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Gunder posted:There have been studies that show that distributors actually serve to lower extraction, not increase it. So take any pro-distributor testimonials with a grain of salt. Do you have a link? It doesn't make logical sense to me but maybe I'm missing something.
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May 21, 2020 18:24
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kemikalkadet posted:Do you have a link? It doesn't make logical sense to me but maybe I'm missing something. http://socraticcoffee.com/2016/12/examining-the-impact-of-the-ocd-on-total-dissolved-solids-extraction/ The conclusion: quote:Because our dose and final beverage mass does not vary significantly between conditions, any differences observed in TDS can be extrapolated to differences in extraction yield (EY). Our last hypothesis, regarding the interaction between the independent variables, would suggest that an effect seen when using the OCD would be evident with all grinders. This could be related to consistency in the OCD’s effect. Our results may suggest variability inherent in the grinder itself with regard to TDS/EY can overcome any negative impact on extraction created by the OCD. That's the first one I found. I'm sure I've also heard of another one that was mentioned a while back in one of James Hoffmann's espresso videos. He's not a fan of distributors either. Gunder fucked around with this message at 18:31 on May 21, 2020 |
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May 21, 2020 18:28
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I use a distributor prior to tamping with my Lelit Anna/Eureka Specialita and it's worked out excellently for me - maybe it's due to improving technique, but I've been getting no spray with my bottomless PF extractions lately. Also, strong endorse for Ceremony Coffee. I think Onyx Monarch is still my favorite espresso, but I'm finishing up a bag of Ceremony's Destroyer blend and it's a great change of pace. They're local-ish, too which is nice - they're in Annapolis, but I can find the beans easily here in the DC area
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May 21, 2020 19:18
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Got myself a Furno 500, 32oz dog bowl, and some sweet Maria's. Now to wait for the beans 
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May 22, 2020 01:33
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bizwank posted:So, I think I've installed around 40 PIDs at this point in my career, mostly on Silvias (two of those were my personal machines) but also the occasional Gaggia Classic or Ascaso Dream. It's often difficult for me to quantify how "easy" a given repair would be for the layperson, but installing a PID on a Silvia, is very very easy (provided you've purchased an all-in-one kit designed for it). All you're doing is attaching wires and a few small components; you'll need a couple different screwdrivers and 2-4 hours. I almost exclusively use the kits from Auber Instruments; they have a wide variety of options (get the pre-infusion), great documentation and support if you need it. Yes you can DIY a PID from Ebay parts or whatever for a lot cheaper, but only if you don't value your time because programming them is no small feat. And if, in the end, you find the PID isn't enough and you need to replace the machine, Silvias hold their resale value very well and you just added about $200 to yours.
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May 22, 2020 04:18
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To clarify, I also went with the all-in-one Auber kit which has everything you need. It was my first time tinkering with my machine and I did a full boiler strip and clean along with it which is probably part of the reason I took so long.
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May 22, 2020 04:47
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After like, what, two or three years? Bothered buying an automatic grinder, having used the hario skerton the entire while until just recently some light roast yirgacheffe brought me to my knees. Jesus christ why was I even bothering, this is so much easier and it's way more consistent. I bought some completely whatever bean blend and it brought a second life to it. gently caress me. 
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May 22, 2020 05:00
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Kalsco posted:After like, what, two or three years? Bothered buying an automatic grinder, having used the hario skerton the entire while until just recently some light roast yirgacheffe brought me to my knees. Well what did you buy 
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May 22, 2020 13:38
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Yeah that's me but I'm still using the skerton
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May 22, 2020 13:50
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Is the information in the OP still good with regards to roasting your own coffee? I've never done it and was thinking of buying a stove-top unit.
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May 22, 2020 14:16
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moctopus posted:Is the information in the OP still good with regards to roasting your own coffee? I've never done it and was thinking of buying a stove-top unit. It's not a bad way to go but I would recommend you only do that if you're going to be doing it outside. Roasting coffee indoors is kind of a terrible experience; it puts out a lot of smoke and the chaff goes everywhere. Some of the best results (especially if you want to roast more than a few grams at a time) on the cheap can come from a metal bowl, some heat-proof gloves, and a good heat gun.
