Coffee

After killing my THIRD Gaggia Classic, I gave in, and got a Nespresso.

I have a selection of about a dozen coffees at my fingertips, and can have a couple of different ones over breakfast. Far easier to swap flavours than a bean-to-cup as well.

I used to buy green beans from Pennine Tea & Coffee, and roast my own blends, but I am happy to trade the Nth of flavour for not swearing at a misbehaving machine, or if I have messed up my routine.

Before I got the Nespresso, I had been buying kilo bags of the various Lavazza bean blends from Amazon.

interesting side note, a Nespresso is 19bar, rather than the more usual 15bar.

ChrisSU posted:

naim_nymph posted:

The mistake most people make using instant granular coffee is the boiling the living daylights out of it.

I can't drink it the way all my friends make it...

Good preparation technic:  With the kettle brought to the boil fill the cup quarter full simply to warm it. Allow the kettle to cool slightly while swilling out the warmed cup, and putting in a heaped spoonful of Kenco Rappor. Pour the slightly cooled down [not boiling!] water in the cup to fill at half full only (or half empty depending upon if you're an optimist or pessimist). Add a good splash of shaken fresh semi-skimmed milk (about a quarter of the cup quantity). Stir and enjoy. If you're wimpy enough to have need of sugar use Demerara.

I know this instant is not proper fancy pants bean coffee but it's a very easy non-faff way of making a quick satisfying cuppa : )

Debs

I wonder how many people are biting their tongues, being too polite to protest at your mention of instant coffee on a thread such as this one! I, too, will confess that I'm partial to the stuff. I'm also very partial to a good strong espresso, but I don't see them as the same drink. After dinner, only espresso hits the spot for me, but in the morning, that would be too much for my taste buds, and that's then I turn to instant. Adding milk first, then hot water, seems to work for me in keeping the too-hot water from the kettle from spoiling the taste.

Chrissu,

I was with you right up until you said "adding the milk". Nope, never. Only black for me.

steve

PS interesting thread that has me thinking about machines...

   Currently on The River at 2 X 500g for £8.60, free delivery for Prime members .............. seems like a good deal. 

You could always get it round the corner from the Co-op. 

fixedwheel posted:

After killing my THIRD Gaggia Classic, I gave in, and got a Nespresso.

I have a selection of about a dozen coffees at my fingertips, and can have a couple of different ones over breakfast. Far easier to swap flavours than a bean-to-cup as well.

I used to buy green beans from Pennine Tea & Coffee, and roast my own blends, but I am happy to trade the Nth of flavour for not swearing at a misbehaving machine, or if I have messed up my routine.

Before I got the Nespresso, I had been buying kilo bags of the various Lavazza bean blends from Amazon.

interesting side note, a Nespresso is 19bar, rather than the more usual 15bar.

The trouble with Nespresso is that it's an environmental nightmare. I read that the guy who invented it wished he hadn't. The coffee is very good though, apart from needing to spend £70 each time to avoid postage charges. We put it in the loft and now rely on a Moka express, or a good old cafetière. 

The standard at our place:

Hungryhalibut posted:

fixedwheel posted:

After killing my THIRD Gaggia Classic, I gave in, and got a Nespresso.

I have a selection of about a dozen coffees at my fingertips, and can have a couple of different ones over breakfast. Far easier to swap flavours than a bean-to-cup as well.

I used to buy green beans from Pennine Tea & Coffee, and roast my own blends, but I am happy to trade the Nth of flavour for not swearing at a misbehaving machine, or if I have messed up my routine.

Before I got the Nespresso, I had been buying kilo bags of the various Lavazza bean blends from Amazon.

interesting side note, a Nespresso is 19bar, rather than the more usual 15bar.

The trouble with Nespresso is that it's an environmental nightmare. I read that the guy who invented it wished he hadn't. The coffee is very good though, apart from needing to spend £70 each time to avoid postage charges. We put it in the loft and now rely on a Moka express, or a good old cafetière. 

I love a moka pot but I am a regular Nespresso guy now.   In the US, they give you an environmental envelope you drop off at a local dealer or drop into UPS.

...I also moved from Gaggia to a Nesspresso machine with the trusty cafetierre as its side kick...

Hungryhalibut posted:

fixedwheel posted:

After killing my THIRD Gaggia Classic, I gave in, and got a Nespresso.

