Coffee Appreciation

At Alchemy recently I was told that one should stir an espresso to bring out the best flavour.

Thoughts on this?

split your pour. You should always bloom your coffee.

Alchemy also say that with the AeroPress there's "no need to bloom here."
Confused, but will try splitting the pour anyway. All good fun.

At home with my caravel lever machine the bottom is a thick syrupy radness while the top is a little thinner. A stir evens things out and makes for a balanced good shot.

With commercial pump machines (and probably commercial levers too, I am assuming) I think there is less of this. I have been happy with maybe a swirl or two.

Alchemy also say that with the AeroPress there's "no need to bloom here."
Confused, but will try splitting the pour anyway. All good fun.

From what I understand, the reason to bloom pourovers is because when they first contact water, the coffee grounds expel a lot of CO2. This prevents the water from contacting the grounds some and leads to incomplete extraction (also most find what gets extracted under these conditions less tasty [kind of minerally or chalky]).

I can imagine that with brewers like aeropress or cafetiere or clever dripper this is less of an issue because the water hangs out with the grounds for a longer period of time than with a v60-type of pourover.

I am pretty sure about the first part, this second part is just my guess.

Edit: the above applies only to freshly roasted beans. Stale beans don't really release enough CO2 for it to be a problem.

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From what I understand, the reason to bloom pourovers is because when they first contact water, the coffee grounds expel a lot of CO2. This prevents the water from contacting the grounds some and leads to incomplete extraction (also most find what gets extracted under these conditions less tasty [kind of minerally or chalky]).

I can imagine that with brewers like aeropress or cafetiere or clever dripper this is less of an issue because the water hangs out with the grounds for a longer period of time than with a v60-type of pourover.

I am pretty sure about the first part, this second part is just my guess.

Edit: the above applies only to freshly roasted beans. Stale beans don't really release enough CO2 for it to be a problem.

First and foremost the best reason to bloom is just to get your nose in the filter cone / aeropress and get a snout full of delicious aromas!

solid point. Something about watching the bloom happen is cool too.

Bought some of that Vietnamese stuff off Broadway Market = yum

Do you think it tastes different or is it more for the pleasure of it?

With coffee and food (and wine for that matter) I do not feel like double blind tests matter. There is a full experience that is subjective that you can have. Part of that is the ritual and sensory experiences, in coffee, of making the coffee itself.

I just wonder if you notice a taste difference between a bloom and a non bloom in a cafetiere. I don't have one nor do I have any immersion brewer so I can't experiment.

This?

Gaggia Classic RI8161 Coffee Machine with Professional Filter Holder - Stainless Steel Body: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home

I can vouch for that one. I found it used with a pro grade grinder for £10 at a flea market. A real bargain for such a workhorse, it's a basic no-bullshit machine in nice stainless steel that does a great espresso.

Anyone done any roasting themselves? I'm tempted to try it with a heatgun and and a colander

no one?

My cousin used a popcorn maker.
Tasted like shit.
No Civet in sight.

I had a dream last night that my Porlex was alive, had a sad little robot face and I had no idea how to work it.

hahahaha

Got up to make coffee this morning - go through the routine, first shot for the gf pulled fine, halfway through grinding second one I hear that "running on empty" air grind and realise we're out of beans. I'll just have a watery piece of shit coffee then... Bad choice.

:(

Always make your own first...

Her need was greater than mine. She will be working at home all day and my studio is a 3 minute walk from Climpsons

1 shot for the whole day ?! DTM!

...

...

;)

Normally either 2 or 3. Feel groggy after track last night and have a conference call scheduled to start at 7.30pm so looks like its going to be a '3 day'

I'm in the market for a new machine. Thinking about getting a Gaggia Classic, again. I'd still love a Silvia but can't really justify the price difference and the amount of use this machine will get.
Arredatutto.com will send one my way for £151 and the last ones I've bought have served me well enough to buy again (one was a present for my dad) and the other one I passed on 6 months ago. How big is the difference with the new versions compared to the older ones? Boiler issues seem to be the most regular complaint from what I've seen so far.
Any other suggestions are most welcome, I have not looked at this thread or coffeegeeks for over 2 years.
Thanks.

Quick question: Is the Hario V60 much better than standard filter cones?

^ yes

Why?

Why not? Fun thing to try

And, as we're moving to the sticks it'll be hard to get decent beans that are freshly roasted, so the ability to get green beans and roast myself would make life better.

• I'd get to buy a heat gun.