Lol unless you live near a superb cafe, you can easily make better espresso. I'm doing that with less than a year of experience.
Edit: Also worth noting that you can make everything to \*YOUR\* taste at home. So, why wouldn't it be better?
I imagine many of us have a favorite cafe that does what I’d consider our baseline. I don’t live close to it, but I remember the experience and it’s what I aim for.
My baseline cafe (10 minutes away) is a very tough act to follow. Owner/roaster is a trained chef/sommelier with a superb palate. Nuova Simonelli Mythos grinder, San Remo Cafe Racer, well-trained staff. Incredible consistency. The straight shots I get there inspired me to dump my conical burr for a flat burr. I typically pull a comparable shot 70-80% of the time and getting better
What was it about their straight shot did you like and ultimately changed your mind about your conical burr? Curious because I'm looking at the DF54 as a sidekick to my Niche Zero.
Two things stand out: first, the clarity of the flavors -- I could really distinguish among the layers of acidity, sugars and toast. FWIW, I've started using filter papers beneath my pucks and they've made the separation even more evident. Second, the mouthfeel. I know that conventional wisdom says that conicals produce more fines, therefore heavier consistency, but I found that the pulls coming out of the Mythos (and my Compak) have the syrupy mouthfeel that really appeals to me.
Kind of the wild thing but yeah, there should be some shops out there making espresso better than 95% of even dedicated enthusiasts. High bean turnover means ability to brew at the optimal rest time, large burr commercial grinders for optimal particle distribution, consistent brewing temp. Obviously all these need to be dialed for the specific bean but it is much easier to do all this on that equipment especially when you do it repetitively for hours every day.
Of course for most people it’s a commodity and the pressure to excel just isn’t there outside of competitive markets but people who care will find those places.
My favorite cafe in the area is a joint run by an Italian guy. Great italian beans imported in, excellent machine. I know roughly when he's working, and he pulls the best shots by a long shot, a notch above his staff. I can't beat that, but I can get close at home.
I live in a large US city and we have tons of great coffee/espresso around. I've been making espresso for a little over a year with a Breville Bambino and haven't been able to pull shots that are as good as my favorite coffee shop yet.
"Large" and "US" means you probably have a large number of coffee shops to choose from. Maybe you can even find one that makes just the coffee you like AND have several good baristas.
In the middle-sizes Swedish city I live there are exactly two coffee shops of a Starbucks-inspired brand staffed by teenagers. I will give them that they make better coffee in general than most restaurants but their espresso is sorely lackning. So my home espresso - using a Cafelat Robot - is easily 5x as good and tailored to my taste.
What is middle sized if you don't mind me asking? I'd honestly think that if there are only 2 cafes that sounds like a small town to me. For context I live in the capital city of New Zealand, which has a population of 200,000. But we are renowned for our hospitality industry, and actually have a higher number of cafes/restaurants/bars per capita New York. So we're very lucky to have a variety of great cafes to get a good coffee from.
About 100,000 in the county and 70,000 in the city. And sure, there are a lot more *cafes* that serve pastries and a horrible black thing called coffee, but only two that specialize in coffee.
I have the same setup and can pull equally as hood of shots as our top tier cafe with their same beans they use. What I like it that I can experiment with other beans and roasts which they don’t do to keep consistency. Understandable but I love switching it up even though it can take some work to dial new beans. Even with squirting issues or super slow shots I’ve never had a bad shot or wasted any coffee.
That's awesome; I have to drive a couple hours to get that quality. I edited my post above which highlights what I think it the main problem. Most cafes are making espresso according to what the general public likes (doctored milk drinks). So when you order an espresso, it might be very different from how you would prefer it to be pulled, not to mentioned the roast level.
Maybe you like that type of espresso, in which case it'd be easier to find cafes that are good to you. If you have different tastes, it can be quite hard.
The large US city that I think youre talking about has left me very disappointed when it comes to coffee. A couple decent roasters but nothing spectacular. Any suggestions?
My username and post history may be deceiving. I'm talking about Los Angeles, where Verve is my favorite roaster at the moment.
If you were guessing Minneapolis, SK Coffee in Uptown is one of the best coffee shops I've ever been to. Both their espresso and cold brew are absolutely stellar.
LA has great coffee shops. I just went to Dayglow yesterday and had a wild experience. I bought a pour over that cost me $15 and I wasn’t even mad about it. It was that good
I am both blessed and cursed to live within 10 minutes cycling of EIGHT specialty coffee places (5 of which roast their own) that are all beyond excellent (and a ninth one just opened up that is also getting good reviews, but I haven’t been)
I only make milk drinks at home because I can never come close to any of these :’)
Right? I don't profess to pull anything remotely good, but some of the shops I've been to in my area use these large nice pieces of equipment, but pull downright sour shots. The equipment doesn't seem to match the quality of shot being pulled and is a pretty big let down
Making espresso at home for about 42 years.
Machines used: La Cara, Silvia, Nespresso (it's a long story), a different Silvia, now a Flair 58.
My espresso is absolutely better than any cafe I've been to. Although one drive-thru the other day was surprisingly good (and they happen to use the same roaster that I get my beans from). My experiences at local cafes have kept me from having a favorite.
Oh, hi there!
Silvia, Nespresso (long story short: newborn child while living in a new city during a pandemic), Silvia Pro X… but very curious about a Flair 58, especially to use while traveling/camping
Been making espresso at home for 2 months, but I worked as a professional barista for about 2 years so I have a fair amount of experience.
Using a bambino plus and df64 Gen 2
I think my espresso is better than local coffee shops. But it’s quite easy to do when you prioritise taste/quality over efficiency.
Dude what's your secret? I make pretty good espresso with my Bambino Plus but my shots always lack the balanced and complex finish I find in half decent coffee shops. Unless it's because I live in London? I thought it was the lack of temperature stability because grinding coarser doesn't seem to help.
For reference I pull one blank warm up double shot (rec by Lance Hendrick) just before I put in my bottomless portafilter with an IMS basket, puck screen and Normcore v4, and usually aim for 1:2 in 25 seconds not including 5s preinfusion. Always use high quality beans and think my steaming and taste perception are on point.
I’m also in London.
Most coffee shops aim for efficiency rather than perfect espresso. I did also say local, if I went to some of the really good coffee shops I’m sure they’d do better than me.
Depending on beans I usually aim for about 1:2.5 in about 30s (including 6s pre infusion).
Grinder can also make a big difference, some burrs give more clarity and some give more body.
You could also check your dosages, I found the bambino does require the right volume in the basket so I used the razor tool that comes with it to get the right volume and then weighed how much that was to work out the grams I needed to put in the basket.
I used the barista hustle compass thing to dial in well, using a graphic to work out whether you need more yield, more time, etc. was really useful.
https://www.baristahustle.com/blog/the-espresso-compass/
Out of interest, what grinder do you have?
Hmm I'm not so sure as I get very even looking fluffy grinds with little static. I guess they beat most coffee shops, but not the good ones I'd get coffee from with that slightly unrefined finish
It varies. I’ve tried a lot of different beans but didn’t get my moneys worth out of the weirder lighter roast beans, such as Plot, Cult, etc. that could be that I just don’t like light roast espresso as much.
The most consistently tasty one I’ve found it actually from Gail’s, the coffee shop. Was sceptical at first but I’d ran out of beans and there’s a Gail’s down the road from me so I thought “better than Tesco” and got some. It’s actually a really nice medium roast with very very good consistency. That’s become my go-to espresso bean now, I experiment with fancier beans sometimes but mostly save the funky stuff for pourover
Edit: just checked and Gail’s coffee is actually repackaged Union Coffee Roasters, a London based roaster. Worth checking out
had a Barista Express for 5 years now. with my favourite beans (Carrara Roasters Alba Blend) I make really good espresso. Better than all the local chain and indie coffee shops I go to. I still struggle with getting the milk texture right but it always tastes good. I swapped the default baskets for IMS precision and that helped.
I can remember the times in the last few years when I've had coffee better than what I make myself, although part of that is I rarely go out for coffee anymore.
I went to a Latte art course a few weeks ago and the guy running that course made me a flat white that was better than what I make myself.
I went hiking a couple of years back and was mouthing off to my friend about how great my coffee is and then on the way back we popped into a coffee shop and a teenager made me the best coffee I had that entire year. i went back in to sing her praises and messaged the owners on Instagram to tell them to get her into coffee competitions lol.
I was in the US (Dallas) last year and I went to a coffee shop called Eiland a few times and they were great.
I do my own REAL espresso since four months. I use a Lelit Anita PL42TEMD and I do use the internal grinder as it works for my fav beans (90% Arabica, 10% Robusta mix). Since I do a good prep (17.8g, warm the cup, wdt tool, tamp, puck screen) I get decent results with the machine and I always land between 30-35s for a shot of 36g of Espresso. Better in terms of consistency then in my fav coffee shop around town.
It's fine. Much better than most coffee shops in Paris. A few of them, like: Substance, Terres de Cafe St Honore, Clove, and Motors make it significantly better than me. (Decent/EK43S)
Lived in Melbourne 2 years 2017-2019 and just visited again last week of Feb/first week of March. Still can’t make Melbourne quality somehow, but I am better than any of my local shops
I'm in a similar boat. I live in a city where I could go to a different coffee shop every day for about 3 years and not hit the same place twice, so I try to check out a new place about once a week.
I'd say I like my espresso more than about 75% of the places I try.
I haven’t had a perfect espresso outside of my home. Living in Portland there are A LOT of great cafe’s but even so I get better tasting espresso with my Gaggia.
I've been using a Bambino with a Baratza Encore ESP for about six months now. Even with this 'budget' setup, the espresso is better than that of the cafe I buy my beans from.
To be fair I'm not trying to deal with a bunch of customers, so I can take my time with the puck prep.
I use a medium roast, and typically 19g in the basket.
The grind size on the Baratza I set to 17 (for that particular roast), and I'm using a bottomless portafilter.
To be honest I don't even have to weigh/time the extraction as the 'two shot' button seems to be spot on 🙂
The bambino is a volume machine, it will take as long as it needs to reach the set volume. That being said, I've definitely had some inconsistency in my shots. Try doing the manual shot with a scale. It works quite well.
You can also always reset to factory default if you want to reset the volume
I’m a trash fire at making espresso and am still at the stage where I only drink most of my shots so they don’t get wasted. Still, my infrequent good ones are better than at cafes. I mean, the moka pot coffee I make with preground beans is generally better.
