Coffee Appreciation

i think spending £300 and picking up something like a gaggia classic/baby and a zassenhaus hand grinder can be well justified. it's a bit of work grinding a shot by hand (about 40 seconds of turning), but the quality compared to pre-ground, pods, or cheap burr grinders is huge, and really it's probably only once or twice a day you will be grinding a shot, right?

I think this is wise. Maybe try and get a used machine too to save a bit of cash. Then you can start saving towards a fancy setup.

I have no problem getting a hand grinder - it's all part of the fun. Are those Zassenhaus things not quite hard to track down though?

If I'm putting several hundred into my setup, I don't want to be thinking about what's next for a long while....

If it's any help La Cafetière do a pretty good hand grinder; it comes out quite coarse the first time but if you put it through a couple of times then it's pretty good.

Alternately, like MrSmyth says, you can get beans ground at most (independant) coffee shops. Their grinders are all (mostly) high-end and it would save you a few hundred quid having to buy your own.

Or there's a Bialetti. Not really the same but does make good coffee, and much cheaper compared to a machine...

Silvia FTW. The modifications people do are not because the machine is substandard straight out of the box, they're done because it is a machine you can hack if you get seriously geeky about this stuff. It also illustrates that it is a machine which can be easily worked on and maintained, and also that the coffee brewing system is top draw. They also have great residual value.

I got my zass from here, my ladyfriend bought it back for me, but they might be able to sort out international delivery. I got the knee mill and it has been fantastic.

http://www.sweetmarias.com/sweetmarias/index.php/grinders/manual-grinders.html

Can you really set it fine enough for a good espresso? I've had bad experiences with hand grinders in the past (granted, they were probably terrible cheap ones)...

Basic choice at this level of spend is Gaggia Classic or for a bit more the Rancillio Silvia (£300-350)

I've been meaning to take the plunge on a Silvia myself after being very impressed by the one they had in a ski chalet I stayed in a few seasons back (and it must've taken a hammering over the years there!).

They seem to be nearer £400 now though - or am I just looking in the wrong places?

I'm getting those sort of figures too. The cheapest I've found is £380.

2010 Limited Edition with leather trim.

Snazzy.

£120 grinder
£150 Gaggia Classic (at work now) with Silvia wand mod
£220 Bezzera BZ35 tank feed 1 group

http://worldcoffeeservices.com/ sell used machines. I got the Bezzera from them.

from what I've heard an espresso machine needs to make a lot of coffee to make good coffee, so it's hardly any point having one at home since it'll just do a few a day. Is that total bollocks?

also, why use illy coffee when there's roasters dotted around town that makes better and cheaper stuff? I always go to the one on Delancey Street in camden

If I remember rightly the thing about making a lot of coffee only applies to the bigger commercial machines with continual heating. Someone correct me if I'm wrong though.

The reason I've been using Illy is partly because I don't have a grinder, partly because anything better would have been wasted in my crappy machine and partly because I didn't really know better until relatively recently. Delancey street is literally 2 mins from my house though, so I'll definitely be trying them out.

The fella on delancey is great. nice old shop. i tend to get the mountain blend and use it in a stove top thing, it's miles better than illy, and illy is miles better than most other coffees.

Can you really set it fine enough for a good espresso? I've had bad experiences with hand grinders in the past (granted, they were probably terrible cheap ones)...

the zassenhaus ones grind very consistently from cafetiere coarse to near-turkish fine. the very high quality german craftsmanship comes at a price, though.

i can't recommend this shop, but they have the lowest price going http://www.auravita.com/product/Brasilia-Coffee-Mill-Dark.ZASH10139.html?RefId=220&adid=ZASH10139

This all got me interested in a hand grinder. Is the zessenhaus the ones to get, some googling gives them very different reviews, some talking about quality issues lately? Are the peugeot ones good?

Sivlia and rocky every day perform perfectly for me

We have this setup in one of our other offices, which does rather nicely:

I use one of these at home, which is probably sacrilegious, but makes decent enough coffee once a week:

I used to be a real coffee geek, but have switched to a Nespresso at home and it does 99% of the job a proper machine does without the kefuffle.

A mate of mine got one about 2 years ago, and i took the piss out of him saying what a POS they were, but after trying it out i was converted. You can get them with proper frothing islands/kettles etc etc too.

the best coffe i have is out of my dads 50 year old stove top, with hand ground beans.

This all got me interested in a hand grinder. Is the zassenhaus the ones to get, some googling gives them very different reviews, some talking about quality issues lately? Are the peugeot ones good?

some quick searching on some coffee forums suggests that zassenhaus may have gone bankrupt a couple years ago, which may mean their name was purchased by a different company and is being put on lower quality grinders. ebay may be the best option to find a used or new old stock one. mine has an embossed logo plate, with no red, like this (left):

there's some good reading about zassenhaus and hand mills in general on this page:
http://coffeegeek.com/opinions/coffeeatthemoment/11-25-2007

japanese ceramic mills by kyocera, porlex, and hario are all the rage at the moment, but i've never used one so i can't really comment on their quality or performance for espresso grind.

win

?

From members' area of toomuchcoffee.co.uk

Hi all. I have a Rancilio Silvia for sale which I bought in February 2009 from forum member Richard. It's pretty much in the same condition as when I bought it - it was used for about 9 months to make 1 espresso per day.

From Richard's original post (we also have soft water in Newport, Gwent):

"we have very soft water so the internals have never seen any scale. It's been insulated around the boiler and other panels with silicone foam, comes with a naked and triple basket, SS tamper. SS jug and of course the user instructions". I believe the machine is just over 2 years old (was a few months old when Richard originally advertised the machine in April 0.

Any offer in excess of £200 plus carrier will be regarded as a sensible offer.

I'll put you in touch if you're interested, PM me.

Yes please!

from what I've heard an espresso machine needs to make a lot of coffee to make good coffee, so it's hardly any point having one at home since it'll just do a few a day. Is that total bollocks?

Yes. How do you make an espresso/cappucino/etc at home without one?

If I remember rightly the thing about making a lot of coffee only applies to the bigger commercial machines with continual heating. Someone correct me if I'm wrong though.

The reason I've been using Illy is partly because I don't have a grinder, partly because anything better would have been wasted in my crappy machine and partly because I didn't really know better until relatively recently. Delancey street is literally 2 mins from my house though, so I'll definitely be trying them out.

That white thing on the left is a 7-day timer. Set it to turn the machine on 30min before you wake up daily. Job done.

Also, nice coffee tastes nice even from a shit machine. Shit coffee tastes shit from any machine.