The Ross Droplet Technique (RDT) involves wetting your beans before grinding to minimize static. It works, so if you have a grinder that does suffer from a lot of static, then you might want to do it, but if you do, I would highly recommend only doing this when single dosing, and using the SPN tool instead. That is unless it's one of my videos of course, because I always wipe the machine when I get it bang on, to hide the evidence ;-). Upgraded Basket Again, if you like you can swap out the shower screen, the metal mesh part where the water drips from, with a compatible shower screen, and as with the baskets, you can do that if you like, but it's unlikely to make a big difference, and whether any difference means an improvement, is down to personal taste. Freshly Roasted Coffee Beans

As I've mentioned, if you do want to use a WDT tool, then you'll need a dosing ring to place on the portafilter to stop the coffee going all over the place when you use the tool. Tamping Mat

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There’s always something else though, isn’t there? Something you haven’t got, that no desperate relative hasn’t come across while searching for a Christmas present (let’s be honest, they never get it quite right do they, as lovely as their intentions are).

I'm starting off with the most obvious tools and accessories for home barista espresso, so if you're already familiar with most of these, and/or you already have most of them, then just scroll down a bit to the likes of the WDT, RDT, Shower Screens, Mods and so on, that may be what you came here to find. Coffee Grinder If we're talking about the espresso machines that are really made for the hands-off user, we're really talking about the Sage Oracle Touch, and you don't need a tamper for that as it tamps for you, using the internal tamping fan. The Oracle also has a tamping fan and takes care of the tamping for you, so you don't need a manual tamper for the Oracle either. What is clever about this, is that there is an inside section within the aluminium housing which you can take out to empty and clean. This means you don’t have to lug the entire box out with you every time you empty it, but also, the inner section is dishwasher safe, so when it comes to cleaning it, you can just pop it straight into the dishwasher and go about your business! Obviously, someone can move from one category to the other. I certainly did, I was a very normal coffee drinker up until about 2014/2015 when I started to dip my toes in the proverbial rabbit hole, which is what prompted me to start this blog, almost straight away, just as a hobby for the first few years.

On emptying though, a nice little touch from Dreamfarm is that you get a little booklet which details how to use coffee grinds as a natural fertiliser – it’s nothing that you couldn’t find on the internet, but it’s handy to have there. That being said, you're not obliged to use the Sage milk jug, obviously, and there are loads of different milk jugs on the market.

Our next selection is the Grindenstein – the flagship product for Australian kitchen appliance inventors Dreamfarm, who have been innovating and creating handy gadgets since 2003. An SPN tool is a revolutionary tool invented by ancient Egyptians (probably) that can also be used for stirring, and spooning. I'd strongly advise against spraying your beans in the bag, or your hopper, or wherever you store your beans, because wetting your beans and leaving them wet, will in (theoretically at least) increase the aging process. If you do store your beans in the hopper, by the way, I'd advise against that too, hoppers aren't intended for storage. See: One thing to keep in mind, though, is that changing to an IMS or VST competition basket, for example, isn't necessarily going to give you better tasting espresso, just different, and they usually allow you to grind finer, so it's something you may want to try, but it's not crucial. Upgraded Shower Screen Sage are expert at designing kitchen appliances with cleverly integrated functions to take the stress out of cooking. Their range of smart appliances, which includes kettles, toasters, and blenders, through to their ice cream maker and microwaves, has been exactingly considered to give you perfect results every time, all at the push of a button. Whether its prepping, boiling, whisking, whipping, grilling, cooking and baking, thanks to Sage, cooking has never been so easy.Measuring 13.4×13.4x13cm it is a decent size – big enough so that you don’t spend a lot of time emptying, but without imposing itself on your kitchen counter. A happy medium. Most people will make a short trip to the bin, and dispose of that in there. We have all done that at some time, and one or two solid taps is enough to get it into the bin, and out of sight. After all that costs you nothing except the short trip to the bin. Personally, I think most people using the Oracle or Oracle Touch aren't going to want to mess about doing this, and I think it's fairly unlikely that they'll notice the difference in cup quality anyway unless they happen to have an amazing, Q-grader level palate. Dosing Ring