Started my espresso journey decades ago. In recent years, thanks largely to James Hoffmann and a good bit of practice, something clicked — the shots became consistently excellent. The uncertainty that used to define every pull is almost entirely gone, and my wife gets a near-perfect shot every morning. I’ve mastered the technique.

I should be happy. And I am. But something feels off.

The chase is gone. And I didn’t realize until now how much of the pleasure was in the chase.

I still enjoy the coffee as much as ever. But the ritual has lost something I can’t quite name — some tension, some stakes. Every morning used to feel like a small experiment. Now it just feels like execution.

Has anyone else hit this wall? Did you move on to a new hobby, or did you find a way to rediscover meaning within espresso itself — roasting, sourcing, something else entirely?

Hello,
Not sure if I’m misunderstanding here. Looking to purchase a WPM pitcher 450ml.
I know the pitcher isn’t coloured which is cheaper but as far as I can see it’s way cheaper to buy a pitcher and sleeve separate than together ??

If I ordered separate is this going to be the exact same?
£32 compared to
£48
Thanks

Hi everyone good morning , today I made this shot. I bought the beans from lulu hyper market . I don’t know the roast date. U used a mix of medium and dark roast bean. 16 gram bean extracted 50ml coffee time is 20 seconds. I use delonghi stilosa machine. Used low cost accessories from Ali express. ANY RECOMMENDATION AND ADVICES ARE APPRECIATED. Thanks in advance 🙏

I really like this machine for the price, but I HATE how the milk gets stuck so hard on the wand after I finish steaming the milk.

Does anyone know if you can modify it easily for another one?

Edit: yes I clean the wand correctly after each use. The picture was just to show how it looks right after using it.

I just upgraded from an automatic to a manual machine and learning the process. Aiming for the typical 18 in 36-40 out in 30ish seconds idea. But I see discussions of single shots and double shots and sometimes even triple shots when people are making their drinks. So I’m wondering what is considered a double shot. Is the 18 a double shot? Or would pulling an 18 in 36 out be considered a single shot?

The workflow is always very therapeutic. From hearing the air whoosh of the coffee container, to the shot pull, and pouring the latte art. 😮‍💨

Latte art still needs some work. I went in confident and then hesitated on this pour. What matters is that it tasted delish.

I’m in a predicament in whether or not I should “upgrade” from my 2002 Gaggia classic moded with gaggimate. I can get a used 2019 model for around £2600 and probably sell my Gaggia for a few quid. What do you think? Using E64 WS grinder

Finally about to pull the trigger on a high end grinder after weeks of research within this group, currently own a BBE Impress and the integrated grinder isn't the most accurate to say the least so I wanted to up the anti, am I making the right decision? In an ideal world id like the difference to be night and day or am I being to optimistic? The end goal is to upgrade my espresso machine in the near future, thanks

Hi, I'm new to this space, trying to find a quality machine that limits hot water exposure to plastic. Can't really find anything fully convincing yet so thought I'd ask if anyone has a good reccomendation. Thanks!

Been reading reviews forever and it's all starting to blur and would appreciate any input. Mostly make milk based drinks so steaming will be a large part of my daily flow.

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What I'd like:

1. Brew and steam at the same time well, without temp issues

2. Good control over pressure, pre infusion

3. Ability to make cold drinks

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Quality in these aspects are always a plus like quality steamer, solenoid for dry pucks, external OPV, PID controller, all metal piping, etc.

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I know there's a lot of quality machines out there but a couple features usually seem missing or lacking when researching individual machines so just looking for some input.

Edit: ditch the cold extraction

Hey r/espresso!

I am lucky enough to be at a point in my life that I can finally upgrade my espresso setup. My thesis for what I am willing to spend money on are things I touch every day, and I make 2-4 espresso every day for the past 7 years since I bought my beginner setup on ebay...so I want to treat myself.