I have a selection of about a dozen coffees at my fingertips, and can have a couple of different ones over breakfast. Far easier to swap flavours than a bean-to-cup as well.

I used to buy green beans from Pennine Tea & Coffee, and roast my own blends, but I am happy to trade the Nth of flavour for not swearing at a misbehaving machine, or if I have messed up my routine.

Before I got the Nespresso, I had been buying kilo bags of the various Lavazza bean blends from Amazon.

interesting side note, a Nespresso is 19bar, rather than the more usual 15bar.

The trouble with Nespresso is that it's an environmental nightmare. I read that the guy who invented it wished he hadn't. The coffee is very good though, apart from needing to spend £70 each time to avoid postage charges. We put it in the loft and now rely on a Moka express, or a good old cafetière. 

In truth, although the company supplies an envelope for recycling, the amount of aluminium in each Nespresso capsule's truly miniscule, you'd need something like thirty of them to give the equivalent of one Coke can. And the increasing numbers of Nespresso copy capsules are mostly made from plastics or cardboard. The machines themselves only heat up a small amount of water, unlike the larger coffee machines. Much to be taken into account when evaluating environmental impact.

Another thumbs down for Gaggia here. One machine failed after a month due to dodgy electrics and another started leaking boiling water after 13 months. I was told it had not been de-scaled properly and was irreparable which is interesting since we have the softest water imaginable and do not get the slightest limescale in the kettle after years and years of use.

Looked nice and made decent coffee but would not buy one again. The Alfa Romeo of coffee makers?

My Jura machine is sleek, really easy to use and built like you'd imagine a swiss coffee machine to be built.

Bruce

I too had all the decent coffee machines but found them very unreliable, then one day I was visiting a company who where refurbishing their offices in Canary Wharf and didn't like the look of there then £2k Saeco Aulika bean to cup coffee machine, although a little on the large size I've had it a few years now and never had any problems with it, so highly recommended, but I'd doubt you'd get one for the price I paid, £250... some companies just waste money...my gain though 

Well my brother would be delighted with your popularity of Nespresso. He was a few years back responsible for coffee production at Nestle and they certainly go into a lot of care and detail in their coffee growing, preparations and various production processes. The other interesting thing he tells me and if I understand him correctly is the balance between the robusta bean and the arabica bean species in production and blends, with the former usually allowing cheaper production, more robust processes and responsible for the very strong punchy taste and often stronger caffeine, whilst the latter is more expensive, delicate and fussy in production and tends to be more prone to disease, and is responsible for more the aroumatic flavours. He tells me indeed the roast time to grind and extraction is essential to enjoy the flavours before they break down. Nestle often vacuum pack to reduce degradation process in the processed coffee as he tells me it's the moisture in the air that is the biggest enemy here... and he recommends keeping beans or processed coffee in the fridge and preparation equipment including grinders religiously clean to avoid contaminating the taste with stale coffee oils. He also told me that some of their top coffee tasters can tell bean, location and growing area just from the taste of the extracted coffee... and before tasting use special dry wafers to cleanse the taste palate and taste buds, but interestingly he says having worked with coffee for so long he has generally gone of its many tastes and smells.

He is quite dismissive of what he calls the 'flavoured milk' chains, who in his words offer coffee to  flavour  milk amongst other things... apparently much of the coffee preparation in many of these chains leaves a lot to be desired in his opinion hence the treating coffee more as an added flavour to milk rather than a range of coffe bean drinks to truly savour in their  own right... I guess I would need to be in the industry to appreciate his comments   more... and perhaps accounts for why in the UK at least I'm told it's the independent or fashionably called artesian coffee shops which are growing fast in the market place whilst the big generic chain brands have somewhat more static growth, but clearly an awful lot of people like and enjoy flavoured milk....

As far as manual coffee extraction machines, I have gone with a Sage espresso appliance ... seems to be well specified, relatively reliable and offers a lot of control, also relatively quick, efficient water heating and coffee extraction.

tonym posted:

In truth, although the company supplies an envelope for recycling, the amount of aluminium in each Nespresso capsule's truly miniscule, you'd need something like thirty of them to give the equivalent of one Coke can. And the increasing numbers of Nespresso copy capsules are mostly made from plastics or cardboard. The machines themselves only heat up a small amount of water, unlike the larger coffee machines. Much to be taken into account when evaluating environmental impact.

