Coffee Appreciation

What did you go for? About time I did a YB order.

I use a rocket blower in the top of my Mazzer, that looks like it would work much better tho. Where’s it from?

Just opened a bag of the JGC Naranjuyacu - pulled a shot closer to 3:1 than my regular 2/2.5:1 but got to say, the stuff is delicious and the longer pull does work on this! Favourite of the 4 JGC bags I tried so far

Half way through a 1kg bag of a JGC natural processed beans. Having found it harsh for the first couple of weeks it's now much more drinkable, clean and clear. Weird - not aware of changing my process or set up etc. maybe it's just needing a bit longer after roasting?

So far with the SPB I’ve only made one cup drinks. I’ve got family coming over so as before I’m going to scale up the amount of coffee to the number of people. The only thing is I don’t think the filter will take more than 90 of coffee. Should it? Or do I just brew twice?

How do you decide how long a shot can/should be?

I've got a Sette and retention has never been an issue because of design - how important are those last few grounds to you..

Yep. The lighter the coffee, the more time it needs to de-gas post roast. My most recent coffee order recommended to not even touch it prior to two and a half weeks.

I went for the Nicaragua Monte Christo Natural Process (for V60 at work), Colombia Tolima (V60 and Sage Precision Brewer at home) and the Espresso Blend (espresso at home at the weekends when I can be bothered to mess about with it).

The Nicaraguan is new to me!

Do you mean the mesh basket thing or a paper filter? The mesh basket should be able to handle more than that although I find you're more likely to end up with grounds in your coffee than with a paper filter.

Makes sense. Checked the roast date - 13 May. Probably started brewing with it just a few days later.

My camping coffee setup. Took some YB beans to grind fresh.

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The mesh basket will take over 100g easily. A brand new SPB comes with a few flat bottom paper filters in the box - I don’t think it’s supposed to be used without.

Coffee rookie looking for some advice.

I've migrated from instant to ground in a cafetiere but find it a bit of faff. My girlfriend recently got me a Bialetti that looks great but i'm yet to use it as it seems like more of a special occasion type thing. A long time a go a friend gave me a Gaggia deluxe coffee machine from around 2005. It's been sat in the garage gathering dust but firing it up this morning it switches on and the filter and steamer look to work fine.

I'd like to enjoy coffee more but don't have a lot of time/energy to throw at it right now. Would it be worth getting some descaler/cleaning stuff for the Gaggia and trying that out for size or are the two other options just as good/better for my needs. Alternatively what's the go to starter pack for lazy coffee heads?

Pending feedback i'd probably be happy to let go of the Gaggia if anyone fancies a free clean up project.

For less faff than a cafetière you’re probably looking at Nespresso. Honestly don’t go near home espresso, it’s for people who love faff!

But then you get into the post office lottery.

Not Steve’s fault, but I find the Post Office to be a nightmare. I have been ordering KGs for years but recently have seen the post office delivery to be totally crap. Even had 2kgs delivered to a random address and the boxes left out in the rain at said random house. The coffee was fine when we eventually got it, but round my way it’s a total lottery.

Devastated.

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How busy is your life?!

A cafetiere is probably only beaten by an aeropress in term of least faff coffee solution due to the minimal washing up. Biggest downside of a cafetiere is the left over sloppy ground situation - so i prefer any filter method for ease of disposal - but the aeropress is also just bung coffee + water in, add tiny filter paper to screen, screw together, wait 2 mins, plunge into cup, unscrew, pop coffee and filter into bin, run everything under tap - enjoy.

Failing that posh instant.

Even though I'm like a broken record and mine had just broke, get a clever dripper it's without a doubt the least faff way to make coffee. They're pretty cheap as well.

Starter pack is usually a v60. A lot of places literally do a starter kit with some coffee, the v60 and some filters
https://coffeebrothers.co.uk/product/v60-starter-pack/
https://blackbagcoffeeco.co.uk/products/v60-coffee-starter-kit-coffee-maker
https://fullbloomcoffee.co.uk/products/hario-v60-starter-kit-black
https://www.neighbourhoodcoffee.co.uk/product/v60-starter-pack/

You'll need is a grinder if you're not buying pre-ground, but that's totally an option too.
E.g. https://www.ancoats-coffee.co.uk/store/coffee/single-origin/regional/

If you do get a grinder a hand one is cheapest, the Hario one is perfectly fine
offeefriend.co.uk/p/manual-coffee-grinder-hario-mini-mill-slim-plus/
But you can always spend more for a better one
https://www.horshamcoffeeroaster.co.uk/products/rhinowares-tall-hand-grinder

Obviously an electric one is better. I'd say to avoid ones that have blades and are actually a spice grinder but tbh I used one for a while and it's passable if you're not a massive nerd.
https://www.vonhaus.com/vh_en/plastic-coffee-grinder?
A burr grinder is what you really want, there are some cheap-not-great ones and ones that go up to £thousands, but sticking with filter rather than espresso means you can get away with the cheaper end.
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8727866
https://www.nichecoffee.co.uk/products/niche-zero

Also you should get some cheap scales. A decent one doesn't need to be more than £20
https://caffeinegears.com/product/digital-kitchen-coffee-and-food-scale-with-timer-led-screen-usb-rechargeable/
But I just use some "jewellery" scales
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Kitchen-Jewellery-Weighing-ARIATI/dp/B0B2M47DT8/ref=asc_df_B0B2M47DT8/

All that said, you could just use your Bialetti and either buy pre ground or grind your own
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfDLoIvb0w4

My recommendation would be a v60, as fancy a grinder as you want, and watch a Hoffman video on technique/recipe. Once you've got the weights and motions nailed it's under 5 mins to make a brew from scratch.

I use a Moka pot for my morning cup as haven’t got the space for a proper machine - find it works pretty well combined with a burr grinder for darker roasts with milk , and limited faff, follow the Hoffman method

V60 is ok faff wise...but if you just dump the coffee and water in it's going to be shit. Gotta rinse paper, gentle pour, swirl etc. Plus like you say, need scales.

Aeropress is two scoops of ground coffee for about 15g, then fill it up for about 250ml. No rinsing no swirling no faff.

good Informative post! but ditch the rhino and get a decent hand grinder from a brand like Kingrinder for the same price or cheaper (if going for a hand grinder).

What was that cool retro percolator recently? That’s got to be pretty low faff. Stick coffee in filter, fill up with cold water, press go, enjoy.

When I used a percolator, I put it on a mechanical timer in the plug socket. Stuck the coffee and water in it the night before and hot coffee was waiting for me when I went downstairs in the morning. Ahh 😌 lol.

This one?

https://www.melitta.co.uk/products/coffee-machines/filter-coffee-machines/aromaboy-filter-coffee-machine-retro/