Coffee Appreciation

That looks ok, the grind is a bit fine, just use a little less coffee, not much though- you might be used to it rushing out all pale if you were using supermarket coffee, with this stuff you just want it flowing fast enough that it isn’t dripping.

Sounds reasonable, yeah, I am probably used to overfilling and overtamping due to the coarser grind on the supermarket coffee. Will try with less coffee, thanks 👍

Bought purely for the bag. Round Hill Roastery... any good? Ethiopia Sidamo btw.

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I've had round hill stuff that was very nice.

Not in such good packaging though.

Yeah their other bean packaging didnt leap out! Just on their website, lovely pic:

Any recommendations for a knock box for home?

Ideally something small that won't smash within a few months. Currently thinking this:

https://www.bellabarista.co.uk/brands/cafelat-small-tubbi-knock-box-red.html

I've one of these, I've had it for years with no complaints.

https://dreamfarm.com/grindenstein/

It arrived!

Such a damn awesome little machine!

looks lovely.

also, nice table...

Thanks! Is the bar a pain to get out for cleaning? Or is it easy to clean with it in place?

Probably putting too much thought into a knockbox...

Thanks! Managed to get a good shot out of it with the third attempt, which was sooner than expected.

One of the benefits of marrying a Scandinavian is that they have the best furniture.

Manual lever is amazing isn’t it, you get that feedback that the coffee is getting exhausted and you back off the pressure throughout the shot leaving that soft yogurty texture. The best shots I ever had were from a Gaggia Achille manual lever.

I use this occasionally, rarely will it produce an acceptable shot, and when it does it usually then requires a full service to fix the leaks, but by golly it’s pretty.

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I've never felt the need to take the bar out as you can just pop it in the dishwasher or wash it in the sink with the bar still on.

It's sturdy, doesn't move when you whack it with a portfilter and you get a good clean puck out of it!

It's such a lovely little machine, I was massively impressed by the quality of the milk (switched the stock tip for an M6 acorn nut with a hole drilled).

My previous experience with lever machines was solely sprung levers but this was a lot easier than expected!

Honestly just as good a flat white as any commercial machine I've worked on. Well, for 3 or 4 cups at least. Makes me wonder why they make a note version with double the boiler size given that the temperature increase has such an impact after 3/4 shots.

That is indeed lovely but the reliability would outweigh the charm of them!

I'm pretty sure that the Europiccola will comfortably outlive me!

Though it may well end up like a bit of a Trigger's broom.

Nice! Definitely sounds better than my current setup of a bit of kitchen roll over the edge of the bin...

It actually makes a huge difference. So much quicker and cleaner plus you've all your pucks in one place so you can compost them/chuck em on plants etc.

Can't remember where I bought it but it was from a brick and mortar not that link.

Been using an aeropress for around six months and metal filters have come up as a thing. Thoughts on them?

I have one purely for camping and less waste (?) and whatnot. I noticed the change in the taste of the coffee but actually can't remember what it was like before... It wasn't bad in any case or I'd have stuck with paper I guess.

Was gonna recommend this: https://www.coffeehit.co.uk/rhino-coffee-waste-tube-red.html
But it's pretty much the same as the cafelat one. I've used them before and they're pretty good and sturdy, easy to clean. I feel like anything that survives multiple barista camps is gonna be fine for home use 😆

The main thing I've noticed is that the metal filter I used caused a crema like foaming of the coffee, whereas the paper filters do not. I have switched back to the paper filters. My personal opinion, the metal filter exaggerated fruity flavours in the coffees, but that is most probably entirely in my head.

I think @tommmmmmm used or uses a metal filter in his aeropress too, so might be able to add comments.

Oh don't get me wrong, wasn't debating whether or not a knock box was worth getting! More along the lines of, aside from the super cheap crap ones, is there a meaningful difference between any of them. The two suggested plus the Cafelat ones all seem on par with each other. Thanks for the info all!

Nice! On the Rhino subject, do you have much experience with their hand grinder? I've got a trusty 8 year old Porlex but this is the first time I've used it for espresso. The fineness is fine (great sentence there...), but I reckon there might be some slippage between the nut that sets the grind and the bottom burr. There's definitely some wear on the little plastic nubs that give you the clicks.

Is the Rhino one likely to suffer the same fate?

I've seen that some people replace the nut with two nuts that lock against each other, but it seems like it'll be a faff as I'll be alternating between using it for espresso and filter.