Nice Things

[Double 0 Soul]

^Talking of caber tossing...I used to supply the cast metalwork for the Highland Games

I still have one of the castings here for the hammer throw

Edited February 15, 2022 by Double 0 Soul

[Foxy2]

17 hours ago, MJF9 said:

…

^^ I watched a few clips of the Rok in action and it looks great, especially, as you say, at that price point. Cool piece of kit.

To make an 'espresso' at home, I use a Fellow Prismo metal filter on my Aeropress... following the guide, it works pretty well.  More often, though, I use the Aeropress as a change from filter (V60, Chemex or Khalita Wave) 

There are a few manual lever machines in the market for quite some time now and the ROK, Rocket and Flair seem to be getting the biggest hype over the more recent years.

By the looks of it the Flair seems to be the most complete for a price point that gets you a regular machine, though.

I also have a standard edition AeroPress and a Bacchi Carioca stovetop somewhere buried in Berlin that, for some reason, haven’t started checking out, yet.

Here in Scotland I’m using my Stagg pour over set-up and an older small electric Bialetti Moka Express. I’ve not really used the the electric Bialetti much in the past and came to find the results lacking over the traditional stovetop version - will have to bring the stovetop one over from Berlin next time.

between the pour over, the stovetop Bialetti and the ROK I should be all set in Scotland and maybe I’ll find the motivation to play around with the Bacchi and the AeroPress…

[Talan]

41 minutes ago, Foxy2 said:

There are a few manual lever machines in the market for quite some time now and the ROK, Rocket and Flair seem to be getting the biggest hype over the more recent years.

By the looks of it the Flair seems to be the most complete for a price point that gets you a regular machine, though.

I also have a standard edition AeroPress and a Bacchi Carioca stovetop somewhere buried in Berlin that, for some reason, haven’t started checking out, yet.

Here in Scotland I’m using my Stagg pour over set-up and an older small electric Bialetti Moka Express. I’ve not really used the the electric Bialetti much in the past and came to find the results lacking over the traditional stovetop version - will have to bring the stovetop one over from Berlin next time.

between the pour over, the stovetop Bialetti and the ROK I should be all set in Scotland and maybe I’ll find the motivation to play around with the Bacchi and the AeroPress…

Leaving hardware aside, do you count beans like Beethoven?

[Double 0 Soul]

I'm a bit of a coffee ignoramus.. i love it but use it more as a wake-up tool and struggle to fit good coffee into my lifestyle which is a shame because my old school friend owns a coffee business and i've never bought anything from him but i am proud to say ive never been in a Starbucks... Nero's.. Costa ect

I take a 1ltr water bottle to bed, drink half of it before i go to sleep, drink the other half when i wake up so i'm fully hydrated for my ride to work, when i get to work i make a pint of coffee in an oversized mug with 3x heaped teaspoons of instant shite and sit down with the internet for an hour.. make another pint of coffee around 8am then i don't touch caffeine till the next morning partly because i'm prone to bouts of insomnia.. for the rest of the day i just drink decaf tea or green or water (more water in the summer.. it makes me cold in the winter..brrr) so the only day i drink coffee at home is Sunday but even then it's just one or two cups in the am so i don't see the point in buying a decent coffee maker just to gather dust.

[Thanks_M8]

^might geht yourself one of those perma-filters with a mesh sieve? Mine cost me about 10€, I don't have to buy new filters every few weeks and the coffee is way bettee than any machine-made filter coffee I've had. 

let's U control ur dosage, is portable and easy to clean. definitely worth it imo

In general I found most manual methods to produce better results than most machines for home use so, plus they are more efficient room-wise.

Edited February 16, 2022 by Thanks_M8

[Maynard Friedman]

We use a Bialetti stove top, we buy coffee beans from a local Italian deli and grind them with a magic bullet machine. We heat milk in the microwave and hand froth it in one of those glass French press things with a mesh filter (pump it up and down about 10-15 times, ooer missus ). It’s pretty good, café quality for a low outlay and it’s primarily manual.

Edited February 16, 2022 by Maynard Friedman

[Thanks_M8]

^this exactly. used to be a bialetti guy aswell, but our new range is an induction, since they're alumium they don't work on it. 

since our move we couldn't bei arsed to get a new one which is compatible. cost twice as much and the other stuff works well enough.

 

[Double 0 Soul]

Ive got one of these things on the kitchen shelf which i bought 20odd years ago from Pollards

It works ok but the amount of waste coffee grounds bothers me, i once considered collecting it up for a mushroom growing experiment.. then there's the hot water/time needed to clean it, i can get by with cleaning my coffee cup at work..maybe once/week I might just be a lazy fuck who doesn't consider the time involved in making better coffee worth it..

[Maynard Friedman]

That’s just for frothing the milk!

