Life is too short for bad coffee - The Off Topic thread

Bluefoam

DaveyDave wrote: »

Any recommendations on a coffee machine for 500-750? No idea what to look for so tips appreciated.

Ease of use or easy/low maintenance would be good.

I'm fond of black coffee but the girlfriend likes a cappuccino or latte. I have a burr grinder but would be ideal if the machine had one built in for space.

I'd recommend a Sage Espresso machine, there's a wide range depending on what you want and how much you want to spend...

https://cloudpickercoffee.ie/collections/equipment

https://artofcoffee.ie/

I went with a Bambino plus with separate Smart Grinder Pro... It means that you have an easier upgrade path in the future and it's easier to deal with if either component needs to o be serviced or fixed in the future...

Sage seem to have managed to simplify coffee making and still keep it interesting... The more exotic hardware come with much more severe learning curves and require much more attention

alec76

I dunno,for €750 you’ll get proper brand espresso machine, don’t mind Sage/Delonghi etc.

Hodors Appletart

Anyone got experience with a DeLonghi Micalite machine?

Link

Bluefoam

Hodors Appletart wrote: »

Anyone got experience with a DeLonghi Micalite machine?

Link

I haven't come across it. But did a good bit of research recently... A good quality machine on a budget that was recommended to me was Delongi Dedica, which can be bought for €179.

I know thats not much help, but some key factors to research are temperature and control as well as Milk frothing capability... The power to control these things apparently comes at a price.

In the past I bought a low end Gaggia machine and it put me right off making coffee... The frother wasn't worth having and the coffee was rarely warm enough. It took me about 15 years before I decided to invest in a better machine, the last one was such a mess.

https://www.did.ie/delonghi-dedica-style-pump-espresso-coffee-machine-silver-ec685-m-ec685-m-prd?gclid=Cj0KCQjw2PP1BRCiARIsAEqv-pTKF_j9pz-Kv0Ar3PhXVpSrAutNho6TgXEXLaXobpeuQLEfPn--2XsaAlQEEALw_wcB#fo_c=1898&fo_k=464449b90ec3d1831567ca4ac05f553c&fo_s=gplaie

The Nal

Hodors Appletart wrote: »

Anyone got experience with a DeLonghi Micalite machine?

Link

I have similar, an older model and I love it. Makes lovely espresso and lattes/caps etc.

Hodors Appletart

The Nal wrote: »

I have similar, an older model and I love it. Makes lovely espresso and lattes/caps etc.

Can I ask, do you measure your espresso shot timing and output?

The Nal

Hodors Appletart wrote: »

Can I ask, do you measure your espresso shot timing and output?

Nah, just whack a load of freshly ground into it and pour. I like a smaller concentrated type. The missus likes half espresso, half Americano sized shots which I find ignorant.

babybuilder

DaveyDave wrote: »

Any recommendations on a coffee machine for 500-750? No idea what to look for so tips appreciated.

Ease of use or easy/low maintenance would be good.

I'm fond of black coffee but the girlfriend likes a cappuccino or latte. I have a burr grinder but would be ideal if the machine had one built in for space.

https://www.homecoffeemachines.ie/collections/quickmill/products/quick-mill-silvano-04005

Technocentral

I have the Delonghi Dedica, think I'm getting to the sweet spot for consistent espressos with it since I bought a Sage Smart Pro grinder last week, as of yesterday I only tamp very, very lightly and it pulls a very tasty double shot, this is on grind level 20 and 10 second grind that fills the basket, I also started warming up the machine with a 15 second press of the single shot on it into a cup without the portafilter on it, I read elsewhere that it helps build up pressure.

cnocbui

babybuilder wrote: »

https://www.homecoffeemachines.ie/collections/quickmill/products/quick-mill-silvano-04005

https://www.homecoffeemachines.ie/collections/quickmill/products/quick-mill-pegaso-mod-03035

frink

Started following this forum about 12 months ago when I was a simple french press and supermarket coffee drinker but slowly started to open my eyes to bigger and better things.

Albeit accelerated by the lockdown scenario, I've graduated to wilfa svart grinder, v60, aeropress and upskilled my french press to the Hoffman method.

