Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

RobotXander said:
anyone checked out the new "Flat White" offering at either Costa or Starbucks? Thats pretty much how I make my coffee at home

Also, they had their version of instant coffee on sale too. Never got a sample sadly...
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Flat white is just 50% espresso (2 shots), plus 50% Whole milk, nothing special really. A bit like Capprucinno without the foam.

I got a sample from Starbucks through the post, it taste awful I think. Carte Noire is much nicer (for an instant).
 
Hey guys

My god that ''instant coffee'' from starbucks tastes rank!!!


Got a question guys, was hoping you could help :)

Making nice coffees now, just the milk I'm a bit stuck on.

Sometimes I get lots of bubbles, essentially no solid froth (i.e; when you put sugar in it sinks straight through) and sometimes I get it semi decent but not good enough.

The problem is though I forget what I do when I get it right. lol.

Anyone got any tips of frothing milk properly so I can get some decent thick solid foam for my lattes? Also like to try out latte art, however that'd be impossible with the milk I often produce!

Any help hugely appricaited. :).
 
Raymond Lin said:
Flat white is just 50% espresso (2 shots), plus 50% Whole milk, nothing special really. A bit like Capprucinno without the foam.
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Pretty much. Steamed milk with no foam and coffee.
Had one at Kaffeine in London a few weeks ago - it was alright, but I'm not one for milky drinks. Their americano was excellent though.

I'm sticking with Monmouth for my coffee needs in London at the moment - superb filter coffees.

Gangster said:
My god that ''instant coffee'' from starbucks tastes rank!!!
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So it's matches their normal coffee then. Superb - another one to avoid. ;)


And for those of you in Norwich - Finally we have a good coffee shop! :D

The Window
And on Twitter

Stocking Hasbean coffee :D
 
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Scottland said:
Is there anything comparable to the Gaggia Classic from other brands? How about any of the Ascaso ones (Basic/Arc)?
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Can't think of anything off the top of my head. The Classic was an utter bargain at the end of it's retail life. Regularly under £200...

Anyway - Off to have some damn good coffee this Saturday from Colin Harmon, who is the 2009 Irish Barista Champion (Who also came 4th in the WBC) and from John Gordon, the 2010 UK Barista Champion.

Doing a mini roadtrip *about 5 hour round trip* to go see Steve and the Hasbean roastery. :D All full up now - was going to post it earlier, but forgot...*sorry*

http://www.meetup.com/The-Has-Bean-Coffee-Meetup-Group/calendar/12806569/

Really looking forward to it - will need the caffeine after watching the F1 free practices and qualifying on the Friday and Saturday morning. Also will be picking up some coffee toys for the parents..and possibly myself. ;)
 
FatBoyObese said:
That's cool....I'm in Norwich over Easter so I'll be checking it out :D
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I'm visiting the parents then too - will be dropping in again. It's definitely worth the visit. Hayley is great, the coffee is superb too. Last time I was there the espresso was from the blend used to win the UKBC - very odd coffee - but lovely. For me, the biggest flavour in it was banana. :D

She has a few different coffees and can do aeropress, espresso based and also has a drip station.

You can see a bit more of the place in the In My Mug video here
 
I'm currently using an "after dinner" bean from Whittards which is seriously strong. Very light on the caffeine, but a very dark brew with a slightly different flavour.

Does anyone know why Whittards beans are much more shiny than beans from Hasbean? They also offer much less resistance in my hand grinder, it sort of feels "smoother" to grind, irrespective of how coarse the grind is.
 
p4radox said:
I'm currently using an "after dinner" bean from Whittards which is seriously strong. Very light on the caffeine, but a very dark brew with a slightly different flavour.

Does anyone know why Whittards beans are much more shiny than beans from Hasbean? They also offer much less resistance in my hand grinder, it sort of feels "smoother" to grind, irrespective of how coarse the grind is.
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The shine is the coffee oils. I tend to avoid beans with this showing as I want the oils in my coffee rather than in the grinder.
 
Hmm. So is that a result of the roasting process or the actual bean? I've had maybe 6 types of bean from Hasbean and they've all been dull, but all the ones I looked at in Wittards were shiny.
 
