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I think dual boiler would be overkill for me; I live alone and I'm making two drinks (latte or cortado, occasionally a straight shot) daily at most.
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Aug 30, 2020 20:22
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aldantefax posted:I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with trying fancy beans even if all the other stuff doesn't quite line up, but figuring out why you like it (cost bias aside) will help in identifying and exploring more beans, often in places you might be surprised you like. For example, beans that tend to come from the Americas tend to have a certain style versus beans that come from Southeast Asia and Africa. With the current climate, it's a bit difficult to really try a lot of coffees at once, but you could consider for the price of a USD $60 bag a coffee subscription. Thank you. I have a Ninja Drip machine, I’m probably going to buy a French Press though. I do use Bailey’s cream (non alcoholic) for my creamer and use a small amount and no sugar. And I got my burr machine and it’s true, it’s like I’m drinking something completely different than I was before. The mouthfeel and flavor is much better now.
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Aug 30, 2020 22:03
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Gatts posted:Thank you. For when you get a french press: https://www.baristahustle.com/blog/the-coffee-compass/
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Aug 31, 2020 14:01
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Welp, I must've been tempting fate earlier when I was talking about hand grinders being good enough for me, because I just dropped my Hario a second time and smashed it up enough that there's no way for the top to screw in place (several parts of the plastic where the threading is broke off). Right now I'm still able to use it by holding the top part gripped tightly over a jar, but it's a real chore. I'm not sure I want to bother with another hand grinder since this could be an opportunity to upgrade. I'm definitely trying to figure out if there's any way I can scrape up enough cash for a Baratza Encore, but I really have to consider cheaper options as well. (Student loan deferment might make it possible though.) I did recently see a local roster on Facebook offering some lightly used Capresso burr grinders for about $44. Is that worthwhile? It's this one here:  After doing some more research it looks like this is a disk burr vs. the Capresso Infinity which is conical, and also the one I see referenced more often here. So now I'm thinking... maybe not? My usage is 90% French press, 10% other stuff, and I do not have a real espresso machine and don't plan on getting one any time soon. I might take the plunge for the Encore, but I just want to know I'm not missing out on a cheaper option that would be 95% as good.
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Aug 31, 2020 14:29
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If you do wind up opting for the Encore they still have refurb units available for a little bit of savings.
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Aug 31, 2020 14:34
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Abner Assington posted:I think dual boiler would be overkill for me; I live alone and I'm making two drinks (latte or cortado, occasionally a straight shot) daily at most. My reason for going with dual is that I didn't want to deal with flushes and I couldn't get ahold of a MaraX on a reasonable timeline 
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Aug 31, 2020 17:26
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BlackMK4 posted:If you're willing to forego the warranty you can get a much nicer dual boiler shipped to the us from italy for us appartamento price, or you could watch the chris coffee sales page for a floor model of something you're interested in popping up. I bought a vetrano 2b evo floor model from them a few months ago and have been very happy for the price ($2300 shipped) Could you elaborate on importing from Italy a little bit? I've got a Acaso Dream PID on my wedding registry, but it's really just a placeholder for "an espresso machine that's about $1,000 that looks pretty." I've been considering the Acaso Dream, the Rocket Appartamento and the Lelit Mara X, but I'm really in no rush and not tied to any of them. My Breville Infuser can tide me over a few more months if I need to wait a bit to get more bang for my buck. Similar to the OP, I basically make lattes, cortados and rarely straight espresso - mostly less than 4 shots per day.
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Aug 31, 2020 19:15
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There are a few shops in Italy that sell and ship to the US, which I believe probably breaks distributor rules, so they are effectively gray market and have no warranty. I didn't do it for my machine, but I've gone the same route with motorsports gear through Murray Motorsport out of Ireland. Anyway, do your due diligence before going this route. This is one of the sites. https://www.espressocoffeeshop.com/browse-by-type/semiautomatic-machines
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Aug 31, 2020 20:25
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Has anyone had any experience with the Decent Espresso machine? Seems kinda unique.
