actually the beans tend to be slightly better a couple of days to a week after roasting, they take time to settle down
grinder wise also try:
https://www.happydonkey.co.uk/
http://coffeehit.co.uk/
http://www.hasbean.co.uk/ sometimes have grinders
Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread
- Thread starter Siliconslave
- Start date
actually the beans tend to be slightly better a couple of days to a week after roasting, they take time to settle down
grinder wise also try:
https://www.happydonkey.co.uk/
http://coffeehit.co.uk/
http://www.hasbean.co.uk/ sometimes have grinders
very nice, did you follow a guide?
The replacement steam knob looks pretty cool as well, where did you get that from?
The replacement steam knob looks pretty cool as well, where did you get that from?
If flibster, Siliconslave or some of the other really knowledgeable guys disagree with me I would go with their opinion though
not more knowledge, just more opinionated
I've had a few drawn out arguments/discussion over espresso vs filter with coffee nut friends and in all honesty I'm not totally convinced theres a clear winner either way.
I only drink my coffee black and make espresso/ long black and filter at home. Generally it depends on the beans which method i prefer. The last set of beans i had for packed worked incredibly well with the filter bringing out its subtle caramel flavor.
The lasted batch from Rave just doesn't seem to work in a filter form, brings out a flavor i just don't get along with (not really identified what it is yet) but is lovely in espresso / long black form
Sometimes i think i could get buy without a machine, occasionally i'll go exclusively filter for a month or so at a time, but a nice espresso when i'm in the mood is more than worth having the machine around.
James Hoffman wrote in quite a lot of depth about how he was giving up on home espresso a few years ago on his blog: http://www.jimseven.com/ (can't find the specific post) arguing that home espresso machine just couldn't get a good enough coffee to bother with, and that brewing was much more accessible to the man on the street... I strongly disagreed at the time however i've some what grown to agree over the years.
Home espresso is hard, but with some dedication you can make a drink thats far far better than highstreet chains (or dare i say it pod coffee) so for those of us without access to the top cafes of London (etc) its still a good option
yes the chains in london (except notes and taylor street) are as bad as anywhere else, however theres also a far better culture of small specialist coffee places thats world class so your not usually too far from a decent place: http://www.thelondoncoffeemap.com/map
Well that after 9 years of good service my Gaggia has finally given up and died... not had a chance to really look into why but its not pumping through the group head anymore, just making a load of noise 
Seems to make steam though so i guess its probably fixable. Need to make some time and strip it down at some point, in all honesty its probably because I haven't been descaling it as much as i should
In other news did a little coffee tour of london yesterday hitting:
Seems to make steam though so i guess its probably fixable. Need to make some time and strip it down at some point, in all honesty its probably because I haven't been descaling it as much as i should
In other news did a little coffee tour of london yesterday hitting:
- Nobel espresso Kings Cross - great little stall serving notes beans & making a good americano - will defiantly be going back now i know where it is
- Workshop coffee - serving their own Cult of done beans which i've had really mixed experience with, the first beans i tried (back when they were st Ali) i really didn't get along with. The first time I visited workshop I had one of the best americanos i've ever had (beautifully balanced with subtle hints of jasmin) and since then its never quite lived up to that. Still they do make a great drink.
- Break for lunch and bourbon at Meat Liquor
- onto mothers milk which was the friendliest place i've ever been too - they unfortunately had run out of their usual beans JB Kaffee due to holiday miscommunications / postage but served me a very nice espresso using some drop coffee (stockholm) beans they'd been given by another local cafe. Will be making my way back at some point to sample their standard fare
- Finally hit Foxcraft & Ginger in Soho for another espresso, again a great drink, sweet and rich with the roasting party beans i've not had before - might have to pick some up when i next need some beans
Could well be a scale build up.
Pump still work if you turn it on with the steam wand open?
Nobel regularly change their bean supplier. Had some great espresso from them The Barn in Berlin. They're becoming a bit of a favourite place to visit. Luckilly my train gets into Kings Cross.
Next time you're around the Oxford Circus area, try Curators Gallery too. Had a fantastic guest coffee tail end of the year from Hope & Glory. There's also another Workshop around there.
yer, pump seems to be good still, just need to make some time to open it up really.
Nobel seem great and i'll be visiting them much more often in the mornings (maybe even tomorrow actually...) although the fact they close at 4 is a bit of a pain for the evening
I walked past Curators and the other Workshop but was riding a little too high on the caffeine buzz by that point to stop off - If i'd thought about it properly i'd have been doing singles all morning!
Well, i've finally got through all 200 paper filters i had for my clever dripper so laziness and necessity mean i'm onto using the v60 for my coffee needs, which isn't a bad thing - good to play around with another method properly
Also got a set of digital scales, something i've never really been to bothered about (but the misses wanted them for bread making) so I'm not ultra exact - 20g of coffee, 30ml water & 30seconds for the bloom, 270ml more water over 2min.
Lovely
Also got a set of digital scales, something i've never really been to bothered about (but the misses wanted them for bread making) so I'm not ultra exact - 20g of coffee, 30ml water & 30seconds for the bloom, 270ml more water over 2min.
Lovely
bought myself a coffee bean roaster
my first batch came out great!
no more having to re order beans ever week!
very brave, which one did you get? I'm constantly tempted - although mainly for kudos / toys sake - chances are the coffee i'd roast wouldn't be any better, or fresher than mail order!
