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Espresso Enthusiasts
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S.B.G
Moderator emeritus
Haha! Yup. Fortunately I still have some Starbucks French Roast left, but it's not that good and I think they did the grind wrong because my machine has a hard time during extraction with it.
I do like tea too, mostly iced tea, and once in a while, hot tea.
Scepticalscribe
macrumors Haswell
If he were waiting for tea, it would be rather like Arthur Dent (in 'The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy') when he requested the shipboard computer on 'The Heart of Gold' to make him a cup of tea, (which meant tea leaves infused in water, as the computer realised what was required, after some discussion and much thought)...........
This meant that the shipboard computer systems were completely absorbed and occupied for hours, and hours, and hours, unable to devote any energy or spare capacity (because there was none) to any other activity.......all because making tea to desired British standards was a deeply demanding activity, requiring attention to detail and an awful lot of time........
Crazy Badger
macrumors 65816
If you're in the UK check out www.hasbean.co.uk - great coffee at a very reasonable price.
Not sure if they ship overseas or if it will still be good value but worth a look.
Not sure if they ship overseas or if it will still be good value but worth a look.
twietee
macrumors 603
Seems like I'm derailing this thread a bit. But this post just convinced me what to read next. Thanks a lot and yes, it happens that I never read The Hitch-hikers...as I haven't seen any of the movies. I know there is an older one you and Don't Panic quite like.
So, in the end, my silly little remark was good for somerhing. Who would have thought that? 🙂
And now back to espresso. Pronto!
Would expect them to have shipped today, hopefully you get the coffee tomorrow.
S.B.G
Moderator emeritus
This just in - literally I might add, the email shipping notice arrived and it says estimated delivery of tomorrow! Yay! 😀
Ah good, I get worried when someone spends money at least partly on my recommendation!
Ive been using hasbean for years. Fantastic company with fantastic coffee and such a good ethical policy with regards to how much they pay the growers. I just signed up to the weekly in my mug coffee subscription so ill get the coffee he reviews in his podcast each week.
Think express shipping would make it very expensive to buy from hasbean in the US tho.
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Scepticalscribe
macrumors Haswell
Sigh. The 'new' movie, as with many re-makes (and aside: is it possible to come up with a genuinely original fresh story? Not just inferior remakes of classics which don't need tarting up, or, to be made 'relevant' for the twitter generation.....rant over), is a mediocre attempt at remaking (an admittedly underfunded but brilliant) classic. And unnecessary.....
The older one was a TV series, which, in turn, was preceded by a radio series (which I actually have, cough, on an ancient, almost prehistoric technology known to the world as a double album on vinyl.......) Best of all are the books, especially the first one. As a student, it was simply one of the best books I had read in my life........
Now. Back to espresso.....and beans......and grinders.......and neat little espresso cups (I have some exquisite, extraordinarily solid, quite beautiful Italian ones, which I bought from my favourite Italian coffee shop when it closed down - another casualty of economic disaster and recession - around a year ago.)
----------
Oh, jolly good news, there. Well done and enjoy the Black Cat coffee when it does arrive.
Needless to say, the denizens who dwell here will expect detailed tasting notes......
S.B.G
Moderator emeritus
The review shall come within the purview of my palate of course, which may or may not be at the same tasting level as you and Shrink. However, I will correspond back forthwith upon consumption.
I mentioned somewhere the other day that I have no intention of disarranging this coffee in a latté and rather, only drinking it in its pure form.
Scepticalscribe
macrumors Haswell
I have just spent the past twenty or so minutes perusing this site. There seem to be some amazing (and extraordinarily interesting) coffees there. Must investigate further.....and thank you for posting this link.
I look forward to this.......and meanwhile, remember to enjoy and fully savour it first, before settling down to [home]work by writing some tasting notes.......
Shrink
macrumors G3
Hi all!😀
I seem to have missed all the drama of the "when is the coffee coming". Really glad it's sorted out. I'm looking forward to reading SBG's review of the Black Cat coffee.
That will teach me to have a life outside my computer. No more of that nonsense...this is more fun! 😀
I seem to have missed all the drama of the "when is the coffee coming". Really glad it's sorted out. I'm looking forward to reading SBG's review of the Black Cat coffee.
