Dainty little item, isn't it!?
Seems a bit much for home. But then, if you're a true devotee, you just buy a new house large enough to keep the machine.
I mean, any sacrifice...right!?
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Espresso Enthusiasts
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Dainty little item, isn't it!?
Seems a bit much for home. But then, if you're a true devotee, you just buy a new house large enough to keep the machine.
I mean, any sacrifice...right!?
I grabbed a drink from one of the local shops I hit up. The girl behind the counter mentioned she hadn't seen me in awhile. I told her I bought a machine, she said that she did too but rarely used it.
I looked at her, and said well, when you have $40,000 in espresso machine equipment to play with at work all day, your home machine isn't going to beat that.
I looked at her, and said well, when you have $40,000 in espresso machine equipment to play with at work all day, your home machine isn't going to beat that.
Dainty little item, isn't it!?
Seems a bit much for home. But then, if you're a true devotee, you just buy a new house large enough to keep the machine.
I mean, any sacrifice...right!?
Well i have a damn great Cimbali junior from 1997 sitting on my counter so the gs3 seems quite small in comparison lol.
I got my machine second hand on ebay for £50, the inside of the portafilter was like a scene from saw, I've never seen so much dirt. The fact they must have been putting coffee through that thing to sell at some point..... Terrifying.
I striped and rebuilt it for a total cost of about £250 so it was a bargain even if it isn't the prettiest thing to have in the kitchen.
Its due for a second rebuild soon actually, need to get the frame properly powder coated and finally get the exterior panels rechromed
Did I mention Portland coffee roasters are providing all that caffein to folks at the Oscars tonight ?
I grabbed a drink from one of the local shops I hit up. The girl behind the counter mentioned she hadn't seen me in awhile. I told her I bought a machine, she said that she did too but rarely used it.
I looked at her, and said well, when you have $40,000 in espresso machine equipment to play with at work all day, your home machine isn't going to beat that.
Actually, depending upon a lot of variables (the beans used, the roast, the grind, etc. used at the shop) it is more than possible that you can pull a better shot at home.
Remember, of all the variables involved in making espresso, the machine itself is the least important.
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Chris Coffee is having a sale on your machine, which is a gem, BTW. $1000 off...
http://www.chriscoffee.com/Cimbali_Junior_Casa_DT_1_p/d1-junior.htm
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Well yeah, but I would imagine that a shop like this uses top quality stuff. The grinders definitely look the part. I just meant it as a jest really though.
Great price! Mine is a different from the newer ones. No digital stuff, just rotary dials and a funky analogue dosing device using a small tank and movable rods to set the volume of water for each setting. Pretty old school.
When do you fill your tank up? Before a pull or after? Mine uses half a tank for one pull (counting the pre-heating of the mug). Typically I fill it before a pull with cold, filtered water from the refrigerator. But I wonder if it would be better to fill it up after a pull, so that I'm not pouring cold water in just before pulling a shot.
The cold water in the tank doesn't make any difference. The temp of the water in the tank doesn'y effect the temp of the water exiting the machine. The water, no matter what it's temp in the tank, is heated to the proper temp in the boiler and as it passes through the brew group.
I have a huge water tank (2.7 liter) which I fill in the morning and lasts most of the day. It doesn't matter when you fill the tank, nor does it effect the temp of the coffee.
And I'll bet that old baby, with your skills, puts out a nifty shot!
Yes.... skills may be majorly overstating my lack of talent lol. I used to be able to pull a decent shot but I've been drinking filter coffee lately so I'm out of practice.
I cant fault the machine tho, its not the easiest thing to use but its capable of a lot more than I can do with it.
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I love the fact 2.7L of water only lasts most of the day lol
Actually, it should last all day, plus a little. But the occasional water back flush during the day can drain a bit of the water. Also, even though the machine has an automatic shut off if the water gets too low, taking the chance of running the pump with no water leads to great caution.
And, yeah...I drink a s***load of espresso!!!
Well I'm going to have the opportunity to try some original espresso this weekend. I'm going for the weekend in Milan, I live in Geneva and it's a short 3-4 hour train ride (depending on the route).
I love coffee and tea as well. I have cut way back on the coffee though because I had an acid reflux issue. Seems to be under control though, biggest help was losing 11 pounds (another 15 still to go).
Now I can drink more coffee, even up to 3 a day but I limit it-usually 2-3 times a week and a couple of coffees. So now I limit myself the good stuff, at work when I ahve coffee I share a nespresso machine with some colleagues, before you purists attack, it's way better than the rank stuff we get for free from a crappy old machine in the office.
Coffee in Europe is pretty good generally, though it varies in style from country to country. At home I have a simple stove top Bialletti coffee maker, and a pot for making Turkish coffee. I'd love an espresso machine but given that my comsumption is waaaay below Shrink's , and I live in an apartment where space is a bit limited it's not in the cards for now. I can no longer stand filtered coffee.
What do you guys think of the stove top methods for coffee? Be it Bialetti or the "French-press" type made by companies like Bodum (used to have one before it broke). Any tips to get the best out of them? Are there compact machines available?
I love coffee and tea as well. I have cut way back on the coffee though because I had an acid reflux issue. Seems to be under control though, biggest help was losing 11 pounds (another 15 still to go).
Now I can drink more coffee, even up to 3 a day but I limit it-usually 2-3 times a week and a couple of coffees. So now I limit myself the good stuff, at work when I ahve coffee I share a nespresso machine with some colleagues, before you purists attack, it's way better than the rank stuff we get for free from a crappy old machine in the office.
