# From Zero to ……..



## Awoogah (Nov 10, 2013)

So in January I bought a Hario hand grinder and aeropress, told my dad how awesome the coffee was, then passed on the Hario to him, and bought myself a Porlex (far prefer the porlex btw), so this was effectively my setup for the first 6 months of the coffee adventure:


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## Awoogah (Nov 10, 2013)

Then, around July-August time, I bought a broken Gaggia Coffee Deluxe for £15, deciding that I could make it work again, luckily my confidence wasn't misplaced and this got me to a place where I can make espresso better than most coffee shops (in my own humble opinion). And this is where I stand as I've joined this forum. Shall update as I purchase more equipment.


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## Awoogah (Nov 10, 2013)

Just to add, I replaced the shower head holder and shower head of this with that of a gaggia classic, this meant that I could squeeze a little more grounds in the double basket (just about 15gs now) but also meant I got much better water dispersal over the puck. The original shower screen seemed to be causing forced jets of water which I can only assume would lead to puck breakage and/or channelling, and its holder was a bit deeper which limited space in basket.


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

I've found that when jets occur with my classic it's because there is a small amount of scale in the shower screen. A quick descale and it's as good as new.

Could this be the reason for the jets with your old shower screen?


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## Awoogah (Nov 10, 2013)

Hey Milanski, I did try de-scaling the shower screen and it didn't make any difference. The Coffee deluxe holder had only two holes for water to come through, and I think it came down pretty high pressure, then started spraying through the screen, you could see the two holes of the holder in the puck effectively. The Classic holder has 4 holes, so water is forced through at lower pressures and then the shower screen disperses it really nicely.


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

Awoogah said:


> The Classic holder has 4 holes, so water is forced through at lower pressures and then the shower screen disperses it really nicely.


As far as I understand it, the pressure at the puck is regulated by the OPV valve so two holes or four, it should be the same if you've not changed the OPV valve.

I'd agree though that four holes is prob better than two for dispersion though.

Either way, if you're enjoying great coffee then you've done something right! Top job


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Milanski said:


> As far as I understand it, the pressure at the puck is regulated by the OPV valve so two holes or four, it should be the same if you've not changed the OPV valve.
> 
> I'd agree though that four holes is prob better than two for dispersion though.
> 
> Either way, if you're enjoying great coffee then you've done something right! Top job


 I'm not certain that the Coffee Deluxe has either an OPV or solenoid so he could be stuck with the high pressure and can't backflush either, in which case his mod makes the most sense.


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## Awoogah (Nov 10, 2013)

SoI was literally on the forum for a week and then this happened:









Whoops  well Xmas is coming up and all that. Mini jazzer modded for single dosing and a PID'd Silvia. All well above my skill level but gives me good room for growth.


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## glevum (Apr 4, 2013)

Fantastic set up, you should be very happy with that PID Silvia. You will get some great shots with that pair.


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## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

That's a great setup. You should get some fantastic results. Christmas has come early and you must have been good this year!


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## c_squared (Jun 26, 2013)

Nice set up...also loving the oversized pepper mill on the window sill...'cracked black pepper sir?'


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

c_squared said:


> loving the oversized pepper mill on the window sill...'cracked black pepper sir?'


No matter what you've ordered


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## Awoogah (Nov 10, 2013)

Cheers guys, extremely happy so far. The only problem is that now I'm pulling decent espresso, the next challenge seemed to be the latte art, which is proving a much more difficult skill.


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## c_squared (Jun 26, 2013)

Awoogah said:


> Cheers guys, extremely happy so far. The only problem is that now I'm pulling decent espresso, the next challenge seemed to be the latte art, which is proving a much more difficult skill.


There's plenty of videos on YouTube to watch but the most important thing if you want to be able to pour some shapes is to steam the milk well.


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## Awoogah (Nov 10, 2013)

I've been doing a lot of research, I've had two fluke efforts that were nearly there in about 20 attempts:









But most look more like this:









Haha


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## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

It looks like you've got the right idea with your pouring action (maybe not on the last one though







)but your milk is what's holding you back. It looks a little overstretched and a little under blended.

There are some good videos on youtube using water and washing up liquid. Try some of those to perfect your milk texture. Once you master the milk you will find the art is much easier.

Most importantly.... How does it taste?


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