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Sep 1, 2020 04:48
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Abner Assington posted:I think dual boiler would be overkill for me; I live alone and I'm making two drinks (latte or cortado, occasionally a straight shot) daily at most. I make two caps a day and my HX rocket is perfect. Sometimes I will make drinks for guests but not since Covid...
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Sep 1, 2020 05:49
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Hand grinders. Looking for a travel grinder I can use camping or at my in-laws (who don't have anything other than a blade grinder) that also isn't stupid expensive. I'm thinking under $50? The Skerton plus is $40 instead of the $56 I saw earlier, so that may be my final answer. Maybe the Hario Mini Slim? Or the Hero looks like a Skerton clone?
El Jebus fucked around with this message at 20:24 on Sep 1, 2020 |
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Sep 1, 2020 20:20
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El Jebus posted:Hand grinders. Looking for a travel grinder I can use camping or at my in-laws (who don't have anything other than a blade grinder) that also isn't stupid expensive. I'm thinking under $50? The Skerton plus is $40 instead of the $56 I saw earlier, so that may be my final answer. Maybe the Hario Mini Slim? Or the Hero looks like a Skerton clone? It's a little more, $59 on Amazon right now, but I'm super happy with my "XEOLEO" grinder. It's all metal with two bearings for the shaft. My last hand grinder was one of those JavaPresse style and this thing is magnitudes better. My only complaint is the small capacity, only about 20g in the hopper and sometimes 30g ground, but it grinds so fast it's not a deal breaker for the price.
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Sep 1, 2020 20:50
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Wow the xeoleo parts look much more heavy duty than the crap Hario grinders. The spring on the shaft alone looks way thicc.
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Sep 1, 2020 20:53
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Ceramic burrs are kinda whatever. I tried the Hario and Porlex and i just kind of miss the Knock Feldgrind I had. Horrible customer service and I lost the proprietary crank but it made some good coffee. Anyway, if you can find a hand grinder with conical metal burrs at that price point you might appreciate the extra heft. Otherwise, a Skerton is probably fine.
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Sep 1, 2020 21:53
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FireTora posted:It's a little more, $59 on Amazon right now, but I'm super happy with my "XEOLEO" grinder. It's all metal with two bearings for the shaft. My last hand grinder was one of those JavaPresse style and this thing is magnitudes better. My only complaint is the small capacity, only about 20g in the hopper and sometimes 30g ground, but it grinds so fast it's not a deal breaker for the price. Oh, this looks almost perfect. ~20g is about perfect for me.
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Sep 1, 2020 23:41
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Is there such a thing as an affordable espresso scale? I'm starting to think having one would be a big help to make sure I'm not overdosing my shots, but most of what I'm finding is in the $150+ range. I pulled the trigger on purchasing an Appartamento, so I was  for its arrival, until I got an email from SCG saying the black one was out of stock until 9/9. That's not too far off, but it definitely killed my hype.
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Sep 2, 2020 17:36
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Abner Assington posted:Is there such a thing as an affordable espresso scale? I'm starting to think having one would be a big help to make sure I'm not overdosing my shots, but most of what I'm finding is in the $150+ range. https://decentespresso.com/scale I'm using this one. It doesn't have a timer on it, but it is cheap, pretty responsive, and accurate so it's probably one of the better options if you don't want to spend a ton.
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Sep 2, 2020 17:54
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I'm also using the Decent one since it is relatively slim. I think my only complaint about it is that it turns off if you let it sit for too long, my complaint being that 'too long' is actually a short time compared to like my Hario that I use to weigh dose.
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Sep 2, 2020 17:55
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BlackMK4 posted:I'm also using the Decent one since it is relatively slim. The manual on that page I linked shows how to disable the auto-off.
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Sep 2, 2020 17:58
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Abner Assington posted:Is there such a thing as an affordable espresso scale? I'm starting to think having one would be a big help to make sure I'm not overdosing my shots, but most of what I'm finding is in the $150+ range. Not really. For espresso shots I've been using this piece of poo poo, but it's definitely not meant to be an espresso scale, and it certainly isn't waterproof either. It's also kinda slow to update, which leads to somewhat inaccurate shots. I want to get an Acaia Lunar, but that thing is really pricey, and my Pearl doesn't fit on my drip tray. Most of the time I use an Acaia Pearl S for pour-overs, and it's a really nice thing, so I understand the desire to spend the extra on a proper espresso scale. Maybe others have suggestions I'm unaware of. Edit: beaten Gunder fucked around with this message at 18:18 on Sep 2, 2020 |
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Sep 2, 2020 18:00
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rath posted:The manual on that page I linked shows how to disable the auto-off. sheiiiit 
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Sep 2, 2020 18:10
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Abner Assington posted:Is there such a thing as an affordable espresso scale? I'm starting to think having one would be a big help to make sure I'm not overdosing my shots, but most of what I'm finding is in the $150+ range. Are you pre-weighing, single dose? If so, then Triton My Weigh have scales that are accurate to a tenth or hundredth of a gram and are accurate. I use a My Weigh Triton T2 and have done so on the same coin battery for almost 5 years with near-daily usage (at least, for this year). It fits into a go-bag and is accurate enough to calibrate versus the Acaia and a Hario scale. https://myweigh.com/product/triton-t2/ If you're looking for weight/time measurement when pulling shots, the Acaia series has a mode that is for auto-start and auto-tare shot timers. I use an Acaia Pearl S on my La Pavoni, which does not have a particularly high clearance deck, but it works fine. The Acaia Pyxis is a pretty decent scale but it's loving 250 bucks. Absolute madness. If you try to look for espresso-specific anything that you can have the same level of service with via non-espresso stuff, you'll find a mysterious markup that can make your blood pressure go up. In my preference, the Triton T2 owns bones, and you should just spend twenty bucks on it. https://www.amazon.com/My-Weigh-Digital-Formula-Jewelry/dp/B000FIASRM Correction: it's fifteen bucks. Buy a digital timer to go with it and you just saved yourself something like 200 bucks.
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Sep 3, 2020 02:18
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Abner Assington posted:Is there such a thing as an affordable espresso scale? I'm starting to think having one would be a big help to make sure I'm not overdosing my shots, but most of what I'm finding is in the $150+ range. I like my Brewista scale. It has the modes and timers you need for coffee or espresso, and is a lot cheaper than the Acacia Lunar and such. Great customer service and I don’t think I’ve charged the battery this year. It just works.
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Sep 3, 2020 03:21
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aldantefax posted:Correction: it's fifteen bucks. Buy a digital timer to go with it and you just saved yourself something like 200 bucks. This is the correct take in my opinion. I've been using my phone's stopwatch and a $15 dollar, .1g accurate scale for almost two years without issue. Of course, if you're buying an Appartamento your financial situation probably isn't the same as mine.
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Sep 3, 2020 03:32
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Ultimate Mango posted:I like my Brewista scale. It has the modes and timers you need for coffee or espresso, and is a lot cheaper than the Acacia Lunar and such. Great customer service and I don’t think I’ve charged the battery this year. It just works. Seconding this - my experience, as well.
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Sep 3, 2020 03:32
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Yeah I dug out my youth's drug scale, wiped off the residue, remembered a past me and made espresso Easy peasy
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Sep 3, 2020 05:01
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Spiggy posted:This is the correct take in my opinion. I've been using my phone's stopwatch and a $15 dollar, .1g accurate scale for almost two years without issue. Of course, if you're buying an Appartamento your financial situation probably isn't the same as mine.
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Sep 3, 2020 16:58
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Do you have to recalibrate palm tampers each time you switch coffee beans? I never really thought about it before as I don't own one, but I recently read a comment remarking on the necessity to do so. I was thinking about getting a better tamper and was considering either a calibrated Espro or something like the Push Tamper from Clockwork Espresso, and the need to constantly mess with the Push tamper every time I switch beans would probably tip me over into the Espro choice.
