By the way...If you're in the UK, and you're thinking of buying a Sage machine (any Sage machine, not only their coffee machines), join my mailing list at coffeeblog.co.uk and then drop me an email to see if I have a current discount code to share. I don't currently get Breville discounts, sorry, but I do sometimes have Sage Appliances UK discount codes to share. Ta Kev
Hi Kev. I have used the Bambino Plus for a couple of months now, but I cannot get a decent result. The espresso becomes too sour every single time. I have experimented a lot with different grind settings, switching from single to dual wall basket and different beans, not resulting in a solution. When I use the single wall basket, the extraction time is not close to 20-30 sec from the first drip, which I guess is a problem. This is also the case when I use the grind setting 8 on my Smart Grinder Pro for 18 grams of dark roasted espresso beans. What am I doing wrong - it really annoys me. Should I try with 19 grams instead?
Hi :-), sorry for delay. Do you use the razor tool? If not I'd highly recommend trying that. Could be that theres too much head space in the basket. May be a combination of that and grind size, so I'd start with the razor tool so the dose is perfect for the basket, and then adjust the grind size accordingly. Cheers
Good comparison but not sure about the conclusion section saying if you can't afford a good grinder then buy pre-ground rather than get a cheap grinder - isn't the advantage of getting a cheap grinder that the coffee will always be fresher due to pre-ground going stale so much faster? Seems to me the order should be BEST: espresso capable grinder + standard (or pressurised) basket; SECOND BEST: cheap grinder + pressurised basket; THIRD BEST: pre-ground + pressurised basket. Or joint second, pre-ground and drink enough that it never goes stale! Thanks for another good vid 👍
Great video on this setup. You inspired me to buy the Bambino Plus and Smart Grinder Pro. Unfortunately I can’t get any single wall baskets (out of stock) so stuck using dual wall. I can’t for the life of me get latte art with the dual walls. I’ve heard dual wall does a “fake” crema so latte art is impossible: is that true? Can anyone else pour latte art with a dual wall?
Hi Heff, Thanks :-). Naaa, that's not true at all. I can pour latte art using instant (no point wasting proper espresso when just doing latte art practice) hot chocolate etc. The patterns will be a bit more pronounced with crema present, but dual or standard baskets will make almost no difference when it comes to latte art, especially when you're just getting started. It's a bit of a learning curve. Cheers
I’m enjoying the results I’m getting from my Bambino Plus using a Hario slim hand-grinder. It’s more work, but it seems a good (and cheap) option for being able to grind your own IMO. Then again, I’m mostly making soya lattes so my palate is less discerning. The type of milk used plays a huge factor in taste, also; Bonsoy is awesome, but there’s some great oat-milks too if you’re not into dairy (like me). Maybe you could do a video on various milk types?
Yeah I started out with a hario skerton, I then got fed up of the hard work and fitted a drill to it ;-) and then bought the smart grinder pro. Yeah I've just bought a selection of different oat milk, soy milk, hemp milk & almond milk - various brands, and I'll be doing a video soon comparing different milk alternatives. Cheers
So weird that you can’t get it fine enough. I have the same setup (bambino + Krups) and I have to be about 4/5clicks back from finest setting otherwise the machine chokes. That’s with 17.5g of local roasted medium dark beans.
ukcoffeeblog standard baskets. Actually yeah just counted the clocks and it’s actually 7-9 clicks back depending on how it’s coming out. I might actually try going back to 18.5g and maybe going coarser.
Thanks for all these vids - they've just made me purchase a Bambino Plus and I have just taken delivery of that very same Krups burr grinder too, so this is very useful. Can I ask if you ground at the finest setting on the Krups?
About the sage Grinder people have complained about the plastic impeller under the burr wears off which pushes the coffee out and eventually grinder stops working, If that's the fact then doesn't that means that the worn of plastic ends up in your grinned coffee ?
Hello Kev. A question for you. I have the Bambino Plus (new) and I'm using the Wilfa Classic grinder which I've had for ages. The finest grind setting on the Wilfa is 'Mocca' - and I suspect that's still too coarse for the Bambino+. I do tend to make flat whites, but an espresso shot doesn't taste quite right. The question is - is it worth me investing in a grinder that goes finer (eg the Sage Smart Pro)? Or won't that make a difference?
Hi :-), yeah the grind will probably be fine for dual walled baskets, but it'll be too course for the traditional, single walled basket. If you want to be able to properly dial in using standard baskets, then yes I'd say it's definitely worth upgrading to an espresso capable grinder. Ta, Kev.
Hi Kev, me and my partner absolutely love your videos, very helpful and we read your blog too. Thank you! Looking for some advice on the grinder matter... I mostly drink lates and cappuccinos. I have had my bambino since April and buying pre ground expresso grind from Rave coffee, using double wall basket. I often get a different expresso (same batch of coffee), this is probably due to my tamp (it’s hard getting a consistent tamp) and due to the coffee freshness as well as the amount of coffee I put in the basket (I’m fed up of measuring coffee on the scales but I do use the razor the bambino comes with). I do love my coffee and do notice a difference in flavour between each expresso shots. I’d love to get a consistent expresso. Would you recommend purchasing the smart grinder pro? And would I get a more consistent expresso with the grinder (with single wall basket) I work for the nhs and sage are currently doing 50% off. My budget is around £100 so this would suit perfectly. How long does it take to dial in the beans or how much effort does it take? And would I need to dial in the grinder each time I purchase a new 250grams bag - the same coffee variety? Or do you recommend buying bigger amount of coffee to go with the grinder? Also, do you recommend purchasing scales with a timer to measure how many mls of expresso I get in how many seconds? Do you have an article about dialing in grinders on your blog that would answer all the questions I have 😃 apologies for asking so much. Basically, I want to get a good grinder for my money that will do the job and won’t be too hard to dial in!
