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Bertrand Hustle posted:It kind of looks like the thing Gale used to make coffee in Breaking Bad. A lot of cold brewers are made out of lab equipment, the one pictured is pretty much exactly like the Hario (or other cold brewers) on the market, only 3 times more expensive.
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Oct 10, 2012 04:10
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nm posted:And awesomer. Don't forget that. Right, my point was that the Hario brewer (and some other less expensive brewers) also have that ability, and people didn't go apeshit and spend $600+ on them just because they were on Kickstarter.
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Oct 10, 2012 06:28
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Well, obviously you'd need brand new lab equipment, and I don't have any specific links to glassware, I'd imagine it can't be too difficult to pick out an erlenmeyer flask, etc that are well suited: http://www.labdepotinc.com/c-21-laboratory-glassware.php I'm sure you can probably even find a stand to hold the dripper over the flask on most any chemistry supply website, it's just a matter of whether or not you like the aesthetics. The only thing any of the commercially available drippers really have to offer you is a fancy stand.
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Oct 10, 2012 16:21
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I must be crazy, cuz I use Grindz about once a month. I don't use as mucha s they tell you to, and I'm still on the big container I bought like 2 years ago. It works really well.
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Oct 22, 2012 21:57
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GrAviTy84 posted:They are inherently different things. A drip machine is not a pour over is not press pot is not moka pot is not aeropress is not espresso. Don't forget the Behmor Brazen!
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Nov 20, 2012 00:01
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As much as I love Alton Brown, I'm not sure him endorsing an espresso machine carries much weight.
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Nov 25, 2012 02:55
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Steve Yun posted:Perhaps, but if you click the link you'll see it was also recommended by our resident coffee perfectionist Gravity as a low budget machine. I'm aware, I'm just not sure that Alton is much of a coffee connoisseur. Any machine with a built in grinder is most likely an automatic, and is not going to produce quality espresso (compared to the flexibility and control a semi automatic machine gives you). As others have said many times before in this thread, the grinder is more important than the machine, and is going to do more to improve the espresso you get out of a < $500 espresso machine than anything else.
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Nov 25, 2012 04:38
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DoktorLoken posted:I have a love and hate relationship with espresso. I have a Baratza Preciso and a Starbucks Barista (Old rebadged Saeco Via Venzia AFAIK) machine. Making espresso is a chore and I suck at tamping, rarely getting good shots. In addition the soupy mess of not having a machine with a 3 way solenoid pisses me off (seriously if you're buying a machine get one with one) bothers me. But then I'll just get on a kick of making 3-4 espresso drinks a day which makes me love it too much to give up. You're telling me you don't like gimmicky steam wands, crema enhancers and pressurized portafilters?! Unfortunately, that's sort of the experience you get with lower end machines. 
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Nov 25, 2012 15:02
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i am not so sure posted:Is Lavazza coffee any good? No.
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Dec 5, 2012 02:38
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geetee posted:Does anyone else besides Gravity have that bonnavita drip machine? I'm tempted to get one because I am lazy and it'll be more consistent than me. Just afraid that I'll consistently prefer to use the aeropress instead. I still can't pull off a manual pour over to safe my life. Too acidic. For $70 more, I'd also consider the Behmor Brazen.
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Dec 31, 2012 15:53
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Mu Zeta posted:I'm really glad I bought a $5 thermometer. I was wondering why my coffee in the aeropress tasted so bitter and it turns out the water was too hot and was burning the grounds. They smelled wonderful when I ground it but after I took a sip it was just foul so I knew I was doing something wrong. Get a $5 thermometer. Even better is a Thermopen. I realize most people scoff at the price and it took me a few years to take the plunge but I swear up and down every time I am forced to use a slow-to-read/inaccurate crap thermometer at someone else's house now. Best kitchen gadget ever. Astronaut Jones fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Jan 19, 2013 |
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Jan 19, 2013 18:45
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To be honest, even if you had a doser I'd suggest pulling out your scale every time if you are only making 1-2 drinks. I can "eyeball" my doses pretty accurately but I still think weighing is the way to go. I had a Silvia and Rocky at one point, my advice to you as far as hardware goes is a) Get a "click clack" lid for your Rocky, it makes purging retained coffee 100x easier, and b) Get an Auber PID kit and install it. Temp surfing sucks. A PID will improve your shots quite a bit (at least it did for me), as it eliminates all of the guess work. I love Cappuccinos, so eventually I got tired of pulling shots, flipping on the steam and having to wait ~2 minutes before it came up to temp before I could steam and bought a DB, but at least with a PID you know when it's "go" time. Also, if you like CCC, give Apollo a shot.
