Coffee Appreciation

oooh - look at the state of the steam wand on the Bezza - dirty boy!

Look at the top photos.. that bottom pic is how I bought it last year not how I leave it.

Anyone want to buy a 1br flat? I need a bigger kitchen now so we're moving out.

Mal's already tired of having to sleep outside..

I think I might have finally overdone it.. It's half the size of our fridge and we have a big fridge.. :S :D

Anyone want to buy a 1br flat? I need a bigger kitchen now so we're moving out.

i salute you.

Seems I may have been rash in my acquisition of the transformer. I e-mailed the seller, but haven't had a response yet. I didn't want to get a new plug and just stick the machine into the transformer without being sure that it was really meant for 110v. I thought I'd open it up to see if there were any clues inside.

220-240v 1000w on the bottom of what I assume is the heater element? It's clearly been tampered with; each of the wires has a bit of sticky tape on it that's numbered to correspond with a bit of tape labeling each of the pins on the switches. That would make more sense than the guy I bought it from failing to mention the fact that it wasn't 240v.

I've just bought a 250g bag of Monmouth which I had them grind (yeah, yeah, the grinder is coming) and it's choking my Silvia (which is strange because I asked for a coarser grind than my last purchase) even with a relatively light tamp. What else can I do with it so it doesn't go to waste?

Could try no tamp at all? Otherwise take them back to Monmouth

@sanddancer how much did you pay for that beauty?

£160. It went up on Ebay, starting price £80 and I just happened upon it within minutes of it being posted. I sent a message asking how much he'd end the auction for and got a reply inviting me to make an offer. I offered the £160 (last one to go went for £157, but that was a chrome one) and he accepted.

Could try no tamp at all? Otherwise take them back to Monmouth

It's technically my own fault for asking for such a fine grind, although I suspect it may have been the guy serving me who made a mistake – I had to remind him to charge me for my flat white and told me no-one had ever asked for such a fine grind (which I find hard to believe). Of course the other more worrying possibility is that my machine is losing pressure...

Sounds like the guy got it wrong. Take it back, they are very helpful and good staff so I'm sure they will swap it over for you.

BTW which grinder are you getting?

Looking at the Iberital MC2 but it's quite big. I also like the look of the iSteel from earlier on in the thread, but it's about double the price and I'm not convinced it's all that much smaller.

Suggestions?

I could make some Turkish coffee with it I guess.

I had an MC2 for ages and it was great. It's not big compared to most other grinders!

Just bought one of these,

Bit of a faff compared to the aeropress, however it really brings some of the flavours of the coffee through.

Pretty cheap as well!

How is this any different from just sticking a filter paper into a funnel and putting that in your cup? Just wondering why they're £20 when a funnel is about 50p? Does it actually affect the flavour?

So I'm trying to get to grips with my Europiccola and I'm making slow progress, but awesome considering my circumstances (still waiting on stuff to arrive, so tamping with soy sauce bottle, foaming milk with giant pyrex jug etc).

Can any one recommend a coffee/grind/supplier that sell a coffee that's ground just right for this machine that I could use so that I can discount coffee/grind from the list of variables I'm jugging while I'm learning? So far all I've got to work is a tin of Illy Espresso from the supermarket. I tried a couple of others, but they were too coarse I think and no matter how much I tamped, I couldn't get the pull to last more than a couple of seconds.

Try hasbean.co.uk

They have just launched some new espresso blends, maybe try 'Jailbreak'. About £6 delivered and it's very good stuff.

I have a spare tamper (what's the basket diameter?) which you can have if its any good.

How is this any different from just sticking a filter paper into a funnel and putting that in your cup? Just wondering why they're £20 when a funnel is about 50p? Does it actually affect the flavour?

It seems to. I think it's all to do with the channeling of the water through the grinds - there
are specific pourover techniques (and an actually pouring kettle designed for just this type of coffee!).
I'm certainly getting some great stuff using it. Still use the aeropress a lot as it's so easy and quick to use.

Looking at the Iberital MC2 but it's quite big. I also like the look of the iSteel from earlier on in the thread, but it's about double the price and I'm not convinced it's all that much smaller.

Suggestions?

it's not double the price. the black ones are £140 the polished aluminium £160

found the steel for £160 here
http://www.gallacoffee.co.uk/acatalog/I-Steel_Grinder.html

2.5 weeks in Italy. Shit the bed they do things properly over there. Some lovely lavazza stuff ground right for stovetops in every supermarket worked a treat in a mini bialetti in the rented gaff. The hotels restaurants and cafes all had big ass commercial machines. I saw the tiniest grottiest cafe churning out freshly ground freshly poured espressos at 75cents a cup.

bought a bialetti as a present and some lavazza coffee. Visited the last roaster in venice, but didn't have funds (last day of trip) to bring back more coffee :(

a caffeine filled holiday :D

It seems to. I think it's all to do with the channeling of the water through the grinds - there
are specific pourover techniques (and an actually pouring kettle designed for just this type of coffee!).
I'm certainly getting some great stuff using it. Still use the aeropress a lot as it's so easy and quick to use.

I thought that using this type, with disposable filter, it would be much easier to clean as all you need to do is throw grinds in the bin and rinse out funnel? Is the aeropress somehow magically self-cleaning?!

Just had my first coffee. About to have another.

/thread ends

Boy, Crispin you really know how to make friends!

You know it!