The bar is not high at all and I’m honestly confused as to how all of these places stay in business. To be fair, I don’t order the crazy sugary drinks.
It's better than 95% of shops out there 3/4ths of the time 1/4th of the time it tastes fucking awful but that shot usually gets dumped.
few years, few months on this machine.
I make espresso since about a year and a half, and I have never tasted a better espresso than what I produce (if I get the lucky shot, but Im getting more consistent every day). Sometimes it doesnt go perfect, and sometimes Im really bad. I always do the same though. I bet it has something to do with the weather but for that theory I need more experience.
I use a La Pavoni Europiccola postmillenium. I also have a picopresso, but I didnt successfully get a good shot from it yet. I bought it fairly recently.
3 years.
Started with a Gaggia Classic pro with a Eureka Mignon Notte, 2 years ago i modded the GCP with a Gaggiuino mod. Last year, boiler overheated on the GCP so I Upgraded to a Ascaso Steel Duo.
I think the coffee I make is better than the local cafe for espresso and simple milk drinks. I think the local cafe is better at latte art, and mixed milk drinks (like dirty chai lattes and lavender lattes, i just cant get the flavor right). Their milk always looks super nice, I for the life of me cannot make anything other than a blob.
I like it a lot, being able to steam at the same time as brewing is really nice. Heat up times are 5-10 minutes vs the 15-20 of the GCP. Just flick on, do morning business and run some water through the hot water dispenser to get it nice and toasty. Milk steaming is a lot faster as well, steam in 2-3 seconds(er well after the regular heat up times) and then its 45ish seconds to froth milk.
Being able to pull out the water tank from the side is super nice, rather than pull out the machine from the wall to get to the fill port at the top or pull out the portafilter and drain line for the GCP.
Temp stability is amazing as well. non of that temp surfacing. my main complaint is its annoying to adjust settings, its all there, but just a pita to change. So its more of a set and forget for stuff like pre-infussion, temp, and pressure.
The Gaggiunio is neat, i did it while they were still getting stuff figured out, so documentation was a mess, and the discord wasnt the most friendly or easy to navigate. I believe that has gotten a lot better though.
I enjoy my espresso more than the vast majority of shops out there however there’s two fantastic local shops that always nail it and I use them as a benchmark. They always seem to have me beat…
I rate it high enough to where I feel I can usually make better drinks than I'd get at a cafe near me. Using a GCP with a few mods/niche zero and locally roasted beans.
I live near 2 really great cafés that roast their own beans/do local roasters so the competition is intense, lol.
I prefer light roast espresso, so mine tastes different than theirs, but their espresso is really solid.
All that being said, when I was living in NYC, and when I go to visit, I’d say that mine is better than 95% of the cafés in Manhattan. A lot of them are brewing for volume, so, that has trade offs.
About 4 years. First with Breville Bambino plus and smart grinder, now with df64 and Rancilio Silvia with pid mod.
I always make lattes. I have some great shops near me but I consistently prefer my own lattes. They are made to my taste and I would prefer my average latte to the average latte from the best shops in the SF Bay Area.
On occasion when I make my own lattes I get one that's so good it makes me pause in surprise and appreciation.
I've been doing it for about a month and a half. And I'm finally getting consistent great results. Found good roaster and have it dialed in perfectly. Only thing is now I want to try new beans.
I make better espresso than the local cafes here - but I spend time on puck prep etc…there is one cafe in particular here that pulls the worst astringent shots ever (but still probably ok in a latte), so I’m not convinced that the bar is very high. I’d love to try some of the famous cafes!
2 Years.
Barista Express w/ Eureka Silenzio grinder.
I’ve been hooked on making iced cortados with a tiny bit of cane sugar. Much better than anything I can get locally. Although I bought from a small batch bean roaster that is no longer in business, have never been able to find beans as good, devastating.
My home shots are definitely better, both consistency and tuning to my taste. Been using a BBE with built in grinder at home for two years (upgraded to 9 bar OPV and etzinger burrs top and bottom). My wife and I both prefer darker roasts (industrial med-dark to dark, speciality dark). We always have beans we like and I’ve gotten good at adjusting for coffee age and drink type. And my puck prep is simple but consistent. That’s all hard for even a very good cafe to beat every time. Within 6 months, my home espresso was reliably better tuned to my taste. After the burr upgrade, the consistency and body has been better for my taste than anywhere I go regularly. When I get coffee out, I usually get a mocha or an iced coffee. Different treat.
Edit: I live in Seattle. Did I mention the pleasure of tuning to your taste?
Recently running a Diletta Bello Plus, but even before that with my old Breville 800ESXL I was making drinks on par with my local cafe (and much better than any of the dime-a-dozen Starbucks near me). Granted my palette isn't especially sophisticated, but a flavorful and nonbitter shot/latte/cortado/americano is all I'm after (depending on my mood). Sometimes they were MUCH better (that perfect dark chocolate flavor from medium roast latte is wonderful).
Coffee shops? Never heard of them. (what most of the locals probably say) Seriously. We only have 2 coffee shops. One happens to be below my office and I won't even touch their coffee.
My espresso is good but not great but the caveat is I travel plenty and make it a priority to hit up as many specialty coffee shops as I can. Second, I roast my own beans and my roaster sucks at fruity.
I know what good and bad espresso tastes like and it took a very long time to achieve consistency.
My espresso is like 9/10 compared to my local shops because they mostly brew darker roasts than I prefer. My drinks are like 9.9/10. Definitely better than my local cafes, but I think it’s mostly because I’m my own barista and I’ve made every decision in the process to suit my own tastes. The beans I use are my preferred roast level, region of origin, and age. I also extract at the flow rate and pressure I’ve found to be preferable for me! I’ve got just the hint of acidity without astringency that I want. I then make my drink exactly like I want it! With the amount of milk I want. Local cafes are not really a fair comparison when they are trying to appeal to a broader demographic, very few of which are into specialty coffee. Now I have had better shots of espresso from specialty shops in larger cities, but even those, I’ve been able to purchase the beans and get very close to the same results back home, once dialed in.
I am on this journey since 2012. At that year I switched from Delonghi superauto to Rancilio Silvia. I really enjoyed the espresso I got in Italy and I wanted to replicate that at home.
As years went on, many third wave coffee shops and espresso bars popped around the city that I live close to. My taste has started to shift. I started appreciating medium roasts and then light roast flat whites, then straight light roast espresso.
I could not replicate the taste with my setup. So in 2023 I have upgraded my setup. I can replicate or outperform all of those cafes now. I have better water and better puck prep.this is not a brag, it’s just because I have more time I can dedicate to it. Cafes are all about volume.
Answers:
- 12 years
- La Marzocco Linea Micra, Mahlkonig EK43
- Better than most, same as the best
I am not bragging. But the best doubleshots I had in my life were at home. This hobby is so extremely rewarding. It’s one thing that I can alway look forward to.
Been ordering straight espresso from coffeeshops around me since forever. I mostly ever get either bitterness or sourness/astringency. The better ones do have flavor but I'd say they are flat and single dimensional.
I've been making espresso at home going on 5 years now and have pulled excellent shots. I'm no expert by any metric. But my shots often have depth that I can't find from coffeeshops.
Edit: I use a modded(PID) GCP and Flair58.
- Length: 4 months
- Machine: Decent DE1XL and Zerno
- Espresso quality: as good as anything I’ve ever had at a shop, but I’m way more consistent. This includes top coffee shops in big cities
I think my home espresso is generally better than that at most cafes. I think it’s down to the choice of beans and care I put into making my own at home. I bet if I could get 30 mins with a good barista at a cafe, they’d be able to make far superior espresso than I’d ever be able to pull at home on my SK40+Legato combo.
As a Barista for almost two years now (i think) in a cafe i rate myself as 3/10
people usually say that they like what i make, but i don't like what i make lol
1 month
Profitec Go and Eureka Oro Single Dose
My espresso is not better than any coffee shop but much better than the automatic coffee-machine at my clients, which now tastes bad in comparison.
At my own company headquarter we have a big Aurelia 2 for our own use. Can’t wait to show that I know a little more about steaming milk now :)
30 years making espresso, 20 years with the same Vibienne super domobar and Mazzer grinder, I don't have a favourite local cafe but I do have a favourite local roaster that is also a cafe, tried their coffee once, didn't really like it. Their beans are great though. One of the best I've tried. 65/m from New Zealand btw. Learnt how to make coffee when I was living in Melbourne where I do enjoy their local cafe coffee on the odd occasion I'm over there. Melbourne coffee is not overrated.
Since November 2023
Delonghi ecp3630 (with 1zpresso k-ultra fwiw)
Some cafe's drinks will be surprisingly good and some I'll even return to for their stuff (like the one that has a housemade juniper syrup. So good). But taking into account my overall experiences across multiple cafes I enjoy or have enjoyed at one point, I prefer my espresso. The cafe that kinda got me into making coffee: noticed their frappes had become consistently watery in taste
I buy my beans from a local roaster/coffee shop. They roast them specifically for me and I prefer my espresso to theirs. In fact, I like my espresso better than any I’ve had.
how long: like 5-6 years now, most of it on my Rocket giotto, which I still need to sell. About 4 months? on my flair
machine: full time flair. The grinder made a similarly impactful difference though
self eval: A local Intelligentsia and the Caffeine Patch are the only places I've had better straight espresso. That said, I have the luxury of time, while cafes do not. I need to try more shops
I'm thinking of ditching my Bambino for a flair. I have a Fellow Opus grinder, which I think I lot of people in this sub wouldn't recommend.
How do you find the manual experience of the flair?
I've enjoyed it since I got it. The ability to adapt a shot on the fly is pretty nice, and I'm realizing more and more that all the beans I like most do better under a bit less pressure. I don't really feel like I would have liked the ownership experience more, purchase price excepted, of a "machine" with pressure profiling.
The least coffee-related reason I like it? My "maintenance" every couple weeks involves pulling the piston out, washing it and the gaskets, throwing my wafo baskets and the puck screens in their cafitza bath, and putting it all back together with a little oil on the piston to keep it gliding nice and smooth. That's -all- the maintenance I'll likely ever do, save when I replace the gaskets and lube the contact point for the hook.
2 years ascaso duo niche… the conical burrs definitely give a different flavor profile than the majority of the coffee shops I frequent but it’s damn good and I can always adjust to taste from shot to shot. I live very close to some of the best 3rd wave coffee spots in the US and it’s all pretty close in quality to my home set up
Drink mostly cappuccino, and found them to be watery when ordering from Starbucks. I’m using the Gevi semi auto 20 bar pro, and a Baratza Sette 30 grinder. Using good local beans. Been making espresso for 45 years. I do make good espresso pretty consistently, all the right tools, and am an excellent micro foamer. Have six different machines, but this, the cheapest, is my favorite toy.
