Coffee Grinders

Real skill starts to come into coffee when it comes to roasting. A few seconds can make all the difference. Also, many coffees you buy are blended but each different bean is roasted separately before blending. Are green beans commonly available over there?

Villeroy and Boch - an end to end system





I hope you post process your fine coffee with V and B equipment as well

but seriously - here are some details on a do it yourself coffee roasting project

DIY Roaster

Mick,

Source first and all that, when are you going to spend some of your retirement millions on a coffee plantation?

Mick

I think you need to upgrade your interconnects.

The esspro cup is the interconnect of drinking coffe, it links your coffee machine to your mouth.

Have a look at the history of the illy cup, the design of which you will note is the result of a 70 page engineering brief.

On another matter, which beans are you using at the moment?

Simon

If they have tubes, I wonder if they'd be suitable for Maria's clock, she could check with the various manufacturers, innit.


Fritz Von Coffee's made

quote:

Mrs Mick and I are rapidly becoming coffee snobs par excellence.

Hi!
Coffee is a very important moment in life!
The moment to end a good dinner and take out cigarettes and cigars!
Don't know about a roaster because, in my hometown, we can buy it fresh and ready for coffe maker.
But............Mick!
Beware how many expressos you have in the day!

They have an hard effect on heart and nervous system as much as you'd not think because they are heavly concetraded.
hehehehehehehehehe
For an example: personally if i have an expresso at 8 pm , and the coffee in it is a good quality, i can spend my night in the bed watching the ceiling without hope to fall asleep!
In my hometown we are use to mix coffee and some white alcoholic distillate (grappa) which is a kick in a... for heart.
So enjoy but take it easy!

Italian coffe drinker.

Ps: if you like coffee aroma and rough taste in mouth you can also add a little piece of black pure chocolate in the liquid without adding sugar.
You can also add few drops of red wine, without sugar as well, to have it really heavy.
Some herbs digest liquor is liked as well.
If your stomach is in troubles then add some lemon drops and no sugar, but be sure that the road to the bathroom is completely clear!

Or you can

Simon

Where does one buy these tasty little cups ?

Gianluigi

Thank you for your concern, I also would like to see me living for a few more years yet.

I have one normal coffee for breakfast and an espresso after dinner. In between it is either green tea or camomile.

I hope someone can suggest a good roaster.

Regards

Mick

quote:

I also would like to see me living for a few more years yet.

I have one normal coffee for breakfast and an espresso after dinner.

Good!
I got worried!
Sometimes i see people from my hometown putting hands on small barrels of good german bier and they drink till they fall.
They say it's good, and i do agree, but they forget it contains alcohol as well!

Bottoms up!

Gianluigi

Mick

Is there something about the beans you're currently using with which you're dissatisfied?

Are they over-roasted/under-roasted etc? Have you tried different roasters in Swindon? Have you become so unhappy with the beans you're using that you're convinced you could do better yourself?

Deane

Hi Mick,
before you buy a roaster you should really read up a bit about roasting. It is not difficult though patience is needed to get a good blend, although this is part of the apeal.
Different types of roasters are available depending on how serious yopu are, what batch size you want to roast and your budget.
A USA site for info and reviews of roasters is SWEET MARIAS
In the UK the best home roaster is considered to be the "Hot Top" look here HAS BEAN
The roaster I have is now discontinued but the nearest thing to it is the Hearthware I Roast Home Roaster, this works very like a popcorn maker, blowing hot air from below, roasting and moving the beans at the same time. it also roasts in small batches so fresh coffee is all ways to hand.
If you need a starting point for (what I think is) a good espresso blend, with beans available as greens in the UK let me know,
John.

PS. Go here and do a search for IllyZoxx
be carefull people have been known to get addicted.

Deane

Drinking coffee is like going on a voyage.

You drink instant coffee and it is ok.

You buy a filter or Cafetier (sic ?) and it tastes even better.

You buy a decent coffer maker and now it is becoming seriously good.

You burr grind the beans and it is now becoming very very good.

Roasting green beans is another quantum leap.

I enjoy espresso but I want it to be better, hence the desire for a roaster.

Hope that makes sense.

Regards

Mick

John

Thanks for the information. I shall peruse it tomorrow.

Regards

Mick

quote:

Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Roasting green beans is another quantum leap.

Mick, are you sure you're not taking this too far? Getting your mix right and getting the correct roasting time is nearly a matter of science. And if you've already decided on taking it that far (which I'm afraid you have), you should definitely consider using bottled water and buying a better machine with (active) cup heating capability, preferably E62 based or La Marzocco. And the Illy cups are a no-brainer, trust me.

Cheers,

Edo

Mick,

I'm with Edo on this. I wonder in the short time you have had your new grinder, you have had enough time (at just 2 espressos/day) to perfect the system you have. Adding yet another variable (roasting) will multiply the chances something can go wrong. You seem dissatisfied with the espresso you are getting now, and believe you can improve it by roasting your own, but perhaps fine tuning your grind, amount, and tamp pressure will give more immediate rewards.

I'd very much like to hear what kind of pour times you are getting at the moment. They should be around 25 sec for a double espresso. How is the crema? Does it taste overly bitter?
Is your new grinder adjustment click stopped? If so, what is the difference in pour time per click (assuming constant tamp and amount). You probably already do this, but time needs to be taken to let the head and porta filter to reach proper temperature -- do not go by the light on the machine (20 minutes is good and lets your cups warm too). If you are in a hurry run a blank shot first.

I have several sets of Illy cups - they really do enhance the coffee experience.

