Coffee Appreciation

going up a notch in science on the aeropress, my daily routine uses ~18g beans and ~160g water in about 1m45s from pour until finished pressing into mug.

I'll not be weighing each time, but took time out to check today.

Anyone clued up enough to say if I've got the ratio close or totally wrong? Coffee's brewed are tasting consistently great (various single origins from hasbean) which I guess is the most important factor.

p.s. Have solved the creased filter cause so no longer a problem there.

Right, need some help coffee fiends...

Tentatively thinking of PID modding my Silvia to address the massive inconsistencies in shots that are coming through. I can pull two shots with the same grind and dose and get two completely different espressos which suggests that despite my best efforts at temperature surfing, the boiler is still overshooting the temperature with each pull. Does anyone have any experience of this/recommendations/good reason for me to not look into it further?

What grinder are you using? Also have you used scales to chek that your dose is as consistent as you think it is?

going up a notch in science on the aeropress, my daily routine uses ~18g beans and ~160g water in about 1m45s from pour until finished pressing into mug.

I'll not be weighing each time, but took time out to check today.

Anyone clued up enough to say if I've got the ratio close or totally wrong? Coffee's brewed are tasting consistently great (various single origins from hasbean) which I guess is the most important factor.

p.s. Have solved the creased filter cause so no longer a problem there.

If it tastes good then you've got it right. Ratio and steep time sounds good for a coarse-ish french press type grind. Thing with the AP is that there are many combinations of grind, dose and steep time to get your head around. You could fiddle with it forever. I tend to have a method for bright coffees and another for smoother ones, then start dicking about with it again every few months.

cheers bombcup, yes on coarse grind from zassenhaus.

in other news: http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/rapha-reveals-branded-coffee-machine/011596

nice but pricey?

What grinder are you using? Also have you used scales to chek that your dose is as consistent as you think it is?

Ascaso iSteel. I don't measure out by weight, I fill up a spare basket as evenly as possible and throw it in the grinder – not ideal I know, but the process is already so fiddly...I find it hard to believe that a few grams here and there could make so much difference and some of the shots are coming out tasting almost burnt/salty.

Not my picture, but very close to my setup atm.
Tazpresso is really good, it's organic, and fairtrade, and tastes really great.
EUR 16,90 / kg (plus shipping, if you don't live in berlin).

cheers bombcup, yes on coarse grind from zassenhaus.

in other news: http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/rapha-reveals-branded-coffee-machine/011596

nice but pricey?

Well they don't seem to have loaded the price of the original machine because of the Rapha sticker. They're nice pretty pieces of kit with a reasonably sturdy feel, but equal results can be found at a far lower price.

Ascaso iSteel. I don't measure out by weight, I fill up a spare basket as evenly as possible and throw it in the grinder – not ideal I know, but the process is already so fiddly...I find it hard to believe that a few grams here and there could make so much difference and some of the shots are coming out tasting almost burnt/salty.

I'm not suggesting you weigh every shot but just have a session where you grind and dose a load of shots then weigh them with a dealer scale to see what the variance is in your usual method. 1g higher than ideal can mean a slow drippy underextraction resulting in the salty burnt flavours you describe, 1g lower can be a fast sour thin shot. Give it a try - Find the dose that gives you a great shot then make one at 1g lower and another at 1g higher.

I would recommend that you iron out any inconsistency in your dosing and other areas before spending time and money on equipment [insert bike gear analogy here], particularly a PID conversion as despite having your water temp locked down to 0.1 degree you will still have an uncontrolled variable in your dose and your problems will prevail.

Research ways of tuning the machine as it stands - particularly pressurestat, OPV and pump pressure adjustment - you can improve the performance for no outlay.

Awesome, that's exactly the sort of advice I was in need of! Cheers bombcup.

French press milk frothing is proving so successful my gf not keen on my plans for a proper machine.... doh!

^ bombcup, that sounds like great advice, but does it mean he/we should then measure every dose ever after amen? Do you do that?

French press milk frothing is proving so successful my gf not keen on my plans for a proper machine.... doh!

Sorry rhb, I'll keep my cheapo ideas to myself next time!

^ bombcup, that sounds like great advice, but does it mean he/we should then measure every dose ever after amen? Do you do that?

Nonononono, what you need to figure out is how much coffee you're putting in the basket each time. The dose is equally important as the grind, so if it's not consistent then neither will be your coffee.

You need to have a quick session with the scales and dose a few shots. Weigh one, then dose again and see if it's much different. Repeat a bunch of times until you're hitting a consistent dose +/- 0.5g. Put the scales away and rest assured that you have now standardised your dose and can eliminate that as a possible cause of the next headache.

Methods of filling the basket can keep your dosing tight without weighing. I overfill the basket, tap the pf gently twice to settle the grounds, then strike across the top of the basket with a straight edge. This gives me 22g in a double basket. I know this because I check it every now and again so don't have to worry about dose as a variable.

That method might be a bit wasteful for home use, but you see what I'm saying - get a routine way of doing it. Get used to how long to run the grinder or something like that.

I'm looking for pics of Mercx doing any sort of promotional work for Faema. There must be some stuff with him standing by a Faema machine, drinking espresso, that sort of stuff.

My googling has come to nothing. Anyone got anything?

no help at all but

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377841/

^^^^thanks for the reply BC.

Neil that looks like Tomee Tipee ffs

So my coffee loving friend in Newcastle that I'm going to visit next week has asked me to bring him up a bag od beans. So what's good at the moment? Anything interesting that he won't be able to get up north?

Neil that looks like Tomee Tipee ffs

I don't care, it means that I don't have to walk to work from Monmouth, due to the paucity of bins in the City, because I can shove this cup in my bag.

http://worldaeropresschampionship.wordpress.com/2011/08/08/the-world-aeropress-championships-2011/

looks fun

Michael McCarthy does make a mean cup of coffee.
Mmmm....

OMG, I'm so happy today, my colleague brought me one of those coffee makers that you put on the stove. I couldn't be bothered to give money for one and I've been getting up without coffee every morning, had just some instant ice-cappucino or sth - not good! Not helping me wake up and doesn't help my stomach in the morning either lol. But from tomorrow I'll be like a normal human being again. :)

I'm in coffee hell for a week, hotel breakfast included some dark liquid they called Kaffee but it tasted like hot water. Will have to investigate the village bar thing

one of those coffee makers that you put on the stove.

Stove top / Moka pot.

[I grew up drinking mugs of this, didn't realise it was meant for small strong cups, and now pretty much everything else I drink tastes of tears and fail :( ]