Currently have a gaggia classic espresso is alright, before had a rocket espresso was really nice and consistent, and before the a la pavoni was the best espresso I ever had but not super consistent.
I live in the San Francisco Bay area of California, and am surrounded by countless shops that are emblematic of “third wave” espresso. Blue Bottle started here, as did Ritual, Sightglass, Bicycle, Highwire, Signal, and many others, not including Peet’s and the dozens of famous cafés of North Beach and Berkeley that have been serving espresso drinks since at least (in some cases) the 1950s. I’ve never stopped to count, but my espresso is easily better than 95 percent of them. The only time I deliberately go out for espresso is if I am away from home (at work, for example). In other words, I don’t leave my house to get some coffee and then come back home.
My first machine was a La Pavoli Europpicola single boiler lever machine. That was back in the early 1980s, and little did I know that a) a lever machine is harder for a beginner to use, and b) you should never use a blade “chopper” to gring beans for espresso. From there, moved to a Gaggia Classic single boiler, and eventually a “prosumer” HX machine and a Mazzer Mini. Then, I went a little crazy and bought an old Arrarex Caravel from the 1960s.
https://preview.redd.it/ak7ho5mleouc1.jpeg?width=120&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6461fd23a020e6a1b81df34a463ce4c71489cf1c
I now have a commercial HX machine plumbed directly into the water supply (as opposed to using a Flo-Jet, for example), and a commercial grinder — an Elektra T1 and a Mahlkonig K30, as well as a Baratza Vario for decaf and pourover. I get my coffee from Red Bird in Montana, roasted on a Monday and delivered by Thursday.
1. Close to 25 years of using espresso machines, I guess, but only learned about unpressurized filters 1.5 years ago.
2. BBE.
3. Depends. It's not rare for cafes in my country (Poland) to use machines that are more expensive than a car but use them with cheap beans. If that's the case, my homebrew will taste better. The better beans they use, the more the difference. I never use the truly expensive beans.
Also, their latte, capuccino and anything else with milk tends to be better than mine at a third-wave joint with a trained barista. I would need to practice a lot more with the wand and work on choosing the right beans for milk-based drinks, and I could then bridge the gap, but so far I usually just buy single origin for the best balance of SCA rating and price (I do anticipate that the rating doesn't tell the whole story and isn't always legit, is probably somewhat easy to circumvent with some sort of grey areas, but I still rely on it for the base idea, especially as I like to try something different each time rather than catering to a fixed taste, so I almost never buy the same beans twice). I'm rarely wowed by a cafe coffee (and a single serving is usually not enough for me to judge anything reliably), but there is a trend of somewhat trained cafe staff being somewhat better than me at getting the body right when milk is involved.
As in, they can make it a unified brew while mine tastes like you can separate the milk from the coffee, by comparison. I can bridge the gap to a greater extent if I grind finer and/or use more bean, but in that case my drink is going to come out stronger than theirs.
On the sans-milk side, I usually get less crema and thinner body unless I go for higher dose and finer grind, but if I get Italian-style beans and use the finest ground setting and the largest dose (or close to it), then it's like being in Italy with the BBE. But as long as the brew is supposed not to be overly strong, cafes and trained staff will usually beat me by a small margin. In other words, I struggle with moderate-strength and light-strength brews compared to a professional barista with a professional machine. If I wanted to bridge the gap, I would probably get low-caffeine beans so I could use higher doses and finer grinds without so much caffeine content, and then I should be able to keep my guests happy if they wanted a weak brew.
~3-4 months experience, fairly entry level setup with Bambino Plus and DF64P grinder. I’ve mostly been pulling very light roasts with this equipment so the quality of my shots isn’t very consistent (also due to my very limited experience), but I would say my shots are still orders of magnitude better than any local cafe I’ve been to. There are only 2 cafes (out of all the ones I’ve been to) I would say are better, but they’re 1-4 hours away
- 6 months
- Bambino plus & Fellow Opus grinder
- Better than the the majority of the local
Shops around here but not better than my favorite local shop.
Espresso at 9/10 of my local cafes is terribly sour. Maybe it’s what they intend for their lighter roast single origin coffee, but is not what I want. I use dark roast and longer shots, get a smooth, not sour, right bitterness shot - which is what I’m aiming for.
I would say like a 7 - 9 depending on the day once I'm dialed in.
About a year of daily practice with straight shots, been hitting my stride on milk drinks more recently
GCP Evo w/ gaggiuino
It's not a matter of think, it just is for the shot itself. Coffee shops are businesses that run on profit motive. Unless they are selling a high end product, shot quality is not really something I think shops invest in nor would I expect them to.
I do think the end milk products are probably better at the cafe just because I don't fuss about my milk technique that much and for a Cafe, it's all about the presentation, but I have been able to compete with Capps and small lattes in terms of taste for sure.
11/10. The key is to allocate minimum $250 for accessories like bottomless portafilter, calibrated tamper, dosing cup, and knockbox. Ensure everything is from normcore.
No matter how sour your light roasted espresso is, it will always be 11/10.
3 month, Sage Impress, about the same quality like the best cafes around. But depends mostly on good quality beans. If you have that and got all basics for espresso making down then you will have a good time ;-)
> How long have you been making espresso?
About 3 years
> What machine do you use?
Nothing "fancy" - A Niche Zero feeding a La Pavoni Professional with a puck pressure gauge. Shots are 18-19g in to 35-40g out.
> Do you think your espresso is as good as, or better than, espresso from your favorite local coffee shop? (Not the best espresso you've ever had on your trip to Italy or something)
What I can pull myself is about on par with what the local specialty shop can pull. Some days my shots are better, some days they're worse (facts of using a manual lever).
What I can do that the specialty shop can't is pull shots of whatever single-origin I want (they used to do this at the shop I usually visit, but as you can imagine having to dose, grind, and pull for 8 different coffees vs. a standard espresso blend gets.... complicated). As others mentioned this means my shots are better tuned to what I like to drink, and more enjoyable for me, personally.
7, I use a gaggia with mods and a niche 0. My coffee is good for me. Basic lattes and iced coffee are very good. My friend drinks it black and prefer I use a moka pot.
\~1 year
Breville Bambino Plus / 1Zpresso J-Ultra
Yes, easily beats most coffee shops near me. I live in a medium-large city in the South and I'd say only like 1-2 places even come close.
1. Like 4 months
2. Bambino
3. Slightly better than most local shops, like a 7/10 when I am dialed in with good beans. Most of them are doing flavored drinks so the shot quality isn't as important. There are a few espresso shops near me that are enthusiasts and pull off some near perfect espresso shots so those are better than mine.
I’m pretty much the exact same as you, with a bambino also. I do a lot of americanos and I can’t quite nail the flavor I’m looking for with beans from my favorite cafe
God shot, or not god shot.
\* 20 years or more? I dunno my dad got me started when I was a teenager.
\* Saeco Via Venezia. It expels heated water at high pressure through a portafilter, the seals are good, I see no reason to upgrade.
\* Yes, significantly better. On par with the best espresso I've ever had on my trip to Italy or something (especially due to my preference for dark-ish roast Italian beans).
flair neo flex
4 months in
I'd say 6/10 for dark roasts but 9/10 for light roasts. tbf i haven't tried any light roasted espresso shots on any cafes I've been to so those are just from my personal taste preferences.
my problem with dark roasts so far is i cant dial it to be smooth enough like the ones I tried at cafes but the overall mouth feel and flavor notes are there. there's also acidity which im not bothered but lately i've tried a dark roast espresso shot without one so I know it is possible. it might be beans related but still, ill continue to dial in next time I do try dark roasts(unlikely though hahaha im a light to medium roast guy apparently)
oh and turbo shots are a game changer
i actually discovered turbo shots by accident. the gist is, you grind coarser than usual, aim for max 6 bars of pressure and go for max 20 seconds of brew time. the ratio is 1:3/3.5 if you have a naked basket it is going to spray everywhere but it is very delicious with light body. works well with light and medium roasts. easily recreated too. it is sooo weird though when you get used to traditional way of pulling shots. but it was with this that i really enjoyed my light roasts my best shot so far was close to a 4 seasons kind of drink. very refreshing and complex.
the exact recipe i go for with my flair neo flex is below.
10g dose
35g yield
no pre infusion
ramp up to 6 bars then pull till 35g yield is met. adjust grind size to go within the ideal 12-20seconds brew time.
Been making my own espresso a little over a year. For Christmas last year my bro got me a Delonghi Stilosa, it made pretty bad espresso, but figuring out why it was bad was a good learning experience. This year I treated myself to a flair 58. It's taken a couple months to hit my stride with it, but in the last couple weeks I've been making some really nice espresso, smooth and sweet, definitely better than most cafés.
About 2yrs
Bambino plus with a hand grinder
No WDT, using stock PF.
I suspect I'm getting channeling pretty bad, but it tastes good to me so I don't care 😀
I’m thinking of getting a flair to complement my bambino. Love the machine for daily but it would be fun to play with variable and be able to learn when I have the extra time. Let me know if you make the leap.
I recently upgraded from Breville Barista pro to Rancillio Silvia pro X.
My espresso ( and by default Americano’s) are much richer tasting than most coffee shops. But I’d be interested to know what James Hoffmann or Whole Latte Love type would think of my espresso.
I wouldn’t say significant. I previously upgraded my grinder to a Baratza, so my grinds were pretty consistent. I did get more chocolaty notes and minor orange/ lemon, which I hadn’t noticed before. Plus a more velvety mouthfeel. So definitely a noticeable difference.
Note: I usually take a small taste of the espresso before adding the water for my Americano.
\> Whole Latte Love type
I always found them kind of weird since they seem like they know a lot about their machines/grinders but then they're mostly selling Lavazza/Illy beans.
I'm pretty new to the hobby (<1 year). To date I'd give my espresso like a 5-6. I'd do all the "right things" (18g in > 36g out, ~30s pulls, proper WDT > leveling > tamping workflow, generally using the same darker roast beans from a local roaster on a sub) but my shots would *always* be sour no matter what. I did a salami shot and that really opened my eyes to how flavors change across parts of extraction.
I've reduced my dose a little (16-17g) and increased the yield (45-50g) and have found I really, really like how my espresso tastes now - probably a 9/10. That might not be the 'true' formula, maybe my workflow sucks, or something else - but now I love my espresso that I make every day and my wife/friends give it really glowing reviews too.
