Coffee Appreciation

Fuckin hell Hippy, nice work sir. You got it up and running yet?

Latte art attempt looks like you got good milk texture, but the foam wasn't quite integrated with the milk so you got the stiffer foam come out all at once at the end. A little less time stretching and a little longer spinning the milk and you'll be good. What helps for me is decanting the milk into a second warmed pitcher then pouring half of it back into the first pitcher. This mixes the milk and foam nicely and having less milk in the jug makes free-pouring more accurate.

Looking forward to re-build pics of the Bezzera.

It's weird how, er, robust, robusta blended varieties like Lavazza et al taste after freshly ground arabica stuff. Definitely got that robusta kick, and you notice it in your guts more too (I think BB mentioned this eons ago).

You could try this months's 500g for a fiver special from Old Algerian on Compton. High roast monsoon malabar, or there's a lighter roasted mysore (?).

Or splash out on their £3.50ish for 250g Organic Bolivian. It's proper marching powder, and my favourite :)

£3.50 for a quarter kilo of Bolivian marching powder? I'm there...

Comes with a free credit card tamper.

decided i couldn't go without so went to borough market. no queue for the beans and the girl behind the counter said they had changed the grinder settings (after i had mentioned the variation in dose/quality between the 2 batches i had bought) went for a bigger bag and hoped for a better cup.
only made one shot but it's much better than the last bag, takes several seconds to come through and much better flavour than the before, perfect with rye bread toast and mums home made bitter orange marmalade.
you can stick your frappuchino and skinny muffin up your arse.
tomorrow i go in search of a milk jug.

What an edgy life you lead, MrSmith.

i'm on the limit 24-7 110%

25-8?

no. sundays are for me and jesus

sundays are for me and jesus

Sounds like a gospel classic in the making.

give me a ring if you do i may join you as it's easier to queue if somebody can watch the bike(s)

Ah, sorry man. I posted that and then basically just left.
There's no problem queuing for beans.. I was served straight away by a nice lass.. it's all the fuckos queuing for drinks that have the problem.

I got 300g (the last) of their organic espresso blend and 500g of the Guatemalan.

Fuckin hell Hippy, nice work sir. You got it up and running yet?
Latte art attempt looks like you got good milk texture, but the foam wasn't quite integrated with the milk so you got the stiffer foam come out all at once at the end. A little less time stretching and a little longer spinning the milk and you'll be good. What helps for me is decanting the milk into a second warmed pitcher then pouring half of it back into the first pitcher. This mixes the milk and foam nicely and having less milk in the jug makes free-pouring more accurate.
Looking forward to re-build pics of the Bezzera.

We couldn't work out how to get the Bezzera from the shop to my place (I had to go to work and Mal wasn't at home) so I've not actually got it home yet. I'll try to get a taxi to drop it off on Monday (unless someone out west has a car and wants £20?).
I used it in the shop though so I know it pours and steams ok. The only issues I can see are: it's missing a rubber foot, it needs a clean and I'd like to change the orange panels to some other colour. I'm serious. Coffee Hipster!

I'm not really about the "artwork" and I still want to keep my coffee making as fast as possible since I usually still need to drink it quick before leaving for work so I'll keep practising with as little equipment as possible but I will follow your tips re: stretching time. Thanks! :)

Comes with a free credit card tamper.

Do I need to grind it myself?

tomorrow i go in search of a milk jug.

Shitloads of various sized, shaped jugs on ebay. That's where I got my two from.

Fuck me Hippo, how many machines you got now?? Powdercoat FTW.

Where do you need to go to pick up this Bezzera then?

I only have a Gaggia Classic and soon the Bezzera. It's in NW10 and needs to go to W13..

They are open until 6pm so i need to get it from them before then.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=18+enterprise+way+nw10&daddr=51.520547,-0.322809&geocode=&hl=en&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=14&sll=51.527595,-0.27895&sspn=0.039141,0.110807&ie=UTF8&z=14

Cool. Might be able to help you out tomorrow. You've got a sportive, no?

They are only open on weekdays.. hence the problem getting it home. If I said 'tomorrow' I meant Monday. Soz

Do I need to grind it myself?

Only your teeth.

Gurn baby, gurn

Got the Bezzera home tonight..

Steams like a mofo!

First shot was way too fast.. then I remembered I'd wound back the grinder this morning for Monmouth's Guatemalan

2nd attempt, grinder set finer and the pour was much better, possibly still a bit quick

that is a nice setup. fwiw I don't think the red is too offensive. would have been good if it had matched the grinder tho.

Im chuffed cos I just got a proper tamper to replace the plastic bit of crap that came with my machine. I swear it has added nutty overtones to the finish of my espresso.

Looking real good Hippy. Looks like the machine doesn't need any work, can't believe you're getting such nice shots from the word go!

Nice to see the filter jug behind it. Filterism for long prosperous life.

scoober: That's the photo. The grinder is "Costa red" and the Bezzera is bright orange. Very different. Maybe I should chrome those orange Bezzera panels? :)

bombcup: It's all operator skill ;)

Hippy, how long does the Bezzy take to warm up and be ready to use