# Essential Starter Equipment



## Jason T (Sep 8, 2014)

Hi All,

A newbie to the espresso world and I was after a little advice on Essential Starter Equipment to get me through the first month or two of use, hoping to buy the right things first time rather than mucking up and making the wrong purchases.

I currently have on order;

Gaggia Classic,

Hario Skerton Grinder,

Rave Coffee,

Tamper

I'm looking at the coming days/weeks and I'm thinking that I may order;

Cleaning Brush:

http://www.happydonkey.co.uk/hd0021-group-head-cleaning-brush.html

Puly Caff:

http://www.happydonkey.co.uk/hd0031-puly-caff-sachets.html

Double Filter Basket:

http://www.happydonkey.co.uk/hd0183-gaggia-double-filter-basket.html

Back Flushing Basket:

http://www.happydonkey.co.uk/hd0184-gaggia-backflushing-basket.html

Are the above items too much too soon and should there be any other considerations, for example a digital scale etc.

Any advice appreciated.

Thank You,

Jason


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## Callum (Aug 25, 2014)

Jason T said:


> Hi All,
> 
> A newbie to the espresso world and I was after a little advice on Essential Starter Equipment to get me through the first month or two of use, hoping to buy the right things first time rather than mucking up and making the wrong purchases.
> 
> ...


Im also fairly new to this like yourself but can offer advice in regards to the non pressurised filter.

Personally I would order it straight away and dont even bother messing with the pressurised one.

I would also get a digital scale. Before I started weighing dose in and output, things were really hit or miss and I didnt really know what I was aiming for. Now I weigh 14g in and look for 25g output in 27s. If over or under I adjust my grind.

Like I said I'm still learning, but as we are in a similar position hope the above is helpful.


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## gingerneil (Aug 21, 2014)

I was in your boat about 3 weeks ago, and bought just about exactly the same things! Add a digital scale.


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## donkeykong (Sep 5, 2014)

cheaper cleaner on ebay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261516333657?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


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## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

yep get scales... they may be the single most important thing for getting coffee right (obviously beyond actually having a machine and grinder!)

I got a set for about £5 off ebay and they have been perfect.


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## Jason T (Sep 8, 2014)

Thank you for the replies and info, think I'll be ordering the scales and other bits this evening.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

A couple of thoughts.

1) You don't need to do a chemical backflush with Pulycaff all that often, and a tub of it will last you your whole life. Once every 3 months is probably more than adequate if you do a plain water backflush once a week. Also, it has been discussed on here previously that it's a good idea to remove the actual 'shower screen' before using backflush chemicals, because otherwise it can turn the aluminium dispersion block a manky colour behind the screen. This is also one of the reasons why there was a group buy recently for brass dispersion blocks. So no great rush on the Pulycaff front, but then if you're ordering stuff from Happy Donkey you may as well get all your bits as I think he has a flat rate for shipping. I bought an MC2 grinder from him and he kindly threw in a bag of beans and a shot glass.

2) Definitely get a backflush basket and a non-pressurised basket. The pressurised one will just stop you from learning anything about what you're doing because it's designed to make false crema out of stale pre-ground supermarket coffee.

3) You may wish to consider at some point when you're feeling like buying stuff to get yourself a naked portafilter. The point of these is to allow you to watch how the extraction is progressing as it leaves the basket. For one, it's kind of fun (!) to watch, but it helps you to know how good your basket prep (distribution and tamping) is. Or at least to diagnose problems therewith (dead spots etc). The only downside is that you then can't do a split pour, and if your distribution isn't up to scratch, you might get a little spritz of coffee missing your cup. But at least you'll know.

4) What tamper are you going to get? It needs to be a 58mm, and if you want to get a precision fit, a 58.35mm. I just bought one from Madebyknock, they're a bit dearer than the standard 58mm tampers that Happy Donkey sells (about £30). Also Knock sometimes take an age to dispatch, but when it finally arrives it fits very well and means you don't have to do the whole N-S-E-W thing with your tamper.

5) I haven't seen any mention of a milk jug. Are you into milk drinks or will it be espresso/americano only? If so, you can get a milk jug and a thermometer from HD.

Good to hear you're all lined up to get some scales already. Definitely helps when you're trying to get consistency.

Enjoy your new kit!


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## Jason T (Sep 8, 2014)

Thanks for the info and taking the time to write that up.

I've ordered the following from Happy Donkey, so I hope it will be Ok for the time being;

https://www.happydonkey.co.uk/58MMCONVEXCOFFEETAMPER-RED.html

I've bookmarked MadeByKnock for the future, they look to have some nice products.

I'm typically a black coffee drinker, that being said I sometimes like to have a milky coffee but not that often ~ So a half decent milk jug could be on the cards.

So to add to my list of future purchases;

Grinder,

Naked Portafilter

Cheers


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## prankard (Aug 24, 2014)

Some really good advise. Thought I would re-iterate on some points.



hotmetal said:


> A couple of thoughts.
> 
> 2) Definitely get a backflush basket and a non-pressurised basket. The pressurised one will just stop you from learning anything about what you're doing because it's designed to make false crema out of stale pre-ground supermarket coffee.