Hi Joanna. Thanks for the kind words :-). You'll have more control if you're grinding fresh, and there's definitely a taste difference from pre-ground via dual walled to dialed in freshly ground shot via the standard basket. But yeah, there's some effort and wastage there when it comes to dialling in, it is a trade off. That's why I did the last video looking at whether there's as noticeable a difference in the cup with freshly ground via pre-ground when making milkies. How much effort, just depends, sometimes you might nail it straight away, at other times you may struggle a bit to get dialed in, and it depends how much of a perfectionist you are ;-). If I'm making milkies I'd usually use the shot unless it was particularly bad, and then adjust the grind size for the next shot, hoping that this gets me closer, rather than wasting loads of coffee. Don't forget "the purge" though, and I don't mean the dystopian action horror film franchise ;-), I mean purging coffee through the grinder. You'll need to burn a few grams of coffee through the grinder when you're using it the first time each morning, and every time you change grind size - due to exchanged retention. This is true of all grinders, except the Niche Zero which has an exchanged retention so close to zero that you don't need to worry about it. If you can get the SGP for £100 (and good on Sage for that) I think that's a bargain. Re dialling in with the same bean, possibly, but it shouldn't be as big a job as dialing in a new bean. For a guide on dialing in, I'd recommend the brilliant James Hoffman's series on dialing in: th-cam.com/video/lFwJF-_SUr0/w-d-xo.html Yeah I'd recommend scales with a timer, I use the Brewista smart scale 2. Cheers :-) Kev
Hi Kev, thanks for the response. I got the smart grinder pro delivered! I purchased the brewista scales too, thanks for the recommendation. On the grinder where the “program/grind amount” dial is... it also says “grind time” on the display above this dial. Does this tell you how much coffee in grams I’m getting or the grind time? Slightly confused about this setting. For example, if I want 19g out, do I set the dial to 19? Or shall I completely ignore this setting and weigh the portafilter on the scale, then tare and weigh the portafilter with coffee in it and use the razor tool to make sure to get the 19g in the basket ? Many thanks!
@@joanna.kluska No worries :-). The grind amount is a timer, so that's how many seconds it will grind for, and grams per second depends on the grind so this is never exactly the same. Actually at espresso grind it's about the same, as its roughly just under 1 second per gram I find. So I'd try around 19 seconds, tweak it from there if that isn't quite right with the beans you're using, then press and hold the program button to set that as the default for a double shot grind. As you change beans you'll find this changes, but it's no bother to grind a bit more if you end up a bit under.
Fantastic vid. I only have the dual wall baskets for my bambino so I have resisted the temptation to spend out on a decent grinder. However, I have recently been making my milkies with fresh pre ground coffee bought from Redber (Dark Roasts), and the difference is vast, in my opinion, over using supermarket pre ground (flavour is stronger, more defined taste that punches through the milk better). So I may just stick to this and not bother with the grinder expense, switch to singe wall basket, and time to dial in etc as I only drink flat whites.. Cheers for this video, helps a lot.
Thanks Ross :-). Yes I think that's the main thing here, as long as you're using great quality freshly roasted speciality coffee, when it comes to milkies you're going to be fine with pre-ground and the dual wall baskets. Cheers
Can you share the settings you used for the smart grinder pro and how much coffee you used in grams and what they liquid end result grams where? Those stats are more important that what the grinder brand or style is. I have the pro and was wondering what settings u used?
@@stitchg6060 that will depend on the coffee you're using, you'll need to dial in, meaning adjust the grind size until you're getting the desired extraction, go finer if its flowing too fast, go more course if its flowing too slow. I usually start out at setting 14 and go from there.
Do you have any recommendations for grinding using an espresso-capable grinder but having to use the dual-wall basket? Another person who's just received their bambino with only dual wall baskets but I've got both a great espresso grinder, I've also got the bodum bistro grinder I use for pourover etc which is technically 'espresso capable' but obviously no dialling in to be done on that one. Wondering if it's easiest to just use the bodum on finest rather than mess about with trying to dial in a pressurised basket with my manual espresso grinder! Great video series by the way, you should definitely be getting commission from sage if you're not already!
Thanks for the kind words :-). From what I can work out, you can't really dial in with pressured baskets - maybe you can by taste if you have a good palate, but not by the usual means, timing and weighing. If I were you, I'd have a bit of an experiment and see if you can notice any difference in the cup, and if you cant, just do whatever's most convenient until you can get hold of a standard basket at which point it would be worth putting in the additional effort for the enhanced taste. Cheers
loving the series, just bought a bambino plus by the time your second video in the series, I have a Krupps grinder and just bought a bratza encore and fitted the upgraded burrs , most people say the encore isn't capable of espresso coffee, should I stay with the krupps or go encore and pressurised baskets , thanks from a new subscriber
Hi Ryan. I've not tried the encore as yet, I think in terms of grind size it'll be a similar story to the Krups, but overall I believe the encore (especially with the M2 burrs) would be a better grinder to use (all things considered) than the krups. I've not tried it as I've said, so I'm only basing this on what I've seen and heard about the encore. Cheers
By dual walled baskets I presume the "pressurized" one that comes with the Gaggia is similar and therefore your recommendations stands for the Gaggia Classic?
