Coffee Appreciation

Just easier to deal with whole bean. If you grind the surface area increases dramatically and so you must reduce the steep time.

Have been given some Monmouth espresso beans. Not blown away.

Saw this mentioned on the forum a while back, maybe not in coffee thread tho.

http://growerscup.com/best-coffee/#

Saw a 3bag on sale earlier so gonna give it a whirl. First impressions are that d-bag packaging could easily be tampered with. I've got Brasil 'roasted darker' so half expecting notes of licorice with a strong wet ash tray finish...

I always preferred their single origin coffees. They are generally roasted to the darker side of medium, and often suit espresso well, though I tend to go for Aeropress with quite a short extraction.

you must reduce the steep time.

So what are the steep times between course brew and whole bean? Bearing in mind I've just bought the Iwaki due to your recommendation.

Ok will bear that in mind. This was a gift so appreciate it and will drink it just not what I'd expect from such a big name. Just a bit bland.

I tend to get beans from Notes on Covent garden as its near work and they are the dogs doodahs

The Iwaki is a different matter as it's a dripper. You use grind to use it. In my shop We grind pretty course, cafetiere or slightly coarser.

50g of coffee goes in the filter section

Now place a wetted aeropress or similar filter paper on top.of the coffee, this is not essential but does mean the water is distributed more evenly through the coffee.

Pour 50g of water on to the paper, this acts as a present.

Place the dripper section on top and add another 450g of water. It should drip for 2.5—4 hrs depending on your grind and the coffee.
This makes just over 400ml of concentrate, we dilute 1:1 with filtered water.

As for steep time, there is no set time, just that for grinding it takes less time. The best way is to try the coffee at regular intervals and figure out the time that works best for you.

The roaster from Notes has just left, it will be interesting to see if the quality remains high.

Anyone interested in a Krups GVX2 grinder? Have used it successfully for espresso and cafetiere. Since coffee machine broke we have become lazy and buy ground coffee. £20 or offers. Was £40 new.

I have now moved flats to Stoke Newington and the semi-pro grinder has followed me.

I have a spare Rancilio Rocky Doseur Coffee Grinder .

My brother and I pulled it apart a couple of weeks ago as it was used in a small french café for the last 10 years and had never been cleaned. Took a couple of hours to bring it back to a good clean standard and we just ground 100gr of coffee to check it was all operational.

You can see from the bean hopper colour that it is the older version but all parts are interchangeable with the more recent ones. It would be easy enough to turn it back into a doseurless one for home use.

1. The wall plug has now been changed to a UK one.
   
2. The hopper is missing its lid but you can use the doseur one on it then do the 'home use' mod (remove doseur, add steel portafilter holder).
   
3. The burrs work ok for filter but would need replacing (50mm) for espresso grind. They are about £30 with the 3 fitment screws on each burr.
   
   

Price wise, they tend to go for around £75/£85 on eBay but £50 is a round number.

The grinder is relatively compact:
The base of the grinder is 12cm wide by 24cm long.
The height of the grinder is 34cm

The grinder was also look less 'bulky' if you removed the doseur and replaced it by the portafilter holder and spout.
(spout here: http://www.myespresso.co.uk/product/rancilio-rocky-spout/)

In terms of burrs, they are easy to get hold of - they slightly pricy in the UK than in the US.
http://www.myespresso.co.uk/product/rocky-grinder-burrs/ for £37 + P&P
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331540206409?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT £38 incl P&P and 3 screws (they recommend to get them changed when you replace the burrs)

Fitting is an easy job as I have removed them to clean them myself so you will have no hassle replacing them. It is a straightforward job and there is also a YouTube video if you need visual help.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpI29G5lqnM

Here are some photos:

Thanks for the info. Kudos...

Thanks for this. Much appreciated.

I also have a Porlex Tall Ceramic Grinder going spare as I moved on to a Sage electric grinder.

It has not seen more than 1kg of coffee so it is still in great shape.

Has Bean Coffee sells them for £42, eBay for circa £30 from JP posted but you might get hit by import duties.

Happy with £25 for it.
or
FREE with 2 cases of Non Vintage Champagne Lasseaux & Fils. (2015 IWSC Gold Award - http://www.iwsc.net/search2015/info/2487 )

Hello Vince.

Got a few questions on the Rocky - will drop you a PM.

Ta.

My goal of having a nice cup of coffee in the morning when travelling was scuppered by the hotel not having a kettle, or a mug.

Therefore I need to include a means of heating water, and a vessel to put said water in, so as to be (almost) totally self-reliant. I'll still need electricity, and water, but I've never stayed in a hotel without these.

Having had a look there seems to be a large number of in-cup immersion heater/element type things, although I understand that they are banned in the UK due to risk of fire/burns/horrifying death.

Anyone used one and have an opinion on their utility?

Anything else to consider?

MSR pocket rocket or a jetboil :P

"Well, officer, I put the fuel canister in my clear plastic bag with my toiletries- I thought that was all I had to do? Flammable? Yes, of course- very. Oh, where are we going?"

Although the jetboil does look awesome.

You could cold brew coffee over night for the morning which would negate the need for any kind of heating equipment. Obviously you would be drinking cold coffee in the morning though...

This is a heavily over-designed version of the element-in-a-cup that was popular during my travels around eastern europe.

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Over-designed you say?

Perfect for @Dammit

Not sure I'd want to explain it during a bag check :)

Overdesigned you say?

I'd purchase this right now, if it were available:

Thanks for bringing that to my attention, would be perfect for both of my grandmothers.

Maxwell from Colonna and Small's new book on water and its influence on coffee: http://waterforcoffeebook.com/

proper #coffeenerd stuff