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Gunder posted:Can confirm. I had an Americano in New York that tasted like the contents of an ashtray. Never had anything out of a Starbucks taste that bad in the UK. i wonder if they roast lighter for other markets? ashy is their signature american taste
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Apr 27, 2021 19:57
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Yeah I only started drinking coffee this year and even I knew American coffee snobs call it 'Charbucks' for its reputation for over-roasting everything.
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Apr 27, 2021 20:05
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They must have to have fire extinguishers on standby at their roasteries. I remember being told that ultra-dark roasts can spontaneously combust if not stopped soon enough.
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Apr 27, 2021 20:11
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Gunder posted:They must have to have fire extinguishers on standby at their roasteries. I remember being told that ultra-dark roasts can spontaneously combust if not stopped soon enough. That’s not spontaneous. That’s just heating something past it’s ignition point. So just regular old burning something and starting it on fire. Like leaving toast in a toaster for 4x too long. It’s all well controllable, but they roast it so dark it’s nearly at its burn point. So it’s a problem of their own sugary syrupy making.
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Apr 27, 2021 22:23
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Starbucks has something called a "blonde roast" that is supposedly not burnt to a crisp. But when I asked the barista they said it was bitter af. Starbucks is great for milkshakes and those little egg bits with bacon pieces. Stick to that.
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Apr 27, 2021 22:55
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I used to go to the Starbucks in my office building when it was raining/lovely out, and the blonde roast does taste better than the burnt stuff but it rots my stomach. This is the only coffee that does that to me; light roasts from good coffee shops are fine.
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Apr 27, 2021 23:52
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Mu Zeta posted:Starbucks has something called a "blonde roast" that is supposedly not burnt to a crisp. But when I asked the barista they said it was bitter af. Starbucks is great for milkshakes and those little egg bits with bacon pieces. Stick to that. yeah their blonde is basically what everyone else would consider a dark roast, just light relative to all their other stuff
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Apr 28, 2021 00:39
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Bandire posted:I've gone back an forth between the Elizabeth, Silvia Pro, and the Pro 300. Since they are all basically the same price, I'd really rather have the added features of the Elizabeth. Yeah, those added features are worth the wait, IMO.
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Apr 28, 2021 01:16
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Yeah the Starbucks Blonde makes a perfectly forgettable latte, which is more than I can say about their standard roast.
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Apr 28, 2021 01:18
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So is the Silvia dual boiler actually good? I thought the good dual boilers didn't cost less than about $2000.
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Apr 28, 2021 01:56
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Gunder posted:So is the Silvia dual boiler actually good? I thought the good dual boilers didn't cost less than about $2000. Its pretty new to the market, but I haven't seen anything negative about it. The Pro 300 is pretty highly thought of in that price range. And this video right here of a guy making 6 lattes (2 at a time) back to back on the Elizabeth is what sold me on it being plenty for me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FODor1Z6oBY&t=317s
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Apr 28, 2021 02:09
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Dren posted:Thank you all for the suggestions. The breville looks nice and the bellman interests me but I'm concerned that it has no pressure indicator. How do you know when it's hot enough? The safety valve/overpressure valve is very effective at relieving overpressure and indicating maximum pressure has been achieved I usually achieve pressure at a medium setting on the stove and when it starts overpressure I lower it to maintain pressure I can take a video of you would like
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Apr 28, 2021 07:05
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Welp, my reusable Nespresso coffee pods seem to have broken the Nespresso. Woops! Won't even start a descaling cycle. Luckily I still have the mocha pot I bought a while back.
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Apr 28, 2021 13:28
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Dren posted:yep, I've had the medium-dark as a coffee before. It's my go-to coffee. I'm using tap water. My tap water has a low TDS with a noticeable chlorine taste. It'd probably improve if I filtered it or whipped up some coffee specific water. I got into making my own mineral water earlier in quarantine and one of the water recipes is for coffee, it's improved the cup in a non-scientific test where I didn't tri-cup it or whatever hoffmann calls that thing where there's three cups. I'll check out that vid on cupping too. I'd suggest getting one of those Brita tanks: https://www.amazon.ca/Brita-UltraMax-Filter-Dispenser-Replacement/dp/B00009LHZH They've worked pretty well for me so far. I've been having issues with uneven extraction on a 17g dose, so it's either my grounds or my tamping that needs work. Still a better shot than the last try, but now I have something to work on.
