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Alleric posted:I really have no idea how it would react with Aluminum, but we've cleaned coffee stains off of numerous surfaces by wetting them and then dusting heavily with baking soda. Wait a couple minutes and it all comes up. I've rescued more than a few total-mahogany-coated coffee pots with that. Other than that you can go with some coffee equipment specific items like Urnex Cleancaf which has some surfactants in it specific to cleaning coffee residue, but I've honestly had the best luck with baking soda. I have that same knock box. I need to find a better tamper for mine, but I've been slacking. The one I have isn't the worst, but it's just a tiny bit too small and I have to sort of lightly work my way around the edges after my tamp to clean up the sides a bit. Anyone have a tamper they like their their Silvia?
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Feb 6, 2016 02:29
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rockcity posted:I have that same knock box. I need to find a better tamper for mine, but I've been slacking. The one I have isn't the worst, but it's just a tiny bit too small and I have to sort of lightly work my way around the edges after my tamp to clean up the sides a bit. Anyone have a tamper they like their their Silvia? This is the one I use, and is what's in the shot there: http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016CBO74?keywords=rattleware%20tamper&qid=1454728481&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1 Fits very snug and things are pretty clean if I do a light tamp, small knock on the portafilter, then the real tamp.
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Feb 6, 2016 04:16
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Alleric posted:This is the one I use, and is what's in the shot there: http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016CBO74?keywords=rattleware%20tamper&qid=1454728481&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1 Good to know. This is the one I have. http://www.amazon.com/Rattleware-21...rds=58mm+tamper Measuring it with a small metric ruler, it looks like mine might be closer to 57mm which might be the problem. It was cheap so I'm not surprised.
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Feb 6, 2016 04:49
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So I've recently been having cappuccinos and other drinks thanks to a friend and I now do d myself wanting to make my own. I've been looking at espresso machines but really not sure where to even start. What are some good ones I should be looking at as a new dumb coffee baby?
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Feb 6, 2016 21:00
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Through looking into this I have now found that this is a V1 machine. No biggie; I still think I made out just fine. Espressoparts has the adjustable OPV mod that apparently just bolts right on, even to the old style boiler. I'll just turn guitar fund into espresso fund for a few weeks and prolly order the adjustable OPV, a pressure gauge and the ball joint steam valve setup all at once. Get this sucker dialed in and prepped to be my espresso rig until I can't find parts for it.
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Feb 6, 2016 21:52
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Oh yeah, you do. Not sure how I missed that in your pic except I wasn't looking for it. So little changed between the versions it doesn't really matter though, it's mostly cosmetic stuff. If you're spending money on upgrades the one that usually has the biggest impact is putting a PID on it; even with temp surfing you're still going to end up with a 5-10 degree variance in brew temp and that alone can throw off a shot. There are some really expensive kits out there but you can piece one together yourself off of ebay for under $100.
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Feb 6, 2016 22:35
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bizwank posted:Oh yeah, you do. Not sure how I missed that in your pic except I wasn't looking for it. So little changed between the versions it doesn't really matter though, it's mostly cosmetic stuff. If you're spending money on upgrades the one that usually has the biggest impact is putting a PID on it; even with temp surfing you're still going to end up with a 5-10 degree variance in brew temp and that alone can throw off a shot. There are some really expensive kits out there but you can piece one together yourself off of ebay for under $100. Yep, a PID is on the roadmap as well. If you know the parts to do a build-a-PID thing off items on ebay, I'm all ears.
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Feb 7, 2016 00:57
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In short, you need the display/control panel, there are single and dual-line models on there for $25-$40 (search for "espresso PID"). You also need a solid state relay to handle the switching and a thermocouple to connect to the boiler, those should run you $5-10 each. You'll want an enclosure too if doing an external mount, or you could cut a hole in the face of the Silva and mount it there, up to you. If putting all of that together and programming it yourself seems daunting, paying the premium for a pre-made kit isn't really a bad idea as you'll easily make it back if/when you sell the machine. I got $700 for my V2 on craigslist, had the Auber kit with pre-infusion.
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Feb 7, 2016 01:40
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Dr. VooDoo posted:So I've recently been having cappuccinos and other drinks thanks to a friend and I now do d myself wanting to make my own. I've been looking at espresso machines but really not sure where to even start. What are some good ones I should be looking at as a new dumb coffee baby? You're looking at about $300 for a grinder and $300+ for the espresso machine. Is this something that still intrigues you?
