Automatic Machines

[Nucer]

I know the purist will flame me but....  I thought I would start a thread for those of us that have automatic machines.  I just got mine at a great price so I am open to any and all comments.  It is a Jura/Capresso E8.  So far I have had it three days and I am using the heck out of it.  I  have it set for robust, strong and 2 ounces.  The cup comes out with a decent amount of crema and the coffee is hot.  Now I do warm the cup with some hot water from the steam wand so that helps the coffee be hot.  I am currently using the Yirg that Hannon distributed roast to FC (start of second crack and maybe a drop further). 

A few questions:

1. I am grinding at the next to last postion in the fine part.  Is that fine enough?
2. It says to only change the grinder postion when running so will it hurt the machine if I change it while it is warming up?
3. What should the puck look like and is there a way to change tamping pressure?

I am sure with this group there are answers for all these questions and more questions to be asked.  So I started this thread to see what happens.

(may not be the best espresso but it is convenient in Benbrook, Texas)

 

[John F]

Not a super owner but can't you hear when the pump starts and watch the shot?

If so you can adjust the grind as per normal....ish..

[Nucer]

Yes you can see all that and yes I can (have) adjust the grind.  I started this basically to get the thread going.  BTW thanks for the sarcasm JohnF.  I still haven't figured a way to adjust the tamping pressre though.

(love ya JohnF but you still can't have my Bud from Benbrook, Texas)

[John F]

I still haven't figured a way to adjust the tamping pressre though.

I wasn't being sarcastic.....not now either but why bother with adjusting the tamp pressure?

Unless it's giving you random tamps (and it's garbage if it does) you can get what you need done just adjusting the grind.

[Dante]

I have a Saeco Talea Ring for times when I'm entertaining a lot of folks at home and I'm too lazy to play barista. I have set the machine for the finest grind, maximum dosing, least water, but still get pale albeit thick crema. My friends love the "espresso" it makes though, and they all get a kick from "pulling" their own shots. Taste is mediocre, at best, even with our excellent coffee on GCBC. But it is so convenient to use and clean. The puck is firm and dry, and this machine has pulled hundreds of shots over the past two years. It is a workhorse for the times that I refuse to be THE workhorse. 

[Tex]

I have a Saeco Talea Ring for times when I'm entertaining a lot of folks at home and I'm too lazy to play barista. I have set the machine for the finest grind, maximum dosing, least water, but still get pale albeit thick crema. My friends love the "espresso" it makes though, and they all get a kick from "pulling" their own shots. Taste is mediocre, at best, even with our excellent coffee on GCBC. But it is so convenient to use and clean. The puck is firm and dry, and this machine has pulled hundreds of shots over the past two years. It is a workhorse for the times that I refuse to be THE workhorse. 

That begs the question: Should we be encouraging our acquaintances to believe that mediocre coffee is good? I'd prefer to crank up the HX machine & make them something really delicious and encourage them to get on the band-wagon, than serve them so-so coffee, even if they think it's the bomb!.

 

[John F]

That begs the question: Should we be encouraging our acquaintances to believe that mediocre coffee is good? I'd prefer to crank up the HX machine & make them something really delicious and encourage them to get on the band-wagon, than serve them so-so coffee, even if they think it's the bomb!.

My theory (and casual observation) is that we can't give them what they don't know they want. If they are jazzed by the Saeco coffee then they are jazzed and that is the end of it...for now.

You can give them better coffee but they either can't taste it, identify any reason it's better, or worse yet they just buy into it being better and tell you it's better but they actually prefer the other.  They can reason out that the fancy business you are doing MUST be resulting in something of higher quality but there taste expectations and previous experience brings them to a different conclusion than their logic.

I think it's a path and process that isn't scalable just by simply handing over a cup of "better" coffee.

[Tex]

That begs the question: Should we be encouraging our acquaintances to believe that mediocre coffee is good? I'd prefer to crank up the HX machine & make them something really delicious and encourage them to get on the band-wagon, than serve them so-so coffee, even if they think it's the bomb!.

My theory (and casual observation) is that we can't give them what they don't know they want. If they are jazzed by the Saeco coffee then they are jazzed and that is the end of it...for now.

You can give them better coffee but they either can't taste it, identify any reason it's better, or worse yet they just buy into it being better and tell you it's better but they actually prefer the other.  They can reason out that the fancy business you are doing MUST be resulting in something of higher quality but there taste expectations and previous experience brings them to a different conclusion than their logic.

I think it's a path and process that isn't scalable just by simply handing over a cup of "better" coffee.

A perfectly rational argument.

Reagan was an idealist: He tried to drag the people to his POV.
Gore was a demagogue: He's convinced people he knows what is best for them, and made them like it.
Obama's a rationalist: He knows what's best for folks but understands that even if you gave it to them they wouldn't appreciate it.

I like to think of myself as being in the first category, but I'm probably closer to the second. You're closer to the third? Heaven help this country if we ever decide to seek office!

[Dante]

Tex, sometimes I am just a lazy bum. At least I am able to keep my friends entertained with the superauto when I am not in the mood to be their barista! Besides, I paid good money for that machine. I might as well get some mileage out of it!

[Nucer]

I like Dante am a lazy bum.  I get up in the morning (4:30 am) and have no desire to have to fool with making coffee.  So the automatic is perfect for that.  I can have one cup of Americano and a latte for waking up as my sweet pleasant personality allows.  This meets my needs just as cranking up the HX machine meets yours.  I have had excellent espresso (trip to Italy) and you are right the automatic is not there.  So for me it comes down to convience versus not having espresso in the morning (can't see me doing all that work for a cup at 4:30 am)

So flame me (not getting sensitive just lack better wording) as you like but I am one happy camper with this machine

(In Benbrook, Texas)

[J.Jirehs Roaster]

I like Dante am a lazy bum.  I get up in the morning (4:30 am) and have no desire to have to fool with making coffee.  So the automatic is perfect for that.  I can have one cup of Americano and a latte for waking up as my sweet pleasant personality allows.  This meets my needs just as cranking up the HX machine meets yours.  I have had excellent espresso (tip to Italy) and you are right the automatic is not there.  So for me it comes down to convience versus not having espresso in the morning (can't see me doing all that work for a cup at 4:30 am)

So flame me (not getting sensitive just lack better wording) as you like but I am one happy camper with this machine

(In Benbrook, Texas)

for that price... I would have bought two... I bet the product is better than *$ and you don't have to leave the house...  it payed for itself in the first dozen drinks... I would love to try the lever machines... for the tinkering of it... but dont ask me to make as good a shot as that auto before I have had my morning infusion.. 

[Tex]

I like Dante am a lazy bum ...

So flame me ...

Nah, no flames from me. I always say, "...it's what tastes good to you that matters." And I'll bet that if you're using properly roasted, quality beans, then you're having a pretty good cup of coffee.

I understand convenience - I drive an automatic transmission car, eat my share of Big Mac's, have speed-dial on my phone, and Marie Callender's microwaveable pot-pies in the freezer.

One more short cut that sacrifices time for quality is understandable. Regrettable, but sadly understandable.

[Dante]

I was not lazy this morning with my Yirg IMV - 

This was taken about a minute or so after I pulled the shot. Couldn't find my camera quickly enough! I can't get crema this red on the Saeco, but the La Cimbali gives this to me shot after shot...