the hopper is too pretty for home use tbh - if your a bit handy with a hacksaw you could easily cut it down at least 5-10cm i'd say...
Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread
- Thread starter Siliconslave
- Start date
the hopper is too pretty for home use tbh - if your a bit handy with a hacksaw you could easily cut it down at least 5-10cm i'd say...
Too pretty for home use?
Nothing is too pretty for home use.
Would you say that Mila Kunis is too pretty for home use? I can certainly think of some uses for her at home.
It's a possibility though. I can't think of a smaller grinder that does as well for the same sort of prices - other than a manual one. Instead of hacksawing it, I've got access to a lathe that would make a much neater job of it.
Hmmm...
Ok, point taken, I'll Re-read my posts from now on
even I have no idea what I was ok about...Regardless as you say you'll be hard pushed to find a better grinder for the price, infact there aren't many high end grinders that are smaller... Even the mazzer mini is about the same height iirc.
There is a nice cap to go over the top of the hopper which would easily hide your sloppy handy work
Associate
I've just got myself a Planetary Design "Double Shot" Cafetiere so I can get my caffeine fix at work - I was toying with the idea of getting a cheap cafetiere from the supermarket but with the state our kitchen is in the glass wouldn't last a minute. I've used it for the first time this morning with some freshly roasted & ground Kenyan Peaberry - it makes a pretty good black coffee, I'm not sure how it will faire when I try and add milk as you need to add it before putting the lid (and therefor the plunger/press) on top - I'll give that a try later 
Imberital MC2 installed at the parents.
Took the hopper to the machine shop and removed about 3" from it.
Forgotten what a good machine it really was. Shame that the doserless version tends to hold a couple of grams of grounds in the chute - still easily worked around.
Parents are lucky in that their espresso machine has portafilter that fits into the support and allows the grounds to go straight into it. Gaggia ones never fitted.
Took the hopper to the machine shop and removed about 3" from it.
Forgotten what a good machine it really was. Shame that the doserless version tends to hold a couple of grams of grounds in the chute - still easily worked around.
Parents are lucky in that their espresso machine has portafilter that fits into the support and allows the grounds to go straight into it. Gaggia ones never fitted.
Associate
Just a quick mention for those that haven't seen Steve Leightons In My Mug video blog. Its a weekly blog with information on different beans, its very good.
He also has a blog called Tamper Tantrum, this is made monthly along with Colin Harmon.
He also has a blog called Tamper Tantrum, this is made monthly along with Colin Harmon.
Watched the first one. Over an hour long - spent a lot of the time laughing.
We've got a Mazzer Super Jolly grinder in the office, and it's been in constant use since the start of the year. Hopefully we'll be getting a load of beans from Hasbean soon but i want to give the grinder a clean before we use the beans (it hasn't been cleaned since we got it!). At home I use the Grape nuts cereal (mentioned early in this thread) with my hand grinder, but can I also use it to clean this automatic grinder?
Honestly people, what's wrong with Nescafe Instant? :lol:
Ok, that was a joke before I get flamed to death. I love a well made coffee but I dont drink enough of it to justify buying a grinder and coffee machine, as well as the expensive coffee beans.
Right now I live off of instants but to try to spend a couple quid more for better stuff... Eg, Starbucks house blend (not actually too bad). My mate sometimes brings back a couple kilo's of freshly ground colombian from his frequent trips (lucky bugger) but not had any in a couple of years
I miss good coffee, but it just seems too expensive to do yourself... although doing it yourself does give you the best results.
'tis sort of a catch 22
Ok, that was a joke before I get flamed to death. I love a well made coffee but I dont drink enough of it to justify buying a grinder and coffee machine, as well as the expensive coffee beans.
Right now I live off of instants but to try to spend a couple quid more for better stuff... Eg, Starbucks house blend (not actually too bad). My mate sometimes brings back a couple kilo's of freshly ground colombian from his frequent trips (lucky bugger) but not had any in a couple of years
I miss good coffee, but it just seems too expensive to do yourself... although doing it yourself does give you the best results.
'tis sort of a catch 22
Caporegime
Honestly people, what's wrong with Nescafe Instant? :lol:
Ok, that was a joke before I get flamed to death. I love a well made coffee but I dont drink enough of it to justify buying a grinder and coffee machine, as well as the expensive coffee beans.
