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Bob_McBob posted:There is no reason to buy a fancy temperature-controlled kettle for coffee. If you want to get a new electric kettle, you'd be much better off buying something like the Bonavita, which has some serious utility for pourover. I assume you have some sort of kitchen thermometer. Just check approximately how long it takes to get to your chosen temperature after boiling, and keep that in mind for future reference. Thanks on that, and thanks to everyone else too. I'm trying to pick out some equipment for an at work setup and thought a temp controlled kettle might simplify. Ill probably end up using a CCD or French press so I guess timing the cooldown is pretty easy and both of those methods are somewhat forgiving.
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Jan 8, 2012 17:35
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Thermometer is nice to have. With my Hario Buono kettle, it can over a minute to cool down to 200f from a boil or seconds if you take the top off.
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Jan 8, 2012 18:03
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mattdev posted:Excuse the instagram filters, but check out this crema porn. That is lovely :o. Is it too much to expect to produce something like that with a mypressi twist? I have zero experience making espresso and I am having a hell of a time getting anything special out of the twist. I am quite sure it is just me. Mostly I am getting a drink that seems "thin" and sometimes a bit too bitter. edit: Ok, some experimenting. I had been using fancy espresso beans from a local source that I had ground for me, as my electric grinder isn't up to doing an espresso grind. This was producing something with a slightly bitter taste and a thin, watery consistency that I don't like. Thinking it might be the grind, I put a Hario Slim to use on some of my wife's beans from the local coop. Most fine: The pressi twist couldn't push even a single drop of water through the basket. Grind way too fine? One click up: A drop or two (literally) of very rich (and not bad tasting!) stuff came out. Two clicks: Works fine with this grind, in that a full double shot comes through easily, but this is starting to get back to watery territory with a hint of bitterness. I can't make the Hario Slim give me a 1.5 click grind, right?! Am I tamping too hard/too soft? I don't have the right kind of scale to measure pushing 30-35lbs, so I am sorta in the dark with tamping. Maybe two clicks and a heavy tamp?? other people fucked around with this message at 20:34 on Jan 8, 2012 |
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Jan 8, 2012 19:52
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Associate Christ
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This seemed like an interesting press on Kickstarter but I'm not sure how it'd compare to the Aero.
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Jan 8, 2012 21:43
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Kaluza-Klein posted:I can't make the Hario Slim give me a 1.5 click grind, right?! Flip the adjustment wheel/nut around for stepless adjustments.
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Jan 8, 2012 23:26
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Rebuilt my Cremina    
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Jan 9, 2012 00:18
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Sweet. I've owned and used all sorts of machines, but I would still love to have a Cremina to play with. Such a neat little package. Too bad the used prices are so crazy these days.
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Jan 9, 2012 00:35
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Awesome photos. I should unbookmark this thread. Desire for an espresso machine rising.
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Jan 9, 2012 00:58
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For anyone looking, there's a used Crossland CC1 for $550 over at CG. Don't see too many of them on the used market.
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Jan 9, 2012 02:59
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traveling midget posted:Looking for a good drip coffee maker, but can't drop $300 on a Technivorm? Are there other drip coffee makers you all could recommend? The amazon reviews on this gear make me pretty apprehensive.
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Jan 9, 2012 17:06
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origami posted:Are there other drip coffee makers you all could recommend? The amazon reviews on this gear make me pretty apprehensive. The new Bonavita thermal carafe brewer seems quite promising.
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Jan 9, 2012 17:21
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Bob_McBob posted:The new Bonavita thermal carafe brewer seems quite promising. That thing is gorgeous... My Zoji might be 'breaking' soon.
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Jan 9, 2012 17:28
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origami posted:Are there other drip coffee makers you all could recommend? The amazon reviews on this gear make me pretty apprehensive. What issues are the reviews talking about? There's a factory defect where the water leaks: just return it to Amazon, you'll know the first time you put water in it. The carafe needs to be lined up with the pouring nozzle too, but as long as you set it in there right its fine.
