Where to get actual Italian style coffee beans

This thread has me thinking of getting a Sage Bambino.    So, is there lots of faff to it with cleaning etc?  Other than tamping the coffee and wiping the frothier, I’d like it to be as close to the convenience of the Nespresso machine it’d replace.

It’ll be a little needier than a Nespresso.  You’ll need to empty the grounds, rinse the portafilter and wipe the shower screen after every shot. Wipe and purge the steam arm if you’ve used it. You’ll need to back flush it regularly and descale it a couple of times a year.  None of this onerous, but it’s faffier than a capsule machine.  On the upside, after a short learning curve to ‘dial it in’ the coffee will be nicer!

rinse the portafilter and wipe the shower screen after every shot

Not with my Gaggia Classic. Just the run through of water to warm everything up rinses it well enough.

It all depends what you want from your coffee.
Nespresso and other similar capsule devices only gives the illusion of espresso and coffee milk drinks in my view.
They have positives in terms of no faff but offer a compromise in terms of the “real deal” espresso experience.
If I didn’t have a half decent machine (and I include the bambino) I would rely on a Mocca pot (I have one also) or “pour over” (V60 Dripper) for my coffee rather can a capsule.
The selection of the bean, storage, grind, puck preparation, machine set up, extraction just appeal.
When its all dialled in very easy and enjoyable.
Happy coffee, however you take it

Not with my Gaggia Classic. Just the run through of water to warm everything up rinses it well enough.

When I say ‘rinse’, yes – you can use the water from the machines boiler of course. The shower screen will eventually get a build of coffee oils on and behind it though, this can go a bit stale and rancid and will affect the coffee. I wipe mine with a damp cloth after every shot which takes seconds.  Every 7-10 days or so I’ll take it off and clean it in Puly caf solution.  Not a Gaggia classic, but similar single boiler design.

You don’t need to back flush a Bambino as it doesn’t have a solenoid like a Classic, it’s a thermablock so no boiler as such. They are less faff than a Gaggia Classic but still need more effort than a pod machine. Using soft bottled water would mean no real need to descale.

I’m struggling to think the TK Maxx supply chain is geared up for providing freshly roasted beans, but I might be wrong?

It probably isn’t, but it tastes like every coffee I’ve ever had in Italy.  Which might not be what the OP meant by “Italian style coffee beans”, but I don’t think it’s an unreasonable interpretation…

You don’t need to back flush a Bambino as it doesn’t have a solenoid like a Classic, it’s a thermablock so no boiler as such..

Oh yeah, forgot that! Doh!

Using soft bottled water would mean no real need to descale.

Water chemistry is complicated though.  ‘Soft’ water is not great for taste but hard water is not the best for your machine. I use Tesco Ashbeck which is a good compromise between those competing requirements.  All bottled mineral water contains (obviously) minerals which will eventually deposit in the valves, pipes and boiler of your machine as scale.  They usually contain a lot less than most UK tap water, so you might get away without descaling for quite a while, but if you use use it enough you will eventually get scale – even with bottled water. If it’s a cheap machine, you might not care and it may be OK for the life of it. If it’s an expensive machine which you intend to keep for a long time, a little pre-preemptive maintenance is a good insurance policy.  Bella Barista who supplied my Profitec Go recommended a light descale every 6 months – even with Ashbeck water which they also recommended.

I’m struggling to think the TK Maxx supply chain is geared up for providing freshly roasted beans, but I might be wrong?

They are alright to be honest. Just give them a try.  I used to buy freshly roasted ones but they are expensive for my simple way of preparing coffee (filter type now rather than my Gaggia Classic approach).

It probably isn’t, but it tastes like every coffee I’ve ever had in Italy.  Which might not be what the OP meant by “Italian style coffee beans”, but I don’t think it’s an unreasonable interpretation…

Most of the Italian beans at TK Maxx taste roughly the same (most are Italian brands) and the beans taste like they are coming from one roasting source in Italy.

The Medium Roast French beans are not often available but they have some this time so I gave it a try. (note the beans are smaller like Jamaican Blue Mountain Beans)

Some of the Irish coffee brands/roasters are also good and their coffee beans normally taste sweeter than the Italian (Italian like to mix with Robusta).

Then there is a coffee brand roasted in Leeds and they are normally Rwanda beans and they are good.

Then very occasionally you find Cornish Coffee (roasted in Cornwall of course) at TK Maxx and, to me, they are amongst the best but slightly expensive. The Cornish Coffee brand is the one brand I say is a must try.  

Brita Purity Quell ST filter is supposed to soften but give good flavour – I’ve fitted one of these (there are small cartridges suitable for home use c50/100/150) for my fridge and for use in the espresso.
https://www.brita.co.uk/purity-quell-st

modt manufacturers say don’t descale. I did my machine once before I’d fitted the filter and created some issues (and it took forever to rinse the milk wand). Haven’t needed to since installing. £50 cartridge (via eBay) every 9 months has to be cheaper than bottle water.

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.

I’m a bit sceptical of ‘never need to descale’ though.  To taste good, water for coffee needs some mineral content, eventually some of these minerals will precipitate out in the narrow pipes of your machine.  If you change machines every couple of years it might never become a significant issue, but if you drink lots of coffee and want it to last longer – it might.  I prefer to be cautious with a very light occasional descale.  YMMV.

James Hoffman has a good method to test if your machine needs descaling.  When it’s new or freshly descaled, put a cup on a scale, dispense say 100g of water and time how long it takes. Repeat occasionally, if it slows at all, it’s an early warning that your pipes are narrowing due to scale build up.

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.

@jaketurbo – How’s the Oro Mignon?

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.

Fun Fact

Surely we won’t let that pass without a *sauce*?

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.

Another reason (as if you needed one) to buy beans not pre-ground!

…cockroaches getting into the beans…

…Is that why my hario handgrinder stutters sometimes and I have to wind a bit harder…?