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Sep 3, 2020 17:09
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Gonna go through this 5lbs sack of coffee from Costco
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Sep 3, 2020 20:48
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Gunder posted:Do you have to recalibrate palm tampers each time you switch coffee beans? I never really thought about it before as I don't own one, but I recently read a comment remarking on the necessity to do so. I was thinking about getting a better tamper and was considering either a calibrated Espro or something like the Push Tamper from Clockwork Espresso, and the need to constantly mess with the Push tamper every time I switch beans would probably tip me over into the Espro choice. As far as I know, there is no mechanism for a fancy tamper to actually do anything. All you're doing is squeezing out the air between incompressible coffee particles and 15 lbs vs 30 lbs vs 300 lbs is not really going to change anything.
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Sep 3, 2020 21:41
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Yeah, I get that. It just might be easier to tamp consistently with a better tamper than the crappy plasticky thing that came with my Sage Barista Pro. Having said that, a more solid feeling Motta can be mine for a lot less money than the ones I mentioned previously.
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Sep 3, 2020 22:11
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My neighbour upstairs had some sort of water leak directly above my espresso machine and grinder. All the old grinds in the grinder turned to mud and made a complete mess of the machine. So this morning I had a crash course in doing a complete breakdown and rebuild of the machine. I've wasted so many beans and rice. Fun times. The espresso maker seemed to be "fine" despite all the wet  .
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Sep 4, 2020 09:34
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Associate Christ
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Ok, this is a concept, please do not try this before investigating, etc etc. Stinging nettle for coffee. Using nettle tea, leaves not in, as water base for brewing your coffee? I can think of how it can be good, but not sure about how it can go bad, which is always possible
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Sep 4, 2020 11:36
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agrielaios posted:Ok, this is a concept, please do not try this before investigating, etc etc. Stinging nettle for coffee. Using nettle tea, leaves not in, as water base for brewing your coffee? I can think of how it can be good, but not sure about how it can go bad, which is always possible You mean use tea instead of clean water for brewing?
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Sep 4, 2020 11:47
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Lord Stimperor posted:You mean use tea instead of clean water for brewing? Purely water from stinging nettle leaves, yes, nothing else
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Sep 4, 2020 11:59
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agrielaios posted:Purely water from stinging nettle leaves, yes, nothing else I wouldn't want to put the nettle water into a coffee maker, since I know that tea residue can be hard to remove. But I guess you could make an espresso or aeropress and dilute to taste with nettle. I actually don't have any idea how nettle water tastes, but if it's very herbally i guess a sprits might fit in a cold brew of some fruity coffee variety. Like one of these coffee-lemonades people are making. I haven't the faintest idea how good or digusting this might be.
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Sep 4, 2020 13:05
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The Mayan coffee was good. I may prefer the Cuban one just a bit more.
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Sep 4, 2020 17:34
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I ordered the Light Roast cafec filters for my v60... gotta say I vastly prefer the hario filters over this but I will need to tinker with the grind size again to say for sure. I lost all the blueberry I had from my hario filter this morning on this Ethiopian Natural.
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Sep 4, 2020 20:51
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Munkaboo posted:I ordered the Light Roast cafec filters for my v60... gotta say I vastly prefer the hario filters over this but I will need to tinker with the grind size again to say for sure. I lost all the blueberry I had from my hario filter this morning on this Ethiopian Natural. I gave away the pack of light roast filters I bought. They didn’t improve a single cup no matter what I tried. I figured the whole thing was another lame gimmick. But the medium roast filters have been better for me than the standard hario filters. You have to be more mindful of high and dry grounds because of the texture, but other than that they’ve become my go to filter.
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Sep 4, 2020 21:46
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 Got this to try. Beans from the same farm processed three different ways, should be good for getting a handle on how different processes affect the flavour. Honey processed Costa Rican is my favourite and the bean I usually buy, will be interesting to taste it in natural and washed versions.
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Sep 4, 2020 22:17
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