Best of luck in reaching espresso perfection,

cheers

Dan

Here's a tamper that can take some of the guess work out of getting consistent tamp pressure:
Auto Tamper

Dan

Mick

I'd agree with the recent postings. From what I've heard about roasting each second counts a lot at the end of a roast. The quality of the roasting machine must be high or the roast is not even and you must be able to cool the beans quickly when finished. The chap I knew best (he started Pomeroys in Nelson) had a small electronically controlled electric roaster for small quantities. He said it did a very good job but it cost him $20,000 NZ and that was 12 years ago. He had a gas fired roaster for commercial quantities.

Of course, if you're willing to go to the lengths and expense you will need to - and waste the amount of beans you will most certainly waste while you're learning - then all respect to you.

Deane

Chaps

Mrs Mick and I are going to be more experimental.

Regards

Mick

Mick

So far I have purchased the Illy cups in a department store in Barcelona, Selfridges in Londons West End, and Aria on Upper Street in Islington on North London, on the web they seem to have them here:

http://www.anothercoffee.co.uk/products/search.aspx?search=illy

There also seems to be an excelent choice here
http://www.zoxx.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=CAF-ILL&LNG=en-US
As I have not used either of these e-tailers, I cannot comment on their service so I might be tempted to email t sound them out before commiting my money (perhaps I am just paranoid)

Re the cup warmer comment, I think you can in theory pu a few cups on top of the Gaggia using the top of it as a "warming plate" although in truth I normaly do not bother.

Simon

quote:

Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Mrs Mick and I are going to be more experimental.

I sure hope Mrs Mick agrees with your disclosure.

Cheers,

Edo

quote:

Originally posted by i am simon 2:
Re the cup warmer comment, I think you can in theory pu a few cups on top of the Gaggia using the top of it as a "warming plate" although in truth I normaly do not bother.

I put them on top of my machine, which tends to lose quite a bit of heat. Still, I pull blind shots in all my cups before pulling the coffee to heat up the cups. I can't stand coffee in a cold or luke warm cup.

Cheers,

Edo

Edo

The illy cups seem very expensive and judging by Ebay prices, they are becoming collectors items.

What makes them so good to drink out of.

Regards

Mick

Mick

The price of the Illy cus is a little high. I think the collecable prices on ebay reflect the fact that if you cal anything limited edition, some mug (no pun intended) will pay over the odds.

In respect of the drinking experiance, I would say that their benifits include the thickness and roundnes of the brim which allows to sip without burning your lip, and the curvature of the inside of the cup seem just right in terms of allowing the coffee to cool at a constant rate. ie. a coffe cup that is too wide has such a big surface area off coffee that t all goes cold very quickly. A cup that is too narrow stays unrinkably hot too long, and an illy cup gets it right.

It might be that the above is all a load of rubish that I have used to convince myself of the value and therfore justified the fact that we have 2 sets of the esspresso cups and 1 set of the mid size cups, the real reson I like the is because they are inherantly nicer and more pleaseing to behold/handle than any other coffe cups I have used.

To give you some backround, we have a lot of essprsso cups. Our first ones cam from Whitards, a set of 4, which dit the job, but were neither here nore there in erms of quality.

The next ones we got were a pair of stainless steelcups and saucers, they have an iner and outer skin and I suppose the theory is that they work like a vacum flask remaining cool on the outside keeping the coffee warm on the inside. This is not the case, you just get burnt fingers and a burnt mouth.

We then got some of the Illy cups having first been served coffe in them in a cafe, and they are simply better. We now also ave some nice bone china cups from the Gugenheim museum in NY which are inspired by Frank Lloyd Wrights building. They are nice to look at but in contrast to the illy cups I find that the rim is too thin.

For our wedding in November we got some Thomas Rosenthal porcelain coffee cups, they are a little larger than esspresso and whilst they are excelent for coffee from the caffatiere, they are no good for esspresso.

I would not say it essential for you to rush out and buy these cups as they are only cups and I am consious of the fact that I have become a mindless consumer of overpriced lifestyle accesories, but in the event you need some more cups, I would recomend at least looking at them.

If any of the Cafe near you serve Illy coffe, they will often serve to you in Illy cups, so you may well be able to try before you buy.

I must now get back to work in order to pay for the next lens for my Nikon, I like te look of the Sigma 12-24mm, although at about f4 it is not very fast and maybe a wide prime would be better.

Simon

Mick,

Illy 'logo' cups are 6 for $50- which is great VFM. I also have 6 'International Flight' cups that I purchased from a great Italian cafe near Covent Garden 3 years ago (I think I paid around 100USD back then). I was in shock when Illy now sells *one* cup for $100!

Dan

quote:

Originally posted by Dan M:
Mick,

Illy 'logo' cups are 6 for $50- which is great VFM. I also have 6 'International Flight' cups that I purchased from a great Italian cafe near Covent Garden 3 years ago (I think I paid around 100USD back then). I was in shock when Illy now sells *one* cup for $100!

Dan

Here in Italy you get them for free.

quote:

The illy cups seem very expensive and judging by Ebay prices, they are becoming collectors items.

What makes them so good to drink out of.

Any expensive Illy cups are probably from the designer collection. If you look for the Illy logo cups at a proper store you might be able to find six for around 25 to 30 pounds.

Simon's story about the heat seems a bit far fetched, but it's definitely true. Remember that with espresso, two things are essential: freshness and temperature. With respect to the last issue, get your machine and your cups right. Your coffee should have the correct and constant temperature while being brewn and while being drunk. If a machine's too light, you cannot rely on it for proper and constant brewing temperature. This goes for your portafilter as well! Your cup should have the right heat retention and shape for your coffee to have the right temperature: in the cup as well as in your mouth. Illy gets it right, while hundreds of manufacturers with their heavily crowded product development departments do not.

Cheers,

Edo