Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

[jpaul]

the beauty of M&S can easily take things (EDIT\) back - but you used the beans exclusively for aeropress then ?

I thought their Italian beans were unusual being a darker roast;
most of the shop beans seem to be a lighter roast, which I concluded is what the shops determined the predominating filter coffee market prefer the taste of.
(don't know what the stats are on home espresso machine ownership, but I guess pod machines killed espresso machines )
Personal taste, lighter beans give me little depth of flavour in espresso.

Darker beans may deteriorate faster due to oxidation, so perhaps that is why they are less in packets, they could be harder too and with more oil, less easy to grind manually ?

 

[robj20]

Got my order from Tank Coffee, very handy packaging.

Give it ago when i get home from work tonight.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Currently rocking same Sainsbury’s taste the difference beans, £3 a bag, it’s not bad either! It’s not as dark as the M&S stuff.

 

[jpaul]

Got my order from Tank Coffee, very handy packaging.

and the veridct is ? (they are local to Manchester anyway - no ?)

I did note the M&S coffee did not have a one-way valve in the packets, so with de-gassing the bag expands.
I do not really see why the metalized paper bags from Rave do not expand first, even though in theory the valve could let some air/co2 out, if the pressure became too great.

Use vinegar in my esspresso machine, followed by bicarbonate of soda.

how do you use bicarb ? neutralizing it ? - bicarb is difficult to dissolve completely, I find.

I was considering backflushing with a combination of pulycaf and citric acid powder, since afaik pulycaf does not have an acid, and some of the narrower pathways that may get scale are on the way to the brewhead -
(mixing chemicals might not be the best plan though)

 

[robj20]

and the veridct is ? (they are local to Manchester anyway - no ?)

Very nice great flavours and nice and smooth.
Only tried the espresso one so far, once that's gone try the other their house blend.

I dissolve the bicarb in boiling water first.

 

[Royal Fleet]

Interesting fact. A Sage Barista Express is rather difficult to use when you have fractured the bones in both elbows.

#shouldhavetrainedthekids
#wifesdripcoffeesucks

 

[shez]

Just ordered from Rave for the first time using the introductory 20% discount. Switching from my local roasters who are on the pricey side.
I've gone for the following;
1x Signature Blend - 1kg
1x Kenya Gitchathaini AA - 350g
1x Costa Rica Finca Don Beto - 350g
1x Colombian Suarez - 350g
Looking forward to reporting back.

This lot has lasted me a long time. I have to say the signature blend is really reliable, great depth of flavour.

 

[Dj_Jestar]

over 2kg of coffee.. I'm not surprised it has lasted you! It's got to be stale by the time you get to the end of that lot, surely? 1kg lasts me about 3 weeks and I'm about ready to bin the last 100g or so because it's stale by then.

 

[FrenchTart]

Just received my order for 17x250g of coffee from HasBean too.

Only two of the bags are for me though

 

[Egon]

do you get a discount for ordering that much?

 

[Egon]

Gone back to rave to try their single origin offer, ordered the following:
* Guatemala el socorro
* Brazil sitio tres marias
* Burundi kibingo

Opened the brazilian yesterday, beautiful... it's got a lovely sweet, nutty taste as an espresso and just as good in a flat white too.

Well I really enjoyed all three of these. The quality of the beans from Rave compared to the last place (coffeeplant) is just night and day. All three from Rave had their own distinct character.

The Brazil sitio tres marias and Burundi kibingo were both quite sweet, I couldn't really identify with the tasting notes Rave mentioned with the Burundi (Apricot, Mango, Bubblegum) but it was lovely in both an espresso, long black or flat white. The Brazilian was my favourite, lovely sweetness at first and then a nutty aftertaste that lingered a little, also just as versatile as the Burundi but best as an espresso for me.
The Guatemalan was different, a slightly darker roast with a much deeper chocolatey taste.

I think that after 8 months of owning the MC2 and the Gaggia I have become more consistent in my shots which has helped me to deal with the variations between beans. I've also become more accustomed to the different flavours beans can bring, I'm still by no means an expert but it is satisfying to know how much better I am at this than I was in March... I'm still utterly, truly awful at latte art though

 

[FrenchTart]

do you get a discount for ordering that much?

