Associate
- Joined
- 24 Feb 2004
- Posts
- 1,083
- Location
- Leeds/Cyprus
I don't see the point of Chemex et al., just don't understand how it's different to an ordinary drip machine. Well, I do, I know that pouring the water in manually might result in a better, more consistent brew if you know what you're doing, but considering how difficult and time-consuming it is to pour the water in as slowly and gradually as a good drip machine would, I think most of us WOULDN'T get a better brew than a machine would! The jugs do look nice, but I get the feeling you're paying much more for design than for functionality (I've seen several contraptions in offices, universities and cafeterias/messes which basically do the same thing: a big ugly cone-thing where you put the filter and the grounds, supported on an ugly trestle over an uglier stainless steel jug)
Re. Aeropress: still use mine almost every day, it's great for when I need a coffee to get me through the afternoon but don't have time to chill out with a french press! Not as good as my stove top (or real espresso of course), it tastes almost as good but the aroma isn't as intense. Slowly getting better at it though - thanks to whoever it was who posted a link to the World Aeropress Championships a few weeks ago, got a lot of good tips from there - learned to use the inverted method (didn't end up with scalding hot water and coffee grounds everywhere NOT ONCE!
) and found out that pre-soaking the filter really does make a substantial difference. Some of the brewing methods I read online though really do go over the top and become massively convoluted, defeating the entire freaking point of the Aeropress, which to me is convenience! 
On another note, I did in the end go for the Starbucks Barista grinder, I'll probably get a new toy in the £150-200 range as soon as I can also afford a decent (ie. £250+) espresso machine, as I can't justify it with the kit I'm using now. Still, seems like a nice little grinder, only tried it at the finest setting and it's fine enough for my purposes, and pretty even. (Loads of dust though, but I think it was because of the beans I was using, more on which in a second) When I can get bothered to doing the mod that Flibster suggested I'll be happy (until it conks out, when I'll be happier as it'll be an excuse to upgrade
)
In fact, at the finest setting, it grinds substantially finer than my Zassenhaus hand grinder, which I was surprised by, as back when I originally bought the Zassenhaus it could grind things as fine as caster sugar! Thinking about it, it's obvious that the grind quality of the hand grinder has degraded over time due to my never cleaning it, and it's only on seeing the grind the Barista was producing that made me think back and notice that the hand grinder isn't performing up to speed anymore.
So, I want to get the gunk clogging its burrs out (I intend to keep using it for my french press, so I can leave the Barista at its finest setting - read on another forum that if you do the mod then it can no longer grind coarsely enough for french press, so the Zassenhaus is going to still be needed). I remember the people who recommended it to me suggested I grind some rice in it, but then someone in this thread said that rice makes the burrs rust - so what's the alternative?
This morning I had a pot of Steve's Brazil Fazenda Inglaterra Acaia Pulped, which was light and fruity and wonderful, and as soon as I had the first sip I thought "these would be the PERFECT beans for Turkish coffee!" Then I started stamping my feet and throwing a tantrum that I don't have a grinder that can do a Turkish grind. I'll probably be an idiot and try it at the Barista's finest setting at some point, but I know in advance it's probably not gonna work. Thinking of buying a Turkish mill off ebay.
As a small added bonus, I got a free bag of coffee from Starbucks when I bought the Barista. I picked a Sulawesi, cause I bought some from Steve a while ago and had remembered that it was a very dark roast. I thought that given Charbucks's tendency to overroast their beans, I thought the Sulawesi would've suffered less than other blends at their ungentle hands!
Still, I didn't expect anything special, and it was with a cyical scowl on my face that I took it home and opened it (only did so cause I had just ran out of the Old Brown Java I'd bought from Hasbean; the Fazenda didn't arrive until the next morning). But then the smell hit me, and my left eyebrow twitched upwards in surprise - pleasant surprise! As soon as it hit my nostril hairs my mouth started watering, and I knew these beans would make a great espresso! I made a french press out of it because I had guests, but I'm looking forward to trying it in the espresso machine! It still tasted a little burnt, but most of its flavour survived - it's a tremendously robust bean, having survived overroasting and sitting on a shelf (no doubt for months), and then still smelling and tasting great even though it was coarsely-ground and used in a french press, for which it's completely unsuited! If you want to stock up on coffee that will retain its flavour for years under adverse conditions, survive the nuclear holocaust/global warming disaster/flood/zombie pandemic/whatever, and turn you into a post-Apocalypse coffee baron, this is definitely it!