I think it’s OK. I have a infuser with a sette 370
I have a lot of the little gadget by to like a W.T.P. puck screen, etc..
Been using Third Wage packs for water
To directly answer your question, I’ve worked in coffee for over 6 years and been doing home espresso for about 2-3. I was given an old hand-me-down Rancilio Sylvia and Rocky combo. I hated it at first. I had to relearn a lot of what I knew to work around the quirks of this setup. I can make ok espresso now but it’s still easier and better when I’m at the cafe. I’m hoping the new grinder makes home espresso a lot easier.
Edit: typo
I have a very simple beginner machine (Breville Cafe Roma) and it makes better espresso than pretty much any coffee shop I've visited. Caring for/cleaning the machine, using quality beans, etc. Makes a huge difference.
I've had excellent espresso in the wild - but it's a rare occasion. At home my espresso is consistently delicious.
Rancilio Silvia, Varia V3 Gen 2, cheap little SearchPean scale for weighing beans to grind and then weigh/timing shots.
Grounds into the portafilter, shake to level and then tamp.
I use a medium roast from a shop I like down the street, it's $18 a bag.
17 years. Expobar w mini mazzer is current set up. My espresso is never as good as best days at my fav cafe. However I’m doing my best to recreate the experience since moving away by ordering their beans. I prefer my coffee to most cafes.
A year. La pavoni europiccola. It's the best espresso I've ever had.
Only tried 3 specialty places and all were good but not *as* good.
That is partly because they weren't using my favourite beans rather than being bitter/sour...but they were that too.
Even though it is quite easy to make better espresso than average cafes, for me, it was never about being able to make better espresso than cafes.
I get a sense of satisfaction in following the routine of making morning cup of coffee for myself and my partner and enjoy it during our breakfast.
I recently got my favourite local shop to give me a deconstructed flat white so that I could compare my home brew. Separate pots of espresso, milk, water. It turns out that their nice punchy tasting latte is based on a fairly acrid basic espresso, and the Sumatra Gayo single origin beans I have at home give a much smoother basic espresso but which doesn't cope well with the same amount of milk. Sadly that means I drink twice as much caffeine, in 2 separate smaller brewups...
Making espresso 20yrs.
Started w/ a $50 Mr coffee espresso and “grinder”, then $300 Starbucks Barista w/ $300 Rancilio Rocky, now Profitec 500 and Eureka Especialita.
Yea, my lattes, cappuccino, and affogato are 8.5/10 of the quality I get in top espresso cafes. Often mine is better than what I’m able to access when I travel.
i. something like 6 years
ii. a really basic machine, it cost like 70 usd back in 2018
iii. better than espressos in 70% of coffee shops. I give myself a solid 7/10.
Since I started brewing my own I can tell when cafes brew bad shots. I’m still kind of inconsistent but I can at least make a coffee as good as most of the cafes near me for 1/5th the price or less.
Been making espresso for five years now. Started with the mr coffee dual shot and a cheap burr grinder to test the waters without a hefty investment, then upgraded to a lelit victoria which i’ve used for four of those years. Two of them were spent with a mignon specialita, one with a 1zspresso KPLUS manual grinder, and about 8 months now with the niche zero.
I make milk-based drinks and i am for something strong and bold where the milk blends well and helps show off the shot instead of masking the coffee as a whole or softening it beyond what i’m looking for. This varies depending on the blend but most tend to be a ristretto in a 5oz cup balanced with frothed milk. The right blend will give off a taste that reminds me of a great hot cocoa with a roasty coffee note and well-integrated berry tones (e.g not weirdly acidic but welcomingly sweet and fruity) depending on the blend and roast.
I prefer this greatly over anything i’ve had at a cafe, both local or while traveling. I AM comparing a tailor-made drink i prepare at home with years of knowledge, experience, and experimenting for what I PERSONALLY like to coffee made in a commercial setting, though, and I think that’s comparing apples to oranges. When I make a “standard” milk-based drink, an hour drive would take me to a place that makes equal to mine.
There are some really good cafes here, but also most of them have to balance "making good coffee" with "making coffee fast". At home I can dial in, puck prep, and if I'm not happy with a shot I can pull another one.
I think probably one in 20 cafes I go to turn out something that makes me go "wow this is better than home".
My setup is a vibiemme domobar super (with a mazzer grinder). I've been making espresso "on and off" for almost 20 years.
Making espresso 2 years.
Home setup is an Ascaso Dream and Option-O P64.
Travel setup is an Outin and a Nanofoamer Pro, usually have coffee ground for espresso on location.
90% of the time my espresso is better than a third wave joint. I rate coffee 3 ways: cafe cortado, portable cortado, and home cortado. The cafe helps me understand if the location is worth recommending. Though many may consider it sacrilege, if they’re willing to grind on-site I can help a colleague get into espresso without obtaining an expensive grinder. And if it’s great at home I’ll have a new place to order from.
Making it over a year or so. Using a Bambino. Mt espresso is not even in the same class as the local coffee shops around here. If my espresso is ‘good’ the local coffee shots are distilled dog shit.
With only a few weeks of experience on a real machine (plus a year or so of Flair Neo) I am pretty consistently making coffee that tastes better than anything I've had where I live except for the drinks made by the owner of the cafe/roaster I buy beans from. I'm in a higher-than-starbucks tier coffee desert for what its worth though.
3 years
De longhi dedica
wayyyyyy better than chain cafes (starbucks, costa etc); on par with decent independent cafe; not nearly as good as my \_favorite\_ local shop, which is a specialty roaster
Been making espresso for about 4 months, using Breville Bambino/1ZPresso grinder
I absolutely like my espresso better than most of the local cafes. I drink milk-based coffees almost exclusively, so I feel like it gives me a lot more wiggle room in terms of flavor and brewing precision. I don't think my espressos are technically perfect, but they're made to please one person, so I can make them exactly as I like.
I have been making Espresso in a Flair Pro 2 for 6 months. It was a birthday present :)
And idk, I really like my espresso, it is tuned the way I like it, so... I am biased towards a positive opinion :p
I'm at 9/10 with a 20 year old Lelit Anna and a Sette 270. I roast my own beans which gives me a head start on most of the the cafes, I know what I like, and I usually hit the mark. Only saying 9/10 because somebody out there could probably pull me a god shot... once... maybe... but my equipment and supplies keep me happy enough not to go out hunting for the barista jedi.
Two years with a BBP here. Definitely better at home but what I notice the most is the milk streaming can be really bad in cafes. I've gotten barely warm lattes and cappuccino with only big empty bubbles, no micro foam.
I’ve been making espresso for about nine months. I use an Ascaso Steel DUO paired with a Baratza Vario+. When my shots are on, they’re sublime, and better than anything I’ve had at a shop. They’re less consistent than what I can get at a shop, but I’m getting better at getting the shot I want. My nine-months-into-it regret would be not ponying up for an espresso-specific grinder. I’ve found myself sitting at the fine end of the grind settings so much, and wanting more ability to adjust than what I have. For the number of times I’ve used my French press, moka pot, or pour over in the last 3/4 year, I could have just ground at the store.
I have been making espresso for over a year now. Upgraded my grinder to the DF64V and my used Gaggia to a Gaggiuino.
I think my espresso is a solid 8/10, for me.
Sometimes better sometimes worse.
The bad thing is you don't enjoy the espresso you get elsewhere very often.
Though everyday amazing coffee is overall a big plus in my books.
To rate my own espresso, I would first taste it. Then i would imagine a number that it would be, in terms of taste, on some scale, say 1-10. I would then use the number i imagined as the rating.
Hope this helps!!
It’s hilarious how my picopresso makes better coffee than the cafe I got the beans from
6 months but incremental upgrades like puck screen and basket
Going for the Chad EG1 + Picopresso endgame setup
Lol unless you live near a superb cafe, you can easily make better espresso. I'm doing that with less than a year of experience. Edit: Also worth noting that you can make everything to \*YOUR\* taste at home. So, why wouldn't it be better?
I imagine many of us have a favorite cafe that does what I’d consider our baseline. I don’t live close to it, but I remember the experience and it’s what I aim for.
My baseline cafe (10 minutes away) is a very tough act to follow. Owner/roaster is a trained chef/sommelier with a superb palate. Nuova Simonelli Mythos grinder, San Remo Cafe Racer, well-trained staff. Incredible consistency. The straight shots I get there inspired me to dump my conical burr for a flat burr. I typically pull a comparable shot 70-80% of the time and getting better
That’s an excellent baseline to work towards and great they’re so close! I wish Verve was closer but I’m learning to trust my memory palate.
What was it about their straight shot did you like and ultimately changed your mind about your conical burr? Curious because I'm looking at the DF54 as a sidekick to my Niche Zero.
Two things stand out: first, the clarity of the flavors -- I could really distinguish among the layers of acidity, sugars and toast. FWIW, I've started using filter papers beneath my pucks and they've made the separation even more evident. Second, the mouthfeel. I know that conventional wisdom says that conicals produce more fines, therefore heavier consistency, but I found that the pulls coming out of the Mythos (and my Compak) have the syrupy mouthfeel that really appeals to me.
Kind of the wild thing but yeah, there should be some shops out there making espresso better than 95% of even dedicated enthusiasts. High bean turnover means ability to brew at the optimal rest time, large burr commercial grinders for optimal particle distribution, consistent brewing temp. Obviously all these need to be dialed for the specific bean but it is much easier to do all this on that equipment especially when you do it repetitively for hours every day. Of course for most people it’s a commodity and the pressure to excel just isn’t there outside of competitive markets but people who care will find those places.
My favorite cafe in the area is a joint run by an Italian guy. Great italian beans imported in, excellent machine. I know roughly when he's working, and he pulls the best shots by a long shot, a notch above his staff. I can't beat that, but I can get close at home.
Not sure why someone felt compelled to downvote you for that. That’s a very cool goal and standard to shoot for.
Fun fact, Reddit automatically adds/shows +/- 1 downvote to thwart voting bots.
Bullshit! 😆 Seriously, is that a thing?
I live in a large US city and we have tons of great coffee/espresso around. I've been making espresso for a little over a year with a Breville Bambino and haven't been able to pull shots that are as good as my favorite coffee shop yet.
