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We've been going through tasting all beans and the results so far are as follows. We're going to circle back and try them again. The scoring might seem harsh, but we're going on the basis 10/10 isn't possible at home.
Rave Italian Blend 7/10 - Great flavor but slightly sickly aftertaste
Rave Strong AF # 666 6.5/10 - Good flavor but again slightly sickly aftertaste
Murano Dark 7/10 Good flavor, maybe lacks depth but bonus points for being the cheapest
Redber Italiano Coffee Blend 7.5/10 Superb strong taste, good depth and no aftertaste
Dark Side of the EDGE 5/10 Strange burnt taste, it would be fine but when tested as an iced coffee it's nasty. Much better if you only have it hot.
blokeuptheroadFull Member
I got quite deep into the water thing. Testing my own, getting detailed analysis results from my supplier etc. I found that even after filtering, my tap water was still liable to scale. It’s annoying as the plastic waste from bottled water doesn’t sit well. I’m looking at other options, including buying deionised water in bulk and then remineralising it.
You could get an RO or RO/DI drinking water system and cut it 50/50 or 70/30 or whatever with your tap water to get the desired GH/KH. Maintenance is just changing the sediment/carbon filter once every 6 months or so and occasionally running the water with flush valve open (if it even has one) . As long as the membrane doesn't get ruptured (e.g. by freezing in cold weather) they last ages.
Personally I'd boil it before use as I've seen bacteria growing on the membrane (and I have prior history getting catastrophic diarrhoea from bad drinking water on holiday) but apparently it is safe to use as-is.
Yeah looked at the RO systems, they're a bit too expensive for me.
Bulk deionised water is pennies, DIY remineralisation equally cheap. Tesco Ashbeck water is also cheap if you buy it in the 5L bottles. It's makeup is almost perfect for good coffee and it's a fairly convenient option. I'd just rather do away with the plastic waste.
Another option is a zerowater jug and cut it with tap water. I shall look at that too. Though the filters generate their own waste.
I also use the Ashbeck 5l water from Tesco. £1.49 and it lasts a month. I figure any filter waste or chemicals used to descale would have equal or higher waste given that the bottles are made from recycled material and we recycle them.
This thread ended up costing me more money than it should have. Note to self - next time there's a coffee thread, DON'T open it!
This thread ended up costing me more money than it should have. Note to self – next time there’s a coffee thread, DON’T open it!
Fess up! What did you buy?
Worms, can, open
Fess up! What did you buy?
Nope! If I write it down, it's all too real. At the moment, numbers have moved and stuff might arrive, but I can kid myself that little has changed....other than an alternative coffee station appearing in the garage.
I'm still flat burr grinder shopping, can't quite convince myself to buy the df64 as it looks terrible, but is the most cost-effective electric flat burr option I think (I've dropped the 54 as there's no alternative burrs and it's oddly small). I'd love a zerno, but I think my wife would not be impressed with it and the import duty alone would cover a different grinder!
Nope! If I write it down, it’s all too real (my OH might read it)!
Fair enough! 😉 come, on you're amongst like minded rabbit hole dwellers, we won't judge!
can’t quite convince myself to buy the df64 as it looks terrible
Subjective of course, but I think it looks really good in a workmanlike way. The initial ones that were vinyl wrapped with the power button on the front didn't look great, but my Gen 2 looks good in the flesh. It's solid and well put together. It's not uber stylish like some others granted, if that's what's important to you. It does a brilliant job though at a massive saving on most similarly performing 64mm flat burr grinders.
We’ve been going through tasting all beans and the results so far are as follows. We’re going to circle back and try them again. The scoring might seem harsh, but we’re going on the basis 10/10 isn’t possible at home.
Rave Italian Blend 7/10 – Great flavor but slightly sickly aftertaste
Rave Strong AF # 666 6.5/10 – Good flavor but again slightly sickly aftertaste
Murano Dark 7/10 Good flavor, maybe lacks depth but bonus points for being the cheapest
Redber Italiano Coffee Blend 7.5/10 Superb strong taste, good depth and no aftertaste
Dark Side of the EDGE 5/10 Strange burnt taste, it would be fine but when tested as an iced coffee it’s nasty. Much better if you only have it hot.
Freshly roasted beans take a week or so to off-gas and develop their terpenoids so you may need to wait
My wife is fine with this stuff, but it always seems like a massive indulgence which I feel I don't deserve.
I bought a Eureka Oro Mignon and a Gaggia Classic Pro Evo to go with my Sage Barista Touch...I'll decide what works well together and eventually sell whichever I like least.
I replaced a Gaggia Classic and MDF Burr Grinder earlier in the year with the Sage and whilst it does make better coffee (most of the time), I sometimes prefer the workflow for the Gaggia. The Sage is also more difficult to maintain and has already broken it's grinder (twice) due to harder beans than it would like. 70screws to get to the grinder bits. The Gaggia has 2 to get to its innards and the Oro reportedly has 4-6.
Sounds like a great set up! Interesting to see you've gone from a more automated B2C machine, to a more hands on approach. Having used a few different machines before I bought mine, I knew I wanted a separate grinder and a manual machine rather than B2C. Let us know which one you keep when you've figured it out. I don't think you'll have an issue selling any of that.
Now I've had my Mignon Zero for a couple of weeks, and am into my second bag of 250gr fresh beans, I'm sold on the separate grinder. Current beans are some of my favs and I remember being astounded at how good the espresso was - made by the coffee fella at the roasters - when I first bought my Sage Barista. I never could reproduce what I'd tasted there, until dialing in this new grinder.
It's very granular, settings from 1-10 for fine to coarse but mostly I'm adjusting within a single digit. This morning hit the 2:1 motherlode spot on and was rewarded with an espresso I'd be delighted to pay proper money for. (as opposed to paying proper money for meh espressos which is what seems to happen)
The whole workflow thing is fine. I'm not in a rush and I know it's going to make me a better drink.
Oh and @daffy - nice setup. I really would like another grinder/machine in my workshed but I think that's going to be a tough sell to the family CFO 🙂
Cheap beans at Redber if anyone is interested:
https://www.redber.co.uk/collections/freshly-roasted-autumn-sale/Coffee-Sale
Fun Fact
" People that work with cockroaches, such as laboratory staff, researchers, and pest control personnel, often develop allergies to them....and preground packaged coffee. "
My goto coffee when in Italy is Izzo: https://caffeizzo.it/?lang=en
The 'gold' is really very good & whilst it's hard to find outside of Italy I've been getting mine from a little place in Bristol https://www.perfectocoffee.co.uk
It might not be "artisan" these days but it's so much nicer than the usual big brands IMO.
Apparently it’s to do with cockroaches getting into the beans whilst they’re waiting to be ground. They’re then ground up with the beans and sent to Waitrose as Deliciously Ella Protein enhanced organic coffee.
...cockroaches getting into the beans...
...Is that why my hario handgrinder stutters sometimes and I have to wind a bit harder...?