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OK, I've come back from my travels addicted to the stuff,
However, from my limited experience..............
Instant tastes crap.
The stuff (apparently a latte, I hate english-isms of other languages, I'd like a large cup of milk and a toasted sandwiches) I had from AMT this morning wasn't much better.
In Spain we were drinking Caffe con leche (1 shot expresso, 1 shot scalded milk, 1 sugar), will I get looked at like a muppet if I ask for that?
Secondly, just bought a 1 cup stove top machine, recomend me some coffee to go in it 🙂
illy and lavazza are both good despite what the coffee hipster tarts tell you
For beans go with Illy or Lavazza as above, you can fart around with fancy stuff too if you happen to live somewhere where you can buy them easily but its difficult to decide what to look for if you don't have a benchmark for what you like, so get some Illy - its middle of the road but its good middle of the road - , get some practice at making a cuppa you like (play around with the dosage - chuck a splash of hot water in after you've brewed it to see what happens maybe) then buy other stuff and see how it compares, if you're experimenting try to buy new/different beans before you've finished the old ones otherwise its hard to put your finger on why you like one more than the other.
Instant coffee is not actually coffee, technically it's more closely related to gravy granules and wallpaper paste.
Those stove top things are okay if you need a quick hit of coffee but I find that they do tend to burn the stuff if you're not careful. A cafetiere will get good results more consistently (leave the water to cool for maybe a minute after it's boiled, give it a stir, and press straight away). Obviously it's nothing like proper coffee from a proper espresso machine, but proper espresso machines are a bit pricey and a bit of a faff for a quick cup...
I really like the [url= http://www.unionroasted.com/discover/organic_ethiopia_yirgacheffe.htm ]Union Roasted Ethopian[/url] at the moment, very nice stuff, not too hefty for regular use, but not bland either. [url= http://www.grumpymule.co.uk/ ]Grumpy Mule[/url] coffees are also generally ace.
leave the water to cool for maybe a minute after it's boiled
that's the received wisdom, but I've found the flavour is better with freshly boiling water...
Tesco gold blend, you can't beat it. 8)
sfb you are just wrong mate 😆
however who am i to tell you that you shouldnt like burn coffee.
Con Leche is a bit like a Flat White, Best machine i've found is the Rocket. Not cheap, but gives good results if you use a decent grinder as well. The downside of having an office opposite a coffee roaster (Cafe L'Affare) in what is considered the coffee capital !
Jesus - right i have been corrected by my resident Barista. He says a flat white has slightly cooler milk than a Con Leche and also is smoother as the milk is taken from the bottom of the milk whatsit so has small bubbles in it. Its a ****n minefield trying to get a coffee round here !!
however who am i to tell you that you shouldnt like burn coffee.
yeah, I know that's the theory, but
a) I like the idea of burning stuff with water
b) it seems I prefer the taste of "burnt" coffee
c) isn't roasting the beans a form of burning ?
nonk, SFB isn't 'wrong' just because he likes his coffee a different way to you.
Stove top, some beans, grinder. Heat until it starts bubbling, take off heat to finish. Millions of Italians manage this every day without fuss. regular beans is fine, no real need to spend over the odds from t'internet, it's often not much different. Waitrose have a decent selection of very good beans for £3 for 250g which lasts me about a week
nickc note the 😆
I might get burnt (with water) for this, but, it's worth trying a few different instants. A lot of folks seem to try standard nescafe or similiar and conclude all instant is horrible. Personally I prefer the nescafe suraya and alta rica to most proper coffee I've had. Tastes vary o'course.
c) isn't roasting the beans a form of burning ?
making toast is a form of burning but most people don't like the taste of charcoal.
making toast is a form of burning but most people don't like the taste of charcoal.
exactly, and if coffee beans aren't burnt by roasting at several hundred degrees C, they won't be burnt by water at 100 C 🙂
QED
[i]Most coffee bitterness comes from over-extraction, which many people confuse for coffee strength. Over extraction occurs when the lighter flavorful coffee oils have been extracted, in addition to the bitter coffee oils present deep within the bean. The most common occurrences for over extraction are using water that is too hot, using too little coffee, and brewing coffee for too long.
Water is most of coffee. If you use boiling water, it will scald/burn the beans, and a bitter taste will result. If your drip coffee maker is known for burning coffee, then try wetting the coffee grounds with 1/4 cup of cold water.[/i]
Loving all the duff information on this thread!!
While we're having coffee chat, whats the difference between a Ristretto and an Espresso?
Is a ristretto a type of moped?
illy & lavazza, neither are as good as Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Kenyan beans. Blue Mountain can be picked up on ebay pretty cheap if you look around and that s very nice.
One of the best things you can do to improve coffee at home is to get a burr grinder, mines a dualit one and its spot on. I use a Gaccia Classic.
neither are as good as Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Kenyan beans
I tried those recently and wasn't keen (and I use an identical set-up).
Not bad when coarse ground and put through the stovetop though but didn't stand up to an espresso brew IMO.
waitrose java cofee is my favourite.