Yes, the recycling of the used pods is a specialist process. I class the cost of the return envelope is part of what I have already paid for the coffee. And very painless, as I can drop it into a Collect+ point en route somewhere else.

Good point from Tony about the waste heat on a more traditional espresso machine, I used to have to switch the Classic on for a while before use, and then used to leave it on between the two cups I'd have over breakfast.

If you have genuine "environmental concerns" regarding coffee the obvious choice is not to be a consumer of coffee. Cultivation of coffee beans is the ultimate environmental impact. Recycling of used pods in return envelopes is a crock of marketing bullshit intended to make the gullible feel good about themselves. Think of the transportation energy involved in recycling a few pods versus the large-scale market of aluminum recycling.

OTOH, if you're bent on drinking coffee then a French press might be the minimal impact way to go while at the same time yielding the best cup of coffee as the natural oils retained provide better body. Then again, one of these oils, cafestol, may have deleterious cholesterol concerns. Fun world we live in. Too much information and it gets complex. In the end, most folks tend to do what's most convenient for their lifestyle choices and if they can rationalize some "feel good" caveat along the way then all the better.

joerand posted:

If you have genuine "environmental concerns" regarding coffee the obvious choice is not to be a consumer of coffee. Cultivation of coffee beans is the ultimate environmental impact...

Slightly harsh - coffee is a very lucrative commodity that gives a valuable source of income to many impoverished parts of the world which can have a positive environmental impact for the people concerned .. I would be tempted to ensure your coffee is Fairtrade if you have concerns here...

Simon-in-Suffolk posted:

joerand posted:

If you have genuine "environmental concerns" regarding coffee the obvious choice is not to be a consumer of coffee. Cultivation of coffee beans is the ultimate environmental impact...

Slightly harsh - coffee is a very lucrative commodity that gives a valuable source of income to many impoverished parts of the world which can have a positive environmental impact for the people concerned .. I would be tempted to ensure your coffee is Fairtrade if you have concerns here...

 

I'm surprised you're that naïve Simon. "Fair Trade" is another marketing scheme that originated from an agreement regarding wages of coffee workers and gets you to feel good about paying more for a branded cup of coffee. Bottom line is that more and more forests are being cleared to provide for the world's increasing coffee demand. Whether the Fair Trade coffee originates from land cleared decades ago, or how much workers are being paid to harvest the coffee under a label seems irrelevant to me from an environmental perspective. If someone is truly concerned about so-called environmental impacts the best option is to reduce consumption. The notion that your consumption is a source of income to the impoverished seems the epitome of rationalization to me. Folks with means will have what they want and a faction are happy to pay more for something with some kind of pro-environmental stamp. It's a lot like thinking that driving an electric car nets you zero emissions.

Fair Trade always seems sensible to me - I have no reason to feel cynical about it - but I am sure there are abuses within the scheme as with most things in life, but I trust the benefits out weigh the disadvantages.

Excessive consumption is gluttony and as such is a negative to my way of thinking, however enjoying and consuming a product or food on our planet that is  produced and grown by  people who are paid for doing so seems entirely fair and appropriate. To that extent what is the difference between designing and building a hifi audio amplifier and shipping it to be sold compared to growing and shipping a commodity such as coffee. Sure neither item is essential to our way of life but both can usually add to the enjoyment of  our lives in their respective ways and yes both consume world resources in being realised including supporting the families of those involved.

Just enjoyed a single espresso shot of Congo Latumba  Blue Mountain - mouthwatering - especially the after taste

The only way to avoid environmental impact is to not consume anything. You'll die, but it's a small price to pay for the peace of mind. I'm always rather amused by the "You shouldn't do that 'cos it's damaging to the environment" crowd. "Judge not, that ye be not judged. "

Me, I shall stick to a nice cup of covfefe. With milk.

I prefer filter coffee. I just put the plastic filter on my large mugg, put the paper filter + coffee in and pour boiling water on it. I have tried many other things, but this works best for me. No expensive machine needed etc ...

I know, I know, it is the Nait 3 of the coffees but I like it.

And yes, fair trade too.