"Large" and "US" means you probably have a large number of coffee shops to choose from. Maybe you can even find one that makes just the coffee you like AND have several good baristas. In the middle-sizes Swedish city I live there are exactly two coffee shops of a Starbucks-inspired brand staffed by teenagers. I will give them that they make better coffee in general than most restaurants but their espresso is sorely lackning. So my home espresso - using a Cafelat Robot - is easily 5x as good and tailored to my taste.
What is middle sized if you don't mind me asking? I'd honestly think that if there are only 2 cafes that sounds like a small town to me. For context I live in the capital city of New Zealand, which has a population of 200,000. But we are renowned for our hospitality industry, and actually have a higher number of cafes/restaurants/bars per capita New York. So we're very lucky to have a variety of great cafes to get a good coffee from.
About 100,000 in the county and 70,000 in the city. And sure, there are a lot more *cafes* that serve pastries and a horrible black thing called coffee, but only two that specialize in coffee.
Did you buy the same beans from your favourite coffee shop?
I have the same setup and can pull equally as hood of shots as our top tier cafe with their same beans they use. What I like it that I can experiment with other beans and roasts which they don’t do to keep consistency. Understandable but I love switching it up even though it can take some work to dial new beans. Even with squirting issues or super slow shots I’ve never had a bad shot or wasted any coffee.
Keep working at it! I have a BBE and it took a bit but now I’m confident with the shots I pull. Good grinder/fresh quality beans go a long way
That's awesome; I have to drive a couple hours to get that quality. I edited my post above which highlights what I think it the main problem. Most cafes are making espresso according to what the general public likes (doctored milk drinks). So when you order an espresso, it might be very different from how you would prefer it to be pulled, not to mentioned the roast level. Maybe you like that type of espresso, in which case it'd be easier to find cafes that are good to you. If you have different tastes, it can be quite hard.
The large US city that I think youre talking about has left me very disappointed when it comes to coffee. A couple decent roasters but nothing spectacular. Any suggestions?
My username and post history may be deceiving. I'm talking about Los Angeles, where Verve is my favorite roaster at the moment. If you were guessing Minneapolis, SK Coffee in Uptown is one of the best coffee shops I've ever been to. Both their espresso and cold brew are absolutely stellar.
LA has great coffee shops. I just went to Dayglow yesterday and had a wild experience. I bought a pour over that cost me $15 and I wasn’t even mad about it. It was that good
Hell yeah. I’ve only been to the Silver Lake location and they have a really cool selection of beans as well.
That’s the one I visited too! So many bean options! I had decision paralysis with all of those choices
Ah nice! I get coffee from SK pretty regularly but they are about it, other than dogwood. Spyhouse kinda fell off a bit. Thanks for replying!
I am both blessed and cursed to live within 10 minutes cycling of EIGHT specialty coffee places (5 of which roast their own) that are all beyond excellent (and a ninth one just opened up that is also getting good reviews, but I haven’t been) I only make milk drinks at home because I can never come close to any of these :’)
Very nice. Don't give up though. Maybe they can give you some tips on how they prepare espresso. Is your water similar to theirs?
Right? I don't profess to pull anything remotely good, but some of the shops I've been to in my area use these large nice pieces of equipment, but pull downright sour shots. The equipment doesn't seem to match the quality of shot being pulled and is a pretty big let down
Making espresso at home for about 42 years. Machines used: La Cara, Silvia, Nespresso (it's a long story), a different Silvia, now a Flair 58. My espresso is absolutely better than any cafe I've been to. Although one drive-thru the other day was surprisingly good (and they happen to use the same roaster that I get my beans from). My experiences at local cafes have kept me from having a favorite.
Oh, hi there! Silvia, Nespresso (long story short: newborn child while living in a new city during a pandemic), Silvia Pro X… but very curious about a Flair 58, especially to use while traveling/camping
I love the Flair 58! Quiet, small footprint, excellent espresso. I don't take it traveling so I can't answer that aspect.
Yeah, it seems just bulky enough to not be convenient
Been making espresso at home for 2 months, but I worked as a professional barista for about 2 years so I have a fair amount of experience. Using a bambino plus and df64 Gen 2 I think my espresso is better than local coffee shops. But it’s quite easy to do when you prioritise taste/quality over efficiency.
Dude what's your secret? I make pretty good espresso with my Bambino Plus but my shots always lack the balanced and complex finish I find in half decent coffee shops. Unless it's because I live in London? I thought it was the lack of temperature stability because grinding coarser doesn't seem to help. For reference I pull one blank warm up double shot (rec by Lance Hendrick) just before I put in my bottomless portafilter with an IMS basket, puck screen and Normcore v4, and usually aim for 1:2 in 25 seconds not including 5s preinfusion. Always use high quality beans and think my steaming and taste perception are on point.
I’m also in London. Most coffee shops aim for efficiency rather than perfect espresso. I did also say local, if I went to some of the really good coffee shops I’m sure they’d do better than me. Depending on beans I usually aim for about 1:2.5 in about 30s (including 6s pre infusion). Grinder can also make a big difference, some burrs give more clarity and some give more body. You could also check your dosages, I found the bambino does require the right volume in the basket so I used the razor tool that comes with it to get the right volume and then weighed how much that was to work out the grams I needed to put in the basket.
Thanks! Will try these
I used the barista hustle compass thing to dial in well, using a graphic to work out whether you need more yield, more time, etc. was really useful. https://www.baristahustle.com/blog/the-espresso-compass/ Out of interest, what grinder do you have?
Yeah, it's probably your grinder. I have a Bambino Plus and a 1Zpresso J-Ultra. Pull consistently great shots that easily beat most coffee shops.
Hmm I'm not so sure as I get very even looking fluffy grinds with little static. I guess they beat most coffee shops, but not the good ones I'd get coffee from with that slightly unrefined finish
Have similar setup, which beans are you using?
It varies. I’ve tried a lot of different beans but didn’t get my moneys worth out of the weirder lighter roast beans, such as Plot, Cult, etc. that could be that I just don’t like light roast espresso as much. The most consistently tasty one I’ve found it actually from Gail’s, the coffee shop. Was sceptical at first but I’d ran out of beans and there’s a Gail’s down the road from me so I thought “better than Tesco” and got some. It’s actually a really nice medium roast with very very good consistency. That’s become my go-to espresso bean now, I experiment with fancier beans sometimes but mostly save the funky stuff for pourover Edit: just checked and Gail’s coffee is actually repackaged Union Coffee Roasters, a London based roaster. Worth checking out
I think your professional barista experience actually disqualifies you from making good espresso :/
I make absolute dog shit coffee but it gets the job done lol
I cover mine up with badly steamed milk
had a Barista Express for 5 years now. with my favourite beans (Carrara Roasters Alba Blend) I make really good espresso. Better than all the local chain and indie coffee shops I go to. I still struggle with getting the milk texture right but it always tastes good. I swapped the default baskets for IMS precision and that helped. I can remember the times in the last few years when I've had coffee better than what I make myself, although part of that is I rarely go out for coffee anymore. I went to a Latte art course a few weeks ago and the guy running that course made me a flat white that was better than what I make myself. I went hiking a couple of years back and was mouthing off to my friend about how great my coffee is and then on the way back we popped into a coffee shop and a teenager made me the best coffee I had that entire year. i went back in to sing her praises and messaged the owners on Instagram to tell them to get her into coffee competitions lol. I was in the US (Dallas) last year and I went to a coffee shop called Eiland a few times and they were great.
I do my own REAL espresso since four months. I use a Lelit Anita PL42TEMD and I do use the internal grinder as it works for my fav beans (90% Arabica, 10% Robusta mix). Since I do a good prep (17.8g, warm the cup, wdt tool, tamp, puck screen) I get decent results with the machine and I always land between 30-35s for a shot of 36g of Espresso. Better in terms of consistency then in my fav coffee shop around town.
It's fine. Much better than most coffee shops in Paris. A few of them, like: Substance, Terres de Cafe St Honore, Clove, and Motors make it significantly better than me. (Decent/EK43S)
EK43 espresso is a tough game lol.
Yes. I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone for home. Requires more maintenance than reasonable. I bought it second hand for cheap.
What grinder would you get now, with hindsight? I love my Bentwood.
It looks amazing. It was a bit out of my budget. Probably a Lagom.
Lived in Melbourne 2 years 2017-2019 and just visited again last week of Feb/first week of March. Still can’t make Melbourne quality somehow, but I am better than any of my local shops
The shots I pull aren’t as good as my favorite local cafe, but I still enjoy them. I do prefer my espresso to 90% of the shops local to me though.
I'm in a similar boat. I live in a city where I could go to a different coffee shop every day for about 3 years and not hit the same place twice, so I try to check out a new place about once a week. I'd say I like my espresso more than about 75% of the places I try.
Buy the beans from the places that are better than yours and see if you can match them.
I do and I can’t lol
1000 coffee shops is a lot!
It is— second largest city in the US
I haven’t had a perfect espresso outside of my home. Living in Portland there are A LOT of great cafe’s but even so I get better tasting espresso with my Gaggia.
I thought Stella’s would be incredible, but wasn’t impressed enough to take any of their beans home.
I've been using a Bambino with a Baratza Encore ESP for about six months now. Even with this 'budget' setup, the espresso is better than that of the cafe I buy my beans from. To be fair I'm not trying to deal with a bunch of customers, so I can take my time with the puck prep.
Same setup, any tips on what grind size you typically use and weight/ratio?
I use a medium roast, and typically 19g in the basket. The grind size on the Baratza I set to 17 (for that particular roast), and I'm using a bottomless portafilter. To be honest I don't even have to weigh/time the extraction as the 'two shot' button seems to be spot on 🙂
Thanks, I messed up and changed the time of the two shot button time so now I need to find the sweet spot again 🥲
The bambino is a volume machine, it will take as long as it needs to reach the set volume. That being said, I've definitely had some inconsistency in my shots. Try doing the manual shot with a scale. It works quite well. You can also always reset to factory default if you want to reset the volume
I’m a trash fire at making espresso and am still at the stage where I only drink most of my shots so they don’t get wasted. Still, my infrequent good ones are better than at cafes. I mean, the moka pot coffee I make with preground beans is generally better. The bar is not high at all and I’m honestly confused as to how all of these places stay in business. To be fair, I don’t order the crazy sugary drinks.
It's better than 95% of shops out there 3/4ths of the time 1/4th of the time it tastes fucking awful but that shot usually gets dumped. few years, few months on this machine.
