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Just ordered 6lbs of coffee from Sweet Maria's. Picked up a 4lb sampler and a 1lb of their Monkey Blend Espresso and a 1lb of Kona that I'm going to roast for my step-dad for father's day. Really curious to see what comes in the sampler. Hopefully I get a few new ones.
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Jun 9, 2012 22:10
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Has anyone used the Presso Espresso Machine? Would my $150 be better spent elsewhere?
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Jun 11, 2012 14:42
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Edit: after reading more of the thread, I'm getting an aeropress + mini mill grinder as I start the transition from instant coffee. Thanks for all the advice so far.
Velius fucked around with this message at 17:07 on Jun 12, 2012 |
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Jun 12, 2012 16:36
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Two things: Got a Breville BDB a few weeks back and I'm loving it. Consistant shots, quick warm-up, thoughtful design. Only gripe so far is I wish that the portafilter would retain heat better. That won't matter as much eventually as I plan to get a naked portafilter. Also worried about long-term durability, but so far so good. Worth consideration if you're looking to spend around $1,000. Secondly, if anyone in the Portland, OR area (or elsewhere, I suppose, though I'd rather not ship) is looking to get into espresso, I'm selling my Gaggia Classic. It's a great machine that's 2.5 years old, and it has been faithfully cleaned, backflushed, and descaled. Willing to let it go for cheap cheap cheap. Let me know if you're interested!
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Jun 13, 2012 03:09
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Is there a large difference in terms of flavor when comparing a French press and a Moka Pot? I'm also a bit confused on the terminology when it comes to coffee. I go to my local coffee shop and grab coffee all the time (http://www.philzcoffee.com/). I've been drinking a lot of their dark roasts (they use pour over style to make the coffee). Recently, I've been branching off into trying espressos. I've enjoyed the intense flavor but I don't drink it everyday. Now, if I purchase either a French press or a Moka pot, I'm not drinking espressos am I? I'm drinking just regular coffee as if it were a pour over? Why I'm asking is because I've noticed that the Moka Pot seems to make very small amounts for a single person, very similar to an espresso?
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Jun 13, 2012 10:04
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obi_ant posted:Is there a large difference in terms of flavor when comparing a French press and a Moka Pot? Moka pots make quote-unquote "espresso", but it isn't true espresso because the pressures reached inside the pot don't get to the level you'd find in an espresso machine. It is very strong coffee though, just less strong than actual espresso. I'd say somewhere around 2-3 1oz "cups" of Moka Pot coffee would be about the same as a medium cup of regular drip coffee to me. For me this meant a 6-cup Moka Pot emptied into a thermos lasted me the whole day. I've also heard some people like to just mix Moka coffee with hot water for a faux-Americano, if you want something not as strong in higher quantities. Sorry can't comment on french press since i've never used one. Jmcrofts fucked around with this message at 16:17 on Jun 13, 2012 |
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Jun 13, 2012 16:14
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obi_ant posted:Is there a large difference in terms of flavor when comparing a French press and a Moka Pot? Philz is pretty unique when it comes to coffee, and I would hesitate to compare it to anything. I have only tried a few things there, but the coffee-like drink I had last time when I asked for "whatever they recommend" was a cup of sludge, cream, and sugar. Since you're in the Bay Area there's no lack of good coffee that can stand on its own without being dark roasted and dressed up with cream and sugar, all of which covers up the taste of the coffee. Depending on where you are, you can probably find somebody pulling shots of de la paz, verve, ritual, or any number of good, locally roasted. I'd recommend trying a cappuccino or macchiato as a compromise between an overly milky drink (latte) or the intense experience of just espresso.
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Jun 13, 2012 18:50
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Jmcrofts posted:Moka pots make quote-unquote "espresso", but it isn't true espresso because the pressures reached inside the pot don't get to the level you'd find in an espresso machine. It is very strong coffee though, just less strong than actual espresso. I'd say somewhere around 2-3 1oz "cups" of Moka Pot coffee would be about the same as a medium cup of regular drip coffee to me. For me this meant a 6-cup Moka Pot emptied into a thermos lasted me the whole day. So if I'm understanding you correctly, it would be 1oz of Moka Pot coffee would be equal to 2oz of regular drip coffee? Because I typically just get a regular 14oz and I'm good to go. I guess drinking 28oz of "regular" coffee wouldn't be too bad, which I guess in your case and my case would be just one pot of Moka. marmot25 posted:
I typically drink my coffee just black. I get their strongest roast, Ether and it's pretty spot on for me. Are you in the Bay Area? Would there be a local shop you can suggest?
