Coffee

oh hang on, hang on, that's a diff model then I have, for some reason I assumed you were talking about a europiccola (lever machine) based on what you said. Don't know if all my tips apply then. Probably some of them don't. I do stand by bottomless portafilters in general though, don't know what would fit but most places that sell them tell you which models they fit.

my favorite for espresso shots is def medium roast colombian, i got one from ritual roasters that was like GAME: CHANGED, my shots were like buttah lol

― difficult-difficult lemon-difficult (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 31 January 2015 23:44 (Yesterday) Permalink

Medium roast colombian is my go-to for espresso as well, it's the most bang for buck (I find that even with the cheaper beans you can get good shots out of it for whatever reason). I do like Stumptown's Hair Bender a lot but for a while for everyday use I was just buying bulk colombian from costco.

yeah it's p reliable even when it's not fancy $$$

oh those pavoni lever machines are so cool and beautiful. its design would make our quaint kitchen look shabby, haha.
i think my bf got this one because it was there at the time and an inexpensive refurb, checking the boxes of what we can deal with right now.

going to get a freakin grinder asap. and some mildly-fancy medium roast.

I'm still not in the market, but Breville makes a $600 machine w/ grinder and temp control, etc. built in - espresso people, predictably, think it's garbage. But the average drinker would probably think it's capable of making a good espresso, right?

I don't know enough about it but my strong suspicion is that espresso snobs are basically audiophiles.

$600 is too much to pay for a goddamn Breville imo, and that's not me being a snob

if you have that kinda scratch, get a good brand refurb or at least invest in something with replaceable parts & longevity

i have had a breville electric kettle for 1 year & it's already starting to rust ffs

The Breville is well designed and makes a good espresso but it breaks quickly and has electronic controls you will not ever need -- their customer service is lousy where I live and it isn't serviceable by folks who know espresso machines, so mine had to go in the garbage after a a year and a half, which suddenly makes $600 for a decent machine and a decent grinder crappy value.

The current value-for-money/snobs-will-not-mock-you champion is Lelit, an Italian company that is relatively new in espresso machines and thus not quite as well known, but which has been making industrial steam irons (!) for decades which are considered by industrial steam iron snobs to be top notch. You know how those industrial steam iron snobs are.

My espresso shop guy, who runs his own repair shop, started carrying the brand after opening one up and being seriously impressed by the build quality, and he insists he has not had to repair one in the two years he's been carrying the brand. I have heard that the non-European distributors kinda suck, but they are really good machines and make really, really good espresso if you are into practicing and getting it right.

Wow, seriously envious of the Europiccola and its spartan looks. Anyone have tips associated with the Gaggia Classic? After a few years heavy use, I just recently took the thing out of storage, disassembled, and thoroughly cleaned everything.

I'm still not in the market, but Breville makes a $600 machine w/ grinder and temp control, etc. built in - espresso people, predictably, think it's garbage. But the average drinker would probably think it's capable of making a good espresso, right?

I don't know enough about it but my strong suspicion is that espresso snobs are basically audiophiles.

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Sunday, February 1, 2015 6:34 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Well paying $600 for a breville with everything built in is probably the equivalent of buying a $600 "all-in-one" stereo when you could get better individual components for the same total price. Buy the $100 Capresso grinder and spend $500 on a separate espresso machine and you'll be happier with the results.

Sure, I get that about automation and fragility and buying parts - but the espresso people are less "buy a receiver at the pawn shop" and more "my diamond-encrusted cable really allows me to HEAR this section of Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' for the first time."

Made a Moka Pot cup for the first time - medium roast from a local roaster, espresso grind on my grinder, boiled water then poured it in and screwed on the top, took it off of heat once I couldn't see the bottom anymore (was following half-remembered instructions I saw online) - it was very smooth, not nearly as heavy/thick as I was expecting. Not sure it will be a good option for bleary-eyed mornings given the need to clean quickly and the possibility of self-injury, but neither would an espresso machine - and I can always just down a couple of shots of my cold-brew concentrate if all I need is caffeine.

The thickness in espresso is about as much from your bean blend (more robusto = more thickness) as from the method, but moka pots make a really tasty hybrid that I like better than filter coffee.

Sure, I get that about automation and fragility and buying parts - but the espresso people are less "buy a receiver at the pawn shop" and more "my diamond-encrusted cable really allows me to HEAR this section of Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' for the first time."

