Coffee Appreciation

Yep, this. 100%

Just had my first brew of home-roasted coffee there, really damn tasty, much better than I was expecting (camping stove hadn't arrived so had to do it on the electric hob so definitely wasn't as consistent as it could be). Hard to guess how much was down to quality of beans, quality of roast (can't see any huge positives there), and the fact that it was chucked straight into a sealed (with valve) bag.

Picking up a small gas stove tomorrow so looking forward to a lot of experiments going forward!

Had my second crack (boom boom) at home roasting there, using a camping stove as opposed to the electric hob. Doubled the batch size but the roasting time tripled. Think even the electric hob is better at heating than the camping stove I picked up. Looking forward to getting a proper gas stove fitted in the kitchen!

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3407497

This one is pretty capable. I’ve had no hob all through lockdown and we’ve been doing all our cooking on it. Bottles of gas are dead cheap on eBay.

Yeah I picked up the own brand Halfords version:

Figured they'll all perform equally considering how similar they are (the Halfords one even comes in the exact same case that Campingaz one does). Got an IR thermometer on order so will have a better idea of what's causing the difference then. It has been a bit of a windy day and I was using the stove outdoors so that could be another factor.

Windscreen will definitely up the heat going to the pot/pan as opposed to the side.

Good to know! Will give it a go in a shielded area outside and see if that makes a big difference.

Alcohol stove builders have all kinds of ingenious and necessary ways of shielding their tiny burners from breezes using everything from alu foil to hinged titanium plates.

I was in Wild Goose bakery today and they will sell it to you by the KG - £20 which is good by me
@ChasnotRobert one for you potentially too

thanks for that - i've popped in there for a coffee a few times but never bought beans from them.

will give that a go.

Taking the grinds out of the cold brew thingie, they still smell real nice.

Anyone done a double dip? ie. Tried a second session of soaking? I've been doing 12hr cold brews but I wonder what the results would be like doing 2 x 6hrs or maybe 1x6hr and then a second brew for longer? (Yes, I'll probably try but you could save me some bother if you can state it's shit off the bat)

The closest I’ve done to that is continuing pulling an espresso into second and third shots into fresh espresso cups. Second one is a slightly weak, bitter espresso. Third one is weaker again and they get progressively more woody tasting. The taste of the water becomes much more noticeable. Essentially, they have different flavour profiles. I’ve done the same with V60 brew and it’s much the same except there’s more of a contrast between the first brew and the second one and the woodiness is more immediately noticeable.

Be interesting to do it with cold brew as it’s an infusion and you’re not washing the flavours out the grounds at different rates.

Damn, I was hoping someone was gonna say "oh, Hoffman did that already and round two tasted like arse". Now I'm going to have to do it.

My wife always has the "second pull" from the Robot (I just let the arms fall on their own after my espresso is made).
SFW

Essentially, I guess you’re tasting the bits that make the difference between ristretto, espresso and lungo.

Does anyone have any good websites recommendations for frothing milk ?

Have gone from a Gaggia Classic to a Lelit Mara and while the espresso is great, the steam is so much more powerful that we just end up with really hot milk.

Check youtube. It's just practice. I had the same thing going from modded-Gaggia wand to a commercial group with a big 4-hole wand.

Random google: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svHfsziIkW4

Thanks will have a trawl,

Does size of milk jug make a difference ? Because the steam is so much more powerful its getting pushed over the top.

Or is that technique ?

I do have a bigger jug but we use the same, smaller jug for 1 and 2 cups of latte/cappucino. I THINK it's 600ml but that could be the bigger one. Let me have a look.

I'd suggest the smallest you can get away with, you should be starting with about half your jug full of milk in my experience. Definitely don't want too big a pitcher otherwise the milk won't be deep enough to swirl around properly. Think mine is 360ml

Edit: That being said, if you're having trouble getting to grips with good technique, you want as much time as possible to work the milk. That comes down to temperature and volume, steaming a bigger volume of colder milk will give you much more time to react.

Ok, so one of the jugs is 20oz, from Happy Donkey:
https://www.home-barista.com/tips/how-to-choose-right-size-shape-frothing-pitcher-t10060-10.html

The other one is 1L so yeah, I think we normally use the 20oz/600ml one.

We might still have the smaller one (300-400ml I guess) but I may have sold it. Basically it's just convenience we have the same jug around for 1 or 2 milky coffees.

steaming a bigger volume of colder milk will give you much more time to react.

Yeah, don't start with your milk jug sat on top of the machine, heating up. :)

That video kinda covers it but never fill the jub so the milk touches the groove for the spout, keep it below. Start with the spout about 45 degrees, half way between the middle and the side of the jug, fully below the surface, then as soon as you turn it on pull the spout up nearer the surface until you start incorporating air, you can tell when that's happening by the noise. Mix the air in for a couple of seconds then move the spout back down further below the surface of the milk, the whole while you should see the milk spinning around the jug, that's how you know the spout is in the right position. Once the jug is too uncomfortably hot to hold, it's done.

I've just dug out the 1L jug and found another tamper and some portafilter screens. No wonder there's no room in this place.

Anyone want a 1L frothing jug?

Or a Happy Donkey HD0823 57/58MM WOODEN TAMPER?

Thanks all