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Jun 13, 2012 21:01
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French press, in theory, uses the exact opposite brewing technique (ignoring cold brewing) that espresso does. Espresso uses constant pressure, a superfine grind and a short brew time. French press uses zero pressure (not even gravity), a coarser grind and a long brew time. They are very different types of coffee. People tend to compare it to Espresso though because it has a "stronger" taste than drip brewed coffee. This is because it is a much oilier and fuller coffee and has the most caffeine out of the hot brewing methods. Espresso actually has the least caffeine (per serving) of the hot brewing methods.
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Jun 13, 2012 22:52
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obi_ant posted:Are you in the Bay Area? Would there be a local shop you can suggest? I'm in the east bay and usually get my beans or order espresso drinks from Bica, near Rockridge bart. They feature a rotating lineup of whatever they chose to be the best coffees around (with a preference toward beans that are roasted somewhere nearby, although that has extended to Intelligentsia (LA, also Chicago) and Stumptown (Portland). If you're in the city it's almost impossible not to find good coffee. Four Barrel, Blue Bottle, and Ritual are the first that come to mind, although there are also hundreds of good cafes that feature some of the many good roasters around such as Verve (Santa Cruz), Temple (Sacramento), Flying Goat Coffee (Healdsburg). If you're looking for good drip coffee, look for places that will brew by the cup and feature lighter/medium roasted coffee. Darker roasted coffees tends to taste fairly similar, as the majority of the more delicate aromatics/flavors that are derived from the terroir/processing of the green beans are broken down and the overpowering roasted flavor takes over. Unrelated, but this weekend I was in Portland and got to taste two different cold brews on tap at Stumptown. They were running their normal one along with a special single origin (the specifics of which escape me) that was lighter and very floral. It was halfway in between a tea and a coffee. Definitely worth trying if you're in the area.
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Jun 14, 2012 01:29
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You won't get any indie cred for it, but if you are in the bay area you can never go wrong with Peet's.
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Jun 14, 2012 03:19
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Peet's is drinkable. But, there are generally better choices. Especially here in the Bay Area.
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Jun 14, 2012 04:34
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Has anyone tried to stop drinking coffee for long periods of time? How bad are the withdrawal symptoms?
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Jun 14, 2012 06:39
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do you feel me posted:Has anyone tried to stop drinking coffee for long periods of time? How bad are the withdrawal symptoms? Not very bad. You can always wean yourself off with a progressively larger ratio of decaf if you're scared. That said, if you drink seven cups of coffee a day, you might not want to just quit cold turkey.
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Jun 14, 2012 06:47
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Head ache and it hosed up my bowels for a while.
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Jun 14, 2012 07:00
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do you feel me posted:Has anyone tried to stop drinking coffee for long periods of time? How bad are the withdrawal symptoms? Depends heavily on your habit. When I'm super busy and drinking a lot of coffee, I can't even think in the morning until I have my first cup. Crazy headaches, etc. I'm down to a cup in the morning and a cup in the afternoon these days, and I usually just feel a little groggy and hazy in the mornings when I don't have coffee, sometimes a mild headache, but not that bad.
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Jun 14, 2012 10:15
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do you feel me posted:Has anyone tried to stop drinking coffee for long periods of time? How bad are the withdrawal symptoms?
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Jun 14, 2012 14:29
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I received a Chemex for my birthday, and I am wondering if there is any particular coffee that really shines when brewed in one. I received a bag of Intelligentsia Persephone & Alchemy blend as well, and it is delicious. I am used to using a french press which extracted more bitter flavors. What do you suggest I brew in my Chemex, or does it not matter?
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Jun 14, 2012 16:03
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The answer is yes. (Just brew your favourite coffee - it will taste different (arguably/subjectively better) in your Chemex.
