Silly Commuter Coffee

tilt

iPete wrote:

OK what beans are people using for Aeropress? I'm perplexed as to why I'm making such horrific coffee with a blend that got amazing results a few months ago :evil:

Might be too fresh and needs some de-gassing. What's the roast date?

iPete

tilt wrote:

iPete wrote:

OK what beans are people using for Aeropress? I'm perplexed as to why I'm making such horrific coffee with a blend that got amazing results a few months ago :evil:

Might be too fresh and needs some de-gassing. What's the roast date?

30th December.

Has anyone here used http://www.myespresso.co.uk/ they get panned pre-2013 but no bad reviews since March 2012 and quite a few of the moaners had courier or user issues. They seem to be the one and only official UK Rancilio supplier. (and http://coffeeforums.co.uk/ is down)

tilt

iPete wrote:

tilt wrote:

iPete wrote:

OK what beans are people using for Aeropress? I'm perplexed as to why I'm making such horrific coffee with a blend that got amazing results a few months ago :evil:

Might be too fresh and needs some de-gassing. What's the roast date?

30th December.

Has anyone here used http://www.myespresso.co.uk/ they get panned pre-2013 but no bad reviews since March 2012 and quite a few of the moaners had courier or user issues. They seem to be the one and only official UK Rancilio supplier. (and http://coffeeforums.co.uk/ is down)

May need a day or two more before it's right - I personally find a lot of beans need about a week to really hit the sweet spot.

As for myespresso, I used them a few weeks ago for a rancillio steam wand and a few other bits and they were spot on.

iPete

tilt you've made my day, it does taste a bit better now, will give it a few more days.
Time to get the Rocky grinder on order and hunt for a Gaggic Classic. Are you doing the wand mod for your Classic? Do tell us how it goes...

p.s. I think they need some love sent their way! shall see how I get on http://www.trustpilot.co.uk/review/www.myespresso.co.uk

tilt

Yeah I bought it to swap out the wand on my Classic. Really simple job, took me less than 5 minutes. I still suck at consistently making good microfoam, but that's entirely due to my technique/lack of practice!

godders1

iPete wrote:

Spent the best part of yesterday reading about grinders, OMG hang me now

rubertoe I get my beans from http://www.hasbean.co.uk/ , my fav in the aeropres so far is the El Savador Finca & have more on order to confirm this. (http://www.hasbean.co.uk/products/el-sa ... -red-pacas)

If you are on a budget and like to make one coffee consider a porlex hand grinder, purchased one for the other half for Xmas (http://www.hasbean.co.uk/collections/grinders) but havn't tried it yet. I picked up a Hario Slim from LMNH.

Now proper ginders, I'm looking for a machine that works in steps (to do espresso, french & Aeropress), is smaller than a commercial unit & 'future proof' for any future espresso machines.

Change my mind every 5 mintues but like the look of the Baratza Preciso, £300 :shock:
http://www.hasbean.co.uk/collections/gr ... za-preciso

But I've just found a Rocky Rancilio for £220 on a website I've never used before that reviews better.
http://www.coffeeitalia.co.uk/proddetai ... -doserless

The ladies at Seattle Coffee Gear are worth a watch. Rocky Vs Baratza Preciso:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKy52G-4Iqk

If you want non-stepped and just doing one coffee grind the MC2 is worth a look.
http://www.happydonkey.co.uk/hd0867-mc2 ... ition.html

This video made me realise that the 'cheaper' ones aren't up to the job. (7 minutes+)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxirprm65nc&

..and breathe...

I'm not sure about stepped grinders, there don't seem to be any that will return the burrs to the exact position if switching back between two settings. Not for sensible money anyway. And sods law says the perfect espresso grind will always be in between two steps.

I went for a Eureka Mignon for espresso and a Porlex for coarser grinds.

godders1

rubertoe wrote:

I think I am grinding to fine for my Aero.

What grind shall I be buying?
I do have a cheap grinder but I will never be able to get any grinding consistancy.

I grind pretty fine for aeropress, not that much coarser than espresso grind. Some roasters do an aeropress specific grind (Rave and coffeebeanshop off the top of my head).

That said it's not a terribly fussy method and you can get good results with a range of grinds, obviously you just have to adjust the steeping time to get the extraction right.

tilt

Think I might give my aeropress another try this weekend.

iPete

Godders1 wrote:

I'm not sure about stepped grinders, there don't seem to be any that will return the burrs to the exact position if switching back between two settings. Not for sensible money anyway. And sods law says the perfect espresso grind will always be in between two steps.

I went for a Eureka Mignon for espresso and a Porlex for coarser grinds.

You could well be correct. I dismissed 7-8 stepped machines because of the lack of espresso range but it seems the Rocky can go small enough to choke a good espresso machine and should keep an amateur like me occupied.

