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Scepticalscribe

macrumors Haswell
Jul 29, 2008
65,211
47,602
In a coffee shop.
I started making my own espresso drinks during the pandemic.
I first had a Nespresso pod machine. I used it every morning, but the cappuccinos weren't as good as the ones I could get in a cafe.
So I bought a used Breville machine, which didn't work at all until I bought a Sette 270 grinder. I found local roasters and my coffee got much better, but the milk steaming wasn't great. It was good, but not great.

I went to a local shop, Clive Coffee. They had a big assortment of espresso machines, and I bought the Bezzera Duo. It's in a segment of fairly expensive dual-boiler E61 machines, such as ECM Synchronika, Lelit Bianca, Profitec, and several others. The Bezzera included wood trim and it has a touch screen which lets me program temperatures and wake time, so the machine is pre-heated and ready. It is a plumbable machine, so I don't need to add water or remove the drip tray. Because it has two boilers, the water is always ready for both brewing espresso and steaming milk.

I didn't have room in my kitchen, so I bought a kitchen cabinet at Lowe's for about $125 and a butcher block countertop for another $100. I put these in my breakfast nook and plumbed it. Later, my wife switched to decaf, so I bought a second grinder, the Sette 270w, which weighs the espresso as it grinds it.

Now I have a full-fledged espresso bar in my kitchen, and we love making cappuccinos every morning. My wife and I travel frequently, and we always seek out the best specialty coffee bars wherever we go. Occasionally, we'll find someone who makes better cappuccino than I do, but my drinks are consistently better than Peet's and Starbucks. My favorite coffees are Verve Street Level and George Howell Espresso Blend A.

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Terrific story - thanks for sharing - and gorgeous set-up.

Well wear.
 

Scepticalscribe

macrumors Haswell
Jul 29, 2008
65,211
47,602
In a coffee shop.
Many of us on this thread have discussed how they prepare coffee, and various forms of coffee making equipment, as well as specific coffees that they have ordered, and usually liked.

My own personal preference re coffee tends to be the coffees from Ethiopia, (and I am also partial to coffee from El Salvador, and, perhaps, Colombia).

While I am always open to trying out something new - otherwise, I would never emerge from my personal coffee comfort zone, which lies in Ethiopia - and one always has the pleasure of discovering and encountering something new - there are also coffees that I have sampled and have not much cared for.

These include a few coffees from Guatemala, and, more recently, a coffee from Bolivia, which I must admit I didn't much care for, at all.

In any case, today, I have ordered some coffee.
 
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decafjava

macrumors 603
Feb 7, 2011
5,529
8,049
Geneva
Well, isn't coffee supposed to have originated from Ethiopia? The legend says a goat herder found his herd hopped up after munching on some coffee berries - he tried some and got pretty stimulated himself. When some Christian monks heard about it they thought this a perfect way to stay awake for evening prayers. I suppose they then tried different preparation methods for a drink, Arab traders found out, Ottomans adopted it and spread it to the Middle East and then Balkans and then to the rest of Europe and the world.

So the goat of coffee is an actual 🐐
 

Scepticalscribe

macrumors Haswell
Jul 29, 2008
65,211
47,602
In a coffee shop.
Well, isn't coffee supposed to have originated from Ethiopia? The legend says a goat herder found his herd hopped up after munching on some coffee berries - he tried some and got pretty stimulated himself. When some Christian monks heard about it they thought this a perfect way to stay awake for evening prayers. I suppose they then tried different preparation methods for a drink, Arab traders found out, Ottomans adopted it and spread it to the Middle East and then Balkans and then to the rest of Europe and the world.

So the goat of coffee is an actual 🐐
Yes.

And, I have discovered that I adore really good coffees from Ethiopia, preferably naturally processed Ethiopian coffees, and would very happily drink little else.
 

decafjava

macrumors 603
Feb 7, 2011
5,529
8,049
Geneva
Ha looked it up and I recalled correctly:

History of Coffee

Coffee grown worldwide can trace its heritage back centuries to the ancient coffee forests on the Ethiopian plateau. There, legend says the goat herder Kaldi first discovered the potential of these beloved beans.


The story goes that that Kaldi discovered coffee after he noticed that after eating the berries from a certain tree, his goats became so energetic that they did not want to sleep at night.


Kaldi reported his findings to the abbot of the local monastery, who made a drink with the berries and found that it kept him alert through the long hours of evening prayer. The abbot shared his discovery with the other monks at the monastery, and knowledge of the energizing berries began to spread.


As word moved east and coffee reached the Arabian peninsula, it began a journey which would bring these beans across the globe.
 
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Scepticalscribe

macrumors Haswell
Jul 29, 2008
65,211
47,602
In a coffee shop.
And now, a gloriously steaming mug (Le Creuset) of coffee (a blend of my own devising - of coffee from Colombia and El Salvador served with organic hot milk) sits - on a coaster - beside me.
 

