Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

Twirlywoos · 24 Sep 2014 at 00:01

Coffee UK forum members get a fiver off that price. Just go through the forums.

davetherave2 · 24 Sep 2014 at 00:24

Well I had already put my order in before I posted.

I usually have my In My Mug sub so don't really order too much additional coffee and when I do I usually get it from different places.

Actually am off to London this weekend for the NFL so may see what Monmouth have must try and visit Ozone Coffee again missed it last time I was in London.

Twirlywoos · 26 Sep 2014 at 00:00

I'm going to get the bits to PID a Gaggia myself. It seems easy and cheap to do but having steam control also seems a bit more complicated.

Twirlywoos · 9 Oct 2014 at 23:24

Just got back from picking up a second hand mahlkoenig k30 es.

Can't wait to dial it in tomorrow, but whilst testing it out it's so quiet and the on demand is flipping fast. Goodbye Krups Argos jobbie you shall be used as a spice grinder now.

molinari · 10 Oct 2014 at 08:18

Minipresso

I saw an article on the Minipresso the other day, thought it looked interesting, and perhaps there may be some interest here too.
Basically, it's a compact hand-pumped espresso maker, and it costs about £25. Now I'm not suggesting that it replace your home machine, but for use out and about or whilst camping, it looks like it could be quite good. I'd even consider taking it to hotels with me considering some of the muck I've been served as coffee.
I've not read any proper coffee-snob reviews yet, but I'll keep an eye out as I'd consider getting one. They start shipping in 2015.

Minipresso

Siliconslave · 10 Oct 2014 at 09:51

Looks interesting but theres no way that pump would build up enough pressure to get a decent espresso... I've got a Handpresso thing and the amount of effort you need to put in to get enough pressure is insane. Although the coffee you get out is pretty decent

molinari · 10 Oct 2014 at 15:33

Siliconslave said:
Looks interesting but theres no way that pump would build up enough pressure to get a decent espresso... I've got a Handpresso thing and the amount of effort you need to put in to get enough pressure is insane. Although the coffee you get out is pretty decent

That's what I thought when I first saw it, but according to their website:

The extraction capability of the Minipresso won't disappoint you. 116 psi is exactly the pressure produced by traditional piston-driven espresso machines.

and then:

the compression force required may vary from 4 to 5 Kg.

You can see in the video that he is pressing fairly hard on the pump, but is doing so one-handed.

Just had a quick look at Handpresso, and it's £80 on Amazon. £25 for this seems a bargain if it lives up to what they say.

Grimley · 16 Oct 2014 at 13:12

I've just ordered some of this: (350g bag)

http://ravecoffee.co.uk/collections/single-origin-coffee/products/colombian-suarez

Looks good value, I think it will have some bite to it (football related pun)

LOAM · 18 Oct 2014 at 12:40

Well the gaggia classic has arrived, so much to learn.

davetherave2 · 21 Oct 2014 at 22:22

So have decided to try out Pact Coffee as a change of pace from my usual Has Bean IMM. I had some Monmouth the other week and it wasn't the greatest I have to say. I wonder if it was on the shelf for a while, as it didn't have that "fresh" taste.

Anyway, hopefully not against the rules but if you would like to try out Pact for a £1 you can use my "invitation code" *removed*

Alternatively using V60Welcome will get you a free V60 starter kit with your first bag. (this is what I have done)

Siliconslave · 22 Oct 2014 at 12:10

davetherave2 said:
Anyway, hopefully not against the rules but if you would like to try out Pact for a £1 you can use my "invitation code"

it is i'm afraid - but if you go through the process you get your first bag for £1 as well

davetherave2 · 22 Oct 2014 at 13:33

Siliconslave said:
it is i'm afraid - but if you go through the process you get your first bag for £1 as well

I thought it might be so have removed it. I still think paying for a full price bag and getting a v60 for free is still worth the £6.95 price.

Siliconslave · 22 Oct 2014 at 14:15

davetherave2 said:
I thought it might be so have removed it. I still think paying for a full price bag and getting a v60 for free is still worth the £6.95 price.

thats kinda tempting just for the v60

Flibster · 22 Oct 2014 at 18:38

Spent a few days in London recently and have been going to a few new places.

Workshop Fitzrovia - Yup. It's a Workshop cafe. Excellent.
Free State Coffee - Uses Union beans. Was pretty hipster style, but the coffee was very good.
Curators Gallery - My favourite new place. Nude supplied coffee, although did have some beans from Hope & Glory which were spectacular.
Alchemy - Been a while since I went here last, so classing it as new. It's lovely. Great little place with some cracking coffee.
Noble Espresso - A mobile place outside Kings Cross. Was running beans from The Barn in Berlin when I paid a visit. Was extremely good.

And a few older places too.

Caravan Kings Cross - Been a bit disappointed the last couple of times I've been. Coffee has been ok. But the beans I've bought have been great.
Prufrock - Has gone VERY downhill recently. Coffee is still excellent, but the service has gone to utter pants.
Taylor St. Liverpool St. Union beans in a very busy location. It's quick and easy to find. Not the best, but definitely way above average.

Siliconslave · 23 Oct 2014 at 12:11

I hate to say this but i tried the costa Old Paradise Street Limited Roasts the other day and was very impressed, much richer deeper flavor and not at all burnt or over-extracted as they tend to be (although in costas usual way it was served at around boiling point so nearly impossible to drink for about 10min...)

Need to find Nobel Espresso - spend far too long hanging around kings cross and all i seem to do is buy ale from M&S or so/so coffee from Kabin (Monmouth espresso beans which imho is not their strong suit by a long way)

Flibster · 24 Oct 2014 at 00:31

Noble is in the little courtyard bit outside platform 9/10/11 and on the way to Caravan Kings Cross.

Not been into a costa in several years now. Could be that they had just had the machine replaced and hadn't got round to letting it get rancid yet?

Rich_L · 24 Oct 2014 at 00:38

Taylor St. Liverpool St. Union beans in a very busy location. It's quick and easy to find. Not the best, but definitely way above average.

This was my local for a couple years as I worked about 2 buildings further up New Street - flat white with a toasted cheese and vegemite sarnie was a good start to the day on many occasions! Plus they get props because a Starbucks opened across the road and promptly closed within a year from what I recall because people would rather queue out of the building at Taylor St rather than cross over :cool:

Twirlywoos · 25 Oct 2014 at 10:17

Received a newsletter from bellabarista. They are venturing into roasting and have £5 off their blends using code:

theroastery

http://www.bellabarista.co.uk/coffee/bella-barista-house-roast-coffee.html

Edit valid til oct 31st

FrenchTart · 25 Oct 2014 at 10:37

majnu said:
Received a newsletter from bellabarista. They are venturing into roasting and have £5 off their blends using code:

theroastery

http://www.bellabarista.co.uk/coffee/bella-barista-house-roast-coffee.html

Edit valid til oct 31st

The code doesn't seem to work for me unfortunately :/

Twirlywoos · 25 Oct 2014 at 18:46

FrenchTart said:
The code doesn't seem to work for me unfortunately :/

working here bud, try it again incase their was a glitch