Nope. To be honest given the amount I spend with HasBean on our group order(s) each month I'm a bit sad they've not offered me anything

 

[Siliconslave]

Repeat after me:

I must not order a £130 scandi coffee advent calender
I must not order a £130 scandi coffee advent calender
I must not order a £130 scandi coffee advent calender
I must not tell the wife I've ordered a £130 scandi coffee advent calender


http://www.kaffebox.no/scandinavian-specialty-coffee-advent-calendar/

Don't worry, I haven't!

 

[jpaul]

you will need to be accurate at dialling in at 50g a packet - ( I am wondering what the equivalent of the proverbial cuban cigar manufacture technique is, for coffee )

meanwhile at the bargain end of the market - todays untried purchase 450g £5, following recommendation from someone who also liked the M&S.it

 

[Somnambulist]

Balls, Horsham Coffee Roasters aren't offering the variety pack subscription I was using any more. Didn't realise my rolling thing had ended until I realised I'd run out of coffee. :'(

Was in M&S this morning and grabbed the only bag of whole beans they had, think they were Ethepoian but can't remember off the top of my head. Oh well, off to look at other sort-of-local roasters...

 

[haz_pro]

Will they not let you start it back up if you speak to them?

w/r to local coffee roasters, there is Surrey Hills Coffee in Forest Green, near Ockley. I bought a couple of bags from them not long ago and they were lovely - they're on the expensive end of the spectrum though and I'm not sure if they have a subscription.

PID

I'm in the process of fitting a PID to my Gaggia Classic at the moment. It's been on hold for a while having bought a DC input PID which I blew up (not realising it was DC - DOH).

Done the majority of the fit yesterday evening, with 3 more wires to cut build and add to the machine - looking forward to being able to have espresso again!

W/r to calibrating the offset (i.e. 100 on the PID from the boiler mounted thermostat is presumably different to the actual water temp) - any ideas what this should be? I've seen 8c thrown about, but seems like a big difference to me.

 

[jpaul]

... make sure you get a genuine SSR, if you google this there are some fakes about, had specced a D4825 myself ... before I then decided to buy/refurb a HX machine.

 

[Flibster]

Well damn....
World Barista Championship ended today and it's been an interesting competition.

UK through to the final 6, along with Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, USA and Canada....

And well, Dale Harris from Hasbean won... Lovely guy and really well deserved after many attempts.

 

[Dj_Jestar]

Are those championships still (hilariously) not about the coffee, and about the barista's ability to keep talking for 15 mins?

 

[jpaul]

wbc web-site does not appear to have the results yet or judges summary comments for finalists ?
watched Dales' finals session - don't know whether he is a chemistry graduate but it was bit precocious realing of elaborate chemical names from gas chromatography analysis
- poached pear/granola/cream flavours - seemed a bit like auto suggestion to the judges

Do they reveal judges score cards - maybe they break out contribution of drink taste and barista's 'presentation' ?

the controlled process - grinding, tamping, machine setup, is impressive.

At each stage of the competition, the requirement is the same: make four espressos, four espresso and milk beverages, and four signature drinks, within 15 minutes, while at the same time telling the jury about the beans, the flavour profile of the coffee and the story behind the signature drink.

“Making 12 drinks in 15 minutes ... everbody says that’s really hard. But believe it or not, that’s not the hard part, it’s the stuff that goes around that. You’ve got certain things that you need to say to score points with the judges. There are certain boxes that need to be ticked in order to do well,” Wynn says of the carefully choreographed routines, which are performed to music of the barista’s chosing.

Kelly used a green-tip geisha coffee from Finca Deborah in Volcán, Panama, produced by Jamison Savage, in his finals competition.
In his espresso, he used flavours of orange blossom, rose petal, orange and strawberry. His milk-based coffee featured strawberry and caramel.
For his signature course, he added a blackcurrant reduction to enhance dark fruit notes in his espresso.
He then created a fairy floss from a mixture of raw sugar and freeze-dried Manuka honey, before dissolving this floss with the other espresso.
His signature course featured "floral aromatics", with orange blossom, rose, peach and a hint of red cherry to finish.
Kelly used a new milk machine, which was created through collaboration between ONA Coffee's Angus Mackie and engineers at Breville Australia, in the competition.