The Coffee Thread™

  On 4/4/2023 at 4:25 PM, Psychotronic said:

I just found this:

https://www.home-barista.com/levers/how-long-can-i-leave-la-pavoni-lever-on-t57514.html#p642545

So it's actually not a fire hazard but the thermal fuse will break and needs to be replaced then, i didn't know it had one. I only have an Italian manual.

Nice ... I read on and found this gem:

  Quote

Leaving any LaPavoni on for an extended period of time is a potential disaster, as the thermal protection does not cope well with a gradually lowering water level.
The heating coils become exposed and subject to burn out long before the level drops far enough to cause the fuse or thermal switch to open. The protection appears to have been designed to be effective only while actually pulling shots.

There is no way my wife will ok having this in our kitchen, even without her having to use it.

  On 4/5/2023 at 1:26 PM, Limo said:

Nice ... I read on and found this gem:

There is no way my wife will ok having this in our kitchen, even without her having to use it.

Yep, as i said, that's why i have a timer between outlet and machine, normally set to 15min. I do my cup with milk and everything in 5-10min, so if i forget, it just turns off. The thing is, to control the temperature of the brewer for the shots, you gonna let water through once or twice in the beginning and want to let it cool for a minute before the next shot anyways. So it's not getting too hot, but also not being to cold. You are basically controlling the temperature of your brew with the on / off button. That machine is literally a full hands on device to make espresso, it has no automatic function build it whatsoever. That auto on / off thing is just a over pressuring protection, done the simplest way possible.

The other thing is, if you don't wait long enough after a shot (around 20-30sec is my current impression), it can be that the brewer still has too much pressure, also depending on how much coffee and how finely ground it is, you put in there. So if you open it too early, it can explode the coffee remains onto you and the surrounding walls.

Very nice feature if you're trying to make coffee for a few guests. 

Fun fact, my GF loves the coffee i make with it, but is absolutely terrified to use it, she has her own, "click button to coffee" - full automatic machine.

  On 4/5/2023 at 10:37 AM, Limo said:

So how do you do it? Just dump the chamber in boiling water or something?

Yup! I drop the chamber in a milk pitcher and fill it up with boiling water. Let it heat up for about 30 seconds. Then use that same water to pre heat my drinking cup. Let it pre heat while I set everything up to pull the shot. Then empty the cup in the pitcher again, for if I want another cup of coffee in the next 30 minutes. Now i can pull my shot

So … in the end my wife and I had another conversation in which it was decided that I shouldn’t have to resort to buying toys (however cool) to have good coffee for breakfast. She is very nice like that.

A Profitec Go single boiler machine (don’t care, milk is for babies) with a temperature control and pressure control is on its way and should be here before the weekend.

I’d still like a manual machine at some point, though, but just for fun.

And here she is (on the right, thing on the left is a Eureka Mignon grinder)

Spent some time dialing it in this afternoon (so I’m now all jumpy from the caffeine)

It really is an upgrade. Much thicker smoother brews.

So I was able to get an aeropress for a  regular price.

While the first brew surprised me on its quality, I'm finding I need to use the same amount of beans for a single serving that I used to in the moka cup for a triple shot. So I'm unsure if I'm doing things right.

Also struggling to find the best ratio of beans/grind size/brew time/water temp for the ideal shot. At one point I was using such a fine grind size that I felt I needed an hidraulic press.

Moka cup was equally fiddly and inconsistent at firs but I had settled into a stable routine that yielded consistent results.

But with this thing cleanup is so easy that I'm gonna stick with it.

  On 5/11/2023 at 10:43 PM, GORDO said:

So I was able to get an aeropress for a  regular price.

While the first brew surprised me on its quality, I'm finding I need to use the same amount of beans for a single serving that I used to in the moka cup for a triple shot. So I'm unsure if I'm doing things right.

Also struggling to find the best ratio of beans/grind size/brew time/water temp for the ideal shot. At one point I was using such a fine grind size that I felt I needed an hidraulic press.

Moka cup was equally fiddly and inconsistent at firs but I had settled into a stable routine that yielded consistent results.

But with this thing cleanup is so easy that I'm gonna stick with it.

