Coffee Appreciation

I think it helps - in my head it's doing a similar job to a much more expensive grinder and one of those questionably expensive dispersers.

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It’s called the Weiss Distribution Technique (WDT). The goal is to use the pins to break up the clumps of coffee that are created due to static caused by grinding. These clumps form areas of low extraction as the water flows around the clumps at first before breaking them down. The theory is that by doing this we achieve a more uniform puck density in all three dimensions, leading to a more uniform water flow through the coffee and so a more uniform extraction.

It’s a DEEP rabbit hole to go down but it does make a difference.

How do you find it? Am in Cambridge and found that the straight water that came out of it didn't taste that great, everything tasted under extracted, acidic, very sour. I've since been cutting it with a bit of tap water (maybe 20%?) and it tastes a bit better I think?

I live alone so don't have to deal with any comments about how I'm an insufferable twat mixing water.

It’s feeling a bit like my YB coffee has gone missing in the post. Dispatched on Tuesday, same day as everyone else on here but no sign of mine :(

@NurseHolliday had a 20 day wait, give it till the end of the week and I'll sort it out if its not with you.

An order of mine got stuck at Twickenham for a week. It's the last part of the journey that seems the most unreliable, so very end location dependent.

I've seen delays going north of one month for RM 1st class parcels here (Finsbury Park - N4).

Yeah I think it's stuck somewhere. I've had other post delivered that was sent after this, so there must be a bottleneck somewhere.

StevePeel that's very kind of you, thanks.

I ordered last Monday, arrived today, it’s coming. Thanks @StevePeel

Yeah, thanks @StevePeel doing great work keeping going and posting coffee.

I had to drink some absolute shite for a couple of weeks.

Well after deliberating I now have an Aeropress and waiting for some beans from YB. I already have a porlex mini somehow (without realising if it was any good). Making do with supermarket ground at the moment but already the coffee is infinitely better than my previous efforts and probably as good as my terrible palate can detect. We shall see.

For the aeropress does anyone use a metal filter and if so what sort?

OG paper for me but plenty of others use metal filters

I flip-flop between metal and paper. Depends on how oily I want the coffee. It's just another variable to play with. I got two cheap ones for ~£8, one is a fine mesh, one is a less-fine mesh. I use the finer one because the other ended up in the bin by accident (it's so easy to lose them, especially when you're used to paper filters).

Who are everyone's favourite roasters at the moment? Looking to try something new. Currently drinking a lot of Wogan's stuff from Bristol.

Don't get a manual grinder for espresso, you'll hate yourself

This. The drive belt broke on our Mahlkönig Vario and it turned out to be impossible to get a replacement in Europe despite it being a Conti German-made belt. After a saga involving our friend in Berlin failing to buy one from a place in Germany, we now have one on the way direct from Baratza in the states (the Mahlkönig is just a rebadged Baratza, or vice versa).

I can't wait for the belt to arrive, our morning espresso has been hard work under lockdown with a Porlex, it just takes so bloody long!

You better be putting some googly eyes on that

Definitely. It looks like a small mint green alien who has arrived to take a dump in your coffee cup @birofunk

Yellow Bourbon deserves a mention ;)

I order from HasBean up in Stafford fairly regularly, always something interesting on offer there -- although their assortment is so large it can be a bit bewildering. I've recently been drinking Pact's house espresso blend which is nice but perhaps a bit too pedestrian if you're feeling adventurous.

This is me. I don't care what other people think, fresh coffee is too important to give a shit :)

"What are you doing there?"

Just grindin' my coffee. Nothing like the taste of freshly ground coffee!

"Is it a coffee grinder?"

Yeah, it's a Japanese one. It says for outdoor use on the bottom but I've never had a problem using it indoors (lol)

"So is it a special kind of coffee?"

No not really, just the good stuff. It comes through the post because it's impossible to buy decent coffee in Mile End.

"Wow I wouldn't have the patience, looks like it takes too long!"

It really takes no time at all and it gives me a nice little arm workout every day, unlike grinding espresso which leaves you pondering questions like "If one day I will be forgotten, what is the point of all of my work?". Something to think about when you go back to your desk.

"So how is it different from the coffee in the machine cafe here?"

It's not shit - he's a great guy but Sergei's coffee tastes burnt.

"Is that like a french press?"

Yes it's actually very similar, it just has a paper filter which only lets through the good stuff and it's much easier to clean. Look, it's basically like a giant syringe! (pretends to inject colleague with Aeropress)

"I doubt I could taste the difference haha!"

Probably because you drink instant and have no taste buds

James Gourmet as mention up thread but also a roaster local to me: Strangers Coffee . Obviously it depends on what kind of stuuf you like (fruity naturals for me) but the Rocko Mountain is a great all rounder and the Melesa Wolde is very nice. (I have an unopened bag waiting in the coffee cupboard).

Nailed it.

After 10 years of having this conversation almost word for word it's getting a bit annoying. Occasionally people show a genuine interest and that's nice. Mostly it seems to be driven by British awkwardness.

I find Wogan very dark roasted. Although I had a nice Kenyan AA from them a few months ago. I really like James Gourmet, lovely coffee and reasonably priced.

I don’t have the patience for that conversation any more!

Re: coffee conversations I ask them to think about how instant instant really is given the pre-processing done on their behalf. It is fun to watch the 'does not compute' blank expression that follows.

Got a GC conversion kit to upgrade my Presso. Mine is the original, before branded ROK. The plastic body for the water seems like it might be glued on though and it's not budging whatsoever.

Anyone have the same?

I’ve recently had these two coffees at home and both have been great. The Yirgacheffe was my favourite.

Worka Wuri - Ethiopia Yirgacheffe - Natural:
https://eightysevenplus.com/product/ethiopia-worka-wuri-natural/

El Paraiso - Colombia - Anaerobic Fermentation:
https://www.crankhousecoffee.co.uk/products/el-paraiso