Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

Where do you live? I'm sure people can recommend a local-ish roaster. Otherwise go nuts :p

Common recommendations on this thread (off the top of my head) are Has Bean, Square Mile, Rave..
 
Participant said:
The beans are Sumatra Mandheling from Waitrose, which are the best I've found for my tastes. Very oily and quite dark
Click to expand...

Thanks - now tried them - saw them on sale £2.69 in Waitrose 227g very good value taste (pure espresso) compares well with coffee compass at 2x the cost.
wish they would have roasting date but now concluded typically bb - 1 year.
loved this review on Waitrose site too - a troll without taste-buds.
The only real taste is burnt caramel, all hints of coffee flavour have been roasted away. A waste of decent Arabica beans; any cheap bean would taste much the same after being cremated as these have. Barely acceptable with milk, almost undrinkable as espresso.
Click to expand...

Egon said:
Anyone ordered from https://www.coffee.uk.com/ (Coffee Plant) before?
Click to expand...
surprising could not see any reviews on coffeeforums, but look competitively priced with good selection (lots of use of the word fairtrade on their site)
 
..as soon as you are in the supermarket at >£5 / 250g you need to consider value versus buying direct, where you know the provenance of the coffee
(how it has been handled/storage temp, consistency, and roasting date)

it would be interesting to know who roasts the Waitrose/JS own brands ?
 
that is a big quantity ~2l vol - I have a smaller turnover, and used to use smaller 400g vacuuvin containers,
now with the Rave 1Kg pack usually decant smaller quantities 200g every (too) few days into a smaller bag, trying to avoid exposing the 1KG (kept in ziplock) to air too regularly,
this also avoids any expensive dropping accidents that can occur manhandling bigger quantities, as I grind on demand, for espresso.
Ideally should be brown glass/opaque,like coffee hopper, stoneware ? to keep light out - but maybe 2L Kilner jar
 
Ayahuasca said:
Got my aeropress and I'm very pleased with how coffee tastes now, will never have instant again :D

I'm after some ground coffee with a strong milk chocolate note if anyone knows any.
Click to expand...

Scam said:
Where do you live? I'm sure people can recommend a local-ish roaster. Otherwise go nuts :p

Common recommendations on this thread (off the top of my head) are Has Bean, Square Mile, Rave..
Click to expand...
;)

South American and Central American beans are probably the best intro to "good" coffee. They sit around the chocolatey/nutty flavours. Brazilians are well known for it. Start there and branch out.
 
Anything Fazenda-y from HasBean is good. People also speak highly of the Rave Fudge Blend.

I also really recommend getting a grinder. Even a cheapish burr grinder will do the job well for aeropress coffee and will be a huge improvement :)
 
So, I've had my Sage Duo for about a month now and am really pleased with it.

I'm finding it easy to use and so far I am getting pretty good results, the steam wand has taken a little bit of getting used to!

My poison of choice is a flat white, or at least my version of it. A double espresso (60ml based on the markings on my shot glasses) and 120ml of steamed milk.

My cheap delonghi grinder needs upgrading - to what is the question? I'm prepared to spend up to £300 give or take £50 on a grinder, as always too much choice and everyone has an opinion! The Duo will likely be upgraded to something better in time, but not for a good while, I want to change the grinder now for the long haul.

I've narrowed it down to the following, Baratza Virtuoso, Baratza Preciso, Eureka Mignon MK2 and the Sage Grinder Pro. Anyone have any feedback on any of the above, or an alternative?

Cheers :)
 
If I was upgrading, from that list I'd choose the mignon.

But that's only from reading and watching reviews. As well as reading these and coffee forums. The mignon is highly regarded (at that price range).

You might want to look at the rancilio rocky, similar price, looks nicer too imo.
 
following earlier discussions, i read amazon preciso reviews which suggest they are fragile and some questions about adequate UK support, so I had crossed them off list of
future maybe's - but TBO w/Rocky, now I am using it stepless, it is fine (15+ years in & will survive a holocaust - I assume build quality remains good)
 
Have you considered a second hand Mazzer super jolly. They are quite large but they seem to be what a lot of coffee places use as their workhorse. You can get them for under £300 second hand quite easily.

I've got a duo temp pro and I'm still a bit confused sometimes when I use it.

People were suggesting that I go for 2:1 ratio of bean to coffee so 18g -> 36g coffee. That never gave me nice shots. I moved to 3:1 ratio and that is much better but I tend to drink flat whites so the coffee isn't quite so important as if you are drinking strait espresso. Just now I got a bit distracted and ended up with ~90g of coffee from 17g of beans and its probably the best espresso I have pulled from it so far. Whats going on?!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom