Coffee Appreciation

Fettling and coffee - winning combo you got there BC

<disappointed fettling isn't a euphemism.

Bombcup- what sort of volume should I be getting per shot in terms of millilitres?

Do you have to have the boiler pressure tested and certified before commercial use?

According to some seamen I used to work with, the espresso machine had to be certified alongside the main ship's boilers because it was a pressure vessel and therefore covered by class regulations.

True story....

... if you believe tales told by sailors.

^ Ah yes, you do need to get a pressurised vessel test certificate for insurance purposes. Just checks that the safety valve and thermal cutout fuse are working.

Dammit - Don't know what the volume is exactly but you've only got the volume of the cylinder, which is fairly small. Some folks preinfuse then lift the lever to refill, but I tend to imagine this disturbs the puck and creates chanelling.

My dad builds model boats and has a steamer, because they use them in public places they need testing. Wasn't sure if kitchen appliances fell under the same catergory.

Looking good bombcup!

Don't think it applies to kitchen appliances, just to commercial equipment to satisfy conditions of public liability insurance. Kitchen machines are CE certified, but if you blow your house up after performing modifications to the pressure system you could find yourself in trouble. The evidence is likely to have embedded itself in the masonry though, so you'll probably be OK.

If you have any masonry left... The engineering safety industry began with boilers for a reason:
YouTube - Water Heater Explosion Mythbusters

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiler_explosion
So worth getting right not just for the sake of the paperwork.

When I worked in a restaurant, we'd fire up the machine, then make five or so cups and chuck them out.....because the first ones taste horrible...if this applies to home machines, you'll spend a lot on coffee or never get a good cup unless you drink loads...

restaurant coffee is generally piss poor, they have a fancy machine and get the untrained waiters to do the coffee, the machine is often unused and just gets turned on to do a coffee then turned off, i rarely bother ordering coffee in restaurants.

last time i ate out in central london i had main, coffee and dessert in different establishments andrew edmunds > gelupo > milk bar.

then there is pub coffee....

.....then there is pub coffee....

Oh god no....

i eat at the eagle a fair bit and their food is great, their coffee is made in stovetops and just gets left to boil away on the gas while the staff do other things, why do places take care with their food and beer/wine but neglect the coffee?

Tampers......

We drink too much coffee at home so for a recent anniversary, my wife and I bought each other Reg Barber tampers, we got one with a flat base and the other with rippled base. The tampers are way better than the standard plastic thing, and make it easier to get a better shot, but I will admit that I could not say one was consistently better than the other.

i eat at the eagle a fair bit and their food is great, their coffee is made in stovetops and just gets left to boil away on the gas while the staff do other things, why do places take care with their food and beer/wine but neglect the coffee?

this ^

My wife has a quite well off friend, and when she visits london she often treats us to a meal at a very expensive restaurant that we would never dream of going to ourselves - michelin stars etc.

And withough exception, the espresso has been piss poor.

North Tea Power, Tibb St, Manchester is very nice. Blake beans, chatty staff - is considering stocking some Single Origin options also in the future. Very close to the centre so visitors to Manc should try to drop in for sure.

oooh - noice, off to Manchester for the track world champs in a couple of weeks so good to know

^Nice one, pop in and grab a bag of coffee to give to Chris Hoy - just read this in his biog on the way home

[on the accomodation in Beijing olympic village] ...I added my hand pump espresso machine, though we had a proper one in the communal area downstairs, thankfully - I don't know how we'd have lived without proper coffee

Coffee for champions!

I went down to 'The Coffee Machine' on Kings Road this morning. Very nice shop, some pretty porn-worthy machines. Its a Swedish company and they are expanding over here.
Picked up a new tamper and a knock-box.

They also stock Square Mile beans which may be rather useful for Southwest/West types

Nice butt plug.

Nice butt plug.

Am assuming this is the voice of experience.

Have you tried the Coco de Mer one made from glass, with the feathery tassles?

Maybe we should start a new thread...

How much was the 58 butt plug?

£35 from the looks of it....

http://www.thecoffeemachinelondon.co.uk/webshop/?k=10&sk=37&p=1143&Produkt=Pop%2058%20mm%20flat

Shocking pink plug FTW!

It actually came out a bit cheaper - £31 I think. The guy offered me the pink one, I said it didn't go with my kitchen.

Is the red one as fast as Bobridge?