Flibster said:
Can't think of anything off the top of my head. The Classic was an utter bargain at the end of it's retail life. Regularly under £200...

Anyway - Off to have some damn good coffee this Saturday from Colin Harmon, who is the 2009 Irish Barista Champion (Who also came 4th in the WBC) and from John Gordon, the 2010 UK Barista Champion.

Doing a mini roadtrip *about 5 hour round trip* to go see Steve and the Hasbean roastery. :D All full up now - was going to post it earlier, but forgot...*sorry*

http://www.meetup.com/The-Has-Bean-Coffee-Meetup-Group/calendar/12806569/

Really looking forward to it - will need the caffeine after watching the F1 free practices and qualifying on the Friday and Saturday morning. Also will be picking up some coffee toys for the parents..and possibly myself. ;)
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Ended up picking up a Delonghi Bean to cup off eBay for less than 50% RRP, not sure how good it will be but works out far cheaper than a grinder + machine so we'll see - I can always sell it again. Besides it looks so easy I'll probably get more use out of it if I only have to press a button :p


That meet-up sounds awesome, you'll have to say Hi to Steve from all the OcUK coffee lot :p
 
p4radox said:
Hmm. So is that a result of the roasting process or the actual bean? I've had maybe 6 types of bean from Hasbean and they've all been dull, but all the ones I looked at in Wittards were shiny.
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Pretty much... It's closer to charcoal than coffee bean.
Sweet Marias has a great guide on the various stages of coffee roasting.

Anything past second crack is starting to conceal the coffee behind the roast - thus the roast used by most of the high street chains is on the oily side as it conceals a hell of a lot. The description of what you've got places it at least at stage 14 to me. Well past it's best.

Scottland said:
Ended up picking up a Delonghi Bean to cup off eBay for less than 50% RRP, not sure how good it will be but works out far cheaper than a grinder + machine so we'll see - I can always sell it again. Besides it looks so easy I'll probably get more use out of it if I only have to press a button :p
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Sounds fair enough. Not a fan of bean to cup, but less than 50%RRP will do it every time. ;)
Best thing is to play with it and see how you get on.

Scottland said:
That meet-up sounds awesome, you'll have to say Hi to Steve from all the OcUK coffee lot :p
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Will do.
 
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Scottland said:
Is there anything comparable to the Gaggia Classic from other brands? How about any of the Ascaso ones (Basic/Arc)?
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We had an Ascaso Dream at my old work. I thought it was a cracking machine, great looking, really solidly built and took abuse from 20 employees using it daily. The only thing is the cup isn't as big as the Gaggia one and in my opinion you get a better pull with a bigger cup. Phwoar :p :D
 
Flibster said:
Pretty much... It's closer to charcoal than coffee bean.
Sweet Marias has a great guide on the various stages of coffee roasting.

Anything past second crack is starting to conceal the coffee behind the roast - thus the roast used by most of the high street chains is on the oily side as it conceals a hell of a lot. The description of what you've got places it at least at stage 14 to me. Well past it's best.
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Thanks for that. I think I'll avoid Whittards in future then. The beans definitely taste a little more "burned" than usual.
 
Got my Delonghi Magnifica today, I'm actually pretty pleased with it. It makes a better cup than my old cheapish Espresso machine, and the milk steamer seems decent enough too. There's to be enough adjustment with both the grinder and the 'strength' (i.e. how much coffee to use in the shot) to be able to dial it into something respectable.

It's quite plasticy compared to something like a Classic, but overall I'm pretty happy with it.
 
Superb day @Hasbean roastery.

Learnt how to cup coffee. Had some excellent UKBC blend coffee... and some pretty bad UKBC blend coffee - teaching us how to identify whats wrong with the pour and how and what to adjust - really useful stuff.

Also how to improve steamed milk - practice with water with a drop of washing up liquid in. Once you can get that smooth and bubble free then milk should be easy. That was new to me, but sounds like an excellent idea.

Got freebies too. :D Cupping spoon, bag of coffee and a new bright red hasbean cup and saucer - which are really nice - but he may not be selling them. :D

All in all - an utterly worthwhile day on every level.
 
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