Espresso Enthusiasts

[Scepticalscribe]

Telling everyone about some secluded place can spoil it by having more people there and not being so secluded/exclusive anymore. Telling some people about how to make something taste better, well, doesn't change anything for those who already know about it and are enjoying it. Now, if you are selling something and it's part of that, sure that can make sense not to give away some secret ingredient/recipe, but otherwise, there's really not much of a rationale there.

And, even if you do actually give it away, lack of experience or lack of mastery will ensure that you still probably don't manage to make it quite as well as the person who donated the recipe to you does.

The recipes you acquire from others rarely turn out exactly the same when you prepare them - even if you are the kind to follow instructions slavishly (which, I'll admit, I'm not).

Re coffee, I am still drinking my blend of blends - two different blends further blended. Mongrel coffee, but very tasty with it. Actually, I have just made a pot in the Le Creuset French Press, and served it in two Le Creuset mugs, - our garden specialist who adores really good coffee had just turned up and is busily destroying weeds, and pruning the healthy stuff and we shared a pot…..

 

[Kurwenal]

Re coffee, I am still drinking my blend of blends - two different blends further blended. Mongrel coffee, but very tasty with it. Actually, I have just made a pot in the Le Creuset French Press, and served it in two Le Creuset mugs, - our garden specialist who adores really good coffee had just turned up and is busily destroying weeds, and pruning the healthy stuff and we shared a pot…..

Blending is tons of fun. I get a kick out of a great cup while thinking "no one else is drinking this coffee."

I did a lot of blending years ago. My basic blend was 50% Ethiopian, 25% Central American, and 25% Brazilian or similar. You have to control for three main characteristics....(1) body, (2) bitter/acid/sweet (which play off each other, obviously), and (3) aroma. I think a lot of home blenders use Brazilian Santos as the base (50%), but I liked the Ethiopians (no surprise).

It was the blending that got me into Indian coffees. I fell in love with Indian Cherry (robusta), but it did not always mix well with the Ethiopians.

Anyway, glad to see you blending, SS!

As for me, not roasting much these days, but I did roast up some Toba Batak Peaberry from SM this week. Roasted to a northern Italian roast (you may recall that I prefer my espressos roasted as such). Damn good ristretto, picture below. Had to get a valve replaced in the GS/3 but it continues to produce incredible cups.

Best to all.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Blending is tons of fun. I get a kick out of a great cup while thinking "no one else is drinking this coffee."

I did a lot of blending years ago. My basic blend was 50% Ethiopian, 25% Central American, and 25% Brazilian or similar. You have to control for three main characteristics....(1) body, (2) bitter/acid/sweet (which play off each other, obviously), and (3) aroma. I think a lot of home blenders use Brazilian Santos as the base (50%), but I liked the Ethiopians (no surprise).

It was the blending that got me into Indian coffees. I fell in love with Indian Cherry (robusta), but it did not always mix well with the Ethiopians.

Anyway, glad to see you blending, SS!

As for me, not roasting much these days, but I did roast up some Toba Batak Peaberry from SM this week. Roasted to a northern Italian roast (you may recall that I prefer my espressos roasted as such). Damn good ristretto, picture below. Had to get a valve replaced in the GS/3 but it continues to produce incredible cups.

Best to all.

Well, the blending - as is often the way of such things - came about by serendipitous accident - er, discovery - but, then, it is my experience that a great many interesting and delightful things come about this way…..

Having blundered into this - one set of beans were just too over-roasted, and I thought to add some others to see what transpired (and it worked, superbly), I will now admit that this does strike me as worth pursuing further.

The funny thing was that each of the two sets of coffee beans were themselves blends, and were blended further. It worked astonishingly well.

Glad - more than glad, very glad, in fact, count me delighted - to see your name in my alerts.

And, I think I recognise a certain extraordinarily elegant coffee machine in the picture you have posted. Did I ever mention that I think it is gorgeous? Enjoy your coffee.