Yes, non-pressurised basket is highly recommended. Once you've experimented with grind settings and dose amounts. If you still are craving a stronger dose or are constantly trying to fill your basket up too much, consider buying a triple basket too. I've bought one recently which helped me allowing me to add more coffee. But it's preference. You'll usually just find a size of basket you like and stick with it.



hotmetal said:


> 3) You may wish to consider at some point when you're feeling like buying stuff to get yourself a naked portafilter. The point of these is to allow you to watch how the extraction is progressing as it leaves the basket. For one, it's kind of fun (!) to watch, but it helps you to know how good your basket prep (distribution and tamping) is. Or at least to diagnose problems therewith (dead spots etc). The only downside is that you then can't do a split pour, and if your distribution isn't up to scratch, you might get a little spritz of coffee missing your cup. But at least you'll know.


This is my suggestion too, seeing what you're doing is good (plus it does look cool when you get it right too). You can either get someone to cut away the base of your current group handle, or buy a new one from online shops or ebay.

Oh, and get a dedicated dark coloured flannel for wiping down the basket clean after, otherwise your tea-towels become black.

And enjoy coffee


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## MStambo (May 27, 2013)

Jason,

I have a Motta Stainless Steel jug which I bought from Cream Supplies. It's a great size if your only making Latte for one person, there's a good amount of room for the milk to expand in this size jug. Check prices, but I found them the cheapest when I bought one. http://www.creamsupplies.co.uk/motta-milk-foaming-jug-europa-350ml/prod_1804.html?category=491

Then do yourself a favour and buy a temp tag to go on the jug. If you've not heard about them, they change colour at a set temperature so that you don't ruin your milk by over heating it. Really easy, save's the need for balancing a thermometer in the jug. http://coffeeforums.co.uk/content.php?188-TempTag-now-available-in-the-UK

Another thing I bought that's great is a small rubber matt for tamping on. The matt has a little lip that goes over the edge of the kitchen work top that it sits on, I think it's a good quality product. http://www.madebyknock.com/lippy.html

Regards

Martin


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## Jason T (Sep 8, 2014)

Thank Martin,

Temp Tags Ordered... those tamping mats look useful, I can't see where to order/hit the buy button on Made by Knock though, hmmm.

EDIT: Found it under Store.


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## charris (Feb 17, 2014)

The essentials for everyday in order of importance:

1) Double basket - I went straight to VST since the quality is miles apart. Comes in 15g, 18g, 20g and 22g. 18g is probably the first one to get. IMS is a good alternative.

2) Tamper - Something a bit bigger than 58. e.g 58.3 or 58.4. Brands to choose from: Torr, Knock,

3) Tamping Mat

4) Milk Jug - Motta or Epsro are very nice/ temp tags as above

5) Cleaning Brushes, Microfiber cloth, pully , cafiza, e.t.c and generally cleaning equipment for the shower head and grinder. Backflush basket also.

6) Naked Portafilter - not essential but helps in diagnosing extraction problems.

7) Coffee Catcha - certainly not essential but helps in distribution. Helps a lot to keep your process clean.

P.S. For the Classic it is essential to change the steam wand to the Silvia one and to lower the pressure using the OPV mod.


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## Jason T (Sep 8, 2014)

Thank you for going through that and listing it all out.... now, time to search on this OPV Mod


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

You need a portafilter modded with a manometer to be able to adjust the OPV accurately. You can buy one on Ebay or borrow one on the forum.


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## Jason T (Sep 8, 2014)

Ah, Ok ~ I may give it a few weeks and then look further into this mod.

Cheers


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## SDcoffee (Aug 28, 2014)

Jason. I'm also a newbie but have been using a very similar set up to you for a couple of months (classic plus skerton). I struggled a bit with the skerton, you can replace the stepped adjustment with a locking nut to make it stepless which is worth doing (m8 nut I think). Although I got the bug and have just replaced the skerton with a eureka mignon - it's made a big difference. I also got non-pressurised baskets and did the opv mod, both well worth doing (there are some really good threads on here that talk through the opv mod, very easy even for a newbie like me)


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## Jason T (Sep 8, 2014)

Good info, I'll take a look into the locking nut mod but thinking I may purchase a grinder in the coming days, seems to make sense to go for one sooner rather than later (liking the look of the Mignon).


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Very sensible. You'll notice the difference a decent grinder makes.


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## Jason T (Sep 8, 2014)

It's just that I've got to make the right decision first time around, I hope, on the best make & model.

Looks like it might have to be a second hand Mazzer or perhaps a new Eureka Mignon.


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## Jason T (Sep 8, 2014)

I ran out of pre-ground Rave Coffee yesterday and tried the Hario for the first time, seemed a bit of a pain to get it dialed in... which I just failed at.

Anyway, I won a second-hand Eureka Mondial on eBay and got it up and running this morning, I think there's going to be a learning curve over the coming weeks & months getting used to it and adjusting between beans etc... but what a difference this thing makes, Wow so much easier to use.


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