Coffee Appreciation

No I do switch around, but once you know your grinder (and it shouldn't take too long) then you can hone in without too much faff. I never found light roasts to do well for espresso, granted, so not sure if that makes the experience worse as I've not been down that route...! My girlfriend drinks decaf so I'm switching beans constantly, but once you know where to grind you're golden 👍

So I take it you're using the same beans pretty much all of the time then?

I don’t do this. I have maybe 6-7 stalwarts I rotate around depending whether I fancy a lighter roast or darker roast. I just keep a note of the grind settings and it usually takes a shot to dial back in when I’m swapping around.

Glad you've hot a setup that works, I don't think that's the common experience though.

You look at the millions of reddit threads and people are constantly tweaking and faffing, changing machines, grinders etc chasing perfection.

Anyway, maybe I'm not the best judge as I don't like to drink espresso enough to go through it anyway (and I have been there).

Tbf, that does sound like a bit of a faff.

Compared to the completely fool proof clever dripper.

To be honest 90% of the people you mention are just acute upgradeitis sufferes and/or people who hope that throwing money at the "hobby" will make up for time not invested in learning the basic skills. I genuinely. think that a very basic setup (Gaggia or Bambino + decent grinder) is all you need to learn and get consistently good espresso, fiddling too much on the other hand seems like a great way to lose track of where you're at...!

fiddling too much on the other hand seems like a great way to lose track of where you're at...!

Good life advice too. 🙏🏼

I genuinely. think that a very basic setup (Gaggia or Bambino + decent grinder) is all you need to learn and get consistently good espresso, fiddling too much on the other hand seems like a great way to lose track of where you're at...!

I 100% agree with this. This is exactly what I have

(and I’ve had my machine 16 years now, so careful who you accuse of upgradeitis!)

Agree with the above, I've had 2 machines over the past 15 years (a Gaggia Classic and a Europiccola). Both pretty stock (Silvia wand on the Classic and some fancy wooden handles on the Europiccola), so it certainly can be done. But it can also be a gateway into an overly expensive (in terms of both time and money) hobby if you're not careful.

Also, I got into roasting a few months into lockdown so that's another avenue to watch out for. However my roaster paid for itself within a few months and has been saving me a ton of money since!

Further exploration of JG:

1 Attachment

Home espresso comes into its own when you have a big bag of good beans dialled in nicely and a decent machine to make your shots on I have found! Great when you have a few people over and you can be nice and repeatable.

Have recently dabbled in gaggia classics again (used to refurb them on the side a few years ago) and love how easy they are to use. Won't be replacing my La Pav anytime soon but have been drinking great shots on my non-Pid'd 2005 Classic running 9 bars 😁

I also find people are prompt to get an espresso machine and pay little or no attention in getting a decent grinder, and, then wonder why it's all so much faff!

Without a capable grinder you're literally wasting your coffee/money/time/effort...

Are you selling the coffee, forum group buy?

almost everything i read prior to buying an espresso machine said "don't skimp on the grinder".

i went with a eureka mignon and it has been fairly low faff.

I’m still satisfied with my Silenzio, solid machine.

Agreed on the grinder front - at the end of the day it's a simple machine that's pulling the shots but the big variable is your puck

@ChasnotRobert very keen to hear how that Chapin blend is like, had my eyes on it for the next order!

All this arguing about espresso has made me want an espresso.

WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE 7:30PM. WHY.

11.38am over here and I just had a cortado :) as someone else said, drinking a lil milky espresso based drink feels like a treat now that I don’t have home espresso stuff and I really enjoy that. And because my closest coffee shop is 60 miles away from my house it’s even more of a rarity/treat.

It's generally done in 200g batches so I don't think Steve has to worry about any competition on the forum coffee roaster front!

Decaf 👍🏼 just had an espresso it was sccchhhweettt and silky

Remind me which decaf you’re using?

Roast is a bit darker than I'm used to:

1 Attachment

https://www.beanbrothers.co.uk/coffee-shop/decaffeinated-dream-jeanie

Is it the best coffee I’ve ever had, no. But it’s my daily after lunchtime. I have caffeine in the morning

James Gourmet Chapin.

Not one for fans of lighter roasts. Tried it as a macchiato and an espresso. Preferred as a milk drink.

It's on the way to a traditional Italian espresso, earthy and a touch bitter, with lemony acidity.

I could probably dial it in slightly better to reduce the bitterness.

Overall, worth trying if you like a fairly traditional espresso profile. It isn't really for me to be honest.

Happy to continue my impromptu bean swap scheme of anyone fancies trying it.

2 Attachments

double post.

I definitely enjoy a traditional flavour when it comes to espresso, so sounds like a worthwhile try for me 🙂

Really appreciate the review, if only I had some beans to reciprocate I’d offer the swap!