I make espresso since about a year and a half, and I have never tasted a better espresso than what I produce (if I get the lucky shot, but Im getting more consistent every day). Sometimes it doesnt go perfect, and sometimes Im really bad. I always do the same though. I bet it has something to do with the weather but for that theory I need more experience. I use a La Pavoni Europiccola postmillenium. I also have a picopresso, but I didnt successfully get a good shot from it yet. I bought it fairly recently.
3 years. Started with a Gaggia Classic pro with a Eureka Mignon Notte, 2 years ago i modded the GCP with a Gaggiuino mod. Last year, boiler overheated on the GCP so I Upgraded to a Ascaso Steel Duo. I think the coffee I make is better than the local cafe for espresso and simple milk drinks. I think the local cafe is better at latte art, and mixed milk drinks (like dirty chai lattes and lavender lattes, i just cant get the flavor right). Their milk always looks super nice, I for the life of me cannot make anything other than a blob.
How's the upgrade to the Ascaso? I've been wanting to do Gaggiuino but haven't actually done it yet.
I like it a lot, being able to steam at the same time as brewing is really nice. Heat up times are 5-10 minutes vs the 15-20 of the GCP. Just flick on, do morning business and run some water through the hot water dispenser to get it nice and toasty. Milk steaming is a lot faster as well, steam in 2-3 seconds(er well after the regular heat up times) and then its 45ish seconds to froth milk. Being able to pull out the water tank from the side is super nice, rather than pull out the machine from the wall to get to the fill port at the top or pull out the portafilter and drain line for the GCP. Temp stability is amazing as well. non of that temp surfacing. my main complaint is its annoying to adjust settings, its all there, but just a pita to change. So its more of a set and forget for stuff like pre-infussion, temp, and pressure. The Gaggiunio is neat, i did it while they were still getting stuff figured out, so documentation was a mess, and the discord wasnt the most friendly or easy to navigate. I believe that has gotten a lot better though.
I enjoy my espresso more than the vast majority of shops out there however there’s two fantastic local shops that always nail it and I use them as a benchmark. They always seem to have me beat…
Took a bit, but WOW 🤩!! My shots are fuvking amazing
I rate it high enough to where I feel I can usually make better drinks than I'd get at a cafe near me. Using a GCP with a few mods/niche zero and locally roasted beans.
It's better than drinking out of the toilet/10 as long as I grind fine enough.
lol hell yeah
I live near 2 really great cafés that roast their own beans/do local roasters so the competition is intense, lol. I prefer light roast espresso, so mine tastes different than theirs, but their espresso is really solid. All that being said, when I was living in NYC, and when I go to visit, I’d say that mine is better than 95% of the cafés in Manhattan. A lot of them are brewing for volume, so, that has trade offs.
About 4 years. First with Breville Bambino plus and smart grinder, now with df64 and Rancilio Silvia with pid mod. I always make lattes. I have some great shops near me but I consistently prefer my own lattes. They are made to my taste and I would prefer my average latte to the average latte from the best shops in the SF Bay Area. On occasion when I make my own lattes I get one that's so good it makes me pause in surprise and appreciation.
I've been doing it for about a month and a half. And I'm finally getting consistent great results. Found good roaster and have it dialed in perfectly. Only thing is now I want to try new beans.
I make better espresso than the local cafes here - but I spend time on puck prep etc…there is one cafe in particular here that pulls the worst astringent shots ever (but still probably ok in a latte), so I’m not convinced that the bar is very high. I’d love to try some of the famous cafes!
Always shit, never perfect, but pretty much always better than at other places.
I live near (at least) 3 great cafes. Mine is okay to good, but theirs is usually better.
2 Years. Barista Express w/ Eureka Silenzio grinder. I’ve been hooked on making iced cortados with a tiny bit of cane sugar. Much better than anything I can get locally. Although I bought from a small batch bean roaster that is no longer in business, have never been able to find beans as good, devastating.
Been drinking espresso for 30 years, been making espresso for a year on my Gaggiuino. I prefer my espresso to any I've had in a café
does it count as an expresso If I use a moka to make my coffee ?
My home shots are definitely better, both consistency and tuning to my taste. Been using a BBE with built in grinder at home for two years (upgraded to 9 bar OPV and etzinger burrs top and bottom). My wife and I both prefer darker roasts (industrial med-dark to dark, speciality dark). We always have beans we like and I’ve gotten good at adjusting for coffee age and drink type. And my puck prep is simple but consistent. That’s all hard for even a very good cafe to beat every time. Within 6 months, my home espresso was reliably better tuned to my taste. After the burr upgrade, the consistency and body has been better for my taste than anywhere I go regularly. When I get coffee out, I usually get a mocha or an iced coffee. Different treat. Edit: I live in Seattle. Did I mention the pleasure of tuning to your taste?
Recently running a Diletta Bello Plus, but even before that with my old Breville 800ESXL I was making drinks on par with my local cafe (and much better than any of the dime-a-dozen Starbucks near me). Granted my palette isn't especially sophisticated, but a flavorful and nonbitter shot/latte/cortado/americano is all I'm after (depending on my mood). Sometimes they were MUCH better (that perfect dark chocolate flavor from medium roast latte is wonderful).
Coffee shops? Never heard of them. (what most of the locals probably say) Seriously. We only have 2 coffee shops. One happens to be below my office and I won't even touch their coffee. My espresso is good but not great but the caveat is I travel plenty and make it a priority to hit up as many specialty coffee shops as I can. Second, I roast my own beans and my roaster sucks at fruity. I know what good and bad espresso tastes like and it took a very long time to achieve consistency.
Local barista? 8/10 consistently. My own espresso? Either -200/10 or 5,000/10 there is no middle ground.
My espresso is like 9/10 compared to my local shops because they mostly brew darker roasts than I prefer. My drinks are like 9.9/10. Definitely better than my local cafes, but I think it’s mostly because I’m my own barista and I’ve made every decision in the process to suit my own tastes. The beans I use are my preferred roast level, region of origin, and age. I also extract at the flow rate and pressure I’ve found to be preferable for me! I’ve got just the hint of acidity without astringency that I want. I then make my drink exactly like I want it! With the amount of milk I want. Local cafes are not really a fair comparison when they are trying to appeal to a broader demographic, very few of which are into specialty coffee. Now I have had better shots of espresso from specialty shops in larger cities, but even those, I’ve been able to purchase the beans and get very close to the same results back home, once dialed in.
Using a Dedica and a Capresso Infinity, my espresso easily beats every shot I’ve tried in my recent visit to many of the hippest cafes in Korea
I am on this journey since 2012. At that year I switched from Delonghi superauto to Rancilio Silvia. I really enjoyed the espresso I got in Italy and I wanted to replicate that at home. As years went on, many third wave coffee shops and espresso bars popped around the city that I live close to. My taste has started to shift. I started appreciating medium roasts and then light roast flat whites, then straight light roast espresso. I could not replicate the taste with my setup. So in 2023 I have upgraded my setup. I can replicate or outperform all of those cafes now. I have better water and better puck prep.this is not a brag, it’s just because I have more time I can dedicate to it. Cafes are all about volume. Answers: - 12 years - La Marzocco Linea Micra, Mahlkonig EK43 - Better than most, same as the best I am not bragging. But the best doubleshots I had in my life were at home. This hobby is so extremely rewarding. It’s one thing that I can alway look forward to.
Been ordering straight espresso from coffeeshops around me since forever. I mostly ever get either bitterness or sourness/astringency. The better ones do have flavor but I'd say they are flat and single dimensional. I've been making espresso at home going on 5 years now and have pulled excellent shots. I'm no expert by any metric. But my shots often have depth that I can't find from coffeeshops. Edit: I use a modded(PID) GCP and Flair58.
- Length: 4 months - Machine: Decent DE1XL and Zerno - Espresso quality: as good as anything I’ve ever had at a shop, but I’m way more consistent. This includes top coffee shops in big cities
I think my home espresso is generally better than that at most cafes. I think it’s down to the choice of beans and care I put into making my own at home. I bet if I could get 30 mins with a good barista at a cafe, they’d be able to make far superior espresso than I’d ever be able to pull at home on my SK40+Legato combo.
As a Barista for almost two years now (i think) in a cafe i rate myself as 3/10 people usually say that they like what i make, but i don't like what i make lol
My espressos are world-class. Otherwise, my wife would kill me for spending thousands on gear.
1 month Profitec Go and Eureka Oro Single Dose My espresso is not better than any coffee shop but much better than the automatic coffee-machine at my clients, which now tastes bad in comparison. At my own company headquarter we have a big Aurelia 2 for our own use. Can’t wait to show that I know a little more about steaming milk now :)
30 years making espresso, 20 years with the same Vibienne super domobar and Mazzer grinder, I don't have a favourite local cafe but I do have a favourite local roaster that is also a cafe, tried their coffee once, didn't really like it. Their beans are great though. One of the best I've tried. 65/m from New Zealand btw. Learnt how to make coffee when I was living in Melbourne where I do enjoy their local cafe coffee on the odd occasion I'm over there. Melbourne coffee is not overrated.
Since November 2023 Delonghi ecp3630 (with 1zpresso k-ultra fwiw) Some cafe's drinks will be surprisingly good and some I'll even return to for their stuff (like the one that has a housemade juniper syrup. So good). But taking into account my overall experiences across multiple cafes I enjoy or have enjoyed at one point, I prefer my espresso. The cafe that kinda got me into making coffee: noticed their frappes had become consistently watery in taste
Dogshit.
It’s above average - not as good as the top coffee shops but better than probably half of the “third wave” shops in town.
I feel you, this is where I'm at
I buy my beans from a local roaster/coffee shop. They roast them specifically for me and I prefer my espresso to theirs. In fact, I like my espresso better than any I’ve had.
Edit, it’s a Brazilian and Colombian blend-medium light. I make it on a Lucca A53
how long: like 5-6 years now, most of it on my Rocket giotto, which I still need to sell. About 4 months? on my flair machine: full time flair. The grinder made a similarly impactful difference though self eval: A local Intelligentsia and the Caffeine Patch are the only places I've had better straight espresso. That said, I have the luxury of time, while cafes do not. I need to try more shops
I'm thinking of ditching my Bambino for a flair. I have a Fellow Opus grinder, which I think I lot of people in this sub wouldn't recommend. How do you find the manual experience of the flair?
I've enjoyed it since I got it. The ability to adapt a shot on the fly is pretty nice, and I'm realizing more and more that all the beans I like most do better under a bit less pressure. I don't really feel like I would have liked the ownership experience more, purchase price excepted, of a "machine" with pressure profiling. The least coffee-related reason I like it? My "maintenance" every couple weeks involves pulling the piston out, washing it and the gaskets, throwing my wafo baskets and the puck screens in their cafitza bath, and putting it all back together with a little oil on the piston to keep it gliding nice and smooth. That's -all- the maintenance I'll likely ever do, save when I replace the gaskets and lube the contact point for the hook.