Fortunately they seem to hold value, can always change to non-stepped down the road.

notsoblue

Picked up a bargain Gaggia Classic this weekend. Nice simple machine, and while its not too difficult to make a passable espresso, there are plenty of variables in the process to keep the coffee geek perfectionist in me entertained for a while. It does make me want to replace my Bodum Bistro though...

iPete

I've missed a couple on eBay tonight, some go for crazy prices, tempted to pay a little extra and get a new one from Amazon for £180. Glad to hear its keeping you entertained!

ps To anyone looking at hand grinders, I can report that the Porlex mini is much better than the Hario mini mill.

iPete

Bagged a Gaggia Classic eBay bargain

Need to swing by Monmouth and pick up some crazy blends...

notsoblue

Hurrah!

You have a hario hand grinder right? Let me know what its like with the Gaggia.

iPete

Yes but it is relegated to camping duty, picked up a Rancilio Rocky in anticipation

I also picked up a Porlex mini for the other half and it is so much better to use (and looks better) than the Hario, well worth the extra.

notsoblue

iPete wrote:

Yes but it is relegated to camping duty, picked up a Rancilio Rocky in anticipation

Nice! New or second hand?

iPete

New, grinders aren't as plentiful on eBay as Classics. Sold my unloved Brompton to fund the habit!

notsoblue

Looks like you heeded all the "Spend more on your grinder than your machine" advice thats out there. :P

Let us know how you get on with it and the Classic. I'm quite pleased with the my Bodum Bistro, but finer control over the grind size would be nice.

notsoblue

C'mon iPete, hows the Gaggia?

iPete

Getting there, it's a steep learning curve and I've pulled some seriously bad doubles!

A proper tamper arrived yesterday and a grindstein knock box, really handy! Need a better milk jug and need my measured espresso glass to arrive.

The grinder is dialled in OK but I can see why people get non-stepped machines, buying again I'd seriously consider the Ascaso iMini:
http://www.myespresso.co.uk/product.php ... less-steel

How's yours working out?

KnightOfTheLongTights

Best coffee maker I ever bought?

Neapolitan Flip, £10, Algerian Coffee Stores, 1998.

http://drinks.seriouseats.com/images/20 ... lippot.jpg

menthel

http://www.coffeebeanshop.co.uk/

I get my coffee from these guys. Good, friendly service and they roast to order. As this is for work I get my coffee ground- they fine grind for aeropress and I do find this better than the coarser grind recommended elsewhere. I usually drink their Mocha Guatemala.

notsoblue

iPete wrote:

Getting there, it's a steep learning curve and I've pulled some seriously bad doubles!
..
How's yours working out?

Its complicated!

I've pulled a couple good shots, but to be honest I think most of them have been rather sour. Initially I thought this was due to some kind of contamination in the boiler or something, but the water coming out of the brew head tastes fine. Anecdotally, people seem to think that sour shots are due to underbrewing, due to not fine enough a grind or underdosing. But I've changed variables so I get a 25-30 second brewing time and the taste is similar. Great colour and crema, but sour/acidic taste. I think the grind is fine enough, I've compared it to pre-ground espresso coffee and if anything it was finer. I think the beans I'm using might just be too acidic... So far I've used these:

https://www.pactcoffee.com/coffees/espresso-blend
https://www.pactcoffee.com/coffees/zamorana

Both of these worked way better in my vacuum brewer than they do in the Gaggia.

I found a proper tamper helped a great deal with getting a consistent result. What weight are you dosing your portafilter with? I'm usually hovering around 17g.

I picked up this the other day, works well for frothing. Next step in that area is to replace the pannarello wand with a manual frother to get more control over the foam.

So all in all, lots of bad shots and faffing about. All part of the fun though

meanredspider

My extensive experience with my Gaggia Classic is to let it properly warm through - it seems to make a lot of difference. A half-hour warm-up seems to get it in the zone.

Tamping is, of course, critical.

notsoblue

meanredspider wrote:

My extensive experience with my Gaggia Classic is to let it properly warm through - it seems to make a lot of difference. A half-hour warm-up seems to get it in the zone.

Tamping is, of course, critical.

Yeah, I've noticed that too. I've seen a few mods that add a temperature & pressure gauge to the Classic.

Got any tips for a sour shot puller?

tilt

notsoblue wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

My extensive experience with my Gaggia Classic is to let it properly warm through - it seems to make a lot of difference. A half-hour warm-up seems to get it in the zone.

Tamping is, of course, critical.

Yeah, I've noticed that too. I've seen a few mods that add a temperature & pressure gauge to the Classic.

Got any tips for a sour shot puller?

