r/espresso

TLDR: What settings to adjust on BB+ to fix 1:2.5ish in 20 seconds? Or what else to do?

Got a Breville Bambino Plus and DF54 set up going on for about a month. Been playing around with fresh medium and medium-dark roast fresh beans (grind them when they are 1 to 2 weeks old), but noticed that..
My shots are always done at 20 seconds, with a 1:2.5 ratio. Taste varies - sometimes good, sometimes yuck. I tried using tap water and filtered water from dispenser (Bbyeol Atlas), no diff.

Detailed Steps:

1. Heat up machine with portafilter on and 1 empty shot
2. Weigh beans, spray them, and grind it with DF54 switched on
3. Pour beans into my portafilter, WDT, spin distributor few times, tamp it real hard with a spring tamp
4. Put portafilter back on, press the double shot button and time + weigh it. Pulls shot under 20 seconds (from pre-infusion to end of pump sounds)
5. Iced / Hot latte depending on my mood followed by surprise taste test

Bean weight: 16-17g (18g overflows so I lowered it)
Portafilter: Default one from the set
Grind size: chirps at the arrow beside the word “fine”, so if that’s 0, I’m grinding at about 2 to 4 lol

Timing starts when I press the double shot button.
Starts flowing between 8-12 seconds usually (this is alright I reckon) but the pump stops at 20 seconds and I’d have about 36-40g of espresso after some residual drips

Read that I can adjust the settings or pull manually, but not sure what directions to do so considering the grind size is already super fine and more than enough espresso in 20 seconds. Or what other problems there could be.

Any help is appreciated!

Spent the latest chapter of our webtoon series Coffee Company obsessing over espresso in the exact way a lot of us probably do in real life. Wanted it to feel like the kind of energy that made a lot of us fall in love with coffee in the first place. Would genuinely love to know if people here think we captured the feeling right?

I have been drinking coffee from a moka pot for over 2 years now , and even though it does get the job done and by no means makes a bad coffee , it however is not an espresso. I have been obsessing over this machine for 4 months now and finally found a good used one for 150 euros . Id love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!

We have been researching for almost a year now on what new machine we wanted to upgrade from our Jura and went with a Bezzera Sole and we are so happy with it. The shots we pull are so rich and creamy. The flow control is great also.

Breville dual boiler. Steam wand was weaker than usual and only spraying from one tip. Removed and cleaned with cafiza and hot water. Used toothpick to scrape out anything inside tip, and these flake things came out. Any ideas what I’m looking at? I live in Vancouver and we have very soft water.

Since cleaning, steam wand is much better

Ich wollte auch mal unseren neuen Barista-Corner zum Besten geben.

Aktuell steht da noch die Synchronika I drauf, weil die Estetika derzeit ca 7 Wochen Lieferzeit mitbringt. Allerdings war mein Händler so nett und hat mir die Synchronika für die Dauer der Lieerzeit als kostenlose Leihstellung überlassen 😀

Meinungen? Verbesserungsvorschläge?

Die Kaffeedosen finden sich links im Schrank. In den Schubläden sind Verbrauchsdinge (Filter für Hario, Aeropress usw, Lappen...)

Rechter Schrank hat noch Platz 😀

This thread details a failed part on a Fellow Aiden coffeemaker, and The Fellow Fix™ being applied, their publicly announced firmware solution for a failed, physical part that was causing them warranty headaches (costing them money).

I have lusted over the Fellow Espresso Series 1 as much as anybody. No more. I see no reason to believe that Fellow won't apply the same unethical solution to the Fellow ES1, a much more complicated machine. I'll stick to my GaggiMate/GCP, which also "permits" me to use a bluetooth scale. Yes, I am very disappointed in Fellow as a company.

I have an Aiden. I like it, it makes good coffee, and it broke. Sound familiar? It wasn't a bad break, it still made coffee, but an error started popping up on the display saying "Set showerhead selector to single", even when it already was. Some don't read underneath the warning, where it tells you, admittedly in very fine print, to push the button one more time to override the warning, and brewing resumes. Hardly the end of the world, but I chose to fix it.

