Muscovite emerges from lurking--and has accessory questions.

General Questions and Comments that fit no specific category.
Post Reply
Weska

Muscovite emerges from lurking--and has accessory questions.

Post by Weska »

After dithering extensively over how to upgrade from my Gaggia Classic, I decided to order an S1. Lurking at this forum was quite instrumental in swinging the choice in that direction. The order is placed, and my much anticipated machine will arrrive in a few weeks depending on how long Russian customs hangs on to it.

So greetings and thanks to all here who have been my facilitator/enablers!

Living in Moscow means that the range of accessories I would like is not something I can find locally and shipping here is either prohibitively expensive or simply not risked by many retailers. However, my colleague will be in the US in July and is willing to haul accessories back for me. This gives me a good opportunity to accesorize, and I'm looking for advice.

Is there any concensus about flat or convex tamper shape? My current base is convex and works well enough, so if no one thinks it a bad idea, I would take that route again.

Will a nominal 53mm tamper work well? I can get either a replacement piston for my Reg Barber with a new piston made to the tenth of a millimeter or, for a slightly lower price, buy 1st Line's complete tamper with wooden handle with a 53mm nominal size chromed ss piston. Would the Reg sized to 53 and some fraction do a better job than the 1st Line one?

I now have the aluminum 58mm piston for use with my Gaggia. Although its fit permits a wall of grounds to form at the edge, it doesn't drive me crazy. However, I do have the feeling that a tighter tamper might be a good thing.

Does anyone have experience with the 1st Line bottomless pf? It is said to come with a triple basket, and it seems like a reasonable choice.[/b]
Barry

Post by Barry »

Congratulations, I believe you will be happy with your choice of machines.

1. I am not aware of a consensus on either this forum or the coffeegeek web site. I have tried both and can taste no difference, nor do I have a greater degree of channeling with one vs. the other. I believe David Schomer leans towards convex.

2. You will be fine with a nominal 53mm. It will allow a slight wall of grounds, nothing that a slight tap will not eliminate. I had one that was slightly larger and I prefered the extra .5mm vs. having constant contact with the sides of the basket.

3. No comment on the 1st line bottomless, I drilled out my own. In my opinion, the benefits are exagerated. It helps determine if you are channeling, but I cannot tell a difference in taste or crema production.

Regards,
Barry
BillK

Post by BillK »

Yo Comrade Weska,

I have a 53 mm convex tamper, which is about 0.8 mm undersized based on the actual basket size at the ridge. Don't ask me why, but it works great. I do a fairly light, four corners tamp, then a straight push, then polish. I think it works better than when I had a machine that used 58 mm baskets and my tamper fit "perfectly".

I think you have made a pretty good choice of machines; the longer I have the S1 the more I appreciate the quality and performance. I have never for a second had buyer's remorse.

Maybe you would like to say a few words about espresso in Moscow. Are Moscovites infatuated with oily, charred beans like we are over here? Is specialty coffee a big thing there?
padillatim

Post by padillatim »

I have been using 3 different tampers:

Reg Barber 53.5 flat
Reg Barber 53.5 Euro Curve
Espressso Vivace Ergo Packer 54mm that Reg turned down to a 53.5

So I guess you have figured that I like the 53.5 size ;) I actually have a 53.0 Ergo Packer base to compare and I do prefer the 53.5. I go back and forth between the Reg Euro Curve and the Ergo Packer, but I do prefer the convex vs. flat. The Reg is more convex than the Ergo Packer, but the results are very similar. Since you already have a Reg Barber handle, you could go for just a base - coincidentally the Ergo Packer base will fit on a Reg Handle.

I do not think there will be a difference in fucntion between different bottomless PF's and they will all have started with a Spaziale PF. I have one from Chris Coffee with machining by Lino - it is really nice.

Good luck in Moscow!
Weska

Post by Weska »

Thank you, guys, for the answers and for the welcome.

I think I'll split the difference on the tamper and order a Reg Barber base at 53.3 mm. Should work out tighter than my current one without much risk of being too tight. And I'll stick with the "American" convex surface that I'm used to. I'm encouraged to stick with convex because you all have had good experiences with that kind.

