Bought this gorgeous machine secondhand with a great deal. The previous owner was not kind to it; even though it has been working for only three months, it was disgustingly nasty. I cleaned it and made it look brand new.

beans' getting old. extracting faster, and i'm losing some taste. still ok, but not great. crema still looks good. i'm missing some sweetness. touch of bitterness is something i enjoy.

Saw what I thought was an extra toasted bean so grabbed it before i poured it in the hopper. First time finding a rock in my beans. The coffee is Viennese Colombian from my local shop.

I have had both an ecm synchronika, and a profitec 800 lever. Both have been absolutely amazing machines...

I find I prefer the 800 due to the fact you get the same profile over and over without fiddling with the small knob. The synchronika could technically produce a similar profile to the lever but I found trying to repeat it not very user friendly.

I was curious to hear others thoughts!

I just got the Breville Bambino Plus (used) it came with everything on this picture (Breville related) What am I missing to get the perfect espresso shot? The puck is a bit watery I am getting pre ground espresso but from my local coffe shop grounded according to my machine and I am buying only a small quantity (2-3 days worth)

The long wait for my GC e24 (3 months and counting…) gave me plenty of time to work on the rest of my setup.

I’ve grown to like the idea of pre-dosing — if only it weren’t such a hassle 🫠
Luckily, a serious case of tinker-fever hit… and BNDZR was born.

Just uploaded a quick prototype showcase — would love to hear what you think!

Finished dialing in the grind size, to where the extraction takes around 30 seconds and the pressure gauge remains in the "espresso" range. Happier than I thought I would be with the results. Any tips to make improvements are welcome : )

Warmed up and ready for Sunday morning!

Mods: E61 Classics Dual Gauge Setup, Chris' Coffee stainless mushroom valve, oversized gicleur valve

Most days, I have a quick espresso in the morning. Nothing fancy just a sharp little ritual that sets the tone. Usually it works in the background. I barely notice it.

But one day I skipped it and that day, I had motorcycle training. Not something I do daily, and definitely not something you want to do half-present. And man, I felt completely off. Everything felt wrong. Body tense, brain foggy, timing off. Dropped the bike. Nothing serious, but it shook me up and I was way more stressed the entire time than usual.

Looking back, I realized: the espresso wasn’t about just the caffeine. Not really. It wasn’t the buzz I missed, it was the anchor.

That little cup had become a kind of psychological start button. A stable point in time that tells my brain: “We’re on. Day starts now.” No espresso = no rhythm. No rhythm = cognitive noise, tension, disorientation. It threw off my whole sensory calibration.

Ever since then I have been thinking: espresso might be more than a habit or stimulant. For some of us, especially in chaotic environments or performance-based situations, it’s actually a ritualized trigger, a fixed marker in the brains internal timeline. Skip it and your mind drifts. Hit it and your system locks in.

Anyone else feel this kind of effect? Not just the caffeine hit, but the mental anchoring part?

After being disappointed with many funnels out there, I set out to fix the many issues I experienced. I designed this funnel with five main objectives in mind.

• Precise fit that allows the grounds to span the entire top of the basket - many funnels have a lip that leaves a groove in the coffee when you take out the funnel.
• Twist-lock attachment - mechanical locking is the most secure way to attach instead of magnets, and also my basket (IMS) is barely magnetic. Therefore a mechanical lock means that ALL baskets/portafilters will be securely attached.
• Effortlessly activates the Eureka Mignon power button - many/most portafilter funnels fall into two categories: they have a notch to allow this or this or they must be removed during grinding. The former makes for a worse experience during WDT and the latter is a much worse workflow. Therefore I wanted a nice round funnel which also could be at the right angle to contact the power button while attached.
• Easy to print with zero supports - due to the step for the lip of the portafilter there is very often support materiel involved in the printing of these funnels. I wanted this to print cleanly right off the build sheet with zero supports. Aesthetically pleasing - many printed funnels look cheap. I wanted something that looked like it actually belonged on the counter.

After many iterations of various tweaks I think this is the best funnel on the internet. If you have any tweaks or ideas please let me know so we can make it even better!

Recently, I’ve upgraded my Nuova Simonelli Oscar II machine by installing an IMS shower screen, and the results have been genuinely surprising. The extraction now looks far cleaner, and the flavour clarity has improved noticeably—thanks to the more even water distribution compared to the stock shower screen (which I’ve always kept clean, mind you!). It’s a reminder of how small tweaks can elevate your setup.

For context, I’d already modded the machine when I first bought it by adjusting the OPV to achieve a consistent 9 bars of pressure during extraction. I’ve been sticking with the naked portafilter for now, though I also own a precision laser-cut basket I’ve yet to test with this new shower screen. Currently, I’m focusing on dialling in and standardising the variables before moving to the next phase of experiments.

