Silly Commuter Coffee

graeme_s-2

I'm after a cheap electric burr grinder as an upgrade to my porlex. Imthink I'm going to go for a Baratza Encore. Can anyone recommend a good (cheap) and reliable supplier, or would anyone recommend a different grinder?

pangolin

I was about to say that a cheap electric grinder wouldn't be an upgrade, then I saw that those cost about £140 Carry on.

graeme_s-2

pangolin wrote:

I was about to say that a cheap electric grinder wouldn't be an upgrade, then I saw that those cost about £140 Carry on.

From what I've read it's the cheapest electric grinder that will give a decent grind. I'm happy enough with the porlex when I'm just making coffee for me, but if I'm doing a Chemex for a few people it can be a bit of a ball-ache. Would also help get me out of the door a bit quicker in the mornings when I do a quick aeropress into an insulated mug before I cycle to work.

asprilla

Graeme_S wrote:

pangolin wrote:

Would also help get me out of the door a bit quicker in the mornings when I do a quick aeropress into an insulated mug before I cycle to work.

Fresh ground Caravan espresso Aeropress latte in a Biologic vacuum mug on the commute this morning. Lovely.

meanredspider

Views on the various bean-to-cup machines, folks? I was using my Gaggia classic which was fine but a bit of a faff in the morning. Now on the Nespresso for convenience but notice how much I enjoy the odd cup of Illy I make in the Gaggia. So thinking maybe a B2C machine would be the ideal compromise (and save on pod costs too :shock: )

Thoughts?

asprilla

meanredspider wrote:

Views on the various bean-to-cup machines, folks? I was using my Gaggia classic which was fine but a bit of a faff in the morning. Now on the Nespresso for convenience but notice how much I enjoy the odd cup of Illy I make in the Gaggia. So thinking maybe a B2C machine would be the ideal compromise (and save on pod costs too :shock: )

Thoughts?

Coffeeduck do reusable Nespresso pods that you can fill with your own coffee.

http://www.coffeeduck.com/en

pangolin

Asprilla wrote:

Graeme_S wrote:

Would also help get me out of the door a bit quicker in the mornings when I do a quick aeropress into an insulated mug before I cycle to work.

Fresh ground Caravan espresso Aeropress latte in a Biologic vacuum mug on the commute this morning. Lovely.

One of these? http://www.thinkbiologic.com/products/vacuum-flask

On your bike?! Is it good?

asprilla

pangolin wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

Graeme_S wrote:

Would also help get me out of the door a bit quicker in the mornings when I do a quick aeropress into an insulated mug before I cycle to work.

Fresh ground Caravan espresso Aeropress latte in a Biologic vacuum mug on the commute this morning. Lovely.

One of these? http://www.thinkbiologic.com/products/vacuum-flask

On your bike?! Is it good?

That's the one.

Getting off the CX in the middle of the park when everyone else was sledging and enjoying a nice hot latte was very good. Very, very good.

It's as good as any other vacuum flask I've used, it fits in a bottle cage and the stopper / spout does the job.

vermin

gtvlusso wrote:

EPO coffee,

Well, if everyone else is doing it, then I am in!

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/arti ... -in-36109/

So, what's the verdict?

graeme_s-2

So this morning I got up early enough to make some nice coffee and put it into the Contigo non-drip thermos cup my wife bought me for Christmas.

I must have flicked the catch on it when I put it into my bag, as it deposited its contents all over my clean change of clothes during my ride to work. Now sat in cycling gear being mocked by my colleagues (who are clearly jealous).

DrLex

graeme_s-2

I have a net/elastic bottle holder on the outside of my messenger bag. Might make more sense to put it there in future. Annoying thing is it does work perfectly and I haven't had even a drip out of it before. As I said, I must have not correctly engaged the non-drip catch on it, or partially flicked it off again as I put it in my bag!

cyclingprop

DrLex wrote:

Just ordered. Will report back.

vermin

cyclingprop wrote:

DrLex wrote:

Just ordered. Will report back.

I look forward to the reports of full body scalding...

itboffin

Today I have been mostly drinking coffee


and yes that is a Rapha coffee cup 8)

cyclingprop

vermin wrote:

cyclingprop wrote:

DrLex wrote:

Just ordered. Will report back.

