Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

cymatty said:
Yes, it's a porlex tall.
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Love the Japanese branding! All the ones I've seen were without the box (sitting on people's shelves). :)

Youstolemyname said:
just out of interest what is everyone's favourite coffee on Hasbean at the minute? Loving the Ethiopian which tastes of blueberries!
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I tried this one a few months ago and I loved it, it was earthy, funky, full-bodied and punguent! Very unlike the current trend for filter coffee to be "clear" (ie. weak) and "bright" (ie. more acidic than the sulphur seas of Enceladus) that champion brewers tend to favour.
 
smit101 said:
Cheers for replies! Narrowed it down to either the Sage or Ascaso, problem with the Ascaso is it seems to be aimed purely at espresso with no facility to grind larger amounts of beans into a container for French press etc, mainly use Gaggia Classic at home but use a French press at work so need to grind up larger amounts of beans sometimes which looks like it could be a tad awkward with the Ascaso. (I suppose this might be where the yoghurt pot mod comes in?)
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Yeah, I have a small tupperware sealable box that I sometimes grind into if I'm taking coffee out with me. It's usually good for about 3 hours and maybe 3 decent mugs of Chemex (which I also take with me).
 
smit101 said:
(I suppose this might be where the yoghurt pot mod comes in?)
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The yoghurt pot mod (it doesn't actually have to be a yoghurt pot of course), is basically a trimmed down pot which fits into the portafilter, so that if you have a doserless grinder, the coffee doesn't fly out all over the place. Just like this (2nd image halfway down the page). It also allows you to remove any clumps in the coffee without spilling it.
 
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OK. I suppose if someone can't think of anything else to buy someone who likes coffee a lot you buy them a bag of expensive coffee. What about that Civet 'processed' coffee, is that worth buying??
 
Just picked up an Aeropress as the wife was complaining about the lack of decaf options with our nespresso - for $30 with an extra 350 filters and the carrybag seems like a bargain!

I'm not sure if I'll go as far as weighing everything out to the gram and exact water temperature but seems pretty idiot-proof and makes a lovely coffee, super smooth.

Any handy tips, tricks or websites to check out without me having to sort through 4,000 posts in this thread? :p I've tried the inverted mixing trick but it seems to be a recipe for more mess vs getting half a dozen drips in your coffee before you start plunging so....
 
Youstolemyname said:
That's a lovely cup. I order something different every time but have gone back for some of the Ethiopian blueberry stuff
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I love this. Also love the blueberry flavoured or more unusual.

I am currently loving the brundi coffee from has bean. It is amazing in both milk and pour over.

Also getting to grips with my aero press and am massively impressed with it. It's so simple and easy to use. A top present for any coffee nut.
 
Rich_L said:
Just picked up an Aeropress as the wife was complaining about the lack of decaf options with our nespresso - for $30 with an extra 350 filters and the carrybag seems like a bargain!

I'm not sure if I'll go as far as weighing everything out to the gram and exact water temperature but seems pretty idiot-proof and makes a lovely coffee, super smooth.

Any handy tips, tricks or websites to check out without me having to sort through 4,000 posts in this thread? :p I've tried the inverted mixing trick but it seems to be a recipe for more mess vs getting half a dozen drips in your coffee before you start plunging so....
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It is a bargain. If you get used to how many scoops per cup and how long the water in your kettle takes to cool sufficiently, then there's no need to weigh or measure anything. Plus I quite like the interest of the varying flavours resulting from not measuring and experimenting.

I know what you mean about the inverted method. It's *slightly* more faff because you can't stick it straight on the mug and you have to turn it upside down to pour it, and it's literally pointless as there's no discernible difference to the normal upright method.

You'll hear people saying that they get a 'more consistent brew' using the inverted method etc., but there's no way they'd be able to tell the difference in a blind test. People have claimed all sorts about the inverted method vs. upright and it's all BS tbh, in my not-so-humble opinion.

I've tried the inverted method because I don't like the drips, no other reason. And I couldn't tell a jot of difference.