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Jan 20, 2013 03:02
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Whalley posted:I spent two hours at work today pulling apart portafilters and groupheads and just getting my deep clean on with my shop's La Cimbali internals and man, I don't think I'd ever want a home espresso machine that wasn't at least a Speedster. I know that's ridiculous home espresso prices but goddamn there is so many tiny little things that can get so drat dirty and I'm too much of a neat freak to handle a machine that isn't designed for professionals to dismantle and abuse. They have drugs to help with that sort of thing ya know.
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Feb 6, 2013 01:51
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porktree posted:How loud is the heat gun? I'm thinking of trying this out; but before I spend crazy money on a heat gun I want to make sure I'll be able to hear the coffee crack. (I'm thinking of putting the spare behmor cage I have on a spindle and crank so I can rotate it and roast with the gun. Of course I'm using all this as an excuse to acquire a heat gun and for science. They are not as loud as a hairdryer, at least the crappy harbor freight one I have isn't.
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Mar 1, 2013 17:48
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Baron Dirigible posted:Hey guys, I could use some help with dosing. I bought a digital scale to help me get a consistent method, and I've noticed that I'm dosing way more than I should be -- to fill my standard double 58mm basket, and get about 1.5oz in about 25 seconds, I'm grinding anywhere from 20 to 24g, depending on grind level. The beans are freshly roasted and I'm not tapping the basket to settle at all. 20g for a shot is not unheard of, a lot of the blends I drink suggest 18-22g doses.
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Apr 3, 2013 13:45
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dema posted:Been having a lot of luck with 18g in an 18g VST basket. I got a bigger E-61 group type machine though. I typically use 20g in the 18g "Ridgeless" La Marzocco baskets.
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Apr 3, 2013 14:36
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They just introduced backlit Thermopens this week too! For all those times I've never found myself unable to read mine.
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Jun 3, 2013 03:33
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Me in Reverse posted:OP is still very accurate. I would disagree. The Behmor Brazen is newer, and I would buy one over a Bonavita or a Technivorm.
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Jun 13, 2013 16:35
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Me in Reverse posted:I haven't heard of the BraZen. I'm interested, though. Are there any technical reviews available? There's a lot of reviews of it on Coffeegeek, as well as Home Barista. As you may or may not know, the Behmor guy(s) make a fine roaster and he branched out last year into the drip market. I will agree, the thing is goofy looking compared to the Bonavita, but it apparently makes a fine cup of coffee. It's apparently very thermally stable, has a great dispersion pattern, an insulated carafe, good timer features, etc. I personally don't really drink much drip coffee (more of an espresso guy) so I just fire up the french press should I feel the urge. If I wanted drip though I would consider the Brazen, even if it is fugly. My pride and joy (which I have probably posted at some point):  I just had to replace some o-rings in the steam arm so I tore out the pvc tubing in it (turning the no-burn arm into a burn-me arm), and tossed on one of those rubber things on the crook of it (not pictured). Steam is much drier and better overall but my god does that arm get hot. Plus, you have to have a wet cloth handy to clean it, which I always forget while steaming and it's caked on pretty well by the time I have returned with one (from 5 steps away).
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Jun 13, 2013 19:28
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Flaggy posted:How long does cold brewed coffee last? I have two toddy cold brew makers and I want to do them both at once than store them in a glass pitcher in my fridge, using about 1/4 cup every morning. Will it last me a while or should I just make one at a time and rotate the two systems each week? The packaging says stays fresh up to three weeks but I don't really trust that. I keep mine either in the toddy container with the lid on or a mason jar that I vacuum seal and it seems to last over a week without a problem. I don't know that I'd buy 3 weeks however, I feel like it would oxidize by then.
