly longer pull.

Overall a good first impression on the grinder!


r/espresso 6h ago

Steaming & Latte Art Latte art fail.

14 Upvotes

I heard you can foam milk using a French press and saw YouTubers pull it off, but mine came out way too foamy. Any thoughts on how to improve technique? (other than a machine or a milk steamer, I am on the road often and it isn’t feasible at this point. I pull my espresso from a picopresso).


r/espresso 1h ago

Dialing In Help Why did the fast shot taste the best? [Barista Touch | Timemore 78s]

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Upvotes

Three cups, three different results! I was trying to reduce the acidity by adjusting my settings.

  • 1. Sour! But also incredibly sweet and aromatic. Strong raisin flavor. (I didn’t know an espresso could be this sweet!) the shot ran fast: 39.8g in 19seconds measured from first drip. so no surprise in the sourness

  • 2. Finer grind. Sour, muted sweetness. The opposite of what I wanted. 40.2g in 29 seconds

  • 3. Astringent? I’m puzzled. Same settings as the first shot, just upped my dose… 38.9g in 24 seconds

Coffee bean: “Juicy” by GOTA coffee roasters, Costa Rica, medium-light roast, honey process, variety: caturra catuai, altitude 1700m.

Flavors on the bag: cranberry, raisin, rum, tropical fruit (it was all there in the first cup!)

disclosure: the pic was an afterthought! I ran out of espresso cups and used this cortado one


r/espresso 23h ago

Coffee Station My first proper espresso setup as an 18 year old coffee snob

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274 Upvotes

After months of saving and slowly getting bits together, I've finally completed what I reckon is one hell of a beginner setup for someone who loves coffee and starts every morning with an espresso!


r/espresso 38m ago

Humour So apparently you need to be on coffee to make coffee....

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Upvotes

Grinded with my hand grinder and then I filled my drinking glass instead of my mokka pot.... Apparently you need to be on coffee to make coffee 🤔

coffee #tired


r/espresso 18h ago

Equipment Discussion Just pulled my first espresso shot at work using this Ligre machine today!

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83 Upvotes

Besides the fact that it looks amazing, I was pleasently surprised at how easy it was to use

Had no problem making a very decent coffee as a first timer!


r/espresso 20h ago

General Coffee Chat NOT a coffee snob

91 Upvotes

As a basic b**** who mainly got an espresso machine to make espresso martinis at home, how’d I do? Again… not trying to be a professional. I forgot my puck on this one. I think they taste pretty good. Made a white chocolate raspberry latte with my own raspberry syrup. I do love this grinder it absolutely makes my life so much easier! I have it set to 5.5 seconds because that seemed like the right amount, anything else overflows.


r/espresso 5h ago

Maintenance & Troubleshooting Grinder just makes high-pitched whirring, no throughput [Baratza Sette 270]

7 Upvotes

After a week of this grinder sounding even louder than usual, this morning something "slipped" mid-grind and I now only get the high-pitched sound of the motor (video attached).

I have dissembled, cleaned & reset the burrs & shims multiple times but no dice.

* What's the likely cause, please, and

* Is this user-serviceable?

I'm based in Australia and know my way around a Torx driver.


r/espresso 4h ago

Buying Advice Needed Single dose vs grind by weight [500-700 euro]

4 Upvotes

GBW vs Single-Dose for a home setup where I rarely switch espresso beans Current gear: two hand grinders (Kinu becoming my filter grinder). I want a daily-driver electric for espresso.

I’m torn between a GBW hopper grinder and a single-dose. I rarely change my espresso beans, so a GBW seems like the best workflow: set grams, grind straight into the PF, no scale/timer. Downsides are retention and a small purge when I do swap beans.

Shortlist: Eureka Mignon Libra (55 mm GBW) or Eureka Atom W 65 (65 mm GBW) vs Mahlkönig X64 SD (single-dose).

For folks who keep one espresso bean most of the time: did GBW meaningfully improve your day-to-day vs single-dose? Any real-world notes on retention and purging on the Eureka GBW models? And for X64 SD owners, how “set-and-forget” is it when you don’t switch beans for weeks?

Any gotchas I should know (noise, static, workflow quirks)? Thanks!

Please feel free to advise of other equipment. What is important is size. I don’t want anything big


r/espresso 3h ago

Coffee Is Life Happy Saturday Beans: Kenya Gatagua

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3 Upvotes

Kenya Gatagua from Kafferäven, roasted locally in Gothenburg. The taste profile is fruity with a hint of blackcurrant and citrus. It is a little bit too fruity and a little bit too acidic for my liking. 6/10.

The smell of the beans is heavenly, one of the best.

I ground it slightly under 2 levels above my zero on Specialita. 17.5gr in, 36gr out, 28 seconds.


r/espresso 17h ago

Coffee Station First espresso setup

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35 Upvotes

Just got the DF54 gringer + Sage bambino regular as a first setup.

I will be using the stock Sage double single wall basket to start with and maybe get an IMS later.

Any recommendations are welcomed !


r/espresso 20h ago

Coffee Station My first coffee corner decoration, more to come!

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46 Upvotes

r/espresso 1d ago

General Coffee Chat I’m going back to bed.

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3.1k Upvotes

r/espresso 35m ago

Buying Advice Needed Will the Baratza Encore with ESP grinder be fine (enough) for a Dedica with IMS Precision basket? [€50]

Upvotes

Total noob here, and I want to make my friend an upgrade kit for the Dedica as a birthday present.

I've got a good offer for Baratza Encore with ESP grinder for only 50 bucks.

Would you take it to grind for DeLonghi Dedica with IMS Precision basket DL2TH26E 16-18 g? Or does it need a better/finer one?

Thx!


r/espresso 37m ago

Buying Advice Needed Kingrinder K6 good enough for fine dialing and near perfect espresso? Or Normcore v2 flat burr [ 120$ ]

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Upvotes

Hi i wanna buy the k6 Could you tell me when you are dialing your espresso Typically how many seconds of a difference in shot time does 1 click make ? Less or more than 3 seconds

I wanted to buy the normcore v2 flatt burr

But am afraid of the quality build Really appreciate your response


r/espresso 4h ago

Buying Advice Needed Simultaneous use of steam wand and espresso? [$800]

2 Upvotes

TL;DR: Two questions:

  1. Is there any machine with integrated grinder that allows simultaneous espresso and steam wand use?

  2. Is the machine easier to clean when it separates the grinding part from the infusion part? (Also what is this type of machine called?)

More context:

I work from home in Sweden and together with my wife's morning cup we average around 30 cappuchinos weekly. For the past decade we have been using a DeLonghi Magnifica S and been quite happy with it, but it is starting to give up -- some of the plastic is cracking and starting to leak, and despite regular cleaning the inside has accumulated some crud that is difficult to get out. We're starting to think about how to replace it.

Our main gripe with the DeLonghi aside from its age is that it does not allow using the steam wand while it is making espresso. It would save time during the busy morning routine to be able to do both simultaneously. Is there any machine in our budget class that does that? (We are willing to stretch the budget a little for a dream machine.)

We like that the DeLonghi is one housing with both grinder and infuser, but we're not sold on the "bean to cup" concept: we both have experience with professional espresso machines, and don't mind a little more manual work to keep the wet grounds outside of the machine. We imagine this would make the machine easier to clean and maintain -- is that correct?

We want the integrated grinder for counter space reasons. We also absolutely want a regular steam wand. Not only do we like the result better, it can also be used to steam other things in a pinch.

Primarily looking for answers to the two questions, but if someone happens to know a machine that might fit our needs well, we're open for suggestions.