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Feb 7, 2016 04:07
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Mu Zeta posted:You're looking at about $300 for a grinder and $300+ for the espresso machine. Is this something that still intrigues you? I have tax return money burning a hole in my pocket so yes  I wish the learn the arts
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Feb 7, 2016 04:34
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sellouts posted:For my cold brew at home I used a virtuoso baratza grinder set to #27. I use the filtron pitcher to brew for 16 hours in the fridge. I use beans that I've had cold brew from (stumptown, verve, coava) so I can try to get the process down. My baratza grinder is set to #32 and I set my pitcher for roughly 12 hours overnight at room temperature. I use light roasts and I end up with tasty, mellow, caffeine-infused coffee. Try 12 hours at #32 grind and see if that helps. A buddy of mine asked me to try cold-brewing Death Wish Coffee, a robusta-only coffee at $20/lb which reportedly has 660mg of caffeine in a 12 oz cup instead of the 217mg standard coffee has. Having made it in both a Chemex and a cold brew...meh. It was roasted really dark and it wasn't that tasty as both a Chemex and a cold brew, and I actually needed two cups of the cold-brew to wake me up. The Chemex-made one didn't wake me up at all. Either it was just a gimmick, or I made a bad cup, and/or I have a horribly high caffeine tolerance and I need to stop drinking coffee for a bit. (Which would be just my luck, since I only drink a 12oz cup of watered-down cold-brew a day, if that.) On the bright side, I still have about 4oz left. I've blended it as filler to Philz Coffee's Canopy of Heaven so I've got a 12oz-batch ready for my next cold brew. I miss roasting my own coffee, though.
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Feb 7, 2016 09:31
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Deathwish is pure marketing. I've never personally had it but if you know coffee even at all, you should easily be able to tell that it's over roasted garbage, branded and marketed excellently. I have no real interest in trying it, but hats off to them on the idea.
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Feb 7, 2016 15:04
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Dr. VooDoo posted:I have tax return money burning a hole in my pocket so yes Be sure to search through this thread for previous posts on the matter, but as far as I can remember this seems to roughly be the consensus in this thread. Anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong or missed something. Grinder options:
Espresso machine options:
The Breville "Oracle" also looks really cool. Best I can tell, it's basically a combo of the Breville Dual Boiler, Breville Smart Grinder, and an automatic tamper. Haven't tried it myself but it seems to be getting good reviews in the online coffee world. Also note that some places (Seattle Coffee Gear and Whole Latte Love come to mind) have deals if you buy a grinder and espresso machine together. Also many of these grinders and espresso machines can be bought refurbished for much, much less than new. They often come with the same warranty as a new machine and work just as well.
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Feb 7, 2016 18:03
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dik-dik posted:Grinder options:
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Feb 7, 2016 18:54
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There's also the Crossland Coffee CC1, which I don't own but I understand is a good machine.
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Feb 7, 2016 19:16
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Huge thread, sorry if this has been covered before, but does anyone have thoughts or experience with the Jura Ena Micro? I'm interested because it sounds like they have top notch customer service in case of any issues, plus it supposedly makes drat good coffee, for a fully automatic. I wish there was a way to see one in person or something. I can't find these or any decent machines locally.
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Feb 7, 2016 22:39
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You won't find much love for super-autos in here but with the right tweaking you can get a pretty decent shot out of them (good enough for most people anyway). I usually advise against Jura for two reasons: their brewing unit (aka the contraption that handles the ground coffee and brewing thereof) isn't user-serviceable but it's a key component that should be removed and cleaned on the regular. They want you to buy their pricey cleaning tablets and run them through the machine instead but that really isn't sufficient to keep them out of the shop for more then a few years at a time (in my limited experience). When you finally do need someone to put a wrench on it you'll have to ship it off to Jura in NJ or to partsguru.com in PA, and they both charge a flat refurbishing fee of $350-500 (not including shipping) depending on what model you have. Myself and every other independent shop won't touch them as we can't get parts or technical docs/support; partsguru.com gets his parts by buying new machines at retail and disassembling them and I think he mostly does it out of spite (Jura sued him but lost because  ). If you happen to live close to PA or NJ and don't mind being without your machine for 4-6 weeks every time it pops up an error message then Jura might be the right choice for you, otherwise I would go with a Delonghi or Saeco. Specifically, this is about the best deal in a super-auto right now:http://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-ESAM3300-Magnifica-Super-Automatic-Espresso/dp/B000N2YKQ0 That and the other EAM/ESAM series machines regularly go 5+ years before needing their first service and then you've got a whole network of independent repair shops to pick from as well as all the internal parts available online for the DIY crowd. Seaco machines have the same support/parts situation, are a little less consistent in how they break but are still miles above every other brand out there. As far as demoing them, Sur La Table, Macy's and Costco usually have at least one of their units on hand, and since the only difference between the different models within each brand is the trim/controls, a shot from one will give you a good idea of what they'll all taste like. Now, I wouldn't trust a department store to have fresh beans in the machine or a properly dialed-in grinder, but then again neither do most users and they're still happy with the results.