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Jan 9, 2012 17:30
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traveling midget posted:What issues are the reviews talking about? There's a factory defect where the water leaks: just return it to Amazon, you'll know the first time you put water in it. The carafe needs to be lined up with the pouring nozzle too, but as long as you set it in there right its fine. Mostly that and there were a few complaints about the temperature not being hot enough.
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Jan 9, 2012 17:55
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seravid posted:Flip the adjustment wheel/nut around for stepless adjustments. I tried this. It works, but it makes the whole process incredibly inconsistent. I dialed it in to a fine grind for one shot, and then when I went to grind another I did not notice until the end that it was grinding much much coarser. Some more experimenting, and I am getting oh so close! With a very fine grind (most closely matching the 2nd pic here http://www.sweetmarias.com/library/content/espresso-grind) and a very hard tamp absolutely nothing comes through. With a slightly less hard tamp (I have no way to measure this :/ ) I get nothing for a few seconds, then a very small stream of motor oil-looking espresso that tastes delicious. However, even after 30 seconds, it has created barely 1 fl oz. If I make the grind one click less fine the shot flows through way too easily, even with a very hard tamp. I am going to stick to the very fine grind and the same 15g and right this minute I am going to go buy an old fashioned bathroom scale! My wife doesn't understand why I can't use the digital one we already have. Also, maybe a silly question at this point, but what temperature should the water be for espresso? I see around 205 for most coffee, but I have not seen anywhere where it says explicitly what it should be for espresso. I've been using freshly boiled water.
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Jan 9, 2012 18:06
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Received the Baratza Vario today and gave it a quick look. 1. It's a sturdy, heavy bastard. I like that. 2. The grind variability is as advertised and spectacular. 3. It is extremely quiet (especially compared to my old Capresso Infinity). I think it's quieter than a Rocky as well. 4. Chris' Coffee puts it in a HUGE box full of foam for safety. 5. If you are over 5 feet tall you'll have to crouch down to read the LCD readout (you can't see poo poo otherwise). I guess you could put it on some sort of platform as well if you have space.
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Jan 9, 2012 22:52
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Keyser S0ze posted:Received the Baratza Vario today and gave it a quick look. Heh, I keep seeing people say the Vario is heavy.. Whenever I move mine I think "god this thing is so light" compared to my old Rocky, or Mazzers. I've never had any issues with reading the LCD at counter height and I'm 5' 9".
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Jan 9, 2012 23:15
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Astronaut Jones posted:Heh, I keep seeing people say the Vario is heavy.. Whenever I move mine I think "god this thing is so light" compared to my old Rocky, or Mazzers. I totally have the LCD readability. I usually need to hunch down quite a bit to read it.
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Jan 10, 2012 07:47
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origami posted:Are there other drip coffee makers you all could recommend? The amazon reviews on this gear make me pretty apprehensive. Save up for the Technivorm. It is simply amazing!
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Jan 10, 2012 12:15
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wildlele posted:Save up for the Technivorm. It is simply amazing! Not that I can afford one, but what makes the Technivorm so good as to be the only "legit" drip machine I see posted about in here?
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Jan 10, 2012 17:56
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strangemusic posted:Not that I can afford one, but what makes the Technivorm so good as to be the only "legit" drip machine I see posted about in here? We had one where I used to work, the top of the machine is sort of like a showerhead, lots of individual nozzles for the water to come out of, supposedly this sprays the grounds more evenly and makes for better extraction etc, that and its meant to be very accurate with its brewing temperature. Personally I didn't find it to be particularly better than a $50 drip coffee maker, the taste difference was very slight to me.
