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Espresso Enthusiasts
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If they had any stock.... it's all gone already! I just looked.
It hasn't been 'in stock' yet, unless it all sold out in the course of 5 min.
I've been checking regularly since yesterday.
It isn't quite clear to me when they post inventory...
It hasn't been 'in stock' yet, unless it all sold out in the course of 5 min.
I've been checking regularly since yesterday.
It isn't quite clear to me when they post inventory...
I know when I bought it in November, I received the email alert and got my order placed within a few minutes and by the end of the hour they were in sold out status.
It hasn't been 'in stock' yet, unless it all sold out in the course of 5 min.
I've been checking regularly since yesterday.
It isn't quite clear to me when they post inventory...
I think what's showing now on the site was the last roast...it shows a 1/21/14 roast date.
I don't think they have put today's roast up yet.
I feel like I should recount my coffee experiences in this thread:
I've only really just started drinking coffee - a cappuccino after breakfast in the morning, and then usually one in the afternoon. We have a Jura Ena 5, which apparently makes great coffee (though I'm not one to really know...!). It does taste nice, and even better with one sugar (is that even allowed, or is it frowned upon by some celestial coffee divinity? )
Though I have to put it in the microwave as I never find it's hot enough...
(Am I a philistine? )
I've only really just started drinking coffee - a cappuccino after breakfast in the morning, and then usually one in the afternoon. We have a Jura Ena 5, which apparently makes great coffee (though I'm not one to really know...!). It does taste nice, and even better with one sugar (is that even allowed, or is it frowned upon by some celestial coffee divinity?
)Though I have to put it in the microwave as I never find it's hot enough...
(Am I a philistine?
)
Well I have alerts set up too, plus I'll be keeping a watchful eye. I have to admit that I was extremely pleased with my last batch, so I'm very well committed to buying some more.
I suspect that they'll post inventory post roasting, perhaps even post resting, so I suppose it could be a day or two before we get to order.
Much agreed. I was very happy with the Liquid Amber I received. I do want to try their Monkey blend or whatever its called that Shrink gets.
I feel like I should recount my coffee experiences in this thread:
I've only really just started drinking coffee - a cappuccino after breakfast in the morning, and then usually one in the afternoon. We have a Jura Ena 5, which apparently makes great coffee (though I'm not one to really know...!). It does taste nice, and even better with one sugar (is that even allowed, or is it frowned upon by some celestial coffee divinity?
Though I have to put it in the microwave as I never find it's hot enough...
(Am I a philistine?
WELCOME!
My mantra is...if you like it, it's fine.
I do wonder why you would have to microwave coffee fresh out of the machine. Unless it has been sitting for quite a while, it should be really hot directly after extraction. If it's not hot, there might be something wrong with the machine. It should be served within seconds after extraction.
Also a suggestion...if you are not already doing it, be sure to heat the cup with the hottest water you can get...out of the machine prior to extraction is usually best. Not good to put any hot drink, but especially espresso, in a cold cup. The cup leaches the heat out of the coffee, and as coffee cools there is a chemical change which alters the taste of the coffee...not for the better.
WELCOME!
My mantra is...if you like it, it's fine.
I do wonder why you would have to microwave coffee fresh out of the machine. Unless it has been sitting for quite a while, it should be really hot directly after extraction. If it's not hot, there might be something wrong with the machine. It should be served within seconds after extraction.
Also a suggestion...if you are not already doing it, be sure to heat the cup with the hottest water you can get...out of the machine prior to extraction is usually best. Not good to put any hot drink, but especially espresso, in a cold cup. The cup leaches the heat out of the coffee, and as coffee cools there is a chemical change which alters the taste of the coffee...not for the better.
Thanks for the tips.
Apparently, according to everyone else the coffee is perfectly hot enough and I'm the only one who heats it more. Must just be me...
I do wonder whether and limescale could have an effect on the rate of heating though. It is descaled often, but we live in an area of very hard water. If I remember correctly from chemistry, apparently something like 0.5mm of calcium carbonate can decrease heat transfer by about 15%.
Although saying that, I still just think it's my weird perception of temperature
I'm probably going far too deep into this...I do warm the mugs with boiling water from the kettle to heat them though.
Thanks for the tips.
Apparently, according to everyone else the coffee is perfectly hot enough and I'm the only one who heats it more. Must just be me...
I do wonder whether and limescale could have an effect on the rate of heating though. It is descaled often, but we live in an area of very hard water. If I remember correctly from chemistry, apparently something like 0.5mm of calcium carbonate can decrease heat transfer by about 15%.
Although saying that, I still just think it's my weird perception of temperature
I do warm the mugs with boiling water from the kettle to heat them though.
You're right about "limescale" having an effect on heating element. It builds up on the heating element and acts as an insulator. However, if it's descaled often (how often is often?) it really should not be a problem. I'm assuming that the machine doesn't have a replaceable water softener cartridge. If it does, it must be cleaned and charged regularly, and changed regularly.
