Coffee Appreciation

For the time being I'm playing around with light tamps - not more than 8-10 pounds - and doing fine!

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Cheeky bugger. I don't want to be trumped I want to know how to improve! :P

Page 9 ;-)

VelocityBoy did you solve your problem?

Here is probably the best advices one can get:
http://www.home-barista.com/naked-extraction.html

You know.. I have that page bookmarked at home. Memory fail. Thanks!

i love this thread. it makes me feel sane.

Agreed Teddy... what the fuck are these guys on about?

Err.. coffee. Clue's in the title.

Now fuck off to a fluoro trainer or "what shade of pink should my toe straps be" thread something :P

Fuck that... Last post wins is where its at... That is some inane shit!

GS3, Probat; fucking hell Jacob you got a nice selection of kit

(to mooks) and did you mention what sort of machine you are using?

I moan about my Gaggia Cubika in every post I put on this thread, so I'm thinking you may be taking the piss, but I'm just too slow to pick up on it, or else you're being serious and I'm just being an arse. Either way...

Yes - it's a Gaggia Cubika. Bottom of the range, nothing in the Gaggia range fits it, so repairing it is a pain in the arse, it doesn't have any temperature control, you can't adjust the pressure and you can't do fancy stuff like backflushing. Oh - and it burns the grounds in the portafilter.

I think I've done well getting as much out of it as I have, but having got really good results out of a decent machine, I feel the need to upgrade.

And in case someone is interested, it's a nice enough machine and produces perfectly good espresso, but I just need a bit more control.

I just need someone to say "you'll never get the results you're looking for from a Cubika" so I can blame someone else for the arrival of a new machine in the kitchen.

GS3, Probat; fucking hell Jacob you got a nice selection of kit
Oh the Probat is sold! - Now that I'm not doing drip/press-pot and have easy access to super blends, I have dropped out on home roasting all together.

People like you and Ross should probably pay more attention to the 'light tamp' part ;-)

I prefer to do a few thinks right, rather than try to do everything - I don't have 5 bikes, a super Hifi-setup and the latest DSLR.

I've got a better pour with the naked porta and some help from
http://www.home-barista.com/naked-extraction-dose-distribute-tamp.html
http://www.espressovivace.com/article2p1.html
but the NPF doesn't fit into the grouphead as well as the stock one. Sometimes it leaks plain water over the top. I've been pretty good at cleaning the seal so it doesn't wear prematurely and it looks ok to me, just the PF was much looser fit to begin with. Is there anything I can do to improve this? If I fit a thicker seal I'll have trouble with the stock PF not fitting.

i don't understand

a) why you would drop the french press
b) what you really mean by lighter tamp, are you just talking about over dosing?
c) when you talking about doing things right why you bought a GS3 instead of getting a 1 group PID linea? (wink face etccccc)

A/ Espresso with or without milk at home - tea at work.

B/ No over-dosing! First part of the pour is getting trough a little faster and the shot blonds more smoothly, giving the coffee a different taste profile. I also find a self healing effect when it comes to channeling.

C/ I originally saved up for a Speedster, but ...
A Linea? Apart from steaming I don't think I did any compromises there!

I just need someone to say "you'll never get the results you're looking for from a Cubika" so I can blame someone else for the arrival of a new machine in the kitchen.

Yeah, what you really need is one of those HTFU machines!

Just messing, but I can't remember what grinder you're using. That's the best place to put your money. As long as a machine can deliver 9 bar at an acceptable temperature it will do the job. The posher the machine the less work you have to do, that's all. If your grinder isn't as good as it should be there's nothing you can really do to overcome it.

Yeah, what you really need is one of those HTFU machines!

Just messing, but I can't remember what grinder you're using. That's the best place to put your money. As long as a machine can deliver 9 bar at an acceptable temperature it will do the job. The posher the machine the less work you have to do, that's all. If your grinder isn't as good as it should be there's nothing you can really do to overcome it.

The grinder is me! Hand grinder that gives a good, consistently fine grind.

Problem is bitter shots. I'm getting good pours, good crema and good timing, but it still lacks 'smoothness' and the pleasing mouth feel I associate with good espresso.

If all's well except the taste then it's almost certainly a temperature problem. Have a butchers inside to see if it has an adjustable pressurestat. If it does, turn the screw 1/4 turn anti-c/w, reassemble and see how the coffee tastes. Adjust accordingly from there.

If the Pstat is not adjustable it could be replaced with one which is, but you are probably better off getting a new machine.

Am i the only one who has some problems, crawling through the make_ya_tooth_drip coffee chit chat to find some nice places to go to on occasions?

WE NEED A COFFEE PLACES LIST/MAP THING!

ps. i use verying coffee roasts for my sunday cup, but for the every day cheap, yet good and strong espressi i tell you guys a secret. go try the espresso in a tin can from Lidl. mmmh!

my old dear just bought me one of those Nespresso machines for our tiny flat... I badly wanted a manual machine, but i'm making the most of what i've got. It didn't come with any "pods" so i'm going out to see what they offer... can anyone tell me some good stuff about these machines.
Actually tell me the bad if needed.

Am i the only one who has some problems, crawling through the make_ya_tooth_drip coffee chit chat to find some nice places to go to on occasions?

WE NEED A COFFEE PLACES LIST/MAP THING!

ps. i use verying coffee roasts for my sunday cup, but for the every day cheap, yet good and strong espressi i tell you guys a secret. go try the espresso in a tin can from Lidl. mmmh!

well volunteered ya lazy fooker :^]

there are loads of recommendations in this thread and if you want to collate them then that's cool…

^ hmm that has to be a dam' rainy afternooon for me then as i'm on coffee and ridin' alot lately.

http://tinyurl.com/5h6gsx

there you go

Am i the only one who has some problems, crawling through the make_ya_tooth_drip coffee chit chat to find some nice places to go to on occasions?

WE NEED A COFFEE PLACES LIST/MAP THING!

ps. i use verying coffee roasts for my sunday cup, but for the every day cheap, yet good and strong espressi i tell you guys a secret. go try the espresso in a tin can from Lidl. mmmh!

I did this one..
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=
111070560377267186547.00046633b5adead56ed0a

But there's a better one (from someone on TMC?) that I saw somewhere.
Just search Google Maps for it

EDIT: Should read to the bottom of the thread before bothering.

I now have my Silvia-wand Gaggia in the office kitchen, portafilter hidden away.
My workmates are too scared/lazy to use it so far.

I think I'm grinding too fine for it now I'm used to grinding for the Bezz.. even without a proper tamp it's a slow pour. Maybe I'll just bring the Bezz in here and leave it on then buy that Speedster for home, eh bombcup? ;)