Right now I live off of instants but to try to spend a couple quid more for better stuff... Eg, Starbucks house blend (not actually too bad). My mate sometimes brings back a couple kilo's of freshly ground colombian from his frequent trips (lucky bugger) but not had any in a couple of years
I miss good coffee, but it just seems too expensive to do yourself... although doing it yourself does give you the best results.
'tis sort of a catch 22
You can get good coffee cheaply for around £25.
Get a french press for like £10, get a blade grinder
for £15, and bingo !Even with a blade grinder, with the right technique you can get good fresh coffee. It'll be better than your instant !
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Ive been enjoying my coffee from a French Press lately, its amazing how many flavours you can get from the beans, plus it's also a lot less hassle than my Silvia but you can't beat frothy coffee
You can get good coffee cheaply for around £25.
Get a french press for like £10, get a blade grinder
Even with a blade grinder, with the right technique you can get good fresh coffee. It'll be better than your instant !
noooooo not a blade grinder... horrible things
but as Raymond says you don't really need to spend too much. A cheap stove top or french press can make great coffee (look back in the thread for tips on using them both)
Grinder wise i'd always push people to spend the extra and get a burr grinder, you can usually pickup a second hand dualit / starbucks one pretty cheaply on the bay
Associate
I don't know if this has been mentioned but Steve Leighton occasionally gives out discount coupons for his store on his video blog.
However, nearly couldn't watch to the end of the latest one, he really is sodomising that poor coffee boiling it for that long. Brewing in a brik is idiot-proof, even 9-year-old girls can do it back home, how can an expert in coffee do it so badly?
Incidentally, has anyone tried Ethiopian Tomoca? A friend received some as a gift, as far as I can see it's not actually sold anywhere in this country
However, nearly couldn't watch to the end of the latest one, he really is sodomising that poor coffee boiling it for that long. Brewing in a brik is idiot-proof, even 9-year-old girls can do it back home, how can an expert in coffee do it so badly?
Incidentally, has anyone tried Ethiopian Tomoca? A friend received some as a gift, as far as I can see it's not actually sold anywhere in this country
Soldato
Well since reading this thread I started investing more time in making the coffees I drink so often. Bought some Bodum french presses, a single and a four cup, and had up until yesterday been using pre-ground from the supermarkets. Well, helping to clear a family members cottage, I find this, amongst loads of awesome vintage kitchen stuff. Google doesn't say much about it, but it's old, wooden, and does a great grind with the beans I bought. Looks cool sat on the kitchen counter too!
Time to mail-order some more beans I think!
Time to mail-order some more beans I think!
A recommendation from me.
Steve @ Hasbean has been doing the In My Mug videos for a while now, and I've been enjoying them. So I got round to signing up for a subscription (only 3 months at the moment).
Get a different coffee each week - get to try it while watching the In My Mug video - It's a good idea. I get to taste stuff I normally wouldn't buy and I'm really enjoying it. A couple of the coffees I've found have been really good as filter and not good as espresso and vice versa.
Well worth the £50 I think.
Steve @ Hasbean has been doing the In My Mug videos for a while now, and I've been enjoying them. So I got round to signing up for a subscription (only 3 months at the moment).
Get a different coffee each week - get to try it while watching the In My Mug video - It's a good idea. I get to taste stuff I normally wouldn't buy and I'm really enjoying it. A couple of the coffees I've found have been really good as filter and not good as espresso and vice versa.
Well worth the £50 I think.
Just to advise you all that Gaggia UK has lost it's distributorship for gaggia equipment after Phillips made the aquisition of the saeco group (of which gaggia was owned). I am not sure how this will effect the end user for domestic equipment (probably will improve overall service long term) However It will effect service warranty in the short term. The comercial market is a lot less clear as phillips have not made it known what there intentions are with this side of the market. I will post back any info that maybe of interest to you guys as and when I come across it.
Caporegime
Well my Gaggia will be out of warranty in 3 months.....touch wood, lets hope it won't change how i can get it repaired !
Heres my method when I cba
1 - take cup
2 - put 1 teaspoon nescafe gold
3 - pour with cold milk from the fridge to the brim
4 - Input approx 60kJ of microwave energy
5 - Stir and down it
Worst thing is that is true.