Silly Commuter Coffee

iPete

That's seriously shiny!

Is it a step too far that I've purchased some dwarf arabica seeds to grow my own?

bigmonka

iPete wrote:

Is it a step too far that I've purchased some dwarf arabica seeds to grow my own?

ooooh sounds fun, tell me more!

iPete

Nothing exciting yet, its got as far as go on eBay, order dwarf seeds, need to germinate them now.

secretsam

iPete wrote:

Nothing exciting yet, its got as far as go on eBay, order dodgy seeds, need to germinate them now.

FTFY, you naughty boy

Good African coffee. That is all

iPete

Oh but they are Arabica seeds, did I do wrong? Mind I don't think they'll ever see a roaster!

iPete

http://pbfcomics.com/136/

adam0bmx0

Anyone got a cheap 58mm tamper lying about?

The standard plastic Gaggia one is a bit pants. (and around 47mm!)

iPete

adam0bmx0 wrote:

Anyone got a cheap 58mm tamper lying about?

The standard plastic Gaggia one is a bit pants. (and around 47mm!)

Pretty sure I picked this one up for mine, looks good and does the job for £16.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wooden-Handled- ... B000VJ8J8K

iPete

Fitted a Sylvia wand to my Classic, wtf it's completely different, I'm basically creating very hot milk?! It's been 10 years since working in a coffee shop but I don't remember ever being this bad!

Should it be this different?

pangolin

Hello. If you completely submerge the steam wand it should just heat the milk (panarello wands like your old one constantly add air as well, but with a proper wand this is a more manual process).

For the first few seconds of heating up the milk you want to be 'stretching' it as well. Which is adding the air to create volume and foam. You do that by keeping the tip of the steam wand juuuuust on the surface of the milk. You should hear a sort of soft gurgling. Loud frothing and large bubbles appearing means that you are too far above the surface and you need to lower the wand slightly (or in reality, raise the jug slightly).

You can stretch the milk until it is at about body temperature. After that it wont really do much so for the second half of the heating process keep the tip submerged. You heat it to about 70 degrees, which should be the temp where it becomes slightly uncomfortable to touch the jug for more than a couple of seconds.

Now the advantage of your new wand is that you can control how much air is being added. For a flat white you just want to be stretching the milk for a few seconds. For a latte, a bit longer. For a cappuccino, longer still. The actual time will vary machine to machine depending on how long the whole milk heating process takes. Have a look on youtube there are lots of vids which will show you the sort of sound and action I have described if it's at all unclear.

Good luck!

mrc1

I invested in a Gaggia Classic a couple of weeks ago and am really happy with it. Paid £210 new with a stainless milk jug and a half day barrista course for two (looking forward to this bit the most). With the changes below it makes a fantastic espresso with Square Mile Red Brick - visiting Monmouth on the 21st for resupplies.

Had to make an immediate upgrade from the crappy pressurised baskets that they now come with to non-pressurised and ditched the "perfect crema" device - much better as a result. My Krups burr grinder does a decent job on the finest setting but I'll probably upgrade in the nearish future to something a bit better as the Krups sometimes struggles to get the beans out of the hopper and into the grinders. The collection pot is also a weird shape that makes it hard to get accurate amounts of coffee out as some always sticks in the corners/lid/sides.

Otherwise I seem to be doing ok with the standard steam wand for flat whites, but it is a bit hit and miss so may change for the Rancillo one in due course.

iPete

pangolin wrote:

Hello. If you completely submerge the steam wand it should just heat the milk (panarello wands like your old one constantly add air as well, but with a proper wand this is a more manual process).
Good luck!