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Jul 11, 2013 15:02
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To be totally honest, if you don't have the budget for a reasonable grinder, you probably ought to hold off on buying any type of espresso machine (or any other coffee gadget) until you can afford one. Preground coffee is just not going to cut it. A decent grinder is more or less the cornerstone of good coffee, whether it be espresso, pour over, drip or otherwise.
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Jul 18, 2013 15:34
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robotox posted:I heard that they're really messy, to which I pointed out that dried coffee isn't hard to clean up and the person so it was really bad. I also heard that the burrs wear out surprisingly quickly given that they're, you know, conical burrs that should inherently have a long function cycle. I think I may have heard that, despite being advertised as having conical burrs, they actually had flat ones, though that may be me thinking about a different brand. Well, I can't speak for the Encore as I have a Vario, but none of those things are true in my experience. That being said, the Vario is a different animal from the others in terms of burrs.
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Jul 28, 2013 02:06
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I picked up one of those $5 Sweet Maria's tins this week since I am going to embark on a roasting adventure, and while it totally seems good for $5, you have to make sure you never try to wash it because the diaphragm in the bottom is paper and will get hosed. I also have one of these Tightac 1lbers that is pretty nice. I need to buy a new one however as I dropped it a long time ago and I got a crack on the side of the lid. It doesn't inhibit the air tightness or the functionality but I sperg about it every time I use the thing. It's lasted me a couple years though and you can wash it out if you want to really get old oils out. If I buy another, I might buy the 1/2lb version since if I am buying roasted coffee online, it tends to be 12oz bags and there is quite a bit of room in the 1lber.
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Aug 1, 2013 17:24
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Ok, first roast critique time. This is Sweet Maria's Espresso Monkey blend. I don't think I took it far enough but it was hard to gauge when to stop seeing as this was my first time and I wasn't sure how much (if any) carryover happens after I stopped applying heat. I was roasting with a harbor freight heatgun, first crack was around 8:15-8:30, I stopped at 10:00. It was hard to tell if I got to second crack or not.  (Sorry for the crappy picture) Think it'll be drinkable in a day? Once I was "done" and came back inside, it seemed WAY lighter than I thought when compared to some roasted coffee I had.
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Aug 12, 2013 15:48
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rockcity posted:That's super uneven. I'd be willing to hazard a guess that not all the beans even made it through first crack. Yeah, I was afraid that was the case. I'll chalk this one up to a learning experience and give another batch a try later and try to get a more even roast. Update: I went back and roasted them a bit more (changing my agitation method) and it looks a lot better. I realize that's not ideal but they were going in the garbage anyway, at least this way I'll see if it's totally undrinkable. 
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Aug 12, 2013 16:18
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So that half rear end home roast of Espresso Monkey I did turned out to be delicious. I shot a little video of a gorgeous shot today but in typical goon fashion I didn't realize that my barenaked goon chest was visible in the reflection of the machine. Perhaps tomorrow I will reshoot it when I have covered my shame.
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Aug 14, 2013 23:53
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When I'm using my Toddy, I use the standard 12oz coffee to 7 cups of water with good results.
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Sep 10, 2013 15:17
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Bobx66 posted:RE: that Bodum grinder. I have been using that for about a year for a drip grind, however I realize that the grind isn't consistent throughout at all. Does anyone else have experience with the grinder? What should I get next if this one breaks on me? The answer is always Baratza.
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Nov 11, 2013 02:55
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newreply.php posted:My first Baratza had the knob missing, second worked until my gf broke it, third one won't stop grinding until you pull the plug if you dare touch the pulse button, fourth one's has been calibrated all fuckily and is way too fine at the finest setting and not-quite right at any other setting except coarse french press grinds. Yikes. I can only speak from my personal experience, but I bought my vario used and it's got at least 3 years on it without issue. That being said, I hear their customer service is awesome so I hope you got your issues worked out by Baratza.
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Nov 12, 2013 20:05
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