# I had to jump in somewhere...



## lhavelund (Dec 28, 2018)

...so the deep end it is.










Eureka Mignon Mk2 with a Quick Mill Verona -- all pre-loved, but new to me!

I've yet to pull a good shot (and I'm down ~400g coffee already), but I'm sure I'll get there.


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Congratulations


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## lhavelund (Dec 28, 2018)

MildredM said:


> Congratulations


Thank you! The first baby steps are both exciting and frustrating, but I'm sure I'll get there with experimentation (although I may need to find some affordable beans to keep dialling in...)


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Affordable but still decent beans


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

lhavelund said:


> Thank you! The first baby steps are both exciting and frustrating, but I'm sure I'll get there with experimentation (although I may need to find some affordable beans to keep dialling in...)


Buy the beans that you want, don't waste your time with rubbish beans.

Find your zero point on the Mignon, I.e.: where the burrs touch:

Grinder off, plug off the mains, hopper off, spin the burrs with your fingers and turn the dial until stiffs up. Then, in the opposite direction, go back about 4 numbers on the dial. That's roughly the espresso range. Tweak as you go along.

Enjoy your new equipment!


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## lhavelund (Dec 28, 2018)

MediumRoastSteam said:


> Buy the beans that you want, don't waste your time with rubbish beans.
> 
> Find your zero point on the Mignon, I.e.: where the burrs touch:
> 
> ...


I wasn't thinking of grabbing Kenco beans--Union, probably, from Waitrose.

Thanks for the tip! I'm more or less in the right area now (still a bit coarse -- my extractions are quick by ~10 seconds or so), but definitely almost there. Although a lot of coffee was sacrificed to get there.


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## Jason1wood (Jun 1, 2012)

Welcome and what a machine the Verona is. There's a few other QM Verona owners on here also.

Love mine.

Hope you get sorted with grind soon.


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## xpresso (Jan 16, 2018)

lhavelund said:


> ...so the deep end it is.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You've jumped into the right place, the Verona was my initial choice but just couldn't get one off the shelf, enjoy the journey.

Jon.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Get some scales and learn how to weigh in and out .

Dont bother with cheap beans , they teach you how to make bad coffee and don't really get you dialled in for decent ones (IMHO)

You've got nice kit, don't give it crap to use and drink









https://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?22879-Beginners-Reading-Weighing-Espresso-Brew-Ratios


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## lhavelund (Dec 28, 2018)

Mrboots2u said:


> Get some scales and learn how to weigh in and out .
> 
> Dont bother with cheap beans , they teach you how to make bad coffee and don't really get you dialled in for decent ones (IMHO)
> 
> ...


Don't worry - already have scales. Union is generally considered a reasonable cost:quality ratio I thought?

Thanks!


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## chimpsinties (Jun 13, 2011)

You'd be better grabbing something like Italian Job for about £13 per kg from Rave. That way you'll get more beans from one batch so your not just getting dialled in on a 250g bag only to have the next bag be different.

I think pretty much any super market coffee is going to be inferior to freshly roasted beans. A good guide I heard the other day was, "Look for the bag to have a Roasted on date rather than a best before date" if the bag is saying it's best before a years time, you never know when it was roasted and you want to be aiming to use it about 7-14 days after roasting otherwise you're probably dealing with stale beans. They will usually always run fast.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

To be fair Union coffee is perfectly acceptable and has a roasted on date rather than BBE. It's one of the few coffees you can buy in supermarkets that's not stale rubbish. I have ordered from Union directly (including the lovely Campus with the limited edition bird tattoo bag design). You do need to check the date if buying from a supermarket, so best purchased in the store where you can pick the bag with the most recent date. Order for delivery at your peril I guess. When I run out of beans, and need an emergency bag, I get Union from Waitrose or Modern Standard from Sainsbury's (same applies to checking the date and hoping one bag has an acceptable date). Of course, I rarely run out and have only had to go this route twice, but it's good to know what you can do in a pinch.

I agree with Chimpstinties though, if it's not an emergency, just order a decent good value fresh bean by the kilo so you have a good supply of one batch that you can get used to the new gear with.

___

Eat, drink and be merry


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

hotmetal said:


> I agree with Chimpstinties though, if it's not an emergency, just order a decent good value fresh bean by the kilo so you have a good supply of one batch that you can get used to the new gear with.
> 
> ___
> 
> Eat, drink and be merry


Definately this ^^^ when getting used to a new machine and/or grinder. People often forget the bean is a variable they can set while playing with other things & it ends up less wasteful.


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