Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

FWIW the Krups grinder is rubbish, keeps getting blocked and gives an uneven grind the few times it works - its going back

The search is back on and i guess im raising my budget ...
 
I'm ordering some coffee off Hasbean for some friends who don't own a grinder, and I'm trying to decide what grind I should ask for. I know cafetiere>filter>espresso, but can someone tell me where "Jug" grind falls on that scale? Is it coarser than filter or finer?
 
Have any of you chaps considered starting a coffee house/Shop?
I was sitting pondering this the other day.

The nearest place we have is a costa coffee which isnt exactly the route i want.

I like the idea of having a range of coffees like has bean do. a form of specialised shop selling some of the most tasty coffees and such. obviously would need to cater for other people with like different tea's and such (deffo no Fizzy carp) Also roast and grind my own stuff Fresh. Cool looking equipment that would get peoples attention.

I like the idea of people coming in to meet with friends chatting over a coffee or reading their papers and just simply relaxing whilst having the best coffee and experience.

but then when I think about it. This area is a dump! town centre is full of fools and chavs. If i went to the likes of Edinburgh it would never work as there's plenty places to go.

Is it a good idea?

basic idea:
Comfy seats
Relaxing atmosphere with relaxing music
Amazing drinks and service.


It's a very difficult one to do and make money.

People love the coffee store chains and places like Starbucks and Cafe Nero already have the ability to buy quite large storefronts which are full of areas to sit and pose, or have a chat or just relax on a sofa.

They also get a lot of business from people who are buying drinks which aren't coffee based, you know, strawberry frappacuinos and such.

It's only people who are really serious about their coffee who will look elsewhere. That's a fairly niche market.

While this works in Central London, where you've got a lot of people and can cater for that niche market, also with the selling of beans and many have loyalty cards to get your repeat trade and a much better cup of coffee.

The issue is making this work in other areas of the country. If you setup shop in a run of the mill town, competing with the likes of Starbucks, Costa, Cafe Nero, Coffee Republic etc... You are likely to get a few fans who realize you do a better coffee, but in general you will most likely struggle and make nothing like the chains do.
 
I'm ordering some coffee off Hasbean for some friends who don't own a grinder, and I'm trying to decide what grind I should ask for. I know cafetiere>filter>espresso, but can someone tell me where "Jug" grind falls on that scale? Is it coarser than filter or finer?

what do you mean "jug" ? :confused:
 
Im only spit balling here but i would go as far to say Jug is cafitier.

Fire Steve an Email on has bean he will get back to you quite sharp (always does with me) im sure he will know
 
Im only spit balling here but i would go as far to say Jug is cafitier.
i'd have though that too but for:
I know cafetiere>filter>espresso, but can someone tell me where "Jug" grind falls on that scale? Is it coarser than filter or finer?

maybe he means stove top - in which case I use medium to course coffee - between filter and cafetiere
 
what do you mean "jug" ? :confused:

Precisely! :p

Im only spit balling here but i would go as far to say Jug is cafitier.

Fire Steve an Email on has bean he will get back to you quite sharp (always does with me) im sure he will know

Oh, I already emailed Steve and he suggested I ask for filter grind - I was just curious what kind of grind "jug grind" is. I also think he means Chemex (or similar), I just don't know whether that's supposed to be coarser or finer than filter cause I've never used a jug.
 
I know I was asking Flibster about a hand grinder in a different thread, but I'm trying to keep everything centralised in the one thread.

Everyone seems to think the grinder is the first essential step in the coffee ladder, so I might start by getting a decent grinder, and work up from there over time.

So... spec me a grinder! I've been looking at the Starbucks Barista and Rancilio Rocky so far. Any other suggestions?
It will be used for plain old filter/percolator coffee initially, and hopefully onto espresso soon enough. I've read people saying the Starbucks one isn't good for espresso.
 
I have a aeropress at work but not dared to use it yet. I use the cafeteria and they are already saying "Raymond and his posh coffee" it's only starbucks beans!

God knows what happen if I bring in the hand grinder and aeropress!
 
Finally ordered myself an Aeropress, I didn't realise how big they are :o Ordered some JailBreak at the same time :D

YAY! Another one. :D My Aeropress has been getting a lot of love over the last few weeks, this has bean that the chemex hasn't though, which I feel that I must rectify today.

Jailbreak is a stonkingly good blend too. Has worked really well in any method for me.

I assume you've seen Steve's brewing guide for the Aeropress? http://www.hasblog.co.uk/a-brewing-guide-episode-1-aeropress

I have a aeropress at work but not dared to use it yet. I use the cafeteria and they are already saying "Raymond and his posh coffee" it's only starbucks beans!

God knows what happen if I bring in the hand grinder and aeropress!

I'd just turn to them and say that if they had decent coffee I'd be happy to drink it, but as what you have tastes like it was strained through a tramps sock, I won't.

I'm not diplomatic though. :D
 
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I know I was asking Flibster about a hand grinder in a different thread, but I'm trying to keep everything centralised in the one thread.

Everyone seems to think the grinder is the first essential step in the coffee ladder, so I might start by getting a decent grinder, and work up from there over time.

So... spec me a grinder! I've been looking at the Starbucks Barista and Rancilio Rocky so far. Any other suggestions?
It will be used for plain old filter/percolator coffee initially, and hopefully onto espresso soon enough. I've read people saying the Starbucks one isn't good for espresso.

Starbucks Barista Burr grinder can do espresso, but it's better after it's been modded to allow a finer grind.

Rancillio Rocky - not cheap but an excellent home grinder.

Mazzer Mini - again no cheap, but another excellent home grider.

For a first grinder, the Iberital MC2 is one of the big choices. Just over £100 and will do espresso. Pain in the bum to adjust between grinds, but is a very good basic grinder. Especially if you get the doserless version. I'm not a fan of dosers anyway - all they do is hold coffee to go stale.
 
I'm not a fan of dosers anyway - all they do is hold coffee to go stale.
Yes, the cleaners at work have a habit of turning the grinder on and leaving it until the doser is full. The coffee is then left overnight for me to waste in the morning and grind a fresh lot for myself.
Took a trip to Monmouth Coffee in Borough Market yesterday and had a fantastic esspresso. I think I'll be popping back there again soon.
 
YAY! Another one. :D My Aeropress has been getting a lot of love over the last few weeks, this has bean that the chemex hasn't though, which I feel that I must rectify today.
Yeah the Aeropress got a roaring endorsement on BoingBoing recently so we should be seeing much more of them...
 
Starbucks Barista Burr grinder can do espresso, but it's better after it's been modded to allow a finer grind.

Thanks for the advice. I actually read an article yesterday about modifying the Starbucks one for a finer grind, and it looks straight forward.

Is the Dualit 75002 the same thing as the Starbucks one rebranded?
Is the Starbucks one dosserless?
I'm not spending £300 on a thing to grind up a few beans!! Especially when I'm the only coffee drinker in the house.
 
It certainly looks like the Dualit 75002 is the same as the Barista

It is doserless - the doser is something on the front that fills with the grounds and you flip a lever on it to get a dose of grounds into the portafilter. If you're not using it constantly it's not worth having. I personally don't think it's worth having even if you are using it constantly.
 
Thanks for the advice. I actually read an article yesterday about modifying the Starbucks one for a finer grind, and it looks straight forward.
I'm quite happy with my un-modded one! It grinds plenty fine enough, I've even used the finest grind for turkish, which needs a much finer grind than espresso (it wasn't perfect but it was acceptable).
 
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