A quick guide to beans, grinders and brewing gear

llatsni

There's been a fair bit of "is this any good" or "which grinder" type threads recently, so I thought I'd take a stab at making at a rough guide. These are just my opinions and I have no affiliation etc.

Hopefully at this stage you have some appreciation that your cup of coffee is only as good as the culmination of the following elements:

bean quality > grind > brew equipment > brew technique

The first is hugely overlooked, but thankfully easily sorted. Go get a subscribtion from any of these guys:
- Hasbean
- Square mile
- James gourmet
- Badger & Dodo
I have one of each of their monthly subs and its a wonderful thing.

The next three elements are much debated - but in my mind also easily sorted with smart spending:

Minimal budget <€100:
- hand grinder
- manual brew (press / pour-over)

Entry level budget ~€300:
- burr grinder low
- manual brew (press / pour-over)

Espresso entry budget ~€600:
- burr grinder low
- espresso machine mid

Espresso mid budget ~€800:
- burr grinder mid
- espresso machine mid

Espresso high budget €1200+++:
- burr grinder mid/high
- espresso machine high

Steve at Hasbean and Karl at Coffee Angel are two of the most knowledgeable & helpful coffee-guys in the world. You can happily give them your money.

The gear list:

Grinders
- hand: Porlex or Skerton (don't bother with cheap blade grinders)
- low: Baraza Virtuoso
- mid: Mahlkonig Vario
- high: Mahlkonig Tanzania (or Uber or similar)

Espresso machines
- low: Don't do it!
- mid: Gaggia classic (stupidly cheap at the moment) or Rancilio silvia
- high: Brewtus, Duetto, Marzocco gs3 etc.

Press / pour-over / drip:
- Chemex
- Tecnivorm
- Aeropress
- Cafetiere
- Moka pot
- The next big thing

Is that helpful?

PPC

http://www.origincoffee.co.uk/ do some fantastic coffees as well, not sure if the subscriptions apply to Ireland, but i've ordered a few times and its been decent every time.

Hario V60 would be on my must have list for 1 cup filter brewing.

http://www.coffeehit.co.uk/ have some nice little bits and pieces that people may need while brewing. Delivery to Ireland isn't cheap.

And if you need to pick up stuff in town, 3FE currently have a some nice kits.

Gran Hermano

For anynone looking to purchase a grinder, Coffee Geek have a detailed and useful review of the various Baratza models.
It also helps explain why a grinder might be suitable for espresso or not
Review pdf link here

Both Coffee Angel and Hasbean stock these, with Coffee Angel having the edge on pricing including delivery.

PPC

And CoffeeGeek have just put up a small list of presents for under $75
http://www.coffeegeek.com/opinions/coffeeatthemoment/12-08-2011

donnacha

PPC wrote: »

And CoffeeGeek have just put up a small list of presents for under $75
http://www.coffeegeek.com/opinions/coffeeatthemoment/12-08-2011

Those scales look amazing, if only I knew someone returning from the states this xmas ...

http://www.coffeegeek.com/opinions/coffeeatthemoment/12-08-2011/5:20

llatsni

This thread is turning into a wish (lust) list!

PPC

donnacha wrote: »

Those scales look amazing, if only I knew someone returning from the states this xmas ...

http://www.coffeegeek.com/opinions/coffeeatthemoment/12-08-2011/5:20

While not 2KGs this may do if 1KG is enough
http://www.amazon.co.uk/LUPO-Maximum-Electronic-Digital-Balance/dp/B003TL20Q4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323440330&sr=8-1

kc66

llatsni wrote: »

Espresso machines
- low: Don't do it!
- mid: Gaggia classic (stupidly cheap at the moment)

Is there much difference in that machine and this one?

llatsni

kc66 wrote: »

Is there much difference in that machine and this one?

In a word: yes. The classic is a great little machine out of the box for 300 quid. For 170 quid it's unreal value. If you're even moderately good with a screwdriver there's a few cheap mods that make it excellent.

Don't forget the main point of my original post is smart spending. The allure of the espresso machine should never displace a decent grinder. Your budget should be spent on grinder 1st espresso 2nd.

Dahtac

Adding the Baratza Virtuoso Preciso to the grinder list next to the Vario would also be a good idea. Reviews of the machine have placed it well up there with the Vario in terms of espresso grind profile and it has the added bonus of being an excellent filter grinder as well.

Lags behind slightly in build quality, but is highly dependable and comes with a slightly lower price tag as well.

Also I would add Bailies into the subscription category, They produce some staggeringly good coffee

Arithon

PPC wrote: »

While not 2KGs this may do if 1KG is enough
http://www.amazon.co.uk/LUPO-Maximum-Electronic-Digital-Balance/dp/B003TL20Q4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323440330&sr=8-1

Do not get this for coffee making. The scales is far too small - whatever you are pouring the coffee into will probably obscure the display, turning the procedure into a game of "guess the weight". Ah well, time to look for another scales.

Edit: as said below, and elsewhere, this size scales is good for espresso making, where the 0.1g sensitivity is especially important.

donnacha

Arithon wrote: »

Do not get this for coffee making. The scales is far too small - whatever you are pouring the coffee into will probably obscure the display, turning the procedure into a game of "guess the weight". Ah well, time to look for another scales.

its the ideal size for an espresso cup - its purpose for me is to weigh my shot as it pours - same with the one on coffeegeek link i'd posted.

Arithon

donnacha wrote: »

its the ideal size for an espresso cup - its purpose for me is to weigh my shot as it pours - same with the one on coffeegeek link i'd posted.

Ah, okay, sorry! I've been playing with filter coffee (Kalita Wave 185), and was a little disappointed at my lack of thought when it arrived.

donnacha

Arithon wrote: »

Ah, okay, sorry! I've been playing with filter coffee (Kalita Wave 185), and was a little disappointed at my lack of thought when it arrived.

I'd picked up this Brabantia in TKMaxx for €15 earlier in the year - perfect for any pourover.

A lot of people swear by this salter model. According to CamelCamelCamel it was being sold for £8 last month.

Dahtac

That salter model is a brilliant scales for its price...I have three...

PPC

Dahtac wrote: »

That salter model is a brilliant scales for its price...I have three...

And I thought i was bad with 2
Always good to have a few spare scales around.

Dahtac

I have three of that model. I actually own 5 scales