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Apr 28, 2021 15:20
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Dren posted:yep, I've had the medium-dark as a coffee before. It's my go-to coffee. I'm using tap water. My tap water has a low TDS with a noticeable chlorine taste. It'd probably improve if I filtered it or whipped up some coffee specific water. I got into making my own mineral water earlier in quarantine and one of the water recipes is for coffee, it's improved the cup in a non-scientific test where I didn't tri-cup it or whatever hoffmann calls that thing where there's three cups. I'll check out that vid on cupping too.
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Apr 28, 2021 16:27
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Nitrousoxide posted:Welp, my reusable Nespresso coffee pods seem to have broken the Nespresso. Woops! Won't even start a descaling cycle. Luckily I still have the mocha pot I bought a while back. Correction, I unplugged the machine and tried rotating it around over the sink and oil black stuff came out of it. After it stopped coming out I wiped it down and plugged it back in and it turned on and started pumping for about 5 seconds then cut power and the magic smoke came out of it.
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Apr 28, 2021 16:31
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Nitrousoxide posted:Correction, oof, that sounds like it seized the motor or something given the weight of the reusable pods (if you're using the steel ones), you might be able to get it replaced by the manufacturer.
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Apr 28, 2021 16:39
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I'm just gonna get a real expresso machine because those pods were honestly about as much work as working a real one. Is Breville Barista Express still the go-to for entry level real expresso?
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Apr 28, 2021 16:43
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Thread has convinced me to take my machine in for its long needed service--scads of internal seals got old dry and broken. Looking forward to a nice macchiato again
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Apr 28, 2021 17:08
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Nitrousoxide posted:I'm just gonna get a real expresso machine because those pods were honestly about as much work as working a real one. What sort of espresso do you want to make? Dark roast, medium, light? Milk drinks?
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Apr 28, 2021 17:16
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Gunder posted:What sort of espresso do you want to make? Dark roast, medium, light? Milk drinks? Medium through light mixed with milk.
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Apr 28, 2021 17:19
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Gunder posted:Brewing with decent water made a massive difference to my coffee. I filter 2 litres of my tap water through a Zero Water reverse-osmosis filter jug, which effectively turns it into pure H20, and then remineralise it by adding a sachet of Third Wave Water powder. It produces water that properly extracts my coffee in a way that my tap water can't come close to. Yeah I have a zero water for the mineral water i was making. the difference is i was mixing my own minerals instead of buying a packet but same concept. it did taste better i just haven’t been taking the effort lately.
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Apr 28, 2021 18:28
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Nitrousoxide posted:Medium through light mixed with milk. Just so you're aware, light roasts are pretty difficult to extract properly without a decent espresso grinder and machine. If you aim to do it properly, you might easily spend over $1000. I have no experience with the Barista Express, but the more expensive Barista Pro definitely can't get hot enough to extract a light roast properly. Medium and darker roasts are much easier to extract, and if you're happy to limit yourself to those options, you can buy much less expensive equipment.
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Apr 28, 2021 18:59
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changing the mineral content of your water can absolutely change the flavour of your cup the idea that it's materially affecting how the extraction happens though is pretty much magical thinking. there are more minerals in the coffee already than are in anyone's tap water
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Apr 28, 2021 19:09
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Gunder posted:Just so you're aware, light roasts are pretty difficult to extract properly without a decent espresso grinder and machine. If you aim to do it properly, you might easily spend over $1000. I have no experience with the Barista Express, but the more expensive Barista Pro definitely can't get hot enough to extract a light roast properly. Medium and darker roasts are much easier to extract, and if you're happy to limit yourself to those options, you can buy much less expensive equipment. I went ahead and ordered the Breville. I don't think I have any light beans so I should be okay if it's not capable of that. All the reviews I saw for this machine looked like it can happily handle what I want and was the most affordable option. I guess I'll see if I like it.