[Double 0 Soul]

What!? it's massive that Kilner jar holds 2L

Iv'e just had a can of Ting for the first time since the 80's.. it's even nicer than i remember.. 40p from Tesco

[Thanks_M8]

43 minutes ago, Double 0 Soul said:

Ive got one of these things on the kitchen shelf which i bought 20odd years ago from Pollards

It works ok but the amount of waste coffee grounds bothers me, i once considered collecting it up for a mushroom growing experiment.. then there's the hot water/time needed to clean it, i can get by with cleaning my coffee cup at work..maybe once/week I might just be a lazy fuck who doesn't consider the time involved in making better coffee worth it..

really just need to rinse out the grounds before using it with this thing mine gets washed with soap maybe once a week since it's in daily use

[MJF9]

@Foxy2 that looks good coffee making kit you got there in bonny Scotland... Bacchi Carioca sounds interesting, will look into that 

I spent a bit of time on coffee every day, predominantly at home.  I haven't ventured into electric home espresso machines due to the expense (ranging into £1,000s, and quite a few of them for the La Marzocco home set-up at the far end) but these human-powered versions have got me interested again.  When I go to a coffee shop, it's for an espresso predominantly as it's different from what I do at home.

These two are pieces of kit are invaluable (OK, to me, at least)...

Commandante C40 Nitro Blade Grinder - I grind my beans (go on Maynard!) daily using this delightful machine.  A barista recommended it and it's awesome.  I've found freshly ground beans and getting the grind size right for each brew method makes a big difference.  This beauty has loads of grind sizes to suit home espresso aeropress (fine) to Chemex (coarser).

Hario scales - mass (right hand scale) and timer (left hand) - invaluable I tell thee... for weighing out the beans and the hot water for each brew and timing the extraction.  I adjust the grind size to get (or try to get) the 'right' extraction time.  

I also use bottled water with low solid residue etc - the values for the water constituents I adopted are in a book somewhere - anyhow Tescos own bottled does the job nicely.  It makes a difference, honest

For beans, there are loads of good quality roasteries that do postal delivery so I use those - Campbell and Syme are a current favourite, Nude Espresso near Brick Lane is fantastic, Origins are reliable et etc etc and Cuppers Choice in good ole Sheffield do some top stuff too

PS I hasten to add non of the above is new news, just while we were on topic I thought I'd add my two penneth...

Edited February 16, 2022 by MJF9

[Double 0 Soul]

22 minutes ago, MJF9 said:

I also use bottled water with low solid residue etc - the values for the water constituents I adopted are in a book somewhere - anyhow Tescos own bottled does the job nicely.  It makes a difference, honest

 

Holey moley! that sounds like an environmental disaster.. and here was I fretting about what i do with a small amount of grounds, i can't remember the last time i bought a plastic bottle of anything

[Maynard Friedman]

I use filtered water too @MJF9, from our Berkey water filter, which is fairly expensive in its own right but I can’t get into the minutiae of weighing and grind size (although I’ve been told and tend to agree) that coarser is better for the Bialetti so just grind for a shorter period. We were buying Caffe Manuel beans but the good folk at the café/deli have now switched us to Café Borbone Miscela Blu, which is what they serve. I’ve no idea if any of this is any good but it works for us and Mrs F lived in Sardinia for a couple of years so knows a bit more about this stuff than I do.

It’s also great for affogato!

[Double 0 Soul]

London tap water tastes f'kin horrendous.. come to Sheffield it's like necter

[MJF9]

2 minutes ago, Double 0 Soul said:

Holey moley! that sounds like an environmental disaster.. and here was I fretting about what i do with a small amount of grounds, i can't remember the last time i bought a plastic bottle of anything

I know I know it's not ideal... working on a solution.  We use the biggest bottles, 5 litre, and avoid oversized mugs to reduce the moral burden

Put the grounds on the garden - it's good for the soil apparently.

[Maynard Friedman]

I think 00 works for the South Yorkshire tourist board. He is the equivalent to them of whatever skulduggery the Duke does for FW!

[mpukas]

I have a Bialetti moka pot for my induction range. Works great, worth the investment when I got the new range. It makes a good cup, quick easy to clean. I grind enough beans for a week or so in an electric whirl grinder. I grid enough for a week or so at a time. I don't weigh grinds or water. Kinda hack, but it's simple and quick and I get consistent results. I also have a Nespresso machine w/ steamer wand. So quick and easy, decent result for what it is. 

I've always really loved coffee, and especially espresso, and  want to up my game. I've recent gone down coffee rabbit hole watching a lot of James Hoffman's videos. Looking into getting a real machine + burr grinder. The question I'm wrastling with is do I get a Breville Barista Pro, which is good quality consumer appliance that has a good reputation, or step up to a pro-sumer level machine + grinder for more than twice the cost. Would the results be that much better? Possibly, probably once I get dialed in. 

[MJF9]

^^ there must surely be a global warming impact when OO goes into overdrive on his computer    

[Maynard Friedman]

Neal, if you want something better than your instant Mellow Birds but without the fuss or mess, I can recommend these filter coffee bags from Sainsbury’s. We always have some at home for a quicker cup.

