Need help with buying a coffee espresso maker

Moka Pots are very good, simple & easy to use. Have been using Bialetti's for many years. There are a lot of Bialetti knock-offs on Amazon.

As I research this topic what comes out is coffee making equipment is secondary but gets talked about the most. Primary for quality is freshness. Followed by whether it's a blend or single source (like whisky). Get these and you will have the best tasting coffee regardless of coffee maker.

Nobody is putting roast dates on their packets. Ideally you want to start consuming a few days after roasting and finish within four weeks. Coffee doesn't keep fresh for long after it's roasted. Even less if it's a darker roast. But raw/green beans have a shelf life of two years. So raw beans are better to source.

The supermarket brands and imports have a best before date for their roasts which is in 12 or 18 months. So you see how quality drops here for the sake of shelf life.

As the saying goes, best way to do something is DIY

Get a small quantity of green/raw beans, roast them yourself then grind for your brewing method and now you got the best quality.

Darshan coffee beans (Amazon)



^this one from Andhra is interesting as you have a choice of four processing methods and they offer single source too. Wish the price was less though.


That's the roasting process. One crack for medium and two for dark.

There are coffee roasters available also to automate the process. Can even roast nuts. Review They claim 750 gm but in reality 250gm is more usable and the temp gauge isn't accurate. At most it gets up to 170C according to this review of a similar product. The lid has four vents so it won't fog up and the timer is a handy addition. Downside is you get a fixed speed of the arm. If it was faster then the job would be done faster and would be better.

Now you control the freshness and we have three coffee growing states in the south.

I see these comments on YT saying they grew up in so and so place and grandma used to do this and it was the best coffee they ever had. Nothing will beat those memories but I bet you can get pretty damn close.

There have been times I'd have coffee and it would be unusually good. The normal Rs. 10 or so filter coffee in a stainless steel cup sitting on a bench under a sheet roof. Now I know the secret.

superczar said:

As for the bean, don’t get too caught up in beans and grinding up front - thats something you can always try later
you should look for a pre-ground medium roast that has 90%+ arabica AA or AAA to start with. Lavazza Qualita Rossa is an excellent starting point.

Click to expand...

I'm thinking look at locally sourced raw beans and go from there. Obviously this only works for small amounts. If you need more volume then what you said applies. Though watching a couple of guys dial in Lavazza espresso beans on their espresso machine and concluding it wasn't upto the mark for espresso but fine in capuchinos or lattes

^+1 i get my beans from rhoad roast and they roast after you place order and you can choose specific roast level etc. there taste of coffee is many levels better. Freshness is the key.

booo said:

^+1 i get my beans from rhoad roast and they roast after you place order and you can choose specific roast level etc. there taste of coffee is many levels better. Freshness is the key.

Click to expand...

Yeah I asked around was recommended a local roaster but in India these are your down this alley in a warren somewhere. Nobody is offering this online as yet though I could be wrong.

The advantage is the beans get roasted as opposed to baked. Though even this will be better than most store bought ready made coffee.


He recommends the whirley pop popcorn maker and frying pan as it gets the job done much faster. The electric roasters take longer and tend to more bake the beans than roast them

booo said:

I upgraded my setup. bought Lelit Anna with bottomless porta filter

Click to expand...

What did you like about it?


From what I can tell bottomless portafilter apart from looking good in photos helps to spot channeling better when dialing the grind.

blr_p said:

What did you like about it?

Click to expand...

I wanted a espresso with porta filter, temperature control and pressure gauge and this was the cheapest. Also, stainless steel makes it very easy to clean and all the parts are available if I have to repair. Right now i am very satisfied with the quality of this machine. Only small problem is the porta filter is not standard size but very high quality. Since it is very small and single boiler multiple cappuccinos are a little bit slower.

Started looking at cheaper but acceptable drink quality espresso makers and manual seems to be the way. As in hand crank manual. This is more for individual use or at most for two.


Third iteration since HK based Wacaco put out their minipresso in 2014 and it's reviewing well. They even included an open portafilter


Only thing left now is a grinder. I learnt the store sold espresso isn't ground espresso fine but more coarse which should also work.

blr_p said:

Only thing left now is a grinder. I learnt the store sold espresso isn't ground espresso fine but more coarse which should also work.

Click to expand...

get one with steel conical burr like this one. you can go as fine as even the espresso filters get clogged up. you wont need anything else.

booo said:

get one with steel conical burr like this one. you can go as fine as even the espresso filters get clogged up. you wont need anything else.

Amazon.com

Click to expand...

How does it compare with the Timemore C3? Looking at the burr design it seems like a rebadged C2


Review comparing C2 vs. C3

Key with any coffee grinder is uniformity of the grind particles otherwise everything goes for a toss. This is why you cannot get by with some Rs. 1k spice grinder.


^1zpresso is a Taiwanese company and this grinder can do both pour over and fine for espresso. It just costs 4x more than it's mainland competitor

blr_p said:

Nobody is offering this online as yet though I could be wrong.

Click to expand...

I get my coffee beans from Blue Tokai, and they come in individual bags with a roast date on them (mostly, since they come from the Bangalore roastery, they're roasted the same day that they are dispatched on local courier).