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May 22, 2020 14:38
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mediaphage posted:It's not a bad way to go but I would recommend you only do that if you're going to be doing it outside. Roasting coffee indoors is kind of a terrible experience; it puts out a lot of smoke and the chaff goes everywhere. Some of the best results (especially if you want to roast more than a few grams at a time) on the cheap can come from a metal bowl, some heat-proof gloves, and a good heat gun. I roast on a table next to an open window, and have a box fan set up on the windowsill to blow air out the window, It maybe roasts 50-75g at a time but I've run a few batches in a row through it without issue. The only downside is that if you do it while the wind is blowing back into the window you end up with a house smelling like you burnt a bag of popcorn in every room.
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May 22, 2020 15:08
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i own every Bionicle posted:Well what did you buy Baratza Virtuoso+. Probably a bit overkill for my use case (primarily pourover with a v60). I'm willing to concede that I may have been setting my skerton to an improper grind but it was always such a chore to adjust it. I've had killer cups with it, mind, but I somehow managed to bring out a brightness and kinda lemony tone to the beans which I never was able to before.
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May 22, 2020 15:11
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mediaphage posted:It's not a bad way to go but I would recommend you only do that if you're going to be doing it outside. Roasting coffee indoors is kind of a terrible experience; it puts out a lot of smoke and the chaff goes everywhere. Some of the best results (especially if you want to roast more than a few grams at a time) on the cheap can come from a metal bowl, some heat-proof gloves, and a good heat gun. Do you have a recommendation for a heat gun? I didn't even know these existed. And as crazy as it sounds, a recommendation for what would count as a quality metal bowl? Thanks for helping me.
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May 22, 2020 15:37
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FAUXTON posted:I roast on a table next to an open window, and have a box fan set up on the windowsill to blow air out the window, It maybe roasts 50-75g at a time but I've run a few batches in a row through it without issue. To me that's enough on it's own to make it a bad idea. Plus it makes me cough, others YMMV but I don't think it's a great idea regardless, honestly. moctopus posted:Do you have a recommendation for a heat gun? I didn't even know these existed. And as crazy as it sounds, a recommendation for what would count as a quality metal bowl? Honestly whatever you can get on sale that has variable heat settings is probably fine; preferably more than high and low but you can also modulate with distance.
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May 22, 2020 15:40
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mediaphage posted:To me that's enough on it's own to make it a bad idea. Plus it makes me cough, others YMMV but I don't think it's a great idea regardless, honestly. fair enough, my conditions are unique enough that bad winter weather almost never involves wind blowing back into the windows, but it's situational enough that it's probably good to not roast inside if you can help it. It's just that roasting outside in a blizzard/sub-freezing temperatures are awful.
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May 22, 2020 15:57
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Anyone here own a high end double boiler machine (2-3K?) I’m been saving for one for a while, but I’m undecided on which one and whether or not it’s a huge waste over say, a 1000$ heat exchanger machine. Mostly making milk drinks and Americanos, some espresso.
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May 22, 2020 19:01
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Frank Dillinger posted:Anyone here own a high end double boiler machine (2-3K?) I’m been saving for one for a while, but I’m undecided on which one and whether or not it’s a huge waste over say, a 1000$ heat exchanger machine.
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May 22, 2020 19:09
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Kalsco posted:Baratza Virtuoso+. You made a good choice. And the Hario grinders are all trash and i wish people would stop recommending them. They are strictly for use during camping or if you're desperate IMO. Though to be fair the newer Hario Skerton Pro is very easy to adjust the grind.
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May 22, 2020 20:41
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Mu Zeta posted:You made a good choice. And the Hario grinders are all trash and i wish people would stop recommending them. They are strictly for use during camping or if you're desperate IMO. Though to be fair the newer Hario Skerton Pro is very easy to adjust the grind. Yeah. I got a Hario because I haven’t had my grinder for a week. It’s okay. Annoying to adjust, and I have some Ethiopian beans that feel like grinding gravel. It’s good for what it is, which is a cheap portable grinder that’s relatively consistent, but not super great. Does middle of the road beans well, and has kept me drinking decent coffee when no other socially distant options were available. I’ll be happy when I have my regular powered burr grinders back though.