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Yup.

I have one for work. Quality of brews is good, but each one is different. IIRC coffee guru James Hoffmann shares this sentiment.

Needing an hydraulic press  is probably nothing to worry about. If the coffee is good, that is all that matters,

My recipe is: turn the grinder a few ticks looser than for espresso, grind 7 grams, to be stored in an airtight(ish) container and to be consumed in an hour or two. Add water for 1 cup (as per the markings). Stir, press, done. Not espresso by a long shot (ha!), not Moka pot coffee but good.

started a coffee kombucha (koffucha) last week. currently going through the 2nd fermentation..should be ready by tomorrow. 

  On 5/31/2023 at 10:45 AM, iococoi said:

started a coffee kombucha (koffucha) last week. currently going through the 2nd fermentation..should be ready by tomorrow. 

noice

Slowly going down the rabbit hole of coffee snobbery thanks to the aeropress and that damned James Hoffman. Upgraded my grinder and even got a scale, taking mental notes of every aspect of how brews turn out.

If I ever find a conveniently located specialty coffee store imma be doomed.

Had 2 cups of coffee today

I’ve been off the coffee for a few months and had a cup of black coffee yesterday at IKEA. It was quite good. 

Seriously asking…
Has anyone else noticed that over the last 10-15 years that almost every coffee shop in most major cities sells the most bitter, acidic, garbage water coffee imaginable? I don’t understand it, at all. Coffee shops used to have good coffee until intelligensia, blue bottle and a few other bougie, hipster, bullshit places shifted the flavor profile to what they think people want to taste… and it fucking sucks. Everywhere I go, I want to dump my coffee after the first sip. Whatever happened to French Roast or just a solid cup of Joe? Am I crazy? There should be a New York Times expose on this shit. It’s mass hysteria to me, not to mention a straight up insult. 
Whenever I do get a good cup of coffee I am shocked.

Needless to say, I now am forced to brew my own cheap Trader Joe’s coffee every morning. But when I get a cup from a shop, 9 times out of 10, it tastes like a fucking bed pan with rat poison in it. It pains me to say but it’s safer to buy from Starbucks these days. Shoot me. 

  On 9/24/2024 at 9:57 AM, J3FF3R00 said:

Seriously asking…
Has anyone else noticed that over the last 10-15 years that almost every coffee shop in most major cities sells the most bitter, acidic, garbage water coffee imaginable? I don’t understand it, at all. Coffee shops used to have good coffee until intelligensia, blue bottle and a few other bougie, hipster, bullshit places shifted the flavor profile to what they think people want to taste… and it fucking sucks. Everywhere I go, I want to dump my coffee after the first sip. Whatever happened to French Roast or just a solid cup of Joe? Am I crazy? There should be a New York Times expose on this shit. It’s mass hysteria to me, not to mention a straight up insult. 
Whenever I do get a good cup of coffee I am shocked.

Needless to say, I now am forced to brew my own cheap Trader Joe’s coffee every morning. But when I get a cup from a shop, 9 times out of 10, it tastes like a fucking bed pan with rat poison in it. It pains me to say but it’s safer to buy from Starbucks these days. Shoot me. 

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Even the normal black coffee costs fucking 6-8 bucks these days. The people are still buying it so why would they change the pricing... I've noticed that my generation (Z) does not have their priorities in order when it comes to spending money. It's awful because now the people don't know what a good cup of coffe tastes like but they pay 10 bucks for it anyway

  On 9/24/2024 at 9:57 AM, J3FF3R00 said:

Seriously asking…
Has anyone else noticed that over the last 10-15 years that almost every coffee shop in most major cities sells the most bitter, acidic, garbage water coffee imaginable? I don’t understand it, at all. Coffee shops used to have good coffee until intelligensia, blue bottle and a few other bougie, hipster, bullshit places shifted the flavor profile to what they think people want to taste… and it fucking sucks. Everywhere I go, I want to dump my coffee after the first sip. Whatever happened to French Roast or just a solid cup of Joe? Am I crazy? There should be a New York Times expose on this shit. It’s mass hysteria to me, not to mention a straight up insult. 
Whenever I do get a good cup of coffee I am shocked.

