Coffee Appreciation

The 3kg house blend espresso bags from Hard Lines are good value if you drink a decent amount - I got this with additional 20% off code so worked out at like £18 per kg

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Would anyone like a Made by Knock Feldgrind?
It’s in perfectly good working order apart from the inner edge of the bottom part (where the grinds collect) is a bit worn. See the close up photo.
They are £150 new. See the details here.
It’s the older model so different handle.
£70 posted

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Also a Handmade ceramic coffee dripper. This was an unwanted gift.
sold

I've got a brand new Sage Precision Brewer not being used as I've realised when I'm the only one who drinks filter at home I don't need to brew 1L+ at a time...

Would anyone be interested, for maybe about £200? I'm in se8 or se22 if you want to have a look at it at all.

The bialetti mocha pot that was here in my flat when I moved in has finally given up. I can't get it to work despite buying what I think are the right seals and what have you off the internet and so now I'm going to treat myself to a replacement. Only getting a half lot of coffee after the thing sits on the stove for 10 minutes with steam billowing everywhere.

It had got a broken handle and stuff anyway so don't feel bad about letting it go.

I'd actually like an electric one from a fire safety standpoint but they are a way bit dearer.

If anyone's got a pot they're thinking of parting with to 'upgrade' do let me know!

http://www.topmokaitalia.com/english/index.php
If you want to buy new I'd recommend these guys, still actually made in Italy unlike most (all?) of Bialetti.

broken handle

You can still buy replacement handles.

Quick opinion check, for those of you who head off for a few days. What's your preference? Grinding a batch with a better motorised grinder, or grinding fresh with a basic hand grinder (Rhino/Porlex etc.)

And another for those who do/did single dose. Do you think that the benefit of not leaving beans in an open environment for a while outweighs the variation in grind size you get as a result of 'popcorning' when single dosing? Looks like some grinders (like the Niche Zero), do a pretty good job of minimising that, though it's definitely noticeable on my Sette (not helped by the fact that the impacted grinds are always at the top of the pile.

I think buying a semi decent hand grinder is worth it.
The timemore c2 can be had for £45 if you buy direct from China and don’t mind waiting a couple weeks for delivery.

As for single dosing, I put a spare tamper in the top of my Mazzer to stop popcorning as it grinds. I also blow it out with a little bellows to clear any retained ground once it’s stopped. Less than 0.1g retention.

Grinding fresh with a basic hand grinder will def give better results than pre grinding. Pre grind basically goes "stale" after an hour.

It'll be an interesting experiment for sure! Rhino is in the office and couldn't find my Porlex at home so we'll see. Have popped it in a valved bag so hopefully that'll preserve it a little better

I do keep meaning to pick up a Timemore C2. I rarely use hand-grinders these days (aside from the weekly trip into the office) so it seems a bit wasteful when I've got 2 already. But now I'm used to the quality of the Sette, going to a Rhino/Porlex is noticeable.

My Sette has a little cover for the exit that you can open/close easily (when taking a full hopper off for example), but waiting for the right moment to close it is a step too far for my liking! Don't think the tamper trick would work on mine as it's got a little cover over the centre of the hopper. Might just try loading in the next batch of beans and see how that impacts both brews. Though that comes with the pain of accurately setting grind time...

Fucking coffee

Is there a go-to cheap scales-cum-timer that you guys would recommend? Had one identical to these which has died on me and looking for a replacement.

They are nice and cheap and do the job so would not be adverse to buying again (they lasted about a year and a half or so but were never treated with love or kept well clear of water splashes after all...). Also spotted these which I think look a lot like the timemore mkI and a few iterations of these which seem to do the same job at a similar price .

Thanks in advance for any sugestion!

I've got one of these which does the job perfectly well: https://rhinocoffeegear.com/rhino-coffee-gear-brewing-scale-3kg.html

Comes with a little rubber mat on top that covers possible avenues for water to reach the electronics also

I pre-grind. If I'm on the road or whatever I don't care if it's stale I'm not going to carry a grinder and it's still better than drinking hotel instant (which I will still happily drink most of the time because I've got nothing else).

On the subject of instant, has anyone had a decent experience with any of the speciality instants? Have some camping coming up and can't be doing with bring a grinder/beans/some way of measuring

Not even specialty but I had some at a birthday party a few weeks back (daughter's friend's) and I definitely preferred it to the silly centrifuge Nespresso machine that's in my office.

For reference this is the sort of stuff I'd genuinely rather drink than Nespresso:

I have tried a couple now. But I am in the U.S., so you won't be having what I had but my thoughts were:

Still has that 'instant' aftertaste
Didn't taste like the blend it was supposed to replicate
Expensive af ($15 for six sachets)
Needed more water than they suggested to get to a dilution level that replicated a 13g in > 250g out Aeropress recipe

Would I use it again? Ehhhhhh, maybe? It was just about decent. However, do I think it was that much better than Nescafe Azera? For the price, hell no.

I want to try Cometeer but I refuse to sign up for a subscription just to try a product and I think it only lasts for 48 hours outside of a freezer. Also, I don't take a stove when I go camping anymore, so I just take caffeine pills instead ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Pre grind basically goes "stale" after an hour.

I watched a James Hoffman video review of our filter machine (Sage) and in it he mentioned that it was a machine he used on a regular basis at home. He specifically mentioned that he often grinds his coffee the night before and sets the timer in the sage to have a brew ready in the morning.

I know he's not exactly Infallible Coffee God but I just remember it being interesting to me that somebody who is a genuine expert on coffee was happy to pre grind their morning coffee the night before.

To me, that indicates that I would personally probably not be able to taste a difference.and that if James Hoffman can, it's not enough to put him off pregrinding 8 to 10 hours early or so.

I know he's not exactly Infallible Coffee God

Yes, he is.

As usual, I'm in agreement with all that stuff you said. And until Sunday I'll be drinking coffee that has been ground this morning, plz send thoughts & prayers.

On an honest note, I'd be interested in having an actual quantitive measure on staleness of ground coffee over time (or at least the impact on flavour). It does seem like there's nothing out there other than pure speculation, and with any hobby that people dump money into there's always going to be a bias against anything other than 'perfection'. Frankly I wouldn't be surprised if I get a few days in and the coffee still tastes the same. Heck, I'm not even filtering the water here!

To be fair, the reason I still keep my Porlex is because it snugly fits inside the Aeropress which is a pretty handy combo! I just can't find neither the Porlex handle nor the penta-hex adapter I pop on top to use with a drill/ratchet.

But yeah, I can safely assume decent coffee ground a few days ago is still leagues better than hotel instant!

I’ve got an aeropress and a gaggia classic. The aeropress makes a really smooth coffee that’s really balanced.

As soon as I put the coffee through the machine it’s a bit bitter. Obviously there’s more water in the aeropress but could there be a reason why the machine coffee doesn’t taste as good

For easy speciality, I’ve tried these and liked them (this particular roaster’s not easily available in UK but I’m sure there’s similar). These were gifted but I’d buy more if I was going camping or staying in a hotel. Proper ‘speciality’ flavours with zero fuss.

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but could there be a reason why the machine coffee doesn’t taste as good

Espresso is a pain to consistently get right and is a lot more susceptible to small differences in things like water temp & pressure and grind size & consistency.

Even decent coffee shops with great beans and professional baristas will still make sub-par espressos throughout the day. Making 1 per day (or so) on a small machine will obviously be less consistent than that.