Enjoying shopping around for different coffees. Recently enjoyed the Cloudpicker Henry and Sam blend. Will move to a new roaster next time.

Thanks for all the advice shared over the many threads! I'm still learning the Aeropress ways but enjoying the experience!

mad m

Cloud picker Sam was lovely. Currently 20% off

lawred2

I've been grinding beans and using an aero press..

I'm still a little underwhelmed.. it's nicer than instant but it still feels a watery or something to me.

I've tried a number of beans, from both supermarket crap to stuff from coffee shops themselves. Disappointed pretty much every time.

Definitely doing something wrong.

Bigbooty

lawred2 wrote: »

I've been grinding beans and using an aero press..

I'm still a little underwhelmed.. it's nicer than instant but it still feels a watery or something to me.

I've tried a number of beans, from both supermarket crap to stuff from coffee shops themselves. Disappointed pretty much every time.

Definitely doing something wrong.

I think we've all been there. For the first month my coffee was disappointing. Experiment with different recipes. The best thing you can do with aeropress instructions are to throw them in the bin. Check out some of the aeropress competition recipes. You'll find a recipe which works for you. I love ones more on the coarse end with a longer immersion time. Are you blooming your coffee?

lawred2

Bigbooty wrote: »

I think we've all been there. For the first month my coffee was disappointing. Experiment with different recipes. The best thing you can do with aeropress instructions are to throw them in the bin. Check out some of the aeropress competition recipes. You'll find a recipe which works for you. I love ones more on the coarse end with a longer immersion time. Are you blooming your coffee?

Urrr.. blooming my coffee?

lawred2

https://www.roastycoffee.com/coffee-bloom/ interesting

I'll try that this morning

Bigbooty

lawred2 wrote: »

Urrr blooming my coffee?

https://perfectdailygrind.com/2018/03/5-aeropress-lessons-i-learned-from-4-champions-their-recipes/

There's a few recipes on that. Blooming is when you add a little water to saturate the beans releasing trapped carbon dioxide. If it's a fresh roast you'll see the coffee rise and bubble. If it's old and stale there won't really be much. Try adding 1/3 of the volume of water in first then letting it rest for 20 seconds or so. Then top it up to the final volume. You should get much more pronounced flavours.

Its been ages since I've actually used an aeropress so I've really can't remember how I used to brew on it. Be super careful not to scald yourself with the aeropress if you use some of the inverted methods.( This happened to me)

lawred2

Bigbooty wrote: »

https://perfectdailygrind.com/2018/03/5-aeropress-lessons-i-learned-from-4-champions-their-recipes/

There's a few recipes on that. Blooming is when you add a little water to saturate the beans releasing trapped carbon dioxide. If it's a fresh roast you'll see the coffee rise and bubble. If it's old and stale there won't really be much. Try adding 1/3 of the volume of water in first then letting it rest for 20 seconds or so. Then top it up to the final volume. You should get much more pronounced flavours.

Its been ages since I've actually used an aeropress so I've really can't remember how I used to brew on it. Be super careful not to scald yourself with the aeropress if you use some of the inverted methods.( This happened to me)

What do you use now out of interest?

lawred2

Well doing a courser ground and soaking the ground beans for a minute or so good actually result in a fuller tasting coffee.

Think these beans are still cr@p but at least it's a big step in the right direction.

Thanks

megaten

Aeropress definitely takes a good few goes to get a good technique going. I've gone off it to be honest and I just use a french press these days.

Bigbooty

lawred2 wrote: »

What do you use now out of interest?

I do pour over so I use V60, Kalita wave and Chemex.

J_E

lawred2 wrote: »

I've been grinding beans and using an aero press..

I'm still a little underwhelmed.. it's nicer than instant but it still feels a watery or something to me.

I've tried a number of beans, from both supermarket crap to stuff from coffee shops themselves. Disappointed pretty much every time.

Definitely doing something wrong.

It's your grind and water quality, I'm pretty sure. Are you using filtered water? What grinder are you using? What's your recipe? What beans? We need more information to be able to help.

Blooming won't have any effect with an Aeropress btw as it's an immersion method.

DaveyDave

Would filter roast be an issue with an espresso machine?

I'm having a hard time with my shots being under extracted. No matter what grind type or dose amount, no matter how hard I tamp it or whether I use a razor or not makes no difference.