The Quickmill 820 is still on my list, but money has gone to Amplifiers. Like Naim: no fuzz, lasts forever.

Interesting to have a thread here and to see the varied opinions/tastes. I think cafe coffee varies enormously and hesitate from generalising - Cafe Nero is for example greatly superior to Starbucks in my experience. What one has to avoid is the cappuccino which comes out as mildly coffee flavoured milk. Anyone in London should try Bar Italia in Soho for a great coffee - its history goes back to the 50s flowering of espresso culture. But then some independent cafes in central London produce very poor coffee.

I'm not as meticulous as Simon and I use a blend, but I make my coffee in a small Rancilio machine (Silvia) with a Rancilio Rocky burr grinder. I find that the vacuum packed coffee from the supermarkets is fine to start with but seems to lose freshness very quickly. My two principal sources of coffee are the Algerian Coffee store in Great Compton Street - just down the road from Bar Italia in Soho; and Drurys in Covent Garden, who are also suppliers of the commercial Rancilio machines and distribute their coffee to cafes and restaurants. Both have a good selection of coffees and at a much more reasonable price than the average delicatessen - Drurys do mail order. 

Clive

I am enjoying this topic. Having had failures in the past and a tiny kitchen I almost went down the Nespresso route simply to get a machine small enough to fit in. Then, dearly beloved bought me a DeLonghi Dedica. Slim enough for our worktop, it took a while to get used to it, trying many coffee varieties, beans, grinders, we have come down to a basic favourite, Lidl ready ground Java! Dearly beloved refuses to drink anything else.

As regards high street chains, I don't bother, three independents make coffee drinking enjoyable. The Hamptons in Chipping Sodbury, Joseph's in Bath and best of all Amid Giants & Idols in Lyme Regis.

Heston's  Sage expresso batista is a superb bit of kit, you can grind your beans to ones desired taste , have a gorgeous creme and steam your milk so it's smooth and silky.

The whole process is extremely relaxing and enjoyable and the coffee is exceptionally good.

After a lot of practice I can even make pretty patterns on the top of the coffee.

It's my best piece of kit , after those special black boxes we all have....

fascinating thread -- will read with interest -- like coffee but not sure i know how to make it 'properly'. well, come to think of it, i'm not sure i know how to make tea properly either!

enjoy

ken

I have a subscription (mail-order) with Blue Star Coffee who are located in the small town of Twisp in Washington State. I have them send me a couple of bags of their SuperNova Decaffeinated blend. Also order on a rotating basis the Expresso Blend, Highway 20 blend, and Morning Roast blend. We buy whole bean and grind our own and use different methods to brew. Coffee machine if having people over, individual cups using a pour over method, and also use an Aero Press for expresso shots. 

Coffee is good, good in the morning, good in the afternoon, good in the evening, and good at night.   ......and of course a spot of tea now and then.

.... I choose Blue Star Coffee because the taste in all their blends is exceptional and they are a small business. There consistency to produce a great testing coffee keeps me a customer. I believe finding a good roaster is the key to enjoying a great cup of coffee day in and day out.

From their website:    Blue Star Coffee Roasters is a wholesale producer of small batch, award winning, artisan roasted coffee.

Our approach to coffee is simple. Quality in the cup is our driving principle. 

We source exceptional coffee beans from different continents that are carefully chosen for their flavor, of course, but also for their technical qualities of bean size, hardness, and processing techniques that inform our blending and roasting decisions. We roast on a modified and updated 1963 Probat 22 kilo machine. Roasting is carefully specific to the blend, to both maximize and harmonize the coffee flavors. We roast often to ensure freshness, and package it promptly to preserve those delicate and delicious flavors. This is our part of the quality arc, and we are committed to doing it the very best that we can.

I'm just getting back on the espresso, wagon after moving house, I have a hot top roaster that's probably 10 years old, I used to love Ethiopian Mocca and monsoon malibar 50/50 mix after roasting separately. 

My old machines have gone, my grinder of old is a little big and needs a thorough clean (And I covet a  new one). so I have  a new machine and grinder on it's way. Seems the world of espresso has moved on a bit, I thought I was leading edge when I drilled a spare group handle and taped a fluke temperature meter probe to it ! Seems machines now do that and adjust for you !!

I used to hit 94degrees at the start of extraction I was happy