Caporegime
- Joined
- 20 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 77,750
- Location
- Wish i was in a Ramen Shop Counter
lol, yup!
Generally speaking, filter coffee is the hardest to go wrong, you basically put the grind it and press a button and machine does the rest, where with an espresso if you press down too hard on the "tamper" (the tool that you use to press grind into the portafilter) and compact it too much, the coffee may take too long to go through and it will taste burnt. If the water passes too quick it will taste weak. It is not an exact science per say but it should take between 25 to 30 seconds to fill a double espresso. What also can alter that timing is the beans used (hence shops tends to stick with the same beans so they don't need to adjust the setting on the grinder), some beans need to be ground finer than others, and the pressure you press down will have a big effect on how water passes through it. Because of this, when I make it at home, whenever I put in a new bag of beans, the first couple of cups it often goes wrong. Sometimes the grind is too fine that no water passes through the machine at all so I have to bin that and dial down the grinder and try again. I could stick with the same beans and never have to adjust the settings but that's the fun part of coffee, there are a millions different beans out there and trying them out is like trying different types of beers or wine.
So, filter coffee is the easiest to make and if the pot is fresh, and you want an Americano type drink, think about having a filtered coffee instead. It is often cheaper too. Plus a latte is quite calorific, a cup of Americano/Filter coffee with no milk is less than 10cal per mug. A Starbucks Grande (medium) Egg nog latte is like 450cal, add a muffin to that you are looking at more energy than a quarter pounder burger.
This also explains a little why it cost as much as they are. Sure, coffee isn't worth £3 a drink…not materially no, but if made with the correct amount of attention and detail and made right, you are paying for the "expertise" and it taste a million times better than your Nescafe instant. What I find funny is when people ask for tea in coffee shops, you are not paying it for the labour or materials, they don't even add milk in for you, they only put in hot water and charges you £2.
Generally speaking, filter coffee is the hardest to go wrong, you basically put the grind it and press a button and machine does the rest, where with an espresso if you press down too hard on the "tamper" (the tool that you use to press grind into the portafilter) and compact it too much, the coffee may take too long to go through and it will taste burnt. If the water passes too quick it will taste weak. It is not an exact science per say but it should take between 25 to 30 seconds to fill a double espresso. What also can alter that timing is the beans used (hence shops tends to stick with the same beans so they don't need to adjust the setting on the grinder), some beans need to be ground finer than others, and the pressure you press down will have a big effect on how water passes through it. Because of this, when I make it at home, whenever I put in a new bag of beans, the first couple of cups it often goes wrong. Sometimes the grind is too fine that no water passes through the machine at all so I have to bin that and dial down the grinder and try again. I could stick with the same beans and never have to adjust the settings but that's the fun part of coffee, there are a millions different beans out there and trying them out is like trying different types of beers or wine.
So, filter coffee is the easiest to make and if the pot is fresh, and you want an Americano type drink, think about having a filtered coffee instead. It is often cheaper too. Plus a latte is quite calorific, a cup of Americano/Filter coffee with no milk is less than 10cal per mug. A Starbucks Grande (medium) Egg nog latte is like 450cal, add a muffin to that you are looking at more energy than a quarter pounder burger.
This also explains a little why it cost as much as they are. Sure, coffee isn't worth £3 a drink…not materially no, but if made with the correct amount of attention and detail and made right, you are paying for the "expertise" and it taste a million times better than your Nescafe instant. What I find funny is when people ask for tea in coffee shops, you are not paying it for the labour or materials, they don't even add milk in for you, they only put in hot water and charges you £2.
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didnt know we were now in Italy....