The only difference between how-to videos and what I do is rather than weigh 18g of beans and grind that, I just grind the coffee into a small glass and weigh that and adjust accordingly. I can drop it to the finest grind and still nothing.

Coffee isn't super fresh but not that old either. It's a 10 second shot every time. Haven't changed any settings but I'll weigh the espresso and see what the result is.

Flimsy_Boat

lawred2 wrote: »

I've been grinding beans and using an aero press..

I'm still a little underwhelmed.. it's nicer than instant but it still feels a watery or something to me.

I've tried a number of beans, from both supermarket crap to stuff from coffee shops themselves. Disappointed pretty much every time.

Definitely doing something wrong.

Same here. I actually threw out my aeropress, and many moons ago I was a barista so it isn't like I didn't know how to use it.

I now use a cafetiere exclusively, for convenience.

Squidgy Black

DaveyDave wrote: »

Would filter roast be an issue with an espresso machine?

I'm having a hard time with my shots being under extracted. No matter what grind type or dose amount, no matter how hard I tamp it or whether I use a razor or not makes no difference.

The only difference between how-to videos and what I do is rather than weigh 18g of beans and grind that, I just grind the coffee into a small glass and weigh that and adjust accordingly. I can drop it to the finest grind and still nothing.

Coffee isn't super fresh but not that old either. It's a 10 second shot every time. Haven't changed any settings but I'll weigh the espresso and see what the result is.

Light roasts will generally be a lot harder to try and extract without it being extremely acidic. You'll generally have to grind a lot finer than you would a darker roast too.

J_E

DaveyDave wrote: »

Would filter roast be an issue with an espresso machine?

I'm having a hard time with my shots being under extracted. No matter what grind type or dose amount, no matter how hard I tamp it or whether I use a razor or not makes no difference.

The only difference between how-to videos and what I do is rather than weigh 18g of beans and grind that, I just grind the coffee into a small glass and weigh that and adjust accordingly. I can drop it to the finest grind and still nothing.

Coffee isn't super fresh but not that old either. It's a 10 second shot every time. Haven't changed any settings but I'll weigh the espresso and see what the result is.

You have to go for longer extractions to balance the acidity out. Try a lower dose. If you have a 14g basket, you tend to get much nicer shots with less coffee on lighter roasts.

You should be able to choke the shot - it may be an issue with your tamp. If you very gently tap the puck out without breaking it, you can analyse the underside and you'll see paler spots or holes where water broke through.

Damo 2k9

Guys - the mother got me a bag of beans whilst she was out shopping in one of the smaller supermarkets on the southside, cant remember the name of it, its a bag of FIXX Cubano coffee. No roast date on it, but a BB of 3/2021 so I would assume it was roasted in March. The beans look veryyyy oily, see attached pic compared to 3fe Mamatita.

I know everyone says not to go near supermarket beans, but after looking online they seem to be fairly decent. I have a Barista Express, do you think it would be worth a shot? (no pun intended..)

Technocentral

Damo 2k9 wrote: »

Guys - the mother got me a bag of beans whilst she was out shopping in one of the smaller supermarkets on the southside, cant remember the name of it, its a bag of FIXX Cubano coffee. No roast date on it, but a BB of 3/2021 so I would assume it was roasted in March. The beans look veryyyy oily, see attached pic compared to 3fe Mamatita.

I know everyone says not to go near supermarket beans, but after looking online they seem to be fairly decent. I have a Barista Express, do you think it would be worth a shot? (no pun intended..)

I tried two of those FIXX coffee beans, absolutely awful stuff, instant coffee standard

DaveyDave

I bought a bag of Bewley's beans in Tesco yesterday just to try practice with different settings but I ran out of coffee this morning so I'll be putting them to the test, especially as I really liked the beans I just finished.

I know they won't be very fresh which will effect the shot but I think I need to adjust the internal burr and the shot time and I've already used a months worth of nice coffee in just over a week!

Damo 2k9

Technocentral wrote: »

I tried two of those FIXX coffee beans, absolutely awful stuff, instant coffee standard

That bad? I wouldnt mind trying them, its just the amount of oil that I can visually see that is worrying me, dont want to F up the grinder in the BE.