It is also possible that if you make drinks with milk (cappuccino, latte, etc) the milk is not being warmed enough during frothing and cools the coffee. I remember reading some reviews of your machine suggesting that the milk is not hot enough.
But the real reason that the coffee is not hot enough...I hate to tell you this...it's putting the sugar in it. The coffee is punishing you for that sugar!
You're right about "limescale" having an effect on heating element. It builds up on the heating element and acts as an insulator. However, if it's descaled often (how often is often?) it really should not be a problem. I'm assuming that the machine doesn't have a replaceable water softener cartridge. If it does, it must be cleaned and charged regularly, and changed regularly.
It is also possible that if you make drinks with milk (cappuccino, latte, etc) the milk is not being warmed enough during frothing and cools the coffee. I remember reading some reviews of your machine suggesting that the milk is not hot enough.
But the real reason that the coffee is not hot enough...I hate to tell you this...it's putting the sugar in it. The coffee is punishing you for that sugar!
I can see the truth, and the truth is... Bitter!
Actually, it is probably the milk. My family drink theirs mostly black - I'm the only one who has milk. That would make more sense.
To be quite honest, I don't know how often it's descaled as (luckily) it's not mine to look after (read: it's too expensive for me to touch in case I break anything...) I know it is descaled fairly frequently though, and I don't really think it build up enough to affect the coffee as everyone else says it's fine.
I can see the truth, and the truth is... Bitter!
Actually, it is probably the milk. My family drink theirs mostly black - I'm the only one who has milk. That would make more sense.
To be quite honest, I don't know how often it's descaled as (luckily) it's not mine to look after (read: it's too expensive for me to touch in case I break anything...) I know it is descaled fairly frequently though, and I don't really think it build up enough to affect the coffee as everyone else says it's fine.
I think we've hit the answer...it's the milk that is not hot enough. I don't know much about super automatic machines, but my guess is that there isn't much you can do about the temperature of the milk.
While there are a lot of folks who don't enjoy espresso straight, I wonder if it is just a matter of your taste, or that combined with the beans/blend and roast that you use. I don't know what kind of beans you use, the roast, how long they are stored, and the like... which can effect the taste of the coffee. Some bean/blends, when either stale or roasted inappropriately for that particular bean/blend that will cause it to taste bitter. Generally properly roasted, fresh beans shouldn't be bitter. They may taste unpleasant to you and using some sugar takes care of that problem...but just wondering if the coffee is bitter for other reasons than just your taste.
Having said all that...put in your sugar and enjoy your drink!
LOL!
Always have faith that aliens know their coffee!
All three of my arms are raised above both my heads in praise!
Welcome!
My mantra is similar, but different: it you like it, but it's not mine, it's crap.
(But, seriously, welcome.)
++++++++++++++
Coffee futures prices. Time to panic, friends.
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deserves what he got......
My mantra is similar, but different: it you like it, but it's not mine, it's crap.
(But, seriously, welcome.)
++++++++++++++
Coffee futures prices. Time to panic, friends.
----------
deserves what he got......
SM has their roasted coffee up right now.
Looks like the espresso is sold out.
----------
deserves what he got......
SM has their roasted coffee up right now.
Looks like the espresso is sold out.
The other two might be OK for drip or pour over...they are medium roast (City and City+)... if you like a medium roast for drip.
Last edited by a moderator:
SM has their roasted coffee up right now.
Looks like the espresso is sold out.
Bummer. I was signed up for email updates too and never received one.
Oh, yes, I do, and I bought a pound of each.
The Guatemalan beans I bought from them last time were City+ and made for many fine pour over cups.I'll have lots of coffee to drink in the next few weeks!
Oh, yes, I do, and I bought a pound of each.
I'll have lots of coffee to drink in the next few weeks!
We'll be watching you...
Dear friends: I come seeking advice on an important (to me, and to at least one other living thing, my dog) subject: my soul.
The context is "good coffee at work." Take as a given that drinking what they call "coffee" provided by my employer is not an option. Nor is drinking anything from the so-called "coffee bar" provided, again, by my employer, with its push button know nothings and stale everything.
For a couple of years, my savior has been my beloved aeropress (which replaced my bring-from-home thermos). With a handy Porlex hand grinder, filtered water provided freely by my employer and microwaved to the correct temperature, coffee roasted by yours truly, and my aeropress, I can whip up a nice tasty cup in 30 seconds, clean up included. Wonderful.
But, here's the issue: espresso it aint. Sometimes that's ok (my overall consumption remains about 2/3 espresso and 1/3 some form of drip, including my 7:00 pm cup which is always some odd roast I picked up somewhere and using any one of about a dozen brewers I have laying around, purchased only after swearing to Mrs. Kurwenal that "this is it!" I believe all y'all have the same issue, only not involving Mrs. Kurwenal).
