Coffee Appreciation

I had 3 cans of Illy filter coffee delivered by mistake and then refunded. Not gonna waste 750g of coffee so have been using it in the morning. It’s too fine for the V60 so have switched to the Aeropress and have been experimenting with the recipe since I’ve got coffee to burn.

So to get a decent cup of filter, I’m currently on ~17.5g coffee to a full Aeropress and a 5 minute steep. Preheat Aeropress, stir the grounds in well after adding most of the water. Top up 25ml or so in the cup to 250ml. That seems to reach the strength and mouth feel I’m looking for in a cup of filter.

Similar strength cup from the V60 needs around 14-15g coffee so I’m still of the opinion that the Aeropress is very heavy on coffee usage. That’s ~88g coffee per litre. Also of the opinion that the popular short steep times do not extract enough with Aeropress.

Similar strength cup from the V60 needs around 14-15g

It depends a lot on the beans, I'm currently doing 16.5g for 250ml of a filter roast from Dark Arts

Yeah I mean like for like. Same coffee in both, side by side comparison.

Someone buy this so I can't please.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/la-peppina-espresso-machine-/274667995060

@StevePeel has/had one and as far as I recall are not all that great for day to day use. Does look lovely though.

Yes, lovely thing to own but not a daily driver. Check you can still get service kits. The power cord was a problem on mine, the Bakelite or ceramic or whatever it was broke and I couldn’t replace it without spending loads.

Also just had a look at the description which says:

Not sure if working as it has not been used for a while

It's a coffee machine, it's pretty easy to plug in and see if it's working. I'm betting that's currently broken.

Bought a Baratza Encore from eBay. Aside from turning up absolutely caked in coffee, which I'm not particularly impressed with, it's also missing the rubber seal that's supposed to sit between the hopper and top burr. Question for anyone else with one - how important is this seal? Do I need to replace or will it work fine without?

Timemore Black Mirror scales are in stock (very limited, it says) at Black Cat coffee, if anybody's waiting for one.

Just had a quick look and I’d guess it will work fine, but probably build up loads of internal mess in a short time. Probably easy to replace

Normally I'm opposed to fancy coffee scales, but those do look very nice and a pretty reasonable looking price too!

Thanks for having a look. Have contacted the seller and they've offered to order a replacement for me. (Only £5, but it's the principle!)

and they are gone

I ordered one from aliexpress and it arrived in a week

I'm betting that's currently broken.

Good point. Avoiding.

If the forum had £200-£300 to buy a coffee grinder, what would it buy?

If I had nearer £300 I would save longer for a Niche Zero.

Failing that, Wilfa Uniform?

I would state whether it's gonna be for espresso or filter or both first :-)

Shit man, this is complicated. Filter for now but with plans for buying a good espresso machine in the future.

Yeah, as above, save for a bit longer and order a Niche, or a Baratza Sette 270 (or modded Sette 30) is a fine alternative.

I've gone hand grinder only with a 1Zpresso JX-Pro and have zero regrets. For both filter and espresso.

Can confirm that Scale Away is citric acid. Have tasted both Scale Away and pure citric acid side by side this evening and they’re the same.

Now just got to work out if Puly Caff is caustic soda (sodium hydroxide). Lack of fingerprints after handling suggests it is. GCSE Chemistry says if I steal some hydrochloric acid from work and do some mixy mixy it’ll make salt and water. It’s don't add water to acid, not don’t add acid to water, right? Wait, no, it’s don’t add water to acid, not don’t add water to acid.

I've got a Sette 270 and am very happy with it. I'd wager the Niche is probably better (and undoubtedly does look nicer), but I can definitely recommend the 270. Though if you're just looking for something for filter now and not going to be dealing with espresso for a while, I'd probably just buy a Rhinowares hand grinder and slap a drill on the end of it until you get the espresso machine.

Can confirm that Scale Away is citric acid. Have tasted both Scale Away and pure citric acid side by side this evening and they’re the same.

Great, Enya stuck in my head, again. Thanks

Would rep

I’m happy with my Vario Baratza - which you can often find on EBay or coffeeforums for a good price.

If I was buying brand new now, I’d also be going for the Niche