I think the idea of a mix of 50% Ethiopian, 25% central American, and 25% Brazilian or something of the sort very interesting, and will give it a go. What would you recommend instead of the Brazilian?

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Well, am currently sipping a very nice cup of Ethiopian Sidamo (Guji) coffee, clean, bright, and tasty. It is only in the past year (and partly due to this thread) that I came to learn about, and know anything about Ethiopian coffee, and realise that it is now among my absolute favourites.

 

[Alexander.Of.Oz]

Howdy folks, I was reminded of this thread by @SandboxGeneral , so here I am re-introducing myself. I previously appeared as @ijohn.8.80, but changed my name.

I've very recently upgraded my coffee kit as my old espresso machine died. I ended up going with the bigger brothers of what I had previously, getting the Sunbeam PU6910, Grinder & Espresso Machine package. Unfortunately, I have another expensive mistress, you may know her, she goes by the name of 'Photography.' So I had to keep the coffee setup to below $750 (AU).

I'm really pleased with this setup. It's like the step up of image quality from a crop body to a full-frame DSLR! The burr grinder is nice and slow, so the beans stay cool as they directly fill the portafilter. The burr grinder has 25 steps to it, but I can balance it to use the half steps too, giving me 50 steps from coarse to super-fine.

The espresso machine is a great unit, working through twin thermoblocks, one for the espresso pull and the other for steaming. This allows you to perform both tasks at once. The portafilter is commercial standard size at 58mm across and holds a commercial amount of grinds for the single and double baskets.

Here she is. (Not my image.) I'll make the effort to take some images of my own in action.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Howdy folks, I was reminded of this thread by @SandboxGeneral , so here I am re-introducing myself. I previously appeared as @ijohn.8.80, but changed my name.

I've very recently upgraded my coffee kit as my old espresso machine died. I ended up going with the bigger brothers of what I had previously, getting the Sunbeam PU6910, Grinder & Espresso Machine package. Unfortunately, I have another expensive mistress, you may know her, she goes by the name of 'Photography.' So I had to keep the coffee setup to below $750 (AU).

I'm really pleased with this setup. It's like the step up of image quality from a crop body to a full-frame DSLR! The burr grinder is nice and slow, so the beans stay cool as they directly fill the portafilter. The burr grinder has 25 steps to it, but I can balance it to use the half steps too, giving me 50 steps from coarse to super-fine.

The espresso machine is a great unit, working through twin thermoblocks, one for the espresso pull and the other for steaming. This allows you to perform both tasks at once. The portafilter is commercial standard size at 58mm across and holds a commercial amount of grinds for the single and double baskets.

Here she is. (Not my image.) I'll make the effort to take some images of my own in action.

View attachment 566667

Sounds like an excellent set-up and I hope that you have great fun making coffee with it - and above all, that you really enjoy drinking the coffee you make with it.

In truth, you can spend money endlessly, but the key is to enjoy it - both the experience of making the coffee, and - most importantly - savouring the pleasure of drinking it.

 

[Alexander.Of.Oz]

Sounds like an excellent set-up and I hope that you have great fun making coffee with it - and above all, that you really enjoy drinking the coffee you make with it.

In truth, you can spend money endlessly, but the key is to enjoy it - both the experience of making the coffee, and - most importantly - savouring the pleasure of drinking it.

It is almost a meditative process that I go through in the making coffee for my partner and I twice a day. Getting the right flavour profile is a journey we are revisiting, as a result of the new machines better extraction, heating and resulting flavour/bouquet. We are using locally sourced arabica blends that are friendly/respectful to the growers and their environment, which unfortunately limits some of the choices available to us. I am very much enjoying the journey of coffee rediscovery and also making that decision fit with our ethical choices too.

I don't have the option of spending more on the equipment right now and I am fully satisfied with this current combination of machines giving us wonderful coffees, that are as good or even better than many top name cafes around town. One of the first things I had to overcome was how quickly it froths a jug of milk and thinking ahead with the ability to froth and pull a coffee at the same time! I now have a new carefully choreographed dance with the espresso machine, resulting in the milk being added to each cup within a few seconds of its finishing the extraction. That alone has completely changed the flavour profile of our drinking experience, where there is strength to the flavour profile without it reaching that burnt taste!

