Coffee Appreciation

where from, I'd like to get a couple.

tampers work best if you get a basket that fits them exactly.

58mm here, fits a Gaggia Classic...

if anyone has a 53mm basket machine I have a 53mm motta tamper that was freecycled to me for my old coffee machine but wasnt quite small enough.

happy for someone to grab it off me next time i'm at souths.

just finished a bag of this, don't really rate it at all. I think I like something darker roasted than this, find it a bit weak and lacking depth of flavour.

it's horses for courses I guess. at the end of my second bag now and the novelty has worn off a bit, but the girlfriend still really likes it and tends to comment on how nice the coffee is whenever i make a cup of it for her (she doesnt give two hoots which coffee i'm using in general so it's always pretty much a blind taste test for her).

had another couple of cappucinos with the zamonara this morning and while the toffee thing is still there tightening the grind really tamed it a lot. am going to save the last 180g for the aeropress and move onto the artisan roast jansoo blend espresso for the mornings instead.

tampers work best if you get a basket that fits them exactly.

This. I got a 51 for my europiccola and it has transformed my ability to control the shot. Think I got mine on fleabay.

i haz a reg barber and a chris king tamper, barber is aluminium, king is steel.

both are the correct size for my basket, the king just feels more substantial due to the weight

the weight of the suffering given it's a rapha one?

looks like I need 49mm for the presso/ROK, and 57mm for my dad's Bugatti Diva :(

have a look at madebyknock.com their tampers are pretty cheap and nicely made.

My tamper is slightly undersized for my Gaggia Factory 105, this has been a source of low level annoyance for a while- I am now motivated to measure it when I get home, and will have the tamper up for sale when I obtain a new one.

Thanks for the link HatBeard.
I found Motta 49mm tampers on cream supplies. The 57mm remains a mystery and is kind of the most urgent of the two as I need to find one before Christmas. I'll go to my local coffee dealer later and see what they have (I'm in France right now)

http://www.hasbean.co.uk/collections/ancillaries/products/reg-barber-tamper-base-51mm

Winner, I should be able to swap that with my existing 49mm one.

anyone know what tamper size is needed for a gaggia classic?

Your whole coffee routine sounds rather stressful, HB... :o

What do you want him to do? Make it single-handedly?

^hah

nah I have my routine down pretty good now. just happen to have an influx of different beans to try as I got a bit too keen with this months online ordering on top of picking some beans up from a different roasters whilst i happened to be in their shop in edinburgh. it might seem like i'm being all scientific with my process but it's mostly just trial and error.

the only hassle i really have is getting up 30 minutes early to turn the coffee machine on in the morning and going back to bed so it's ready when it's actually time to get up. but even that i tend to do on autopilot,although I nearly took out the christmas tree this morning as emma had left a trailing wire across the living room from the dehumidifier and i tripped over it.

I just had a nice coffee. I make it on feel. Too much science and before you know it you'll be like Dammit, poring over (ha!) a load of graphs about extraction times and the machine's functional threshold pressure and stuff.

It was a flat white with some Winter Blend from that Union offer you posted, BTW. Thanks again. Don't make many milk drinks, but I do like anything with a bit of Sumatran in the blend in that context.

Get a timer plug for your Gaggia, set it to 30 mins before you wake up*... Simpelz...
My gf normally gets up before me so the machine's already warmed up by the time I stumble into the kitchen...

• Emilié Object's tip
  

I'm on my second bag of Union, straight decaf blend... Pretty nice... Prolly gonna stick with Monmouth for the time being as that's my hands-down favourite...

I do still need to get up to Climpson and get a bag off Pepe... Have had that in a coffee shop and really liked it...

Get a timer plug for your Gaggia, set it to 30 mins before you wake up*... Simpelz...

I put mine in Turbo™ mode* for a quick heat up before flushing.

(*Steam mode, then flush down to brew temperature cycle).

Just been to a cupping session with the guys from Drop Coffee

http://dropcoffee.se/

Was my first time at such an event, really interesting as their main barista and their roaster were visiting the UK. Fascinating guys and it was a whole new experience. The coffees changed profile as they cooled. The names meant very little to me so it was just coffees 1 and 4 in the row which appealed most to me. Both were Kenyan, one was going to make great milk based coffee, another would be a brilliant filter coffee.

Am thoroughly over caffeinated right now.

Don't shoot me down but I urgently need to know what DECENT instant coffees there are out there.

I haven't had a coffee since Sunday and am now allowed instant here.

Help!

missmouse, I'll probably get flamed to a cinder for this, but Starbucks make a big song and dance about their instant. Also percol seems quite popular here in the office.

I can't claim to have had any real experience of either though, so I don't know if the above is of any help.

All the best with your recovery, whatever it is that you're in for.
Are there any new instants out there to top the above suggestions from Oct 2011?

My gran just bought me these for christmas!

And my sis bought me a french press, so now just waiting for the ROK, a proper tamper, a Porlex grinder and my trusty Bialetti will have lots of new friends!
Oh yeah I need beans too...
I love christmas when this happens.