Re. Aeropress: still use mine almost every day, it's great for when I need a coffee to get me through the afternoon but don't have time to chill out with a french press! Not as good as my stove top (or real espresso of course), it tastes almost as good but the aroma isn't as intense. Slowly getting better at it though - thanks to whoever it was who posted a link to the World Aeropress Championships a few weeks ago, got a lot of good tips from there - learned to use the inverted method (didn't end up with scalding hot water and coffee grounds everywhere NOT ONCE!
) and found out that pre-soaking the filter really does make a substantial difference. Some of the brewing methods I read online though really do go over the top and become massively convoluted, defeating the entire freaking point of the Aeropress, which to me is convenience! On another note, I did in the end go for the Starbucks Barista grinder, I'll probably get a new toy in the £150-200 range as soon as I can also afford a decent (ie. £250+) espresso machine, as I can't justify it with the kit I'm using now. Still, seems like a nice little grinder, only tried it at the finest setting and it's fine enough for my purposes, and pretty even. (Loads of dust though, but I think it was because of the beans I was using, more on which in a second) When I can get bothered to doing the mod that Flibster suggested I'll be happy (until it conks out, when I'll be happier as it'll be an excuse to upgrade
)In fact, at the finest setting, it grinds substantially finer than my Zassenhaus hand grinder, which I was surprised by, as back when I originally bought the Zassenhaus it could grind things as fine as caster sugar! Thinking about it, it's obvious that the grind quality of the hand grinder has degraded over time due to my never cleaning it, and it's only on seeing the grind the Barista was producing that made me think back and notice that the hand grinder isn't performing up to speed anymore.
So, I want to get the gunk clogging its burrs out (I intend to keep using it for my french press, so I can leave the Barista at its finest setting - read on another forum that if you do the mod then it can no longer grind coarsely enough for french press, so the Zassenhaus is going to still be needed). I remember the people who recommended it to me suggested I grind some rice in it, but then someone in this thread said that rice makes the burrs rust - so what's the alternative?
This morning I had a pot of Steve's Brazil Fazenda Inglaterra Acaia Pulped, which was light and fruity and wonderful, and as soon as I had the first sip I thought "these would be the PERFECT beans for Turkish coffee!" Then I started stamping my feet and throwing a tantrum that I don't have a grinder that can do a Turkish grind. I'll probably be an idiot and try it at the Barista's finest setting at some point, but I know in advance it's probably not gonna work. Thinking of buying a Turkish mill off ebay.
As a small added bonus, I got a free bag of coffee from Starbucks when I bought the Barista. I picked a Sulawesi, cause I bought some from Steve a while ago and had remembered that it was a very dark roast. I thought that given Charbucks's tendency to overroast their beans, I thought the Sulawesi would've suffered less than other blends at their ungentle hands!
Still, I didn't expect anything special, and it was with a cyical scowl on my face that I took it home and opened it (only did so cause I had just ran out of the Old Brown Java I'd bought from Hasbean; the Fazenda didn't arrive until the next morning). But then the smell hit me, and my left eyebrow twitched upwards in surprise - pleasant surprise! As soon as it hit my nostril hairs my mouth started watering, and I knew these beans would make a great espresso! I made a french press out of it because I had guests, but I'm looking forward to trying it in the espresso machine! It still tasted a little burnt, but most of its flavour survived - it's a tremendously robust bean, having survived overroasting and sitting on a shelf (no doubt for months), and then still smelling and tasting great even though it was coarsely-ground and used in a french press, for which it's completely unsuited! If you want to stock up on coffee that will retain its flavour for years under adverse conditions, survive the nuclear holocaust/global warming disaster/flood/zombie pandemic/whatever, and turn you into a post-Apocalypse coffee baron, this is definitely it!
I saw several other videos from the championship on youtube but not that, care to link me?
He seems to have already added the water to the Aeropress, so what's he using the bubbly water for? Just watering the coffee down with carbonated water?
