Coffee Appreciation

In other news, these are very good beans.

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It all works! Although I need a better wind-screen.

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Next level bike packing there

What's the red bucket thing?

Effectively a small bin with a knock bar.

Cafelat (sp?) IIRC.

Hope it's ok to cross post this for attention, I'm on the lookout for a Gaggia Classic.

Give me a shout if you have anything.

If I was going to get a grinder and espresso machine for an office and which isn't too spendy, what would people recommend?

Dual boiler Rocket or Lelit and a Eureka grinder

probably need to define "not too spendy"

that means around £100 to some people and around £1,000 to some others...

Edit: ok, around £1,500 - £2,000 to some others. I do agree with Sumo's dual boiler comment. Single boiler is a pain if you want to do milk drinks.

I often end up just heating the milk in the microwave, would go the extra for dual if I was buying again. Or maybe not bother at all...

1000-1500 I guess.... basically the choices are a beans to cup coffee machine which is not completely unlike coffee or a nespresso machine (well, I have a little filter and an aeropress for me).

Deffo dual boiler - I’ll be going for that when I replace the rancillio

Also depending on the current tea making situation it might be worth getting a tea urn so people don't start filling mugs from the espresso machine. Proper annoying when you want to make a coffee then the guy before you drains the whole thing to make a peppermint and chamomile tea. Or get a hot water tap.

The coffee machine thing has hot water. We've got kettles too

The middle-ground here would be a Sage machine that is sort-of semi bean-to-cup. This one will grind and tamp the coffee and froth milk decently, but can also be used with pre-ground if people want to bring their own (decaf, for example), it also does hot water. That would be a lot closer to real espresso if you're fussy. I have no info about ease of cleaning or longevity, as I've only used a relative's (and was quite impressed).

My thoughts also, the thought of people in work attempting to use and not properly cleaning a regular espresso machine is not something that fills me with joy. To be honest this even applied when I worked in a coffee shop

The latest James Hoffman video is reviewing a load of bean to cup machines (£1000-£2500 IIRC).

Yeah, I got my boss to buy that machine for my office.

Any less automation on an espresso machine is a complete waste of time, and to be honest it's slightly regrettable to have gone with one that requires people to wipe the wand clean at the least.

Guess who cleans it every week.

I've got a small sage at home and it's good enough for me but I do clean it properly and descale it when needed. I'm leaning towards nothing with a wand for that reason, I don't mind descaling and cleaning but a crusty wand... not so much. We had a bean to cup machine in the office for a while but the milk kept going off over weekends unless someone remembered to empty it so espresso yoghurt awaited the first user of the week.

It hinges on the people using it basically. You need something which will work every time for everyone who will use it otherwise it's no good. If you have non-coffee tits using it then you need enough of you to keep it dialed in and clean between you. If most people are non-coffee types then a good bean to cup or filter option is best I think otherwise your spending £2k on something just for you.

Incidentally, the Oracle purges automatically which means you only have to clean the outside rather than worrying about wiping out the steam boiler fortunately.

On the downside it doesn't allow you to change dose much, we're stuck with 22g minimum which is a drag, and the grinder is quite inconsistent. I'll dial in for 2:1 after full purge and get 2.5:1 the next shot, but it's plenty good enough for office lattes which everyone likes.

Serving espresso martinis at our upcoming wedding and wondered if anyone had any tips/reliable methods for brewing large quantities (~5L) of coffee concentrate?

If I was making espresso martinis I reckon a large stovetop percolator would be the easiest way to make lots of strong coffee.
£20 for this big one.
https://www.vonhaus.com/vh_en/12-cup-espresso-maker

Massive coldbrew batch the day before?

It’s too watery for espresso martini. Stovetop mokka pot is probably strong enough. A couple of batches from an 8 or more cup pot ought to net you plenty.

Worth asking a good local indie coffee shop if they’ll do you a special deal on 75 double espressos? To make it special since it’s your wedding? They’ll totally understand the cause if you tell them what it’s for!

Very good for nitro expresso martini though