Coffee snob!

Transform

Some time ago a thread was posted where you were asked what coffee shop/place served the best black stuff and there were many varying opinions. One of which (cant remember who) was they would never buy a coffee from a shop and would only drink their own stuff.

At the time i thought - jesus what a coffee snob!!

However after checking in here now and again and getting beans from has bean (brazil, bolivia, costa rica) and a small grinder (not a burr one yet) the taste is simply on a whole new level.

So just to say thanks a million and this is coming from a fitness freak who used to drink barley cup and think it was grand as a coffee substitute!! My wife who loves all things italian (lived there for some time) even laughs at this as she got me into real coffee and i really love the ritual of a nice coffee.

Any recommendations going forwards apart from changing grinder?

RE*AC*TOR

How are you brewing?

Gran Hermano

There's no going back once you've experienced coffee made with freshly
roasted and ground beans.

Mr Magnolia

Transform wrote: »

One of which (cant remember who) was they would never buy a coffee from a shop and would only drink their own stuff.

.o/


Really great to hear you're benefiting from the forum.

I wouldn't say I'm the only person around these parts not to bother with coffee when I'm out and about. I would try a new shop if one opened and I have been pleasantly surprised once or twice of late. The standard of coffee [away from the big chain stores] is improving.

The burr grinder is certainly a great investment.

getnoticed

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

....The burr grinder is certainly a great investment....

A good grinder (the best you can afford) should be purchased as soon as possible.

Many people focus on buying a decent espresso machine when many great experiences can be found in a chemex, french press or even a moka pot, when you have freshly roasted beans (that have been allowed to settle) and a good grinder.

What brewing method are you using?

Transform

cheers guys.

To brew i just grind the beans to espresso on my grinder until fine and pop it into the gaggia and thats it. Is there more to it than that or a step i am missing? Obviously i make sure its heated up enough and i seem to be able to get a americano amount out of the machine on my current grind i.e. once i leave it on until i can see the crema forming on the top. I always use fairly small cups but not espresso sized cups

would love to get the burr but my wife only got me a grinder 6 weeks ago (counter space and all that) so will have to break sorry burn that one out soon so i can have the excuse to get a burr.

Gran Hermano

I'm not sure whether I'm misreading but make sure if you are making
an Americano by only making a shot of espresso (approx 30 ml for a single shot)
and then adding hot water from the kettle to top up/dilute.

Do not run the full amount of water you want for the Americano
through the espresso machine/basket as you will end up over-extracting
the coffee.

eclectichoney

Transform wrote: »

would love to get the burr but my wife only got me a grinder 6 weeks ago (counter space and all that) so will have to break sorry burn that one out soon so i can have the excuse to get a burr.

If getting a proper burr grinder *really* isn't a goer at the moment, maybe you could pick up a cheapo french press (€6-7) in TK Maxx, as a coarser grind (like your existing grinder probably gives you) will work ok for french press, but will not work for espresso / espresso based drinks at all at all. And personally I prefer the french press method for a long black coffee over an americano, I find you get a fuller, rounder flavour. But if you want to stick to using the gaggia you definitely will need a proper, burr grinder (the experts here will be more than able to suggest one! :pac::pac:)

Transform

gotcha.

Cheers for that. I used to get coffee from the guy in temple bar and it was soooooo fine that i was getting a tiny amount of coffee from the gaggia and feeling like it was just blocking it up rather than realising i should have just added water to make americano!!

I think the issue is that my grinder does not grind fine enough to make a really fine grind possibly and when i do grind it currently the crema only forms when there is about the amount of a double espresso in the cup. I will just have to take a vid of making it possibly and post (works best in fitness forum so why not here i suppose).

I will work on breaking the current grinder so.

eclectichoney

Transform wrote: »

I will work on breaking the current grinder so.

:D:D

IsThatSo?

Transform wrote: »

I will work on breaking the current grinder so.

You could "accidentally" grind some spices in it, not realising of course that you cannot use the same grinder for spices and coffee as it will flavour your coffee.........................;)

Slaphead07

or ball bearings...

MarcoB

Dunno if you are serious about the breaking thing! You could take the fuse out, tell the missus it's broken and give it to a mate (who she doesn't know )

I work designing coffee machines and have loads to choose from, yet I never drink coffee at home, I don't even have a french press! I have more than enough coffee in work, but if I was to pick one machine/device for home it would be the aeropress.

i really love the ritual of a nice coffee.

This is what many like about the aeropress, I like the easy clean up and the fact you can just do one cup easily and dump the spent puck in the bin.

kencleary

Haven't seen it mentioned here yet but a Hario vacuum pot has now become my favourite piece of coffee equipment.

Grind a bit finer than a french press, heat up the water in the kettle then use the wick burner with the vaccum pot itself. It produces really great coffee, really consistently. It's a couple of notches above the french press for me, though I admit I haven't used a Cemex.

I'm just too lazy to use the Expresso machine during the week!

emilysmith

Hey.. Its not about being snob people who have taste for coffee, try a lot of thing to make it tastier. There are lots of coffee makers available, which you can try as per your need. One of the way is thermal coffee that can be use to make Capresso.