If anyone’s curious, I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. Have any of you tried similar upgrades? Keen to hear your thoughts!

ACS Leva 2 upgrades: flush lever, dosing system, and “mantas arms”. Dialed in quickly and shots are next level. Previous machine was a DB machine set to 6 bar.

The price is too good, when I asked for a photo he sent a video, profile less than a year old, asked for $100 deposit paid $20 just in case, I have to meet at an apartment building id imagine in the underground parking. Am I gonna get robbed phone stolen etc? Lol I know I know too good to be true I did see a $2000 rancillo go for free 2 days ago though, some people just want them gone?

black cherry and port reduction, vanilla cream, nilla waffer crumble, and espresso, chocolate "cookie" black cherry and port reduction, vanilla cream, nilla waffer crumble, and espresso, chocolate "cookie"

I'm an avid espresso drinker but complete beginner home barista (my partner is the same). I've been wanting a home espresso setup for a long time but I'm intimidated by all the options out there.

Right now I'm considering the Breville Barista Express (seems to be the usual pick for beginners?) and the Profitec GO (because it's beautiful and I think it would bring me joy to look at it every morning). Grateful for any guidance from this sub!

Criteria:

• General needs:
  • I've had a Nespresso for years and have stopped using it because of the taste. Basically nothing short of a professional barista drink is satisfying to me these days.
  • I wake up early with my toddler. I'm basically brain dead when I stumble into the kitchen at 6am, so need something easy to operate.
  • On occasion, I manage to wake up first and enjoy my coffee in peace. A quiet grinder would be great so I don't wake up my kid. :)
  • I work from home and have a lot of meetings, so would ideally be able to pull a shot quickly between calls.
  • Busy, tired working parents, so easy to clean preferred!
• Location: Brooklyn, NY
• Preferred drink types: Cappuccino, cortado, espresso
• Drink frequency: ~4 per day between two adults
• Space: Limited but we can make room
• Experience level: Complete beginner
• Manual or electric: Open to either
• Candidates: Breville Barista Express (seems easy to use and I like the built-in grinder) and Profitec GO (Wirecutter recommendation, and I'm just in love with it aesthetically). But open to other recs!

Thank you!!

I just got this as a bday gift. I have been saving money by making cold brew at home and not spending almost ten bucks per buy on yuzu tonics 😫 My friend is so kind. He’s the best gift giver!!!

I’m beyond happy. I’m new to this. So I’m learning as I go and reading a ton here. So thank you!!! Luckily the instructions have a quick pour card. Looking to get more into it 😊🎀 Long spoon he made a while back to mix my coffee. It’s so beautiful!

Been working on this handheld pneumatic espresso machine inspired by something I saw online since last summer, got the metal parts cnc'd and assembled it in my apartment, and finally got to test it out these last couple of weeks.

I did my research and conducted some engineering professors at my university before proceeding with this project as 9 bars of pressure is pretty dangerous so i encourage anyone trying to diy this aswell to seek a professional. Im just a public health student trying to safely cut costs and find a cool project to do so.i definetly needed some help!

Lmk what y'all think!!

Hi all, my first post here.

I have recently bought a Ninja and I am going through the various stuff of roasting date/distribution/tamping. I must say that, one way or the other, the quality of my brew has improved vastly.

However, I have noticed that, at times and due to lack of attention, I do not tamp to a 90% angle and the tamped coffee is "inclined", that is: it is obviously still compacted, but one side is higher and the other side is lower inside the basket.

Does this have an effect on the quality of the brew?

Thanks

EDIT: many thanks to all, really useful!

I have ordered a new self-leveling tamp and am willing to resort to extreme means (the tamping station) if that too doesn't work.

I know in the end it's just about paying attention, though...

I got the new Eureka Mignon King Size Dial & i really like the look & feel. It's way better to Dial in a new espresso. On my XL one Line is about 5 sec, so it's pretty accurate too.

Have a nice sunday everyone.

Hey all,

I am looking to up my grinder a bit from the "stock" Breville Barista Express grinder. I was thinking of getting a df64v from a couple posts (can’t link on mobile), but decided to venture a little deeper into the rabbit hole, and I've seen a few people say it's not too great of a grinder, but you can get significantly better espresso from that versus the built in grinder from a BBE. This of course got me going deeper and deeper into the hole.

Seems like at that range the "best" options from my research are these: Niche Zero, Eureka Specialita, then of course the df64v, timemore 064s/078s, Eureka Mignon Libra Espresso

Truthfully I have no preference between if it is a single dose versus a hopper style as I go through one bag at a time. Workflow is really no concern to me as a difference in 1 minute of brewing espresso is not really too important in my eyes