I look forward to the reports of full body scalding...

No scalding. Need a bigger cup so that it doesn't slip through.

pangolin

itboffin wrote:

Today I have been mostly drinking coffee


and yes that is a Rapha coffee cup 8)

Do you usually use a V60? Like it?

notsoblue

The Siphon Coffee maker I ordered has just arrived. Can't wait to get it home and try it out!

rjsterry

Anyone else spotted that Doppio place in Kentish Town? They sell all the paraphernalia as well as raw materials, on top of running a very Camdenesque coffee shop.

bobinski

New mag out for you caffeine fiends...

http://caffeinemag.wordpress.com/

Has an article on the Rapha cycle club and a better one on a budget coffee set up.

beams87

DrLex wrote:

Just added to my Christmas list! Never too early...

notsoblue

notsoblue wrote:

The Siphon Coffee maker I ordered has just arrived. Can't wait to get it home and try it out!

Ok, so I tried it out last night and this morning. First impression is that its pretty fun to use! The process I've been using:

1. Boil Water
2. Put bottom unit on the hob, and add water
3. Add coffee to top of unit and put onto bottom unit.
4. Turn on hob
5. Water is very quickly forced from the bottom unit into the top unit
6. About 2cm of water remains in the bottom (the tube from the top unit doesn't reach the base of the bottom unit). Simmer this slowly for 3 minutes.
7. After 3 mins, take off heat and put aside
8. Within about 10 seconds the cooling of the air in the bottom unit creates a vacuum and pulls all the coffee from the top unit down
9. Done

For reference, this is what the unit looks like:


The first two batches of coffee were quite tasty, though not as strong as I'm used to from the stovetop. It makes a nice coffee that tastes quite fragrant and clean, its almost like a tea (actually, I think this could be easily used to make a batch of loose leaf tea). I used Monmouth Espresso roast beans, but I think this would suit a more lightly roasted coffee.

I think the nice thing about this coffee maker is that the variables in the coffee are quite easy to control. There are three of them that I can think of;

Simmer Period - The length of time the unit is left to simmer/brew after the top unit has filled with water
There appears to be a minimum simmer period for the coffee maker to function. If it is too short, then there won't be sufficient vacuum generated by the cooling process. I'm not certain what this minimum period is yet.

The maximum simmer period will be determined by the length of time it takes for the remaining water (that isn't forced up the tube into the top unit) to boil off. Obviously the coffee maker will break if it boils dry.

So within those bounds, the simmer period can be considered to be the length of time you wish the coffee to brew for. I've started with a brew period of 3 minutes, but will experiment with this further.

Coffee weight - The amount of coffee added to the top unit
There are water volume markers are at 8 and 6 cups. For 8 cups (really just large two mugs) I used 40g of coffee beans. The result was good, but obviously not as strong as what I'm used to from stovetop. This was with a 3 min brew time.

Coffee grind - The coarseness of the grind
I used the standard "Cafetiere" setting on my grinder. The coarseness affects the extraction during the brew, and in a way, the simmer period. I suspect that as the grind becomes finer, the vacuum pressure required to extract the coffee back down to the bottom unit increases. I don't think I'll be changing the variable too much.

Overall, lots of fun to use, and it makes tasty coffee!

iPete

What the... that's a science experiment not a coffee maker! want.

http://coffeegeek.com/guides/siphoncoffee

wgwarburton

notsoblue wrote:

notsoblue wrote:

The Siphon Coffee maker I ordered has just arrived. Can't wait to get it home and try it out!

Ok, so I tried it out last night and this morning. First impression is that its pretty fun to use! The process I've been using:
...
Overall, lots of fun to use, and it makes tasty coffee!

Ah! That's a Bodum version of a Cona vacuum coffee maker- sadly no longer made. I have an old "commercial" Cona with a three pint jug that I use on the Aga, making coffee in batches and warming as necessary.



I use the coarsest grind setting on a Siemens coffee mill, though it's not particularly coarse. It works fine with the "universal" grind that comes out of foil packets, so you should be fine (sorry) to reduce the grains a bit.

