This is a community for coffee enthusiasts, be they users of £10k Espresso setups, Aeropress, Moka Pots, V60 pour-overs or an old sock on top of a pyrex jug to filter out the grinds you just boiled with some water in a pan.
Discuss, suggest, debate, have fun!
13g whole bean ground quite fine using Timemore Chestnut C2.
Aeropress inverted.
30g water for a 30 second bloom. Add another 150g water to total 180g and stir. Steep for another 60 seconds (total 90s). Flip, swirl, and push slowly (roughly another minute)
The darker the roast the more coarse I grind. But I tend to prefer a light roast, more finely ground
I hardly adjust the grind on mine, i have it "good enough" and have stuck with it.
I'll go first: 13g of beans through my TIMEMORE Chestnut C3 PRO into a CLEVER dripper with about 230g of water, around 5 mins steep (roughly the time it takes to feed the wild birds).
I've been thinking about getting a clever dripper but I'd probably never use my V60 again once I get one
It's so simple and easy, and makes a decent cup. I used to use an aeropress but switched to the clever dripper for the hands off workflow.
Wow that is some exact measurements. You awake enough to do that in the morning? :D
I'm all about the stove top mocha maker... which I guess does involve fire... have burnt arm hair a couple of times.
Measurements are fine in the morning. Hand eye coordination on the other hand...
Nothing wakes you up more than hot coffee grounds spilt all over the place
and the ting ting ting noise of a bean missing the grinder and bouncing across the work surface onto the floor never to be seen again.
I struggle to make a good cup with a mocha maker, always get it too hot. Measurements are easy if you just make everything on a scale.
As in burning your coffee? Something that has helped me is using hot water in the bottom chamber. Seems to really help me at least.
I have read about some people pouring cold water over the bottom after it's done, sounds like crazy talk to me though.
yeah tried the hot water technique, just never really got a cup I was very happy with. Might acquire mocha pot again at some point though and experiment.
For science!! :) I do have my aeropress too which I love, but just find the mocha maker one easier to use now and less faff.
Actually one of the best ones I have found is an electric one, that does it all for you. I don't have one myself but have used a friends and it makes it very consistant everytime. Pricey though... at around £100.
And there's one crazy one on amazon that also grinds your beans for you... that costs 6k!!!! Sheesh.
Locally grown coffee in an Italian electric moka pot, made into an americano by topping up with hot water, splash of whole milk on top. Delicious.
where are you to get locally grown coffee?
One scoop (measured, came with one of my machines) of Barcelona Espresso beans (Roast and Post for the win, hit me up if you want a code) into the grinder. Boil the kettle and start the espresso machine heating.
Head to cupboard and choose my cup for this morning. I have a few different sizes from long black down to single espresso.
Back to machine, warm the cup from the kettle, then clean out group and load it with the fresh grounds.
Tip out the water from the cup, add 1/4 tsp brown sugar, and then attach the group and get the cup in place.
Start water - 2 - 3.
Stop - 2 - 3.
Start - 2 - 3 - ... - 13.
That about makes an espresso, then its a swirl of hot from the kettle if the cup is a little larger.
Grinder: Encore Baratza. Loud as hell and no timer, but works well.
Espresso machine: Gaggia Cubika Plus. Had it about 15 years, never gone wrong.
A scoop user, how heathen :p
I mean, I'd weigh it out if the scoop didn't give consistent tasty results.
I was joking don't worry, if you have a system that works then run with it. There is always drama in coffee groups around the scoop Vs scale teams.
You guys are making me feel ashamed. I tip some amount into my John Lewis basics grinder, somewhere about the blades worth, and pour some nearly boiled water over it in my V60 with a re-usable filter into a tall pint mug.
I do this every morning. Maybe I should check out one of this clever drippers. I have wanted to up my game for a while.
metal or cloth filter? upgrading that grinder is probably a better value for money that a dripper at this stage.