That will teach me to have a life outside my computer. No more of that nonsense...this is more fun! 😀
S.B.G
Moderator emeritus
Shrink
macrumors G3
I discovered a hairline crack in my keyboard space bar. Impossible to explain...never dropped, never struck, and I don't pound the keys. So I took it to the Apple Store, and it turns out there are no replacement keys available for my early 2011 15" MBP. They would have to totally dismantle the computer, and replace the whole top, and leave it there for 3-5 days. So i'll live with the hairline crack!
Anyway, I missed talking with you guys while I was out.😀
S.B.G
Moderator emeritus
A hairline crack in your space bar, oh the agony! You ought to ask for, no demand a full replacement MBP of the latest version for this treachery by Tim Cook & Co.
Or forget about it and drink some espresso. 😀
Shrink
macrumors G3
If I were a truly committed (pun intended) MR devotée, I would open a thread wildly complaining about the inferior quality of Apple products, and how Apple is doomed because o this inattention to quality.
I think I'll just have an espresso, instead.😛
@Shrink you can get replacement keys fairly cheap, and the keyboard is one of the more common ones to replace, you can probably find a video on Youtube and get the replacement for under $20 (if you're out of warranty that is)
/off topic
Shrink
macrumors G3
I'm covered with Applecare. The replacement issue is a long story, and since we're OT here, I'll save it. Replacement more trouble than it's worth...crack is really no problem.
Sorry all for the OT posts.😱
decafjava
macrumors 603
Well to put things on topic again, I know you all are "DIY" when it comes to coffee but let me recommend a few coffee shops and coffee suppliers here in Geneva if any of you by chance are in the neighbourhood.
Boreal coffee and coffee roasters:
http://www.borealcoffee.ch/
http://www.borealroasters.ch/en/
First page only available in French, anyway founded by local fellows who were inspired by travel to places like Australia and North America and realised the coffee culture was underdeveloped in Switzerland. they started up after Starbucks came here-and thank god too.
Second is an old standard:
http://www.carasso.ch/
Again unless you understand French you'll have to use google translate.
Anywho, if any of you do go out for a cup of joe, what places do you recommend?
Boreal coffee and coffee roasters:
http://www.borealcoffee.ch/
http://www.borealroasters.ch/en/
First page only available in French, anyway founded by local fellows who were inspired by travel to places like Australia and North America and realised the coffee culture was underdeveloped in Switzerland. they started up after Starbucks came here-and thank god too.
Second is an old standard:
http://www.carasso.ch/
Again unless you understand French you'll have to use google translate.
Anywho, if any of you do go out for a cup of joe, what places do you recommend?
S.B.G
Moderator emeritus
The Black Cat coffee did not arrive yesterday despite the email shipping notification saying it would. I wasn't surprised since I paid for the least expensive shipping, which wasn't 2-day shipping. Also the fact that the UPS tracking information was not available (until this morning) indicated to me that I wouldn't get it yesterday. Whereas now, UPS shows it "out for delivery".
This morning I decided to go into Starbucks rather than the drive-thru to get an espresso - not a latte. They use their own (obviously) "Dark French Roast Espresso" coffee. While they also sell "Dark French Roast" coffee which is what I previously bought and doesn't play well with my espresso machine - likely due to the grind, which is probably why they gave it to me "on the house" that day. I never asked why it was free though I should have.
The crema was paper thin on the espresso, yet it tasted very strong and bitter on the tongue and left a not-so welcome aftertaste upon my palate. I'm sure their espresso isn't the best based on the content of this thread from connoisseurs such as Shrink and Scepticalscribe, however my appraisal of the Starbucks espresso is graded on a curve due to my lack of real espresso taste. Meaning, I don't have a good baseline of proper espresso to grade against other than my own which should be ruled out entirely. Ruled out because how am I to know if I am truly doing it correctly.
I did ask them several questions about their preparation, mostly regarding latte's. They do use a burr grinder as opposed to a blade grinder, so at least they have that going for them. As one would expect, corporate Starbucks has specific procedures for how they make their drinks. For instance, they told me that the syrup (for latte's et al.) goes in first, then the espresso and then the frothed milk.
While there is not necessarily a wrong way to make it, there are always different, if not better ways. I prefer to steam the syrup and milk together and pour that into the espresso for a more thorough tasting latte. With the Starbucks method, most of your syrup ends up on the bottom and stays there causing you to get an uneven taste and by the end of your drink you get the syrup influx which has been waiting at the bottom for you.
