Andylaser
Administrator
Coffee
Discuss your bean flicking, grinding and pumping requirements here.
Discuss your bean flicking, grinding and pumping requirements here.
Coffee
- Thread starter Andylaser
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Saint-Just
Administrator
For Kev: Attention, danger!
ElThomsono
VIP Member
I drink instant and I don't even stir it.
CaptainBeaky
VIP Member
Foul muck!
Well, I've finally conceded to buying a more expensive grinder. Not silly money (yet) but I've accepted that I need an upgrade from the £10 ceramic grinder I bought years ago to just try it out.
My whole bean use is all aeropress (I own four) and usually use pre-ground coffee.
When I first got the aeropress I was more disciplined in following a formula for brewing - fill to one line, let the coffee bloom, top up the water, leave it for X time, slowly turn it over, press until the hiss. Now I'm settled on the same pre-ground I brew quite quickly and it suits me.
I'm back to being gifted whole beans to grind and realised that the flavour of these is a bit flat. Grind size isn't fine enough cranked right down. They're clearly not wet out enough so it's back to playing with a longer brew, stirring, etc. I'm comfy that a better grinder will help and at the very least speed things up!
I've settled that the best 'budget' grinder is a Timemore C2. The C3 is only a tenner more and a newer model but from what it reads, the grind can be better for espresso than the C2 but it's slower overall. I'm not worried about espresso right now and if I get to that stage I'll probaby be pushing for an expensive grinder.
My whole bean use is all aeropress (I own four) and usually use pre-ground coffee.
When I first got the aeropress I was more disciplined in following a formula for brewing - fill to one line, let the coffee bloom, top up the water, leave it for X time, slowly turn it over, press until the hiss. Now I'm settled on the same pre-ground I brew quite quickly and it suits me.
I'm back to being gifted whole beans to grind and realised that the flavour of these is a bit flat. Grind size isn't fine enough cranked right down. They're clearly not wet out enough so it's back to playing with a longer brew, stirring, etc. I'm comfy that a better grinder will help and at the very least speed things up!
I've settled that the best 'budget' grinder is a Timemore C2. The C3 is only a tenner more and a newer model but from what it reads, the grind can be better for espresso than the C2 but it's slower overall. I'm not worried about espresso right now and if I get to that stage I'll probaby be pushing for an expensive grinder.
I drank instant for decades and never knew what I was missing then on a whim bought a pod machine and loved it Six months later the price of pods went through the roof so I wandered the shelves of ground coffee for a while until I spotted a bean to cup DeLonghi on sale. Now I annoy the fk out of the neighbours with the sound of it grinding and pumping in the morning 😅
I buy beans by the 2 kilo bag and have even tried roasting my own reasonably successfully in a popcorn popper.
Not a coffee snob by any means, I'll buy it from anywhere if it looks interesting. I actually found some in Lidl on Sunday, 3 different kind of beans but can't try any of it till I get home at the weekend.
I buy beans by the 2 kilo bag and have even tried roasting my own reasonably successfully in a popcorn popper.
Not a coffee snob by any means, I'll buy it from anywhere if it looks interesting. I actually found some in Lidl on Sunday, 3 different kind of beans but can't try any of it till I get home at the weekend.
MaC
Moderator
When I were young....which wasn't yesterday, coffee was made by bashing the beans apart in the big granite mortar....job for young grandsons with too much energy....and the resultant dust was brushed out into a pot. The pot was filled with boiling water and returned to the heat to mask....I have no idea how that word is supposed to be spelled, it's the same word that we use for letting tea brew. Coffee took longer on the heat without stewing like tea did, so the pot was put on the gas rather than sat in the hearth beside the fire.
Anyway, it was then stirred, and the grains settled down, mostly. The coffee was strained through a cloth teastrainer thing, like a miniature jeelie bag (jelly bag, jam making, for straining juice from fruit) into a peculiar jug shaped tall pot with a lid.....and that was it. My Mum and one of her sister-in-laws liked coffee, so Granny kept it to hand.
Boiled coffee. That and Camp was all I knew.
Then there was the revelation of Nescafé Gold Blend sometime in the mid 60's and my Mum was delighted.