Tamping is less important than many think - grind and dose are far more critical.

If you are 'hovering' around 17g, this isn't really precise enough when learning to use a machine IMO. You're best off choosing a weight (I use 18g FWIW) and weighing to the gram every time. This removes one variable for inconsistent shots.

Sourness does indeed suggest under-extraction. I've used both those beans and you can definitely get decent shots with them and a Classic. As it's a second hand machine it may be the water temp (assuming you're letting it heat up enough) or you could be grinding too coarse. Maybe try a finer grind and a 16g weight and see if it improves?

How often do you backflush the Gaggia?

EDIT: I noticed you're using a Bodum Bistro, this is probably the issue. Can you grind fine enough to choke your Classic?

notsoblue

tilt wrote:

Tamping is less important than many think - grind and dose are far more critical.

If you are 'hovering' around 17g, this isn't really precise enough when learning to use a machine IMO. You're best off choosing a weight (I use 18g FWIW) and weighing to the gram every time. This removes one variable for inconsistent shots.

New scales are on the list, the current set I have rounds to the nearest gram and doesn't seem too accurate. Which do you use?

tilt wrote:

Sourness does indeed suggest under-extraction. I've used both those beans and you can definitely get decent shots with them and a Classic. As it's a second hand machine it may be the water temp (assuming you're letting it heat up enough) or you could be grinding too coarse. Maybe try a finer grind and a 16g weight and see if it improves?

All good points. Is there a way to judge the correct water temperature other than the indicator light without modding the machine?

tilt wrote:

How often do you backflush the Gaggia?

Not done it yet, though I have sampled the water that comes straight from the brewing head and it seems to be fine. How often would you recommend backflushing?

notsoblue

tilt wrote:

EDIT: I noticed you're using a Bodum Bistro, this is probably the issue. Can you grind fine enough to choke your Classic?

Nope, when its as fine as it can go its about as fine as pre-ground, supermarket bought Illy.
Will try with some properly ground coffee and report back.

twist83

It will be the grinder. If you cannot choke the machine and the Grind is the same as Pre Ground Supermarket then 100% that is cuasing the main problem.

That type of grinder is just not suitable for Espresso.

As above as well. Get some cheap .1g scales from Ebay and weigh each shot in and then also weigh the Volume coming out. ROUGH rule of thumb would be 28-30g OUT in Approx 30 Seconds. However each coffee is different some like being pulled longer and some less so.

The grinder is really important. More so than the Machine. I have an Expobar Brewtus. Combine that with the Bodum you have and I could NOT pull a decent shot on it as it simply does not go fine enough. Also the consistency will be all over the shop making it near impossible to pull back to back decent shots.

tilt

notsoblue wrote:

tilt wrote:

Tamping is less important than many think - grind and dose are far more critical.

If you are 'hovering' around 17g, this isn't really precise enough when learning to use a machine IMO. You're best off choosing a weight (I use 18g FWIW) and weighing to the gram every time. This removes one variable for inconsistent shots.

New scales are on the list, the current set I have rounds to the nearest gram and doesn't seem too accurate. Which do you use?

tilt wrote:

Sourness does indeed suggest under-extraction. I've used both those beans and you can definitely get decent shots with them and a Classic. As it's a second hand machine it may be the water temp (assuming you're letting it heat up enough) or you could be grinding too coarse. Maybe try a finer grind and a 16g weight and see if it improves?

All good points. Is there a way to judge the correct water temperature other than the indicator light without modding the machine?

tilt wrote:

How often do you backflush the Gaggia?

Not done it yet, though I have sampled the water that comes straight from the brewing head and it seems to be fine. How often would you recommend backflushing?

Yeah, too much variation from scales that only go to 1g. I thought I got mine from hasbean but can't see them on the site now. They cost about a tenner IIRC - any will do though.

Water temp - you can leave the machine switched on and pull empty shots every half hour/hour, then measure the temp of that water. Should give you an idea how hot it's running.

I backflush mine (with just water) every day, then flush with a cleaner weekly. Descale the machine every couple of weeks. I use mine a lot though.

I think the issue is definitely going to be your grinder - if it won't choke it you're not getting a fine enough grind. I'm not sure how you're managing a 25-30 second shot though, unless you have the pressurised basket?

Gazzaputt

After 2 Gaggia machines I'm giving up on them.

Had a Synchrony compact first and through the 4 years I used it went back 6 times for repairs. Grinder gave out in the end.

Have had a Baby Class for the past 5 years. This to has had 5 warranty repairs. Now out of warranty the steam has gone and the thing has shed most of it's paint. Also leaking water.

Have to say they make good coffee but build quality is shite.

Now off to the full auto, twin boiler De'Loghni life. Wish me luck.