I got online and found the culprit, the tiny showerhead selector switch in the center of the showerhead. https://www.reddit.com/r/FellowProducts/comments/1mzq7zl/set_showerhead_to_single_error/

Turns out it is a well known, well documented problem, one that has been a recurring headache for Fellow. They have replaced entire units due to the failure of this tiny, cheap (too cheap, apparently), user replaceable part. The tiniest metal part on the edge corrodes (this has no effect on the function of manually setting the showerhead), likely due to heat and water intrusion, and when it corrodes enough, it no longer allows Fellow's elaborate magnetic detection system to detect the showerhead position.

Since my Aiden is about a year old, I give your Aiden about the same amount of time until yours fails too. But don't despair, because the Fellow Fix™ solves the problem! For Fellow, that is.

I bought my Aiden used for about half price, and lucked out with the updated model with the stainless steel mesh over the water inlet, and the only "Add water" warning I have ever received has been the result of the reservoir actually running out of water.

I did look over one day and noticed my lid looked crooked, like warped upward but only on one corner (the opposite corner of the pic in the link). Heat expansion (yes, nearby that pesky showerhead selector) had apparently made the corner pop out of its seat. Hard snapped it right back in, problem solved.

https://www.reddit.com/r/FellowProducts/comments/1j9rjle/comment/no0tfg4/

I ordered the $20.00 with shipping showerhead (They don't sell the $1.00 center switch separately, even though it just quarter turn screws into the showerhead), in white because black is sold out. No surprise, right?

The very next day, I read this, a public announcement from Fellow, announcing their latest, 1.5.9 firmware: "We are removing the showerhead-specific logic". The Fellow Fix™. https://www.reddit.com/r/FellowProducts/comments/1t7crg5/upcoming_aiden_firmware_update_version_159/

They refunded my money on a Sunday, and told me to keep the showerhead when it arrived. Nice of them.

I think it is fair to say, Fellow does not have a reputation for quality (That has not stopped them from becoming a 9 figure company, nor me from buying their products). The Fellow Fix™ is not the way to redefine that image.

The Fellow Fix™ is the dumbest, most unethical, legally risky thing Jake Miller has ever done as the founder and CEO of Fellow. Instead of fixing an oft failed, cheap, user replaceable part, Miller has decided to make it go away (along with the safety feature and most importantly, the costly warranty replacements) with a firmware patch.

He ordered the removal of the feature, the SAFETY feature Fellow engineers thoughtfully designed, that warns one of a mismatched showerhead selection relative to the basket, which could cause the overflow of scalding hot water. This conveniently makes the faulty part inoperable, for sensing purposes, and will simultaneously do away with many, many future customer service tickets. He wants to save money, by reneging on his obligations to his customers. Instead of replacing a failed Fellow part, he wants it to remain, only go unnoticed.

Users will now have to just ignore the dead, decaying mouse behind the refrigerator. Future buyers will not even notice the mouse.

I can distinctly remember being both surprised and delighted, “Oh yeah, I forgot!” when I got the warning the first time. “Wow, how cool, it knows!”. Fkn A, Fellow™!

Yeah, it's just a Fellow first world bell and whistle (although companies often add forced "warnings" for liability reasons. Miller may regret this yet), but Aiden customers paid for it, as it was marketed to them, and he's only removing it so he doesn't have to send you a dollar part.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDvm1cIpC0Y&t=30s

I was seriously considering the Fellow Espresso Series 1 (Miller likes you to say the name in its entirety). I have repeatedly said the design is MoMA worthy, and it truly is. I told Nick the beefy steam wand is macho, and reminds me of a Harley tailpipe. I like to think that is part of his vernacular now.

But the build quality is of course unproven, and if this is how Fellow chooses to handle cheap, failed, user replaceable parts on the Aiden, only a diehard fanboy should consider buying the ES1.

When Jake Miller went to Kickstarter years ago, asking for money, I doubt he said failed parts on his products would be ignored, and their (safety) features eliminated by firmware. What changed at Fellow? What happened to standing behind your product? Has that business principle been neuralyzed?