She would rather coffee than tea
No one else was really much in the notion for coffee, but she liked it, but then, she smoked. I think that ruins taste buds :dunno:
Coffee I can take or leave, usually I leave, tbh. I'd rather have tea.
I think, no, I know, that the smell of good coffee has more appeal for me than the taste.
These days I'm drinking the Kenco Millicano Americano. It's smooth, it's tasty without being tar. It's quick and it's easy, and I drink mine black with a bit of sugar.
The last batch of beans were Japanese from Sainsbury's....the votes were that it's okay, but nothing special, wouldn't look for it, and unlikely to buy again.
I put a new sack of Kenyan arabia ones into the jar this afternoon. They haven't tried it yet.
Good idea for a thread though; different coffees
Anyway, it was then stirred, and the grains settled down, mostly. The coffee was strained through a cloth teastrainer thing, like a miniature jeelie bag (jelly bag, jam making, for straining juice from fruit) into a peculiar jug shaped tall pot with a lid.....and that was it. My Mum and one of her sister-in-laws liked coffee, so Granny kept it to hand.
Boiled coffee. That and Camp was all I knew.
Then there was the revelation of Nescafé Gold Blend sometime in the mid 60's and my Mum was delighted.
She would rather coffee than tea
No one else was really much in the notion for coffee, but she liked it, but then, she smoked. I think that ruins taste buds :dunno:Coffee I can take or leave, usually I leave, tbh. I'd rather have tea.
I think, no, I know, that the smell of good coffee has more appeal for me than the taste.
These days I'm drinking the Kenco Millicano Americano. It's smooth, it's tasty without being tar. It's quick and it's easy, and I drink mine black with a bit of sugar.
The last batch of beans were Japanese from Sainsbury's....the votes were that it's okay, but nothing special, wouldn't look for it, and unlikely to buy again.
I put a new sack of Kenyan arabia ones into the jar this afternoon. They haven't tried it yet.
Good idea for a thread though; different coffees
I've a Kuwaiti friend who is a coffee nut, went full on home roasting. He taught me how to make "Arab" coffee (there are many variations) in the tiny little pot thing, often made with cardamom which gives it a very distinct flavour. Nice but too much hassle to make.
bushwacker
VIP Member
I drink loads of instant, mainly Alta Rica or Gold blend, I have a monthly delivery of 8x 200g jars. We have a couple of coffee machines but it gets expensive and a lot of hassle with my caffine levels. I am conciously reducing my consumption and now drink lemon and ginger tea at work.
Good instant is essential cos the cheap stuff is fuckin awful.
Good instant is essential cos the cheap stuff is fuckin awful.
I get a bag of coffee beans every fortnight from Hasbean (no affiliation, other geeky coffee establishments are available) and grind them as needed with a Knock Aergrind hand grinder then either a Hario V60 dripper or Aeropress depending on how I'm feeling. I have recently rekindled a liking for my old moka pot too. That now lives in the campervan with a bag of Lavazza Rossa ground coffee.
That said I do like a cup of tea too...........
That said I do like a cup of tea too...........
MaC
Moderator
I quite like cardamon in my coffee, but it has to be sweet.
I don't drink a lot of coffee, I do think freeze dried is a brilliant invention for the sheer lack of embuggerance about cleaning out the grounds and machines, etc., though.
I do like the cafetière for simplicity, but the in-mug filter thing is awfully good. I'm having fun playing around with the Aeropress from Kev though.
I like the Kenco stuff, but I buy Douwe Egberts gold instant for the household. Neighbour gave me Nescafe not long ago and ye gods but it's harsh.
Just different tastes I reckon.
I quite like Caffe Hag, the de-caffeinated coffee too.
I don't drink a lot of coffee, I do think freeze dried is a brilliant invention for the sheer lack of embuggerance about cleaning out the grounds and machines, etc., though.
I do like the cafetière for simplicity, but the in-mug filter thing is awfully good. I'm having fun playing around with the Aeropress from Kev though.
I like the Kenco stuff, but I buy Douwe Egberts gold instant for the household. Neighbour gave me Nescafe not long ago and ye gods but it's harsh.
Just different tastes I reckon.
I quite like Caffe Hag, the de-caffeinated coffee too.