Silly Commuter Coffee

asprilla

cyclingprop wrote:

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

True. I bought some espresso beans from them yesterday. They are, shock horror, quite nice.

cyclingprop

Asprilla wrote:

cyclingprop wrote:

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

True. I bought some espresso beans from them yesterday. They are, shock horror, quite nice.

They have opened an outlet adjacent to the Tesco which is under my office. And there was a "free coffee at H+H" icon in the O2 Priority app last week. Not bad actually...

asprilla

cyclingprop wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

cyclingprop wrote:

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

True. I bought some espresso beans from them yesterday. They are, shock horror, quite nice.

They have opened an outlet adjacent to the Tesco which is under my office. And there was a "free coffee at H+H" icon in the O2 Priority app last week. Not bad actually...

It's not bad at all. The staff at mine are shit though. It takes longer to order a coffee than it does to make it and if you order a sandwich or fruit or something then you could be there all day.

It's great looking 'hipster' and 'vintage' to go with the H&H vibe, but how about 'competent' for a change?

menthel

So, aeropresses work well in the office? The coffee at my work isn't great and quite farnkly I would save money in the long run making my own. What fineness of grind do you need? I wouldn't be grinding my own, too much like hard work at work!

notsoblue

Just ordered the following from Hasbean:

1x Bolivia Finca Canton Uyunense Teodocio Mamani
1x Brazil Fazenda Passeio Pulped Natural Rubi

Currently making my way through some Pure Sumatra Mandheling from Nairobi Coffee. Delicious!

vermin

notsoblue wrote:

Just ordered the following from Hasbean:

1x Bolivia Finca Canton Uyunense Teodocio Mamani
1x Brazil Fazenda Passeio Pulped Natural Rubi

Currently making my way through some Pure Sumatra Mandheling from Nairobi Coffee. Delicious!

Very nice. I finished all my Bolivia Finca ... on Friday, so have just picked up a bag of Brazil Inglaterra Canario Pulped Natural from Bold Street Coffee to replace it. Looking forward to unzipping it tomorrow.

the_fuggler

Is the Hasbean starter pack a good bet for a range of different coffees to try?

http://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/filter-starter-pack

vermin

Really can't go wrong at that price, so long as you'll get through it all whilst it's still fresh.

the_fuggler

Cheers! With two small kids and working from home, I get through plenty!

menthel

Aeropress and blake coffee from hasbean arrived. Bloody superb! Better than the coffee from the coffee shop at work, takes about the same time to get and it works out at about a 1/3 of the price!

twist83

Give the beans around 4-5 days and they will taste even better!

For Aeropress I find the Single Origin coffees taste superb. At the moment Hasbean have for £4.50 Brazil Fazenda Passeio Rubi. Superb rounded coffee.

Also for something different and fruity try the Yirgacheffe Wote. Amazing. Almost tastes like a cup of Blueberrys!

menthel

twist83 wrote:

Give the beans around 4-5 days and they will taste even better!

For Aeropress I find the Single Origin coffees taste superb. At the moment Hasbean have for £4.50 Brazil Fazenda Passeio Rubi. Superb rounded coffee.

Also for something different and fruity try the Yirgacheffe Wote. Amazing. Almost tastes like a cup of Blueberrys!

Thanks, with each cup of blake I have made I have had to reduce the amount of coffee in it. Made one with 1 1/4 scoops this morning and it was perfect. I could taste the coffee without it being overpowering. I think perhaps a lighter blend might suit me more. Something with a nice chocolate undertone is good. One of my fave coffees is Monsooned Malabar- perhaps I might take a litttle trip to F&M for that one...

vermin

You like chocolatey? Monmouth do one of the best hot chocolates available, and somehow claim it's coffee.

menthel

vermin wrote:

You like chocolatey? Monmouth do one of the best hot chocolates available, and somehow claim it's coffee.

Chocolatey coffee? I am all over that! Which one of the monmouth coffees is that?

vermin

menthel wrote:

vermin wrote:

You like chocolatey? Monmouth do one of the best hot chocolates available, and somehow claim it's coffee.

Chocolatey coffee? I am all over that! Which one of the monmouth coffees is that?