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0057/6235/1219/files/Jake_MIB_GIF_Option_1.gif?v=1688142313

After a while of using pre-ground coffee and a basic machine, I finally built out a dedicated espresso station at home. Here's what I'm working with:

- Machine: De'Longhi EC685 (Dedica)
- Grinder: De'Longhi KG521 (conical burr)
- Accessories: Stainless milk pitcher, rubber bar mat, stacked espresso cups, glasses on the warming tray

The setup looks clean and I'm happy with the overall aesthetic.

The problem: the grinder stalls on fine grinds.

This is a brand new unit (literally 2 days old) and I've already run into an issue. When I dial down to finer settings for espresso, the motor runs but the burrs stop spinning — it just locks up. The moment I go back to a coarser setting, it grinds perfectly fine with the same coffee (a medium roast specialty bean).

The brand's technical support told me it was the coffee's fault — that medium roast is "too hard" for fine grinding. I pushed back because that logic doesn't hold: if the coffee were the issue, it wouldn't grind at any setting. Coarse works, fine doesn't — that's a mechanical problem, not a bean problem.

Has anyone experienced this with the KG521 or other De'Longhi grinders? Is this a known defect? Should I push for a replacement or is there a fix?

Any advice appreciated — and curious to hear what grinder upgrades you'd recommend in the ~$200–$300 range if this one ends up being a dud.

I definitely need to get a dosing funnel thing, I'm making an absolute mess. May look at a different portafilter, but this one seems fine. Any ideas on other things to pick up?

Still trying to dial in my first machine and grinder, as so I dont focus on what it looks like. However I noticed once she took a photo to send to her friends. Sweetest lady alive and this is what I have served her to start her day...

Good morning!

So let me start off by asking you not to flame me haha.

I’ve done a lot of research and decided we (my gf and I) should go for a breville. Good quality, not too expensive, beginner friendly. However, my girlfriend finds it to be hideous.

We agreed that the “Café Leon Dore / La Marzocco Linea Micra” looks very nice but would be an absolutely idiotic thing to splurge on, especially as a first espresso machine and with student debt to pay off.

Based on the pictures I provided, what could you recommend us? Are there any easy ways to have the breville look different and more in tune with our kitchen and living. Are there other similair machines with a different look. Or do you have suggestions or tips and tricks for me to take my Bialetti coffee to the next level?

Thanks!!

Background: I'm not an espresso noob, but am not an expert either. I drink an oatmilk latte every morning, and that's pretty much it. Like most people here, I enjoy the ritual of making my morning coffee. I have a Breville Infuser and a Breville Smart Grinder Pro, which I've had since 2019.

Recently I talked myself down from buying a new espresso machine (I know I know, upgrade the grinder first!), and instead picked up a bunch of shiny new accessories from Breville. One such accessory is a bottomless filter! I was pleasantly surprised that my puck prep didn't need to be tweaked that much, but I definitely am getting some sputtering when I pull my shot. It doesn't happen with every kind of bean, but it happens with the ones I buy most often (Zab Jolly Roger).

My process:

1. Dial in every time I buy new beans, which I get from local coffee shops here in Montreal. 19g fresh ground beans, 38-40g espresso in ~30-35s (I know if could be more perfect, but for my taste buds this is good enough!).
2. I let the machine warm up 5-10 minutes with the portafilter in, then go to puck prep.
3. Puck prep: grind beans directly into my portafilter using the funnel, tap tap the side of the portafilter, WDT tool, then a couple spins of the leveler. Tamp, add puck screen, then pull the shot.
4. I run water through the group head as the beans grind, and then run some more water after pulling the shot and wipe clean at the same time I clean the steamwand.

I've tried grinding a little finer, but then the extraction takes way longer. I grind around 8 or 9 on the Breville grinder, if that tells you anything. I have been digging through this sub since I know this question gets asked all the time, and the only thing I've found is someone saying that seeing the start of the shot coming from the OUTSIDE of the portafilter (rather than the middle) is a sign of bad puck prep / channeling. But I'm not sure what I can do to resolve this that I'm not already doing?

I've done a full descale, and I removed the group head to do a deep clean. The water admittedly doesn't flow through it perfectly evenly, but again not sure what else I can do. I don't know if the machine itself being level is a thing, but my floors are a bit slanted.
Another small but maybe relevant thing is that the pressure gauge hasn't worked for about 4 years :).

Anything I'm not thinking of? Please, all advice welcome!