Coffee Appreciation

Got some El Salvador single origin beans from Nude Espresso the other day to use in my aeropress... after being spoilt by Red Brick stuff, tastes a but bland. But I guess at £7.50 or something for a bag and a flat white it's pretty good value

Single-origins can be quite one-dimensional compared to a blend that's designed to be well-balanced. Also Red Brick is espresso, is the El Salvador roasted for filter? Have you had a play with the recipe? Could just be underextracted.

^ The El Salvador is for filter yes. Made a bit (i.e., a lot) of a typo above, I meant to compare it to Deri Kochi by Square Mille... rugby and beers have mashed my brain a bit

Been on the Happy Donkey Brazilian blend I got free with grinder is very dark roast, not to my taste. Massacred the remains of my nicer hasbean beans trying to dial them in, so it's back to the hd stuff until more arrives.

I've quite enjoyed Extract Roasters 'Dr Strangelove' espresso blend (2 bean). Their standard espresso blend was good - consistent and forgiving - and would probably be inoffensive to a wide range of drinkers, but the Strangelove adds the hint of fruity acidity that makes it a decent Red Brick alternative. Excellent service too.

In other news, I also noticed the code '10esp' the other day for 10% off a Union order.

I meant to compare it to Deri Kochi by Square Mile

Yeah the Deri Kochi is fantastic. Tried the Musasa?

A recent surprise was Tapped & Packed's Guatemalan. First sip was nothing, then a few seconds later came a wave of chewy honey sweetness. These guys and Workshop are exciting me.

Moog have you got the machina up and working?

I've quite enjoyed Extract Roasters 'Dr Strangelove' espresso blend (2 bean). Their standard espresso blend was good - consistent and forgiving - and would probably be inoffensive to a wide range of drinkers, but the Strangelove adds the hint of fruity acidity that makes it a decent Red Brick alternative. Excellent service too.

In other news, I also noticed the code '10esp' the other day for 10% off a Union order.

Extract are my local roasters (Bristol) - I have been using them for several years now - they are generally very very good and very reasonably priced imo, I would highly recommend some of their SO stuff - currently drinking their Ethiopian konga 1

In lieu of my replacement Gaggia arriving (if it ever will) I have spent most of my weekend drinking excellent coffee in Browns of Brockley, Federation, No. 67 Café and Johannsons. Particularly enjoyed Browns'.

Now back to instant and chain shops until next weekend :(

Dammit - I was away for a week and we still have house DIY to do so it's not been looked at yet. I'll update my progress when I start work on it.

Cool, looking forward to seeing it back in action.

In machine related news, I turned my boiler pressure back up to 1.5 bar and it had an immediate impact on the quality of the drinks I was making- particularly the milk.

Much better than when it was at 1 bar.

Free sample of Grey Sky Sumatra Toba

Apparently it's a limited offer and it was put up on HUKD a week ago so maybe there's none left, but worth a punt. You can choose whether or not they grind it.

Did anyone receive this? I didn't

We've now got Verve Coffee Roasters Street Level espresso at LMNH, first place in the UK to have it I think. You can really taste marzipan and cherry in it. Very rounded like the Square Mile Red Brick too. We've got retail bags of it for sale as well.

^spam

Cool, looking forward to seeing it back in action.

In machine related news, I turned my boiler pressure back up to 1.5 bar and it had an immediate impact on the quality of the drinks I was making- particularly the milk.

Much better than when it was at 1 bar.

Do you weigh your milk Dammit?

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/02/10/opinion/sunday/ben-schott-java-jive-coffee-vocabulary.html

my favourite:
"Premium 'spro, open baskets, no spouts, can't split, don't wanna."

Sad day today, poured 80∘c water into my aeropress and the chamber cracked on both sides. Has anyone else had problems with them?

Did anyone receive this? I didn't

Nope. It did say 3 - 4 weeks delivery, but the whole thing didn't seem very 'confirmed'. I think they said they would send an email to acknowledge the order but I never got one.

^ On the aeropress comment - had mine for about 9 months and no probs so far... (*touch wood)

I've googled it a bit an it seems to be a known problem with some batches. I've sent aerobie an email and they asked for pics of the chamber and the paper filter holder so hopefully they'll resolve it quickly, really not looking forward to going back to filter coffee after getting used to the aeropress!

Did anyone here try Hasbean's Wote Yirgacheffe? Just ordered a bag in the hope of stewed fruit richness...

Just tried some Workshop Espresso beans for the first time, and am very impressed. None of the acidity I was getting from the Red Brick blend (which I had been blaming on my poor lever technique).

I have a Cunill Colombia which I will be selling shortly. Not too big without the hopper fitted. It's a proper commercial quality machine. I will post here when it's up for sale (along with a Gaggia espresso machine too).

It's like this one:

http://www.belisa.com.ua/i/lng.en/page.coffee_machine_filter_grinder_cunill_compact

Ok, I have a couple of items for sale. I'm not sure what sort of prices to ask for, so if there's no interest then I will drop these later.

Collection from Hackney Road (Bethnal Green, Old Street, Cambridge Heath Road stations). First with cash gets them.

Gaggia Selecta Deluxe. This is basically a Gaggia Classic, minus the three-way solenoid. The lack of three-way solenoid means that the puck of used coffee is slightly soggier after brewing, but I don't think it makes much difference. Freshly de-scaled. Includes single/double baskets, plastic tamper, measuring spoon, etc.** £70**.

Cunill (also known as Fracino) Colombia Grinder. This is an awesome machine which gives a great, consistent grind. It works well without the hopper at home which makes it much smaller (it is a big machine). That's how I've used it at home. Has a fine stepped-adjustment which is great for recalling for different beans. The machine is good with respect to retaining grinds; the chute is easily brushed out, and the doser has felt attached to one of the blades in order to clear out remaining grinds. Case is stainless steel and nice and shiny. £80.

3 Attachments

Keen on the cunhill if it's still available?

Also interested in the grinder, I can pick it up after work tomorrow if you'll hold it

Dsan is popping round to look at the grinder tomorrow. I should have remembered to PM you first, Moog, sorry!

Gaggia still available.