Needless to say, I now am forced to brew my own cheap Trader Joe’s coffee every morning. But when I get a cup from a shop, 9 times out of 10, it tastes like a fucking bed pan with rat poison in it. It pains me to say but it’s safer to buy from Starbucks these days. Shoot me. 

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I think I read somewhere that Starbucks wanted "consistency" in their brand, and the only way to get consistency across the world with beans of different age / source / etc. is to just burn the fuck out of it.  And since ppl are dumb, this burnt shit is now considered "good".

But don't take my word for it, I hate coffee (don't beat me up in this thread).  Since spending time in India, I've been hooked on masala chai tea, so I do have one of those a day at the normal Indian tea time of 10:00.  As long as we're ranting here, Americans have totally fucked up masala chai.  Every single "masala chai" I've had here, from fancy places to dirty places, has been absolute shit.  I dunno what they do to it, they go crazy on some spices, but masala chai IT IS NOT.

As such, I have to order these from Amazon pretty regularly.  It's the closest I've found to actual masala chai in India.

Yeah, I think it's actually the opposite reaction. Artisanal places seem to do light roasts and pour overs these days, so you end up drinking bean tea. I like my toasty aromas, I'm a basic bitch.

Has anyone checked up on the Fellow Aiden Coffee Maker? I'm VERY tempted to buy it, because frankly... since having a child it would be SO much easier to have a machine that can do something close to a pour over with a click of a button.

  On 9/24/2024 at 9:57 AM, J3FF3R00 said:

Seriously asking…
Has anyone else noticed that over the last 10-15 years that almost every coffee shop in most major cities sells the most bitter, acidic, garbage water coffee imaginable? I don’t understand it, at all. Coffee shops used to have good coffee until intelligensia, blue bottle and a few other bougie, hipster, bullshit places shifted the flavor profile to what they think people want to taste… and it fucking sucks. Everywhere I go, I want to dump my coffee after the first sip. Whatever happened to French Roast or just a solid cup of Joe? Am I crazy? There should be a New York Times expose on this shit. It’s mass hysteria to me, not to mention a straight up insult. 
Whenever I do get a good cup of coffee I am shocked.

Needless to say, I now am forced to brew my own cheap Trader Joe’s coffee every morning. But when I get a cup from a shop, 9 times out of 10, it tastes like a fucking bed pan with rat poison in it. It pains me to say but it’s safer to buy from Starbucks these days. Shoot me. 

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Maybe the 'third wave of coffee' going too far? From my brief stint as a coffee hobbyist wanna be: the hipster thing is to go for 'specialty coffee', which means light roasts (more acidic) and single origin (weird /particular taste).

May be a case of baristas gunning for these "interesting" characteristics over of 'actually tastes good'.

  On 11/6/2024 at 9:48 AM, GORDO said:

Maybe the 'third wave of coffee' going too far? From my brief stint as a coffee hobbyist wanna be: the hipster thing is to go for 'specialty coffee', which means light roasts (more acidic) and single origin (weird /particular taste).

May be a case of baristas gunning for these "interesting" characteristics over of 'actually tastes good'.

Yeah, that's definitely it. I have definitely started appreciating darker roasts because when you order a simple filter coffee it tastes like sticking your tongue out the window. Also, darker roasts go better with cake. Fact!

There's certainly something to appreciate about a cup of coffee that tastes like peach, but sometimes you just want that bitter warm thing that goes great with cake!

  On 6/2/2023 at 1:39 AM, Real Human Bean said:

Had 2 cups of coffee today

Call me crazy but I've gone and done it again!

Another 2 cups down the hatch.

  On 11/7/2024 at 9:55 PM, Real Human Bean said:

  On 6/2/2023 at 1:39 AM, Real Human Bean said:

Had 2 cups of coffee today

Call me crazy but I've gone and done it again!

Another 2 cups down the hatch.

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  On 11/7/2024 at 9:55 PM, Real Human Bean said:

Call me crazy but I've gone and done it again!

Another 2 cups down the hatch.

Wow, psycho. Relax, ok?

Goddamn the coffee at my work is disgusting

im so addicted - how do i give up?