Coffee gear and discussion thread

Shop Knives and stones on ebay
Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Uhh, how much for the Silvano? Sis/BIL were looking at Brewtus...
 
rahimlee54 said:
I have pretty much just sat down had to drive a decent ways to pick it up. This was a review for a local coffee forum, the guy that runs the place wanted to keep it but with his already great setup couldn't justify the money so I got a new machine at an incredible price. I didn't think I'd ever have anything at this level but I couldn't resist it.
La Marzocco GS3 /QUOTE]

Congrats re. great buy and having the space for it :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
 
Yes awesome machine!

You can really make the God Shots on those once you take some time to get to know it, slight mods to. I have always loved working on LaMrz machines, and for home its just awesome.

:)
 
I'll actually pull a shot tonight and see how it goes. Had to take a day off the gym to clean and read instructions and set the thing up. I have a hard time missing my workouts but sometimes you need to drink a few espressi.
 
rahimlee54 said:
I'll actually pull a shot tonight and see how it goes. Had to take a day off the gym to clean and read instructions and set the thing up. I have a hard time missing my workouts but sometimes you need to drink a few espressi.
Click to expand...


There is a lot you can adjust.
Group pressure, I think pressure profiles?
Temp at head, boiler, etc.
Pretty deep kit!
 
Congrats on the GS3!!! Are you going one step further and getting the Strada MP mod?
 
rahimlee54 said:
I have pretty much just sat down had to drive a decent ways to pick it up. This was a review for a local coffee forum, the guy that runs the place wanted to keep it but with his already great setup couldn't justify the money so I got a new machine at an incredible price. I didn't think I'd ever have anything at this level but I couldn't resist it.\
Click to expand...
Sweet! You will love it. I got one 4 years ago as a wedding present for my wife and I. Once the credit card bill was paid I never regretted the purchase :biggrin:
 
WildBoar said:
Sweet! You will love it. I got one 4 years ago as a wedding present for my wife and I. Once the credit card bill was paid I never regretted the purchase :biggrin:
Click to expand...

That's a *really* nice wedding present :doublethumbsup:
 
Got everything setup and pulled a couple of shots, as good as my old machine but I am still getting a feel for it. Ruined some perfectly good milk by steaming it poorly for my wife, and I couldn't figured out how to turn the thing off haha. It should be a fun learning experience and an awesome piece of equipment.
 
Steaming was the toughest thing for me to nail down. It goes quick if you are only steaming enough for one cappa. When I bought mine it was common for people to change out the wand, but I stuck with the stock one. Not sure if the wand on the current machines is the same one or not.
 
My stock wand is very very powerful! Took me a while to get used to it, and I still have problems with it from time to time. I've found that it's easiest to steam a small amount of milk (< 4oz) using an 8oz pitcher. I submerge the tip for just a second or two to get some hissing, then I plunge it to get the whirlpool going.

If you're looking to do a short cap or machiato, you're just going to have to accept the fact that you're going to dump some milk. I usually dump just a bit off the top which happens to be the most fluffy anyway.

A friend swears by his sproline tip. I'm not sure if I'm ready to spend the $100+ on it.
 
rahimlee54 said:
Got everything setup and pulled a couple of shots, as good as my old machine but I am still getting a feel for it. Ruined some perfectly good milk by steaming it poorly for my wife, and I couldn't figured out how to turn the thing off haha. It should be a fun learning experience and an awesome piece of equipment.
Click to expand...

Turning off the machine? or the steam wand? Take caution turning off the machine!!! if you push the wrong button, you might get a handful of hot water from the tea spout.
 
vinster said:
Take caution turning off the machine!!! if you push the wrong button, you might get a handful of hot water from the tea spout.
Click to expand...
This WILL happen. A bunch! They really do not intend for the machine to be turned on and off a lot. I'm surprised they have not changed that over the last 4+ years.

For frothing, I go with the same amount of milk (around 3-3.5 oz) and pitcher size as Vinster. I initially used a bigger pitcher but it just did not work.
 
One for good measure why not
IMG_20130913_181004.jpg


Thanks for all the good info here guys, its been helpful.
 
AFKitchenknivesguy said:
I just ordered some Rustico and Toscano from Counter Culture, would love to pull those shots with that!
Click to expand...

That shot is Rustico, it is prob my favorite blend from them.

I can't do any work to this for quite sometime, a new shower install and espresso machine all within a couple of weeks of one another makes my bank account sad :lol2:.
 
Jason, thanks for the link! That's great stuff. I only ever visit CG or HB once in a blue moon, usually when I'm shopping or have a problem.

Anybody know if black palm can be turned? I can imagine a steam knob, PF and Reg handles, and a dosing funnel all in dark black palm with golden leopard spots!
 
SameGuy said:
Jason, thanks for the link! That's great stuff. I only ever visit CG or HB once in a blue moon, usually when I'm shopping or have a problem.

Anybody know if black palm can be turned? I can imagine a steam knob, PF and Reg handles, and a dosing funnel all in dark black palm with golden leopard spots!
Click to expand...

Ask Dave (in the link). Ironically, he is from my the town next to my home town. Never met him in person, but he did turn me knobs for my Vebiemme.
 
Black palm is tough to turn. It needs stabilized first or you get really bad tearout.

I turned the levers and porta-handle on my Elektra out of curly maple. Lovely wood, and it responds really well to dyes.
 
You guys should put up some pics of your tampers and other such mods, always cool to see what people have done.
 
man I could use a good coffee right about now. Too bad machine is at home and what we have at work is beyond your worse nightmares.

Speaking of Tampers, I been considering a new Torr Titanium model, 50/50 on flat vs convex this time round?
 
Did you notice the "slack" with the VST baskets? They're 58.35 mm instead of the standard LM or Synesso 58.0 mm. I am considering either a Cafelat in 58.35, or a new base from Reg at 58.3 mm.
 
Meanwhile, I think I found the source of my poor extractions... I changed the shower screen on the Silvia's group head. Holy cow, what a difference! I guess five-plus years of daily scrubbing with a Pallö brush took its toll and caused really poor dispersion. The water now comes out evenly across the entire screen instead of a few strong streams near the middle.

Of course, now I have to adjust the grind and tamp again because without all the channeling it seems like it's almost choking.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top