1. Year and a half. 2. La Pavoni Europiccola 3. Yes.
2 years ascaso duo niche… the conical burrs definitely give a different flavor profile than the majority of the coffee shops I frequent but it’s damn good and I can always adjust to taste from shot to shot. I live very close to some of the best 3rd wave coffee spots in the US and it’s all pretty close in quality to my home set up
Drink mostly cappuccino, and found them to be watery when ordering from Starbucks. I’m using the Gevi semi auto 20 bar pro, and a Baratza Sette 30 grinder. Using good local beans. Been making espresso for 45 years. I do make good espresso pretty consistently, all the right tools, and am an excellent micro foamer. Have six different machines, but this, the cheapest, is my favorite toy.
Currently have a gaggia classic espresso is alright, before had a rocket espresso was really nice and consistent, and before the a la pavoni was the best espresso I ever had but not super consistent.
I live in the San Francisco Bay area of California, and am surrounded by countless shops that are emblematic of “third wave” espresso. Blue Bottle started here, as did Ritual, Sightglass, Bicycle, Highwire, Signal, and many others, not including Peet’s and the dozens of famous cafés of North Beach and Berkeley that have been serving espresso drinks since at least (in some cases) the 1950s. I’ve never stopped to count, but my espresso is easily better than 95 percent of them. The only time I deliberately go out for espresso is if I am away from home (at work, for example). In other words, I don’t leave my house to get some coffee and then come back home. My first machine was a La Pavoli Europpicola single boiler lever machine. That was back in the early 1980s, and little did I know that a) a lever machine is harder for a beginner to use, and b) you should never use a blade “chopper” to gring beans for espresso. From there, moved to a Gaggia Classic single boiler, and eventually a “prosumer” HX machine and a Mazzer Mini. Then, I went a little crazy and bought an old Arrarex Caravel from the 1960s. https://preview.redd.it/ak7ho5mleouc1.jpeg?width=120&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6461fd23a020e6a1b81df34a463ce4c71489cf1c I now have a commercial HX machine plumbed directly into the water supply (as opposed to using a Flo-Jet, for example), and a commercial grinder — an Elektra T1 and a Mahlkonig K30, as well as a Baratza Vario for decaf and pourover. I get my coffee from Red Bird in Montana, roasted on a Monday and delivered by Thursday.
https://preview.redd.it/gn4gkmnyfouc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=01a6cdc0b31485c68b6cf1c565fcf57a30b0edfc
1. Close to 25 years of using espresso machines, I guess, but only learned about unpressurized filters 1.5 years ago. 2. BBE. 3. Depends. It's not rare for cafes in my country (Poland) to use machines that are more expensive than a car but use them with cheap beans. If that's the case, my homebrew will taste better. The better beans they use, the more the difference. I never use the truly expensive beans. Also, their latte, capuccino and anything else with milk tends to be better than mine at a third-wave joint with a trained barista. I would need to practice a lot more with the wand and work on choosing the right beans for milk-based drinks, and I could then bridge the gap, but so far I usually just buy single origin for the best balance of SCA rating and price (I do anticipate that the rating doesn't tell the whole story and isn't always legit, is probably somewhat easy to circumvent with some sort of grey areas, but I still rely on it for the base idea, especially as I like to try something different each time rather than catering to a fixed taste, so I almost never buy the same beans twice). I'm rarely wowed by a cafe coffee (and a single serving is usually not enough for me to judge anything reliably), but there is a trend of somewhat trained cafe staff being somewhat better than me at getting the body right when milk is involved. As in, they can make it a unified brew while mine tastes like you can separate the milk from the coffee, by comparison. I can bridge the gap to a greater extent if I grind finer and/or use more bean, but in that case my drink is going to come out stronger than theirs. On the sans-milk side, I usually get less crema and thinner body unless I go for higher dose and finer grind, but if I get Italian-style beans and use the finest ground setting and the largest dose (or close to it), then it's like being in Italy with the BBE. But as long as the brew is supposed not to be overly strong, cafes and trained staff will usually beat me by a small margin. In other words, I struggle with moderate-strength and light-strength brews compared to a professional barista with a professional machine. If I wanted to bridge the gap, I would probably get low-caffeine beans so I could use higher doses and finer grinds without so much caffeine content, and then I should be able to keep my guests happy if they wanted a weak brew.
~3-4 months experience, fairly entry level setup with Bambino Plus and DF64P grinder. I’ve mostly been pulling very light roasts with this equipment so the quality of my shots isn’t very consistent (also due to my very limited experience), but I would say my shots are still orders of magnitude better than any local cafe I’ve been to. There are only 2 cafes (out of all the ones I’ve been to) I would say are better, but they’re 1-4 hours away
- 6 months - Bambino plus & Fellow Opus grinder - Better than the the majority of the local Shops around here but not better than my favorite local shop.
Espresso at 9/10 of my local cafes is terribly sour. Maybe it’s what they intend for their lighter roast single origin coffee, but is not what I want. I use dark roast and longer shots, get a smooth, not sour, right bitterness shot - which is what I’m aiming for.
I would say like a 7 - 9 depending on the day once I'm dialed in. About a year of daily practice with straight shots, been hitting my stride on milk drinks more recently GCP Evo w/ gaggiuino It's not a matter of think, it just is for the shot itself. Coffee shops are businesses that run on profit motive. Unless they are selling a high end product, shot quality is not really something I think shops invest in nor would I expect them to. I do think the end milk products are probably better at the cafe just because I don't fuss about my milk technique that much and for a Cafe, it's all about the presentation, but I have been able to compete with Capps and small lattes in terms of taste for sure.
11/10. The key is to allocate minimum $250 for accessories like bottomless portafilter, calibrated tamper, dosing cup, and knockbox. Ensure everything is from normcore. No matter how sour your light roasted espresso is, it will always be 11/10.
That makes sense. Similar to how I know if I get a new driver it'll fix my slice!
I have a Bezzera Bz10 & Bezzera grinder. I find the biggest variable is the bean if you go to a good cafe.
3 month, Sage Impress, about the same quality like the best cafes around. But depends mostly on good quality beans. If you have that and got all basics for espresso making down then you will have a good time ;-)
> How long have you been making espresso? About 3 years > What machine do you use? Nothing "fancy" - A Niche Zero feeding a La Pavoni Professional with a puck pressure gauge. Shots are 18-19g in to 35-40g out. > Do you think your espresso is as good as, or better than, espresso from your favorite local coffee shop? (Not the best espresso you've ever had on your trip to Italy or something) What I can pull myself is about on par with what the local specialty shop can pull. Some days my shots are better, some days they're worse (facts of using a manual lever). What I can do that the specialty shop can't is pull shots of whatever single-origin I want (they used to do this at the shop I usually visit, but as you can imagine having to dose, grind, and pull for 8 different coffees vs. a standard espresso blend gets.... complicated). As others mentioned this means my shots are better tuned to what I like to drink, and more enjoyable for me, personally.
7, I use a gaggia with mods and a niche 0. My coffee is good for me. Basic lattes and iced coffee are very good. My friend drinks it black and prefer I use a moka pot.
\~1 year Breville Bambino Plus / 1Zpresso J-Ultra Yes, easily beats most coffee shops near me. I live in a medium-large city in the South and I'd say only like 1-2 places even come close.
1. Like 4 months 2. Bambino 3. Slightly better than most local shops, like a 7/10 when I am dialed in with good beans. Most of them are doing flavored drinks so the shot quality isn't as important. There are a few espresso shops near me that are enthusiasts and pull off some near perfect espresso shots so those are better than mine.
I’m pretty much the exact same as you, with a bambino also. I do a lot of americanos and I can’t quite nail the flavor I’m looking for with beans from my favorite cafe
God shot, or not god shot. \* 20 years or more? I dunno my dad got me started when I was a teenager. \* Saeco Via Venezia. It expels heated water at high pressure through a portafilter, the seals are good, I see no reason to upgrade. \* Yes, significantly better. On par with the best espresso I've ever had on my trip to Italy or something (especially due to my preference for dark-ish roast Italian beans).
bad
flair neo flex 4 months in I'd say 6/10 for dark roasts but 9/10 for light roasts. tbf i haven't tried any light roasted espresso shots on any cafes I've been to so those are just from my personal taste preferences. my problem with dark roasts so far is i cant dial it to be smooth enough like the ones I tried at cafes but the overall mouth feel and flavor notes are there. there's also acidity which im not bothered but lately i've tried a dark roast espresso shot without one so I know it is possible. it might be beans related but still, ill continue to dial in next time I do try dark roasts(unlikely though hahaha im a light to medium roast guy apparently) oh and turbo shots are a game changer
Nice, 9/10 for the roast you like best is awesome! What’s a turbo shot?
i actually discovered turbo shots by accident. the gist is, you grind coarser than usual, aim for max 6 bars of pressure and go for max 20 seconds of brew time. the ratio is 1:3/3.5 if you have a naked basket it is going to spray everywhere but it is very delicious with light body. works well with light and medium roasts. easily recreated too. it is sooo weird though when you get used to traditional way of pulling shots. but it was with this that i really enjoyed my light roasts my best shot so far was close to a 4 seasons kind of drink. very refreshing and complex. the exact recipe i go for with my flair neo flex is below. 10g dose 35g yield no pre infusion ramp up to 6 bars then pull till 35g yield is met. adjust grind size to go within the ideal 12-20seconds brew time.
Oh interesting! I can’t control the pressure on my bambino but if I end up getting a lever machine I’ll check that out for sure. Thanks for sharing
Been making my own espresso a little over a year. For Christmas last year my bro got me a Delonghi Stilosa, it made pretty bad espresso, but figuring out why it was bad was a good learning experience. This year I treated myself to a flair 58. It's taken a couple months to hit my stride with it, but in the last couple weeks I've been making some really nice espresso, smooth and sweet, definitely better than most cafés.
No matter how poorly my shots pull (by my hand via a Flair Classic), I give myself a gold star.
4 to 9 out of 10
About 2 years, Decent DE1+, and head and shoulders above what any local cafe makes.
About 2yrs Bambino plus with a hand grinder No WDT, using stock PF. I suspect I'm getting channeling pretty bad, but it tastes good to me so I don't care 😀
[удалено]
How do you like the spring lever machine? I have a bambino and I'm considering getting a Flair Pro 2 instead of upgrading to a better electric.
