HemiSam

I may have to give this a try over the holiday season. Thank you, tyrion. HS

Interesting, Jacob. One thing I can offer about the Niche...what I put in comes out weight wise. It's impressive. I was not able to weigh loss on the Pearl. I haven't cleaned mine in a good while. It's due a brushing. HS

Thanks, Jacob! The timer on the Lelit starts when I pull the lever. I have the Pearl set so it kicks off when it senses liquid. So I can time the pre-infusion via delta. I can lengthen it with the paddle. I took your advice and am leaving the paddle static for now. Once I'm a bit more confident I'll start swinging it again....before the pre-infusion was 9 sec's or so using the recommended approach on Clive Coffee's vid. I'll play around soon enough. Too many variables and I won't have a clue what's going on which I believe was your point. Highly caffeinated listening to good music out back...first world problems. HS

I think I'm beginning to find a groove that I can build on. I tried the 20 gr in and more out...stopped at 36. It takes approximately 7 seconds to see liquid out of the portafilter (machine shoots up to just over 10 bar). Flow begins with multiple small streams and then centers out into a single stream which is a nice improvement (good recommendation in the Crema distributor / tamper Jacob). The time it takes to get to 36 grams of liquid varies...once it was a total of 33 seconds and once 27 seconds including pre-infusion... I have no clue but that's OK. By the time I had my steamed milk/froth done the crema was down 0.5 oz and I had about 1.5 oz into my cappuccino. It was delicious. Steaming the milk now that I have a proper stainless pitcher is not difficult. I have no clue about latte art but I have all the milk and froth I want which is nice. I'll want to try a latte soon. Thanks to ER and grawk and others I may have left off for your generous pro tips! Sam

Digging this with some morning coffee... HS

Is the oat milk satisfying and/or tasty? for whatever reason it doesn’t speak to me but perhaps simply a lack of experience with it. HS

The watch I truly want is never going to show up. In the interim… HS

Thanks, Jacob! I do use whole milk. I'm big on cow... Soy milk? The wifey enjoys it but I don't venture that far. Perhaps one day... Sam

What could I possibly add to this festive gem... HS

Good stuff, Jacob! That's quite a collection. I need a work space that big...one day. Well, I am back at the espresso / cappuccino game this morning. I had a lovely cup at a local independent shop after lunch yesterday and I was inspired this morning. It was not as good, and I did purchase their recommended beans, but it was respectable and definitely better than Starbucks or Black Rock (portland chain that's been here a few years). My biggest challenge is the flow rate. I put in 20 grams and I stop at roughly 30 grams of espresso...the flow even centralized / balanced itself out of the basket/portafilter. But...it's coming out too quickly. Done at just over 20 seconds. My tamp will be slightly more next time, but I'm fairly confident it is my grind as I had the same issue last time with a more firm tamp. I set the Niche it to 14 this morning. I shall try a bit lower next cup. HS

I don't think it's heavy for a home unit, but for traveling it feels like a bit much. Then again. you should see my toolbox on my trailer when I used to take my Challenger racing...packing weight. HS

Jacob, If I were you I'd leave that beautiful Niche at home. It's heavy and there's more downside than upside there, particularly with your travels down the rabbit hole on grinders...ya got options. Sam

LOL. Good stuff, ER. I'm already looking forward to the weekend so that I can have the Bianca kicking my arse again... Some equipment has showed up that will make my life easier like the tamp/leveler you recommended and I have a nice stainless milk steamer pitcher vs the coffee cup I used last weekend. HS

Definitely use it, ER! Have fun. I might be tamping a bit too hard and I might have the grind a bit too fine. Who the heck knows...LOL. I'll have a few more shots at it tomorrow. Need to decaffeinate before I hit it again. Fun... HS

Sweet, Jacob...that looks fun! HS

It's official...I suck at steaming milk as well...LOL. I did make a cappuccino / latte of sorts. Wasn't terrible but if I'd have paid for this I would have been disappointed to say the least. The shot was definitely better today with fresh coffee that came with the machine. I need a week off...or more to play with this thing. I'm headed out today to buy a bunch of medium roast coffee based on some good advice I received here and see if I can't get a smidge better before the weekend is over and I'm back to the office. HS

It's official. I suck at making espresso... Recalibrated the Niche Zero...that helped a good bit. At least the grind was fine enough to build pressure... More work to be done. It's going to be a good challenge. HS

More is moar.... HS

They look like a serious outfit, ER. I went with Clive Coffee. They are reputable and are offering a Pearl with purchases over $1500...thought a good scale would be a nice to have. HS

I am leaning towards this beauty given the wifey has provided an option with more counter space. Any thoughts? I like the looks and the idea of flow control. But then again...that's all in my head at this point. https://prima-coffee.com/equipment/lelit/pl162t-lelit-sp HS

That would be something. 71lbs of espresso machine...woof. Watched a good bit of James Hoffman today between to-do's. HS

I just bounced the espresso maker off the wifey given usurping add'l counter space. Game changer...she had a great idea of giving me the entire area under our cookbook shelf. Way more space to work with...woot! HS

$4k is definitely an investment. Sadly, the comment about inflation is spot on...craziness. If I were into the art like I am say into automobiles, then all day long. Few pleasures in this life is how I see it. At this point, though, I need to ease into the water a bit and size is a real consideration. I'm trying to be practical but I'm not very good at it... Really appreciate all the comments! Also, please forgive me for not going back through this thread to see everyone's thoughts on varying machines. It is where I should have started. Been toying here between family commitments. Bent on buying a machine... HS

The Breville Bambino Plus has a small footprint... Half the weight. https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/breville-the-bambino-plus/?pkey=cespresso-makers

It does look pretty damn cool. What all am I going to need besides the machine, Jacob? Scale(s), etc... I've got a good grinder...LOL