But, sometimes it is not ok that is it not espresso, and it is those times that threaten my soul.
For about 6 months, I have been researching options, and there are many. But, nothing perfect that satisfies all of my needs/wants:
So, I have a spreadsheet somewhere that meticulously examines the options, none of which has ever scored high enough to cause me to buy. Plus, you know, that little aeropress makes really, really good coffee, and meets pretty much every standard listed above.
And, then. Yes, then.
A 14.5 hour flight, a 1 hour cab ride that I could write a book about, followed by arrival at the hotel and the stark realization that I have but 6 hours to get myself faked up enough for my first meeting (an important one, actually). Now, my normal practice when I travel (which is a weekly event in my job) is to wander and use the wandering, and hopefully getting lost, to find new coffee experiences and the friends that come with them. I have wandered and gotten lost in a very large number of cities. But, this night (or, actually, morning), I just did not have the wanderlust in me. So, gasp, shock, horror, I went looking for the room service menu to order up a pot. Well, fate (or the cleaning staff) intervened, with both a sense of humor and irony, by placing said menu in very close proximity to:
This.
Now, friends, before I go on, I want to remind you that I am an admitted coffee snob, who sorts the just-roasted beans and tosses out on average the one out of three that does not please me with its appearance. Please remember that as you read the next sentence.
It was ok. Not super, not stupendous, not wonderful, but it was ok. And, ok is ok sometimes. I have no doubt that I was drinking stale crap, but, it was ok stale crap. My hand was shaking (I believe) as I took the pod from the container, slipped it into the little slot, and pushed the one button necessary to produce, well, something, and to perhaps end my mortal existence. With every inch, as the pod in my fingers moved closer to this infernal beast, the living manifestation of everything I abhor, I felt my soul slowly dripping away.
And here comes the part that fills what is left of my soul with bitter, stale terror: was it really ok? Or was it the plane flight and cab ride, the dehydration, the annoyance with yet-another-trip, the lines, the newbies who take 15 minutes to get through security? Or, have I truly lost my soul.
That day, after the meetings, when I typically would have gone wandering, I didn't. Instead, many times through the day, I thought about this. Was it really ok? I had to go back and try it. So, passing up the chance to wander in a lovely city, I sat in the room, like some loser who has lost his soul, only I didn't watch pay-per-view, I drank this. Over and over. I tried every "pod" in the rather expansive in-room kit. And it was ok. Not great, but ok.
And, now, here, at the end, you appreciate my quandary and my slowly dissolving soul. This, which I will not even name in my post, fairly meets pretty much every standard on my list, above.
No, I have not clicked yet. To some degree, I am being saved by my ongoing trip, and an even longer trip looming next week. But, am I my namesake, truly Kurwenal, doomed by a witch's potion ("verflucht sei, furchtbarer Trank") to watch everything he cares about destroyed? Have I come, finally, to my own sort of Isolde's Liebestod? What to do?
to drown,
to founder
unconscious
utmost joy!
+++++++++++++
Or, to say the same thing in just a few words: how do y'all make espresso at work? Or do you just go with a righteous brew?
The context is "good coffee at work." Take as a given that drinking what they call "coffee" provided by my employer is not an option. Nor is drinking anything from the so-called "coffee bar" provided, again, by my employer, with its push button know nothings and stale everything.
For a couple of years, my savior has been my beloved aeropress (which replaced my bring-from-home thermos). With a handy Porlex hand grinder, filtered water provided freely by my employer and microwaved to the correct temperature, coffee roasted by yours truly, and my aeropress, I can whip up a nice tasty cup in 30 seconds, clean up included. Wonderful.
But, here's the issue: espresso it aint. Sometimes that's ok (my overall consumption remains about 2/3 espresso and 1/3 some form of drip, including my 7:00 pm cup which is always some odd roast I picked up somewhere and using any one of about a dozen brewers I have laying around, purchased only after swearing to Mrs. Kurwenal that "this is it!" I believe all y'all have the same issue, only not involving Mrs. Kurwenal).
But, sometimes it is not ok that is it not espresso, and it is those times that threaten my soul.
For about 6 months, I have been researching options, and there are many. But, nothing perfect that satisfies all of my needs/wants:
- small and unobtrusive, and can fit in an average desk drawer.
- quiet (I work in one of the tech industry's infamous "open environments," with even the hand grinder at times pushing the limit of tolerance by my colleagues, forcing me, at times, to grind at home and then brew 3 or 4 hour old beans, ouch).
- did I mention quiet?
- no plumbing available, of course, although filtered water is a ready walk away
- unassuming, not something that will draw a lot of attention. I would love to just plop a Rocket down on my desk with a sign that says "deal with it," but they won't deal with it.
