Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

@Siliconslave, rememeber reading somewhere (don't remember where, probably some forum like coffeegeek) that you don't actually need any special equipment to cold-brew. The method I read involved simply putting coarse-ground beans in the centre of a piece of muslin, trying it up in an airtight knot and immersing it in a sealed jug/tupper/whatever of water in the fridge for 24 hours. No idea if it would work, haven't tried it.
 
Ignore, wrong thread.

PS. Oh no, wait, guess they were merged? Reinstating original post:
Get a stove-top espresso maker (or "moka pots" as some people call them, no idea why) for £25 or so, and a Starbucks Barista grinder for £60. There you go, £15 under budget, you can put the rest towards a little £10 handheld mixer and a tiny milk pot so you can froth milk for your capuccinos! :) (Takes longer than with a steam wand but it works! You're not gonna get a decent steam wand on any machine that costs £100 anyway.)
 
Last edited:
My Coffee/Espresso Journey

4348529500_66cdcc3a00_z.jpg


then

5375785575_1f5398bed4_z.jpg



Now I want a Speedster :p

Speedster-rood-geel-1.jpg
 
Last edited:
I've now been messing about with the baratza/mahlkonig vario for about 5 days now and i'm very pleased with it (although a little buzzing from all the sampling!)

Pros:

  • Very small, about the same height of the rancilio silva
  • Surprisingly weighty (i come from the school that says weight = quality)
  • despite quite a bit of plastic it all feels very high quality
  • Very easy to dial in with the micro/macro adjustment
  • nice and easy to go from espresso to filter coffee and back again
  • low grind retention
  • Surprisingly quiet
  • Not had many problems with static so far

Cons:

  • Factory calibration of mine means not much head room to get finer than I currently have it set
  • European version doesn't seem to include the calibration tool
  • the LCD display doesn't have great viewing angles
  • The box attachment isn't great for trying to pour from

Overall I'd throughly recommend it and now I have it in my hands it feels good value for £320. The grind quality is really good although admittedly I don't have much in the way of comparison. My coffee has really taken a step up as a result of adding this into the mix. Up to now I've been buying pre-ground from monmouth/hasbean and thought my flavour and crema were pretty good. But this is a monumental step up from that and it now feels pretty close to the quality i can get at places like flat white and prufrock in london (admittedly my latte art is ****!)

Also, for anyone getting into coffee my advice is don't get seduced by the bells and whistles of espresso machines if your budget is tight. Buy a good grinder and play around with pour over coffee and then add an espresso machine when funds allow. I didn't believe it when I read it at coffeegeek and home-barista but I can now say its true, the grinder has made a far bigger improvement in my coffee making than adding the silvia over the cheap espresso machine I had before :)
 
nicks3607 said:
I've got some John Lewis vouchers, and am thinking about getting a grinder, as I fancy an Aeropress for my birthday. Anyone got any experience with their (short) list?

John Lewis grinders
Click to expand...

They're all much of a muchness, even the expensive kitchenaid ones aren't great.

My recomendation would be sell on the vouchers and buy a Starbucks Barista burr grinder as a basic getting started one.

Anyhoo...

My, this looks interesting. ;)

http://coffeecommon.com/post/7201870790/we-were-really-excited-to-announce-our-partnership
 
As someone who loves good coffee, but doesn't make my own at home, can someone please explain the pros of an Aeropress over a Bodum French Press?
 
IceBus said:
As someone who loves good coffee, but doesn't make my own at home, can someone please explain the pros of an Aeropress over a Bodum French Press?
Click to expand...

Flexibility- You can make Espresso style and Filter Coffee

Easy- the Aeropress is incredibly easy to use and very forgiving- French Press will punish you with horrible taste if you make a slight error. It's very hard to get consistent result with FP (imo :) )

Ease of clean up- the ease and speed of clean up in unrivaled. And this does become an issue once the novelty of a new brewer wears off and you're making your hundredth cup etc.

Aeropress with the Hasbean filter method give you a very strong cup of very tasty Coffee. You can then dilute it to your taste. The taste is different to that of FP. The paper filters of the Aeropress can impart a somewhat papery taste (to some people, can't say that it has been an issue for me). It does give you a clean cup of Coffee, with no grounds or fines (powder from griding Coffee) finding it's way into your cup. Coffee oils (tasty) are blocked by paper, wheras they would not be blocked by a metal filter. Paper does hold back those oils, which can increase your Cholesterol apparently, but it does leave you with a lovely clean cup.

You can make your Coffee faster in an Aeropress, but not a great deal faster, so it's hardly a dealbreaker.
 
E61 Grouphead said:
Flexibility- You can make Espresso style and Filter Coffee

Easy- the Aeropress is incredibly easy to use and very forgiving- French Press will punish you with horrible taste if you make a slight error. It's very hard to get consistent result with FP (imo :) )

Ease of clean up- the ease and speed of clean up in unrivaled. And this does become an issue once the novelty of a new brewer wears off and you're making your hundredth cup etc.

Aeropress with the Hasbean filter method give you a very strong cup of very tasty Coffee. You can then dilute it to your taste. The taste is different to that of FP. The paper filters of the Aeropress can impart a somewhat papery taste (to some people, can't say that it has been an issue for me). It does give you a clean cup of Coffee, with no grounds or fines (powder from griding Coffee) finding it's way into your cup. Coffee oils (tasty) are blocked by paper, wheras they would not be blocked by a metal filter. Paper does hold back those oils, which can increase your Cholesterol apparently, but it does leave you with a lovely clean cup.

You can make your Coffee faster in an Aeropress, but not a great deal faster, so it's hardly a dealbreaker.
Click to expand...

You can get the Coava Disk filter for the aeropress too, which is a metal filter and eliminates all the papery taste, but will let some fines through into the cup.
 
You know, if you hadn't said "burrs" there's no way I could've known what that was! :p

On the downside, I'm away for 2 weeks and I just realized I left the cloth filter for my vac pot on the dishrack... no doubt it'll dry and grow mouldy! :(
 
so just tried the grinder with an colleges aeropress and fresh beans from hasbean and its looking good, need to dial the grind out a bit and seep for longer but all in all i'm happy.
 
Quick little pimp for this thats happening tomorr... later today.

tumblrlnryhdty231qh4syt.jpg


I'll be there, after a little detour to St. Ali I think. I've run out of espresso coffee and their Cult of Done is amazing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom