Coffee Appreciation

The plastic got pretty hot tbh. I don't bother with a temperature controlled kettle or anything, I usually let it boil, turn off, and give it 20 seconds to cool a little but with this I just poured it straight in to the Hario. Also I boiled more water than needed so I could top up the Hario, I figure the less water in it the quicker it'll cool.

If I end up using slightly too cool water I'm fine with that cos it means I can drink it quicker.

Didn't that James Hoffman review show that heat loss was worse transferring into a gooseneck than the air kettle? Personally I've never understood the need for a gooseneck as a normal kettle works fine. I understand in a shop where you're pouring hundreds a day but I've already got too much crap and I definitely don't need two kettles in my life.

Yep, which is why I pop my kettle on the hob to bring it the kettle + water up to temp. The metal of a regular gooseneck will conduct more heat from the water than the plastic of the Air (I did mention that in my comment).

I normally try to get the water right off the boil for brewing (I recall seeing a video where the slurry temp was measured and it never got about 93-94 even with water right off the boil due to heat loss from the kettle to the cone). Most of my filter is done with a Chemex so I normally just give it a good swirl after it's finished brewing to bring the temp down. That's hands down the worst part of brewing with a siphon, it takes so damn long to cool to drinking temperature.

Any success with that portafilter?

I’m thinking to cut a hole in the shelf above in order to pour water in from above - is that stupid?

I'd be tempted to mount a sheet of wood onto drawer sliders on top of the worktop, so you can pull the setup out when you need to access the reservoir, and won't risk flooding that cupboard if you miss the spout, or having the water drip onto electrical items after the flood.

The more elegant version would be making that section of the worktop slide out, but that depends on the construction of the cabinets below, and what else is on the worktop out of shot.

I would've hit my head on those shelves so many times that I guarantee you I'd have ripped them off the wall already. #hippysmash

Finally gave in and ordered an electric grinder... daren't guess how many kilos the venerable porlex mini has worked though. Sage Smart Grinder Pro arrives tomorrow!

I'd just be worried about the weight. The reservoir is right at the back and 50%+ of the machine would be off the counter at that point. I think a solution from above similar to @mmccarthy suggestion is probably the safe bet.

@hippy yeah it won't be how I have it setup once we redo the kitchen but that could be 1-2yrs and so if I can get a something that works pretty well for that long and doesn't cost the earth then that seems best solution.

Winnie in SE20 Cycles.

Beans delivered from Carnival are lovely.

Sadly I still find it a bit 'meh' compared to caffeinated coffee. It has more body than the watery Hasbean decaf and is a bit richer but still tastes a bit flat and one note to me; I just get like a chocolate biscuit type flavour and that's it. No brightness/fruitiness like I'd usually expect from a washed Ethiopian. It'll do for having with a pastry or something after work though.

New grinder :) La Spaziale astro 12.
Looks like the doser is easily removed, so will see if I can fashion a chute in its place

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Ahh the one on coffeeforums

That’s where I got my Mara

Yup, chap just delivered it earlier. Not bad for £85

I’ve tried pretty good decaf from Campbell & Syme before, might be worth keeping an eye on their options. Looks like it’s a Colombian at the moment.

I removed the portafilter off my grinder but I didn't consider taking off the whole doser.

Do you just dump in your required weight in beans and catch it with something?

I think retention of the grounds is still an issue - so better to weigh the output.
My thinking being - beans in the hopper, weigh/zero portafilter -> turn on grinder and grind into portafilter directly (with funnel maybe) then turn off when you think it looks about right and weigh it to see where you dose is then grind a bit more if necessary.

That's pretty much what I did with my old MC2 - as the grind timer was pretty useless, so I just set it to max and turned it off when done.

If anyone’s looking to pick up a new filter coffee, this one sounds special:

https://eightysevenplus.com/product/ethiopia-birkee-legese/

What's the best small coffee grinder nowadays?

Hand or electric? Price no issue?

Electric under £100

For stove top and cafetiere

I think people on here have talked about the Baratza Encore and Wilfa Svart.

I think you’ll be hard pushed to find something sub-100 that will go fine enough for stovetop, and you’ve also got the issue that most grinders aren’t good at switching between very fine and very coarse.
I use the Encore for filter which is OK but more like £140 I think?

My sage smart pro arrived today. Definitely good enough for stovetop but double your £100

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@mmccarthy @Jonny69 @Scrabble thanks for the in depth tips - I really appreciate it. will get practicing with the milk and try just using the double basket for a bit.

I suspect it’s due to old beans, but I’ve been struggling to get an espresso out of the machine with the same depth/strength and crema as from a decent coffee shop. Is this just something one has to put up with if you don’t have a commercial machine?