Coffee Appreciation

I will pop in next time I’m in town. Thanks for he advice!

One more thing, is there a forum recommended temperature controlled kettle?

There’s the Bosch Styline one for about £60 which is very good.

Terrible name.

Nice- will give that a go.

I normally boil my kettle, then pour it into a pouring kettle. Will the temperature reduce enough enough if I boil my normal kettle and pour it into the pouring kettle?

Gotta say after getting through between 600g-1kg a week since Christmas I feel a bit like Slurms Mackenzie on the inside.

Technivorm is wonderful but it just ploughs through coffee and I swear I'm drinking less than I was before, just more coffee per brew if I follow the instructions. Think maybe it's just a con to increase bean sales. Clever bastards.

@StevePeel if I wanted you to grind specifically for a technivorm it is there a function to add a note on the order page? Then I could use your grind on the first bag as a reference with my Wilfa for subsequent bags?

@CYOA which Technivorm have you got? After sticking loyally to my french press at home for so many years I am beginning to consider one.

https://www.theespressoshop.co.uk/en/Moccamaster-KBGT-741-Thermos-Polished-Silver---240V---79322/m-3703.aspx

It's brilliant and so easy to use. But I feel I am getting through much more ground coffee than I used to with my lovely metal 1.2l french press.

I used to use probably around 40g per litre and leave a little longer. Now, as directed, I use 75g to fill up the technivorm (1.2l) or 60g per litre. It's very tasty but I wonder if there's a more efficient grind or something to use slightly less but on a finer grind or something? I'd probably need to experiment but I don't like experimenting with 9-12£ a packet beans : )

Do you drink 1.2 litres of coffee a day?

Yes.

For perspective that's about 3.5 cups over the course of a day. One first thing, one late morning plus a top-up, then one in the afternoon.

Your cups are about 13.5 oz?

Yes there is a box at the checkout for special instructions. I’ll make sure to grind for your Technivorm.

The shop recipe for manual pour over is 18g/250ml so 72g/l - I find the Technivorm very efficient in terms of extraction at 60g/l possibly down to the restricted draw-through giving a little less turbulence resulting in more smooth richness. Using a quarter of a box every brew is a bit graphic though, I’ll admit.

Placed my first YB order on the way home tonight. Looking forward to trying some after so many rave reviews.

No, about 12.3 oz (350ml). Maybe I'll pour lightly less - about 12oz. And then there might be some left in the pot as it's a hassle to pour the last drops past the lip unless I unscrew the 'brew-thru' lid.

I would be very happy to use less! Their instructions say 60g/l which is my usual dose though if I'm making a cup for someone else I'll do 75g/1.2l. I remember reading in their literature that it's most efficient when brewing 1l or more and that brewing a single cup with it is a bit of a lost cause. Like I said, just a scam between them and the producers to get me to drink more.

Can I abuse your time some more and ask what you mean by restricted draw/turbulence etc?

As opposed to a V60 or a Kalita the Technivorm only has a pinhole exit so for a given grind size you will get a longer contact time with the Technivorm. Think French press - you get a richer smoother brew at the expense of a little clarity and detail. With a V60 the water is more free to run through the coffee which increases extraction (that’s the turbulence) which gives that characteristic delicate, lighter bodied detailed brew.

It’s the combo of dose, grind, temp and turbulence. With the Technivorm the temp and turbulence are out of your control (this is a positive thing) so just adjust the dose until you like it - keep reducing it until it tastes pissy then back up a touch and grind finer until it starts tasting astringent, then you you’ll have found your minimum dose.

What about it?

Toying with moving there on a whim. Literally never been but can get some amazing looking houses for the cost of our tiny place in Brighton and we were thinking of moving somewhere on the coast between Exeter and Falmouth. Plymouth fits that bill.

But the question here was more along the lines of "Are there are viable coffee shops there?"

(See also food 'scene', culture-y stuff in general, good cycling nearby, decent transport links, where's the shit areas to avoid etc etc) But just knowing if there's a decent coffee shop would be a start.

That's great and sums up in 2 paras what I've been trying to figure out for 2 months. Thanks Steve

No dramas, there are people here who will be able to put it much more succinctly and find out my inaccuracies.

Glad of the distraction while I nurse this bloody flu. It’s rotten. (Don’t worry I’m not in work nobody’s getting influenza in the post )

Just finely milled brown powder.

There’s a decent café-cum-bike shop right on the harbour (Rockets and Rascals) and their coffee looked pretty serious when I popped in (although I didn’t try it). There are also a bunch of third-wavey looking cafes about the place, and Boston Tea Party is pretty good also.

I actually went and looked round Plymouth in the summer with a view to potentially moving there - agree re the houses. Although it’s never going to top London/Brightonetc there are a few decent places to eat out, including a nice looking ramen joint and a Japanese cafe down by the port.
I think what struck us most (having lived in London for 6 years) was how chilled and cheap it was, and how nice to be surrounded by amazing sea and countryside. Feel free to PM me if you want more of a downlow.

@CYOA I’m from Plymouth and go back about twice a year. Feel free to message me, too. A friend of a friend is Josh Greet, who lived and rode there so is probably ‘on here’ and could help.
I now live in London, if that puts any perspective on it. There is excellent riding and good coffee there though if those are your main concerns.

Riding and coffee is a strong start : )
That you moved away from Plymouth is less concerning to me because you're from there in the first place and London is a lure for all sorts of reasons. If you'd moved to say, Peacehaven, I'd have been more worried.
Got a long weekend booked next month so we'll see how we get on.

I bought a car from peacehaven. It was red, supercharged, and quite fast. The guy I bought it off replaced it with a Ford Focus. I feel like peacehaven must have had some effect on him.

Ha!

I want a new car :(

If you'd moved to say, Pisshaven, I'd have been more worried.

Uhhh... I lived there for a year. Fucking ghastly place.

The only redeeming feature was that the bike commute to Brighton along the seafront path below the cliffs was great in good weather.