Silly Commuter Coffee

notsoblue

WGWarburton wrote:

I get mine from the Nairobi coffee company in 1Kg bags.

I just ordered some Ethiopian Djimma from them. How do you store your coffee once the bag is opened?

wgwarburton

notsoblue wrote:

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

Tea? No... I, umm, only drink tea when I suspect the coffee's going to be crap :oops: (or if, say, everyone else is having it and I think it might be inconvenient to ask for coffee).

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

Sorry, yes, they do- but only smaller ones. It's the big three-pint one (FB 103) that's been dropped... lazy writing on my part.

Cheers,
W.

pangolin

WGWarburton wrote:

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.

There are no filters or plastic bowls in a stove top. There is a gsaket but I doubt much coffee touches that. I see your point about temp though. I like the coffee I get out of a bialetti, but maybe I'll try a cona at some point to compare.

mudcow007

beams87 wrote:

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...

i just got bought one of them badboys form my birthday

still yet to use it

i bet i burn my self with it

wgwarburton

notsoblue wrote:

WGWarburton wrote:

I get mine from the Nairobi coffee company in 1Kg bags.

I just ordered some Ethiopian Djimma from them. How do you store your coffee once the bag is opened?

I use an old sweet jar, bit like this:



Glass, with a screw top... Needs to be pretty big to hold a kilo of beans, though. Plastic ones are easy enough to come by these days but not as classy.

Cheers,
W.

notsoblue

WGWarburton wrote:

I use an old sweet jar

Do you bother to keep it in the fridge? Or just somewhere cool and dark?

wgwarburton

pangolin wrote:

...There are no filters or plastic bowls in a stove top. There is a gsaket but I doubt much coffee touches that. I see your point about temp though. I like the coffee I get out of a bialetti, but maybe I'll try a cona at some point to compare.

Yes, don't get me wrong- I have a couple of those and use them occasionally, especially if I just want a single cup quickly, or a really strong small coffee.

Some say the rubber seal and metal affect the flavour, e.g. the following is extracted from a Moka Brewing Guide:

Finally some more maintenance tipps.
During use on the interior walls of the water container, filter and upper chamber is deposited a thin layer of greasy residue of coffee. This coating protects the coffee from the contact with the aluminum walls, which might otherwise give a metallic taste to the coffee. For this reason you should not use the dishwasher or soap to wash the moka pot, otherwise you could remove that layer of greasy residue.
If you get a new moka pot or you replace the rubber seal, the coffee could get a bad taste caused by new rubber or uncoated aluminum walls. In this case use the moka pot two/three times with water only or with used coffee ground. And if you do not use your pot for a long time, would be better to waste the first coffee (maybe you could use used coffee ground again) or clean the pot with an hot solution of water and vinegar (after you have first removed the rubber seal).

I've not noticed this myself.. I'm just reporting the claimed benefits of the Cona for those that are interested and wondering why anyone would go to those lengths!

Cheers,
W.

notsoblue

The Bialetti stovetop I currently have is stainless steel, the cleaner put the aluminium one I used to have in the dishwasher and it was ruined!

wgwarburton

notsoblue wrote:

WGWarburton wrote:

I use an old sweet jar

Do you bother to keep it in the fridge? Or just somewhere cool and dark?

I don't even keep it dark, just out of direct sunlight.

We go through beans pretty quickly in my house though... even a kilo bag doesn't last that long :-(

(Unless it's decaff.... :-) )

Cheers,
W.

UndercoverElephant

Bought some thoroughly ace coffee recently on a holiday in Crieff. Apparently roasted in East Lothian of all places...

http://www.steampunkcoffee.co.uk/produc ... lend-250g/

itboffin

Nice posts chaps.

Personally I stick to the ceramic drip with cup filters as used in Monmouth shop, I also like a good mug, ceramic at work and china at home.

pangolin

Do you use a fancy kettle to control pouring ITB? When I've seen people use ceramic drips (in coffee shops) they are really careful about how they pour. I watched a guy doing it in notes who even had a stopwatch running to control pour time.

It looked complex enough to put me off it a bit!

6654henry

I use a Bialetti 12 cup stove pot.

Absolutely stunning coffee.

Bit of an effort and you gotta spend time cleaning up but i think it's part of the ritual.

I also got a pot you stick on the hob and put a plunger up and down through the milk, gives you epic frothed milk without the need for a steamer.

I use Monmouth Espresso beans, any other suggestions for what i should try????

p.s. Nice thread.

il_principe

pangolin wrote:

Do you use a fancy kettle to control pouring ITB? When I've seen people use ceramic drips (in coffee shops) they are really careful about how they pour. I watched a guy doing it in notes who even had a stopwatch running to control pour time.

