Coffee Grinders

quote:

Originally posted by Gianluigi Mazzorana:
Here in Italy you get them for free.

That's no basis for desperate jealousy. What is is the price you pay for a tin of Illy ground coffee.

Cheers,

Edo (takes ten home whenever in Italy)

quote:

Originally posted by Edo Engel:
What is is the price you pay for a tin of Illy ground coffee.

Here it's around $11- (equivalent to $20/lb). I figure a Mazzer Mini would pay for itself in 18 months.

Dan

quote:

What is is the price you pay for a tin of Illy ground coffee.

Cheers,

Edo (takes ten home whenever in Italy)

oooooooo
I don't know!

Sorry!!!!
Really sorry!!
But here in Italy that kind of coffee is so popular that you get it from smarket without thinking!
Anyway take a look at Illy's website www.illy.com
They programmed happenings in Holland as well!

Cheers!

There is more to the Illy cup thing than there appears.
Firstly the Illy collection cups are not the same as the ones you will get served with in an Illy café. The café ones are referred to as “bar cups” and are mug not porcelain, and the finish quality is not as high. They bar cups can be recognised by the words “illy espresso” on the inside lip, and “illy collection” in the collectors cups. Also the collection cups are numbered and signed by the designer on the base. Incidentally the bar cappuccino cups also say Illy espresso.
Three manufacturers produce the cups for Illy, Rosenthal and Metternich from Germany and IPA from Italy, these are put in order of the quality of there production. Not that IPA is bad, just not always as well finished as the German two.

quote:

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!

This is because the single cup is a limited edition of 3000 pieces, unlike the set that was available in greater numbers. Specials are a common theme with Illy with some very limited such as the “Venexia Gold” only 97 singles produced. These obviously sell out quickly and become the sought after ones.

Having said all this they are nice cups, but you are paying for the collector aspect, the fact is many other cups are as good. If you like the Illy cups get them, but the ones you are using will not make the coffee taste any poorer quality. I have seen the VnB cups and think they are a nice design,
John.

John,

Ah, thanks for clearing up the price difference. The single cup set is obviously for collectors, and silly money IMO. However, there's much to be said for buying a set like mine and using it daily -- cups need not be all white - and I never saw the point of purchasing something because you appreciate its design and then leaving it on the shelf.

Dan

About Illy prices... In Holland, I pay EUR 7 or something for a 250 gram tin. In Italy, the same tin will cost me EUR 4,50.

A Mazzer will not pay back financially. The beans actually have the same price per weight as ground coffee. It will pay back quality-wise, though.

Cheers,

Edo

quote:

Originally posted by i am simon 2:

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.

IMHO drinking fine espresso is a sensual experience from start to finish so it is quite justified to include the drinking vessel in the experience - and pay accordingly.

Deane

Yes I quite agree, I'd always found sipping a 26 year old McCallan and coke from a pint mug rather disconcerting too !



Fritz Von It's gotta be right innit


Plus the ice of course, no lemon that'd be crude with coke, lime mebbee ?

Chaps

I have aquired two Illy expresso cups and drank my first sip out of them last night.

The cup is very good and it does enhance the drinking pleasure.

The saucer is a bit to flat and it does not hold any spilt coffee, so one has to drink carefully and not spill a drop.

We have just bought a tin of Illy and will start on that once we have used up our current batch of beans.

Regards

Mick

Hi,

I'm coming to naim from the 'other side' i.e. that of an espresso obsessive. Over the past 10 years or so, I've slowly climbed from the old sunbeam espresso machine I bought from cash converters to having a 2-group commercial espresso machine and commercial grinder at home. A few years ago I built a small electric drum roaster that will roast about a pound of coffee at the time. Commercially available roasters are however very expensive for what you get and generally only roast 50-150 grams at a time.
You can however start roasting very cheaply and easily in one of those plug in popcorn poppers, the other standard DIY method is to put the green beans into a stainless steel dog bowl and roast them with a heat gun (paint stripper). Sure it takes a while to perfect the technique and develop your blends but even a poor effort will be MUCH better than stale old illy grounds (don't believe anyone who says you can keep beans fresh for more than 2 weeks using fancy packaging).