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Jan 10, 2012 18:12
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Astronaut Jones posted:Heh, I keep seeing people say the Vario is heavy.. Whenever I move mine I think "god this thing is so light" compared to my old Rocky, or Mazzers. it's a B E A S T compared to my lil' Capresso Infinity! I'm also wondering why (I aslo read this on a coffeegeek review) why Baratza didn't spring for a blue led readout instead. It would match the rest of their lights as well strangemusic posted:Not that I can afford one, but what makes the Technivorm so good as to be the only "legit" drip machine I see posted about in here? I think the most important part is the temp it drips at. I measured my Capresso and it was 160 as it was dripping out in the carafe, I guess it was perhaps 10 degrees hotter as it hit the grounds so basically it is making coffee at 170 degrees, which isn't ideal. I'll probably keep my eye on the newer Bonavita mentioned above when I get to upgrading. Keyser_Soze fucked around with this message at 18:59 on Jan 10, 2012 |
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Jan 10, 2012 18:55
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strangemusic posted:Not that I can afford one, but what makes the Technivorm so good as to be the only "legit" drip machine I see posted about in here? A few things, its simply and beautifully designed. There is one button (on/off) so you don't have 88,000 settings cluttering up the machine. It just works. Temperature was mentioned already. Lastly I feel like it brews the coffee more powerfully, like I taste it better, feel the caffene stronger even though I havn't even switched to fresh roasted and ground beans.
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Jan 11, 2012 12:34
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wildlele posted:A few things, its simply and beautifully designed. There is one button (on/off) so you don't have 88,000 settings cluttering up the machine. It just works. Temperature was mentioned already. Lastly I feel like it brews the coffee more powerfully, like I taste it better, feel the caffene stronger even though I havn't even switched to fresh roasted and ground beans. You're using a Terchnivorm and pre-ground coffee?
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Jan 11, 2012 14:44
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Michael Arrington pretends he's a true "coffee geek" While reading I'm reminded of 0:53-0:55 from this Austin Powers clip. I almost want to drop a link to this thread in the comments just to see if he'll bite.
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Jan 11, 2012 20:50
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30 Goddamned Dicks posted:Michael Arrington pretends he's a true "coffee geek" The fact that he has an aeropres, chemex, and a zojirushi water heater and still uses Starbucks coffee makes my head hurt.
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Jan 11, 2012 21:05
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Yeah. I ran out of good beans this morning. Had to break into some super burnt and oily Starbucks holiday blend beans that someone left at my house. Awful. Going to have to take apart and totally clean out my grinder before I put good beans in there tomorrow.
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Jan 11, 2012 21:16
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rockcity posted:The fact that he has an aeropres, chemex, and a zojirushi water heater and still uses Starbucks coffee makes my head hurt. And he's in SEATTLE. It's not like he doesn't have a bunch of awesome local roasters nearby. Also, I knew you guys would understand. 
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Jan 11, 2012 21:24
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dema posted:I ran out of good beans this morning. Had to break into some super burnt and oily Starbucks holiday blend beans that someone left at my house. Awful. Going to have to take apart and totally clean out my grinder before I put good beans in there tomorrow. It could be worse. I know a guy who worked at Starbucks in college. He accumulated so much Starbucks coffee (free pound every week) that he was drinking it for 1 1/2 years after leaving the job because he was too cheap to throw it out. rockcity posted:The fact that he has an aeropres, chemex, and a zojirushi water heater and still uses Starbucks coffee makes my head hurt. There is a weird fetishization of devices like the Aeropress (and Chemex to some extent) on the internet. People will happily drop 30 bucks on it to use with old pre-ground because everyone tells them it makes such spectacular coffee.
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Jan 11, 2012 21:54
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Bob_McBob posted:
Yeah, I would agree. Just take a look at the product recommendations thread in PYF. Anytime anyone asks about a recommendation about coffee 20 people jump down their throat about the aeropress and mention nothing else about all the other elements that go into the cup.
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Jan 11, 2012 22:20
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Hey guys, me again with more newbie stuff. If I get coffee ground up for me at the store, how long will it be good? I know I know, grind it myself, but I don't have a burr grinder and can't afford one. I have a blade grinder but you know how it is, I get a bunch of powder along with some big ol' chunks and my coffee never brews the way I want (I'm using a moka pot). The kitchenware store near my apartment sells a bunch of locally roasted coffee that you can grind there, so I wanna know how often I'd have to buy it if I didn't want it to taste bland/bad. Jmcrofts fucked around with this message at 22:34 on Jan 11, 2012 |
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Jan 11, 2012 22:31
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Jmcrofts posted:Hey guys, me again with more newbie stuff. Sperglord answer: 1 minute. Reasonable answer: 1 week.