Doubtless there is much for me to glean from this thread, so I'll pop up with queries when I have some and also some imagery. I will set up the camera to get some images of the extraction, I'm so pleased with the way the legs lift back up to the portafilter, like an Irish dancer lifting their legs high above some swords.

 

[Kurwenal]

I think the idea of a mix of 50% Ethiopian, 25% central American, and 25% Brazilian or something of the sort very interesting, and will give it a go. What would you recommend instead of the Brazilian?

Hiya SS. I assume we are talking about FP or Chemex. To replace the Brazilian, you need body and sweetness, so something like a premium Sumatra or an Indonesian like a Sulawesi. With a FP or a Chemex with a non-paper filter, I would probably back off the Ethiopian, maybe to 40%, and bump up the Colombian. With a Chemex with a paper filter, the 50% Ethiopian etc. would be very intriguing, I think.

By the way, I have (finally and, perhaps, inevitably) switched to a Technivorm for much of my drip. It seems odd to say that the Technivorm is less work than the Chemex, but it is, and on those days when that matters, the Technivorm comes through. The stuff about the shower, well, I think it is not very good and this is a real weakness in the product. But, mine brews at 203 degrees and with a gold filter produces a cup that is probably 70% of a Chemex. Some days, 70% is ok and the process is a snap.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Hiya SS. I assume we are talking about FP or Chemex. To replace the Brazilian, you need body and sweetness, so something like a premium Sumatra or an Indonesian like a Sulawesi. With a FP or a Chemex with a non-paper filter, I would probably back off the Ethiopian, maybe to 40%, and bump up the Colombian. With a Chemex with a paper filter, the 50% Ethiopian etc. would be very intriguing, I think.

By the way, I have (finally and, perhaps, inevitably) switched to a Technivorm for much of my drip. It seems odd to say that the Technivorm is less work than the Chemex, but it is, and on those days when that matters, the Technivorm comes through. The stuff about the shower, well, I think it is not very good and this is a real weakness in the product. But, mine brews at 203 degrees and with a gold filter produces a cup that is probably 70% of a Chemex. Some days, 70% is ok and the process is a snap.

Lovely post, and thank you for it.

I like the idea of substituting a premium Indonesian or Sumatran coffee for Brazilian; and yes, some central American coffee (before I got 'into' Ethiopian coffee, my favourites by far were the central American coffees), and, of course, some of the invariably excellent Ethiopians.

Now, I know that some people like their coffee harsh & bitter, but I like mine smooth, and somewhat sweet, and I love that clean, bright flavour that the Ethiopians bring to coffee.

With harsh and bitter (and sometimes over-roasted) coffee, frankly, I find I need sugar. With clean, bright smooth flavours, sugar is no longer a necessity.

 

[Kurwenal]

Now, I know that some people like their coffee harsh & bitter, but I like mine smooth, and somewhat sweet, and I love that clean, bright flavour that the Ethiopians bring to coffee.

Ah, excellent. Well, we shall have to chat about Columbians, I think. Before that, though, let me bring up a subject best usually avoided in decent company: kona. I shy away from the subject for three reasons:

1. Most of what is sold as "Kona" is, at best, a blend with no more than 10% kona.

2. Truly 100% kona is monstrously expensive, with no reason for that other than the name.

3. It is almost impossible to find high quality green kona, so any kona you drink is not fresh.

That said, I think kona is the creamiest and smoothest coffee out there. I hesitate to say anything is the "best," because who truly remembers, but I think the best or one of the best cups I ever had was made by a college roommate, 30 years ago, using fresh 100% kona that he roasted in a pan on the stovetop. It was also the experience that convinced me to stop putting horrible things like sugar and cream into my cup.

Anyway, I think high end kona, freshly roasted and properly made, is up there with the fabled coffees, like Gachatha, Mpanga, Sidama Ardi and the high end columbians. We should try to dig you up some 100% kona. I go looking every now and then for some green kona. I will snoop around.

