# Delonghi icona vintage. Can't seem to get a strong coffee from it.



## shayne (May 18, 2016)

I have a delonghi iconna its relatively new for me.

i love coffee and wanted to make my own shop style coffee at home on the weekend mornings.

The machine has a single coffee and double coffee depth adapter for the handle. The single one is way to week, the double is nearly there.

i like lattes and cappuccinos and they allways tend to be weak and no bite. I've tried lots of coffee but can't get it as strong as I like.

I seem to pull the water through the coffee and within 6-8 seconds the colour goes.

Ill list the coffee I have at home when I get back. Could you guys could point me in the right direction, for some strong beans, what size Grain to buy etc etc.

Ive bought Starbucks Christmas blend and their normal stuff and it's not as strong as the shop brewed coffee, I've got Doug egberts dark roast and it's not that strong.

my milk percentage may be way off due to cup size etc. I'll get more detail later when I'm home

I'm looking for advice to make my experience great. As so far my coffees have been rubbish.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Sounds like your grind is too coarse.

You might struggle to get more than 10g of coffee in even the double basket, use 0.1g resolution jewellery scales to weigh the coffee into the basket & to weigh the shot produced in the cup. Say 10g coffee dose in the basket, 30g shot in the cup...for a given grind/coffee see whether 20g out is better, or 40g out, etc.?

If your grind is too coarse, the shot will be weak & easily overwhelmed with milk, so don't add as much milk (again, use the scales to establish a shot to milk ratio to your taste). Don't simply try to fill your favourite cup/mug, be aware that you might need to pull 2 shots to get closer to shop style coffees.

If you get a grinder, you will have much better control over the shot.


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## James811 (May 10, 2014)

I have the same machine.

I use 11g which is the most I can fit it the basket, and get about 30g out and it's fine for me.

Im not a huge espresso drinker but like the occasional one.

You will get better results using fresh roasted fresh ground beans. But you may not be lookong to go down that road so let us know if you have anything to spend etc


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## shayne (May 18, 2016)

Thanks guys.

i have a good digital weighing scales, will that do for weighing my coffee?

so the finer the grind the better or stronger the taste?

where do you guys buy your beans? I'm up for buying beans and grinding fresh that's doesn't bother me. Never seen beans for sale anywhere before not that I've hunted for them.

I had a whittards hazelnut coffee tonight and it smelt beautiful and tasted hazel nutty but lacked the coffee PUNCH. So I need to sort a good bean/ grind out, sort my milk ratio as I am tending to fill my cup and am overdoing it with the milk.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

The scales need to be small & slim enough to fit under your cup whilst on the drip tray, kill the shot at, say, 10g short of your target. It's easy enough to find 1kg or 500g scales with 0.1g resolution.

Finer the grind the more coffee you will wash out of the grounds in the portafilter & strength will go up for a given weight out from your 10-11g in the basket. Divide the weight of the shot by the dose weight to arrive at your 'brew ratio', this is a useful reference.

Even supermarkets have wholebean coffee, most of us here tend to buy online from roasters, a good few of whom advertise on this forum.

Good electric grinders are expensive (relatively), at least a couple of hundred new, but look though the 'for sale' forum for pre loved bargain?


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## shayne (May 18, 2016)

Thanks guys, I'll have a look for a scales today on Internet.

Ill have a look for beans on here but may need some recommendations.

I shall experiment on the weekend. Thanks for all your help so far guys. Really appreciate it .


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