Coffee in Europe is pretty good generally, though it varies in style from country to country. At home I have a simple stove top Bialletti coffee maker, and a pot for making Turkish coffee. I'd love an espresso machine but given that my comsumption is waaaay below Shrink's
, and I live in an apartment where space is a bit limited it's not in the cards for now. I can no longer stand filtered coffee.What do you guys think of the stove top methods for coffee? Be it Bialetti or the "French-press" type made by companies like Bodum (used to have one before it broke). Any tips to get the best out of them? Are there compact machines available?
Well I'm going to have the opportunity to try some original espresso this weekend. I'm going for the weekend in Milan, I live in Geneva and it's a short 3-4 hour train ride (depending on the route).
I love coffee and tea as well. I have cut way back on the coffee though because I had an acid reflux issue. Seems to be under control though, biggest help was losing 11 pounds (another 15 still to go).
Now I can drink more coffee, even up to 3 a day but I limit it-usually 2-3 times a week and a couple of coffees. So now I limit myself the good stuff, at work when I ahve coffee I share a nespresso machine with some colleagues, before you purists attack, it's way better than the rank stuff we get for free from a crappy old machine in the office.
Coffee in Europe is pretty good generally, though it varies in style from country to country. At home I have a simple stove top Bialletti coffee maker, and a pot for making Turkish coffee. I'd love an espresso machine but given that my comsumption is waaaay below Shrink's
What do you guys think of the stove top methods for coffee? Be it Bialetti or the "French-press" type made by companies like Bodum (used to have one before it broke). Any tips to get the best out of them? Are there compact machines available?
and personally I think French press is the way to go for non-espresso style coffee.
Just FWIW, I actually don't really hate Starbucks (well, I don't drink their straight coffee or espresso though). We're not here to judge
Check out these brew guides, they are based of collective wisdom from the world of coffee and put together by a top roaster.
http://www.hasbean.co.uk/blogs/brew-guides
Theres also a french press and stove top guide here by a former world barista champion and coffee expert james hoffmann
http://www.jimseven.com/2008/11/13/french-press-technique/
http://www.jimseven.com/2009/01/21/videocast-4-stovetopmoka-pot/
And btw, theres nothing wrong with filter coffee if its done right!
and personally I think French press is the way to go for non-espresso style coffee.
Just FWIW, I actually don't really hate Starbucks (well, I don't drink their straight coffee or espresso though). We're not here to judge
Sure we are!! I judge coffees all the time!! I assert that instant "coffee" is not fit for human consumption!! I assert that 100% Robusta coffees tastes like burnt rubber!!
Oh, wait...you meant we don't judge individual choices.
Never mind...
What a great bunch of links! Great information, Mate.
As far as filter coffee, or any other method of coffee preparation...all are good, it just depends on the beans and the proper grind.
The beans are the key to it all, IMO, not the method of preparation.
Thanks all, very nice guides, I will be consulting them. I accept the point about filtered coffee, just that my family in Canada and the States prepare coffee and it usually isn't strong enough for my taste. In the meantime I'll look forward to having a nice cup of espresso or cappucino this weekend and watch the "bella donnas."
Oh and in spite of my username, I almost never drink decaf-defeats the purpose.
Oh and in spite of my username, I almost never drink decaf-defeats the purpose.
Thanks all, very nice guides, I will be consulting them. I accept the point about filtered coffee, just that my family in Canada and the States prepare coffee and it usually isn't strong enough for my taste. In the meantime I'll look forward to having a nice cup of espresso or cappucino this weekend and watch the "bella donnas."
Oh and in spite of my username, I almost never drink decaf-defeats the purpose.
They probably use a cheap automatic filter machine that A gets the water too hot and B keeps the coffee hot in the jug which makes for a very bitter brew unless they add less coffee grounds to remove most of the flavour.
Like shrink says, the bean quality and being freshly ground make a massive difference too. Its about the ingredients and how you treat them more than the method being used.
Of course, you may just not like filter coffee much, but dont write it off from those bad examples you've tried. If you ever get the chance to try a filter coffee in a top quality cafe then its worth a go. Quite a few of the London cafes do this but I'm not sure about the rest of the world.
I think it wasn't mentioned before: let's not forget about the water quality!
Making a good espresso with tap water in Barcelona may not be the best idea. Btw. I found it incredible hard to find good grounded coffee in Spain.
Good point!
I use a Culligan water filter installed on my kitchen tap. It's inexpensive, refill cartridges are also not bad in price, and it does a nice job of filtering impurities.
On the subject of water...for those who have recently bought espresso machines, it is important to de-scale the machines every 1-2 months, depending upon how hard the water is. The water filters (Brita, Culligan) will NOT help with hard water as they do not filter out calcium carbonate. Hard water requires more frequent de-scaling to keep your machine running properly.
I found test strips to test the hardness of the water. Just a caveat...if you look for test strips, or testing kits, most test for impurities, but not for "hardness", so be careful when you buy anything to test your water - it may not test for what you want. I had a really hard time finding test strips specifically intended to test for hardness. I have a link below for test strips that test for hardness. They're not very finely calibrated, but they will give you a rough idea of you water's hardness on a 6 point scale.
http://www.amazon.com/Sofcheck-Tota...=UTF8&qid=1361891860&sr=8-1&keywords=sofcheck
I don't know what a "flat white" is, but I'm assuming the it is a coffee drink. So it's great that the milk was frothed properly, but if it's a coffee drink....
I don't know what a "flat white" is, but I'm assuming the it is a coffee drink. So it's great that the milk was frothed properly, but if it's a coffee drink....
I didn't know either, had to look it up.
Starbucks to sell 'flat white' for those fed up with milky coffee
According the the article, people wanted to taste the coffee.
Big mistake!!
Its the first time I've been in there for years, i wasn't stupid enough to go for an espresso.