Coffee

xps

Apparently you can upgrade that Encore with the burr (the M2) from the more expensive Virtuoso grinder for like $30 for a more consistent grind.

Thinking about buying an Encore and doing that upgrade myself. But according to nerds, it still can't really grind for espresso, and I do a fine grind + fast brew method with the Aeropress. Plus I might spring for a 9Barista one day. Or, sure, maybe a Gaggia :p

JFC what is all this shit -- stovetop pro espresso? Hand grinders? $2800 ipad espresso machines?

If I was gonna spend $400 on a stovetop machine I'd probably just spend $300 more and get a rancilio silvia, or maybe a breville or something like that for $500. And Capresso Infinity is the only non-barista-grade grinder endorsed by this thread.

Also one thing that seems annoying about the 9Barista is that you have to make one shot at a time and then start over, so if you have company it's probably like another 5-7 minutes to make each additional shot. TBF my La Pavoni was also not great in that regard (required a lot of cleaning/prep in between shots and the water tank was small).

If I'm putting in effort to make a tiny amount of coffee, I'm just going Turkish.

I don't get a lot of company over these days for some reason. And the 9Barista is actually supposed to produce a decent shot! I dunno I'll look at the others.

But I do need a better grinder and ilx's recommendation seems ... a little behind the times.

how dare u

https://dailycoffeenews.com/2020/02/13/9barista-ushers-in-a-new-generation-of-actual-stovetop-espresso/9barista-coffee-pot-exploded-view/

Cleaning a $30 Moka pot is bad enough, fuck this thing.

There was an actual manual espresso machine (pour water from kettle into top then plunge, no electricity needed that would be 100 times more reasonable than the 9Barista

bruh it's called the infinity it' good forever

i got the capresso infinity a couple months ago on this thread's recommendation and i love it. it makes infinity mess though.

not counting the times i ran it without the cup thing under the grinder because attention deficits

I just saw that for like $30-40 more they have a model that's basically the same thing except the base is metal, wondering if maybe the weight stabilizes it and prevents that annoying dance the grind tray does.

https://i2.wp.com/www.foodrepublic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Strietman1.jpg?resize=1278%2C%20751&ssl=1

fine I'll just say it, yes I do want a steampunk coffee experience

I have a Baratza Encore. I just make pourover at home, I don't make espresso of any kind or aeropress. It's fine!

agreed that don't fuck around w a hand grinder for your house that you live in unless you truly don't have space on your counter for the gadget

it takes exactly as much time to hand-grind with my Skerton as it does to get water to 195F, so I don't really mind

mr veg always wanted to get one of those crazy hand-pump espresso makers with 5 levers & gauges & shit

my feeling is that if you are doing all that work, give up espresso & become a steam train enthusiast

VG I was at Historic Mystic Seaport in Connecticut a few years ago and it happened to be the day the local model steam engine hobbyists had all come in with their models and connected them up to a big supply line and you could walk around and watch them putter, it was great

putputput

I like the look of that 9barista thing but, for the same reason I haven't bough an espresso machine for the home, I probably wouldn't get one. Right now I am really valuing walking round the corner to get coffee because Tina, who makes me coffee, is the only human being other than my wife who I am seeing in the flesh on a regular basis.

i love trains! that was kinda my point....i thought

I love them too

That is a good thing, but if you're like me, walking around the corner requires the espresso first.
Seriously, unless you're one of those folk who needs steamed milk as part of your coffee experience (for which I would recommend either a 2 boiler machine or a separate steamer, it's awkward to have one machine which has to switch between cof temp and steam temp) then a mechanically simple, well made basic espresso machine will give you just as good results as a $4000 ipad machine which shows you molecular structure. The reason being that if your temperature is right, the grind, the pack, the water flow and the exit path are the determinants of the result. If you do all those things yourself, and pay attention, you end up knowing what you're doing and how to fix it if it goes wrong. I think I spent $350 on my entire coffee setup (Sunbeam burr grinder, Gaggia Classic, both used) and I have zero need to upgrade (and I am fussy about coffee). And I think I probably enjoy it more than unloading four figures on a box that adjusts things according to an algorithm.
Holy shit I have become an old man, I was waiting for it.

If I didn't live in Melbourne it would be different but I can heave a rock in almost any direction and hit a top quality espresso machine (although not necessarily with a competent operator standing behind it). Only slightly further than my coffee place is Australia's Main dealer for La Marzocco and their home machine is a beautiful thing (if unfeasibly large and expensive).

All in all being a steam train fireman was a cheaper hobby.

lol I said I probably wasn't going to get the 9Barista at $300, much less the Decent at $3000.

xp

Sorry lukas, not aiming at you, just my "get off my lawn" rant about the fetishisation of home coffee tech. I'm sure you will end up with a good and reasonably priced rig!

my roommates make super weak coffee in chemex and it gets cold instantly. lame

Time to move, flops

Just throw it in the microwave for a minute

um no throw your roommates in the microwave & that lame coffee in the TRASH

mr veg always wanted to get one of those crazy hand-pump espresso makers with 5 levers & gauges & shit

my feeling is that if you are doing all that work, give up espresso & become a steam train enthusiast

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, July 29, 2020 11:36 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

My dad has an early 80s hand-pump espresso machine. The company is no longer in business and when a part goes he has to find some nerd on the Internet to machine a new one.

I think I've had at least one espresso per week for the last 14 years and haven't had one since early March. I kind of miss it but maybe I've just numbed myself about the absence.

participating in this thread cursed me and my espresso machine spewed hot water and coffee grounds all over the place this morning. i guess the gasket is dead : (

is it a curse... or a blessing in disguise (getting a new machine)

Depending on the machine a gasket swap is cheap and DIY - getting the old one out is hard tho, screwing a screw into it and pulling carefully can work

I'm sure you will end up with a good and reasonably priced rig!

Don't be so sure but thanks!

xp yeah i'm going to try to repair it, doesn't seem that hard and a new machine is doable but not exactly what i wanted to be spending money on.

I ended up buying a nicer grinder and stopping there. Then I started experimenting with different grind sizes, brew times, etc (there was a spreadsheet.) Tried a World Aeropress Championship recipe and didn't like it. Started to wonder whether I had been wasting a lot of money and time.

Then I went to a finer grind size and less water and found something I'm very happy with. So I substantially improved my morning coffee without, I think, acquiring a new hobby.

finer grind def makes a big difference, much more flavorful coffee ime

don't know about these quiddities, I buy Peet's coffee ground to 4/10, store it in an airtight container, and spoon some out each morning to brew in a drip coffeemaker

as I get older though I’m just as happy with a morning cup of tea

if the coffee I buy has a coarser grind I just use more

the key element of a coffeemaker to me is having a pot that is a thermos, not one with a heating element underneath that just burns the brewed coffee while it sits

I love cold brew, but all my attempts to make it so far have sucked. It is burning a hole in my bank account. Any tips on how to succeed in DIYing it, please share!

For some reason (hormones? body chemistry? taste getting more expensive?) I can't tolerate coffee from the coffee maker at all anymore, so it's either iced instant or cold brew.

Dry Iced Americanos are all that I need

coffee

Please put it in my personal cup. I have a reusable straw in my back pocket

I M Losted, i have documented before - on this thread, i think - my homebrew cold drip, which just needs an aeropress and an empty plastic bottle. aeropress costs like 25 bucks. well worth it.