[MJF9]

@mpukas On the filter coffee making side, imo it's definitely worth investing in a top notch burr grinder (the Commandante above is great, I grind max 42g coffee in one go, not cheap but robust, quality kit), quality beans to your taste and filtered water.  My preference for filter is a Chemex as it gives a clean cup by virtue of the bespoke filters, but I also use V60 on travels or Khalita Wave though more impressed with its looks than its performance.

I can't comment on the espresso machine side from a cost v quality perspective. My presumption has been that getting the beans, grind, water and extraction time is critical.  Get them wrong and no machine will deliver you a perfect brew.  If you want to go nuclear, I bet those home La Marzocco linea mini machines are top notch!

[Double 0 Soul]

6 minutes ago, MJF9 said:

^^ there must surely be a global warming impact when OO goes into overdrive on his computer    

Ive recently got my first ever smart phone, it was given to me by my elderly aunt, the screen is cracked but it's ok.. it's an i-phone but i've got no idea which one

Take that environment!

[MJF9]

Good shout that.  My daughter is bending my ear about a fancy iphone atm.  I have asked her to make the cost benefit case.  I'll chuck in the environment curveball when she presents back to me dragons den style.  I've already challenged her that a fancy phone will not deliver a better quality conversation!  

[Thanks_M8]

re Home Espresso Machines: an old Buddy of mine got one made by ECM years ago for about 2k, made great coffee with it but spent half his afternoons cleaning that thing and playing around on it to dial it in.

at that cost, at least for me, it's easier to go out for espressi and have them made for me. 

great thing, for sure, but not worth the hassle, imo...

re grinders: grind size and constant results are key. we got a baratza encore grinder for our wedding and it works like a charm. No more fiddling around with the handgrinder (hario skerton), which is way faster and more time effizient. also not a super expensive one, 120€ to 150€ I think.

Edited February 16, 2022 by Thanks_M8

[Double 0 Soul]

5 minutes ago, MJF9 said:

Good shout that.  My daughter is bending my ear about a fancy iphone atm.  I have asked her to make the cost benefit case.  I'll chuck in the environment curveball when she presents back to me dragons den style.  I've already challenged her that a fancy phone will not deliver a better quality conversation!  

My mrs and kid bagged off their i-phones some years ago.. recently they've had Huawei and now they've both got Pixel 6

I use 1p mobile cos i'm the only one who seems to have financial concerns with us being a single income household

[Foxy2]

4 hours ago, MJF9 said:

@Foxy2 that looks good coffee making kit you got there in bonny Scotland... Bacchi Carioca sounds interesting, will look into that 

I spent a bit of time on coffee every day, predominantly at home.  I haven't ventured into electric home espresso machines due to the expense (ranging into £1,000s, and quite a few of them for the La Marzocco home set-up at the far end) but these human-powered versions have got me interested again.  When I go to a coffee shop, it's for an espresso predominantly as it's different from what I do at home.

These two are pieces of kit are invaluable (OK, to me, at least)...

Commandante C40 Nitro Blade Grinder - I grind my beans (go on Maynard!) daily using this delightful machine.  A barista recommended it and it's awesome.  I've found freshly ground beans and getting the grind size right for each brew method makes a big difference.  This beauty has loads of grind sizes to suit home espresso aeropress (fine) to Chemex (coarser).

Hario scales - mass (right hand scale) and timer (left hand) - invaluable I tell thee... for weighing out the beans and the hot water for each brew and timing the extraction.  I adjust the grind size to get (or try to get) the 'right' extraction time.  

I also use bottled water with low solid residue etc - the values for the water constituents I adopted are in a book somewhere - anyhow Tescos own bottled does the job nicely.  It makes a difference, honest

For beans, there are loads of good quality roasteries that do postal delivery so I use those - Campbell and Syme are a current favourite, Nude Espresso near Brick Lane is fantastic, Origins are reliable et etc etc and Cuppers Choice in good ole Sheffield do some top stuff too

PS I hasten to add non of the above is new news, just while we were on topic I thought I'd add my two penneth...

The Bacchi is something that @volvo240thebest had recommended in the past - took me a while to get and I still haven’t used it.

I couldn’t justify a Comandante. Quite happy with my Knock AerGrind. And it’s designed in Scotland. The wife is happy with her Zassenhausen and her Porlex, when traveling.

I do weight the coffee beans with a Timemore, but I haven’t really used the timer function to measure extraction time or started weighting the resulting espresso, yet. Maybe I do start that one day…

[Flash]

Nothing fancy , just some shoe trees that belonged to my great grandad ... well over 100 years old 

 

 

[MJF9]

@Foxy2 I enjoyed that first shot from my new ROK this morning... will take a few goes to nail it, but so far so very good... nice one for the tip off

[Maynard Friedman]

I can remember when a mid-life crisis meant buying a Harley-Davidson or, more recently, an expensive racing bike and loads of Lycra. Now it’s coffee-making equipment! What have we become? 

[MJF9]

Haha... I like that we often think mid-life is later than it is really is

Important to stay awake for it whenever it lands - keen not to miss a thing, not long left now