Hi John, yes the dual walled basket is Sage/Breville's pressurized baskets, basically. In theory yes the same goes, but I've just got hold of the Gaggia Classic pro/2019, so I'll be doing a series on that. Cheers
Using the pressurised 'dual walled' baskets you can use pre ground, yeah. Whether it'll taste nice is a subjective thing, if you like that coffee then great 👍👍
@@Coffee_Kev I use pre ground with the dual walled basket and I still feel the coffee runs too fast. I get 36grams from 18grams of coffee in about 23 seconds. I don’t know how to get it to run longer without having finer coffee, does anyone have any ideas
Looking to get my first ever coffee machine and I’m leaning towards getting the bambino, I’d like to be making mainly milk drinks. My local coffee shop does it’s own pre ground expresso coffee. Will this do for me? Or should I get a grinder and use beans. Sorry I’m a total novice
Hi Michael. Pre ground via the dual wall baskets has the potential to produce 'OK' espresso. I'd try it and see if you're happy with it. If not, you would certainly have the potential for better espresso with the standard baskets with whole beans and a grinder capable for espresso. Cheers
My bambino will choke or near as damn it if I use the krups on anything finer than about 3/4 of the way around towards fine with a dual wall basket - I get the best result with it two clicks finer than half way. I've tried this now with 3 different bean and it is consistent. I'm waiting for Sage to send me the single wall baskets - but I'm told it will now be mid to late August. I'm using about 15G of ground coffee in the 2 cup basket lightly tamped and razored, again much more than that and the dual wall chokes. Youre totally right the krups is a pain in the harris filling the basket from the tub, and it retains more coffee than is good for it. I've been using the Krups for a year or so for aeropress and cafetiere - I'm wondering why we are getting so wildly different results...
Thanks Simon. It does seem strange that you're managing to choke the machine with the krups, especially with 15g, the 2 cup basket is made for around 19g, it will change a bit depending on the grind size but I'm surprised you can get the razor tool to even touch the puck at 15g. Cheers
@@Coffee_Kev I may be lucky with my grinder, or we are looking at different versions of the same GVX2. Lee below gets somewhat similar results too tho so not unique..I've just watched the delonghi grinder mod video and I quite sure the krups and it are very closely related - all controls are in the same place - the annoying output hopper and the microswitches for the input and output hoppers. The krups is just rounder. If I get some time I may strip the krups and compare. Thanks for the reply and looking forard to the next video!
@@simonmckenna3075 Thanks Simon, I wonder if they're a bit inconsistent when it comes to how they set the burrs, this would make sense as if you trawl through reviews etc., the Krups does seem to divide opinion re whether it'll go fine enough for espresso. Yes they do seem incredibly similar grinders, wouldn't surprise me if they're made in the same factory ;-), the two units I have even have the exact same brand of plug. Cheers
Was wondering if I could get some help buying a grinder to pair with my bambino, this would be my first jump into grinding myself. Have narrowed it down to two grinders. The sage smart grinder pro at £150 on sale or eureka mignon specialita at £340. Is the specialita worth over double the money. Or as in your video just stick with pre grind which I've been doing. I've used a few good roasters, rave was excellent and fine enough for unpressurised baskets. But the thing i don't like with buying pre grind is that it doesn't keep very long. It's pointless buying any bags bigger than 250g. Bought a kg bag and I practically threw half of it out as it started to lose flavour and didn't taste nice I also stored it in a coffee canister. I do normal drink milk based drinks. Any help appreciated 😀
O I've also tried unpressurised basket v dual wall basket on the rave pre grind as it was fine enough for unpressurised and I personally could tell the difference in the cappuccino. Unpressurised is better definitely
Hi Conor. I'd definitely recommend getting a grinder, and grinding your own vs pre-ground. If you're happy with the taste you're getting from pre-ground, then personally I wouldn't worry too much about the quality of the grinder as it will relate to the taste in the cup, especially if you're mainly making milkies. To be perfectly honest, paired with the Bambino plus, I don't think you're going to notice a huge difference in the cup, with milkies, when paired with Specialita. It's a great grinder (coffeeblog.co.uk/eureka-mignon-review/) and it's a grinder I would think would last a long time, and you could pair with other machines if you upgrade over time, so from that perspective it wouldn't be a bad investment. But if you're purely wanting a grinder to pair with your Bambino plus, and you're not fussed about future proofing & investing in a grinder for the long term, for use with other espresso machines, then I can't imagine you're going to experience much difference in the cup regardless of which grinder you go for. Cheers, Kev
Hi Kev, this is so helpful. I’m hoping you will be able to see my comment, but have I recently bought the regular sage bambino coffee machine and really do not want to splurge on the sage coffee grinder. I know it will most probably give me great results, but I just fear I will not get the grind settings right. I have found a really great coffee roaster who does pre ground coffee. I usually only have lattes but still seek the strong coffee/espresso taste coming through. I absolutely hate very weak and milky lattes, so essentially I just want to see if using a good quality pre ground coffee from a coffee roaster in a dual pressure basket will still give me a proper and textured latte without being horribly weak and milky! Thanks so much!
