Coffee Appreciation

Citric Acid, probably £5/kg. lasts for ages, descales All The Things™
Not for gaggia

Avoid citric acid in Gaggias, they have aluminium boilers rather than copper and citric is too aggressive. You want tartaric acid for Gaggia, that’s what’s in the Gaggia branded descaler.

Oooh. Do I have to go and get a beaker out the chemistry cupboard again?

Someone remind me on Monday.

When I last bought descaler for a Gaggia classic I was directed toward lactic rather than tartaric acid. Not sure where that advice came from, but I ended up with a load of this stuff https://www.descaler.co.uk/eccellente-lactic-descaler-500ml/

what are everyone's thoughts on the Bodum Bistro Electric Coffee Grinder? I'm poor rn, got gifted some beans though and so i'm after a grinder £50 or less and that one is on sale. I don't know too much about grinders. Depending on mood i use french press, filter or aeropress so grind doesn't have to be super fine.

Any other recommends or anyone here flogging grinder for cheap are also welcome.

Thanks

At that price range I’d be looking at a hand grinder. Timemore C2 is around that price range and recommended upthread - it’ll be miles better. Think how much of that £50 is going on the motor and electrics. Less moving bits means it’ll last longer too.

Hey that's a good point, thanks for the recommend, it looks like a good grinder. Also handy for taking on bike tours/ camping.

Ah vince had done a few upgrades to the machine, the solenoid being one

"I have slowly upgraded over the last past 4 years with all the "good" mods:
-Gaggia Bottomless (Naked) Portafilter 21g Black Handle £37.08 (makes nice Instagram shots)
-Rancilio Silvia steam wand conversion £13.95 (improved steaming action)

Gaggia Brass Shower Plate Holder 57x14mm - WGA16G1002 £19.92 (adds thermal mass)
MS Gaggia Precision Shower Screen ø 55mm - GA200IM £17.04 (improved flow, easier to clean and less residue when backflushing)
Gaggia Classic Olab 3 Way Solenoid Valve 230v - DM1645/001 £58.56 (prevents the solenoid issues)"

Ill try descaling a report back.

Water flows through the wand fine with no difference than before.

The machine was manufactured in 2006 and I love that its still going so really keen to keep it running

Having just used a c2 - I was amazed at how much quicker it was to grind 18g compared to my old hand grinder. Definitely would opt for that if £50 is your budget. Also, having a hand grinder, filter papers and a v60 is a very easy way to always have good coffee available when travelling (assuming you have access to boiling water etc). We end up taking scales as well, no point having shit brews on holiday!

Hmm, might have hit a wall on the darkness front. Opened a bag of Passalacqua Cremador (70A / 30R.) It's even darker than the Mehari and decidedly tricky to dial in. I've dumped more shots than I've drunk so far...Seems to need a short pre-infusion but when I do that, I struggle with getting any volume. Even when right, I'm not too mad about it. Ho hum.

Ah nice, good to hear that it's a fast grinder. Yeah i use a v60 at home, not taken it on trips though, I use the Aeropress for that ease of packing.

Turns out I'm staying next door to Full Court Press. Guess that's breakfast sorted

The yearly repeating question, since it's getting hot again (not in the UK, but Germany reached over 30°C throughout the week): what's your recipe for cold brew?
60g/l french press ground and let it brew over night? Maybe even dilute it down with 50:50 cold brew "concentrate" and water

Hario recommend a fine ground with their cold brew jugs at about 80g/l. This seems mad to me.

I also doubt fine ground, but 80g/l doesn't seem that off

I've got one of the Japanese things - Mizudashi or whatever.

50g / 650ml water and 12-18hrs usually, then it's either neat, w/ ice cube, or 50/50 with cold milk.

I grind maybe 4 clicks coarser than espresso

I'm a convert to ice pour over / aero press rather than cold brew. Only slightly more faff than making a normal coffee, tastes good and isn't quite so nuclear in term of caffeine. Plenty of proper methods online but general gist is : Grind a bit finer, slightly higher dose, longer bloom, half the water goes in hot, half water in the carafe as ice. Swirl.

The caffeine bomb is the main reason I’ve stayed away from cold brew. More than 2 coffees in a day turns me into a tetchy prick.

Might give this method a spin.

Espresso or V60 straight over ice is my preferred cold option. Cold brew always tastes a bit flat, like it’s missing something.

I want to try the Pukpuk aeropress thing but don't even own an aeropress

I found filtered coffee turned cold really awful, so I never thought of having V60 over ice. Will try!

Espresso at home this weekend. NS Oscar + MDH grinder. I’ll be selling these so give me a shout if you want one with a bit of discount. Can’t go as cheap as Caffè D’Italia, but you won’t have to deal with Caffè D’Italia.

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Someone remind me on Monday.

The fuck, guys. I can’t remember this shit all by myself. One hour in 10% citric acid solution. No change so far. I used a specimen with anodising so I could also see if it attacked the anodising at all. Cut face is bare, bright aluminium, lightly dressed.

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I bought some beans and on the label it says SCA score 85. What exactly is the process for that? Is it likely this small roaster has had a third party come and assess? Is this something judged at the beans’ source? Have they just slapped their own score on it cos they thought it looked good?

Love the experiments! I don't think it will touch it unless you up the concentration and heat.