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Feb 8, 2016 04:16
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That is awesome info, thanks for that. Just bought a Saeco. I have no qualms about diagnosing and repairing stuff (after the warranty) so that actually mattered to me. I wrongly assumed replacement parts for the Jura would not be a big deal.
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Feb 8, 2016 06:21
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bizwank posted:In short, you need the display/control panel, there are single and dual-line models on there for $25-$40 (search for "espresso PID"). You also need a solid state relay to handle the switching and a thermocouple to connect to the boiler, those should run you $5-10 each. You'll want an enclosure too if doing an external mount, or you could cut a hole in the face of the Silva and mount it there, up to you. Researching PIDdiness has presented me with a choice that I'm not sure how I feel about. V1 boilers and V2+ boilers are totally different in their anatomy, and it seems that the thermal reader employed is as well. Unless I'm misunderstanding what I've read, the V2+ method is just attaching the thermocouple to the top of the boiler, whereas for V1... at least according to Auber... you can use a screw-in RTD that threads into a thermowell inclusion on the top of the V1 boilers. Obviously you can just take the V2+ thermocouple and attach it to the top of any of the boilers and it'll work, so... universal option. So really the question is if the threaded RTD matters, and if it will be more representative of the water temp than a top-of-the-boiler surface mounted reader would be. Auber seems to indicate on this page that the screw-type RTD is indeed better. Buying a cheap PID, relay and thermocouple doesn't bug me. Programming it honestly doesn't bug me. But if I'm going to sperg hard enough to PID this thing, should I take advantage of my V1 boiler and get their threaded RTD?
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Feb 9, 2016 17:35
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The difference in the boilers if really fairly minimal and mostly cosmetic, but yes the threaded RTD will be a little closer to the water then the surface-mount so it should give you slightly faster response time. That won't necessarily result in a difference you can taste but hey, it's $25.
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Feb 9, 2016 18:41
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Are there any particularly good delivery roast services? Just moved and am now a good 45 minutes from the place I've been getting beans from for the past 6 years. Tempted to just go less frequently and deal with staleness at the end of the month, but may try a weekly delivery service if there are any that are really worth it.
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Feb 9, 2016 21:06
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We've been using Mistobox at the shop for almost a year now and so far almost everything they've sent us has been great, with the exception of 1-2 bags that we just didn't like. Haven't had any issues with freshness or customer service.
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Feb 9, 2016 21:32
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bizwank posted:We've been using Mistobox at the shop for almost a year now and so far almost everything they've sent us has been great, with the exception of 1-2 bags that we just didn't like. Haven't had any issues with freshness or customer service. Seconding Mistobox. You can adjust how often you want them to send you stuff, too. Customer service is pretty great, they're very responsive via email.
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Feb 9, 2016 21:36
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Trip report: after a weeks of trying, I've given up on decanting my French Press coffee to an insulated urn (making it at night before bed, to drink first thing in the morning). This sounds insane, but I've proven it with repeated testing: it actually tastes better if you just leave the French Press sitting out all night, pour it into a mug, and heat it in the microwave. I bought a nice Zojirushi glass-lined thermal carafe, but keeping the coffee warm for 10 hours or so makes it taste like poo poo. It reminds of that late-afternoon office coffee, where the pot has been sitting and stewing for 3-4 hours. I'm SHOCKED at how much it effects the flavor of the coffee. Only thing left to try is to decant to an un-insulated container, refrigerate, and then reheat in the morning. Of course, at this point I might as well be making cold brew, I guess.
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Feb 9, 2016 22:18
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Brew, use a centrifuge to separate the coffee, put in the carafe and recombine in the morning?
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Feb 9, 2016 22:51
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Squashy Nipples posted:Trip report: after a weeks of trying, I've given up on decanting my French Press coffee to an insulated urn (making it at night before bed, to drink first thing in the morning). Are you making your coffee the normal french press way and then just leaving it to cool, coffee submersed in hot water, while it cools all night? Personally, what I'd try is a cold brew done the same way, but don't heat the water. Then pour it off in the morning and heat that.
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Feb 9, 2016 23:03
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Klades posted:Seconding Mistobox. You can adjust how often you want them to send you stuff, too. Customer service is pretty great, they're very responsive via email. 12oz is weird, too much for one week, too little for two. May just have to get it bi-weekly and keep some stale house blend from my regular place on hand for gap days.
