Watch this TLDR deep dive into building the ultimate budget super espresso machine. https://youtu.be/UaC4IQO2WCk?si=FY-ss5n258GRi7tM
At home I operate a $100 GEVI espresso machine from Amazon, that is simple, Chinese, nothing fancy, with an aftermarket bottomless 52mm basket in stainless steel with beautiful wood handle, the $400 Eureka Mignon Notte espresso grinder (Made in Florence Italy) & just spent 2 hours refurbishing both on Sunday since they had been sitting idle for perhaps 6 months. I fired it up & pulled a shot this morning, 18 gram shot for 40 seconds, it was deliciously bitter & flavorful, very different than the French Press coffee.
Meg & I had moved on to a hand grinder & stainless steel French Press into which 30 grams of hand ground roasted coffee beans (grain size coffee for French Press tuned) added along with 185 F water for 5 minutes, then the basket pressed down, lid rotated to open, then ~800 ml of coffee poured into two cups for enjoyment. I call this an anywhere coffee solution, as a bag of beans, hand grinder, water, way to boil water, & French press durable drop resistant double all SS can be taken almost anywhere, easily fits into a portable kit to bring along even on a backpacking trip, its so portable strong & simple to use such that almost anyone can use it almost anywhere.
Rotary Pump Espresso Machine, Heated Group Head, PID temperature Control, for a few grand you can get into some exotic stuff, less if it comes from Shenzhen China, more if its made in the USA, Germany, Italy, France, Norway or some expensive OECD rich country where labor & real estate costs make manufacturing things vastly more expensive than making things in China or some other cheaper location in Asia or cheaper labor market in India or a country in South America.
Modus Operandi of Our System
I start by turning on the espresso machine so it can warm up. Then I put a magnet infused aluminum basket loading ring assist device onto the top of the wood handle bottomless stainless steel basked with double shot insert 51 mm cup, then hold up the kit to the loading spot of the Eureka Mignon Notte, then use a finger on my other hand to press the little black rubber covered switch button for 6.5 seconds to dispense ~18 grams of super fine expresso grind into the basket enough to make a fluffy mound that protrudes with a rounded cone shape to the top of the basket ring, then carefully tap the basket in my other hand to tamp down the grinds a bit before putting the basket into a 3D printed PETG basket holder than I made on our Prius Mini in 2022, then take a wood handle spring loaded tamper & press the espresso grinds into the basket to form a compressed uniform puck, then place the filled basket into the preheated cheap espresso machine. I activate the brew button for a few seconds to pre-infuse the puck with about 5 grams of water, then wait for about 35 seconds before starting the 30 second long extraction. I hold the top of the water tank lid with my other hand to keep the vibratory pump from rattling the lit which would otherwise emit an annoying noise, so its sounds like a suppressed aquarium pump when operating so I don't wake the other 3 people up in the house. I also wrap a towel all the way around the Eureka Mignon Notte such that only the very bottom part for the basket and button are exposed, this also reduces sound emissions substantially for the same purpose, so I don't wake up the other 3 people who sleep in later or longer than me # socially #considerate / but I also like less noise & would enjoy a silent setup also, though going that route costs a fortune or is "So Expensive"
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