Coffee

[StumpyJohn]

no, and I was disappointed with the high roast January special so wondered if anyone here had tried it.  Sorry

[HarryBizzle]

6 minutes ago, StumpyJohn said:

no, and I was disappointed with the high roast January special so wondered if anyone here had tried it.  Sorry

No worries. I haven’t bought any of their coffee in a while. My palate isn’t good enough to explain why it’s not as good as the specialty stuff I buy but it just doesn’t seem to have the same depth of flavour to it.

 

I was actually in Soho a few weeks ago and was about 350m from the shop. I really wanted to pop in but had two cold and hungry babies in tow so had to give it a miss. I would like to visit at some point, though. 

[StumpyJohn]

44 minutes ago, HarryBizzle said:

No worries. I haven’t bought any of their coffee in a while. My palate isn’t good enough to explain why it’s not as good as the specialty stuff I buy but it just doesn’t seem to have the same depth of flavour to it.

 

I was actually in Soho a few weeks ago and was about 350m from the shop. I really wanted to pop in but had two cold and hungry babies in tow so had to give it a miss. I would like to visit at some point, though. 

I'll possibly drop in there later in the week as a detour on my way home.  Don't want 500g of coffee if it not nice though!

[HarryBizzle]

38 minutes ago, StumpyJohn said:

I'll possibly drop in there later in the week as a detour on my way home.  Don't want 500g of coffee if it not nice though!

 

There are so many good coffee places in London. I think Monmouth is just up the road from ACS, but probably a bit pricier.

 

Has anyone tried Maude Coffee Roasters? I've been thinking about giving their stuff a whirl.

[StumpyJohn]

13 minutes ago, HarryBizzle said:

There are so many good coffee places in London. I think Monmouth is just up the road from ACS, but probably a bit pricier.

Has anyone tried Maude Coffee Roasters? I've been thinking about giving their stuff a whirl.

Yeah, I've had some good coffees from Monmouth but not been there for quite a while.  If they are not too crazy busy they will make you up some tasters too and I've had a nice chat with some of the staff.

Never heard of Maude, the other one I've used quite a bit is Hasbean

 

[milko]

You "sometimes in Soho coffee drinking" types should be reminded that the Rllmuk Soho Coffee Society exists, (and is really overdue another session @petrolgirls @emerald fox)

 

 

[HarryBizzle]

I look forward to joining you on my next visit, circa 2025.

[Gigga]

I made my first espresso today, using some "Monsoon Malabar" beans I got from waitrose for 89p a bag in clearance.

 

It came out nice, lovely sweet, smooth espresso but I ended up with a lot of extra water because it was leaking over the edge of the basket. Presumably either too fine a grind, or tamped too hard?

 

[milko]

the grind is more likely I would've thought, although you don't really need loads of pressure when tamping. Maybe just too much coffee in the basket? Did you turn the portafilter handle far enough to be fully tight? I'm trying to remember anything unusual I had to do with my old Gaggia.

 

If you don't succeed in fixing it by tweaking those factors, the gasket (rubber ring that goes around the showerhead) might need replacing, they're less than a fiver.

[littlelegs]

I have the immense fortune of living in a small rural village and having a coffee merchant a few doors down. He's from Burundi and they import the raw beans, toast them on site and grind them for me. It's an absolute delight and the smell on Wednesday mornings when they do their roasting is to absolutely die for.

 

Anyway, I recently got an Ethiopian coffee from them, Moka Sidamo, and it is so good. I prefer filter coffee over espresso during the day and have been used to drinking my coffee black with one sugar, but this is so delicious I don't need to add any. It's non-bitter, faintly sweet without being sugary and really easy to drink.

[milko]

my espresso machine is back! It works again!

 

I've run out of coffee beans

[HarryBizzle]

 

I'll be interested to see this go up against a couple of the other devices James is going to include in his head to head. The filters on my Brita are supposed to last 4 weeks but our water is so hard that really about 2-3 weeks in they're not doing what they need to be doing and my coffee starts tasting muddy again.

 

He's going to be trying a reverse osmosis system which is about £300 which I can see myself being interested in if it's good.

[milko]

On 05/03/2020 at 15:16, milko said:

my espresso machine is back! It works again!

 

I've run out of coffee beans

 

The motherfucker has now tripped the RCD twice. Each time resetting the breaker has led to it working fine, and indeed working fine the next day, and the next. (well, that's true each time if it works tomorrow and the day after). WTF now argh. I don't understand why it would work fine most of the time but not always.

[milko]

I think I've sorted it. That was a frustrating fault find! The power strip it was plugged into was almost certainly the culprit, I just don't understand why it could be so intermittent (and only fail in the mornings) about it. Nothing else plugged into the strip was even on at the same time.

[morcs]

Did you get some beans? Algerian Coffee Stores was warning about high demand.

[milko]

Haha, back then I was still working in central London for another few days. But actually, I've switched (temporarily?) to this little place in West Ealing and stocked up on 1.5Kg last week. Which was more than I wanted, but they had a deal on and it might turn out to have been a good idea.

[Transient Curse]

Is there a grinder that people have settled on as a safe recommendation? 

 

If it's inexpensive (a relative term, I know) then I reckon I'll get one and some beans to make isolation slightly more enjoyable. I use an aeropress. 

 

My friend has a £40 delonghi that he likes, but online reviews claim it doesn't grind finely enough. 