There are two books I cannot recommend highly enough:
Home coffee roasting: romance and revival by Kenneth Davids
Espreso: professional techniques by David Schomer

I think both are available from amazon.co.uk but iirc they're much cheaper to get from amazon.com

Now I'll go pull another shot and wait for my new old 62/110s to arrive in the post.
Jeremy.

quote:

Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Chaps

I have aquired two Illy expresso cups and drank my first sip out of them last night.

The cup is very good and it does enhance the drinking pleasure.

The saucer is a bit to flat and it does not hold any spilt coffee, so one has to drink carefully and not spill a drop.

We have just bought a tin of Illy and will start on that once we have used up our current batch of beans.

Regards

Mick

Shurley you hef a few tea leaves for your new people to read, coffee grounds can be sooooo messy, innit ?

Fritz Von A tall dark Stranger dressed as a tax man !!!

Jeremy

That wouldn't be cubastreet in Wellington would it?

Deane

The one and only. I grew up in Nelson, but live in Manchester for the timebeing.

Jeremy

I grew up in Nelson as well. Went to Nayland College. Now I live in Christchurch - which does have a Manchester Street.

Deane

I went to Nelson boys, pretty unfortunate really as I don't play rugby. Bad headmaster at the time too, but his daughter was pretty sweet

Lots of good memories of parties and concerts in Christchurch, but I loved Wellington from the moment I moved there.

My maths teacher from Nayland, Salvi Garguilo, ended up as principal of Nelson Boys. Mr Garguilo was one of the best teachers I had in all my time at school - and one of the funniest. I lived in Wellington for a while, some of it in Aro Street. I remember the secondhand book and record shops in Cuba Street.

email me deaneforeman at hotmail dot com if you like.

Deane

Chaps

We tried the Illy coffee and whilst it is good by normal standards, it does not compare to a freshly ground coffee bean.

If you want to drink decent coffee, I would say a coffee grinding machine is essential.

Therefore the next stage MUST be to purchase a coffee bean roaster so that the bean is ultra fresh.

Tonight we will test the Illy cup against the V&B.

Regards

Mick

Good luck to you Mick. I'm really interested to know how you get along with roasting your own beans. Nobody I know has ever roasted at home so please post how you get along. If you get the roast exactly right, the ground exactly right, the dosing of the gruppa exactly right and the machine exactly right - then you will have the nectar of the gods in a little cup.

BTW, do you use tap water for your coffee? If you do, what is the local supply like?

Deane

I use tap water filtered from a jug.

It tastes fine.

Regards

Mick

You're OK Deane, you've got some of the best tap water in the world. The stuff here in Manchester's pretty rank,OK if filtered. London tapwater I find undrinkable.

Mick, you can also roast in a gas oven. Use a tray with holes in it and preheat the oven to maximum temperature. You can buy a small amount of green beans from hill and valley www.hillandvalley.co.uk to try. You may have to give them a stir partway.

Mick,

I imagine that in Swindon you have hard water. Does the filter soften the water? If not, I'd recommend using bottled water, to avoid/reduce the need for descaling your coffee machine.

Mark S

A DI unit (as used by aquarists) is probably the best way to go for providing clean water.

The de-ionisation process makes it almost pure.

I use one for my marine aquarium and a simple taste test (rather than measuring) convinces everyone - and our local water is really good.

Initial cost of around £70 but will last for thousands of gallons before the cartridge filters require replacement. Cheaper than Brita-type filters in the long run and much better performance.

RO/DI is even better but a little too extreme for your needs.

What the fuck's an aquarist ?


Fritz Von intee acrylic mesen Jim

Fritz

An Aquarist is someone who keeps fish. The fish live their existance by going around in circles with their mouths opening and shutting all the time.

You always struck me as being a bit of an Orfe.

Regards

Mick