Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

Went to Starbucks on saturday, ordered, the girl asked for my name to put on the cup as it was busy....this is what i got back. lol

 
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as bad as starbucks is their filter coffee is one of the more drinkable highstreet coffees - probably because they can't really screw it up & if you pay attention you can get them to brew it fresh :)

Having said that their espresso based coffees are horribly burned and over extracted - their baristers can't pull a shot for sit
 
I found Starbucks to have the worse coffee, there's a some good milk from other stores but starbucks take the biscuit with a frothy mess that more like they blew bubbles in bubblebath.

The best coffee I've had so far is a place on Grafton Street in Dublin. It's a well known place that has an oriental/empire-esure interior. Great coffee (ground from any selection of beans behind the counter) and the milk is silk velvet.
 
NickK said:
I found Starbucks to have the worse coffee, there's a some good milk from other stores but starbucks take the biscuit with a frothy mess that more like they blew bubbles in bubblebath.

The best coffee I've had so far is a place on Grafton Street in Dublin. It's a well known place that has an oriental/empire-esure interior. Great coffee (ground from any selection of beans behind the counter) and the milk is silk velvet.
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sorry - when i say "highstreet" coffee i really mean "big chain tat-house" coffee. I'm lactose intolerant so don't really care about milk frothing, but in terms of being able to pull shots pretty much every chain i've been to is shocking :(

Having said that there are some amazing coffee places on the high street, we've got a great place called Taylor Street Baristers in Richmond that's claimed a corner of "source" who do lovely espressos...
 
Raymond Lin said:
But the girl who served me is stunning :p
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No excuse.

Siliconslave said:
Having said that there are some amazing coffee places on the high street, we've got a great place called Taylor Street Baristers in Richmond that's claimed a corner of "source" who do lovely espressos...
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One's I have visited in London that I could happily recommend.

Dose Espresso
Monmouth Coffee
Flat White
Square Mile Coffee
 
I got my aeropress, using it at work but it's a bit meh to be honest.

The coffee is okay, fair enough, its from pre-grounded stuff from Costa but it's just not amazing as everyone is banging on about it. What am I doing wrong? (apart from the pre-grounded stuff..can't escape it, no grinder at work....well, i could bring in my Zass lol)

This is for making Americano

1 - Add 2/3 tea spoon of grind
2 - Add hot water almost to the top

(I would stir but the water start going down straight away)

3 - Put on plunge and press down

I feel like i am not getting enough extraction from the coffee itself?
 
Sounds like the grind isn't fine enough and not enough coffee.
1 of the scoops is one 'shot' - I use 3 of them and then top up with water as well afterwards.
 
Raymond Lin said:
I feel like i am not getting enough extraction from the coffee itself?
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I agree with Flibster, definitely too much water and likely not a decent grind. I tend to use one scoop per shot and grind so fine (with my Zass) that it actually requires a reasonable amount of pressure to compress. I try to aim for 20-25 seconds extraction.
 
beh said:
I agree with Flibster, definitely too much water and likely not a decent grind. I tend to use one scoop per shot and grind so fine (with my Zass) that it actually requires a reasonable amount of pressure to compress. I try to aim for 20-25 seconds extraction.
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I pretty much use the same grind that I use for espresso - possibly slightly coarser.

3 scoops of coffee.
Water added to midway of the 3 marker
Poured in slowly
Stirred for 10 seconds ensuring that all the grounds are wet - advantage of the clear plastic construction.
Compress.
 
agreed - espresso grind (your using a similar amount of pressure after all) and a pretty strict following of the marking:scoops

I do 2:2.5ish and really put the pressure on it, gives a very decent approximation of espresso :)

I do tend to give it a very quick stir to get the coffee moving as well...
 
FInally got me an aeropress, it's a clever little gadget! I don't think it's _quite_ better than my stove top though. It can make stronger espresso but the stove top does a much better job of bringing the aroma of the coffee out. I'll have to buy a bag of something nice and expensive (within limits) from Hasbean and get some friends round for a blind taste test, Pepsi-style. It's so much more convenient than a stove top that it's basically taken over though. Hardly any washing required!
What I was really surprised by is how oily the coffee it makes is. I expected a paper-filtered coffee to be a lot cleaner if you know what I mean.
 
Royal Mail Fail! I've been expecting 4 bags of coffee from Hasbean since saturday.

They can get me my Barclaycard bill within 48 hours - but something I actually want... Nooooo.

Bah!
 
So I'm just about finished my Indian Monsoon Malabar and I think you guys should choose which coffee I buy next, it has to be suitable for my french press though.
What I will be drinking (coffee wise) is in your hands!
 
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