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Feb 9, 2016 23:03
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Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! Gonna be putting in an order for a grinder and machine by the end of this week based on your recommendations
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Feb 10, 2016 03:29
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Nephzinho posted:Are there any particularly good delivery roast services? Just moved and am now a good 45 minutes from the place I've been getting beans from for the past 6 years. Tempted to just go less frequently and deal with staleness at the end of the month, but may try a weekly delivery service if there are any that are really worth it. Contrary report on mistobox. 12 ounces a week isn't enough, and they're a bit overpriced to just double it. Second, they're very unreliable on certainty of getting a shipment. Of the 20 or so weeks before I cancelled, I had no shipments at all on 6 different weeks, including one that simply never was shipped. They're responsive and apologize, but you still missed a week and have to buy elsewhere, so what's the point of a delivery service?
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Feb 10, 2016 04:52
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Is one of those cold brew kits (Toddy, Filtron, etc.) really necessary for cold brewing, or is a mason jar, a funnel, and a paper filter once a week perfectly fine? I don't really see a difference except maybe some slight ergonomic improvements, and it saves me from buying yet another gadget I don't need vs. stuff I already own. Similarly, any reason not to grind in store vs. at home if I'm going to cold brew the grounds all at once, immediately?
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Feb 10, 2016 11:33
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I own a filtron and while it's less  to drain the coffee out of a purpose-built device I don't think the coffee is any better than when I used mason jars and a paper-lined strainer.
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Feb 10, 2016 12:04
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Toddy/Filtron isn't necessary because IMO cold brew is bad
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Feb 11, 2016 00:03
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Mu Zeta posted:Toddy/Filtron isn't necessary because IMO cold brew is bad I actually really liked becoming's recipe, both cold and hot.. Didn't like how many beans I had to use though
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Feb 11, 2016 00:05
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Mu Zeta posted:Toddy/Filtron isn't necessary because IMO cold brew is bad I don't like it as much as hot, fresh brewed coffee but it's very easy to make and a great thing when you have to be at work at 6 AM. It's also pretty good!
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Feb 11, 2016 00:52
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Eh, I work from home so it's less of an ease of use thing than it is a "I live in Houston and it hits 90+ in the mornings" thing. I'd rather have a cold drink than a hot drink during the summer.
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Feb 11, 2016 03:37
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Anyone with a Bonavita kettle have rust issues? I have the variable temp and I never really paid too much attention because where I have everything set up is pretty dark, but noticed when rust started developing pretty badly on the rim of the lid. I ordered a replacement lid, but checking the inside of the kettle there appears to be a fair amount of rust around the bottom and some spots on the opening and inner walls. I'd love to find a way to remove it and not have to get a brand new one since I just ordered a replacement lid. I've been googling but haven't found any great recommendations so far. I basically always leave water in it since I use it every day, which you'd think would be ok for a kettle to handle, but if I get this cleared up maybe I"ll have to rethink letting water sit in it constantly. edit: I've used apple cider vinegar on tools before and I've read some recommendations for distilled white vinegar as well as descaling products. Vinegar flavored coffee would be awful but I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to get the odor out if I used that.
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Feb 11, 2016 03:44
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Shooting Blanks posted:Eh, I work from home so it's less of an ease of use thing than it is a "I live in Houston and it hits 90+ in the mornings" thing. I'd rather have a cold drink than a hot drink during the summer. I put together a guide/recipe for Japanese-style iced coffee that a number of people here have spoken positively of. This is a link to that post. One benefit to this over coldbrew is that it is more bean-efficient, meaning you get more coffee per gram of beans. Might be worth checking out.
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Feb 11, 2016 03:54
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I have got to stop bringing cold brew to work. Word got out on how good it tastes and a bunch of people want it every time. I wouldn't mind if good coffee didn't cost so much. Thinking of putting a donation jar or something at my desk.
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Feb 11, 2016 05:12
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becoming posted:I put together a guide/recipe for Japanese-style iced coffee that a number of people here have spoken positively of. This is a link to that post. One benefit to this over coldbrew is that it is more bean-efficient, meaning you get more coffee per gram of beans. Might be worth checking out. I like your traditional recipe, the coffee concentrate.. make and batch and you're good for a few days of lazy hot/cold coffee. I'll have to try that Japanese method though for sure.
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Feb 11, 2016 07:06
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I also use the Japanese method. Roughly 150g ice and I make about 180g pour over on top of it. You get really bright and flavorful coffee. It's really loving good. Also I suggest small ice cubes but either way tastes great.
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Feb 11, 2016 07:19
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