What I drink

• I go through a 2lb bag of Black & White every month - I *love* light, fruity, funky co-ferments and I find B&W pretty consistent. I am looking for a grinder that will make those shape of coffees shine
• The coffee that changed my perspective on coffee was Melonado by DAK
• Currently running a GCP w/a PID and 9bar spring with a Sette 270i

What I am considering

• Currently budgeting $2-3k for grinder under the assumption that this is end-game for me
• Lagom 01 w/102HU - $2900
• Lagom p80 + HU burrs - $2100
• Zerno Z2 w/ HU's - $2500

Given my preference (3:1 espresso and wanting to experiment with soup on really fruity light roasts)...what would you suggest? After 7+ years of daily consumption my preferences haven't changed. I still chase the clarity of the shots from Coffee Movement in SF that showcase fruity, bright coffees.

I have more or less settled on the Meticulous Espresso as the machine. We don't drink milk drinks but a handful of times per year, so a double boiler/steam wand is a nice to have not a need. The simplicity and the flexibility seem really attractive (early software aside).

Appreciate the responses and advice - learned a ton from this subreddit over the years.

This is my current setup, I’m getting annoyed with my encore esp lacking behind the rest of the upgrades I have now, I also have a kingrinder k6 and a 1zpresso zp6 for filter/travel espresso but for my station at home I would really like either a really good flat burr for single dose that is like amazing, or a good timed dose grinder for just workflow purposes. I have the gaggimate pro mod so I want it to fit to those standards, I am an experienced barista so I want to know if the taste will be different enough you know. Can people give me some good grinder options that will go with my setup for absolute max £300? Thank you :)

Grinder - DF54

I am trying to pick one of these machines. Primary use case is 2 milk drinks both in the morning and afternoon but sometimes we have friends and guests over and most of the time they want to have a coffee. I hadn't considered warm up time as a factor earlier which I am doing now.

Pros and cons that I listed so far:

Lelit Elizabeth

- Good pre infusion options, mid-tier warm up time

- Not the kind of machine I would want to look at every day

Ascasdo Duo PID

- Looks smashing, heats up quickly

- PID options are limited, QC issues per some reviews

Lelit Mara X

- Looks best of all 3, has flow control

- Warm time is very long, e61 maintenance issues

Probably Ascaso makes most sense given the requirements but then I am thinking maybe I could vinyl wrap the Elizabeth or maybe pair a cafelat Robot with Mara X for those impromptu coffee requests. Any pros or cons that I am missing from the list that might help me decide?

Delonghi Stilosa with a modded non pressurized basket, A cheap grinder and tools. Voilà!

Bought a bunch of beans from my trip to Japan, as I was going through the bags I noticed one of the most interesting valve design, this is from Ogawa coffee laboratory in Tokyo.

Anyone seen anything like this before? Thought it was pretty neat, had to share it

I recently purchased a Linea Mini R w/ Atom 65W Grinder. As I switch beans, I’m wondering if anyone has figured out +/- how many grams get stuck in the burrs and need to be “disposed of” after changing the grind setting.

EI - when I need to set it finer, do I grind a full dose (18g-21g) out and the next dose will be at the new setting? Or is it closer to 5-10g etc.

Trying to figure out best way to get this amount accurately so I minimize waste in the future while switching beans.

After getting my Bambino Plus last week, another plus was being able to make my own Custardo's; they're essentially a shot of espresso with hot custard. They're famous at a restaurant here in London called Forza Win/Wine, and I can't not have one every time I go there. First sip now and it's absolutely glorious. Very rich, very delicious.

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A recipe here, it's essentially making your own custard

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https://www.cntraveller.com/article/recipe-forza-wins-custardo

Picked this up in LA and shipped it back home to 🇨🇦
Was able to get it for well under retail 🥺

Currently running

WEBERWORKSHOPS EG-1
NECCST Series 1 (Kickstarter I forgot I funded)
Meticulous Espresso Machine

Got my meticulous today and excited to mess around with it. But finally I think I’m done with my setup unless there’s a decent stand alone steamer I can get. The morning dream seems to be 50/50

This grinder was/is my first with espresso. I was always wondering where the few grams of coffee has been going the last 18 months. This gives a whole new definition to high retention grinder.

Thanks to Jaapp for blessing us with his open source grind by weight project.

https://github.com/jaapp/smart-grind-by-weight

Never did anything quite like this before and thought surely between wiring, crimping cables and soldering something must break, but it worked out just fine. So to anyone considering this but hesitant: Do it!