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May 22, 2020 23:18
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Mu Zeta posted:You made a good choice. And the Hario grinders are all trash and i wish people would stop recommending them. They are strictly for use during camping or if you're desperate IMO. Though to be fair the newer Hario Skerton Pro is very easy to adjust the grind. Or...if you don't want to spend much on a grinder in case you don't end up wanting to make coffee that often? Why is it a bad recommendation for a starter? Is there a similarly priced better alternative?
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May 23, 2020 01:09
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bizwank posted:A HX machine should be more than enough for home use, all a double boiler really gets you is more capacity for making lots of drinks one right after another. I like the Rocket's fit and finish, but make sure whatever you're buying can be serviced locally as you really don't want to be shipping a ~60lb machine across the country every time it needs some work. Yeah, the Rocket machines are gorgeous, best looking ones in my opinion. Whatever machine I end up buying, I intend to keep for a long time so serviceability is also a plus which lead me towards ECM. I do host a fair number of dinners and brunches, so being able to crank out lattes fast would be super nice.
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May 23, 2020 01:44
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I got a Breville BES920XL a couple months ago that I have been happy with so far.
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May 23, 2020 01:55
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silvergoose posted:Or...if you don't want to spend much on a grinder in case you don't end up wanting to make coffee that often? Why is it a bad recommendation for a starter? Is there a similarly priced better alternative? I think it's a bad idea because you won't use it anymore once you get a real grinder. There is an OXO grinder that goes on sale for ~$80 or you can save a little more for a Baratza. If $40 is all you can afford then I put that in the desperate category, but anyone posting here will move onto a better grinder for home use.
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May 23, 2020 02:49
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Mu Zeta posted:I think it's a bad idea because you won't use it anymore once you get a real grinder. There is an OXO grinder that goes on sale for ~$80 or you can save a little more for a Baratza. If $40 is all you can afford then I put that in the desperate category, but anyone posting here will move onto a better grinder for home use. Lol. Desperate? Jeez.
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May 23, 2020 02:54
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Anyway for actual content: brewed some of the El Salvador Caturra Black Honey processed batch this morning. Crazy smooth, very low acid - which sometimes leaves a coffee feeling flat but this was nice. Nothing too stand outish in terms of flavour notes, but still a nice drink. It was even drinkable cold when I picked up my mug later, which is often when most coffee will taste sour ime.
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May 23, 2020 02:58
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Yes, because using the hario sucks. I have one. I also have the Porlex and the Hario slim mill. They are all bad.
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May 23, 2020 03:02
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The Javapresse grinder is better and cheaper than the Skerton.
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May 23, 2020 03:17
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Mu Zeta posted:Yes, because using the hario sucks. I have one. I also have the Porlex and the Hario slim mill. They are all bad. Yeah, I don't care about the hario, I just think it's a little insulting to suggest that anyone who can't or doesn't want to spend a ton on a grinder should be called 'desperate.' Honestly those aren't really competing with some of the grinders people in this thread tend to use as much as they are the people who are using those tiny spice grinders and looking for something different, imo. Clark Nova posted:The Javapresse grinder is better and cheaper than the Skerton. I haven't heard a lot good about it from people who've used it, but I haven't used any of these small hand grinders so I'm hardly an expert on them. I am still on the lookout for one to take on christmas trips, though.
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May 23, 2020 03:30
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For whatever it's worth, I was fine using mine until I absolutely wasn't. Mind, my coffee habits went from explicitly only Central American medium-ish roasts to (mostly) single origin African light roast and there's a world of difference in terms of what the skerton will tolerate. The tiny rear end light roast beans may as well be rocks in it. I generally found that the peak, in terms of flavour expression, was probably around like day 3, lasting maybe a day or two with a general trend in depreciating flavour lasting 'til the two week mark where it's mostly very similar until I deplete it all (I buy in 340g lots). For reference, this ambiguous bag of beans I'm using now is some sort of medium roast, non-country/region specific blend (bought in a fit of desperation because COVID ain't makin it easy). It doesn't have a roast date, but it's still from a third wave company that offers single origins whathaveyous with roast dates. With zero indication when it was roasted, being about a week or so in, the grinder is definitely carrying it way harder than I thought was possible. When I bought the virtuoso I thought I was just buying into a convenient way to not have to grind anymore, but I guess I was just getting a not-so-great grind anyway because I'm enjoying the same coffee now in a way that I definitely wasn't before. I think if you are enjoying the coffee you have now and aren't dreading grinding beans, keep at it. But for me, it's a little bit of a Pandora's Box. I never want to have to go back, if only for the convenience, but also for flavour.