- the added complication that I have, actually, two offices, and they are 800 miles apart, so I need to duplicate whatever I come up with (which is easily done with the aeropress).
- it has to make real espresso; I'm not expecting anything as good as what I enjoy at home, and that's fine. But, it can't be crap (and there is a lot of crap out there).
- it has to be both regular and decaf friendly, as I steadily increase my intake of decaf over the next few years at the behest of my medical staff, aka she-who-must-be-obeyed, aka Mrs. Kurwenal.
- easy, hassle free clean up, i.e., just rinse and repeat sort of thing.
- a quick brew is a huge plus.
- steam running all over is best avoided.
So, I have a spreadsheet somewhere that meticulously examines the options, none of which has ever scored high enough to cause me to buy. Plus, you know, that little aeropress makes really, really good coffee, and meets pretty much every standard listed above.
And, then. Yes, then.
A 14.5 hour flight, a 1 hour cab ride that I could write a book about, followed by arrival at the hotel and the stark realization that I have but 6 hours to get myself faked up enough for my first meeting (an important one, actually). Now, my normal practice when I travel (which is a weekly event in my job) is to wander and use the wandering, and hopefully getting lost, to find new coffee experiences and the friends that come with them. I have wandered and gotten lost in a very large number of cities. But, this night (or, actually, morning), I just did not have the wanderlust in me. So, gasp, shock, horror, I went looking for the room service menu to order up a pot. Well, fate (or the cleaning staff) intervened, with both a sense of humor and irony, by placing said menu in very close proximity to:
This.
Now, friends, before I go on, I want to remind you that I am an admitted coffee snob, who sorts the just-roasted beans and tosses out on average the one out of three that does not please me with its appearance. Please remember that as you read the next sentence.
It was ok. Not super, not stupendous, not wonderful, but it was ok. And, ok is ok sometimes. I have no doubt that I was drinking stale crap, but, it was ok stale crap. My hand was shaking (I believe) as I took the pod from the container, slipped it into the little slot, and pushed the one button necessary to produce, well, something, and to perhaps end my mortal existence. With every inch, as the pod in my fingers moved closer to this infernal beast, the living manifestation of everything I abhor, I felt my soul slowly dripping away.
And here comes the part that fills what is left of my soul with bitter, stale terror: was it really ok? Or was it the plane flight and cab ride, the dehydration, the annoyance with yet-another-trip, the lines, the newbies who take 15 minutes to get through security? Or, have I truly lost my soul.
That day, after the meetings, when I typically would have gone wandering, I didn't. Instead, many times through the day, I thought about this. Was it really ok? I had to go back and try it. So, passing up the chance to wander in a lovely city, I sat in the room, like some loser who has lost his soul, only I didn't watch pay-per-view, I drank this. Over and over. I tried every "pod" in the rather expansive in-room kit. And it was ok. Not great, but ok.
And, now, here, at the end, you appreciate my quandary and my slowly dissolving soul. This, which I will not even name in my post, fairly meets pretty much every standard on my list, above.
No, I have not clicked yet. To some degree, I am being saved by my ongoing trip, and an even longer trip looming next week. But, am I my namesake, truly Kurwenal, doomed by a witch's potion ("verflucht sei, furchtbarer Trank") to watch everything he cares about destroyed? Have I come, finally, to my own sort of Isolde's Liebestod? What to do?
to drown,
to founder
unconscious
utmost joy!
+++++++++++++
Or, to say the same thing in just a few words: how do y'all make espresso at work? Or do you just go with a righteous brew?
Well, I use a press and hand grinder at work, and I'm absolutely satisfied.
I actually lived off of that, as a graduate student. I, too, found it okay, but honestly it was free so that may have clouded judgement. Desperate time and all...
Frankly, I far prefer my setup now to that, even if it were free now. But I drink far more drip and press than espresso (must go to a bar for a shot).
I suppose if you find the espresso coming from that is, indeed, preferable to a higher quality press, then you should go for it and
What a story! Fascinating, indeed.
I'm sorry I can't aid you in your soul quenching search for the machine to fulfill your needs. But, to answer your question here at the end, while at work or away from home, I just suffer and avoid all forms of "coffee" in which I had no hand in its preparation. I stick to water or iced tea (no lemon).
"That" is what I have to drink at work-either that or an older machine that makes "cough-e" akin to vending machine brew bought at a bus stop.
Is there no decent espresso bar near your work? What is wrong with sticking with an aeropress (which is what I am thinking of doing as I have one at home). Much easier than a machine and you can have espresso at home or when going out.
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Very good. I for one welcome our alien barista overlords.
Is there no decent espresso bar near your work? What is wrong with sticking with an aeropress (which is what I am thinking of doing as I have one at home). Much easier than a machine and you can have espresso at home or when going out.
----------
Very good. I for one welcome our alien barista overlords.