Hi Kev, great videos. I have a question about pre-ground coffee. I buy my coffee from Block coffee and I have tried it with single-walled and double-walled baskets and 19g of coffee, but the extraction is very poor - usually two or three drips. Am I doing something wrong or is the coffee too fine?
I have a smart grinder pro with a dedica ec 685, and for now only dual wall baskets... My non pressurized baskets with the bottomless portafilter and the tamper are on the way, but until then with the burr set at 6 (pre installed position) what grind range you recommend?? I am at 12 or 13 atm.... Should I go higher?? sometimes if I tamp - with the plastic standard tamper dedica has- twice to make the coffee even I got over extraction or no extraction at all...
what if I prefer to drink macchiatos and corrados? I. e., I like my espresso with a touch of steamed milk, but certainly not as much milk as in a cappuccino or flat white. should I go for pre-ground or grind my own in that case??
Hi Marina, They are made by Leinbrock two are the Leinbrock Ideal and one is made by Peugeot in France. I got them from eBay probably about 5 years ago now Cheers Kev
@@Coffee_Kev Thanks for your reply. Can I ask you,do you know what coffee beans are used for Greek/Turkish coffee as I’m Greek and buy my coffee from Cyprus but I want to start grinding my own? Hope you know and can help! Thanks.
Hi Kev. I have used the Bambino Plus for a couple of months now, but I cannot get a decent result. The espresso becomes too sour every single time. I have experimented a lot with different grind settings, switching from single to dual wall basket and different beans, not resulting in a solution. When I use the single wall basket, the extraction time is not close to 20-30 sec from the first drip, which I guess is a problem. This is also the case when I use the grind setting 8 on my Smart Grinder Pro for 18 grams of dark roasted espresso beans. What am I doing wrong - it really annoys me.
Sorry for the delayed reply. With the Sage machines, I'd recommend aiming for about 19g of coffee, but I'd recommend using the razor tool to get the perfect dose, or more importantly, the perfect head space under the shower screen - this is what the razor tool is designed for, this and for ensuring the surface is level. I weigh as well as using the razor tool, and depending on the coffee it's usually something like 19 - 19.6g. If you're using 18g, there's going to be more space between the surface of the puck of ground coffee, and the shower screen above, and you're not likely to get the same pressure. If you do this and it's still flowing too fast, just adjust the grind accordingly. Cheers
I don't think I said they're the same? Did I? If I did, then ignore me, I was talking rubbish ;-). It would depend on the coffee, the grinder, and how long ago the pre-ground was ground. Cheers
@@Coffee_Kev hello, I hace been steaming auto. Tried to do it manually but need to practice more yo get desired micro foam. Thanks for your response and cheers from Mexico City.
Thanks for the videos! Just purchased a bambino after watching them. What dosage would you recommend using the dual wall basket and what ratio? I cant seem to get anything longer than 13 seconds with 18g in at 1:2 or does this not really matter with the dual wall? I'm mostly drinking milkies anyway.
Cheers Tim. About 19g usually, does depend tho, are u using the razor tool? I don't think you can really gauge it by flow rate tho with the dual wall basket. Cheers
We've had this machine a few months and the machine seemed to choke every time we bought pre ground to espresso grind from small batch roasters (Origin, Roasting Party). Now works with aeropress size.
@@Coffee_Kev Yep! We did buy a single wall but that didn't work well with the pre ground coffee. So now use the dual wall with aeropress size pre ground from Origin Coffee.
By the way...If you're in the UK, and you're thinking of buying a Sage machine (any Sage machine, not only their coffee machines), join my mailing list at coffeeblog.co.uk and then drop me an email to see if I have a current discount code to share. I don't currently get Breville discounts, sorry, but I do sometimes have Sage Appliances UK discount codes to share.
Ta
Kev
Hi Kev. I have used the Bambino Plus for a couple of months now, but I cannot get a decent result. The espresso becomes too sour every single time. I have experimented a lot with different grind settings, switching from single to dual wall basket and different beans, not resulting in a solution. When I use the single wall basket, the extraction time is not close to 20-30 sec from the first drip, which I guess is a problem. This is also the case when I use the grind setting 8 on my Smart Grinder Pro for 18 grams of dark roasted espresso beans. What am I doing wrong - it really annoys me. Should I try with 19 grams instead?
Hi :-), sorry for delay. Do you use the razor tool? If not I'd highly recommend trying that. Could be that theres too much head space in the basket. May be a combination of that and grind size, so I'd start with the razor tool so the dose is perfect for the basket, and then adjust the grind size accordingly. Cheers
@oleholebendt I'm having a similar issue. Did you end up dialing it in?