As I remarked earlier, I don't want to use the Black Cat coffee (or any other high quality coffee) in my home latte's. I bought a bag, this morning, of Starbucks "Medium Kenya" arabica coffee for use in them. It says "juicy & complex" on the bag and has a nice sweet smell to it. Hopefully this grind will work better in my machine - I certainly hope so because the cutest girl working at my local Starbucks is the one who made it for me. 😉
This morning I decided to go into Starbucks rather than the drive-thru to get an espresso - not a latte. They use their own (obviously) "Dark French Roast Espresso" coffee. While they also sell "Dark French Roast" coffee which is what I previously bought and doesn't play well with my espresso machine - likely due to the grind, which is probably why they gave it to me "on the house" that day. I never asked why it was free though I should have.
The crema was paper thin on the espresso, yet it tasted very strong and bitter on the tongue and left a not-so welcome aftertaste upon my palate. I'm sure their espresso isn't the best based on the content of this thread from connoisseurs such as Shrink and Scepticalscribe, however my appraisal of the Starbucks espresso is graded on a curve due to my lack of real espresso taste. Meaning, I don't have a good baseline of proper espresso to grade against other than my own which should be ruled out entirely. Ruled out because how am I to know if I am truly doing it correctly.
I did ask them several questions about their preparation, mostly regarding latte's. They do use a burr grinder as opposed to a blade grinder, so at least they have that going for them. As one would expect, corporate Starbucks has specific procedures for how they make their drinks. For instance, they told me that the syrup (for latte's et al.) goes in first, then the espresso and then the frothed milk.
While there is not necessarily a wrong way to make it, there are always different, if not better ways. I prefer to steam the syrup and milk together and pour that into the espresso for a more thorough tasting latte. With the Starbucks method, most of your syrup ends up on the bottom and stays there causing you to get an uneven taste and by the end of your drink you get the syrup influx which has been waiting at the bottom for you.
As I remarked earlier, I don't want to use the Black Cat coffee (or any other high quality coffee) in my home latte's. I bought a bag, this morning, of Starbucks "Medium Kenya" arabica coffee for use in them. It says "juicy & complex" on the bag and has a nice sweet smell to it. Hopefully this grind will work better in my machine - I certainly hope so because the cutest girl working at my local Starbucks is the one who made it for me. 😉
Shrink
macrumors G3
Hey, you're getting your Black Cat coffee today! Great news, I'm sure you'll give us you're impressions when you have had a chance to taste it.
As for Starbucks espresso goes, your impressions are the same as mine... a thin, flat, bitter, taste with no complexity or depth, and a thin mouth feel. They over roast their beans, producing little, tiny charcoal briquettes.
Even Starbucks knows that one cannot produce an espresso grind with a chopper, and use burr grinders. I don't think, in fact I'm sure, that you will never find a commercial coffee producer, or coffee shop, that uses anything other then a burr grinder for espresso grind. While there are many who are satisfied with a chopper for drip or press grind...it cannot be used for espresso. While the lack of particle size uniformity is not a big issue with press, and can be used with drip, the lack of uniformity makes it unusable for espresso grind, which requires the least variability in particle size if a decent tamp is to be done to produce a decent puck. The large differences in the size of the particles produced by the chopper does not allow a decent tamp, and creates channels, producing under extracted espresso.
There are those who suggest that using a pulse method of using the chopper (as opposed to continuous grinding) addresses the heat problem. While pulsing may reduce the heat some, there is no way to eliminate the excessive heat of the chopper. In a burr grinder, each bean is hit ONCE by the burrs, and the particles drop into the collection bin. With a chopper, the same beans are hit thousands and thousands of times by the blades...producing excessive heat even if the blades are pulsed.
Enjoy your new coffee!!😀
Starbucks always have top of the line equipment. This goes to show its not always what you've got, but how you use it!
Shrink
macrumors G3
And, might I add, that the best equipment in the world can't make up for bad (over roasted) beans...GIGO!😀
I think this is actually starbucks number 1 problem. Ive heard that they buy good coffee so if they just turned down the roaster from 1000c they would be so much better.
However I suppose when people are ordering chocomochalattecappas with extras syrup, cream and chocolate sprinkles, you need charcoal in the cup to be able to even recognise it as coffee.