Mostly no. The difference between the espresso you get out of a top-quality commercial machine like a La Marzocco and out of a substandard quality home machine is enormous. There are pricey but not insanely pricey home machines where you can get pretty close to the Marzocco quality with the right technique. And certain factors in making espresso are pretty well-established -- pressure, temperature, grind, tamping (not to speak of the beans themselves). The best machines are simply able to produce the appropriate pressure and temperature consistently, which is surprisingly difficult. Other bells and whistles can make a difference -- the bottomless portafilter, for example, but there's a pretty commonsense reason for that one -- in a normal portafilter oils from the coffee build up and are hard to clean away. The bottomless portafilter simply eliminates that problem.

meanwhile

http://www.unicefusa.org/press/releases/unicef-too-many-children-dying-malnutrition/8259

as someone diagnosed with scurvy due to a diet of only coffee and patisserie, i sympathize with their plight

momateurist

Are there double-blind taste tests between $200, $450 and $800 grinders?

Oh on the grinder I agree -- at some point your grinder is 100% adequate to make good espresso and it's other things driving the price (elaborateness of "dosing" feature, liability to break down etc.)

proud of rrrobyn's coffee journey, I may have seen her grab some pre-ground coffee out of a freezer once and said nothing

my grinder is the electric bodum one (uhhh I am sure I got a deal or something) and I broke the container that came with it so now I hold a cup under it and it still sprays grounds all over the counter

oh yeah, and my friend bought me some kona beans for christmas and they were delicious! even pulled out my french press.

milo on some great "I mash the beans on the ground with my boot and lick the grounds off the pavement" shtick

cowboy coffee or gtfo

Haha mh I know, I was a coffee heathen for real (my grinder broke and I took like 2 years to replace it...)

I just cleaned my cheap burr grinder and discovered it's not mod-able :/ so I may just go for the baratza in my price range. Oh this coffee journey...

I shave myself into my French press, just plunge the result and I'm good to go

godspeed on the way to the coffee promised land

Intelligentsia beans are apparently widespread enough here that Target is carrying them, if only regionally. Weird.

For crazy coffee shit, I do appreciate the HG-One, it looks like a futurist sculpture.

i was trying to get into coffee so i was drinking it pretty frequently and various types for about two weeks. then this weekend i decided to take a break. good lord. i felt ill and had a headache for 1.5 days.

how do you guys deal with the withdrawals?

drink coffee

i was afraid of that :'(

other stimulants

Can't go around it, gotta go through it. On day 3, the sun rises and the birds chirp.

Meth.

never withdraw

coffee is ride or die

quitting is the worst

if you have to, gradually cut back but dont cold turkey. it aint worth the death-feeling

i got back to one small single shot latte a day

but i got lazy and now i am back to drinking way too much

i actually love coffee, but was, like, maybe i should drink a juice or just water for today. boink. bad decision. i took some advil and i still felt bad but no neck/headache. sunday was fine and the rest of this week was fine, but i'm craving some of that delicious roasted coffee bean

do it do it

Aside from cost there's not really a downside to coffee for most people, is there?

my bowels may disagree but nope, no downside

Caffeine jitters and stomach rebellion

xp heh

hi five *sadface*

milo on some great "I mash the beans on the ground with my boot and lick the grounds off the pavement" shtick

― 龜, Wednesday, February 4, 2015 1:18 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

cowboy coffee or gtfo

― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Wednesday, February 4, 2015 1:19 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

my friends own a coffee shop where they roast their own single origin coffee in the light style of the day and their brewing method is cowboy coffee, which in this case really only works cause theyre at altitude

i miss coffee.

u shd get some

how do you guys deal with the withdrawals?

went cold turkey about 12 years ago.
3 days of fever/sweats/headaches etc
stayed off since.

One a day is usually not enough for the withdrawal symptoms to hit if you stop for a while. After my last cold turkey, I try to keep it to one shot and take a day or two off on occasion -- no problem.

Just gimme a little taste, man, I'm shaking real bad.

i love coffee and wish i could drink it regularly, the caffeine is too strong for me though and i get mad anxious as the day goes on. the first couple hours after drinking it are bliss though

so i limit my coffee drinking to days where it is okay to be a little wired and jittery and when 1) i'm going to be pretty physically active and/or 2) i know i can drink some beer later on or smoke some weed to chill out at the end of day

yesterday I had a keurig cup at the car dealer and a cup of folgers coffee at work

bwahahaha

sue yr employer imo

i used to be really wired/hyper, but no more, and to be honest, i don't miss it.