# Hi, bought a classic, found a classic..and questions....



## Chris.noavk (Dec 8, 2013)

Ok so hi 

I've been round the coffee block. Most enjoyable being Nespresso! French press was ok but me and my partner like expresso. Problem with Nespresso is the caffeine content! It's just weak. They have brought out a few new strong ones after talking to them many times about this, but to be honest it's still not there. See we have two very young children so we need help with the lack if sleep!

When I drink coffee I like to be smacked in the face by caffeine. The ONLY coffee that does it for me is Costa Coffee! Which is ok, but quite often my misses doesn't get time to go to costa. And to be honest we were spending over £15 a day most days at costa which is a lot when you have two hungry boys to feed!

so anyway, just bought a gaggia classic and just ordering the bits to go with it (burr grinder, non-pressurised filter, different steam wand etc). I have found a good roaster in Cambridge who I will get to deliver beans every two weeks.

So my questions,

1, how do I get my expresso to be mega strong? I generally drink dry capachino and my misses likes latte, so being a slightly bitter or strong expresso isn't a problem. Should I look at a high percentage of robusta?

2, we have hard water, but I hate filtering my water (those things go bad too quickly and I hate messing around changing filtered every month) I have thought that I could either just buy a ton of bottled water from Tesco and use that, or get a filter added to the mains.....is that possible?

3, I went to the tip today and a woman got a gaggia classic out of her car ready to tip it. I said I'll have it and she said it was fine but she hadn't been using filtered water so needed sorting out. I thought this would be perfect for modding the hell out of. Only problem is, I don't want to do it myself because I have no time/patience. Is there anyone here who can mod them? Looking for pressure gauge, temp gauge etc. I work all over the country so not a problem if they are not local to Cambridge.

Thanks in advance

chris


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Good coffee and getting the best out of your machine requires commitment,time ,perseverance and patience.

In addition coffee machines require a fair amount of cleaning / maintenance on a regular basis.

From your own statements I do not think using a coffee machine of that type would suit you.

You would probably be more at home with one where you can insert a capsule and pull a shot


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## Chris.noavk (Dec 8, 2013)

El carajillo said:


> Good coffee and getting the best out of your machine requires commitment,time ,perseverance and patience.
> 
> In addition coffee machines require a fair amount of cleaning / maintenance on a regular basis.
> 
> ...


Yeah tried the pods, they didn't work out. Cleaning is no problem, I have to descale a lot here because of water.

I know it may seem difficult to make a good expresso, but it's not that hard really. It's just following rules and keeping to a few variables. Once you have these down, it becomes easy and requires no patience or commitment. I'm not wanting to become barista of the year, just wanting some good coffee that has a good amount of caffeine. Having used some good quality coffee from waitrose already we have found that no matter what, pre ground coffee is going to suck for this machine.


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## GS11 (Feb 20, 2013)

Chris.noavk said:


> Yeah tried the pods, they didn't work out. Cleaning is no problem, I have to descale a lot here because of water.
> 
> I know it may seem difficult to make a good expresso, but it's not that hard really. It's just following rules and keeping to a few variables. Once you have these down, it becomes easy and requires no patience or commitment. I'm not wanting to become barista of the year, just wanting some good coffee that has a good amount of caffeine. Having used some good quality coffee from waitrose already we have found that no matter what, pre ground coffee is going to suck for this machine.


You will need fresh roasted beans (see http://ravecoffee.co.uk/ an example) and a grinder capable of producing grinds consistent and fine enough for espresso. Secondhand Iberital MC2 grinders often appear in the for sale section here around the £80 mark and are considered a good starting point. A proper tamper 58mm is also desirable http://www.creamsupplies.co.uk/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=1817

In terms of "mega strong coffee", once you sort your technique i.e. grind/ distribution/ extraction you will be surprised at the levels of mouth feel, taste and strength you are capable of with the standard gaggia double basket compared to what you are currently experiencing.....Lots to learn mind


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

It's eSpresso !!! Aaaaggggghhhh


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

garydyke1 said:


> It's eSpresso !!! Aaaaggggghhhh


Having fun......


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Pet hate !!!!


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## Chris.noavk (Dec 8, 2013)

GS11 said:


> You will need fresh roasted beans (see http://ravecoffee.co.uk/ an example) and a grinder capable of producing grinds consistent and fine enough for espresso. Secondhand Iberital MC2 grinders often appear in the for sale section here around the £80 mark and are considered a good starting point. A proper tamper 58mm is also desirable http://www.creamsupplies.co.uk/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=1817
> 
> In terms of "mega strong coffee", once you sort your technique i.e. grind/ distribution/ extraction you will be surprised at the levels of mouth feel, taste and strength you are capable of with the standard gaggia double basket compared to what you are currently experiencing.....Lots to learn mind


Hi,

yeah I have an mc2 on order. Will upgrade from that at some point though.

My my bean supplier will roast and post on the same day every 2 weeks.

I have also found a barista who will come and train us and get us setup


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## LizG (Oct 25, 2013)

garydyke1 said:


> It's eSpresso !!! Aaaaggggghhhh


The X and the S are so close on the keyboard lol. (I always thought it was expresso until I joined the group)


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