Coffee Appreciation

very impressive skills @Bernhard @rhb @Colonel_of_Truth @HatBeard

Suggestions for insulated travel mug that will not leak when thrown in bag for bike commute?

Recently my coffee has had a dry taste (astringent?). It feels dehydrating and I'm thirsty afterwards. I've been adjusting to a coarser grind but hasn't made much difference. Using v60 & aeropress and find the same on both. Could it be the beans? I have changed to a different roaster recently.

Recently my coffee has had a dry taste (astringent?). It feels dehydrating and I'm thirsty afterwards.

Add water.

Could it be the beans? I have changed to a different roaster recently

Worth eliminating as a cause, easily tested with a bag of beans from old roaster .

Kleen Kanteen with the screw top. My other half has no trouble with the drink thru lid, but mine always leaks 🙄

@CheeseWheel if you go for a screw-top flask also look at the SIGG hot & cold offerings (the regular ones, not the hot & cold ONE). I like the design a lot more, they seem to keep drinks hot / cold better than other flasks and are really ok to drink straight out of if you don't bring a mug.

Klean Kanteen wide mouth insulated and I agree with screw top suggestion.

https://www.kleankanteen.co.uk/collections/insulated-bottles/products/insulated-coffee-mug-12oz?variant=31356475666

nice colour.. https://www.urbanindustry.co.uk/products/klean-kanteen-wide-insulated-12oz-flask-fresh-pine

I have the smallest which is perfect for one and it fits in a bottle cage too...

https://www.woolerwheel.co.uk/winter-cycling-food-and-drink/

^

These do not look like they're fun to drink straight from the flask,
but gotta say their finish looks way more durable than the SIGG's (they scratch rather easily).

These plastic-free "pro" ones look nice though, haven't seen those before..

https://www.kleankanteen.co.uk/collections/insulated/products/insulated-tkpro-16oz-500ml?variant=12569484197962

Depending on how you define plastic, there are still chemical fillers used in silicone. Closer to medical grade the better.

Yea.. saw that little silicone ring - and

I suppose this is as good as it gets right now.

It tends to be the plasticisers that are the sources of taint rather than the fillers.

So true, very little contact with a seal anyway. I have a silicone spoon from GIR that arrived with zero odour, even out of the packaging. Got it to prevent scratches on a nice enamel over iron pot that I use for porridge.

The wide mouth is just like drinking out of a cup. Prefer it to the keepcup. Had a few for years now and the finish is pretty resilient. The translucent ones seem to last a bit better than the matt finish.

just like drinking out of a cup

Really? ..from the photo they look kinda sharp-edged.
Guess I'll have to check them out. I need a second (bigger) flask.

Gotta say those hues all look shit in my opinion.
As if goal was to choose the most strange and unnatural colours possible.

A question for the espresso experts:

I'm aiming for a brew ratio of 2 and an extraction time of ~28 seconds. However, I'm unsure if I should count the pre-infusion as part of the 28 seconds? I used to aim for 30 seconds from the moment I pulled the lever up, but this morning it dawned on me that I might be better off starting the timer the first coffee appears at the bottom of the portafilter? Which with current settings would be approximately 8 seconds.

Think you start the brewing timer as soon as water enters the basket- so you were doing it right to begin with

I wouldn't call it sharp edged. It's rounded and fine for on-the-go. Being wide it's easy to drink from but obviously not as comfy as a thick rounded mug edge.

With the wide mouth you can brew many coffee styles directly into it. Kalita Wave sits nicely on top, for instance. It also makes it easy to decant into from a carafe at home and coffee shops also appreciate it. It's as easy to fill as a KeepCup and the right volume so you get reusable cup discounts.

With the screw top there's zero leakage. You can chuck it into a bag and forget about it.

I found one in a matte mocha colour. It's chipped a bit but the surface doesn't get as cold as the shiny one so it's nicer to hold and you'll notice the bottom section is bare steel so there's no paint to rub away. Tbh my shiny KK water bottle has chipped a bit too. It's inevitable when I drop it all the time and the bottom is painted so much more noticeable. I drop my small insulated less as the screw top has a loop you can jam your finger through. I keep meaning to loop a biner or some dyneema through it.

My main gripe is that the wide mouth can dribble a little when pouring if you're not careful.

gaggia classic has begun misbehaving in a number of ways all at once (noisy pump, poor water flow from group head, continuous dripping steam wand when machine is on and increased drippage when wand is used for hot water).

decided i cba to chase the symptoms around so new boiler, thermostat, solenoid, steam valve, pump and o-ring service kit ordered so i can give it the triggers broom treatment.

£140 oof.

still, had almost 7 years of service out of it so far. hopefully this'll give it 7 more.

Given how crap the 'new' classic is, that's probably the right choice.

Is the noise similar to the 'airlock' noise?

it just sounds like the pump is really struggling.

I expect once I get it all apart if i can get the boiler apart it'll be full of scale which is causing all the issues.

the pump and solenoid are apparently upgrades on the stock ones and I can do the opv mod while i have it open so hopefully should run better than ever when it's back in one piece.

put a PID in while you're at it!

This OPV mod, is that valid for older Gaggia Classics? Mine is 2008 or something and predates the pod portafilters.

Speaking of Classic mods, I’m finally doing a Silvia steam wand. I’ve been frothing milk lately and basically got fed up with the plastic frother head filling up with milk and generally skanking up if it’s not cleaned meticulously.