Tips I'd give are:

- Grind the beans fine, almost espresso.
- Pass boiling water through the entire AeroPress, filter included, into your mug, thereby simultaneously heating the mug and AeroPress. Then pass the AeroPress water straight into this water in the mug.
- Don't pass too much water through the coffee. It will make it noticeably more bitter.
- Rinse the filter and re-use it a few times.
 
Cool, I think the next step is probably a decent grinder and the slippery slope begins...plus one of the doctors I work with has a coffee plantation in Hawaii so source of discount 100% Kona coffee right there :cool:

Good tip about passing the water through first, thanks :)
 
Grimley said:
OK. I suppose if someone can't think of anything else to buy someone who likes coffee a lot you buy them a bag of expensive coffee. What about that Civet 'processed' coffee, is that worth buying??
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mmm.... It was a present from Hasbean Steve. :D

As for Kopi Luwak.... No. Just no.

http://sprudge.com/?s=kopi+luwak&x=0&y=0

Rich_L said:
Just picked up an Aeropress as the wife was complaining about the lack of decaf options with our nespresso - for $30 with an extra 350 filters and the carrybag seems like a bargain!

I'm not sure if I'll go as far as weighing everything out to the gram and exact water temperature but seems pretty idiot-proof and makes a lovely coffee, super smooth.

Any handy tips, tricks or websites to check out without me having to sort through 4,000 posts in this thread? :p I've tried the inverted mixing trick but it seems to be a recipe for more mess vs getting half a dozen drips in your coffee before you start plunging so....
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Check out the aeropress section of www.brewmethods.com

I generally use the aeropress inverted and a metal mesh filter instead of the paper ones.

1) Rinse the Kaffeologie S-Filter put into cap.
2) Put hot water into mug.
3) Invert aeropress with plunger just level with the bottom of the aeropress
4) Run some hot water into the areopress
5) Empty aeropress
6) Add 17g ground coffee
7) Add 210g of 92°C water and start timer.
8)With a metal skewer, stir. *rather than a spoon or wooden stirrer as they'll cause spillage*
9) Add lid and push the top of the aeropress down so that coffee just starts to come through the filter.
10) Empty mug
11) Wait until the time hits 1:15 then invert onto mug.
12) Slowly press down until empty. Removing the air in step 9 stops most of the 'pffffffftttt'
13) Empty Aeropress.
14) Drink. :D

If you're getting some mess from the inverted method, try putting the mug on top first then flipping the whole lot over.
 
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Annnnnnyway...

[Engage pimping mode]

London Coffee Festival is next week

http://www.londoncoffeefestival.com/

Brewers Cup, Cup Tasting Championship, Coffe In Good Spirits, Latte Art Championship, Ibrik Championship and the UK Barista Championship as well as all the other events and displays going on over 4 days in London.

Also, big party going on at Prufrock Coffee on Thursday night to celebrate the launch of the new Victoria Arduino Black Eagle espresso machine.

Your UKBC Semi-Finalists

Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood - Colonna & Small’s, Bath
Dale Harris - Has Bean, Stafford
John Gordon - Square Mile Coffee Roasters, London
Darryl Docherty - Artisan Roast, Edinburgh
Estelle Bright - Caravan Coffee, London
Joe Meagher - Flat Caps Coffee, Newcastle
Dan Fellows - Origin Coffee Ltd, Cornwall
Diana Johnston - Avenue G Cafe, Glasgow
Heidi Beeton - Prufrock Coffee, London
Ewan Osprey-Allan - Brew Lab, Edinburgh
Caspar Steel - J. Atkinson & Co., Lancaster
Don Altizo - Baxter Storey, London
Imogen Ludman - Six Eight Kafé, Birmingham
Steve Pearson - Devon Coffee, Devon
Alexander Passmore - Origin Coffee Ltd, Cornwall
Chris Walton - Union Hand-Roasted
Emiliya Yordanova - Avenue G Café, Glasgow
Mark Williams - Relish Food & Drink
Jason Gonzalez - Colonna and Small’s, Bath
Laura Holmes - Small Batch Coffee Company, Brighton

Tickets are still available I believe, so come along and drink lots of coffee, eat lots of the various cakes and chocolate and cheer on your local Barista.

