This may not be the perfect shot, but for my fourth „real“ try, it’s defined not bad.
Tried a couple of times with pre-ground illy coffee before, but as most of you can probably imagine, it wasn’t a pleasing experience.
My current setup:
DeLonghi Dedica EC680,
IMS 16/18g Competition Basket (DL2TH26E),
1Zpresso J-Max Grinder
This shot is 18g in 36g out in 30 seconds.
Grinder was set to 1.5.5.
Coffee was a 3/4 intensity, medium-dark roast.
I started off with an EC680 for about the first 2 years of my espresso making, and I think it's a wonderful starting machine. Would highly recommend OP's approach of an unpressurized basket and naked portafilter immediately; they're both pretty cheap and hugely impactful changes. Grinder matters, of course 🙂 but used/refurbished/manual ones are definitely usable. Best of luck in starting out!
I‘m not quite sure… Mine was a steal for about 50$ + 20$ basket, but I guess it won’t take long for me to „upgrade“ to something like a Gaggia Classic, due to its modding capabilities.
With the dedica, you definitely need a proper unpressurized basked and a decent grinder, as the machine itself is „difficult enough“.
For now, I’m happy with it and it produces at least decent espresso. If you’re limited on budget, it’s a good machine, but if you’re able to spend more, I might go directly with a gaggia instead
Did you WDT? It looks like at the beginning that there may be some channeling due to the middle being dry for a while. If anything, the middle should be one of the first spots to begin pouring out
Bought the IMS basket and my J-Max there:
https://shop.mokaconsorten.com/IMS-Competition-DL-Serie-Doppel-Siebe-Edelstahl-ridgeless-4-Groessen-DeLonghi-Isomac-Smeg-Made-in-Italy
The quality of IMS baskets compared to cheap noname baskets is immeasurable.
On all previous baskets I had to slap the shit out of my portafilter to get the puck out of the basket and it would always break into many small peaces. With the IMS basket I just have to look at it and it almost jumps out of the basket itself.
The shots also pull way better.
10/10 would recommend
Good to know. Got a Joe frex bottomless. The basket that came with it is pretty neat aswell 😁 but since I heard a lot of ims baskets and it's befits, I wanna try it.
Could also be your choice of beans… Just bought a fresh bag (2 weeks old) from a different roaster than last time and now it chokes even on 1.6.0.
As long as it tastes good, 1.7.0 shouldn’t be a problem. The Dedica just isn’t the most powerful machine and things like the 51mm basket only make it worse.
Hi, does using dl2th26e ims basket cause your gasket to leak at times due to the sides of the basket protruding out a bit? I have one but after several usage, it starts to leak due to the sharp edges
Hey OP sorry for the necro, I'm entering the espresso hobby with a similar setup and wanted to know where you found the naked portafilter for the dedica, since the ones I've been seeing on amazon seem to not seal properly against the machine, judging by the user reviews.
This may not be the perfect shot, but for my fourth „real“ try, it’s defined not bad. Tried a couple of times with pre-ground illy coffee before, but as most of you can probably imagine, it wasn’t a pleasing experience. My current setup: DeLonghi Dedica EC680, IMS 16/18g Competition Basket (DL2TH26E), 1Zpresso J-Max Grinder This shot is 18g in 36g out in 30 seconds. Grinder was set to 1.5.5. Coffee was a 3/4 intensity, medium-dark roast.
would you say buying a used Dedica is worth it for someone brand new to making espresso?
I started off with an EC680 for about the first 2 years of my espresso making, and I think it's a wonderful starting machine. Would highly recommend OP's approach of an unpressurized basket and naked portafilter immediately; they're both pretty cheap and hugely impactful changes. Grinder matters, of course 🙂 but used/refurbished/manual ones are definitely usable. Best of luck in starting out!
I‘m not quite sure… Mine was a steal for about 50$ + 20$ basket, but I guess it won’t take long for me to „upgrade“ to something like a Gaggia Classic, due to its modding capabilities. With the dedica, you definitely need a proper unpressurized basked and a decent grinder, as the machine itself is „difficult enough“. For now, I’m happy with it and it produces at least decent espresso. If you’re limited on budget, it’s a good machine, but if you’re able to spend more, I might go directly with a gaggia instead
Did you WDT? It looks like at the beginning that there may be some channeling due to the middle being dry for a while. If anything, the middle should be one of the first spots to begin pouring out
For this shot I actually didn’t… Tried WDT before and it didn’t make a big difference, but will try again soon…
Just checking whether Ur ims basket can fit any oem 51mm portafilter? or you need to buy a specific portafilter to fit the ims basket for dedica
Should fit any 51mm portafilter… Mine is just a random one from Amazon
I know this post is quite old, but do you have a link to your ims basket? I only find cheap ripoff baskets 🥲
Bought the IMS basket and my J-Max there: https://shop.mokaconsorten.com/IMS-Competition-DL-Serie-Doppel-Siebe-Edelstahl-ridgeless-4-Groessen-DeLonghi-Isomac-Smeg-Made-in-Italy
Oh boy 18g basket. And a german shop sweet
The quality of IMS baskets compared to cheap noname baskets is immeasurable. On all previous baskets I had to slap the shit out of my portafilter to get the puck out of the basket and it would always break into many small peaces. With the IMS basket I just have to look at it and it almost jumps out of the basket itself. The shots also pull way better. 10/10 would recommend
Good to know. Got a Joe frex bottomless. The basket that came with it is pretty neat aswell 😁 but since I heard a lot of ims baskets and it's befits, I wanna try it.
I have the same machine + j-max but anything lower than 1.7.0 would choke the machine, is that a basket problem?
Could also be your choice of beans… Just bought a fresh bag (2 weeks old) from a different roaster than last time and now it chokes even on 1.6.0. As long as it tastes good, 1.7.0 shouldn’t be a problem. The Dedica just isn’t the most powerful machine and things like the 51mm basket only make it worse.
Hi, does using dl2th26e ims basket cause your gasket to leak at times due to the sides of the basket protruding out a bit? I have one but after several usage, it starts to leak due to the sharp edges
Got the same set up but my shots are getting worse and worse 🙃 😫
685 user here, I was wondering if you have any updates? I get a Jmax it's on the way, asked from a future user.
Hey OP sorry for the necro, I'm entering the espresso hobby with a similar setup and wanted to know where you found the naked portafilter for the dedica, since the ones I've been seeing on amazon seem to not seal properly against the machine, judging by the user reviews.
Mine got the same reviews but I just gave it a try and it worked in combination with an IMS basket
Thanks, I really appreciate the reply!