Coffee Appreciation

^ +1 tho, Gaggia Classic ideal.

Got mine off coffeeforums.co.uk 2nd hand

Just found this and its big.....

Personaly i drink as my regular, Nescafe original, but in a normal size mug nearly two spoons whit with one sugaer, i know its not suphisticated,but as a night worker, its the hit that coumts.

When i have the time at home and at my Sisters its Costa grounds and one of DeLonghi's E.S.E machines, not expensive, but after the many i have tried, they do the job.

This is the beginings of my favorite double shot Latte, or Machiato.

When on the move i was very taken by the Coffe Nation machine, but since Costa has bought them out, the double shot has been taken of the Costa Express machine, so a bit gutted.

So itrs Costa all the way for me, but i have to buy De-Caf Lavazza Caffe Espresso for at home for the wife and Teen.

Illy would be my only other stand in, but its so expencive i'd rather drive to Costa!

I'd like to end up with something like this though....
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&item=221088225794&nma=true&rt=nc&si=d1o1VMEX%252Fq8cXszul2Qid8TZfVk%253D&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

CoffeLove

^ aeropress & hasbean could make a huge difference to your shifts at work.

^^ just about any change in beans/makers would make a difference.
I've never got on with Illy, maybe it's something that happens at altitude on the way over here.

^ aeropress & hasbean could make a huge difference to your shifts at work.

+1

Am I the only one who's never got on with Square Mile? I love it in the cafes that serve it but I find it really hard work at home, especially on espresso...I've tried several different blends and single origins and they're always a nightmare to get right.

Porlex Stuck by AndrewLeitch, on Flickr

Any ideas? I had it in there for traveling. It's been in before and come out fine. Just not this time. I've had it in the freezer for an hour to try and get the grinder component to contract but the results weren't successful.

ice water inside, boiling water outside?

Fill with water. It's wet and has sealed itself in.

in fact fill with water, freeze it, then dip it in boiling water.

No more than 5 minutes though - otherwise the texture becomes chewy.

Can anyone think of anywhere within spitting distance of kings cross (or en route back to stoke Newington)?

There's always Wholefoods/Fresh & Wild in Stoke Newington - they'll have Union and their own brand.. hardly up to Monmouth standards but should be OK.

stuck porlex - I had this too. I just made sure I wet my fingers (so they are grippy - like when turning a page or opening plastic bags at tesco) before trying to pull it out.

Been making my mock-cappuccinos with Monmonth's Kiandu Kenyan beans and they've been OK, but I just put some in the percolator and wow, it seems that's a much better method for these.
Very nice - a shame I'm almost out. What should I go for next do you think? Will be mostly using it in a stovetop for cappuccinos, grinding with a Porlex.
I liked the Tunja Grande, the Fazenda do Sertão took some getting used to, but I think I liked it in the end.. will pop into Monmouth on the way to the office

Have you tried their espresso blend? usually cheaper and I personally prefer it.

Yes, that was the first one I tried before the Tunja Grande and yes, it was very nice. Maybe my plan to try them all simply won't work - they probably bring new varieties in quicker than I can get through them.
I also had a bag of yellow Square Mile beans from LMNH which was delicious.. like drinking caramel.
Looks like I might be having my usual conversation of
"er, I think I'd like some beans for my stovetop.. I liked and had last time.."
"OK, well we have - would you like to try it?"
"Sure [...] well, er it seems nice enough, er.. I'll take a bag"

I'm not very good at this tasting at the counter thing.

(all whilst dealing with a crazy heartrate from the ride over)

Am I the only one who's never got on with Square Mile? I love it in the cafes that serve it but I find it really hard work at home, especially on espresso...I've tried several different blends and single origins and they're always a nightmare to get right.

I've not found single origin beans to work for espresso (though this may be down to my finnickity europicolla). But the espresso blends all seem ok to my uncultured tongue.

Descaled my haggis classic yesterday and decided to have another go at the stuck bolts behind the shower screen. Bought a new Allen key especially. Got one of the fuckers out.but have managed to round out the other. Fuck. Any thoughts.

^ drill it out? Messy but possibly doable if you're careful* - drill the head off, then once your remove the screen there should be thread you can grab with pliers and unscrew? Then you'd just need a new bolt...

• don't jump in and do this, defo await others advice!
  
  

A week off coffee, ended with one of these from the classic yesterday, and again today:

I bet that cup cost you more than your machine and grinder put together. Pretty cool though.

^ drill it out? Messy but possibly doable if you're careful* - drill the head off, then once your remove the screen there should be thread you can grab with pliers and unscrew? Then you'd just need a new bolt...

• don't jump in and do this, defo await others advice!
  
  

A week off coffee, ended with one of these from the classic yesterday, and again today:

I bet that cup cost you more than your machine and grinder put together. Pretty cool though.

As always.... Nice, but pricey.

^ drill it out? Messy but possibly doable if you're careful* - drill the head off, then once your remove the screen there should be thread you can grab with pliers and unscrew? Then you'd just need a new bolt...

• don't jump in and do this, defo await others advice!
  
  
  
  
  

On something bigger/less delicate I would have no worries but there's not much room to get at it. I think my mate said he had done it before, waiting to hear back from him.

Porlex Stuck by AndrewLeitch, on Flickr

Any ideas? I had it in there for traveling. It's been in before and come out fine. Just not this time. I've had it in the freezer for an hour to try and get the grinder component to contract but the results weren't successful.

Have you tried turning it off and on again?

I didn't trust the 'fill it with water' idea so I put it in the freezer for 24 hours. That did nothing so I filled it with water and jimmied it about. That solved it.

Rep going andy.w's way.