Coffee Appreciation

I got Formula 6 last week. Really nice. Like a halfway house between traditional characteristics and more fruit-forward modern espresso.

There was an interesting point made in the decaf video that different coffees will have different amounts of caffeine still left in them. I remember getting a very nice Colombian Huila Natural EA decaf from Rave, but I was still getting quite a caffeine kick off it so had to stop drinking it. Same with a decaf I bought from Wood St in Walthamstow.

Most dependable decaf I've had has been from Dark Arts. It's nice that you can just pick it up from the roastery yourself in Homerton. Shame that Square Mile does not allow pickups.

Actually not a lot I'm afraid. Since being WFH though the pandemic and after, I drink a lot less espresso and mainly buy his filters.
Looking at what he has currently though, I've had the shakisso decaf before and that was good. The winter hoard blend was a regular each year and always tasty. I have noticed that like many roasters recently, he seems to go a little bit darker so beware of that if you like really light espresso.

Thanks

And @Ptown will give it a go

What's the forum-approved filter coffee machine?

It's just me that drinks it in the house. 2-3 cups per day. Currently using a V60 with Hario thermal carafe. But I'm getting old and lazy. And would love to wake up to a coffee when I go downstairs. I'm not a massive entertainer, but would also be great to be able to offer nice coffee and not have to spend half hour in the kitchen sorting multiple V60s.

OK, definitely flogging my MC2 now, if anyone's after a good espresso grinder. It's in great working order and I replaced the spindle/flywheel a few months ago, so that's likely to last long into the future. I also gave it a good clean while doing the repair, so there are very few old grounds knocking about the interior too.

I'd keep it, but the other grinder I use for moka pot brews is now sadly on the fritz, so I need something I can easily switch between two different grind sizes and the MC2 is not that.

Would like back what I paid for it (£80 collected from SE15). Could potentially post at cost, but it's relatively heavy/bulky, so that might not be particularly cheap. Any interest?

Finally. Think I've finally found a roaster in the U.S. who is somewhat affordable and is roasting great coffee. Since leaving the U.K. I've struggled to find a roaster I like as much as Artisan, but I think Onyx might be it. Tasting goooooooood so far:

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Is James Gourmet signficantly better than the Algerian Coffee Store?

We've just got an espresso machine and have nearly finished 1kg of Formula Rossa from ACS - we have a bit of brand loyalty to them due to my partners parents getting us their coffee as gifts, and we're not ready to move on to 200g £10+ bags from other London roasters.

If you want speciality coffee: yes. James Gourmet are a specialty roaster. ACS is…. Not.

I used to use Formula Rossa maybe a decade ago. It's reliable but dark roasted and IMO lacking the quality of a lot of lighter roast specialist beans. Not used James Gourmet.

Maybe the fact I don't really understand this reply means I'm not ready to graduate to the higher echelons of coffee

Yes , what exactly is a speciality roaster that the Algerian coffee stores is not? @JB? I mean they have upwards of 20 coffees from all parts of the world and roast themselves - quite apart from being one of the honest and nicest shops in London

Plus they even redesigned their logo after only 130 years of being in business

I think the forum approved is a Moccamaster with a timer plug but I've got a Sage Precision Brewer that I'm very happy with.

There's a lot more adjustments available with the Precision Brewer and I have used them to dial in my perfect automated coffee (when my grinder isn't giving me non stop grief), but if you're not bothered with adjusting settings, the Moccamaster with thermal carafe looks nicer I think.

I have a Sage Precision Brewer as well and really like it. It's not quite as good as a V60 (I could maybe do some more setting fiddling) but much, much more convenient.

This is the best definition I could find.

Pretentious, but I personally think anyone artificially adding flavors to coffee, or roasting them to a dark, oily consistency, almost black appearance and thus killing any natural flavor the coffee had probably wouldn't meat any of the 'specialty' rough guidelines. There's no real info on farms, producers, nitty gritty details of the coffee you're buying and so on. And that's fine - not everyone has to be a specialty roaster and not everyone has to enjoy the kinds of coffee that come out of the whole specialty movement.

That’s a pretty comprehensive and enjoyable to read explanation. And, all things considered , not awfully pretentious at all. Thank you

Thanks for this - I've ordered a bag of Formula 6 (and a bag of decaf) from James' to compare! Delivery is good value too so can't complain.

When you finally get to your hotel room to discover you’ve left your aeropress on the countertop at home! Oh I’ve also forgotten my work clothes, I can live with the stares from being in jeans, but no good coffee!!

Aeropress have released a pink clear version. Product shot shows a clearly very clean, unused pink aeropress alongside a coffee that absolutely 100% was not made in an aeropress. Lol.

I’ve really been enjoying using my aeropress at work. Very easy to use with minimal mess.

I wish there was a glass one available tho.

There's a glass one coming soon 'aeropress premium'

Ooh!
Is there a glass clever dripper/hario switch?

The switch is glass - definitely on my radar to upgrade from the plastic Clever Dripper.

Has anyone used both the switch and clever dripper? Main annoyance is the lower capacity of the switch. The size 03 still only has a capacity of 360ml, while I can get 500ml in the clever - decent for two people.

Why though?
It would have to be overbuilt to avoid regular users shattering them in use and transport (think Pyrex thickness) and force you to do lots of preheating.
Single use plastics are shit - I agree, but high quality plastics used where most appropriate ar not a bad thing

You wouldn't get me anywhere near a glass Aeropress. I would definitely lose an arm, or something.