Coffee Appreciation

Cool, I'm just tired of all the 3rd wavers trashing Italian style espresso.

it's a matter of personal taste and for me italian espresso tastes like burnt horribleness.

it's a matter of personal taste and for me italian espresso tastes like ashtray.

ftfy

If you are going to pour it over vanilla ice cream, italian espresso all day. For actual drinking, however, it is a total bummer.

I still have a soft spot in my heart for the strong, dark, (pourover) coffee of my youth. With milk even. I have a bag of beans that are like a year or two old and black as night and oily. I make a cup for myself every few months.

These really dark espresso roasts can taste better with sugar added in no? That collona & smalls blog kinda explained that I think.

It's helped me as I was dogmatic about no sugar, but if all I can get is an Italian Espresso then I now happily reach for the brown sugar.

Italian Espresso is typical made with cheap, nasty Robusta for more Crema - the flavour comes second. Also Italians don't fetishise coffee in the same way we do here - it's just a part of every day life. Personally, I like both styles - but I totally disagree with Rayner's article. I like him usually, but it just seems ignorant to lambast the great work that all the third wave stores are doing to help the UK understand that coffees can have personalities. If we treated all food in the way he's insinuating, there would be no progress, change or discovery of new techniques. PLUS its still fucking super easy to find a roasty dark espresso in 98% of coffee shops in the uk.

Heres a much more constructive, interesting article on the matter -

http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2013/04/which-espresso-is-better-italian-third-wave-cafes.html

Discussion accomplished.
I'll do this again next year when it gets too much, thanks all.

I while ago I visited London and got coffee near Broadway market at Climpson and Sons.

The coffee was good and the roast (at that time anyway) was darker than normal. It was good as espresso, but was also good with milk (I don't really like the lighter roasts with milk usually [actually I don't really like espresso and milk together at all under normal circumstances]).

As discussed earlier, those burnt, shitty, italian/restaurant espressos can be modulated with a bit of milk foam or even a little sugar.

As an aside, I say this as an owner of an old italian lever machine and someone who definitely does a modified version of the 'Fellini Move' to make my coffee. That 'move' is based on a barista in the background of a scene in an old Fellini movie.

Some nerdy discussion around that move:
http://www.home-barista.com/levers/fellini-move-in-pictures-t1213.html#wrap

The scene:
http://youtu.be/xuiXwOOkib4?t=1m25s

Note how cavalier and cool he looks while doing it. A mile away from me with my pids and thermometers and adjustments and roasting dates etc. He probably gets laid all of the time for his coffee making skills.

Oh, but by the way, it is a known fact that all coffee in florence is complete burnt dog shit.

There is, potentially, one exception at this new place that opened up but I suspect if you hate 3rd wave coffee places you might not enjoy yourself there http://instagram.com/p/pD_D-8zKZq/

Joey until recently Doktor Pepe was their (climpson & sons) roaster ^^^^^^

Ah, well, as long as 'recently' was until like March, hat tip to Doktor Pepe for some really nice and memorable coffee. I regretted not buying a bag of it for home.

I still have a soft spot in my heart for the strong, dark, (pourover) coffee of my youth. With milk even. I have a bag of beans that are like a year or two old and black as night and oily. I make a cup for myself every few months.

shudders

They've moved to Climpsons Estate at Fig & Sparrow* up here. It's very tasty.

*defo 3rd wave

The Fields is the best thing Climpsons are producing at the moment IMO. Lovely stuff.

Re: that article - I remember that he wrote something similar about Negroni's last year. They are bitter. He didn't like it. Basically he's a fat guy with the palette of a 10 year old child, who has somehow managed to make a career out of criticising food. I don't even think he's a particularly good writer.

shudders

It tastes about the same. Did you not hear the part about it being so darkly roasted that the beans are shiny with oil? Or of me drinking the brew with milk?

Basically he's a fat guy with the palette of a 10 year old child, who has somehow managed to make a career out of criticising food. I don't even think he's a particularly good writer.

his fatter brother is also a staunch proponent of the fuck cyclists brigade too.
http://grumpycycling.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/adam-rayner.html

Adam Rayner you say?

It tastes about the same. Did you not hear the part about it being so darkly roasted that the beans are shiny with oil? Or of me drinking the brew with milk?

Yup. Still.......shudders
:)

Nice little summary of the recipes/techniques from previous Aeropress championships:
What is the best way to brew Aeropress coffee?

nice find

Anyone have an electric burr type (either) grinder going cheap?

Or suggest one that's less than £50 that works, or a hand grinder that doesn't fall apart resulting in face/handle interfacing early in the morning

Porlex JP-30 ?

I don't think the porlex is exactly face/handle interface proof is it?

I think the hario models both have screw on handles. I have actually really liked the wall hanging zassenhaus. Being attached to the wall really makes grinding easier.

Adam Rayner you say?

Fat son of Clare Rayner and ex Max Power writer (BITD)

I know I'm in the minority here, but I agree with this guy.
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jun/08/the-coffee-revolution-jay-rayner?CMP=fb_gu

Which part do you agree with in particuar?

Fuuuu - that last para = CRINGE!!!