Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

Okay, I couldn't wait, I just made a cup after 24hrs' rest. I made 15g of grounds into 250g of water into a Hario Switch, 2min steep time.

It's TASTY! I am not one to describe coffee notes (or wine notes for that matter), but I taste zero hints of burnt. It is not bitter in any shape or form, bit of sweetness to it like grapefruit juice where there is an undertone of citrus. Why grapefruit? I picked it because it has a hint of tangyness that is in grapefruit...not sweet like orange but not sour like a lemon.

This is firmly in the single origin specialty coffee grade rather than the commercial grade of Starbucks charcoal brew. What I fear going into this is getting an earthy undercooked grassy taste which there is none, it's does not taste burnt which is very important and the aftertaste is pleasant on the tongue.

I'll try another cup on the weekend and try to compare from today. But if it is the final form of it, I am very happy with that as my first ever attempt. It's easily like a £10 (225g) bag for something like this and it only cost me £8 or something for 500g (green). I made my money back already!

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I'm out of coffee beans as of yesterday - the previous two bags I sampled from Redber were just superb as per my post below.

Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

Where was the wand from Dave? I think I have one on my classic but I'm not actually sure which it is. Does it a have a little bulb at the end you can unscrew? My latte art however is improving impeccably :D I'm not sure whether it's a tree or a phallus :D
forums.overclockers.co.uk forums.overclockers.co.uk

Given the hot weather I was reluctant to resupply myself until the hot spell was over....until I was faking a shop session in Sainsburys last night as the aircon there was glorious.

Supermarket coffee is something I've always avoided but I saw a 250g bag on clearance from Ueshima for £3. I have never heard of them and the website smacks of marketing (the beans aren't Japanese or anything) but at that price I thought I'd try a bag of their 'House Blend'. I have no clue as to when these were roasted obviously so I tried to dial them in last night but I ended up with a fast brew (taste wasn't bad!) but I need to go finer so I'll write back later today.

www.ueshimacoffeecompany.com

Coffee Beans: House Blend

Buy our Coffee Beans: House Blend online and direct from us at the Ueshima Coffee Company. Japanese Quality from the finest Arabica coffee.
www.ueshimacoffeecompany.com www.ueshimacoffeecompany.com
 
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Kainz said:
I'm out of coffee beans as of yesterday - the previous two bags I sampled from Redber were just superb as per my post below.

Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

Where was the wand from Dave? I think I have one on my classic but I'm not actually sure which it is. Does it a have a little bulb at the end you can unscrew? My latte art however is improving impeccably :D I'm not sure whether it's a tree or a phallus :D
forums.overclockers.co.uk forums.overclockers.co.uk

Given the hot weather I was reluctant to resupply myself until the hot spell was over....until I was faking a shop session in Sainsburys last night as the aircon there was glorious.

Supermarket coffee is something I've always avoided but I saw a 250g bag on clearance from Ueshima for £3. I have never heard of them and the website smacks of marketing (the beans aren't Japanese or anything) but at that price I thought I'd try a bag of their 'House Blend'. I have no clue as to when these were roasted obviously so I tried to dial them in last night but I ended up with a fast brew (taste wasn't bad!) but I need to go finer so I'll write back later today.

www.ueshimacoffeecompany.com

Coffee Beans: House Blend

Buy our Coffee Beans: House Blend online and direct from us at the Ueshima Coffee Company. Japanese Quality from the finest Arabica coffee.
www.ueshimacoffeecompany.com www.ueshimacoffeecompany.com
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I've tried them, IIRC they are a dark roast?
 
Kainz said:
I have no clue as to when these were roasted obviously so I tried to dial them in last night but I ended up with a fast brew (taste wasn't bad!) but I need to go finer so I'll write back later today.
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most supermarket brands have a notional 1year expiry - so subtract 1year from use by date, waitrose and others also put a the day of the year it was roasted,
last waitrose I bought were 118 and ok,
saw aldi had some new beans this week and because they were only roasted 3 weeks ago bought two bags - so far they seem to be running through a bit easily though,
not tightened down enough and need to re-check where zero/touching is since changed burrs (they use a roaster in ireland who also sells on web)
I always look through all packets for most recent especially on offer, to get the re-stock.

--


de-scaling issue - realised I have a couple of 5litre white vinegars, bought for garden fence, but will use some on next de-scale to compare to citric
 
Siliconslave said:
vinegar works well on my kettle, but not sure about using it on the machine...
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I posted last page on the ills of citric on brass , yes, I do need to look at relative concentration of vinegar,
seeing if it will flush out faster will be interesting I'm getting blueish water for ages out of steam boiler, which is because I think it may also take a while to neutralize.
 
Raymond Lin said:
I've tried them, IIRC they are a dark roast?
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Yes mate. Think I mostly nailed the dial in on a second attempt this morning. Need just a minor tweak now to slow it down a tad further.

The blend has notes of dark chocolate and caramel. It is a VERY hard bean. My Sette 270 is even louder than normal for once.
 
Can anyone spec me some interesting cappuccino cups to have a look at? Handmade/quirky would be plus points. It's my missus's birthday next week and after 40 years, she's decided she likes coffee so want to get her a cup.
 
Street said:
Can anyone spec me some interesting cappuccino cups to have a look at? Handmade/quirky would be plus points. It's my missus's birthday next week and after 40 years, she's decided she likes coffee so want to get her a cup.
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I would try Etsy, either get the ones from UK or Japan. Cross reference it is not mass produce common stuff made in China if you want more unique stuff.

For Japanese stuff, read up Kintsugi, in short, it is an art form that reassembles broken pieces back together with gold instead of just throwing it away. It has now become its own thing and because each one breaks in a unique way, therefore each one becomes its own unique thing.

Like this (but this is made in China)

 
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Street said:
Awesome, I've not heard of Kintsugi before so I'll check it out. I always seem to forget Etsy exists for some reason too!
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Kintsugi itself goes hand in hand with Japanese’s ethos of wabi sabi where one appreciate the imperfection as beauty and it’s uniqueness.

Due to the nature of Kintsugi, every piece is unique and never be the same again.

The real stuff from Japan can gets really expensive as both the original pieces are Japanese pottery and on top of that, they are normally mended with Japanese gold from Kanazawa usually.
 
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I just went down the rabbit hole of looking at the real things. Some look fantastic, unfortunately, I don't love her that much, she's also an oaf and would likely drop it. :cry:
 
I made my 2nd cup today after 5 days' rest. It is definitely very nice coffee, i am impressed with my own work lol. I can't wait to roast more and really want to try the other more expensive beans, especially the Geisha.
 
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Well my Lelit Mara wasn't too happy after being sat in descaler for a day or so, the lever action was getting very stiff. Probably the citric completely degreasing everything.

Took the plunge and dismantled the whole group heap. There was a *lot* of scale in the top of the grouphead, I really need to change filters more often.

But otherwise, all very straightforward, took everything out and cleaned all the valves and cam in cafiza, scrubbed, dried. lubricated with some food grade silicon, re-assembled.....and everything is working buttery smooth now.

Only problem left with the machine now is the over-pressure valve on the boiler is just slightly letting steam out very slowly occasionally. You'd get it as the boiler got up to temps before, but it seems to do it all the time now, only a tiny bit and evaporates instantly. CAn live with it for now, can't be arsed with any more drama.
 
This video is hilarious...as are the comments.

"The day when he discover an espresso machine will get his mind blown".

"Especially when there is one in the background".

:cry:

 
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