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May 23, 2020 03:43
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I've recently discovered a Baratza Vario in my girlfriend's closet which belonged to her late brother. Apparently it doesn't work but her and the family don't really know what the issue is. Are there are any common issues these tend to have? I believe there is a local service agent (I'm not in the US) who could maybe service it. Considering this is a pretty expensive grinder am I going to be looking at $$$ to get it working? Or are parts fairly reasonable? I'm assuming this will be more than fine for pour-over once working?
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May 23, 2020 04:54
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I'm a massive cheapskate so if the Skerton had been a bitch to use but turned out a really consistent grind I would probably still be using it today but honestly it's just a bitch to use and grinds super inconsistently. I think you can buy a piece that stabilizes the top burr to make it more consistent but why
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May 23, 2020 05:10
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Red_Fred posted:I've recently discovered a Baratza Vario in my girlfriend's closet which belonged to her late brother. Apparently it doesn't work but her and the family don't really know what the issue is. Are there are any common issues these tend to have? Baratza is pretty good at supporting their products and they sell a lot of parts on their site, but with shipping to wherever you live it may not be cheap.
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May 23, 2020 05:26
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Frank Dillinger posted:Anyone here own a high end double boiler machine (2-3K?) I’m been saving for one for a while, but I’m undecided on which one and whether or not it’s a huge waste over say, a 1000$ heat exchanger machine. I make two drinks a day (both with milk), and my Rocket Mozzafiato Evo R is more than enough. On the one or two times a year a bunch of guests all want coffee, the gating factor is still that I hand grind every shot on my Helor Flux. The Rocket Apartamento is nice too.
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May 23, 2020 05:56
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Red_Fred posted:I've recently discovered a Baratza Vario in my girlfriend's closet which belonged to her late brother. Apparently it doesn't work but her and the family don't really know what the issue is. Are there are any common issues these tend to have? Baratza has some decent troubleshooting, etc. stuff on their website. Any idea what about it doesn’t work? I’ve had grounds get stuck in the switch inside the housing before that prevented contact/motor power and all it took was a screwdriver and a can of compressed air to fix.
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May 23, 2020 17:08
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Red_Fred posted:I've recently discovered a Baratza Vario in my girlfriend's closet which belonged to her late brother. Apparently it doesn't work but her and the family don't really know what the issue is. Are there are any common issues these tend to have? https://www.baratza.com/shop/vario-repair . This will be more than fine for pour-over once you get it repaired by Baratza; it's a entry/mid-level espresso grinder so it can do pour-over easily.
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May 24, 2020 03:10
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Frank Dillinger posted:
Similar use case here. I have an old NS oscar I that works greats for us. I’ve pumped out steam and shots all morning long for guests without a problem. Not as pretty as apartemento tho.
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May 24, 2020 03:42
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Anyone looking for entry level roasting should look at the gene cafe. It’s a little pricy (~$600) but I can roast on it in my kitchen with a duct going to the window and not cause the whole house to fill up with smoke. Once you go from medium to dark (around 2nd crack) the smoke gets a little out of control. The way it works all the chaff is collected in the exhaust so it’s pretty easy to clean that out. It has a safety feature so you can’t really roast unattended. Highly recommend for folks looking to roast 2-5 lbs in a sitting.
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May 24, 2020 20:34
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milkman dad posted:Anyone looking for entry level roasting should look at the gene cafe. It’s a little pricy (~$600) but I can roast on it in my kitchen with a duct going to the window and not cause the whole house to fill up with smoke. Once you go from medium to dark (around 2nd crack) the smoke gets a little out of control. The way it works all the chaff is collected in the exhaust so it’s pretty easy to clean that out. It has a safety feature so you can’t really roast unattended. Highly recommend for folks looking to roast 2-5 lbs in a sitting. I definitely recommend this over the behmor (which i started with) if you're willing to spend that much
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May 24, 2020 20:47
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Anyone work at a Lelit distributor for the US? I'm trying to get my hands on a Mara X, even if it is just a preorder with an expected delivery date a month or two out. I'd take a return /open box / used unit also. I'm worried about them selling out as soon as they come back into stock.
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May 25, 2020 04:51
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