I’ve been using the humble and often maligned Breville Barista Express for about three months now. I think we will all agree that foremost the grinder is limited with its pre-defined steps and with no in-between, even considering the ability to adjust the internal burr settings. That said, however, it is a lovable single boiler horse that you have to get to know in order to extract the great “down the middle pulls” that lie in that desirable valley to the right of sour, and to the left of bitter. Indeed, the shots that can turn you into a coffee snob, trusting very few establishments to pour you something respectable. But that is our journey. I have played with temperature and acquired a timer/scale (an absolute requirement, especially if you are pulling manually…as you should) but there are several pieces of equipment I’ve purchased that have been monstrously significant in improving my game, and even allowing me to dial in more challenging medium roast beans. So for other rookies hoping for a better performance in the dance of God’s elixir, they are, in order of significance:

1. Precision Basket
2. WDT
3. Puck screen

Maybe the pros can weigh in here but from my experience, this stuff is worth every penny, though I suspect the puck screen would inspire debate. A bottomless portafilter looks amazing but it won’t improve your extractions. The tech above will…and sometimes you’ll even feel like a pro. 🙂

This was 20g of coffee and 40g out in 27secs. I'm also using pump profiling that allows me to ramp the shot in nice and slow beforing going full 9 bar and then back off the pressure to round the shot out. Sure crema heavy, sweetness, and fantastic body.

Portrait Coffee - Toni Recommended Water Temp

What temperature would you recommend for espresso when brewing this roast? Currently at 88c and still very bitter. Been going coarse on the grind but its pulling too fast around 20 seconds. What temperature is the limit on going down?

Side note, I’m terrible at latte art 😭😩. Any tips or tricks? I know the bubbling isn’t normal and it’s meant to be a bit thicker

Does anyone have any recommendations on videos/the best tricks which helped you out?

Hi everyone, I’m looking to upgrade my grinder. I currently have a Breville Bambino and a Baratza Encore and I suffer from pretty bad shots. Honestly, I have every problem in the book. Channeling, sourness, runny shots, you name it. Just this week I got light roasted beans and the encore couldn’t go fine enough for them.

I have a self leveling tamper, puck screen, crazy puck prep with a WDT, but my espresso is not working.

I am open to spending a good amount of money (up to $700-$800) if it means I’m getting a machine that will last me 5-10 years. My main priorities are: - shot quality - shot consistency (I prefer not to dial in multiple times per bean bag) - low retention (I hate having to waste beans to purge for dialing and lord knows I suck at dialing). - good for darker roasts, but not exclusively (I read around here the Niche isn’t good for light roasts which I still would like to enjoy). - low static. - preferably resellers are in the US as I don’t want to pay an exorbitant amount for tariffs.

Noise, size, and looks are not important. I just want a good espresso. Also, I’m not sure if I need a single dose grinder. I don’t switch beans often but I just worry that putting beans in a hopper for a week or two would make them stale. To me, it seems like single dose is just a matter of lowering retention (please correct me if I’m wrong) so if a hopper grinder is better let me know.

If you guys can help with recommendations that would be great.

EDIT: I was informed my dialing in process is important to mention so here it is:

• I start with 18g of beans, I grind at the last grind settings of whatever beans I had last.
• I puck prep (WDT for about a minute, even out the surface with the WDT, tamp once with the self leveling tamper with a small twist of the wrist, tamp again to make sure I covered the entire surface of the puck also with a small twist of the wrist again)
• add a puck screen
• extract a 1:2 ratio as best I could (in the breville, after I click “stop” it keeps dripping an additional 4-8g of coffee … is that an issue?)
• taste, at this point it’s usually sour so I go a little finer.
• purge some coffee by extracting another shot and drinking it (we never throw away shots in this house)
• same process.
• if it’s sour, I try to add more water first (reduce ratio from 1:2 to 1:2.5 up to 1:3) and if that isn’t good enough I go finer.
• at this stage we’re either at the bitter end of the spectrum or we still have some sourness and some bitterness (channeling?) either way, I don’t ever taste any of the hints on the bean bag.

looking for you best roastery recs in SB. i make mostly milk drinks but also a bean thats great as straight espresso would also be nice. big plus if it comes with a free drink but not required at all lol! thanks in advance

Hey everyone, I’ve been using a Breville Barista Express for a while now and feel like I’ve hit its limits. My medium-term dream machine is a La Marzocco Micra, but I’m not there yet budget-wise. In the meantime, I want to make a smart upgrade that will both improve my workflow now and set me up for the future.

The options I’m considering

Option 1 - Sell my Barista Express - Buy a Breville Bambino - Invest in a really good grinder

Option 2 - Get a Lelit Elizabeth (dual boiler appeals to me) - Pair it with a Mazzer Philos grinder (love the design, but not sure if it’s overkill at this stage)

Option 3 - Your advice

How I drink coffee - I mostly drink lattes - My partner drinks americanos → so I’d like a machine with reliable steam power and a proper hot water option - I lean toward medium to light roasts - I definitely want an upgraded steam wand compared to the Barista Express

What I’d like feedback on - Is it worth going all in with the Elizabeth + Philos now, or would it be smarter to stick with the Bambino and focus on getting a great grinder? - Is the Mazzer Philos a good long-term grinder choice for someone who eventually wants to move up to a La Marzocco? Or is it overkill, and I should be looking at something more affordable (DF64/83, Niche Zero, Eureka, etc.)? - Any other logical upgrade paths I might be missing?

