Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

GingerNinja1989 said:
Just thought I'd poke my nose in here and let you all know that I had an Aeropress for Christmas!

Any hints or tips you can give me for it?
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Excellent present. Still love mine, added a coava metal filter to it which produces a different cup profile, but it's still seriously tasty and simple.

Check out the methods for usage on www.brewmethods.com

Most important is, as always, freshly roasted and ground coffee.
 
Flibster said:
Excellent present. Still love mine, added a coava metal filter to it which produces a different cup profile, but it's still seriously tasty and simple.

Check out the methods for usage on www.brewmethods.com

Most important is, as always, freshly roasted and ground coffee.
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Just seen that filter on hasbean - do you need to change the grind at all? what do you think of the coffee it produces with it compared with paper?

I'd imagine its messy - with paper you just unscrew and push into a bin, im guessing you'd have to peel off a coffee coated metal filter unless it clips in and stays in the black cap somehow?
 
I'm looking at buying myself an aeropress, but having read through this thread I now understand ill need to upgrade somewhat from my waitrose pre ground coffee, so I'm going to need a grinder. Any recommendations? I only really drink coffee at weekends so don't mind a hand grinder, but also importantly don't want to spend much. Can I get anything decent for less than £40? I understand the aeropress needs a really fine grind?

Thanks for any advice :D
 
Guys is the Gaggia Cubika Plus an OK entry level device i.e. will it last at least a year used once or twice daily?
 
Bleek said:
Guys is the Gaggia Cubika Plus an OK entry level device i.e. will it last at least a year used once or twice daily?
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I've got one and it takes a while to warm up and get the steam going which is annoying enough but no other problems to report.

sid
 
sid said:
I've got one and it takes a while to warm up and get the steam going which is annoying enough but no other problems to report.

sid
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Well I just found it in stock for the bargain price of £127 delivered so I couldn't resist. :)
 
Flibster said:
There aren't any really. Well, none that I've found. Closest is the Not a paper Cup, but they're quite fragile and quite expensive. Still looking. The Keepcup looked promising, but doesn't keep the coffee warm for long.
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I've looked at that not a paper cup and it does seem very expensive for what it actually is, probably costing only a few pence to make. I'll keep looking and if you see something new in the meantime, please let us know :)

Flibster said:
If they are sealed and have a one way valve so you can get the CO2 out, then 2 weeks isn't entirely unreasonable. Some coffee's I've had in the past tasted best after a weeks rest, 10 days is pushing it though. I've found that it tends to be around 3-5 days from roasting that the coffee tastes best for me. Entirely personal thing through.
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Thanks. I'll try to have an experiment in the future.
What did you get Steve (hasbean) for Xmas btw? ;) :D

Scam said:
I'm looking at buying myself an aeropress, but having read through this thread I now understand ill need to upgrade somewhat from my waitrose pre ground coffee, so I'm going to need a grinder. Any recommendations? I only really drink coffee at weekends so don't mind a hand grinder, but also importantly don't want to spend much. Can I get anything decent for less than £40? I understand the aeropress needs a really fine grind?
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I've got the Hario Skerton hand grinder, £37. Although i am new to 'the game', i'm seriously impressed. Sadly enough i quite enjoy the ritual of grinding the beans by hand. Takes around 100 turns of the handle to grind 17g of coffee fine enough for the Aeropress.
 
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kibblerok said:
Just seen that filter on hasbean - do you need to change the grind at all? what do you think of the coffee it produces with it compared with paper?

I'd imagine its messy - with paper you just unscrew and push into a bin, im guessing you'd have to peel off a coffee coated metal filter unless it clips in and stays in the black cap somehow?
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As it lets the coffee oils through it's a more accurate representation of how the coffee was when cupping it. It's a more clear coffee, flavour wise. It's easier to pick out the individual flavours in the coffee.

Haven't had to change my grind but I am using a lot less pressure to extract the coffee and I am stopping when I hear the first bit of hiss of air coming from the aeropress. Only getting a very small quantity of fines left in the cup, which is great.

No messier than I normally am. ;) If you were reusing the paper filters then it's no worse than that, slightly easier perhaps as stainless steel is easier to wash than paper.

Scam said:
I'm looking at buying myself an aeropress, but having read through this thread I now understand ill need to upgrade somewhat from my waitrose pre ground coffee, so I'm going to need a grinder. Any recommendations? I only really drink coffee at weekends so don't mind a hand grinder, but also importantly don't want to spend much. Can I get anything decent for less than £40? I understand the aeropress needs a really fine grind?

Thanks for any advice :D
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Hario Skerton or Hario Mini Mill

Aeropress can use any grind size. If you are using it the method in the instructions then it's slighly coarser than espresso ground. But if you invert it *see www.brewmethods.com for howto's* then you can use any grind, it just depends on the length of brewing time you give it. French Press grind = longer, espresso gring = shorter.