Memory fail, sorry; it's an espresso, but that's all I can tell you. Ask itboffin - he's their number one marketing man.

bigmonka

Are you drinking espresso shots from the Aeropress, or making them into some other espresso-based coffee?

I've got a cheap espresso machine at home and, after having been inspired to read up on coffee from here, I ran hot water through it first to warm it up before making my morning coffee - it made a significantly better cup of coffee! Must....resist....becoming.... obsessed....

menthel

BigMonka wrote:

Are you drinking espresso shots from the Aeropress, or making them into some other espresso-based coffee?

I've got a cheap espresso machine at home and, after having been inspired to read up on coffee from here, I ran hot water through it first to warm it up before making my morning coffee - it made a significantly better cup of coffee! Must....resist....becoming.... obsessed....

Making as per instructions (mostly!) and then adding hot water and a little skimmed milk for a sort of americano. Works rather nicely. Having tried it undiluted I can confirm it is espresso strength!

wgwarburton

New BBC article on Coffee:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/0/22167586

Not bad news. More research needed.

Cheers,
W.

Cheers,
W.

bigmonka

menthel wrote:

Making as per instructions (mostly!) and then adding hot water and a little skimmed milk for a sort of americano. Works rather nicely. Having tried it undiluted I can confirm it is espresso strength!

So is it better to make a shot of espresso then dilute it with water, or to put a full cup's worth of water in the aeropress (with only a single shots worth of coffee so its not a crazy quintuple shot or something :shock: )?

menthel

BigMonka wrote:

menthel wrote:

Making as per instructions (mostly!) and then adding hot water and a little skimmed milk for a sort of americano. Works rather nicely. Having tried it undiluted I can confirm it is espresso strength!

So is it better to make a shot of espresso then dilute it with water, or to put a full cup's worth of water in the aeropress (with only a single shots worth of coffee so its not a crazy quintuple shot or something :shock: )?

I have only tried diluting so far, hopefully one of the experts can enlighten us!

bigmonka

I only ask because in my espresso machine I just put in the normal 7g of coffee but fill it up with a mug full of water as someone showed me this way before. Not sure if its the right or wrong way to do it though - maybe I should do some experimenting this weekend.

tailwindhome

Means nothing to me, but you may be interested in this list

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/desti ... cafes.html

spasypaddy

can anyone advise on nespresso machines?

kiwimatt

spasypaddy wrote:

can anyone advise on nespresso machines?

They take small pods of slightly stale overpriced coffee that locks you into re-ordering them and provides Nestle with a recurring income franchise that is held up as a business model at Harvard?

But they are clean tidy and convenient if you must! /coffeesnob alert

spasypaddy

i refer you to these:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/ ... -nespresso
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 95944.html
http://www.wineanorak.com/blog/2009/08/ ... -duck.html
http://www.aeonmagazine.com/being-human ... -artisans/

now can anyone offer me some advice on which machine to buy?

kiwimatt

spasypaddy wrote:

i refer you to these:

Sorry you know that was (sort of) tongue in cheek. As I said clean tidy and convenient (and of consistent 'acceptable' quality hence used in restaurants even very good ones) But nothing much at all to do with striving to make the best possible coffee which is somewhat at odds with what your Michelin star restaurant tries to do with their food - something that doesn't sit that well with me - so much effort into food and wine and then the coffee at the end of the meal is 'close enough'.

But this is a different discussion I'll butt out and let you get some machine suggestions

asprilla

Bum, I wrote a long post and lost it so here is the gist;

Nespresso; convenient, quick, better than instant, and good as French press with supermarket coffee, probably better.

Coffee-duck; reusable nespresso pods you can put you own coffee in. I've never got the volume / grind right and have given up. YMMV.

Aeroccino from nespresso; milk warmer and / or frother; brilliant and is in near constant use.

DrLex

Asprilla wrote:

[...]

Aeroccino from nespresso; milk warmer and / or frother; brilliant and is in near constant use.

Plusitty plus plus. Best kitchen gadget evah! Only lost one whisk to the kitchen disposal.

Bit ghetto, but try semi-skimmed milk and Lidl fake Baileys* in a 50:50 mix on top of a double espresso.

(*their Pimms Analogue is also worth buying)

spasypaddy

Thanks asprilla, which machine would you recommend?

welkman

love my rancillio silva!