Author Topic: What's caffeinating you today? (Read 101052 times)

citoyen · « **Reply #725 on:** 01 April, 2021, 07:43:37 am »

Quote from: Hot Flatus on 01 April, 2021, 06:06:56 am

Never tried a chemex, but not sure how/why it would differ from cone filter.

It’s all in the filters - they’re more filtery. Or something. If you can get them.

I’d say the main reason to choose a Chemex over other filters is that it’s a lovely object that looks good in one’s hipster kitchen, next to the Hario pouring kettle and freshly baked sourdough loaf.

Hot Flatus · « **Reply #726 on:** 01 April, 2021, 08:23:10 am »

Yeah the Hario kettle is a thing of beauty. But...with a small commercial espresso machine, and a massive cafe grinder already I'd probably have to get rid of the cooker

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #727 on:** 01 April, 2021, 11:37:32 am »

Having cranked up my Google-fu to learn about these thing you Earth people call “a Hario kettle*” this Unit's attention was drawn to the Bugatti Vera carbon-fibre kettle, which is a snip at only £2150. Free delivery too

* which to me resembles a tin sculpture of a Walnut Whip with a spout welded on as an afterthought

Ham · « **Reply #728 on:** 01 April, 2021, 11:48:07 am »

Whereas the Haribo one looks like the poo emoticon

And MrL, surely not being a cheapskate you would have chosen the Swar-wotsit Krystal Kettle

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #729 on:** 01 April, 2021, 11:50:05 am »

Quote from: Ham on 01 April, 2021, 11:48:07 am

And MrL, surely not being a cheapskate you would have chosen the Swar-wotsit Krystal Kettle

Ewwwwwww! Tacky!

T42 · « **Reply #730 on:** 01 April, 2021, 01:25:41 pm »

I am currently testing five Italian coffees on special offer from Maxicoffee. Results thus far: three out of five of them are vile.

MC did an excellent Italian blend but back in December they replaced Cherry robusta with something naff from Rwanda, and the stuff now tastes like jock-strap squeezings.

andrewc · « **Reply #731 on:** 01 April, 2021, 09:00:57 pm »

Quote from: offcumden on 31 March, 2021, 08:47:16 pm

Since our espresso machine blew a gasket a couple of weeks ago we've been drinking filter coffee (usually a Colombian blend), and have now bought a 'Clever Dripper' while we decide what to do next.
Am impressed by the quality of the brew from the Dripper, and the lack of faff. Might even stick with the new device once we've found the most satisfactory grind/brew time/coffee variety. Can't say we're really coffee connoisseurs, and once the coffee shops re-open we'll be able to satisfy espresso/capuccino craving without the faff.

A large size Clever Dripper is my daily weapon of choice. It makes a decent mug of brew. The cafetiere still comes out occasionally. I may as well put the Moka pots & Aeropress in the 'for sale" section.

T42 · « **Reply #732 on:** 02 April, 2021, 01:50:43 pm »

Fourth vile-coffee test today: upped the qty of beans, dropped the water qty and pulled a double. Slightly better, but now my eyes are jiggling in their sockets.

Hot Flatus · « **Reply #733 on:** 02 April, 2021, 01:56:50 pm »

Has the 'artisan' roastery thing not hit France yet?

Maxicoffee is fine if you want Italian bar coffee, but lots of their stock is incredibly expensive for what it is, IMHO.

T42 · « **Reply #734 on:** 02 April, 2021, 02:40:36 pm »

Quote from: Hot Flatus on 02 April, 2021, 01:56:50 pm

Has the 'artisan' roastery thing not hit France yet?

Maxicoffee is fine if you want Italian bar coffee, but lots of their stock is incredibly expensive for what it is, IMHO.

Years ago. There are a couple of roasters in our area but I don't like either of them. As I noted above I was drinking MC's Italian blend but they buggered it up. They had a special last week on Italian brands but from the flavour I'd put them at supermarket level.

There are a few other "artisan roasters" on line so I'll go prospecting. I might start roasting again myself if I get desperate.

citoyen · « **Reply #735 on:** 02 April, 2021, 02:50:26 pm »

Looking around for suitable alternatives to Chemex proprietary filters, I found this site which goes into the matter in some detail:
https://foodsguy.com/best-chemex-filter-alternatives/

He's right that you get a very 'pure' cup of coffee from a Chemex. Whether or not you would consider this a benefit is perhaps down to personal taste. I certainly prefer Chemex to cafetière. Might not appeal so much to espresso fans.

I wasn't aware of the supposed health benefits but that all sounds a bit dubious to me anyway.

I looked up the Able Kone re-usable metal filter he mentions. It's £45! Fuck that.

Hot Flatus · « **Reply #736 on:** 02 April, 2021, 03:11:55 pm »

That's why I don't really like cafetiere, it's too 'muddy'. The cleanest flavour I've had is from a glass vacuum set (not tried a Chemex though) but it's just too much faff for me these days.