Good comparison but not sure about the conclusion section saying if you can't afford a good grinder then buy pre-ground rather than get a cheap grinder - isn't the advantage of getting a cheap grinder that the coffee will always be fresher due to pre-ground going stale so much faster? Seems to me the order should be BEST: espresso capable grinder + standard (or pressurised) basket; SECOND BEST: cheap grinder + pressurised basket; THIRD BEST: pre-ground + pressurised basket. Or joint second, pre-ground and drink enough that it never goes stale! Thanks for another good vid 👍
Great video on this setup. You inspired me to buy the Bambino Plus and Smart Grinder Pro. Unfortunately I can’t get any single wall baskets (out of stock) so stuck using dual wall. I can’t for the life of me get latte art with the dual walls. I’ve heard dual wall does a “fake” crema so latte art is impossible: is that true? Can anyone else pour latte art with a dual wall?
Hi Heff,
Thanks :-). Naaa, that's not true at all. I can pour latte art using instant (no point wasting proper espresso when just doing latte art practice) hot chocolate etc. The patterns will be a bit more pronounced with crema present, but dual or standard baskets will make almost no difference when it comes to latte art, especially when you're just getting started. It's a bit of a learning curve. Cheers
I’m enjoying the results I’m getting from my Bambino Plus using a Hario slim hand-grinder. It’s more work, but it seems a good (and cheap) option for being able to grind your own IMO. Then again, I’m mostly making soya lattes so my palate is less discerning. The type of milk used plays a huge factor in taste, also; Bonsoy is awesome, but there’s some great oat-milks too if you’re not into dairy (like me). Maybe you could do a video on various milk types?
Yeah I started out with a hario skerton, I then got fed up of the hard work and fitted a drill to it ;-) and then bought the smart grinder pro. Yeah I've just bought a selection of different oat milk, soy milk, hemp milk & almond milk - various brands, and I'll be doing a video soon comparing different milk alternatives. Cheers
So weird that you can’t get it fine enough. I have the same setup (bambino + Krups) and I have to be about 4/5clicks back from finest setting otherwise the machine chokes. That’s with 17.5g of local roasted medium dark beans.
Lee - thats much more like what I'm seeing but I'm 8 or so clicks back and have to use less coffee
Strange! Is this with the standard basket or dual wall?
ukcoffeeblog standard baskets. Actually yeah just counted the clocks and it’s actually 7-9 clicks back depending on how it’s coming out. I might actually try going back to 18.5g and maybe going coarser.
@@simonmckenna3075 Simon do you usually favour darker roasts too, or you can choke it with the krups with lighter roast too?
Thanks for all these vids - they've just made me purchase a Bambino Plus and I have just taken delivery of that very same Krups burr grinder too, so this is very useful. Can I ask if you ground at the finest setting on the Krups?
Cheers Doug, yeah that was at the finest setting.
About the sage Grinder people have complained about the plastic impeller under the burr wears off which pushes the coffee out and eventually grinder stops working, If that's the fact then doesn't that means that the worn of plastic ends up in your grinned coffee ?
This hasn't happened with mine over 4 years plus. Cheers.
Hello Kev. A question for you. I have the Bambino Plus (new) and I'm using the Wilfa Classic grinder which I've had for ages. The finest grind setting on the Wilfa is 'Mocca' - and I suspect that's still too coarse for the Bambino+. I do tend to make flat whites, but an espresso shot doesn't taste quite right. The question is - is it worth me investing in a grinder that goes finer (eg the Sage Smart Pro)? Or won't that make a difference?
Hi :-), yeah the grind will probably be fine for dual walled baskets, but it'll be too course for the traditional, single walled basket. If you want to be able to properly dial in using standard baskets, then yes I'd say it's definitely worth upgrading to an espresso capable grinder. Ta, Kev.
Another nice vlog. Your recommendations all make sense!
Thanks Thomas :-)
Hi Kev, me and my partner absolutely love your videos, very helpful and we read your blog too. Thank you! Looking for some advice on the grinder matter... I mostly drink lates and cappuccinos. I have had my bambino since April and buying pre ground expresso grind from Rave coffee, using double wall basket. I often get a different expresso (same batch of coffee), this is probably due to my tamp (it’s hard getting a consistent tamp) and due to the coffee freshness as well as the amount of coffee I put in the basket (I’m fed up of measuring coffee on the scales but I do use the razor the bambino comes with). I do love my coffee and do notice a difference in flavour between each expresso shots. I’d love to get a consistent expresso. Would you recommend purchasing the smart grinder pro? And would I get a more consistent expresso with the grinder (with single wall basket) I work for the nhs and sage are currently doing 50% off. My budget is around £100 so this would suit perfectly. How long does it take to dial in the beans or how much effort does it take? And would I need to dial in the grinder each time I purchase a new 250grams bag - the same coffee variety? Or do you recommend buying bigger amount of coffee to go with the grinder? Also, do you recommend purchasing scales with a timer to measure how many mls of expresso I get in how many seconds? Do you have an article about dialing in grinders on your blog that would answer all the questions I have 😃 apologies for asking so much. Basically, I want to get a good grinder for my money that will do the job and won’t be too hard to dial in!
Hi Joanna. Thanks for the kind words :-).
You'll have more control if you're grinding fresh, and there's definitely a taste difference from pre-ground via dual walled to dialed in freshly ground shot via the standard basket. But yeah, there's some effort and wastage there when it comes to dialling in, it is a trade off. That's why I did the last video looking at whether there's as noticeable a difference in the cup with freshly ground via pre-ground when making milkies.