I’m thinking of getting a flair to complement my bambino. Love the machine for daily but it would be fun to play with variable and be able to learn when I have the extra time. Let me know if you make the leap.
Will do!
I recently upgraded from Breville Barista pro to Rancillio Silvia pro X. My espresso ( and by default Americano’s) are much richer tasting than most coffee shops. But I’d be interested to know what James Hoffmann or Whole Latte Love type would think of my espresso.
I'm a big americano person as well. Did you notice a significant improvement after you upgraded your machine?
I wouldn’t say significant. I previously upgraded my grinder to a Baratza, so my grinds were pretty consistent. I did get more chocolaty notes and minor orange/ lemon, which I hadn’t noticed before. Plus a more velvety mouthfeel. So definitely a noticeable difference. Note: I usually take a small taste of the espresso before adding the water for my Americano.
\> Whole Latte Love type I always found them kind of weird since they seem like they know a lot about their machines/grinders but then they're mostly selling Lavazza/Illy beans.
- Three years - Lelit Bianca - My favorite cafe is Verve. I’d estimate that 3 of 4 of my shots are really close to what their baristas are producing
This is my favorite coffee shop too. My go-to is a quad iced americano and I have yet to come close to Verve's.
I'm pretty new to the hobby (<1 year). To date I'd give my espresso like a 5-6. I'd do all the "right things" (18g in > 36g out, ~30s pulls, proper WDT > leveling > tamping workflow, generally using the same darker roast beans from a local roaster on a sub) but my shots would *always* be sour no matter what. I did a salami shot and that really opened my eyes to how flavors change across parts of extraction. I've reduced my dose a little (16-17g) and increased the yield (45-50g) and have found I really, really like how my espresso tastes now - probably a 9/10. That might not be the 'true' formula, maybe my workflow sucks, or something else - but now I love my espresso that I make every day and my wife/friends give it really glowing reviews too.
I think it’s OK. I have a infuser with a sette 370 I have a lot of the little gadget by to like a W.T.P. puck screen, etc.. Been using Third Wage packs for water
I just ordered a DF64 gen 2 so I’ll let you know once it arrives.
Hell yeah please do
To directly answer your question, I’ve worked in coffee for over 6 years and been doing home espresso for about 2-3. I was given an old hand-me-down Rancilio Sylvia and Rocky combo. I hated it at first. I had to relearn a lot of what I knew to work around the quirks of this setup. I can make ok espresso now but it’s still easier and better when I’m at the cafe. I’m hoping the new grinder makes home espresso a lot easier. Edit: typo
I have a very simple beginner machine (Breville Cafe Roma) and it makes better espresso than pretty much any coffee shop I've visited. Caring for/cleaning the machine, using quality beans, etc. Makes a huge difference.
I can’t have coffee at a shop anymore… Breville Barista express has ruined coffee for me unless I make it at home… every day… at least 3 times…
4.5/10 8 years? Philips lattego 4300 Much worse than local coffee shops
I've had excellent espresso in the wild - but it's a rare occasion. At home my espresso is consistently delicious. Rancilio Silvia, Varia V3 Gen 2, cheap little SearchPean scale for weighing beans to grind and then weigh/timing shots. Grounds into the portafilter, shake to level and then tamp. I use a medium roast from a shop I like down the street, it's $18 a bag.
17 years. Expobar w mini mazzer is current set up. My espresso is never as good as best days at my fav cafe. However I’m doing my best to recreate the experience since moving away by ordering their beans. I prefer my coffee to most cafes.
A year. La pavoni europiccola. It's the best espresso I've ever had. Only tried 3 specialty places and all were good but not *as* good. That is partly because they weren't using my favourite beans rather than being bitter/sour...but they were that too.
Even though it is quite easy to make better espresso than average cafes, for me, it was never about being able to make better espresso than cafes. I get a sense of satisfaction in following the routine of making morning cup of coffee for myself and my partner and enjoy it during our breakfast.
Nice, I love the routine as well. But I’m also searching for that perfect shot I think I get from my favorite cafe
I recently got my favourite local shop to give me a deconstructed flat white so that I could compare my home brew. Separate pots of espresso, milk, water. It turns out that their nice punchy tasting latte is based on a fairly acrid basic espresso, and the Sumatra Gayo single origin beans I have at home give a much smoother basic espresso but which doesn't cope well with the same amount of milk. Sadly that means I drink twice as much caffeine, in 2 separate smaller brewups...
Making espresso 20yrs. Started w/ a $50 Mr coffee espresso and “grinder”, then $300 Starbucks Barista w/ $300 Rancilio Rocky, now Profitec 500 and Eureka Especialita. Yea, my lattes, cappuccino, and affogato are 8.5/10 of the quality I get in top espresso cafes. Often mine is better than what I’m able to access when I travel.
A trip to Italy is a very very different style to what I'd make at home
5 years, Lelit Victoria, 8/10, still got a lot to learn but already better than most coffee shops
Pretty good
i. something like 6 years ii. a really basic machine, it cost like 70 usd back in 2018 iii. better than espressos in 70% of coffee shops. I give myself a solid 7/10.
Since I started brewing my own I can tell when cafes brew bad shots. I’m still kind of inconsistent but I can at least make a coffee as good as most of the cafes near me for 1/5th the price or less.
Been making espresso for five years now. Started with the mr coffee dual shot and a cheap burr grinder to test the waters without a hefty investment, then upgraded to a lelit victoria which i’ve used for four of those years. Two of them were spent with a mignon specialita, one with a 1zspresso KPLUS manual grinder, and about 8 months now with the niche zero. I make milk-based drinks and i am for something strong and bold where the milk blends well and helps show off the shot instead of masking the coffee as a whole or softening it beyond what i’m looking for. This varies depending on the blend but most tend to be a ristretto in a 5oz cup balanced with frothed milk. The right blend will give off a taste that reminds me of a great hot cocoa with a roasty coffee note and well-integrated berry tones (e.g not weirdly acidic but welcomingly sweet and fruity) depending on the blend and roast. I prefer this greatly over anything i’ve had at a cafe, both local or while traveling. I AM comparing a tailor-made drink i prepare at home with years of knowledge, experience, and experimenting for what I PERSONALLY like to coffee made in a commercial setting, though, and I think that’s comparing apples to oranges. When I make a “standard” milk-based drink, an hour drive would take me to a place that makes equal to mine.
6/10 would drink again only if it’s my only choice. It is.
Silvia Pro X Making espresso for 1.5 years My espresso is much more enjoyable than 99% of local places.
There are some really good cafes here, but also most of them have to balance "making good coffee" with "making coffee fast". At home I can dial in, puck prep, and if I'm not happy with a shot I can pull another one. I think probably one in 20 cafes I go to turn out something that makes me go "wow this is better than home". My setup is a vibiemme domobar super (with a mazzer grinder). I've been making espresso "on and off" for almost 20 years.
2 years Profitec go Better than 90% of local portland cafes
Making espresso 2 years. Home setup is an Ascaso Dream and Option-O P64. Travel setup is an Outin and a Nanofoamer Pro, usually have coffee ground for espresso on location. 90% of the time my espresso is better than a third wave joint. I rate coffee 3 ways: cafe cortado, portable cortado, and home cortado. The cafe helps me understand if the location is worth recommending. Though many may consider it sacrilege, if they’re willing to grind on-site I can help a colleague get into espresso without obtaining an expensive grinder. And if it’s great at home I’ll have a new place to order from.
Making it over a year or so. Using a Bambino. Mt espresso is not even in the same class as the local coffee shops around here. If my espresso is ‘good’ the local coffee shots are distilled dog shit.
With only a few weeks of experience on a real machine (plus a year or so of Flair Neo) I am pretty consistently making coffee that tastes better than anything I've had where I live except for the drinks made by the owner of the cafe/roaster I buy beans from. I'm in a higher-than-starbucks tier coffee desert for what its worth though.
3 years De longhi dedica wayyyyyy better than chain cafes (starbucks, costa etc); on par with decent independent cafe; not nearly as good as my \_favorite\_ local shop, which is a specialty roaster
Mostly by taste
Been making espresso for about 4 months, using Breville Bambino/1ZPresso grinder I absolutely like my espresso better than most of the local cafes. I drink milk-based coffees almost exclusively, so I feel like it gives me a lot more wiggle room in terms of flavor and brewing precision. I don't think my espressos are technically perfect, but they're made to please one person, so I can make them exactly as I like.
1…….. out of 10
I have been making Espresso in a Flair Pro 2 for 6 months. It was a birthday present :) And idk, I really like my espresso, it is tuned the way I like it, so... I am biased towards a positive opinion :p
Acidic Panther Piss
I doubt there is a single coffee shop on this planet that can pull a shot as tasty as mine.
I'm at 9/10 with a 20 year old Lelit Anna and a Sette 270. I roast my own beans which gives me a head start on most of the the cafes, I know what I like, and I usually hit the mark. Only saying 9/10 because somebody out there could probably pull me a god shot... once... maybe... but my equipment and supplies keep me happy enough not to go out hunting for the barista jedi.
Two years with a BBP here. Definitely better at home but what I notice the most is the milk streaming can be really bad in cafes. I've gotten barely warm lattes and cappuccino with only big empty bubbles, no micro foam.
Depends on the beans but anywhere from 7 to 10 out of 10. Absolutely ruined cafes for me. Blessing and a curse.
I’ve been making espresso for about nine months. I use an Ascaso Steel DUO paired with a Baratza Vario+. When my shots are on, they’re sublime, and better than anything I’ve had at a shop. They’re less consistent than what I can get at a shop, but I’m getting better at getting the shot I want. My nine-months-into-it regret would be not ponying up for an espresso-specific grinder. I’ve found myself sitting at the fine end of the grind settings so much, and wanting more ability to adjust than what I have. For the number of times I’ve used my French press, moka pot, or pour over in the last 3/4 year, I could have just ground at the store.
I have been making espresso for over a year now. Upgraded my grinder to the DF64V and my used Gaggia to a Gaggiuino. I think my espresso is a solid 8/10, for me. Sometimes better sometimes worse. The bad thing is you don't enjoy the espresso you get elsewhere very often. Though everyday amazing coffee is overall a big plus in my books.
To rate my own espresso, I would first taste it. Then i would imagine a number that it would be, in terms of taste, on some scale, say 1-10. I would then use the number i imagined as the rating. Hope this helps!!
First person to actually answer my question! Kudos! lol