Going ot go back offline for a week or so for a treatment. See y'all in a bit.

 

[D.T.]

Going ot go back offline for a week or so for a treatment. See y'all in a bit.

Best wishes

 

[S.B.G]

Well, we shall have to chat about Columbians, I think.

I'm very interested to hear what you have to say about the Colombians. Of all the coffees I've tasted personally, including SO beans and blends, there was a batch of Colombian beans I received several months ago from Blue Bottle that blew me away. It was the smoothest and best tasting batch I've had.

Going ot go back offline for a week or so for a treatment. See y'all in a bit.

Good luck my friend.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Ah, excellent. Well, we shall have to chat about Columbians, I think. Before that, though, let me bring up a subject best usually avoided in decent company: kona. I shy away from the subject for three reasons:

1. Most of what is sold as "Kona" is, at best, a blend with no more than 10% kona.

2. Truly 100% kona is monstrously expensive, with no reason for that other than the name.

3. It is almost impossible to find high quality green kona, so any kona you drink is not fresh.

That said, I think kona is the creamiest and smoothest coffee out there. I hesitate to say anything is the "best," because who truly remembers, but I think the best or one of the best cups I ever had was made by a college roommate, 30 years ago, using fresh 100% kona that he roasted in a pan on the stovetop. It was also the experience that convinced me to stop putting horrible things like sugar and cream into my cup.

Anyway, I think high end kona, freshly roasted and properly made, is up there with the fabled coffees, like Gachatha, Mpanga, Sidama Ardi and the high end columbians. We should try to dig you up some 100% kona. I go looking every now and then for some green kona. I will snoop around.

Going ot go back offline for a week or so for a treatment. See y'all in a bit.

Well, I look forward to your insightful comments about the Colombians whenever you are in a position to make them; your trained and experienced eye and palate are exemplary and your advice has always been well worth heeding.

Now, I hadn't known that Kona was so highly regarded within the coffee community.

May I wish you the very best of luck with the treatment, my friend. Meanwhile, take very good care of yourself.

 

[decafjava]

Going ot go back offline for a week or so for a treatment. See y'all in a bit.

Good luck and get well! I'll keep drinking good coffee awaiting your return.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Actually, @Kurwenal, until I read your post, I hadn't even been aware that there was such a thing as Kona coffee. And from Hawa'ii, too?

(Mr Google to the rescue as is so often the case, these days: How did we find out things or track down answers before the invention of the internet? Tim Berners-Lee - a genuine giant amongst humanity….)

However, quite apart from Mr Google, this thread is an unending source of fascinating data and information on and about everything to do with coffee.

 

[mobilehaathi]

Ah, excellent. Well, we shall have to chat about Columbians, I think. Before that, though, let me bring up a subject best usually avoided in decent company: kona. I shy away from the subject for three reasons:

1. Most of what is sold as "Kona" is, at best, a blend with no more than 10% kona.

2. Truly 100% kona is monstrously expensive, with no reason for that other than the name.

3. It is almost impossible to find high quality green kona, so any kona you drink is not fresh.

That said, I think kona is the creamiest and smoothest coffee out there. I hesitate to say anything is the "best," because who truly remembers, but I think the best or one of the best cups I ever had was made by a college roommate, 30 years ago, using fresh 100% kona that he roasted in a pan on the stovetop. It was also the experience that convinced me to stop putting horrible things like sugar and cream into my cup.

Anyway, I think high end kona, freshly roasted and properly made, is up there with the fabled coffees, like Gachatha, Mpanga, Sidama Ardi and the high end columbians. We should try to dig you up some 100% kona. I go looking every now and then for some green kona. I will snoop around.

Going ot go back offline for a week or so for a treatment. See y'all in a bit.

Take care, And if you do find some green Kona, let us know.

 

[S.B.G]

I received a new batch yesterday from Blue Bottle and shockingly, for the first time in a while, the USPS delivered it on time!