(leave the water to cool for maybe a minute after it's boiled, give it a stir, and press straight away)
don't you wait to plunge? lets it brew betterer
Mellow Birds. 🙂
in addition to the bitter coffee oils present deep within the bean
uh, the bean is ground to quite fine powder before extraction, so whatever was formerly deep is now exposed...
and a bitter taste will result
what if one prefers bitter coffee ?
Loving all the duff information on this thread!!
pray tell which are the duff bits, how will we know your suggestions won't be the duffest ?
what if one prefers bitter coffee ?
maybe use cheap coffee(possibly with Robusta beans in the blend) and use boiling water straight out of the kettle, leaving it to stew may help.
maybe you could actually boil the coffee to extract max bitterness?
Get yourself a machine that takes the nespresso pods. It's the best coffee you can get. There are 16 different 'Grand Crus' and it takes a while to be able to understand the subtleties of each one.
will you tell him or shall I?
Get yourself a machine that takes the nespresso pods. It's the best coffee you can get.
so the packaging is important ? I prefer to grind freshly roasted beans from a shop here in Lancaster...
will you tell him or shall I?
no, let it stew a little more.
the difference between a ristretto and an espresso is about 5 seconds
I've progressed from instant to supermarket pre-ground + cafetiere to supermarket pre-ground + aero-press so far this year so still a newbie. The aero-press was worth it though, now I need to start either buying beans and grinding myself or buying fresher pre-ground from the net but I actually enjoy the current coffee enough I haven't bothered yet.
For low cost, low risk pleasant coffee, get a stove top espresso maker for about £20. Take a little care over it but in terms of quality of coffee to price ratio, they are impossible to beat.
Unless of course you want to compete with the Joneses which most of the "I need a £500++ coffee machine + £100++ grinder + beans" brigade are clearly doing.
sounds like envy there Mat, come on old boy do keep up 😉
Unless of course you want to compete with the Joneses which most of the "I need a £500++ coffee machine + £100++ grinder + beans" brigade are clearly doing.
maybe they do it because they like to drink perfect espresso at home?
sounds crazy but it is possible.
Oh yes of course, I wish I had a £2k coffee machine - really essential to my life...
Oh and of course I couldn't afford one if for some mental reason, I felt the need to get one.
They are like expensive watches - all for show and to keep up with the Joneses.
I have no interest in them when a simple and brilliantly designed little device does much the same thing.
Very random you STWers - spend a bit on a car and it's evil. Spend a fortune on a coffee machine and it's fine.
Ermmm...
Get yourself a machine that takes the nespresso pods. It's the best coffee you can get
No it bloody well isn't 🙂
Lavazza is okay but there are different labels or qualities. The gold label stuff is lovely (qualiatia d'oro), much nicer than the red imo (qualitia de rosso).
My fave machine at the moment is the Cuisinart one. My parents have one, I like the coffee better than my Gaggia, the auto dosing thing works better and the steamer works better too. And it game with a free burr grinder.
my expenditure:
30 year old Braun grinder my mum found in a cupboard: free
Bodum cafetiere from TKMax: £8
Ikea milk frother: 99p
stainless steel insulated mug: £1.99
For beans, I prefer Colombian dark roast. Strong & rich. The local roaster also does a blend call Feisty, which will have me buzzing all day.
you don't have to spend a fortune though. i paid £60 for a gaggia babyD (drip tray and lid missing) and £150 for a gaggia classic with extras (stainless tamper/filter/blind basket for cleaning/spare gasket)
a bag of monmouth espresso blend is only £5 and that will not get you 2 coffees from a coffee chain.
it's cheaper than buying from nero/costa/starbucks and to my taste is better than coffee from a stovetop and quicker to make an espresso.
i don't care how much your car costs, or how much it depreciates because you bought it new.
Lavazza or Lidl Arabica if you have no grinder, some stove espresso maker, a nice cup.
Music and sex [b]or[/b] milk and sugar
How long do you extract the espresso for? I seem to remember being told that 16 seconds is the optimum time - any longer and you get a bitter taste. (Using the double shot holder in a Gaggia)
For low cost, low risk pleasant coffee, get a stove top espresso maker for about £20. Take a little care over it but in terms of quality of coffee to price ratio, they are impossible to beat.
This is quite true.
Unless of course you want to compete with the Joneses which most of the "I need a £500++ coffee machine + £100++ grinder + beans" brigade are clearly doing.
This is total crap 🙂
I've never met anyone who gives a flying F what their neighbours have. But maybe I don't move in the right circles 🙂
the difference between a ristretto and an espresso is about 5 seconds
As in you run the water through the coffee for 5 seconds longer, or shorter?
What difference does this make?
But all of this is just lame compared to sitting in a simple cafe in Italy/Spain/France/Portugal/Sweden drinking a freshly made cafe solo/espresso/whatever - how do they do it so well?
I've had many a coffee from a "home" machine from a £50 cheapo to a silly priced bean to cup machine - none compare to the "real thing."
I love the coffee culture on the Continent - our Yankified chains of coffee shops don't get anywhere near a simple set up in Europe.
waits for a stampede of mega bucks coffee maker owners claiming their machine is better