There is a baratza virtuoso on sale on coffeeforums.co.uk for £130 delivered. Good grinder and a decent price.
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No worries. You'll get a good workout from the hand grinder. [emoji4]
If you do get tired of hand grinding, there's a very good burr grinder from DeLongi on Amazon for about £45. You don't need the finest of grinds for pour over or Aeropress, so it's a useful bit of kit.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002OHDB..._LCOQEbZN4SK0V
And if you do want a finer grind then there is this hack...www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7eYgXd5ruU.
I like the hand grind, part of the process for me ,wakes me up
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A timely thread to find, having recently taken my set up out of moth balls after giving up the coffee a few years ago (what with the times we find ourselves in, a couple of flat whites a day are the least of my worries!)
Living in Bristol theres a large number of quality roasters to choose from - I'm currently rocking these beans, and a damn fine drop they are.
https://cliftoncoffee.co.uk/shop/cof...lage-espresso/
Couple of pics of my set up - had this for a good few years now. Like most set ups took a good bit of time to get consistent results.
https://i.imgur.com/fRE9XFcl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/K2ZcqbXl.jpg
Great set up, I'm not that advanced https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...7940638251.jpg
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While I hope to upgrade to a 'real' machine one day I do really enjoy Nespresso. The built in milk frother is useless as is the Aerochino 3 (which you can sometimes get free) the Aerochino 4 is the best I've found without actually steaming the milk yourself and it's dishwasher safe. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...f02710eabf.jpg
This is my espresso set up, I also have an old Macap grinder for pour over/Aeropress, but that's tucked away in the dining room.
https://i.ibb.co/mSSFm3V/3-B8593-B0-...-FE6-DEC50.jpg
Here's my coffee corner.
https://i.ibb.co/cTtskMQ/coffee-corner.jpg
Am I the only one who roasted green beans in a pan on the hob. monsoon Malabar I used to love with cream
I think you'll find you're likely to be missing out, if you think the beans you cook on your hob in a pan are anything similar to what a roastery outputs using dedicated coffee roasting machines!
And as Junglebert noted, it isn't the case that it's better to use them ASAP after roasting, they need some time to rest.
This^ beans will de-gas post roast and best used in a week to 3 week period, high quality beans will still tase good for a few weeks after that. There’s also no real urgency in roasting once bagged and shipped, the beans do not really change when green and are often stored for a year or more before before roasting.
As for roasting on a hob? Commercial roasting machines will run profiles designed to get the best out of the bean and will have been ‘cupped’ with various profiles before one is picked or customised. There is also the experience and training of the roaster. It’s not like putting something in a microwave and pressing the button!?
YouTube video link: How Long Do Coffee Beans Last?
Edit I thought I'd post a link to where I buy my coffee as I'm waiting for RM to deliver it: www.redber.co.uk. Follow the link and you'll see that they supply their own blends as well as single origin coffees, the latter often being available in a variety of grinds and roasts (or green beans).
It's been great. I've had it almost four years and I've had no trouble with it whatsoever. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Rocket when the time comes.
I seriously thought about the Silvia when I was researching. By coincidence, in my boredom I was watching a review of the Silvia on youtube yesterday and I could see why the extra investment in something like mine made sense.
I like my coffee, but all this kit to me looks like hard work especially when you've just woken up 😁.
I was round at a mates house and he'd just spent £400 on this fancy German machine with pipes and dials all over the place.
He made a coffee for me which seemed to take ages and when ready I thought it was ok, but no better than my Bialetti using Aldi Columbian ground coffee, which takes me a couple of minutes on the induction hob.
Maybe it was his brewing technique, I don't know 🤔
The build quality of the Rocket looks to be far superior.
The functionality of the HX system for the steam looks way better - no need to temperature surf, and you can brew and steam simultaneously.
And, of course, the Rocket looks way more impressive. It's a real feature in the kitchen - a big taking point when anyone visits.
Oops, don’t mind me!
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...1351e75a88.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...7d8e0bd3d4.jpg
Machine up and running for a week now, complete with wifi plug so I can turn on before I get downstairs, or leave work. The milk art is improving slowly
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Lovin' the corkboard. Mine says "Hi".
https://live.staticflickr.com/5782/2...16345bd5_c.jpg
I'm still surviving on my old Gaggia Syncrony Digital (£500 back in around 2004) and a Nespresso frother (bought as the steam frother was a faff to clean)
Probably have around 3 cups a day, but for a large cup - use 2 shots in it.
I try a lot of different beans, and prefer the 'oily' espresso type the most.
Get most beans from Costco - and usually have two of the large packs in the fridge at any time.
Looks great
I have limited worktop space so a small footprint is vital
Gaggia classic modded fits the bill but the bills add up
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+1 for Rave coffee mail order. Good value.
Do you all weigh the beans before grinding? I just do it by eye. What about a metal tamp to help with consistency? Is there any point? I'm afraid I just use the plastic one which came with the machine...
Only have a De Longhi entry level machine but occasionally all the parameters work out and it tastes amazing. Mostly it's just drinkable which is fine and a nice change from the Aeropress I normally use.
I get my beans from Pact and grind with a Baratza Virtuoso. I like being able to adjust the grind.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...1345161e62.jpg
I always weigh, my standard double shot is 20 grams of beans. A decent tamper is a must, the plastic ones are all but useless, you can't get proper extraction if the grounds aren't evenly and consistently distributed in the basket, so a proper weighted tamper that actually fits the basket is essential.
Thanks. I just weighed 20g and it was too much to fit in the double espresso porta filter so who knows...
Any recommendations for where to get the tamper from?
I see there is a De Longhi one in Amazon which fits my machine so that looks like it's a good bet,
De'Longhi DLSC058 Coffee Tamper, Stainless Steel https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07JBLZC..._O7wREb4PA81F6
Photo of my setup from a few years back:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...00b11c5e0b.jpg
There are some great youtube videos on coffee techniques.
In the current circumstances I've been going to back to basics and my coffee has improved massively.
Sorry, I should have said I use a special XXL 20 gram basket! No, 20 won’t fit in yours, you need to find out by trial and error, but 14g is likely to be close. The only thing you need to make good coffee is consistency, so using the same amount of beans, ground the same and tamped the same is the starting point for a decent shot
I weigh yes, 16g in an 18g basket for me, dial it in to 40g out
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My clever dripper is still in the locked down office. Only a Nespresso here but considering an aero press as they review very well
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...3cca1aca47.jpg
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It may be unavailable as the blend/roast but the beans that make up the blend are available green on the open market from the likes of Mercanta and other speciality green bean importers.
Surprised at ‘mahogany’ roast profile though, judges might turn up their noses at that!?
I had the last bag off the shelf of a really nice anaerobic process coffee from Assembly (also used as competition coffee) somebody flew over from Saudi or Dubai and bought all the remaining stock in the roastery, £3k worth!
Holy sh1t this is amazing https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...f3a85d3e8a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...691568283d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...3a3c6e7783.jpg
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It should be consider the price per kilo!?
I see crankhouse coffee are doing it at £15 for 150g so £1.80 for a brew. Not bad value if it’s as good as they say. (From a speciality coffee point of view)