[HarryBizzle]

12 minutes ago, Wahwah* said:

Is there a grinder that people have settled on as a safe recommendation? 

 

If it's inexpensive (a relative term, I know) then I reckon I'll get one and some beans to make isolation slightly more enjoyable. I use an aeropress. 

 

My friend has a £40 delonghi that he likes, but online reviews claim it doesn't grind finely enough. 

https://www.pactcoffee.com/grinders/wilfa-svart-grinder-silver?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_dneoKq46AIVGNtRCh1dJQ00EAkYASABEgIJRPD_BwE

 

 

The Wilfa Svart is a good bet for filter and Aeropress brewing. Black looks better than silver but is generally a bit more expensive. 
 

If you want some beans as well I have a code which’ll get you £5 off a pack of Pact coffee, which makes a bag of single origin about £2.95. I like their stuff. 

[Alexlotl]

Get a hand grinder for isolation - you'll get a great grind for barely any money, some exercise, and you don't need to be That One Guy in the office who noisly hand-grinds his own coffee for 2 minutes every morning.

[HarryBizzle]

I’m not a fan of handgrinders, other than the fact that they’re portable. Anything under £80 gives you an inconsistent grind and if you drink enough coffee, you’re probably better off just buying preground and storing it well between uses.

[RadgyAdgy]

The Wilfa is a great grinder for any type of filter coffee it's what I used before getting a Niche grinder. As Harry said, consistency of grind is one of the most important factors in good coffee, the Wilfa is a bit more money but well worth it.

 

If anyone needs to buy some beans Origin are offering 20% off at the moment (their coffee is superb).

 

https://www.origincoffee.co.uk/ - COFFEE20

 

[HarryBizzle]

1 hour ago, RadgyAdgy said:

The Wilfa is a great grinder for any type of filter coffee it's what I used before getting a Niche grinder. As Harry said, consistency of grind is one of the most important factors in good coffee, the Wilfa is a bit more money but well worth it.

 

If anyone needs to buy some beans Origin are offering 20% off at the moment (their coffee is superb).

 

https://www.origincoffee.co.uk/ - COFFEE20

 

That’s a great deal. Any of their filter coffees you recommend?

[RadgyAdgy]

The last bag I had from them they don't have now but it was a lovely natural Burundi. San Fermin is their "house" filter coffee which they always stock and is an absolute bargain with the discount. I very rarely buy washed coffees now as I favor the earthier slightly fermented taste of natural processed coffee. You won't go wrong with anything they sell to be honest.

[HarryBizzle]

1 hour ago, RadgyAdgy said:

The last bag I had from them they don't have now but it was a lovely natural Burundi. San Fermin is their "house" filter coffee which they always stock and is an absolute bargain with the discount. I very rarely buy washed coffees now as I favor the earthier slightly fermented taste of natural processed coffee. You won't go wrong with anything they sell to be honest.

 

Thanks, I think I'll give one of their naturals a go with the 20% off. Apparently it's until 30th of April, so plenty of time to get a bigger order in if I like it.

 

I've also got a bag of Hasbean stuff on its way to me, so my Pact sub could be in trouble.

[HarryBizzle]

Recent coffee purchases:

Hasbean - El Limon (washed) - not a bad coffee. It's their cheapest coffee, so I'm not writing them off based on it, but I'm not particularly impressed. Very drinkable, though.

Origin Coffee - Gahahe (Honey) - I ordered the natural but they sent me this accidentally. It's certainly an interesting coffee. Lots of earthiness to it, very, very tangy. I don't think I would drink it on a regular basis. 

 

I'm going to try the natural and order some other stuff from them. The 20% off is until the end of April.

 

 

I'm also thinking about getting a moka pot to spice up my lockdown life. Are there pots people recommend in particular, or are they all much of a muchness. And should I be putting espresso roasts in there, or filter, or can you get away with either?

 

[bear]

It's hard to look beyond a Bialetti. I'm sure there are technically better pots out there but the big advantage of the Bialetti is that it's much easier to get replacement seals as they are so ubiquitous. 

 

I've got a small one, 3 cup I think, in red because that was cheaper than the stainless steel. 

 

It's fine but I generally prefer to use the Aeropress or a pour over. It makes very strong coffee and because it's a metal filter its tends to be a bit bitter. 

[LiTom]

On 4/5/2020 at 5:14 PM, bear said:

It's hard to look beyond a Bialetti. I'm sure there are technically better pots out there but the big advantage of the Bialetti is that it's much easier to get replacement seals as they are so ubiquitous. 

 

I've got a small one, 3 cup I think, in red because that was cheaper than the stainless steel. 

 

It's fine but I generally prefer to use the Aeropress or a pour over. It makes very strong coffee and because it's a metal filter its tends to be a bit bitter. 

Often I drink this at a friend's place, it's great coffee. I'm planning on getting one, too.

[Chooch]

Anyone made those whipped coffees off of the internet yet? Not bad as a cocktail. 

[Thor]

On 13/04/2020 at 01:50, Chooch said:

Anyone made those whipped coffees off of the internet yet? Not bad as a cocktail. 

Link? 

[Chooch]

1 hour ago, Thor said:

Link? 

 

I just add a shot of Tia Maria I had in the cupboard. 

 

2 tablespoons of instant

2 tablespoons of granulated sugar 

2 tablespoons of boiling water

 

whip until it gets really thick and creamy.

 

spoon on top of half a glass of iced milk. 
 

booze optional.