A metal one. I can't remember where I got it from, so its probably not great quality. I just felt bad about the paper waste at the time.
The clever dripper looks like you can pour the water on and leave it to brew a bit, so I wouldn't be standing around slowly pouring the water?
Do you have any recommendations for a grinder? Seems like the timemores are used here, but looks like there about £60-80?
You might not like the dripper if you don't want to use paper filters.
Yeah the timemores are around that price, no complaints with mine but I don't really have anything to compare it with other than the hario it replaced which was terrible.
To be fair, cleaning the reusable one is a nightmare. Paper ones can go straight in the bin, so I could be talked around.
I don't think the John Lewis one is terrible, it gets it all to a powder, maybe the odd chunk, but I guess I dont know what I'm looking for...
I'll check it out and see if I can justify it to myself. It's my birthday the end of this month, so maybe it's my treat to myself.
Using a blade grinder?
Yeah, it looks like a little mini blender.
you will get a much "better" grind even from a cheap hand grinder, but it is a lot more effort.
Ok, you've convinced me. Thank you for all of your advice!
My morning ritual:
Go in to Kitchen. Switch on the DeLonghi Magnifica S machine. Wait for it to warm up and do its rinse cycle. Get a coffee cup out of the cupboard. Place it under the output. Press the button for a regular coffee sized distribution. Curse as I realise the bean hopper is empty. Fill that up with fresh beans from my sisters firm. Press button again. Wait about 30 seconds for the machine to do its magic. Enjoy a fresh cup of coffee.
So my sister has run a commercial tea / coffee wholesalers for about 25 years. When I was younger I used to work for her a bit doing pickups / deliveries / machine repairs etc. I was addicted to coffee so badly, I just love the smell of roasted beans. I had to scale back my intake of about 15 cups a day, to what I drink now, which is no more than 2, and none after midday.
There are so many techniques to making a good coffee, that it can seem overwhelming. The DeLonghi machine I've had for the last 12 years just makes it easy, it's almost cheating.
I have never heard amazing things about bean to cup machines, but man I could take a slightly worse cup for that convenience.
Sage bean to cup. Union house blend, 10 second grind. Frothy milk to 65 degrees, spoon on and drink.
enjoying the bean to cup machine?
Sure am, mind should have gone for dual boiler version.
At home.
DeLonghi BTC long and unadulterated. I don't have a favourite bean as I like variety. Followed swiftly by another before the DeLonghi switches off.
On the ship (for that is where I work) French Press, very coarse, something citrusy like Ethiopian Yirg. Left to stew for about 10 to 15 minutes.
I want to change out my DeLonghi for a Sage. It'll happen someday.
Wow, by comparison to some of these, I feel lazy on a morning (I am near useless until at least one coffee down). I typically grind (using a Bodum electric grinder) some beans the night before, tend to go for a darker roast for a nicer morning kick. Then, and this is the lazy kicker, I have pods I fill to drop in my Tassimo. I do tend to go for a stronger blend but less water (approx. half a mug).
Weekends I am happier to go for a slower drip blend as less of a rush. Much richer for sure.
did you find a decent refillable tassimo pod? I was a tassimo user, but the clever dripper is so easy I found I wasn't ever using it (but I didn't have re-fillable pods)
I tried a few, some that don't last and a metal one that gets ridiculously hot after use. I settled on one I found on Amazon here. I have a few of those kicking around and it is super easy, especially when I want to fire a few quick coffees out.
Told the SO how much the ode cost yet?
Weigh beans. Grind. Hopefully grinder was set correctly since yesterday. Weigh grinds in portafilter. RDT. Tamp. Brew button and stopwatch simultaneously. Hopefully I remembered the cup. Watch flow and timer - hopefully I don't need to open the steam valve to lower pressure due to too fast brew. Stop at around 25 seconds. Facegasm. Couldn't be simpler.
Couldn’t be simpler.
doesn't sounds simple :p