Coffee Appreciation

^thats how i make my coffee at home.

Drip and Aeropress are fine and all, but I need a proper machine now. So which expresso machines in the £200 range should I be looking at?

New Gaggia Classic or 2nd hand something a bit better.

Quite possible the coffeeforums classifieds are hot with sales at the mo as people will have got upgrades from Santa.

eXpresso

Santa bought me a handpresso machine and a Bialetti milk frother. Very impressed.

Funnily enough that is what I have been eyeing up. Thanks @rhb I will have a look on that forum.

This "project" is now in its second year, but I've liberated my parents' old Spong cast iron grinder. Mum enjoyed coffee but passed away many years ago, and dad rarely drinks it.

Last Christmas I dismantled it, washed all the dust and blu-tack out of it (courtesy of my sister dicking about with it as a kid), and left it at my dad's in pieces.

As you can see, one of the tabs to bolt it to a wall has sheared clean off, possibly the result of a drop. I have two questions:

1. Any bright ideas for repairing the snapped-off piece? Apparently welding cast iron is tricky, so maybe just glue?
   
2. Does anyone know how I can stop the light bloom of surface rust in some areas? It's most noticeable in the areas that don't have a black finish. Is there some product I should be using to treat the exposed iron surface like linseed oil?
   

Just made my first v60 brew with my new Brita filter kettle, my old horrible kettle filled with scale and junk having perished.

Dunno if it's a bit of a placebo, but tastes so much better! Much clearer and cleaner taste

I just had a cast iron mantlepiece welded. Not an easy job at all, and risky.

I would see if you can pop rivet a metal bar across the two broken pieces. Alternatively, you could make a new hole for attaching it somewhere, and just araldite the smaller broken piece back on (but don't screw on the smaller piece).

Something oily and food-safe should be fine on the rusty bits.

Yup, that'll be the filtered water and a fresh kettle.

I always knew i should use filterted water but never bothered, makes such a difference. And the inside of my old kettle was a bit like a scene from a horror film...

With kettles I've found that as soon as you've used it, pour out all the excess water, the heat immediately dries things up and there's much less chance of build up.

Interesting...

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/oomphcoffee/the-oomph-better-coffee-on-the-go

(and local to me)

Ok, my understanding is for cheap hand grinder>electric grinder right? Porlex or Hario, for French Press if that makes a difference?

If you're only grinding for filter/press just get a cheapo electric one with variable grind settings. You only need a very fine grind (which you get from hand grinders and more expensive electric grinders) for espresso machines. Grinding by hand doesn't seem that bad at first, but give it a couple of months of doing it 2-3 times a day and you'll be gagging for tea.

Also - dear thread - if you're asking what entry level machine around £200 is worth the money, the answer is always Gaggia classic.

Thanks for he tips :)

Seems like a solution to a problem that isn't there? So it's an aeropress with a built in mug. Great for camping maybe, but seems a bit pointless to me.

Loving my handpresso. Anyone else got one?

problem that isn't there

Aeropress doesn't self regulate flow based on different grind sizes, but we're pretty close to scraping the problem barrel at this point I think!

Beans.

Had some MERAVIGLIOSO from myesprosso. Liked them but wanting to try different things. How do I find some beans. Beyond googling BEANS. Where is a good shop?

Presuming you mean online beans but I've bought from all of these before and not been disappointed. I am currently using SM's Redbrick for espresso and it's very good:

https://www.bellabarista.co.uk/
http://shop.squaremilecoffee.com/
http://jamesgourmetcoffee.com/

Hasbean too

Thanks!

Climpsons & sons also good.

For me, Red brick remains the bench mark for excellent espresso blends. Love that stuff.

I like having a hand grinder because it means I can take it to and from the office easily but as @dan says it is a ballache and often now I find myself getting a bag ground for me.

So depends if it will just live at your home or you'll want to move it about