Coffee Appreciation

trust me, it's not through lack of trying. my list of london coffee shops i have tried and liked (though not loved), in no particular order:

dose (long lane) -- great coffee, friendly atmosphere, but tiny and with very uncomfortable stools. it's a takeaway place, really

nordick bakery (golden square) -- i keep coming back here for the design, it looks great and they have wifi. it's shockingly overpriced though and the coffee isn't fantastic. you also have to wear black japanese designer clothes to feel 100% comfortable here. the cinammon buns are pretty good though

taste of bitter love (hackney road) -- really really good coffee, cool staff and nice sandwiches, but a bit rough around the edges (verging on dumpy, if i'm honest)

flat white (berwick street) -- great coffee. amusing staff (though a bit too cool for school). decent bagel sandwiches. overall, a weird scene, but then again it is soho. a bit too crowded/overhyped at the end of the day

monmouth coffee (monmouth street) -- i liked this place better back when they didn't serve pastries. still, i stop in here a lot. i like that it only seats 6. the bermondsey market location is great if you get there really early on the weekend, but after 10 it's it's own circle of hell

rose's bakery (fourth floor, dover street market) -- good coffee and stunningly good food (try the carrot cake). i like that it's served on handmade pottery with david mellor cutlery. break out the black japanese outfit for here, too. oh, and don't think you're leaving with a tab of less than £10

nude (hanbury street) -- i always forget this place exists. pretty good coffee and a nice atmosphere. i dunno why i never want to go here though, there's something that it's missing and i can't figure out what it is. maybe i am way too picky about this. i also don't like that it's so dingy and dark in here

lock 7 (pritchard street) -- this place would be perfect if the coffee was better. i love a coffee shop that will tighten your headset while you finish off your cappuccino

taylor street (new street) -- great, great coffee in a nice atmosphere. i wish this place had chairs and not just barstools

fernandez and wells (beak street) -- style over substance. the coffee is purely mediocre

tinderbox (angel high street) -- against my better judgement, i kinda like it here; i like it more since they moved. the music is always way too loud, you have to pay for the wifi (wft?!!), the coffee is often burnt and it feels a little like being in a chainshop. but for some reason i still come back to it

and of course...

tour de ville (london fields) -- they still haven't gotten their proper coffee machine, and i can't hang out here too often or i end up spending too much money that i don't have, but i love a place that can combine good coffee and lugged steel

Yes, Ross that is correct, but that is not my motive for defending a good cafe. You will notice I take care to always balance my recommendations. If you have a beef with the owner of a cafe then say I wouldn't recommend that place because I don't like the owner. Don't slate their good work. That would not be a problem for anybody else, and they can carry on enjoying their coffee.

Oh, and er booom etc.

you should try Brill in exmouth market.

rose's bakery (fourth floor, dover street market) -- good coffee and stunningly good food (try the carrot cake). i like that it's served on handmade pottery with david mellor cutlery. break out the black japanese outfit for here, too. oh, and don't think you're leaving with a tab of less than £10

There are some places I don't tell people about for a good reason. And now you've gone and ruined it.

flat white (berwick street) -- great coffee. amusing staff (though a bit too cool for school). decent bagel sandwiches. overall, a weird scene, but then again it is soho. a bit too crowded/overhyped at the end of the day

tour de ville (london fields) -- they still haven't gotten their proper coffee machine, and i can't hang out here too often or i end up spending too much money that i don't have, but i love a place that can combine good coffee and lugged steel

always, always go to Milkbar ove flat white because you can nearly always get a seat.

tour de ville have got a machine plumbed in

you could maybe try this place
http://www.tipped.co.uk/listings/225160/tina-we-salute-you

MrSmith: I have that Gaggia tamper for you..

Teddy that looks suspiciously like a list...was this sanctioned by GA2G??

(Nice one tho - I think in 18 pages you're the first to write one).

MrSmith: I have that Gaggia tamper for you..

cool. i'll get it off you sometime soon.

Went to Nude Espresso today for quickl lunch.
I enjoyed their 'cino and some vegie ciabatta thing muchly.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250389063973&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:Watchlink:middle:uk

Oh yes.

But that will go for a shitload, commercial one groups always do, unless the high start price scares people off.

They're about £1400 new. What do you reckon it'll go for?

okay confession to make I've never actually drunk any coffee, just assumed I didn't like it but figure time I ought to bite the bullet and give it a fair crack of the whip.

Any tips, brighton based so figure Red Roaster...

You've never had coffee.. and you live on Earth, right? What in the name of..

always been a tea man, what can I say.... and once you've never tried it easy not to carry on not trying

Red goes faster..

http://www.salvatore-espresso.com/oneblackNewmachine.html

Hipster machines.. match your sneakers..

Does anyone roast at home? Coffee, I'm talking coffee!

My wife does fair-trade import/export (mainly textiles). She has a business contact in Nepal who is sending over some green beans he wants us to try to sell in the UK. He already sells to Japan. We've told him we have no experience in this.

Anyway I need a roaster. Looking at the Hearthware i-Roast 2. Any advice on this or others would be great.

I did try searching for this and of course this thread came up but do you then have to search each page of the thread separately for the key word?

Outside of using a heatgun and a stovetop tin drum thing to limited scuccess, I don't have much experience of domestic roasting kit except for a quick go on an Alpenroast which wasn't much good. The Hottop is well regarded, as is the new Behmor, but I haven't used either. You're unlikely to show the coffee to its best advantage with any domestic gear to be honest, you need access to a proper sample roaster.

If you're looking for someone to move a lot of green, you could try www.coffeehunter.com, they might take a green sample and roast it themselves for evaluation. Doesn't hurt to ask.

Anyone know how much water is meant to go into the Mukka Express stovetop/milk steamer? Hippo gave me his one w/o the measuring cup. Also, anyone had much experience of this stove top? Still trying to get it to work at its optimum.

Thank you, bombcup.

Anyone know how much water is meant to go into the Mukka Express stovetop/milk steamer? Hippo gave me his one w/o the measuring cup. Also, anyone had much experience of this stove top? Still trying to get it to work at its optimum.

Measuring cup? Don't the instructions simply say fill to the line inside the water pot?

Yeah.. google says..
"Water is filled to the inner mark (150ml) in the bottom pot and the filter basket containing ground coffee, placed in the top."
http://www.decuisine.co.uk/cookshop/tea_coffee_chocolate/mukka-express.html

Instructions said there was a plastic measuring cup but your answer makes this unnecessary - thanks mate

"LFGSS - for when you're too freaking lazy to Google it yourself...."

Hmm.. I'll have a look for the cup but I don't recall ever using it. I just poured straight from my filter jug to the marker line.