RE Kickstarter - i've had a few projects fold after funding, it sucks, especially when its for stupid reasons such as in fighting
Still it is a risk & while KS should be more upfront about that risk i'm sure you didn't go into it blind.
sounds like they've swapped to a stainless steel boiler and added some energy saving gubbins... But most importantly the OPV and steam wand mods no longer work
breakfast bomb was pretty good last time i had it - there only £4.50 each so grab a couple of the blends and see which one you get along with.
Alternatively just get some Redbrick from squaremile
Alternatively just get some Redbrick from squaremile
good stuff, enjoy!
biggest thing you can do now to step up your game is grab a (decentish) grinder and some beans from a good roaster
That hario grinder is pretty decent and good value for the money.
Can't stand milk in coffee i'm afraid so no use on the frother i'm afraid
beans wise there are loads, a few good ones to start with are:
http://shop.squaremilecoffee.com/
http://www.hasbean.co.uk
http://ravecoffee.co.uk/
but read back a few pages to find reviews / general chit chat about various roasters
edit: Good call on the scales as well - biggest thing for consistency is measuring and timing everything, means you can experiment while keeping all but one variable static I resisted for ages but recently got a £15 Salter digital scale from the high street and use it religiously now
Can't stand milk in coffee i'm afraid so no use on the frother i'm afraid
beans wise there are loads, a few good ones to start with are:
http://shop.squaremilecoffee.com/
http://www.hasbean.co.uk
http://ravecoffee.co.uk/
but read back a few pages to find reviews / general chit chat about various roasters
edit: Good call on the scales as well - biggest thing for consistency is measuring and timing everything, means you can experiment while keeping all but one variable static
I resisted for ages but recently got a £15 Salter digital scale from the high street and use it religiously now
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sort of - the Gaggia needs fixing at some point, still using the MC2 but for Clever dripper & pour over (v60)
If your happy with the lavazza then great, your correct grinding fresh makes a huge difference but i'd say fresh beans are as important as a good grinder, if not more so.
The Lavazza stuff will be a good month or so old by the time it reaches you, hasbean / rave will be a few days too fresh in most cases. Coffee generally need a couple of days to settle post roasting. It'll still be fresh for you at least a week or so later if kept in the bags provided in a dark cool place and as i say you've already got a months headstart on the Lavazza.
No, you won't get it anywhere near that cheaply though, in fact 2kg of a cheap hasbean blend (£4.50) will be nearly 5x more expensive. Will it be 5x better I don't know but your cost per cup shouldn't be any more than £0.45 which i'd say isn't bad value. Hell the coffee i've got at the moment was £14 for 400g, but again thats only around £0.75 a cup.... one of the few luxuries i enjoy daily
its certainly not ideal, but freezing once isn't actually too bad if you can seal it up. Biggest problem is the moisture getting into the beans. I sometimes freeze sealed bags if i get too many but once open they go in the cupboard.
This was just something random i found on the net but its a very small amount.
Any recipes for just a 1 cup'er would be great?
some good guides here: http://www.handloom.co.uk/blog/videos-5-different-cafetiere-recipes/ which may help
Repeat after me, I do not need a drip coffee machine, i do not need a drip coffee machine, i really need a drip coffee machine: http://ratiocoffee.com/
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which cups?
today i'm finally decided to play with my "breur" cold brewer:
60g of coffee, thats quite a bit! Filter ground as suggested. I'm using Hasbean's "Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama Yellow Bourbon Pulped Natural"
In position on the jug
Pre-wet the grinds:
24oz (damn americans) of water and ice
2.5hrs later its still going slowly (pebble watch on there as i was trying to do a timelaps, which failed)
60g of coffee, thats quite a bit! Filter ground as suggested. I'm using Hasbean's "Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira da Grama Yellow Bourbon Pulped Natural"
In position on the jug
Pre-wet the grinds:
24oz (damn americans) of water and ice
2.5hrs later its still going slowly (pebble watch on there as i was trying to do a timelaps, which failed
)
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Hurrah! Another Bruer.
I love mine. Sadly, currently in storage until it gets a little warmer or until we move into a bigger place.
Mine lives in the box on top of a kitchen cupboard as theres no space for it anywhere else
also until we move to a bigger place and i get a coffee brewing cupboard (and start buying more coffee toys!)Very nice, finally finished around 4pm - so just shy of 5hours, i may have had the drip set a little slow though.
Only got a chance to try a small glass as i didn't want to over caffeinate late in the day but really sweet and smooth.
I did try this method: http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/do-it-yourself/2011/08/how-to-make-cold-brew-coffee/ a good while back and it worked pretty well - you do need a filter to get rid of the grounds, but you can pick them up very cheaply from a large supermarket (or get decent ones from a coffee shop)
didnt even know this thread existed!
i just recently bought a bean to cup coffee machine (posted a picture in the images of stuff bought thread - its a melitta cafeo ci)
whats a good bean to go for?!
my current recommendations:
http://shop.squaremilecoffee.com/ - the Redbrick is consistently great
http://hasbean.co.uk - the brazil fazenda cachoeira da grama yellow bourbon is a bit of a mouthfull, but very popular
http://ravecoffee.co.uk/ - Personally i like the Rwanda Karengera Red Bourbon
But it partly depends on your preferences (sweet, rich, acidic etc) and how you drink it (black, white etc)