Coffee Appreciation

Pharmacie.coffee were in Hove as well, which was going to be my recommendation. Looks as though they’ve moved over to Lewes, which might not be practical - but also well worth check-ing out if you fancy the ride!

+1 for Pharmacie and Carola/Rick

Brighton Coffee Festival is on the 12th August... they're exhibiting.

You were only a few miles from my new place. I can see my local roastery from my front door.

https://www.coffeecompass.co.uk/

let me know if you're ever in the area again would be great to catch up over a drink.

Should probably descale this more often...

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The coffee was delicious so thanks for the recommendations, but weirdly the interaction was not ideal.

First I asked for a black filter, which was on the menu and also next to the till was a V60 and on the counter behind a pouring kettle, but the person behind the counter said they didn't do filter coffee. Then there was this really awkward exchange where she tried to convince me to have an Americano but I didn't want an Americano and I must have asked another 2 or 3 times if they definitely didn't do any type of filter coffee or pourover. Finally she at least acknowledged that at least the menu behind her said filter coffee but they hadn't got round to updating the menus. I think the interaction didn't improve after I said, "I'm not sure wiping the words filter coffee off a chalk board is that big a job".

She then made me a wonderful flat white but despite me asking to sit in, I got served in a takeaway cup. I didn't want to have another awkward conversation so I just looked around at other people and behind the counter, next to the espresso machine, and it looked like they had no ceramic/non-disposable cups or mugs at all. Which I found really strange.

Then when I got home the beans I'd bought and had ground there (didn't have a grinder with me on holiday) were quite unevenly ground which I found strange since it's a commercial grade grinder they're grinding bags of coffee on so it should be more consistent than my Wilfa Svart.

I think that interaction with the barista just really soured my mood and I then picked holes in everything.

It was quite a short trip and I'm back in London now otherwise I'd have hit you up, but I think we're going to be down that way a couple of times a year from now on so I'll definitely hit you up, be great to have a catch up.

I lived in Kemp Town so only went to the roastery once or twice (basically lived in the cafes for a while though). But I do remember they didn't have ceramic cups at the roastery. Couldn't tell you why. But the filter request sounds weird. And an uneven grind as well sounds weird - particularly as that's where they'll do all their mail order stuff. If you were bothered you could drop them a note. If nothing else they may take it on board.

Don't worry, it was an excellent recommendation, I just thought the whole experience was strange enough to mention it.

I had the same sort of discussion with a barista in a now defunct localplace. In the end they admitted that they were shit a pour overs and didn’t want to make me a crap one. FairPlay the 1/2 price cortado they made was tops.

Popped into Strange Brew on Francis Rd, E10.

All good in there.

Does anyone have one of these? It’s in my air bnb and I want to know if it’s worth buying some beans

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One of what?

^^

Yeah, they're good. It's sold as a Sage Barista Express in the UK
(though the clean/descale indicator is on, so who knows how long since it had a descale)

Breville is the same as sage IIRC. Think the grind adjustment isn’t that accurate but I’m sure you could make a serviceable milk drink from a medium roast l with it.
Didn’t @HatBeard have one?

Have got one, it will make you a serviceable milk drink as others say. Definitely worth getting some beans, and the process for dialling in is fairly easy (by adjusting grind size and amount until you get it pulling shots in the correct range on the pressure meter). Also make sure you’ve got the correct sized basket in there - it comes with single and double baskets in both single and double wall. They might be tucked in the drawer behind the drip tray. The user manual online is pretty helpful for all this kind of stuff.

Beans bought, thanks all

i have the bambino plus with separate grinder. the thing with the stuff from sage is it's never gonna make an award winning drink but it manages better than the shit local coffee shops down here in no mans land (littlehampton).

I’m in Manly and suspect that’s grounds for a declaration of war if I were to make the same allegation

I currently have a dualit coffee machine that I’ve had since I got married, and I was thinking of replacing it, it makes an ok flat white but it’s not great, is there anything that’s going to rock my socks in the £300 range or would I be better getting a bean grinder, nice beans and scales for that kind of money?

It’s tricky tbh. £300 just about gets you an entry level electric grinder for espresso or a moderate espresso grinder second hand.
Or a very good hand grinder (for espresso and pour over), scales, and some equipment for making a nice pour over brew.
You may find that the advantages of a better grinder are slightly wasted on a cheaper espresso machine as it may struggle to make enough pressure, and grinding yourself may be more trouble than it’s worth.
As James Hoffmann said - making good espresso at home is a time consuming hobby as it takes quite a lot of effort to get right (or words to that effect).
You might see the best benefits from buying a newer machine second hand (like a Gaggia classic) as you’ll see lots of improvement over the Dualit which is about as cheap as espresso machines come.

£315 gets you a nice modded Gaggia Classic.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285430173676
Which for most people is all the machine they’ll ever need.
And if you keep an eye on eBay, you could easily spend half that (albeit for an unmodded machine).
And seeing this completed auction:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/186012733850?

Makes me think that a second hand machine and grinder is more doable than I thought for £300. Although beyond searching for an Iberital MC2 or Eureka Mignon, I’m not sure what models are good to look for second hand (although there will be loads).

Useful response thanks.

Throwing a curveball in there… I have the potential of getting a la pavoni classic, free, it’s pretty old but it’s never been used much and from what I can tell a full new set of gaskets and a descale and it’s unlikely to be too much different from a new one.

Grinder I was thinking something like this…

Sage BCG820BSSUK the Smart Grinder Pro Coffee Grinder - Silver https://amzn.eu/d/1mxT7vr

Then as it’s the big 40 next year perhaps slash a bit more on something like a rocket apartmentto…

Or for £300 there is this option..
Breville Barista Max Espresso Machine | Latte & Cappuccino Coffee Maker with Integrated Bean Grinder & Steam Wand | 2.8 L Water Tank | 15 Bar Italian Pump | Stainless Steel https://amzn.eu/d/2URYIO2

Throwing a curveball in there… I have the potential of getting a la pavoni classic, free, it’s pretty old but it’s never been used much and from what I can tell a full new set of gaskets and a descale and it’s unlikely to be too much different from a new one.

Yep! There's a minor difference between pre and post-millennium versions but it's easy to get service kits for both. I've just stripped and serviced mine (see around 20 posts up page for the result of infrequent descaling!) and it was pretty straightforward all things considered. Electrics are very basic. Plumbing consists of a single copper pipe. I'd jump at the chance of the La Pavoni personally (naturally biased of course).

Sage smart grinder pro is a very capable grinder for espresso. I’ve been very pleased with mine. I considered the MC2 when I was choosing grinders as it was traditionally the go-to home grinder for espresso, but you should remember it’s quite an old-fashioned design now and suffers from being a bit messy and switching between grinds can be a bit hit and miss. The Sage smart grinder pro has addressed all those issues. Works really well with machines like the Gaggia Classic.

It’ll be absolutely fine with the La Pavoni but you’ll maybe get more out of it with one of the Niche grinders.