I'll be there for all 4 days on the UKBC stage, probably doing all the live tweeting and general dogsbody. :D

Best bit of news recently is that Sprudge.com are now the UKBC's media partners. :D They're coming over to do their stuff. Could be fun.

Oh, and a voucher for 2 tickets for £20 - HHLCF6
Tickets are selling out I believe, so you may have to be a bit quick.

[disengage pimping mode]
 
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Rich_L said:
Just picked up an Aeropress as the wife was complaining about the lack of decaf options with our nespresso - for $30 with an extra 350 filters and the carrybag seems like a bargain!

I'm not sure if I'll go as far as weighing everything out to the gram and exact water temperature but seems pretty idiot-proof and makes a lovely coffee, super smooth.

Any handy tips, tricks or websites to check out without me having to sort through 4,000 posts in this thread? :p I've tried the inverted mixing trick but it seems to be a recipe for more mess vs getting half a dozen drips in your coffee before you start plunging so....
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The Aeropress is great, I use mine every day at work. Check out the (short but sweet) Aeropress thread here, there are a few different methods in it. Inverted is probably the most popular way, and I'm not sure what you are doing if you make a mess that way :p. Inverted also means you can leave it to brew for longer if you want.
 
Participant said:
I must say the recommended brewing times for the AeroPress seem rather short. I tend to let mine sit for a few minutes as per French press. Not sure if this has any effect as it's been ground fine enough that it probably doesn't really need to brew per se.
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The general rule of thumb is that the finer the grind, the shorter the brew time. So an espresso is a fine grind, and about 25 seconds to pull a shot. For french press it is a coarse grind, and a brew time of 3-4 minutes. For the Aeropress, my grind is somewhere in the middle of the two and I usually leave it for about 60 seconds. The grind and time does vary though, depending on the beans I'm using.
 
molinari said:
The general rule of thumb is that the finer the grind, the shorter the brew time. So an espresso is a fine grind, and about 25 seconds to pull a shot. For french press it is a coarse grind, and a brew time of 3-4 minutes. For the Aeropress, my grind is somewhere in the middle of the two and I usually leave it for about 60 seconds. The grind and time does vary though, depending on the beans I'm using.
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is grind size as critical for an aeropress? im very tempted but i dont want to adjust my grinder to switch between espresso and coarse?

are they worth the price? (i did try to take up raymond on his free offer but i never saw a reply and didnt want to seem rude and trust him)

im also going to be without my machine for a bit as it has a leaky steam knob and after chasing them up Fracino have offered to repair it under warrenty if i can send it to them.... will be interesting to ship but i do still have the original box but its about 30Kg so its going to cost a few pennys.
 
GTanny said:
is grind size as critical for an Aeropress? I'm very tempted but i don't want to adjust my grinder to switch between espresso and coarse?

are they worth the price?
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Yes they are worth it! Grind size isn't as critical for an Aeropress as it is for espresso. I don't use an espresso grind with mine, but I'd probably start with 30 seconds brew time and see how that tastes.
 
Siliconslave said:
Hey Flibs, as a common coffee snob / punter is it worth coming along for the industry days? I can only do Thurs / Friday day time...
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I think so. I did the opening day a couple of years ago and stayed on the for party afterwards which was fun. All of the stalls should be there and there will be some workshops going on during the industry days which are pretty interesting. Spent a few minutes listening in to one last year and it gave me a couple of ideas.

Will probably be quieter as well The web site should show whats going on. http://www.londoncoffeefestival.com/WhatsOn.aspx

UKBC is on the Saturday and Sunday, I think it's going to be coffee in good spirits, latte art, brewers cup, cup tasting championships on the industry days.
 
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