Hamster said:
I've looked at that not a paper cup and it does seem very expensive for what it actually is, probably costing only a few pence to make. I'll keep looking and if you see something new in the meantime, please let us know :)
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Will do, have an interesting option arriving soon, but it's slightly custom.

Hamster said:
Thanks. I'll try to have an experiment in the future.
What did you get Steve (hasbean) for Xmas btw? ;) :D
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A couple of mugs. One said Caffeine Addict and the other said Coffee Whore. I did try to find him one that said Coffee Pimp, but they don't exist. The presents are viewable on the latest InMyMug video as he rips into them ;)


Hamster said:
Sadly enough i quite enjoy the ritual of grinding the beans by hand. Takes around 100 turns of the handle to grind 17g of coffee fine enough for the Aeropress.
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Or, fit a couple of nuts to it and use an electric screwdriver to do the grinding for you once the shine wears off. ;)
 
Scam said:
I'm looking at buying myself an aeropress, but having read through this thread I now understand ill need to upgrade somewhat from my waitrose pre ground coffee, so I'm going to need a grinder. Any recommendations? I only really drink coffee at weekends so don't mind a hand grinder, but also importantly don't want to spend much. Can I get anything decent for less than £40? I understand the aeropress needs a really fine grind?

Thanks for any advice :D
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A filter (much coarser than espresso) grind works really well too. I had great results using the Hasbean Aeropress brew guide

http://www.hasblog.co.uk/a-brewing-guide-episode-1-aeropress
 
Thanks for the tips guys. Are there really no electric grinders worth getting for under £40ish? This might be a stupid question, but how long does it take to grind a coffee's worth with those Hario hand grinders? I don't want to slave away for 15mins a time, I'm sure that novelty will soon wear off :p
 
Scam said:
Thanks for the tips guys. Are there really no electric grinders worth getting for under £40ish? This might be a stupid question, but how long does it take to grind a coffee's worth with those Hario hand grinders? I don't want to slave away for 15mins a time, I'm sure that novelty will soon wear off :p
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About 100 turns of the grinder for 17g coffee (good for one cup) with the Skerton which takes around one minute. I do it just after putting the kettle on. From reading this thread, the cheapest decent electric grinder is just over £100.
 
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I've got a Dualit conical burr grinder which was around £75, it seems pretty consistent in it's grind, just a pain to clean and takes a while to find the right setting for your style of espresso.

Having looked at a £200 grinder in the shop, the mechanics and burr were very similar, it did appear you were pay over double for the metal chassis and design hints.
 
I am sure it will not be as good as doing it properly, but I recieved a Whittard Stovetop Esspresso Maker for Chrsitmas.

Water in bottom chamber, coffee in filter chamber above. Stick it on the hob and it will steam up to the top chamber where you can pour it from.

Will try it later.
 
Flibster said:
Screaming is not a good noise to have.

Try this video guide - it's pretty good.
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Thanks

Finally got the chance to spend the afternoon playing with the silvia and the hario skerton (my arms are knackered!)

Results are that I've finally cracked the steaming of the milk :D :D :D so i'm very pleased now, but think might need a grinder upgrade now......

i'm looking at upto 250 for a grinder (300 at a stretch) and from reading around i've seen the following:

iberital MC2 (seems highly recommended at entry level, good price)
Mahlkonig Vario (seems highly recommended but right at the tope of my budget, but also complicated (makes me think if it goes wrong it will be expensive!)
Eureka Mignon (less widely used, but seems well respected and I like the small size of it as kitchen space is a tad limited, and seems just about on budget)

thoughts?
 
I'm having problems with a very bitter/burnt taste from my Aeropress and the El Salvador La Ilusion Bourbon coffee that I got with my grinder from Hasbean along with the Skerton.
I've tried shortening the brew time from 60 seconds to 30 and that reduces the bitterness but it's still there and I'm still unable to taste any of the sweetness and fruit salad that I'm supposed to.
Using 17g per per brew (one cup), tried down to 13g and also using water at around 85C.

I am finding the Aeropress very hard to push down with this coffee so I'm not sure if that's an issue. Any ideas what I can do?
 
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BUSH said:
Thanks

Finally got the chance to spend the afternoon playing with the silvia and the hario skerton (my arms are knackered!)

Results are that I've finally cracked the steaming of the milk :D :D :D so i'm very pleased now, but think might need a grinder upgrade now......

i'm looking at upto 250 for a grinder (300 at a stretch) and from reading around i've seen the following:

iberital MC2 (seems highly recommended at entry level, good price)
Mahlkonig Vario (seems highly recommended but right at the tope of my budget, but also complicated (makes me think if it goes wrong it will be expensive!)
Eureka Mignon (less widely used, but seems well respected and I like the small size of it as kitchen space is a tad limited, and seems just about on budget)

thoughts?
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Rancillio Rocky?
 
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