T42 · « **Reply #737 on:** 08 April, 2021, 01:04:38 pm »

Quote from: Hot Flatus on 02 April, 2021, 03:11:55 pm

That's why I don't really like cafetiere, it's too 'muddy'. The cleanest flavour I've had is from a glass vacuum set (not tried a Chemex though) but it's just too much faff for me these days.

I have one of those, and it does produce a good result at 60-70 grammes/litre. Trouble is that MrsT doesn't drink coffee and the minimum amount it'll make is enough to stand me on my ear at that concentration.

Hot Flatus · « **Reply #738 on:** 08 April, 2021, 01:23:08 pm »

Very true. You can't just make one cup with the things. The other thing I found with them is that they are very very wasteful. You need an awful lot of coffee beans.

T42 · « **Reply #739 on:** 26 April, 2021, 03:24:19 pm »

Having faffed around with my machine's settings I've finally coaxed a good flavour out of Maxicoffee's Italian blend. I need to put it on a UPS now, the catch-22 being that to do so I'd have to unplug it and lose the settings. Still, I've got my drug-dealer's scales and I can remember the rest.

Anyway, came in here to post this:

Quote

Arabica-like flavour in a heat-tolerant wild coffee species

There are numerous factors to consider when developing climate-resilient coffee crops, including the ability to tolerate altered climatic conditions, meet agronomic and value chain criteria, and satisfy consumer preferences for flavour (aroma and taste). We evaluated the sensory characteristics and key environmental requirements for the enigmatic narrow-leaved coffee (Coffea stenophylla), a wild species from Upper West Africa1. We confirm historical reports of a superior flavour1,2,3 and uniquely, and remarkably, reveal a sensory profile analogous to high-quality Arabica coffee. We demonstrate that this species grows and crops under the same range of key climatic conditions as (sensorially inferior) robusta and Liberica coffee4,5,6,7,8,9 and at a mean annual temperature 6.2–6.8 °C higher than Arabica coffee, even under equivalent rainfall conditions. This species substantially broadens the climate envelope for high-quality coffee and could provide an important resource for the development of climate-resilient coffee crop plants.

You can still trust Nescafé to fuck it up, though.

From https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-021-00891-4

pcolbeck · « **Reply #740 on:** 31 May, 2021, 12:27:51 pm »

New grinder delivered yesterday and used for the first time today.

This replaces the DeLonghi KG79 that has given sterling service being used at least once a day for over ten years, The knobs on it have now developed that weird rubber disease where the rubber goes sticky which makes it unpleasant to use and hard to clean. Apart form that highly recommended as a cheap burr grinder (unless you want espresso as it wont go fine enough for that).

The Melitta has a lot more grind finesses graduation plus it has an inbuilt scale so you can automatically grind a set amount rather than relying on a crude timer as in the DeLonghi.
It can also grind straight into a no 4 filter in a basket which along with the vertical rather than sideways delivery of the ground coffee should make for less mess which will make Mrs Pcolbeck happy. Also the hopper will take a full 225 or 250g packet of beans which is convenient.

Again probably no good for use with an espresso machine but I don't have one of those and for anything else it should be good.

Hot Flatus · « **Reply #741 on:** 31 May, 2021, 01:44:25 pm »

Yeah...its espresso that really demands the right grinder, although I know the real obsessives disagree with me and insist on Mahlkonig EK machines for any sort of pourover brew.

markcjagar · « **Reply #742 on:** 31 May, 2021, 06:47:55 pm »

So I bought a special gizmo attachment thingy for my Aeropress that is designed to make something that is as close to espresso as is possible with an Aeropress, apparently.

It's the Fellow Prismo Pressure-Actuated Attachment for AeroPress.

I was sceptical but honestly, it's really good. A shot on it's own is surprisingly good and pressed into a mug of microwaved oat milk is as close to a latté as I need to get my day going.

nobby · « **Reply #743 on:** 01 June, 2021, 12:42:16 am »

The house blend from Cafe 212 in Wombourne.
Good coffee for those near enough or passing through.

pcolbeck · « **Reply #744 on:** 16 June, 2021, 02:47:12 pm »

So I've had the Melitta Calibra for several weeks now and its been a great success.

1) The tare function and inbuilt scales really work well. I have it set to 20g (1/2 a jug for me) and its coped admirably with whatever receptacle I chuck under it to catch the coffee.
2) Very little mess! Mrs Pcolbeck is very happy. It doesn't distribute coffee all over the work surface like the old one. Was a tad staticy to begin with but has settled down.
3) I'm wasting less coffee due to 1) and 2) above.

Lets see if it lasts as long as the Delonghi though.

Slave To The Viking · « **Reply #745 on:** 14 November, 2021, 01:01:42 am »

Been using Taylor's Hot Lava Java beans for a wee while now. Far darker than I'd normally think to use for espresso, but I've been happy with the ground version in a cafetiere for years so thought I'd give them a bash, and actually they're acquitting themselves admirably.