Coffee Appreciation

Monmouth Coffee House is indeed ace, BUT for the very best beans or ground coffee in London, go to the Algerian Coffee Store on Old Compton St.

Apart from Scott not Scot I think you're all complete and utter bastards.

Sour Ben who loves but can't drink coffee, ever. Sigh. Git finks, I hate you all.

X

haha next ride = coffee shop crawl?

we'd be wired by the end of it!

fellow stove top users - Today I´ve been contemplating coffee making and have some questions:

• small or large flame? Quick or slow boil? from today on I´m hooked on small flame, cheers Winston for the tip

• do you grind your own beans? I don´t

• what beans do you use? What grind? I´m using lavazza espresso now, but I´m a big fan of illy

• have you considered using bottled water instead of tap (yes this could be anal, but tap water here doesn´t taste very good) *Will def try this, all in the name of getting a nice cup
  *

brill on exmouth market do very good coffee and of course monmouth
the coffee in the eagle in farringdon is crap because they leave it on the stove too long and it tastes burnt.
never managed to get a long lasting crema with my stove top, don't know what i'm doing wrong? use lavatzza black or gold and sometimes illy and use a low gas as i don't want to burn the coffee.
a mate has a gaggia cubika and the cappuccino's he makes with illy coffee are very good. i'm tempted to get one of the machines myself.

Can someone fill me in on stovetops? I've got electric hobs, can i get something that will work with those for not much £££? I don't bother drinking coffee at home any more because instant is such a dissappointment, used to have a cafetiere but I think it got lost somewhere...

it rots your guts.

beer is better

kboy fellow stove top users - Today I´ve been contemplating coffee making and have some questions:

• small or large flame? Quick or slow boil? from today on I´m hooked on small flame, cheers Winston for the tip

• do you grind your own beans? I don´t

• what beans do you use? What grind? I´m using lavazza espresso now, but I´m a big fan of illy

• have you considered using bottled water instead of tap (yes this could be anal, but tap water here doesn´t taste very good) *Will def try this, all in the name of getting a nice cup
  *

I use filtered water....does make a difference, as some of the calcium is removed....all catering coffee machines draw water from a softener....for flavour and to save the boiler chalking up.

fc9k Can someone fill me in on stovetops? I've got electric hobs, can i get something that will work with those for not much £££? I don't bother drinking coffee at home any more because instant is such a dissappointment, used to have a cafetiere but I think it got lost somewhere...

I´ve got a bialetti moka express. Quite pricey, you can get same kind of thing much cheaper. They´re not really a work of engineering art, so can´t see a cheap one being much different from a bialetti one.

You can use them on a electric hob, just make sure you keep the handle outside the hob so it doesn´t melt.

And don´t wash it too much, just rinse it under the tap, it needs to be a bit filthy to make a good cup

Also, be patient, it takes a good while before it start to make good coffee. Had mine for a while now, and I usually bring it when I travel. Last summer I took it sailing and managed to drop it over board so it´s been to the bottom of the sea and back and it definitely makes better coffee since then

they're not that expensive... theyr'e only about £20! not bad considering a coffee at starbucks goes for about £3.50

I'm with Teddy, an old Bialetti and illy... I'm very careful not to burn it then I just add sugar, milk is a major no-no in my books...
I've been caffeine intolerant for 15 years, I've always served illy decaf (occasionally Lavazza decaf, bit over roasted for my palette) and even the java-snobs can't tell the difference! ;)

I sense an amount of bias from you scott...

I only have it occasionally.

tea all the way

justMouse [quote]BringMeMyFix Actually, I prefer eating chocolate-covered coffee beans. I'm considering them as on-the-bike sustenance.
Dude, after the initial nice taste, it's like eating dirt/sand.[/quote]

Lies! I love em.

Have to disagree with Winston about the home espresso makers. We have one, and with right grind, and right beans, it makes a cup almost as nice as Flat White or Monmouth.

Oh and as far as expertise goes, gf's grandparents were importing La Pavoni machines 40 years ago. That's gotta count for something, hasn't it?

No way it is all about the stove top at home, it makes much better consistent coffee with less faffing than any of the expresso machines.
Every morning it has to be monmouth before I can make sense of anything.
The crucial thing that seems to have been neglected so far is getting the milk to the right temperature at the right speed and always always use full fat milk.

not sure if the bloke in camden is still there uesed to roast and make up his own blends think he was brazilian, on delancy st

rg37 not sure if the bloke in camden is still there uesed to roast and make up his own blends think he was brazilian, on delancy st

yeah he's still there I think. Really small place, looks like it's been there since the dawn of time? Will drop by there this week or next to get some coffee, just have to finish what I've started at home

I didn't know that there was a good coffee shop on Delancey Street. That's right down the road. Have to take a look. Are there any good shops within walking distance of Waterloo? (where I spend daylight hours).

Just to go against the grain, I'm not such a fan of the beans they sell in Monmouth Coffee. It's true that they're better than average and the cakes are great, particularly the brownies though at £2.15 they should be.

I'm surprised no one's mentioned this (or did I just read too fast): in my opinion the best coffee beans in London are sold from Algerian Coffee Stores on Old Compton Street. I think they're just fresher than those in Monmouth. If you get their coffee of the month (and it's always a good one), it's £5 for 500g, they always have a high roast and a medium roast option.

Plus, they will give you an espresso on the spot for 70p, though they've got no chairs.

I've had to stop going there recently cos I'm pumping so much into my bike that I can't afford like £5 a week on beans. If I buy Nescafe for two years or something I will recoup the cost of my new Aerospoke :(

kboy [quote]rg37 not sure if the bloke in camden is still there uesed to roast and make up his own blends think he was brazilian, on delancy st

yeah he's still there I think. Really small place, looks like it's been there since the dawn of time? Will drop by there this week or next to get some coffee, just have to finish what I've started at home[/quote]

cool, im glad he is still there i used to live round the corner, when he started work the smell was lovely....

Just had my fourth coffee of the day, I think I may have peeked way too early.
I pity the poor fools who have to work with me.

milk cold from the fridge will frothe better....personally I prefer it flat.

The best coffee I ever had was in Samoa, homegrown, dark, strong as fuck, beautiful.

I had three cups in the evening and was soon enough 8 mile high and gangster tripping.

Next day after a night with little to no sleep, I played in a rugby match that was broadcast live around the entire Pacific rim and was all over the place; shit was crazy! I think it was a coffee espionage tactic from the opposition...

Oh, and a tip for all you cappucino heads out there.

You froth the milk once and sometimes it's hard to froth it again if you're making several cups. By simply adding an ice cube to the frothed milk, it takes the temperature back down and you can froth that bad boy right back up again.