Coffee Appreciation

just put in my first order with Hasbean looking forward to it but a shame I've moved so not living round the corner from http://www.smallbatchcoffee.co.uk/ when I could nip in whenever run out of beans.

Hasbean the best of the mail order options?

Yes, definitely. Super fresh, great service and beautiful coffee. What did you order?

Have always just gone with the house blend at Small Batch so ordered Jailbreak which seems to be the equivalent and on a whim got a bag of Guatemala El Bosque Amatitlan Red Bourbon 2010-2011 Crop

We love our Gaggia Classic! Drawbacks are that you have to take the overflow pipe off to get the water tank out, which means taking the top off as well. Not a major problem, but a little irritating. Also the steam wand is a little under-powered.

What do you mean by 'taking the top off'?
The overflow pipe just pulls out (down) so you can take the water tank out with the driptray removed.

EDIT: Yeah, what Smiffy saided.

I'd love to do a coffee thread group training session covering espresso and brewing but I'm not going to be able to do it at work. Only way would be to come to Northampton on a saturday.

I'd happily come to Northampton to glean wisdom on coffee. Y'know, if I'm welcome. Don't have any other reason to head up that way, though it's closeish to my parents' place. I'm definitely going to drop by Peel+Peel if I am ever in town, though.

I got my parents the Hasbean filter sample pack for Christmas. We've worked through the 4 Bean Blend so far. I wasn't expecting to like it much but I was wrong. It's lovely, really creamy.

Found this in my parents' garage

I have one of these. Not a massive fan though. Aesthetically it's nice to have in the kitchen but the grind is way too varied. Been using it for years though, and it works well enough, I suppose. I would just like better consistency at a more coarse grind.

The Gaggia classic is a great machine for home, give the cubika a skip tho!

Ooof! Works Ok for me. Leaks a bit tho, kinda like an Essex bird in a bus shelter.

I'd love to do a coffee thread group training session covering espresso and brewing but I'm not going to be able to do it at work. Only way would be to come to Northampton on a saturday.

Only ~110k from my place. Could ride up, get wired, ride back one day.

on a whim got a bag of Guatemala El Bosque Amatitlan Red Bourbon 2010-2011 Crop

Got some of this before xmas, but it's not really doing much for me (french press styleee). The Nicaraguan Limoncello on the other hand is well worth getting hold of when you next order.

All a matter of personal taste & effort in preparation tho i guess (pretty sure i'm butchering alot of taste away still in the press), be interested to see what you think of the El Bosque.

If there're any xmas beans still available when i'm off phoneternet then i'll be ordering some more, 250g was all gone inside a week [/wired]

We sampled that El Bosque and it's delicious, good choice.

I bought a Hario cloth brewer after enjoying it at Notes so I'm going through coffee at a rate of knots. Love learning a new brewer.

What do you mean by 'taking the top off'?
The overflow pipe just pulls out (down) so you can take the water tank out with the driptray removed.

EDIT: Yeah, what Smiffy saided.

Ok, ok, ok. I got it the first time:

"Shoulda RTFM"

Only ~110k from my place. Could ride up, get wired, ride back one day.

Well if anyone fancies it, and we can come up with an agreeable date, I'm game. You can chuck a bike on the train to Euston if luncheon becomes a little too refreshing.

First of all the El Bosque is a-mazing, I only brewed it in aeropress and V60 though. Really loved it. Personally I'm not much of a fan of French press. I'm thinking of getting a larger Chemex soon for times when I want to brew more than one cup.

I'd be up for a trip up to Northampton too.

Cloth brewer sounds interesting, I gather you have to look after the cloth though? Bit of a pain in the arse?

Just rinse the cloth with boiling water then keep in a tub of water in the fridge, so yeah, kind of a pain, but it becomes just another part of the method.

I must be killing the El Bosque then. Starting to get drawn towards thoughts of better brewing methods than the press, but a costly road that seems to be.

Will try hob stovetop with it tomorrow to see if any different results thru that.

I must be killing the El Bosque then. Starting to get drawn towards thoughts of better brewing methods than the press, but a costly road that seems to be.

Will try hob stovetop with it tomorrow to see if any different results thru that.

Should work OK in the press, read a couple of brew guides and see if there's anything you need to change. Paper filter tends to suit coffees with delicate acidity like that.

www.brewmethods.com

If you're spending that sort of money on the actual coffee then an aeropress or V60 is pretty cheap. Aeropress is pretty much un-fuckup-able too. Hasbean has a guide on the website.

Ok, resolving to treat the coffee better from now on, will have a rummage on that site and look into aero or v60 also. Ta both.

Buying an aeropress at first opportunity... That is all

Buying an aeropress at first opportunity... That is all

espresso room are doing a press and a bag of coffee special offer.
they do them in dose too.

Sweet! But I gots beans.. Looking at the deals with 350 filters on Ebay at the moment

Check out the metal disk replacement (Coaca?) for the filters, I've been using a swissgold filter cut to filter shape for a year now, I like it personally.

Improved flavour by using a timer and following one of the brewmethods links for the press. Have also tried stovetop but very agricultural on electric hob, so will stick with press until shopping done for aero.

Just got back from Berlin where I had a killer cup in Bonanza Coffee off Bernauerstraße in Prenzlauerberg. They're roasting their own beans in the shop (which I bought a bag of and had a delicious first shot yesterday) and are well worth the visit if you're in town.

First time making proper coffee - my current work has just invested in a La Marzocco, and at the moment using Hasbeen Jailbreak, and its amazing. Unfortunately its turning me into a complete geek about it but ho hum.

Would also be happy to go to Northampton to learn more from a forumite- I feel the need to learn as much as possible now!

glad the bosque seems to be going down well with the aeropress users, that's my brew method of choice. Can't wait for the postman to arrive.

Northampton seems cool though already sounds like you might have a house full?