Coffee Appreciation

Also standard inverted aeropress.

Visited Full Court Press & Playground Coffee in Bristol today, very different environments but ace coffee in both.

Clever Dripper Burundi at fcp, v.clean brew.

African Blend (Kenya & Ethiopia) Espresso at Playground.

Recommend both to anyone visiting Bristol.

Spro or filter?

Glad we did you right, the Muruta from Nude is pretty good eh!

Sainsbury's Fairtrade Espresso.

Bold 'tyre fire' notes followed by hints of paracetamol.

Keep it simple.
stirring is good, it helps even out extraction, but the more you stir the harder it is to repeat consistently.

I like a 2 minute brew, 15-17g coffee for 240ml water.

Add half the water, leave for 45secs.
Add the second half of the water, this will store for you

Add cap, flip at 2mins and plunge slowly for 30-45secs.

Much plunge pressure, many agitation and therefore extraction.
Plunge smooth to keep a smooth flow of water.

Stop before the hiss, removes some astringency from the finish

Really enjoyed it yes. Felt a bit wired after next stop at Playground. I bought a copy of the coffee guide book too, dibs a matching beer one when it's published.

Incase you were there today (guessing so?), it was me who blocked the stairs with a sleeping toddler in buggy... #bloodyparents

Yes! You came back to pay for the postcards, we've turned out to be a bit of a second home for a lot of the lfgss.com lot living in bristol, which is nice.

Yeah, was worried I'd lifted them without realising, Playground charged 50p for theirs! If I was nearby I'd be in for brews / beans regularly. Thought the track pump by door was a good sign...

Oh I'm a kimbo coffee slut at the mo, would like to hear what you have found.

Cheers @matisse and everyone else on their views!

I like inverted, but i have to say I never thought of leaving it inverted for more than a minute,
Office kettle is now on and I have some Mexican beans, More news (and some work) in about 15 minutes...

Waitrose Sumatran today (I was desperate as my Bella Barista stocks ran out yesterday). I knew they didn't look good when I opened the bag: shiny and black. And the taste is unsurprisingly a bit burnt, and has lost all of that characteristic Sumatran earthiness.

espresso only - been looking at a zenith 65E and the Mazzer mini E [yes, the budget has gone uop a bit]

Always does :)

On aeropress technique-
I go for a fine ground, standard 85-90 degree temperature water, and the non-inverted negative pressure technique-
Angle the plunger in, so that there's no pressure when you start, then withdraw a bit to cause the negative suction (like the giant syringe it is). 2mins then pressure slowly past the hiss.

Add two Hula Hoops to black coffee and - hey presto - you get a magnificent owl.

https://twitter.com/junayed_/status/463734150323662848/photo/1

you get an magnificent owl

Dad brought my Grandfather's Cona home yesterday... Looking forward to learning how the hell you use it! Its really old.

The handle on my Porlex ground down to a circle so I've been using a ratchet/socket set on top. Occasionally I need to hammer it back on for a firm fit.

I hammered a bit hard this morning and the bottom half of the grinder (the vessel that collects the ground coffee) has become stuck.

I might try and loosen it but in the meantime I'm taking this as a sign I need to invest in a grinder. I could go down the big electric job but space is at a premium. Small footprint but high quality options?

Vaguely off topic, but where does one source dark choc covered coffee beans?

You used to be able to get them in Whittards? Or make your own! Heh.

How much are you looking to spend?

Few hundred? Depends. If there's something spectacular and perfect then more but otherwise 100-300GN.

Incidentally I managed to get the Porlex open by smacking it against a door frame repeatedly but something long term is clearly called for.

Personally I'd be looking at the Baratza Encore, Virtuoso or Vario depending on how much you want to spend - in terms of the quality of grind anything less than those isn't really going to be any better than the particle distribution (and hence quality of coffee) a Porlex would produce

Ta. Will look 'em up. Though it's worth pointing out that I don't make espresso at home - V60 and French Press with occasional Aeropress. So grind quality comparable to Porlex isn't number one concern.

Concerns are: Not having to hammer bits of metal onto each other so that they fit properly. Not having to spend 10 minutes grinding enough beans to make a flask of coffee. Size of device on work surface. Also pretty.

I don't get the lack of love for the Zassenhaus Turkish grinder.
I've used mine everyday for 10 years and it shows no sign of slippage, no hammering required. It'll grind as fine as (obviously) turkish style and (apparently) up to french press. Mine has stayed in adjustment with no need for Loctite.