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Jun 14, 2012 18:45
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For a few glorious minutes I had directions to order the best coffee maker I could find for the office and was in the process of sourcing a Technivorm then I found out the office manager had already ordered something else and not told us.  I'm going to try to get us a quality grinder at least and better coffee then Peets. (Jones if I can swing it).
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Jun 14, 2012 19:21
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Aquila posted:I'm going to try to get us a quality grinder at least and better coffee then Peets. (Jones if I can swing it). We live in Iowa, and my dad is under the impression that Peet's is the greatest coffee in the world. He orders Major Dickison Blend in bulk, but I want to get him something new for Father's Day. Would you suggest something from Jones?
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Jun 14, 2012 19:36
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Sweet Maria's has Yirga Cheffe again!  I don't know how long they've had it, but they didn't have any the last time I ordered.
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Jun 14, 2012 20:37
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Tig Ol Bitties posted:We live in Iowa, and my dad is under the impression that Peet's is the greatest coffee in the world. He orders Major Dickison Blend in bulk, but I want to get him something new for Father's Day. Would you suggest something from Jones? Yes! I'm local to Jones so somewhat biased, but I think their Pasadena, Madison, and Chuck Roast blends are great. My other favorite roaster is http://www.keancoffee.com/
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Jun 14, 2012 22:06
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Ok so I want to buy the clever coffee dripper, but I'd rather pay 17 bucks for it on amazon with free shipping, then pay 15 on sweet marias + 9 dollars shipping. The only thing is finding paper filters for it. Someone here recommended filtropa filters but the aren't on amazon with free shipping. Any other filters people recommend here? edit: I found some rockline filters...thoughts? There's also the unbleached filtropas that are 3 bucks/100 plus 3 dollars shipping on amazon, so that might be another route. nwin fucked around with this message at 02:28 on Jun 15, 2012 |
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Jun 15, 2012 02:25
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So I've been keeping an eye on the Baratza refurb section, hoping to snag a Maestro. http://www.baratza.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?search=action&category=RFRB There's a Maestro Plus on there now, but it's about 25 bucks higher than just the Maestro is supposed to cost. Is the Plus 25 bucks better?
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Jun 15, 2012 03:15
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Shapiro posted:So I've been keeping an eye on the Baratza refurb section, hoping to snag a Maestro. Given that pretty much every Maestro non-plus is off warranty, you're unlikely to see a Maestro non-plus on refurb.
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Jun 15, 2012 05:13
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nwin posted:Ok so I want to buy the clever coffee dripper, but I'd rather pay 17 bucks for it on amazon with free shipping, then pay 15 on sweet marias + 9 dollars shipping. The only thing is finding paper filters for it. Someone here recommended filtropa filters but the aren't on amazon with free shipping. Any other filters people recommend here? I buy a shitload of stuff from Amazon prime but try to at least throw a bone to good people like Sweet Maria's occasionally for items. It's worth it IMO and really not that much more cash since you'll actually get customer support plus you could just wait until they have some roasted beans and toss them in or buy some other filters or something from them.
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Jun 15, 2012 05:21
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Grinder question here. I've just got a cheapo espresso machine (DeLonghi EC155) which has a pressurized portafilter. It makes a decent latte and cappuccino if I get lucky with steaming and get a decent microfoam, but as far as straight shots, it basically creates black coffee with a fake foamy crema on top. There are a couple threads on coffeegeek and some youtube videos of people that have modified the portafilter to depressurize it and make it bottomless. From what I understand this allows you to pull a decent shot provided you have good beans and a good grind, as you can play with the variables more and troubleshoot your shot. I plan on using my Dad's tools to do this when I go home in a few weeks, so I just had a grinder question. I currently have a Capresso burr grinder which seems to actually make a decently fine grind, but I'm sure it won't be a good enough grind when I take away the crutch of a pressurized filter. I've been looking at the Baratza Encore which is the new grinder that basically takes the place of the Maestro. It's fairly new and from a few reviews I've read it seems to be able to make a decent espresso grind, a lot of reviewers seem to act surprised that it can accomplish that for the price. It's 130 bucks new, or I could get a Virtuoso refurb for 200. I don't plan on upgrading my machine for a while so I'm not sure if it'd make too much of a difference for what I have right now. Anyone have an Encore or have any insight or advice?