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Jan 11, 2012 22:41
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Jmcrofts posted:Hey guys, me again with more newbie stuff. What storage method would you use for the preground coffee? That affects the answer quite a bit.
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Jan 11, 2012 22:47
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30 Goddamned Dicks posted:What storage method would you use for the preground coffee? That affects the answer quite a bit. Just the bag it comes in I guess? I don't know I hadn't really thought about it.
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Jan 11, 2012 22:48
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Jmcrofts posted:Hey guys, me again with more newbie stuff. Not to not answer your actual question, but if you're new to brewing your own coffee, I'd probably skip the moka pot or anything that requires a specific grind. If it were me, I'd use the blade grinder and just use a simple pour over brewer. Pour over is pretty forgiving and needs little investment.
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Jan 11, 2012 22:48
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I only know enough about coffee to be dangerous, but I think that starbucks' christmas blend is actually a pretty good one. Its mostly Sumatran beans, which are pretty much the only type that can withstand being roasted way-too-thoroughly by starbucks roasters. I originally "got in" to coffee because the regular starbucks-brand Sumatran beans produced a really satisfying cup when I put them in my lovely Mr. Coffee.
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Jan 11, 2012 22:50
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rockcity posted:Not to not answer your actual question, but if you're new to brewing your own coffee, I'd probably skip the moka pot or anything that requires a specific grind. If it were me, I'd use the blade grinder and just use a simple pour over brewer. Pour over is pretty forgiving and needs little investment. I've used the moka pot with a burr grinder when I was at my parents' place over break and was really happy with the results. I'm just not pleased with the way it's coming out with my blade grinder.
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Jan 11, 2012 22:51
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Jmcrofts posted:Just the bag it comes in I guess? I don't know I hadn't really thought about it. OK so if you're using the bag it comes in then the sperglord answer of 1 minute applies. Coffee goes stale with exposure to oxygen/air (as I understand things). Ground coffee goes staler, faster, because grinding makes itty bitty particles with lots and lots of surface area. Storing coffee in a way that air can get to it easily (not in a bag with a one way valve or a vacuum container) means it's going to go stale really, really fast. I agree with a previous poster, however, who said that if you're just getting into coffee don't bother with anything that needs a specific grind- just do blade grinder and pour-over. Sometimes when reading this thread I want to go balls-to-the-wall about coffee and start caring about dissolved particles and atmospheres of pressure and millibars, and then I remember that at the end of the day as long as it tastes pretty damned good I don't care about achieving perfection. Also I add sugar and cream to my coffee and that means I'm automatically a heretic.
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Jan 11, 2012 23:24
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30 Goddamned Dicks posted:Also I add sugar and cream to my coffee and that means I'm automatically a heretic. You loving MONSTER! But yes, and I haven't checked but if it isn't, this should be in the OP: Expensive quality burr > cheapy any burr > blade > pre ground As greatly as the grind impacts the quality of your coffee, freshness is as if not more important. Freshly roasted coffee goes stale in a week. Pre ground in a matter of hours if not, yes, minutes. I used a blade grinder for years, because it was all I could afford. There are certain techniques you can use to maximize the evenness of the grind, but for moka pot, basically pres butan and shake the hell out of it for longer than you think you should. Grab a pinch from the grinder - you'll get a feel for what the right grind level is. Before you change the method of your brew, as suggested above, change your grinder.
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Jan 11, 2012 23:38
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I should probably find a good (and preferably relatively inexpensive) source of coffee beans. Someone in my house keeps buying Starbucks when it's on sale for roughly 7-8 dollars a bag. Probably the big thing that I get hit by is shipping when buying online which seems to add about 5 dollars. I'll probably check by a local coffee shop and see if they sell beans and if so, how fresh they are.
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Jan 11, 2012 23:40
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