# Spy's Home Cafe



## Spy (May 12, 2016)

Following on from the death of my De Longhi Bean to Cup machine and numerous questions and help from members here, I now have a new, more enlightened setup.

I drooled over some of the nicer machines on here like Bezzera, Expobar etc but my little budget did not stretch that far.

After contemplating the usual suspects of the Gaggia Classic and Silvia, I decided that the convenience of a Sage Duo Temp Pro was the right fit for me.

Taking members' advice I also picked up a lovely Eureka Mignon to perform the grinding duties. The Sage Grinder Pro would have been a better aesthetic match but functional performance won over. Thanks to Petehr from here for the used Mignon.

Picked up the Mignon last week and have been using it for French Press duties until today when I went and picked up the Sage from JL.

Here is my little cafe corner:


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## AMCD300 (Feb 11, 2016)

A nice looking setup...the Eureka Mignon suits the DTP height-wise and is a really good match. Let us know how the grinder performs for you. You never know how long my Sage grinder will last.


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## R6GYY (Nov 22, 2015)

Lovely. I see you've got the Sage mini knock box. How are you getting on with it? It is on my shortlist as it matches my other Sage gear, but I also like the look of the Grindenstein boxes.


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## AMCD300 (Feb 11, 2016)

R6GYY said:


> Lovely. I see you've got the Sage mini knock box. How are you getting on with it? It is on my shortlist as it matches my other Sage gear, but I also like the look of the Grindenstein boxes.


The mini knock box is a really nice, sturdy piece of equipment. I really like how easy it is to clean also. It is not the largest knock box out there but for normal home use I don't know how many pucks one would need to store before cleaning it out? Highly recommended.


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## Kyle T (Jan 6, 2016)

Good looking setup. That Mignon looks great and if its the one I think it was from the for sale section it was in superb condition. I opted for the Smart Grinder Pro and whilst it is great and does the job fine I do wish I had considered a Mignon. Let us know how you find the DTP.


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## PeteHr (Nov 18, 2015)

I seem to recognize that grinder









Nice that the heights are close - makes it all look sweet together.

Glad you seem to be sorted now and your setup is up and running !


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## Spy (May 12, 2016)

Thanks for the nice comments guys.

I also looked at and considered a Grindenstein knock box but decided to go with the Sage one to keep some consistency with the look of the DTP. Also, I didn't want something too big.

The Sage box is really nicely made, easy to use, clean and suits the DTP. I would estimate it will take at least 6 or more double pucks which is more than enough as I would wouldn't want them hanging around too long before binning them.

As regards the DTP, I have only pulled about 3 doubles from it so far but I think I need to perfect my tamping technique and also get some measuring to dial in and perfect the output. The first one I pulled was a little bitter and I think the grind was too fine, potentially tamped too hard and therefore over extracted.

Adjusted the grind and lightened the tamp and the next two were better.

I may spend some time during the week experimenting to get this right.

I am very happy so far with the DTP. The key reason I went for the DTP over the Classic and the Silvia, apart from the PID, was the warmup time from startup. This thing is amazing. It is ready to pour within a minute !

I still leave it for a few minutes more by the time I get everything else ready but the thermocoil design is pretty impressive in this regard.

Finally, the Mignon.

During the week it has been outputting some coarser grinds for my french press and today was the first time I tried it for espresso. This little beast can definitely output some very fine grind. Fine as flour and perfect for Turkish Coffee. Adjusted it after the first attempt to be a little coarser. Not perfect yet but its stepless design means it is just a matter of fine tuning and I don't think I am far off.

The biggest problem I have with it right now is that a quarter of the grinds are ending up on the worktop and not in the basket !

I know that the DTP portafilter is slightly smaller than standard ones at 54mm but I do not think that is the sole reason.

I am using it at the top position (there are two positions for the portafilter ledge) so it is pretty close to the funnel but I still can't manage to get all the grinds into the basket. Any advice/experience ?

Also, for the DTP owners, what is the weight of grinds you can fit into the double, single wall, basket ?


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## WilliamPiper (Oct 6, 2014)

I found this with my mignon- so I grind in to a small cup and spoon the coffee into the portafilter. Solves any clumping issues as well. I zero the scales with the cup on them first.


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## Spy (May 12, 2016)

I may try that. At the moment, as per @Dylan, I have pushed the metal clip half way into the hopper and this has improved things massively. There are less grinds missing the basket but still not perfect.


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## Spy (May 12, 2016)

One other observation on the DTP, I frothed some milk and it took a lot longer than my old B2C.

I have a thermometer and it took about 3x as long on the DTP to get the milk up to the correct temp.


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## Spy (May 12, 2016)

Finally, a photo of the nicely packaged accessories. I think Sage have taken a cue from Apple.


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## Kyle T (Jan 6, 2016)

I pull double shots on my DTP and easily get 18g into the double basket. As for steaming time I don't do it by temp, I have just always steamed until the bottom of the jug is too hot to touch. Normally about a minute I would think. Btw @Spy you mentioned on another thread you was waiting for John Lewis to price match. So how much did you get your DTP for? I got mine from JL for £300 and thought that was the same price everywhere I looked.


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## Spy (May 12, 2016)

I always used my thermometer and the same jug so definitely slower compared to my B2C but not a big deal as I don't normally take milk.

I got JL to price match Lords here: http://lordsathome.com/sage-by-heston-blumenthal-the-duo-temperature-espresso-coffee-machine.html


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

Spy said:


> I may try that. At the moment, as per @Dylan, I have pushed the metal clip half way into the hopper and this has improved things massively. There are less grinds missing the basket but still not perfect.


Do you mean the metal clip in the throat of the hopper that stops the beans?

I was talking about a metal clip that sits in the exit chute, but if it helps then great!


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## Spy (May 12, 2016)

Yes, I thought you were referring to the metal clip used for removing the hopper.


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## Spy (May 12, 2016)

Kyle T said:


> I pull double shots on my DTP and easily get 18g into the double basket.


Experimented a little and as you say Kyle, I can get 18g into the double basket


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