Coffee Appreciation

Watch vids > learn tekkers > make better coffee > stop watching vids.

Any time I fall too deep down the rabbit hole with the videos, I just end up feeling like they go too deep for what I can be bothered with, or just they're seeking a level of refinement that's not really possible with my setup without a serious investment of time and effort.

Like, I can make what I consider to be a really decent espresso every morning. Occasionally it goes awry, but for the best part I get great shots with balance and body, and to make gains beyond this starts feeling frustrating and I'm never even really sure what I'm even trying to achieve.

Any recommendations for good coffee shops that won’t mind me sitting and working for a couple of hours (with coffee purchases) in Hammersmith or Paddington areas tomorrow morning?

I’ve not been myself but look at Workshop at Pilgrm [sic]
Edit: permanently closed. Never mind!

I still get a kick out of his stuff and yet I’m very happy with my robot and over roasted Italian style beans for at least 3 years now.

Two Hoffman videos. Beginner espresso and beginner milk foaming. Done.

Other than equipment reviews as needed that is

Ta - would’ve been ideal!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64293750

genius - will give that a go! solves 1 and 2

think i've got a rocket blower somewhere so will see how that does for 3

yeah a v good buy - nice upgrade from the sage smart grinder pro i've been using for filter

This means opting for 50ml to 100ml espressos, or ensuring that only the needed amount of coffee and water is used when preparing a cup to avoid waste.

100ml espresso?? Are they insane. Who’s drinking those

Are they discounting the plastic waste in the pods?

The original article feels a bit more scientific and balanced. (But ultimately lacking in depth imo)

https://theconversation.com/heres-how-your-cup-of-coffee-contributes-to-climate-change-196648

On the other hand, when consumers use a 20 per cent surplus of coffee and heat twice the water needed (which is often the case), coffee capsules seem to be the best option. Why? Because the capsules allow you to optimize the amount of coffee and water per consumption.

The BBC didn’t mention boiling twice the amount of water when they paraphrased this statement, just the 20% surplus off coffee you ‘might’ use per cup with filter…

I’m partially familiar with this study so maybe I’ll just put the salient points here.

Coffee is extremely resource-intensive anyway, in terms of water usage in production, transport distance and energy for roasting. This is mostly why it is so expensive.

Filter coffee, prepared in a machine, is worst because the coffee filters into a container on a hotplate and wastes an enormous amount of energy after preparation. If you have a filter machine with an insulated flask to keep the coffee hot instead of a hotplate, you eliminate these losses. This was a conclusion made as far back as 2007/2008.

They are only justifying the use of pods on the grounds (inorite, lol) that there is only 10-12g of coffee in a pod. Less than any of the other methods. They seem to be completely ignoring the fact that pods, despite technically being recyclable, are not recycled by waste handlers because they are mixed waste. The overwhelming majority go to landfill.

But comparing the effects of climate change from energy usage with the effects of non-biodegradable waste in landfill is comparing apples with oranges. They’re different problems which both need addressing.

100ml espresso?? Are they insane. Who’s drinking those

That line, as well as a few others was all I needed to be able to feel pretty confident in writing that whole BBC article off as bullshit (haven't read the original).

Also the bit about pods being better for the environment because they have a smaller amount of coffee and thus prevent overconsumption? Wouldn't people just drink more? I used to work in an office that had a half decent bean-to-cup machine and would go through around 6 double "espressos" in a day. Around the same time, spent an afternoon helping a friend dial in their Gaggia Classic, probably had the equivalent of 3 espressos that afternoon and couldn't sleep until around 3am. Definitely a much more efficient use of the coffee! Though that much can be inferred by watching an 8-second espresso piss out of an office bean-to-cup machine.

Definitely a significant amount of useless numbers thrown around in that BBC article.

Coffee is extremely resource-intensive anyway, in terms of water usage in production, transport distance and energy for roasting. This is mostly why it is so expensive.

I'm not really up to speed on this side of things, but is there much of an issue around production not able to meet demand (in terms of driving up the price)? And if so do you know what the main reason(s) for that is? I've always had a bit of an assumption that land availability was a limiting factor but no idea how accurate an assumption that is.

I don't know much about that side of things either I'm afraid.

I think it is important to recognise that the two big factors in terms of the greenhouse gas intensity of making a coffee are a) the embodied carbon of producing and distributing the coffee beans and b) the energy used to heat the water you're brewing with.

Other considerations, like the pod in which the coffee sits, or the filter paper you're using have comparatively small embodied carbon due to the efficiencies of making gazzilions of them in optimised factories.

So don't waste coffee and only boil the water you need are the best things you can do. That's my take away anyway.

And buy your coffee from people that aren’t being exploited or ruining the planet.

Stove top pot FTW.

The Hoffman method recommends pre boiling your water....damn that guy.

Long shot, but anyone looking to sell either what I'm calling an 'entry level enthusiast machine' - Gaggia Classic (or even some of its lesser relations - Baby etc), or a ROK GC?

I will not be taking questions on the variability of these two options.

I'm finding I'm having to adjust the grind as I get towards the end of a batch of beans (usually do 200/250g at a time) as they start to run quicker towards the end. Is this normal?
Of course the natural solution is defrosting less at a time (which I will do), but curious to know if that's something to be expected?

In short, yes it is normal to grind finer as the beans age and give off less gas as they brew.

.

Yes that’s normal 👍

probably had the equivalent of 3 espressos that afternoon and couldn't sleep until around 3pm.

Do you normally sleep in the middle of a workday