I have a good quality grinder (Baratza Sette 270) and a Bialetti moka pot for mornings, and a pourover set for the afternoons.

tearphones said:

I get my coffee beans from Blue Tokai, and they come in individual bags with a roast date on them (mostly, since they come from the Bangalore roastery, they're roasted the same day that they are dispatched on local courier).

Click to expand...

OK, that's more like it. For beginners this takes away the cost of roasting and grinding and will be better than the big brands. The downside is you can't dial in with espressos and have to put up with what you get. Depending on how you make coffee. This may not be a problem.


They even have a couple of light roasts in there. Bitterness is the lowest with these.

tearphones said:

I have a good quality grinder (Baratza Sette 270)

Click to expand...

Out of stock atm. A more recent one is available that costs morea

tearphones said:

a pourover set for the afternoons.

Click to expand...

Pour over is a more affordable way to get into this.


Some people don't like using plastic so stainless is also available.


That's the set


And those are the filter papers. Reasonable price for a pack of hundred, made in Japan?

tearphones said:

a Bialetti moka pot for mornings

Click to expand...

Moka pot isn't espresso. Doubt many care if they grew up with it. It's a 1:5 ratio and needs attention to avoid burning.

You can get into a rabbithole if you want to but you need to draw a line somewhere.

In the initial days, had first switched to French Press and it is limiting in terms of quantity and time. Then, I switched to Haden drip coffee machine which comes with a nylon filter and explored paper filter options. Had thought about getting a full expresso machine but realised I didn't want to get that invested in coffee brewing.

Also tried grinding, self-roasting but switched to getting beans roasted a day or two earlier from the various outlets. I think I have reached a compromise that I can live with for a morning cup of coffee that is not instant.

blr_p said:

Moka pot isn't espresso. Doubt many care if they grew up with it. It's a 1:5 ratio and needs attention to avoid burning.

Click to expand...

Yes, it took me a long time to get good with the moka pot. Grinding correctly, filling the basket, temperature control by moving the pot away from the flame occasionally: all of this takes a bit of skill. And yes, it is not espresso, it has a lot more water in it. But it gives a pretty strong liquid that you can make it delicious drinks (like americanos and lattes), if you adjust the ratios.

t3chg33k said:

You can get into a rabbithole if you want to but you need to draw a line somewhere.

In the initial days, had first switched to French Press and it is limiting in terms of quantity and time. Then, I switched to Haden drip coffee machine which comes with a nylon filter and explored paper filter options. Had thought about getting a full expresso machine but realised I didn't want to get that invested in coffee brewing.

Click to expand...

Everybody will at some point. That's how you discovered where the acceptable compromise lies.

Right now all I'm doing is checking out the lay of the land.

t3chg33k said:

Also tried grinding, self-roasting but switched to getting beans roasted a day or two earlier from the various outlets. I think I have reached a compromise that I can live with for a morning cup of coffee that is not instant.

Click to expand...

This is where the market is going for speciality coffees. Takes care of freshness and acceptable if you don't want espresso.

Something else I see being promoted are these Espresso pods now that Nestlé's patent on them has expired.

Edit: replying to post #19.
If I'm not wrong, making an Espresso means using ground coffee powder instead of that Nescafe instant powder right? No wonder that coffee liquid looked liked dirty mud water and he was saying it looks beautiful

6pack said:

Edit: replying to post #19.
If I'm not wrong, making an Espresso means using ground coffee powder instead of that Nescafe instant powder right? No wonder that coffee liquid looked liked dirty mud water and he was saying it looks beautiful

Click to expand...

It's not so much the look as you would get similar with any dark roast. But the joke is he used instant coffee in an espresso machine

blr_p said:

How does it compare with the Timemore C3? Looking at the burr design it seems like a rebadged C2

Click to expand...

Pretty much every grinder uses same burrs and probably produced by same Chinese manufacturer. The only problem with these grinders is that you have to put a lot of muscle when you want fine grinding as it takes longer for finer grinds. The brevelle grinder i got is same conical grinder but with motor so i don’t spend too long.

My south indian coffee filter steel container is breaking apart at the edges. any recommendations for a similar device? dont want to fiddle with paper filters or machines. simple french press immersion type or pour over type preferred.

Lelit Anna is a good machine who wants a non-pressurized basket with PID, pressure control (OPV mod) etc. I own it for last two two years and quite happy with it. However to pair with it you need a good quality grinder, else you could not succeed making a good espresso. I have a Eureka Mignon specialita.

If you don't want to spend so much the Delonghi Dedica 685 is a pretty good choice. It uses a pressurized basket, so less fussy about grind quality and tamping. Produces pretty decent quality coffee for a starter which can be quite difficult in a machine like Anna and sometimes may even be frustrating. I started with the Dedica , used it for about two years and later upgraded to the Lelit Anna.

I use a Aeropress at office. Produces excellent coffee. BTW I drink black 99.5% of the time.

Dont try to roast beans. its not easy and you dont get good quality green beans for that. We have lots of quality coffee vendors/roasters in India. Join the r/Indiacoffee sub. You will get some info there.

tech.addict said:

We have lots of quality coffee vendors/roasters in India.

Click to expand...

Besides blue tokai who else offers roasting with date put on the packet? Any links

And