The 1st Line bottomless was attractive to me partly as a diagnostic tool, and I don't expect any difference in taste from one because of the path the coffee takes exiting the basket. However, it also gives me a chance at a triple basket, and I don't know of another way to buy one now that Lino Verna seems to be done with producing them. Might be that I'll be the first here to try that basket, and I'll report how it performs.

On the coffee scene in Moscow, it's different than in the US, although I visit the old country so infrequently that I may be losing touch.

Cafes are numerous and, as anywhere, really good ones are quite rare. There are only two or three where I find the coffee better than what comes out of my Gaggia. They are very good indeed, and I think they are world class. After the excellent ones, quality drops off pretty steeply compared to Italy or Spain.

The general taste for coffee is so far not heading for the scorchy sort of flavors that the dominant chains in the US favor. Instead, the big influence is Europe with beans roasted in Italy or France favored. That means they are rather dark, sometimes to the point of light overall oiliness, and not achingly fresh.

Drinks like lattes heavy on the milk are quite popular, but there are only beginning to be syruped coffees or other variants that depend on more than coffee, milk or the occasionaly shot of spirits.

Service can be elegant or almost negligent. Where the coffee is good, latte art is usually poured too. The shake of powdered cinnamon or chocolate always goes on top of the cappuccino if you don't stop them beforehand.

The flow of business is skewed toward the afternoons and evenings. The habit of going out for breakfast or even just for coffee either on weekends or workdays has not taken hold. Many cafes don't open before noon or one, but a great many are open very late.

Carry-out drinks are unheard of. I suppose you could ask for a coffee in a plastic or paper cup and get it, but you never see them on the street or in cars. The only exception is in the handful of US-style shopping malls that have food courts. Everywhere else coffee is still served in proper cups and enjoyed sitting at a table.

Sophisticated equipment for home use is still a market in its infancy. Probably, the bulk of coffee that most drink is a spoon of instant (Nescafe Classic is ubiquitous) with a lot of sugar. The first step beyond that for those who care more is an izbrik on the stove. Automatic drip systems have never been very popular. Those who are interested in espresso approaching what they get out will usually go for a superautomatic. Consequently, the availability of prosumer machines is quite restricted. What would fall in that class in the US and elsewhere is marketed here as bottom-of-the-line restaurant equipment.

In fact, I had a hard time finding the many choices I did in fact have because I was looking in the wrong places. One-group machines are hard to place here in businesses and are mostly special order items as my S1 is. The first S1 dealer I found seemed to be mostly a restaurant interior design firm that also builds in the equipment. They wanted 70% up front to order, and I wasn't happy with that.

I e-mailed to La Spaziale in Italy and they gave me another lead whose website said nothing about espresso machines. This firm deals in coffee and tea. They wanted only 20% up front and sold the machine for considerably less than the other firm.
Grant

Post by Grant »

Weska wrote:
...
I think I'll split the difference on the tamper and order a Reg Barber base at 53.3 mm. ....
My new S1 replaces my Giotto ECM. I therefore need to replace my five year old 58mm Reg Barber tamper base with one that fits the S1. I liked how the RB 58 flat fit the Giotto.

Because of discussions on this forum and elsewhere, before ordering my new Reg Barber US curve tamper base, I phoned Chris Coffee this morning and was advised by Mary to order the 53.0 tamper base.
Weska

Post by Weska »

Grant,

Thanks for the input. Too late at this point to reduce the size of the ordered base. It's already been delivered to my pickup point in the States.

I'll report back about the kind of experience I have. If 53.3 is too tight, I'll have to get out the file and sandpaper, I suppose. My experience my not be so typical in that I'm getting an Italian-sourced machine which may or may not incorporate recommendations that result from Chris's interaction with La Spaziale. Also, I'll have the stock basket, one of Chris's that I also ordered, and the one 1st Line sells with its bottomless portafilter as a triple basket.

I hope something will work out about right.
Post Reply

Return to “General Q&A”