Coffee Appreciation

11 - if you want FULL flavour

have you got the same grinder as me? if so try it on the 3rd smallest dot on t'dial

you know it has been on 11 until i heard otherwise.

yep - same as yours.

ta.

right then 'experts' i'm having problems with my machine/coffee. don't know what the problem is but the 2nd to last batch of monmouth espresso blend ground at the store took a large dose and a hefty tamp to stop it coming through too quickly, which isn't a problem as the coffee tastes good. this seems to happen every once in a while which i put down to the slight variations in the coffee and grind. it is after all an organic product so can't be manufactured in identical batches.
however the current batch comes through really quickly and starts off blonde without that dark chocolate colour at the start of the pour. even if i up the dose to the point that it takes several seconds before a little bit of dark coffee comes through it then blondes immediately and the flow increases rapidly. any crema is short lived and the coffee tastes distinctly average.
previously i was getting a perfect espresso. is it the coffee or the machine? there must be plenty of pressure there otherwise it wouldn't come through at all with a big dose and high tamp pressure. i wonder if the grind isn't fine enough?

My last bag from monmouth did exactly the same fella - same grind, quantity and tamp and it blastd through in about 15 seconds

Must be that new roaster they've got working there :^]

so it's not just me then. probably no point taking it back (it was only a small bag).

My last bag from monmouth did exactly the same fella - same grind, quantity and tamp and it blastd through in about 15 seconds

Must be that new roaster they've got working there :^]

Oi!

So it's been pouring too quickly from the word go? Probably ground a little coarse, the grinders can slip a little at times and we don't get the opportunity to test the grind on the myriad domestic machines in use. I would take it back.

Other than that there is a chance your OPV may have crept up causing an increase in brew pressure, but if you both had the same problem around the same time then it's most likely the grind.

So why did you not take the money from that watch I bought straight to the Iberital grinder shop?

Oi!

So it's been pouring too quickly from the word go? Probably ground a little coarse, the grinders can slip a little at times and we don't get the opportunity to test the grind on the myriad domestic machines in use. I would take it back.

Other than that there is a chance your OPV may have crept up causing an increase in brew pressure, but if you both had the same problem around the same time then it's most likely the grind.

So why did you not take the money from that watch I bought straight to the Iberital grinder shop?

i thought a decent one cost more than that?
i threw the bag away and put the coffee straight into a jar so can't really take it back. it was only a small bag. i'll buy some more but ask them to double check the grinder setting or to use the right hand grinder as that one may be different.

The Iberital MC2 is a great grinder, they're now about £150.

http://www.coffeehit.co.uk/PRD_ProductDetail.aspx?cid=3&ProdID=334

No more shop grinding problems and vastly better espresso. The trouble with the Ditting mills in the shop, even when the grind setting is bang-on, is that they're designed to give the most uniform grind possible, which is great for brewed coffee but less so for espresso. You need a few fines (but not too many) shifting around in the coffee puck for good espresso with a nicely mottled crema. Unfortunately it really would not be practical to have a seperate espresso grinder for retail bean sales.

I am using a similar grinder to the shop Dittings for my home espresso and it's just not as good as the Mazzer I have lent to my mate for his coffee stall. I'm considering buying an Iberital myself.

£99.99 here.

http://www.happydonkey.co.uk/iberital-mc2-grinders.html

Bargain.

going to head over to espresso room in great ormond st as they sell and grind for you square mile coffee. i'll go back to using monmouth beans when i get my own grinder as their standard espresso blend has been my favorite so far.

i've just had coffee. Just makes me happy. This thread has shit loads of tags on it!

going to head over to espresso room in great ormond st as they sell and grind for you square mile coffee. i'll go back to using monmouth beans when i get my own grinder as their standard espresso blend has been my favorite so far.
Just saw this on Friday. How long has it been there? I'm going to check it out soon as it's just round the corner from my work

But not today as I'm totally wired - already having had far more coffee than is healthy for me.

I'm going to need a serious dose of the good stuff this evening as I'm driving all the way to Bristol from Cambridge after work.. nightmare route, M11, M25, M4 rush hour bullshit.

Will no doubt be motorway service station blend; saw a fantastic quote in last weeks press "Going to Starbucks for coffee is much like going to prison for sex, you know you're going to get it but it's going to be rough"

Kenyan Mbura...

Tastes like spicy liquorice...

Just saw this on Friday. How long has it been there? I'm going to check it out soon as it's just round the corner from my work

But not today as I'm totally wired - already having had far more coffee than is healthy for me.

looks fairly new. it's tiny but they have various coffee's on sale that they will grind for you. so definitely worth visiting if you want to have a good coffee and buy some ground beans.

There's an interview with the guy from the Espresso Room on the monocle weekly (issue 29) about 30 mins if anyone's interested: http://www.monocle.com/The-Monocle-Weekly/

Making coffee is compared to a porn film.

anyone had a coffee from captain correlli in battersea? tasty stuff.

Have heard good things about Espresso room. I've worked with Ben Townsend and he knows what he's doing.

Have heard good things about Espresso room. I've worked with Ben Townsend and he knows what he's doing.

I second both of the statements, not the working-together-part though. But the guy really has it going with coffee.

How many cups of coffee do you drink a day and how much is too much?

I find that if I've not had a cup for a week or two (yes, sometimes that does happen!) if I have more than one cup I can feel it and it feels like it's not good for me.

Normal average would be 1-2 per day.

Having a proper coffee machine (like in the coffee shops) at work is destroying me. I have drunk so mutch coffee today I am now shaking.

woah, lot of ben townsend fans in da house.

i sat next to him at dinner the other week and it was a good time, lovely voice too.

What? does he sing? sing and make coffee at the same time?

no, just his speaking voice.