It looked complex enough to put me off it a bit!

I use a ceramic Hario at home. I transfer the water into a jug with a narrower pouring spout then after the 'bloom' just pour steadily & continuously. Took me a while to get the grind size right. Did faff with timing for a while but tbh once you've got the grind right the rest takes care of itself. I quite like the morning ritual of it and for me it produces the best results. My Espresso machine and French Press rarely get used now. Allowing the coffee to bloom does appear to improve the final taste as well.

itboffin

pangolin wrote:

Do you use a fancy kettle to control pouring ITB? When I've seen people use ceramic drips (in coffee shops) they are really careful about how they pour. I watched a guy doing it in notes who even had a stopwatch running to control pour time.

It looked complex enough to put me off it a bit!

No i use a one cup french press jar and pour slowly wait then finish it off, takes a couple of minutes

adam0bmx0

Just got this lot delivered;



I use a Porlex hand grinder and Aeropress, a cheap effective way for a decent cup.

vermin

adam0bmx0 wrote:

Just got this lot delivered;



I use a Porlex hand grinder and Aeropress, a cheap effective way for a decent cup.

SNAP! I've just picked up an Aeropress and a bag of ground Has Been's 'Bolivia Finca Loayza Feliciano Ramos' from Bold Street Coffee (the best coffee shop I've found in Liverpool). Waiting on delivery of my little Porlex so I can go 'extra fresh' in the office.

graeme_s-2

Right, I'm off to that London tomorrow for the weekend. Top places I should check out for a good cup of coffee? Best place to visit for some fresh roast beans for my aeropress?

pangolin

Monmouth Coffee http://www.monmouthcoffee.co.uk/Shops/Covent-Garden

Notes http://notes-uk.co.uk/find-us

Both do great coffee and sell beans

graeme_s-2

pangolin wrote:

Monmouth Coffee http://www.monmouthcoffee.co.uk/Shops/Covent-Garden

Notes http://notes-uk.co.uk/find-us

Both do great coffee and sell beans

Brilliant - thank you

asprilla

Graeme_S wrote:

pangolin wrote:

Monmouth Coffee http://www.monmouthcoffee.co.uk/Shops/Covent-Garden

Notes http://notes-uk.co.uk/find-us

Both do great coffee and sell beans

Brilliant - thank you

If you pop into Monmouth for a flat white you should have just about finished it by the time you get to Notes off Covent Garden........

graeme_s-2

Asprilla wrote:

If you pop into Monmouth for a flat white you should have just about finished it by the time you get to Notes off Covent Garden........

This just keeps getting better

Just need to fit in when I can ditch the in-laws to go coffee hunting now.

notsoblue

notsoblue wrote:

WGWarburton wrote:

I get mine from the Nairobi coffee company in 1Kg bags.

I just ordered some Ethiopian Djimma from them.

Nairobi Coffee Company (http://www.nairobi-coffee.com/) was a really good recommendation, thanks WGW. The Djimma was a delicious medium roast, and I'm already half way through the bag I ordered. Perfect for the vacuum coffee maker!

asprilla

Oh, and if anyone wants one, I got a Porlex hand grinder from Harris & Hoole the other day; they were knocking them out for £25, which is about £5 cheaper than anywhere else I've seen them.

asprilla

It also appears that the London Coffee Festival is 25th-28th April. Surprisingly its at the Truman Brewery on Brick Lane. Amaze-balls.

itboffin

I work on st martins ln which merges onto Monmouth st a few doors up from notes, I have coffee issues

asprilla

Anyone use a Porlex hand grinder? How fine do you have the grind for an Aeropress?

I'm struggling to get the right grind that doesn't just let the water filter through but still let's me push the plunger down.

Mr Sworld

I grind it so the coffee looks like 'wet sand' if you can visualise that?

graeme_s-2

I used to grind mine fairly fine (like a coarse espresso), but then adjusted my porlex to a coarser grind when I got a chemex. You can adjust the grind for chemex by how long it takes the water to drain through. I've been using the same grind with my aeropress since and it gives a better flavour.

My advice would be to play around with it until you find the flavour you like!

What brew method are you using with your aeropress? I prefer the inverted style ones like this:

http://www.hasbean.co.uk/blogs/brew-gui ... brew-guide

cyclingprop

Asprilla wrote:

Oh, and if anyone wants one, I got a Porlex hand grinder from Tesco the other day; they were knocking them out for £25, which is about £5 cheaper than anywhere else I've seen them.

FTFY