How much effort, just depends, sometimes you might nail it straight away, at other times you may struggle a bit to get dialed in, and it depends how much of a perfectionist you are ;-). If I'm making milkies I'd usually use the shot unless it was particularly bad, and then adjust the grind size for the next shot, hoping that this gets me closer, rather than wasting loads of coffee.
Don't forget "the purge" though, and I don't mean the dystopian action horror film franchise ;-), I mean purging coffee through the grinder. You'll need to burn a few grams of coffee through the grinder when you're using it the first time each morning, and every time you change grind size - due to exchanged retention. This is true of all grinders, except the Niche Zero which has an exchanged retention so close to zero that you don't need to worry about it.
If you can get the SGP for £100 (and good on Sage for that) I think that's a bargain.
Re dialling in with the same bean, possibly, but it shouldn't be as big a job as dialing in a new bean.
For a guide on dialing in, I'd recommend the brilliant James Hoffman's series on dialing in: th-cam.com/video/lFwJF-_SUr0/w-d-xo.html
Yeah I'd recommend scales with a timer, I use the Brewista smart scale 2.
Cheers :-)
Kev
Hi Kev, thanks for the response. I got the smart grinder pro delivered! I purchased the brewista scales too, thanks for the recommendation.
On the grinder where the “program/grind amount” dial is... it also says “grind time” on the display above this dial.
Does this tell you how much coffee in grams I’m getting or the grind time? Slightly confused about this setting.
For example, if I want 19g out, do I set the dial to 19? Or shall I completely ignore this setting and weigh the portafilter on the scale, then tare and weigh the portafilter with coffee in it and use the razor tool to make sure to get the 19g in the basket ?
Many thanks!
@@joanna.kluska No worries :-). The grind amount is a timer, so that's how many seconds it will grind for, and grams per second depends on the grind so this is never exactly the same. Actually at espresso grind it's about the same, as its roughly just under 1 second per gram I find. So I'd try around 19 seconds, tweak it from there if that isn't quite right with the beans you're using, then press and hold the program button to set that as the default for a double shot grind. As you change beans you'll find this changes, but it's no bother to grind a bit more if you end up a bit under.
Fantastic vid. I only have the dual wall baskets for my bambino so I have resisted the temptation to spend out on a decent grinder. However, I have recently been making my milkies with fresh pre ground coffee bought from Redber (Dark Roasts), and the difference is vast, in my opinion, over using supermarket pre ground (flavour is stronger, more defined taste that punches through the milk better). So I may just stick to this and not bother with the grinder expense, switch to singe wall basket, and time to dial in etc as I only drink flat whites.. Cheers for this video, helps a lot.
Thanks Ross :-). Yes I think that's the main thing here, as long as you're using great quality freshly roasted speciality coffee, when it comes to milkies you're going to be fine with pre-ground and the dual wall baskets. Cheers
Can you share the settings you used for the smart grinder pro and how much coffee you used in grams and what they liquid end result grams where? Those stats are more important that what the grinder brand or style is. I have the pro and was wondering what settings u used?
I use the razor tool to dose, with Sage machines, and it usually ends up being about 19g in, and I aim for 1:2, so 38g out from 19g. Cheers
@@Coffee_Kev i wanted to know about the grind setting for the pro
@@stitchg6060 that will depend on the coffee you're using, you'll need to dial in, meaning adjust the grind size until you're getting the desired extraction, go finer if its flowing too fast, go more course if its flowing too slow. I usually start out at setting 14 and go from there.
@@Coffee_Kev thank you!
Do you have any recommendations for grinding using an espresso-capable grinder but having to use the dual-wall basket? Another person who's just received their bambino with only dual wall baskets but I've got both a great espresso grinder, I've also got the bodum bistro grinder I use for pourover etc which is technically 'espresso capable' but obviously no dialling in to be done on that one. Wondering if it's easiest to just use the bodum on finest rather than mess about with trying to dial in a pressurised basket with my manual espresso grinder! Great video series by the way, you should definitely be getting commission from sage if you're not already!
Thanks for the kind words :-). From what I can work out, you can't really dial in with pressured baskets - maybe you can by taste if you have a good palate, but not by the usual means, timing and weighing. If I were you, I'd have a bit of an experiment and see if you can notice any difference in the cup, and if you cant, just do whatever's most convenient until you can get hold of a standard basket at which point it would be worth putting in the additional effort for the enhanced taste. Cheers
loving the series, just bought a bambino plus by the time your second video in the series, I have a Krupps grinder and just bought a bratza encore and fitted the upgraded burrs , most people say the encore isn't capable of espresso coffee, should I stay with the krupps or go encore and pressurised baskets , thanks from a new subscriber
Hi Ryan. I've not tried the encore as yet, I think in terms of grind size it'll be a similar story to the Krups, but overall I believe the encore (especially with the M2 burrs) would be a better grinder to use (all things considered) than the krups. I've not tried it as I've said, so I'm only basing this on what I've seen and heard about the encore. Cheers
By dual walled baskets I presume the "pressurized" one that comes with the Gaggia is similar and therefore your recommendations stands for the Gaggia Classic?