Thanks, it sure is more manual but better results. I found this video really useful and its made a huge difference knowing what I'm doing!

http://vimeo.com/63338928

adam0bmx0

Well my Gaggia classic lasted about a month before I spotted this little lot for a bargain, couldn't resist



Modified the doser on the grinder so it retains less grinds. Getting great results from it, very happy indeed. Steaming is much more consistent and powerful. Also has the V3 steam wand fitted that's on a ball joint.

iPete

Oh, somewhat envious & I said to myself the Classic/Rocky Rancillio combo wouldn't need upgrading...

adam0bmx0

To be honest, I would stick with the Gaggia as the jump in the machines Vs cost doesn't warrant it.

notsoblue

I hate to admit it, but I rarely use the Gaggia Classic any more. My vacuum brewer gets the best out of the beans I buy and is much more consistent.

pangolin

Did you ever upgrade your grinder? Not surprising you don't use it if not.

itboffin

i doff my cap to you chaps, excellent work 8)

notsoblue

pangolin wrote:

Did you ever upgrade your grinder? Not surprising you don't use it if not.

Nope. But I tried coffee ground with a better grinder and there wasn't a huge difference. After having gotten a second opinion on my espresso shots, I think they're fine. If I have the choice these days I just prefer a vacuum brew to be honest...

tailwindhome

Just been given one of these for my 40th



Any recommendations what to put in it? Tips for good coffee?

godders1

I'm drinking sweet bourbon espresso blend from Coffee Compass at the moment. Lovely stuff! £8.00 for a 500g bag is pretty competitive I think (and the last order came with a 100g sampler of one of their new blends too which was a nice surprise).

itboffin

I've been drinking notes coffee lately due to the faff of getting to my usual Monmouth, now i dont know if its because 4-5 years of drinking Monmouth has tainted my taste buds but the notes bean do seem to have more flavour.

oh and they're about 40% more that Monmouth not cheap at 10.50 for 250g bag

bigmonka

Godders1 wrote:

I'm drinking sweet bourbon espresso blend from Coffee Compass at the moment. Lovely stuff! £8.00 for a 500g bag is pretty competitive I think (and the last order came with a 100g sampler of one of their new blends too which was a nice surprise).

Is that flavoured with bourbon? yum.

itboffin wrote:

I've been drinking notes coffee lately due to the faff of getting to my usual Monmouth, now i dont know if its because 4-5 years of drinking Monmouth has tainted my taste buds but the notes bean do seem to have more flavour.

oh and they're about 40% more that Monmouth not cheap at 10.50 for 250g bag

:shock: Wow, that's some expensive coffee! Are those your everday drinking beans?

bobinski

TailWindHome wrote:

Just been given one of these for my 40th



Any recommendations what to put in it? Tips for good coffee?

I have one of these. I love it.

I live local to Volcano coffee works and tend to use their beans. I find that for my preference a grind just short of the finest setting is about right for most of their beans. I always test an espresso with a new bag of beans and very occasionally will dial back a bit. On reflection I am not always sure it makes a difference! I think morning mouth tastes are much more affected by what i have eaten or drunk the night before. I gave up on the milk frother. But a friend with same machine and more patience swears by it and he is as fussy about his flat white as anyone i know.

godders1

BigMonka wrote:

Is that flavoured with bourbon? yum.

Alas not, just a variety of bean.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourbon_coffee

YIMan

Just bought one of these to replace my 8 year old Gaggia Syncrony Digital......

http://www.amazon.co.uk/DeLonghi-Magnifica-ESAM04-350-S-Cappuccino-Solution/dp/B0044N58HE/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1403379231&sr=1-1

asprilla

Need a coffee shop recommendation around Cavendish Square Gardens. Kaffeine is just too far away and Workshop is too expensive / pretentious and the servings are too small.

itboffin

I need a new device to grind my beans, the crap one I have the coffee just sticks to the insides, any recommendations?

pangolin

What's your budget? I've got an Iberital MC2 and am very pleased with it, it's about as cheap as you can go for a proper burr grinder I think. You may be thinking of something much shinier though.

http://www.happydonkey.co.uk/hd0866-iberital-mc2-auto.html

godders1

Love my Eureka Mignon, grinds well and passes the other half test (i.e. doesn't look like a humongous piece of industrial machinery sat on the kitchen worktop).