Upgrading from basic equipment

[talltom]

Hello. This is my first post!

I currently have a Gaggia Gran with a Krups burr grinder (gvx231 - pretty basic I think). I have been getting a bit disappointed with the results (especially lack of crema) although I have managed to change a couple of things and find improvement: I always use Hasbean or other very fresh beans; I make sure the machine is very hot by priming the boiler and running some water through the portafilter just before I use it; I make sure it's tamped properly. These last two do seem to make quite a big difference. Are there any other tips with this setup?

But I'm wondering about upgrading. If I upgrade to a Gaggia MDF grinder first, will I notice a big difference (especially with crema)? I was thinking after that of going to the Gaggia Classic. I'm just a home user and would normally just have two doubles per day, so not worth going for anything that is time consuming to use. And my budget is limited to that kind of range of equipment (might have to be second hand).

Thanks for your advice.

[awlred]

I don't know the Krups grinder at all so I'm not sure about the quality of it and what you can expect from an upgrade. What might be worth doing is ordering a bag of espresso ground coffee from HasBean and seeing if that results in an improved shot through your machine.

If so, then a grinder upgrade might be worth doing, depending on results.

After that it comes down to your budget. If you have a few hundred to spend then investing in a professional grinder (Mazzer Super Jolly or the like) will mean you never have to upgrade for home use again and you will get the absolute best from your beans and then can look at upgrading your espresso machine down the line. Also worth mentioning is these grinders take up a reasonable amount of kitchen space, most standing fairly tall and being quite bulky.

For a smaller budget then your options change. A hand-mill has probably the best result-cost ratio up to a point. If your budget is fairly tight it might be worth trying to change the burrs on your grinder as they may be getting old.

For what it's worth, my first grinder was an Iberital MC2. I believe they run in the £110-120 bracket and do produce a fairly consistent grind, I still have mine in the cupboard in case my grinder fails me. Only point of note I don't like about the MC2 is that dialing in takes a good long while and can result in a hand cramp, owing to it's worm screw adjuster.

eBay is never a bad place to look for kit going cheap either

Also; Welcome to TMC

[talltom]

Thanks very much. The Krups grinder is only about £30 so it can't be that great. But I might look into replacing the burrs first as you suggest.

I've heard it said that there is little point trying someone else's ground espresso since by the time you get it into your machine it will have degraded in quality too much; and also you can't dial it in to your own machine. Do you think that's true?

[awlred]

It's true, but I'm suggesting it more as a comparative/diagnostic measure of your grinders performance. If you're attaining enough resistance to water pressure by having a fine enough average grind to attain a 20-30 second shot pour, but not creating crema, then it's likely that your grind size distribution is very large (i.e. lots of smaller-than-ideal and larger-than-ideal particles mixed to create an average) what this means is that water will find an easy path/channel through some larger than ideal particles and the majority will pass through there, extracting very little of the overall coffee giving you a weak and bitter cup with little/no crema.

If that's the case, when pouring with the pre-ground coffee, you may get a faster or slower pour rate but with a decent crema and provided it's not too far out of bounds a reasonable taste balance. Otherwise it might be a case of your machines group dispersion being off and forming a channel for the coffee the travel through.

Alternative to buying a bag of coffee is finding a local friend who is willing to let you borrow the use of their grinder to dial in and do the same differential diagnosis of the problem.

[awlred]

p.s. Sorry for the very wordy responses

[talltom]

Words are good. I may also need to clean the group head or whatever it's called. Thanks.

[GreenBean]

Hi talltom, welcome to TMC.

[CakeBoy]

A very belated welcome from me talltom

[talltom]

Thanks. I've upgraded to a Gaggia Classic since I saw one going cheap. The grinder will be next (eventually). The Classic is definitely a more powerful machine than the Gran. Am thinking of an Iberital MC2 auto.