Hi John, yes the dual walled basket is Sage/Breville's pressurized baskets, basically. In theory yes the same goes, but I've just got hold of the Gaggia Classic pro/2019, so I'll be doing a series on that. Cheers
@@Coffee_Kev thanks!
Could I use pre ground espresso coffee from Caffè Nero in this machine and it still taste nice?
Using the pressurised 'dual walled' baskets you can use pre ground, yeah. Whether it'll taste nice is a subjective thing, if you like that coffee then great 👍👍
@@Coffee_Kev I use pre ground with the dual walled basket and I still feel the coffee runs too fast. I get 36grams from 18grams of coffee in about 23 seconds. I don’t know how to get it to run longer without having finer coffee, does anyone have any ideas
Looking to get my first ever coffee machine and I’m leaning towards getting the bambino, I’d like to be making mainly milk drinks. My local coffee shop does it’s own pre ground expresso coffee. Will this do for me? Or should I get a grinder and use beans. Sorry I’m a total novice
Hi Michael. Pre ground via the dual wall baskets has the potential to produce 'OK' espresso. I'd try it and see if you're happy with it. If not, you would certainly have the potential for better espresso with the standard baskets with whole beans and a grinder capable for espresso. Cheers
Thanks man, pretty much set on the bambino so your videos will be a great help. Love the content
My bambino will choke or near as damn it if I use the krups on anything finer than about 3/4 of the way around towards fine with a dual wall basket - I get the best result with it two clicks finer than half way. I've tried this now with 3 different bean and it is consistent. I'm waiting for Sage to send me the single wall baskets - but I'm told it will now be mid to late August. I'm using about 15G of ground coffee in the 2 cup basket lightly tamped and razored, again much more than that and the dual wall chokes. Youre totally right the krups is a pain in the harris filling the basket from the tub, and it retains more coffee than is good for it. I've been using the Krups for a year or so for aeropress and cafetiere - I'm wondering why we are getting so wildly different results...
Thanks Simon. It does seem strange that you're managing to choke the machine with the krups, especially with 15g, the 2 cup basket is made for around 19g, it will change a bit depending on the grind size but I'm surprised you can get the razor tool to even touch the puck at 15g. Cheers
@@Coffee_Kev I may be lucky with my grinder, or we are looking at different versions of the same GVX2. Lee below gets somewhat similar results too tho so not unique..I've just watched the delonghi grinder mod video and I quite sure the krups and it are very closely related - all controls are in the same place - the annoying output hopper and the microswitches for the input and output hoppers. The krups is just rounder. If I get some time I may strip the krups and compare. Thanks for the reply and looking forard to the next video!
@@simonmckenna3075 Thanks Simon, I wonder if they're a bit inconsistent when it comes to how they set the burrs, this would make sense as if you trawl through reviews etc., the Krups does seem to divide opinion re whether it'll go fine enough for espresso. Yes they do seem incredibly similar grinders, wouldn't surprise me if they're made in the same factory ;-), the two units I have even have the exact same brand of plug. Cheers
I have an old bambino that doesn’t come with standard basket and sage don’t have the basket in stock. 😢
Yeah they've been out for a while I hear, sounds like it's going to be a couple of months still! :-(
Have you spoken to sage, they are sending them to me gratis when they get stock in late August...
@@simonmckenna3075 Uh no. I do hope it isnt August. I got off the phone with them today and they said July.
Was wondering if I could get some help buying a grinder to pair with my bambino, this would be my first jump into grinding myself. Have narrowed it down to two grinders. The sage smart grinder pro at £150 on sale or eureka mignon specialita at £340. Is the specialita worth over double the money. Or as in your video just stick with pre grind which I've been doing. I've used a few good roasters, rave was excellent and fine enough for unpressurised baskets. But the thing i don't like with buying pre grind is that it doesn't keep very long. It's pointless buying any bags bigger than 250g. Bought a kg bag and I practically threw half of it out as it started to lose flavour and didn't taste nice I also stored it in a coffee canister. I do normal drink milk based drinks. Any help appreciated 😀
O I've also tried unpressurised basket v dual wall basket on the rave pre grind as it was fine enough for unpressurised and I personally could tell the difference in the cappuccino. Unpressurised is better definitely
Hi Conor. I'd definitely recommend getting a grinder, and grinding your own vs pre-ground. If you're happy with the taste you're getting from pre-ground, then personally I wouldn't worry too much about the quality of the grinder as it will relate to the taste in the cup, especially if you're mainly making milkies.
To be perfectly honest, paired with the Bambino plus, I don't think you're going to notice a huge difference in the cup, with milkies, when paired with Specialita. It's a great grinder (coffeeblog.co.uk/eureka-mignon-review/) and it's a grinder I would think would last a long time, and you could pair with other machines if you upgrade over time, so from that perspective it wouldn't be a bad investment.
But if you're purely wanting a grinder to pair with your Bambino plus, and you're not fussed about future proofing & investing in a grinder for the long term, for use with other espresso machines, then I can't imagine you're going to experience much difference in the cup regardless of which grinder you go for.