DaveFromCampbelltown

macrumors 68000
Jun 24, 2020
1,788
2,893
On the basis of reading something on the Internet (yes, I know, I know) I came across a SE Asian instant 3in1 coffee, with coffee, creamer and sugar. It's called Trung Nguyen G7 3 in 1 Instant Coffee.

Now this article did suggest that Nescafe Gold was the best general instant coffee, so one can gauge its accuracy from that.

However, it isn't bad. It is actually drinkable.

It's the sort of thing to take with one when travelling and staying in caravan parks.

My wife asked me what it looked like. I said "It's brown".
 

adrianlondon

macrumors 603
Nov 28, 2013
5,547
8,370
Switzerland
The one on the right is the one you see everywhere, and can buy everywhere. The one on the left was given to me (well, a full box of it) by a Vietnamese friend. They're not too different, although the special edition Trung Nguyen one (Vietnam's Starbucks equivalent) has better coffee inside.

Basically, they're a caffeine-infused sweetish drink. It's a perfect pick-me-up and great to have a flask full when on a hike, for example.

IMG_0083.jpeg
 

Macky-Mac

macrumors 68040
May 18, 2004
3,708
2,800
Oh, yum.

They sound wonderful.

Do let me (us) know how the respective Ethiopian and Colombian coffees actually taste.

They have some similar qualities.....both are dry processed and described by the roasters as having flavor notes of sweetly tart fruit and cocoa nib, juicy acidity, with a plush syrupy mouthfeel and a long flavorful finish....and that's indeed what I find them to be.

I've found that the cocoa nib is a little more present in the Ethiopian and the fruit notes are a bit more forward in the Colombian, which has a nice tart strawberry note. The fruit note in for the Ethiopian isn't so readily identifiable for me, but it's sweet and enjoyable.

With hot weather ahead, I'm thinking the more fruit-forward Colombian will be pleasant as a cold coffee
 

Scepticalscribe

macrumors Haswell
Jul 29, 2008
65,211
47,602
In a coffee shop.
Just received a delivery of coffee that I had ordered on Thursday: This comprises coffee from Tanzania, some from Thailand, and some from El Salvador.

As I was almost out - have just now finished up my old coffee - and wasn't quite certain that today's delivery would arrive before next week, earlier this morning, I had treated myself to some well regarded and highly recommended Colombian coffee in a city centre coffee shop to see me through until next week.

Thus, for now, I am amply supplied with coffee.
 

Scepticalscribe

macrumors Haswell
Jul 29, 2008
65,211
47,602
In a coffee shop.
I'm jealous. I just finished a crappy espresso. It was some old coffee I found in the freezer; I ran out of the fresh stuff. I'm waiting on a delivery.
Actually, the coffee from Thailand was part of yesterday's delivery of coffee, thus, it was (is) pretty fresh.

However, it is also a coffee I would recommend (if you like coffee that is smooth and sweet, lovely drinking), unlike the Bolivian coffee I had recently, which I did not care for, at all.
 
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Alameda

macrumors 65816
Jun 22, 2012
1,296
889
I'm jealous. I just finished a crappy espresso. It was some old coffee I found in the freezer; I ran out of the fresh stuff. I'm waiting on a delivery.
I only make espresso from beans roasted between 5 and 21 days ago. Older than that, and it’s pour over. Espresso is very particular.
 
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svenmany

macrumors demi-god
Jun 19, 2011
2,279
1,533
I only make espresso from beans roasted between 5 and 21 days ago. Older than that, and it’s pour over. Espresso is very particular.

Good advice. And, I know that theater in Alameda. My brother lived near there for years.
 

Alameda

macrumors 65816
Jun 22, 2012
1,296
889
I'm not into elitism or any of that nonsense. When I began with espresso, I had a Nespresso machine, and I could definitely tell that it wasn't as good as Starbucks or Peet's, much less the local roasters who served really good cappuccinos.

I watched some YouTube videos, especially Hoons Coffee. Then, I took a class in espresso brewing. I buy coffee that has the roast date stamped on the bag, and use beans between 5 and 21 days of the roast date.

My process goes something like this:
  • Weigh 17 grams of beans.
  • Drop the beans into my grinder and grind them. No beans stay in the grinder.
  • Attach a dosing funnel to my portafilter, pour in the ground coffee, and stir lightly with a WDT tool.
  • Level using my finger or a leveling tool
  • Tamp
  • Attach the portafilter, put the scale underneath that, and put my cup on the scale.
  • Tare the scale and start brewing.
  • Brew for 17 grams X 2, or 34 grams, in 30 seconds.
  • If I get 34 grams in less than 30 seconds, drink it anyway and adjust grinder for a finer grind next time.
  • If I get 34 grams in more than 30 seconds, drink it anyway and adjust grinder for a coarser grind next time
  • While brewing, I steam the milk
This all sounds like a lot, but it takes about two minutes. It's just something I've done every morning for years, and you work out the routine.
 
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