Coffee Appreciation

http://www.departmentofcoffee.co.uk/ is on Leather Lane too if you need some variety

Classic has lost it's oomph for steam. Likely cause?

Might be a slight blockage. It can happen as far down as the end of the steam wand itself.

Worth running descaler through the wand the next time you descale (steam and pump switches on, tap open).

Job going, talking about coffee. Might be good for someone?
http://www.londoncoffeejobs.co.uk/jobs/view/coffee-writer/

^Good bros, great apps

Im sorry for spamming you guys but I'm having a spring clear out....Mukka caffetier anybody? :-) http://www.lfgss.com/thread105158.html

Got Monmouth's decaf beans in the grinder at the moment, very impressed!

Bargain grinder at Barbican:

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?9752-Iberital-MC5-cunill-fracino-grinder-%A360

Camden is a real coffee vacuum but (dan) just put me on to 'The Coffee Jar' on Parkway - They've been open 2 months and the coffee is pretty decent, needs a bit more work but it's deffo the best I've had in Camden, they're using Monmouth organic espresso blend

Camden Coffee House looks promising. Using Has Bean and feature on the London's Best Coffee app. Surprised there's such a lack in the area!

If you go to the Ifor Evans/Max Rayne student halls on Camden road you'll find a lot of Italian students there on sabbatical. They all know at least 1 guy with an espresso machine who knows what he's doing. Max Rayne is a better bet as it's self-catering.

Good luck.

Camden Coffee House looks promising. Using Has Bean and feature on the London's Best Coffee app. Surprised there's such a lack in the area!

Bloke in there is chatty and I've been getting my coffee there in the morning as there was no alternative, they do have their own HasBean blend - coffee is shocking tho!

Apparently the branch in Clapham is good

Shame. I'd probably find myself going out of my way to Tapped on TCR or Caravan if I lived round there.

http://rcoffee.co.uk/products-page/ethical-coffee/

apparently all their coffee is unethical...

Anyone going to the London coffee fest this weekend?
I'm going Friday after work, not sure what to expect.

^ lots if wired folks? apparently it's national coffee week this week.

Anyone familiar with Tank Coffee, roaster in the north west of England? Just grabbed some Tanzanian beans and a ground decaf Sidamo for J.

Anyone going to the London coffee fest this weekend?
I'm going Friday after work, not sure what to expect.

I'm probably heading down on Thursday arvo.

Went to Small Batch near the library in Brighton today. My housemate got served a terrible cup.

Tasted fine but absolutely no microfoam, looked like a cup of Maxwell House. Suprised it was allowed to leave the counter.

Mine was good, just strange to have inconsistancy between one pour and the next. 0_o

Anyone going to the London coffee fest this weekend?
I'm going Friday after work, not sure what to expect.

I'll be there Sat morn.

I need a little advice on espresso extraction.

I recently upgraded to a commercial grinder and still have trouble eliminating the dull sour taste.

Previously I converted to a naked PF to find serious channeling so thought it was a problem with the grind. Dialling in the new grinder with a new tamp method has eliminated the channeling, but the same dull sour taste remains. I'm aiming for a 25 second extraction with blonde, but not tan crema.

Reading a little more, I tried start dumping, and that helped a lot, but it's still not ideal for espresso. Does this mean my beans are shite, and so it's a waste of time fiddling till I get some nice ones?

how much are you extracting per shot?

2 ounces, but I time it by the colour of the shot, not the volume, then adjust grind/tamp to get same colour at 2 ounces

You should def get some little scales and do things by 0.5g instead of by volume/sight. Makes an incredible amount of difference.
What water are you using?
Depends massively on your recipe/beans/temp/etc but I might suggest going for a longer extraction (30s?) with an aim for 30-32g yield.

how much coffee are you using as well?

If it's sour, then it sounds like you are underextracting.

What beans are you using?

(and the rest of the questions already asked: weight of grounds, brew duration, etc).

Thanks for the replies. it seems I've overlooked a few crucial things.

I started out weighing the beans, but saw no point with the over fill then distribute and skim off the top way of distribution that I've seen everywhere. Surely the amount is just set by the grind in this case (and if you knock it at all before tamping)?

it easier to distribute the grinds in the PF if it's overfull no?

Re: beans, I just got waitrose own medium roast columbian for testing.