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Jun 15, 2012 05:38
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Keyser S0ze posted:I buy a shitload of stuff from Amazon prime but try to at least throw a bone to good people like Sweet Maria's occasionally for items. It's worth it IMO and really not that much more cash since you'll actually get customer support plus you could just wait until they have some roasted beans and toss them in or buy some other filters or something from them. Oh drat it I just ordered coffee this morning, why didn't I order filters too. And it already shipped, even! Curse you, speedy shipping awesome Tom and Maria! 
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Jun 15, 2012 05:40
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Keyser S0ze posted:I buy a shitload of stuff from Amazon prime but try to at least throw a bone to good people like Sweet Maria's occasionally for items. It's worth it IMO and really not that much more cash since you'll actually get customer support plus you could just wait until they have some roasted beans and toss them in or buy some other filters or something from them. By the CCD and like 4 packs of filters (a year+ worth). Sweet Marias is basically the only place with those filters domestically online in-stock, so you might as well bite the bullet.
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Jun 15, 2012 05:49
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Jmcrofts posted:I've also heard some people like to just mix Moka coffee with hot water for a faux-Americano, if you want something not as strong in higher quantities. Sorry can't comment on french press since i've never used one. I just want to say that this is one fuckin' delicious drink. I like it more than a standard Americano most times. I drank one every day for at least two years until I got my manual machine, and I'm honestly getting close to going back to the Moka pot.
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Jun 15, 2012 07:29
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Keyser S0ze posted:I buy a shitload of stuff from Amazon prime but try to at least throw a bone to good people like Sweet Maria's occasionally for items. It's worth it IMO and really not that much more cash since you'll actually get customer support plus you could just wait until they have some roasted beans and toss them in or buy some other filters or something from them. nm posted:Sweet Marias has the best filters in my opinion, the white filteropias 9or however you spell it). Alright, you guys convinced me. Order placed.
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Jun 15, 2012 14:30
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nosleep posted:Anyone have an Encore or have any insight or advice? I don't have an Encore, but I do have advice: get the best you can afford. Grinders (should) last a very long time, and if you do upgrade your Delonghi, you won't have to play catchup again with the grinder. That being said, the Encore is getting some positive reviews...
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Jun 15, 2012 14:32
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nm posted:Given that pretty much every Maestro non-plus is off warranty, you're unlikely to see a Maestro non-plus on refurb. Oh, okay, that makes sense. So the Plus is the way to go, then, for a first "real" grinder? I've got a little 10 dollar blade grinder now, so I'm sure this is going to be a whole new world. EDIT: To clarify, I'm not really looking to make espresso. This would just be for coffee, so if it's not the greatest espresso grinder, I'll live. Shapiro fucked around with this message at 14:55 on Jun 15, 2012 |
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Jun 15, 2012 14:51
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Shapiro posted:Oh, okay, that makes sense. The Plus refurb is my first "real" grinder, and it has made a world of difference over my crappy blade grinder. We have a press pot and a Chemex at my house and the press pot coffee is loads better with a proper, consistent grind. Go for it!
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Jun 15, 2012 17:02
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Please someone help me make aeropress coffee that doesn't suck. I've tried a lot of the various procedures, inverted, etc. but I still get a coffee product that is very bitter tasting. Can you guys post your favorite aeropress recipes? I have a Barsta Maestro.. What grind setting should I be using?
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Jun 17, 2012 18:13
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Hey coffee goons, looking to buy a machine for home and I'm looking for something better than what I have at work (Flavia system: oh look, another burnt cup of coffee). So far I'm looking to pick this up tonight: Zojirushi Coffee machine Proctor Silex grinder This 2lb bag of coffee Does this look OK for a first time coffee machine/grinder/coffee? I take it that getting a #4 filter from the supermarket should be decent enough? Thanks!!
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Jun 17, 2012 22:42
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Get a burr grinder. Makes a huge difference.
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Jun 17, 2012 23:16
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Any recommendations in the $25-50 range?
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Jun 17, 2012 23:34
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Phone posted:Any recommendations in the $25-50 range? http://www.amazon.com/Hario-Coffee-Hand-Grinder-Skerton/dp/B001802PIQ
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Jun 17, 2012 23:40
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