I know alot of people on this forum are coffee geeks from previous threads so I know someone can help me.

Firstly what is the best way to make coffee on a stove top espresso maker?

Also is there anywhere I can buy a cheap bean grinder? I had some pretty normal beans in a cafetiere a few weeks ago and it tasted so so nice- i put it down to the beans being freshly ground so I want one.

Thanks

mastiles_fanylion to the thread please!

(he knows everything about coffee 😆 )

Also is there anywhere I can buy a cheap bean grinder?

We got ours from Whittards – £20 reduced to £10. Works a treat. Can also be used for blending herbs and spices 🙂

Illy. espresso machine, mmmmmm

Firstly what is the best way to make coffee on a stove top espresso maker?

Freshly ground beans each time, don't clean the stove with anything but water, the coffee oil will coat the aluminium. don't over-boil it, as soon as it starts gurgling, take it off the heat.

Buy a burr grinder and not one of those nasty chopper thingys.

2nd the burr grinder, because it is consistent unlike a blade grinder which spins the bean around like mad with inconsistent grain sizes.

cheap ok burr grinder

For coffee stay away from the supermarket beans, they have been in storage for an age and will have lost a lot of the natural oils in the bean.

Go for an independent roaster who will ship in relatively small batches 3 days after a roast so the bean is de gassed but fresh to grind.

I have used happy donkey for the last 3 years and they are very good, but there are others.

happy donkey beans

Keep your beans in the freezer until you need them and aim to use your order of beans in a month, so you always get the benefit.

As for your stove top, keep it clean, fill the basket with an even grind of fresh ground and away you go.

Play around with the grind size and you can perfect.

The best advise with a stove top is don't let it over boil/heat

Lol – I hardly know everything about coffe, I simply don't accept that you have to pay Illy prices for good beans. Agree with needing a burr grinder (but I think that is more important when using a pressurised system rather than a stove top) . I have always maintained that the tesco beans are very good, as is the costa rican Taylor's bean 🙂

How to use a stove top

Grinder inside track

storage

"mocha pot" & burr grinder is the way forward!
– but you can't beat a decent espresso machine!

Agree with all the comments above Re grinders. Get a decent burr one! My first one was a Dualit which is perfect for stove top and cafetiere.

Then get fresh beans. They go off noticeably after about a week/week & a half. As above – supermarket does not = fresh.

Keep all your kit clean (coffee oils go rancid when they age), but try and avoid soap if you can.

Interesting links from monty. I find that my stove top machine tastes much better if I tamp the ground coffee though.

Actually, I've had some sainsburys fairtrade beans lately and they are really nice. and WAY cheaper than the illy beans (which are nice btw).

http://www.Hasbean.co.uk is a great source for really fresh beans.

Massive range and lightening fast delivery.

montylikesbeer

cheap ok burr grinder

that's not a burr grinder, it's a rotary blade one and in my experience crap.

Then get fresh beans. They go off noticeably after about a week/week & a half. As above – supermarket does not = fresh.

My question is though… Go to a deli and buy fresh beans which are sat in a hopper which isn't airtight. You buy 'fresh' but how long have those beans been sat in that hopper? Buy supermarket ones which are sold in an airtight foil bag and you know they have at least been kept from too much exposure to oxygen.

I have tried a great deal of different beans, from internet suppliers through to delis and supermarket (both Illy beans in a tin and own-brand). And I can honestly say that I have been quite impressed with the Tesco ones – I can get a lovely crema and they are rich and smooth.

How many of the people that say that supermarket beans aren't fresh have actually tried them recently?

Like M_F I'm not convinced by the "Artisan beans" argument, You can get perfectly acceptable beans from the Supermarkets these days

The best advise with a stove top is don't let it over boil/heat

+1

We use stove top always, nothing worse* than forgetting you've put it on, you don't hear it when it starts to gurgle, then discover 5 minutes later your coffee boiling 🙁

* OK, there're lots of things that are worse, figureofspeech.

All that for coffee ****.
I just pop down the road and get on over the counter 😉

Thanks everyone. Now time to start drinking.

Definitely get a burr grinder, it's well worth the investment. I have a couple of these (one at home and one in the office) and for everything other than espresso they are fantastic – if you want to make good espresso budget a significant amount more! I got mine a fair bit cheaper than that listing, so it's worth watching ebay for the price to drop.

I'll also second the recommendation for Hasbean. It's barely more expensive than from the supermarket if you don't get carried away, and you know it's freshly roasted unlike the supermarket stuff which has probably been sitting on a shelf for weeks. Really quick service as well, often delivered the next day even on orders placed well into the afternoon.

These two things will make a HUGE difference to your coffee 😀