I'm sipping on the new brew right now and it's very nice and smooth.

Rwanda Nyamasheke Mwasa
Nyamasheke, Western Province
Run by Erasto Weneza and co-owned by local farmers, the Mwasa washing station is a glimpse into Rwanda’s bright coffee-growing future. Thanks to geographic conditions like mineral-rich volcanic soil and winds from nearby Lake Kivu, this washed coffee is bursting with sweet, deeply fruited flavors. “There are a whole lot of things in this world of ours you haven't started wondering about yet,” the Old Green Grasshopper says in Roald Dahl’s “James and the Giant Peach.” Fortunately, this coffee packs a fruit punch that’s as adventurous as navigating New York City with a magical, house-sized peach and a ragtag bunch of talking insect sidekicks. (It’s pretty wonderful.)

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I received a new batch yesterday from Blue Bottle and shockingly, for the first time in a while, the USPS delivered it on time!

I'm sipping on the new brew right now and it's very nice and smooth.

On time? Tut, tut. Whatever can we expect next?

Meanwhile, enjoy your coffee, and savour every fresh mouthful.

 

[S.B.G]

Here is something I wouldn't be 'proud' to serve in my hospital.

I had to go to the lab at my local hospital this morning to get some blood work done for my diabetes and snapped a shot of this sign in the passageway.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Here is something I wouldn't be 'proud' to serve in my hospital.

I had to go to the lab at my local hospital this morning to get some blood work done for my diabetes and snapped a shot of this sign in the passageway.

View attachment 569433

Well, much though it grieves me to admit to this, but, I suspect that Starbuck's is somewhat better (though, only somewhat, mind you) than the sort of vile brew that used to be served from those massive urns that you used to see in public offices and hospitals until relatively recently.

Actually, I suspect that they think they have improved considerably and are now in a position to offer a first rate service!

 

[S.B.G]

Actually, I suspect that they think they have improved considerably and are now in a position to offer a first rate service!

Given the relativity of the subject, I bet to the general masses, they have improved their standards.

The issue comes up for people like us who prefer, rather demand, perfection in our cups. Starbucks just won't do.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Given the relativity of the subject, I bet to the general masses, they have improved their standards.

The issue comes up for people like us who prefer, rather demand, perfection in our cups. Starbucks just won't do.

Oh, agreed.

Precisely because I can get perfection (or something approximating to it) at home, I drink a lot less coffee out than I used to, and I am pretty demanding, especially in cafés, or restaurants, or bars.

However, having said that, and insane and almost surreal standards of domestic coffee perfection aside, I have to admit that general standards of coffee, (and coffee service) available are an awful lot better than they were a decade or two, or three, ago, especially in places such as hospitals, universities, and state and government bureaucracies.

And, rather than carp and complain because coffee perfection is not yet widely available, I'll take and salute and acknowledge whatever improvements I can find.

 

[S.B.G]

However, having said that, and insane and almost surreal standards of domestic coffee perfection aside, I have to admit that general standards of coffee, (and coffee service) available are an awful lot better than they were a decade or two, or three, ago, especially in places such as hospitals, universities, and state and government bureaucracies.

I think that is a fair and reasonable statement. I do find that there are more speciality coffee shops around, and for the general public, cafe's within major venues seem to want to increase their customer base by having a higher quality of product available - relatively speaking of course.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I think that is a fair and reasonable statement. I do find that there are more speciality coffee shops around, and for the general public, cafe's within major venues seem to want to increase their customer base by having a higher quality of product available - relatively speaking of course.

Well, if the standard of coffee that is widely available improves, that can only be to the advantage of coffee lovers everywhere, as, when the standards that the general public insist on improve, it enhances everybody's quality of life.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

As it is Saturday, a wet Saturday, and I have some time to think of stuff for myself, I have just tried phoning the Ethiopian Coffee Company in London, but their phone was not answered. Their website mentions that they attend - and host - market stalls on a Saturday and Sunday, so that is where I suspect they may be.

Never mind, I'll phone them on Monday, with an order.