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That Porlex is much slower than I anticipated, it takes about 8 minutes to grind approximately 30gr of coffee.

Yeah I really wouldn't want to be grinding more than 20g for espresso... It's much easier for filter, 15g takes a minute. Can't imagine dialling in a new espresso with a Porlex!!

Ditched the Porlex for this anyway

Not into the idea of a hand grinder? You can grind a cupsworth while the kettle boils.

Anyway, I'm sure however you do it you'll be pleased with it. What coffee do you drink at work currently?

If you can spare 3 minutes to make your coffee, get one.

Basically this! I can't imagine what might be putting you off. As long as you've got good beans, good water and a good grinder, you can have an exceptional coffee in minutes.

I grind similar to pourover and adjust from there (usually start with 17g coffee, 240ml water).

Saturday I think, chatted to the guy with glasses about it, I tried a shot from the Vulcano after and while still tasty it was definitely more like a shot from a Robur etc.

House microlot! Sweet.

Cupped some of the El Mirador last week, outstanding. Enjoying that and some Barn stuff at the mo.

mrs_socks, I had a shot of Red Brick from Bulldog Edition the other day, gotta be one of the nicest espressos I've ever had. Fuckin love the EK43. One of the best things to happen to coffee in the last 5 years.

Yup! I don't really get through many so I don't mind. Probably use Aeropress about two or three times a week.

Saw on Twitter that Prufrock were talking about experimenting with cotton wool...

^^ I personally don't bother with a bloom for Aeropress, just pour straight to 220ml (or whatever you're weighing to... certainly don't just do it by eye), and give it a quick stir. Been using 3 paper filters recently (a la Prufrock) and it does seem to give a cleaner brew. Screw those on (pre-rinsed), pull top down till the hissing stops, give it a spin, flip over after 1 min and press over 30 secs.

Must be a reason the best cafes stick to papers, when metal would save so much waste...

Still generally prefer V60.

USP, really? I doubt anyone thinks "ah yeah I'll open a cafe with no toilet ha ha", I imagine it's more to do with needing as much space for seating as possible in the tiny spaces available. I agree it's annoying.

70p per serving is at the higher end of the scale. ... If people accept this as good value, we might see the end of the real good value beans that are available.

I'm happy to pay £3 for good filter in a cafe, so 70p at home sounds fucking great. I accept this as 'good value' but that is my notion of 'value', pretty meaningless from person to person.

Had some very bad service from them so I won't be returning. 25 minutes for an espresso! There was no queue when I went in and everyone already seated had their orders. The mind boggles.

Haha you didn't go and check after sitting there for ten minutes? Any explanation when it finally arrived?

Noted, will avoid. What sort of shop can't even be arsed to talk to its customers?

Doesn't it just mean 'order at the till, not at the machine'?

Surely no-one would let the public punch their own orders through on an iPad. It'd be absolute chaos.

What's this map you speak of?

Speaking of maps, if you use a smartphone you should buy the London's Best Coffee app. It's pretty over-saturated with average shops but all the good ones are there and the map is really useful.

Any recommendations for brew bars near central?

Tapped & Packed offer three different filters on a dedicated brew bar, roasted themselves. I'd say the Wardour St branch is a better bet.
Workshop or Prufrock are consistently amazing if they're close enough to where you're thinking.

^ Colonna & Smalls' blog?

I generally prefer to choose from what a cafe offers, I don't think we should tell them what to make us. So yeah visual guides can be great in that case, or the old "4oz/6oz/8oz milk" instead of outdated Italian names. Although the ounces annoyed me at first because I'd never thought about drinks in ounces before.

Where can I find a conclusive list of what all these words mean? I want to find out what to call what I make at home.

It varies too much from country to country, cafe to cafe. I can't think of a single term that describes a particular drink universally. Even 'espresso' or 'latte'.
Describe what you make and we can all have fun naming it!

Macchiatos annoy me. Enough milk to spoil a good espresso but not enough to bring any interesting flavours to the cup. Obviously has a place in traditional coffee, 'taking the edge off', but I don't think it translates well to speciality coffee. I kind of doubt there are any good modern roasters tasting their espresso roasts with a blob of foam.

Anyone know where I can pick up some Hario 01 filters around Old Street / Liverpool Street? Ordered some new ones 2 weeks ago but they're not here yet, and I've got only 1 left. Cue shit coffee tomorrow.

Pretty sure Bulldog Edition are well stocked.

What is the barista doing wrong when this happens?

Too much air put into the milk / not tapping out big bubbles and spinning the pitcher enough / using shit milk / not combining the milk with the espresso so there's too much crema left on top making all the bubbles pop.

What do I need to ask for to insure my beverage drinking is completely fulfilling.
I mainly drink coffee just as an excuse for foam

Babyccino

I'm using a bottomless portafilter with my lever machine ... Any tips/recommended reading on how I can sort it?

What grinder are you using? I think it needs to be pretty shit hot, and your tamping firm and even, to get a nice stream from a bottomless PF.

Are you otherwise happy with all the parameters (is it all weighing/running OK apart from the fact it's not coming together into one stream)?

Grinders – the new Baratza Encore (£140) is decent, only been using it a few weeks and only for filter but it's meant to be good for espresso. Weighing beans in and grounds out, you only lose about 0.2g which is pretty impressive. You could easily adjust from filter to espresso and back again if you remember the numbers.

^^ Jealous, NH. I think this might be my next coffee purchase. Pretty sure the water will taste better having not been taken to boiling.

My mum just said she had ambient music on tape before it was called ambient.

I don't know a single verse or chorus of any of Justin Beiber's songs, or how he talks or acts. How do people get so negatively affected by him?

(I watch TV and enjoy the X Factor and shit pop music so in before wonka.jpg)