I would recommend medium-roast beans (as you've proposed)- espresso roast tend to be a bit bitter and thin but a generous dose of medium-roast Java gives a wonderful, rich, full-flavoured brew. I get mine from the Nairobi coffee company in 1Kg bags.
I don't know how much coffee I use, as I just set the timer on the grinder to 10 and put it all into the funnel, probably about 6-8 "measures", as that's what I use if I have to buy ground for some reason.

Cheers,
W.

graeme_s-2

notsoblue wrote:

I used Monmouth Espresso roast beans, but I think this would suit a more lightly roasted coffee.

The general "rule" (well - guideline) seems to be that espresso blends are more suited to espresso machines, and single origin coffees are more suited to brew methods (aeropress, chemex, siphon etc). I've been using an aeropress and occasionally a chemex to make a larger quantity, and this has definitely been my experience. The espresso blends I've tried from hasbean have seemed a bit flat and uninteresting, but the single origin stuff has really popped. My Dad has an espresso machine and his experience has been the exact opposite - espresso blends great, single origin stuff a bit bland by comparison.

beams87

Notsoblue - I presume these below use the same principle as your new Sipnon Coffee Maker?


Do you buy beans from the internet or a speciality shop?

The act of making your own coffee is more pleasurable that the coffee itself...

pangolin

There is no vacuum in a stove top coffe maker, the water is just forced up through the coffee and into a chamber in the top where it stays.

notsoblue

beams87 wrote:

Notsoblue - I presume these below uses the same principle as your new Sipnon Coffee Maker?

Not really. The Siphon/Vacuum coffee maker uses the same principle as a Cafetiere for brewing the coffee. Stovetop coffee makers brew a much stronger, more espresso like coffee. They're similar in that vapour pressure is used to move the water around, but in a stovetop the water is forced up through tamped coffee grounds into a reservoir, whereas with a siphon the water is forced up into the top reservoir where it mixes with loose coffee grounds, and after steeping the water is then sucked back through a filter into the bottom container and is ready for pouring.

Like this:

beams87 wrote:

Do you buy beans from the internet or a speciality shop?

I mostly use the espresso roast from here with my stovetop: http://www.monmouthcoffee.co.uk/ I just pop into the Soho branch. Will be trying some of their other, lighter, beans for siphon coffee!

beams87 wrote:

The act of making your own coffee is more pleasurable that the coffee itself...

I guess the trick is to strike a satisfactory balance!

notsoblue

WGWarburton wrote:

Ah! That's a Bodum version of a Cona vacuum coffee maker- sadly no longer made. I have an old "commercial" Cona with a three pint jug that I use on the Aga, making coffee in batches and warming as necessary.



I use the coarsest grind setting on a Siemens coffee mill, though it's not particularly coarse. It works fine with the "universal" grind that comes out of foil packets, so you should be fine (sorry) to reduce the grains a bit.

I would recommend medium-roast beans (as you've proposed)- espresso roast tend to be a bit bitter and thin but a generous dose of medium-roast Java gives a wonderful, rich, full-flavoured brew. I get mine from the Nairobi coffee company in 1Kg bags.
I don't know how much coffee I use, as I just set the timer on the grinder to 10 and put it all into the funnel, probably about 6-8 "measures", as that's what I use if I have to buy ground for some reason.

Cheers,
W.

Cool, will try out some Java from Nairobi Coffee.

This might be sacrilegious, but have you ever been tempted to use your Cona for loose leafed tea?

Edit: Looks like they do still make the Cona siphon model: http://www.hasbean.co.uk/collections/br ... chen-model

wgwarburton

pangolin wrote:

There is no vacuum in a stove top coffe maker, the water is just forced up through the coffee and into a chamber in the top where it stays.

Indeed, and it therefore "brews" at too high a temperature. The point of one of these units is to get the maximum strength out of a small amount of coffee, I believe.

The idea behind the vacuum ones is to brew the coffee at just under boiling point (so it doesn't "scald") and without contaminating the flavour with parts of the coffee-maker (eg from filters, plastic bowls etc).

TBH, I'm not coffee-geek enough to dig too deep into this but I was brought up on Cona coffee and have yet to find anything I like better... The setup I have is very convenient (for me), too, as I can put the Cona straight onto the Aga after boiling the kettle to get the water hot to start with. The grounds go into the compost, the jug & funnel just need rinsing in hot water to keep them clean and the whole thing can be done without electricity, on those occasions when it's necessary!

Cheers,
W.