Coffee Appreciation

Yes, I could go down that route. I probably will, for the next few days. However really I just wanted an excuse to buy new coffee paraphernalia. Might need a pouring kettle too...

Why are my Yellow Bourbon beans much harder to hand grind than ones from a supermarket or lesser roaster?

Lighter roast. More roast makes them more brittle, and thus easier to grind.

Cheers

Ooh! My girlfriend accidentally threw away the little plastic thread-on cap from the base of the filtery bit on mine - any chance you could post your old one to me if they're no longer of any use?

I'll get a picture if that's not a good description

I was going to try and 3d print one but it's a lot of faff...

@StevePeel - should I be giving up on trying to pull a good shot with the Finca las Palomas?

Particularly as I'm working with a porlex grinder at the moment, and can't get very fine at all.

It is all lightly roasted, so not so soluble and needs a fine grind and lots of contact time. We had it at 16g/45ml/35sec in the shop. Even then I really prefer all of these as a filter, I think that gets to the complexity much more reliably than espresso. 👍

I’d love to but I think I’ve a different model as mines just metal and glass. This one (was) mine...

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Ah, right, that is totally different to mine.

I've actually just found an old aeropress rubber bung that might do the job...

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Actually, assuming they are the same size, maybe I can just dispose of the plastic one and swap in your metal one to save it from landfill, and I'll send you a few quid towards a replacement? The plastic one is a bit under 70mm diameter at the top.

Sounds good - I’ve got two spare now so you’re more than welcome if it fits. I’ll measure and DM you later when I get home.

The dark arts lost Highway seasonal espresso blend has gone up in price - which is fine but means that it’s now in the same price bracket as a lot of others for 1kg - ordered some Friedhats and hardlines to try out

Do any "black edition" espresso machines exist, by which I mean no milk wand? Should make the plumbing and temperature control easier needing only one form of water delivery.

I think the answer is probably any single boiler machine never set to steaming temperature, which essentially is doing that, but then doing it separately to a higher temperature for steam - oft to the consternation of those who want to make lots of milky drinks b2b!

Considered the Cafelat Robot?

It's a long time ago so I may be misremembering, but with my old Gaggia Classic you had to switch it into "steam mode", could you just pick up a machine like that and not use the steam wand?

Still involves extra valves, switches and plumbing I'll never use. I guess the lower demand for such a machine would reduce the economies of scale such that it might not be cheaper than the more complex machine, for a given build quality.

Cafelat Robot

Was thinking more of a machine rather than a tool, sudo make espresso.

Buying a conventional machine and not using the steam function feels like buying a giant metric + imperial socket set when you know every nut and bolt you have or ever want to interact with is metric.

Slight diversion but I’ve been torn between the flair pro and cafelat robot as an Xmas gift to myself. Much like Emyr, I pretty much solely drink espresso or v60, and there are workarounds to texture milk if the mood ever takes me.

La Pavoni is also a consideration but I quite like the simplicity of the flair and robot.

If its any comfort, I never used the steam wand on my Classic for probably the first 8-9 years I owned it. I used it for the first time about 2 years ago when I put a Rancilio wand on it. It won't hurt it, just undo it and take it off! Think of it as lightweighting. Colin Chapman.

Your metric vs Imperial comparison, what happens if you have a friend round who likes milk coffee? Not all nuts and bolts are metric. I don't just offer my friends espresso only or FRO.

I guess the lower demand for such a machine would reduce the economies of scale such that it might not be cheaper than the more complex machine, for a given build quality.

I think this is the main point. Dedicated espresso machines with no milk steaming capability are a bit of a niche product.

Was thinking more of a machine rather than a tool, sudo make espresso.

Bit of a halfway house might be a traditional lever machine, it's a bit less involved in terms of the preparation. But they don't have any additional plumbing for the sake of providing steam, just a single boiler.

I have a La Peppina in yellow just like this one. That didn’t do steam, just an open kettle on top with terrifyingly top-heavy consequences. It was more of a thing to do than a reliable coffee maker but very satisfying to use. It’s in the loft right now I think.

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what happens if you have a friend round who likes milk coffee

Don't really have friends round, even pre-pandemic, tend to meet to do stuff somewhere, or at t'pub.

Also, GF is vegan and doesn't do milk coffee either.

Really like the clever dripper for easily making two cups. It's quick, and you get a pretty clean cup with very minimal faffing.

The Quickmill Carola is the only 'machine' i can think of without steam capability

https://www.chriscoffee.com/products/quick-mill-carola

Now that the local Tesco are selling 1kg bags of Lavazza beans what's the group recommended storage container?