Think I've bought 1 can of cold brew (which was ok, but not great) and a handful of barrister made cold brews over the years, nitro being by far the best, just don't seem to be many places doing it. Much more likely to buy iced tea tbh.
Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread
- Thread starter Siliconslave
- Start date
Parents have had a few (one in old house, one in new house) and given the amount they spit and steam when pouring boiling* water i'm not sure i'd want to use it directly into an aeropress.I’m thinking of purchasing a hot water tap for our new kitchen but don’t want to be in the position of having to say, decant water via another vessel to cool it slightly
think so yes
my wife vitoed getting an Uber Boiler in our new kitchen... apparently spending £4k for pour over wasn't cost effective 
found this rather neat Hoffman coffee recipe calculator when making way too much iced coffee yesterday:
mascent.github.io
Hoffmann fanmade coffee calculator
mascent.github.io
Yes, probably a two cup, or two with a bit extra 
Time for some retro coffee
I wish, purfrock, the next best thing...
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That'll be the cheap stuff, goes up to about £25 for 330g
yup, thats the machine he had restored and is now (as per the end of the video) installed in Purfrock for about 6 weeks. You can do a side by side tasting of their retro italian espresso style blend against squaremile's redbrick pulled on a modern machine.
The comparison is actually really interesting, the 'Il Grifone' is like an elevated illy or Lavazza, that really deep, chocolatey dark espresso flavour without any of the sweet sharpness of a modern, fruity espresso. Lovely rich full mouth feel and a strong bitter undertone. The redbrick is, as ever, beautifully flavoursome but in comparison the fruit and sweetness really pops.
On good chunk of the lever machines, especially the commercial ones, you don't have direct control over the pressure, its more of a pumping up the pressure than just pushing the water through (like the la pavonis).
finally on coffee prices, the green beans have been sharply rising as have roasting costs, a lot of places have been trying to mask this to date (probably by working down their stock) - thats quite jump though!
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How do the footprints work out for you? The Elizabeth is quite a bit bigger overall! That being said it does warm up quicker and allows for push button operation. You can configure temperature (can't on the mara), shot time and turn off the steam boiler from the looks of it.
The MaraX is a bit more manual, with the classic E61 letting you turn the water on and offer, can even add the pressure control paddle if you want. Its also a load smaller than the Elizabeth...
I'd probably go with the 'beth tbh from what you wanted.
The MaraX is a bit more manual, with the classic E61 letting you turn the water on and offer, can even add the pressure control paddle if you want. Its also a load smaller than the Elizabeth...
I'd probably go with the 'beth tbh from what you wanted.
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You can set a pre-infusion on the Elizabeth afaik - the mara you can put a group head thermometer on it, but then you can't have a pressure dial as well. You do have a high/mid/low setting on the maraX but no PID (89C to 91C / 91C to 93C / 93C to 95C)
Nice to seem people putting more time and money into single dose grinders
Doesn't look like a bad option!
I do quite fancy a Sage Precision Brewer for the office, but fear for my caffeine intake - maybe i could have decaf between espressos...
& second Ray's question!
& second Ray's question!
looks like a gaggia classic, rancilio silvia, Sage barrister pro (or similar) and sage precision brewer. Afaik only the Gaggia uses a e61 size grouphead.
you want some Hames Joffman for the real scoop:
I had a long, heartfelt (but lighthearted) argument with a good friend about the merits of espresso vs pour over - but the reality is value for money of dropping £200-300 a good grinder and £20 on v60 or the like will get you much better coffee than the same on an espresso machine - the fellow ode is a great (and great looking) alternative to the Eureka Filtro, albeit about £100 more.
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ok, that is really interesting - on first look it looks very pretty (although a fingerprint magnet in its current state), incredibly thin but thats because it doesn't have a water tank.
Its very expensive for what is essentially a lever machine without any boiler or steam capabilities, but its a good way to create a relatively simple machine from a hardware point of view while concentrating on pressure control and temperature stability.
While theres no way i'm backing a coffee machine on kickstarter it is a fascinating approach, I wonder what it'll end up retailing for (if it gets that far)
Its very expensive for what is essentially a lever machine without any boiler or steam capabilities, but its a good way to create a relatively simple machine from a hardware point of view while concentrating on pressure control and temperature stability.
While theres no way i'm backing a coffee machine on kickstarter it is a fascinating approach, I wonder what it'll end up retailing for (if it gets that far)
Nice gift - technically i guess it produces something like espresso but if it weren't the season of good will to all you'd be chased out of here with pitch forksI have just been given one of these from work.
Am I in the right thread? Never used one before..need to start researching. Scary!
Once you've finished the nespresso pods I'd take a look at the specialty alternatives you can get:
https://www.origincoffee.co.uk/products/coffee-pod-subscription?variant=40055650943049
Compostable Coffee Pods Nespresso® Compatible
Freshly roasted and 100% home compostable, biodegradable coffee capsules. Discover Rave's range of Nespresso® Compatible coffee pods straight from the roastery. Shop online today and get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25.
ravecoffee.co.uk
30 Nespresso® Compatible Coffee Pods
Shop our letterbox-friendly pack of 30 coffee pod refills in a range of blends. ✓ Organic ✓ Nespresso compatible ✓ Compostable pods. Free Delivery on orders £25+
grind.co.uk
if your in a hard water area it can be worth using bottled, tesco's own bottled isn't a bad compromise or the waitrose value stuff if you can get it
I believe the capsules are are generally designed for specific amounts of water, lungo, ristretto etc. From a quick scan of the product page your pretty much limited to that sort of selection. One thing i'd always do is add the water for longer coffees to the cup separately, the idea of pumping a more and an espressos worth of water through the capsule is not a good one!
Optimising the shot is about playing with the various options you have control over to get the most out of the coffee - with non-nespresso machines you have control over things like the amount and grind of coffee, the pressure of the pump, and the temperature and amount of water you pass though the coffee. By varying these things you can 'optimise' the shot to get different flavours and textures from the coffee.
Nespresso is designed to (for better or worse) do away with these variables and give consistency on a button press.
And just because i've not posted a James Hoffman video in a page or two, its a long one, but actually very entertaining
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The glass keepcups are the best Ive used, but they are a bit bulky...