Cheers, Kev
Cheers Conor, I'll try some of the Rave pre-ground with the standard baskets, just out of interest. Ta :-)
Hi Kev, this is so helpful. I’m hoping you will be able to see my comment, but have I recently bought the regular sage bambino coffee machine and really do not want to splurge on the sage coffee grinder. I know it will most probably give me great results, but I just fear I will not get the grind settings right. I have found a really great coffee roaster who does pre ground coffee. I usually only have lattes but still seek the strong coffee/espresso taste coming through. I absolutely hate very weak and milky lattes, so essentially I just want to see if using a good quality pre ground coffee from a coffee roaster in a dual pressure basket will still give me a proper and textured latte without being horribly weak and milky! Thanks so much!
Hi Kev, great videos. I have a question about pre-ground coffee. I buy my coffee from Block coffee and I have tried it with single-walled and double-walled baskets and 19g of coffee, but the extraction is very poor - usually two or three drips. Am I doing something wrong or is the coffee too fine?
Hi Adam,
It sounds like your coffee is too fine,
Maybe ask if they can tweak the grind for you next time you go,
Cheers
Kev
Hi Kev, thanks for the advice. I've ordered coffee from Coffee Box @@Coffee_Kev
Should have put the Niche Zero in there too.
Yeah you're right I should have
This is the video I was waiting for 🙏 milkies and dual wall it is
Cheers Jon 👍😃
I have a smart grinder pro with a dedica ec 685, and for now only dual wall baskets... My non pressurized baskets with the bottomless portafilter and the tamper are on the way, but until then with the burr set at 6 (pre installed position) what grind range you recommend?? I am at 12 or 13 atm.... Should I go higher?? sometimes if I tamp - with the plastic standard tamper dedica has- twice to make the coffee even I got over extraction or no extraction at all...
what if I prefer to drink macchiatos and corrados? I. e., I like my espresso with a touch of steamed milk, but certainly not as much milk as in a cappuccino or flat white. should I go for pre-ground or grind my own in that case??
Hi great video! Could you tell me what brand are those vintage grinders behind you and where you bought them from? Thanks
Hi Marina,
They are made by Leinbrock two are the Leinbrock Ideal and one is made by Peugeot in France. I got them from eBay probably about 5 years ago now
Cheers
Kev
@@Coffee_Kev Thanks for your reply. Can I ask you,do you know what coffee beans are used for Greek/Turkish coffee as I’m Greek and buy my coffee from Cyprus but I want to start grinding my own? Hope you know and can help! Thanks.
Great info! 🎉 I was wondering if pre-ground would be good enough for lattes.
Can manual grinders work for espresso on the Bambino plus?
Is there any value in going for an IMS basket?
Great video
Thanks Evan :-)
Great video thank you
Hi Kev. I have used the Bambino Plus for a couple of months now, but I cannot get a decent result. The espresso becomes too sour every single time. I have experimented a lot with different grind settings, switching from single to dual wall basket and different beans, not resulting in a solution. When I use the single wall basket, the extraction time is not close to 20-30 sec from the first drip, which I guess is a problem. This is also the case when I use the grind setting 8 on my Smart Grinder Pro for 18 grams of dark roasted espresso beans. What am I doing wrong - it really annoys me.
Sorry for the delayed reply. With the Sage machines, I'd recommend aiming for about 19g of coffee, but I'd recommend using the razor tool to get the perfect dose, or more importantly, the perfect head space under the shower screen - this is what the razor tool is designed for, this and for ensuring the surface is level. I weigh as well as using the razor tool, and depending on the coffee it's usually something like 19 - 19.6g. If you're using 18g, there's going to be more space between the surface of the puck of ground coffee, and the shower screen above, and you're not likely to get the same pressure. If you do this and it's still flowing too fast, just adjust the grind accordingly. Cheers
Not sure I would agree that freshly ground with cheaper grinder and pre ground are the same
I don't think I said they're the same? Did I? If I did, then ignore me, I was talking rubbish ;-). It would depend on the coffee, the grinder, and how long ago the pre-ground was ground. Cheers
Which scale do you use in the video? Any recommendations? Just upgraded to the bambino plus and have a smart grinder pro
Hi :-). I was using the Brewista smart scale but I broke it - I'm now using this: th-cam.com/video/-AFA7QTNDi8/w-d-xo.html Cheers :-)
@@Coffee_Kev thanks!
Great vídeo series. I just bought the Bambino Plus, happy with it, but I am struggling in getting decent micro foam for latte.
Are you steaming manually or using Auto?
@@Coffee_Kev hello, I hace been steaming auto. Tried to do it manually but need to practice more yo get desired micro foam. Thanks for your response and cheers from Mexico City.
Awesome, thanks!!
No problem :-)
Thanks for the videos! Just purchased a bambino after watching them. What dosage would you recommend using the dual wall basket and what ratio? I cant seem to get anything longer than 13 seconds with 18g in at 1:2 or does this not really matter with the dual wall? I'm mostly drinking milkies anyway.
Cheers Tim. About 19g usually, does depend tho, are u using the razor tool? I don't think you can really gauge it by flow rate tho with the dual wall basket. Cheers
We've had this machine a few months and the machine seemed to choke every time we bought pre ground to espresso grind from small batch roasters (Origin, Roasting Party). Now works with aeropress size.
Hi Cari, is this with the dual wall basket? Cheers
@@Coffee_Kev Yep! We did buy a single wall but that didn't work well with the pre ground coffee. So now use the dual wall with aeropress size pre ground from Origin Coffee.