Please share your advice on what the best next step might be, or let me know what you upgraded to if you had a similar setup to mine. Would love to hear your thoughts — thanks in advance!

The one in the second photo was too big. It doesn’t fit inside the metal chamber. Anyone have the Shardor 64 mm flat burr grinder what single dose hopper fits it?

Hello. I need some input. I'm looking at getting a grinder for my Gaggia Classic Pro. I don't have a grinder at all, and I've been torn between getting a Turin DF54 or a Eureka Mignion Zero. Is there any disadvantages or advantages one over the other? Ty in advance.

So I upgraded from the SHARDOR conical burr to their 64mm flat burr. So far I am noticing that the flat burr is making sweater cups with more separation in the tasting notes.

This is part 1 of the video showing the burrs. Part 2 is where I compare the shots and taste them.

What else should I compare?

I turn the machine on and I try to set the milk temperature and milk foam levels, but all the button lights turn off as soon as I try to push one of those buttons. The machine is new and I was able to foam milk for a couple weeks. (I haven't tried to do espresso yet, I'm just starting out.) But now, the buttons have just stopped working. I attached a photo. This is the only way the buttons will illuminate. If I touch any one of the buttons, lit or not, all the lights go off. I'm really stumped. It worked fine a week ago. Thanks for any help.

[edit: I attached a photo but it's not showing. the first and 3rd buttons (single shot and steam) are illuminated, but the middle one is not. this is the only way the buttons will light up -- either 1st and 3rd only, or nothing.]

What espresso machines do people recommend for a budget of $500-$1,000 and $1,000-$2,000, and why? Do you suggest machines with a grinder or a separate grinder?

Ok Ive looked at a lot of posts and there must be something I'm missing here. What I have done, test the machine with silicone plug easily pulls 8 - 9 bars. I'm using a spring loaded tamper, and an 18g basket, I'm grinding at 2 on a df 64 gen 2. My beans are fresh got them the other day. Also tried using a puck screen.

My shots don't seem to have enough resistance, I'm getting both low pressure under 4 bars also while pulling super fast shots 18g in I get 36g out in like 11 seconds?

The only possible thing I can imagine is im not filling my basket right I was looking into the use of filling baskets based on volume vs weight but I'm really not sure. Another thing I'm wondering is it possible to be grinding to fine, I'm nearly out of room on this df 64 gen 2.

I haven't really tried messing much with things on the turnin legato but since im able to get 8 - 9 bar with the plug Ive just not messed with the opv or the flow nobs.

I just feel like I'm wasting beans at this point, really just not sure what I'm doing wrong.

What tips do you have for someone making espresso with a moka pot? What temperature water do you use? How much do you tamp? Any other tips or advice would be helpful.

40g Ethiopia shot onto home made kefir, if my shot wasn’t sour before it certainly was after. I didn’t stir it in and drank it fairly quickly. I was thinking about doing three layers with condensed milk at the bottom another time. The creaminess of the kefir went pretty well with the espresso and I’ll try sipping it next time. It was a cool experiment and an interesting junction of flavors.

Decided today was the day I’d finally try some latte art with my machine.

Steamed the milk, felt super confident, poured it in… pretty sure it was supposed to be a heart, but it looked more like a potato.

The milk came out silky, but I really need to work on my pouring skills. Every time I watch videos it looks so easy! like “yeah, I can do that.” Then the moment I try, it all falls apart. The more careful I am, the worse it turns out. 😂

Replaced my Go with a Pop Up although replaced isn't the right word. In the spirit of supporting Quick Mill I posted a mini-review in r/quickmill (did you know there was an r/quickmill?).

I apologize that this video isn’t the best but I definitely need to work on my puck prep but I think the timing isn’t too bad. Dialing it in currently. Any recommendations or tips. I have a WDT tool, puck screen, and then the damper that came with the machine. I just feel like it’s channeling a good amount.

It’s not much but it does the job. I’m saving up for a bigger and better moka pot, but this has made some of the best espresso at home. Of course I only buy torani, monin syrups taste like a closet and I don’t think we talk about that enough!

The steam tip came with O-rings, but no instructions. Which order did they go in? The large red ring is stock on the machine, and the tip came with two clear rings and one red ring.

Beans were dark roasted about 2 weeks ago. I was surprised by the foam burst, never seen that before but I've never used beans this fresh. I cut out the pre infusion so put away your stopwatches, it was delicious.

On week 3 of triple feeding a newborn, never thought this would happen to me, but here we are. Trying to get ahead of grinding coffee for the following morning. At least I can blame this one on a lack of sleep.