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Apr 28, 2021 19:46
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Gunder posted:Just so you're aware, light roasts are pretty difficult to extract properly without a decent espresso grinder and machine. If you aim to do it properly, you might easily spend over $1000. I have no experience with the Barista Express, but the more expensive Barista Pro definitely can't get hot enough to extract a light roast properly. Medium and darker roasts are much easier to extract, and if you're happy to limit yourself to those options, you can buy much less expensive equipment. I've found light roasts very annoying to get good extraction on, I definitely have to bump the temperature or grind so fine the shot slowly dribbles out. I can get decent coffee, but drat it is hard to dial in sometimes. I also feel like I end up with coffees where I can't possibly pull a good non-sour shot from it. I do end up using all the coffee up before I finish tweaking it though, maybe I really need to boost the temp and grind to the point where its taking forever to pull the shot, idk
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Apr 28, 2021 19:47
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Sweeper posted:I've found light roasts very annoying to get good extraction on, I definitely have to bump the temperature or grind so fine the shot slowly dribbles out. I can get decent coffee, but drat it is hard to dial in sometimes. I also feel like I end up with coffees where I can't possibly pull a good non-sour shot from it. I do end up using all the coffee up before I finish tweaking it though, maybe I really need to boost the temp and grind to the point where its taking forever to pull the shot, idk What sort of basket are you using? Getting a nice VST or IMS basket can allow you to grind a lot finer without choking the shots.
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Apr 28, 2021 20:06
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depending on how light we're talking they can be harder to grind too
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Apr 28, 2021 20:15
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mediaphage posted:changing the mineral content of your water can absolutely change the flavour of your cup That's interesting. My coffee tastes a lot better with the treated water than without. It tastes pretty hollow with the standard tap water. I also live in an area that has some of the softest tap water in the world (Glasgow) with a TDS reading of around 20 most of the time, so I guess changing it to be around 147 TDS will affect the taste.
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Apr 28, 2021 20:18
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Gunder posted:That's interesting. My coffee tastes a lot better with the treated water than without. It tastes pretty hollow with the standard tap water. I also live in an area that has some of the softest tap water in the world (Glasgow) with a TDS reading of around 20 most of the time, so I guess changing it to be around 147 TDS will affect the taste. also in some relatively unscientific experiments i've done recently, i find it will vary on a bean-to-bean basis. some roasts i do will actually taste better with straight RO
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Apr 28, 2021 20:32
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Gunder posted:What sort of basket are you using? Getting a nice VST or IMS basket can allow you to grind a lot finer without choking the shots. I got a vst recently, had a lot better luck with my last light roast. Need to run more through it to see if it helps in the general case though.
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Apr 28, 2021 21:54
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Nitrousoxide posted:I went ahead and ordered the Breville. I don't think I have any light beans so I should be okay if it's not capable of that. Have one myself, it's a fantastic machine that comes with a good built in grinder. Once you've had enough practice it's pretty fast to get a great tasting latte out first thing in the morning.
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Apr 29, 2021 17:32
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I got my generic non-pressurized basket and bottomless portafilter for my junk De'Longhi machine, and much to my surprise it handles it pretty well. These beans that were giving almost zero crema in the pressurized basket now almost make something resembling espresso. This at least gives me something to tinker with until the Elizabeth is back in stock anywhere. It makes an absolute goddamn mess trying to grind directly into it with my Sette, but that's not unexpected.
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Apr 29, 2021 22:04
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paberu posted:Have one myself, it's a fantastic machine that comes with a good built in grinder. Once you've had enough practice it's pretty fast to get a great tasting latte out first thing in the morning. Amazon delivered the device. I went through more than a few cups dialing things in. I had to make some macro grinder adjustments to get the pressure in the right range. I might still have to make some more because it's a little on the lower end of the expresso gauge. That said, it's probably about as fast as my Nespresso to use this one. And this is a way more compact package than the three separate devices that I had before with the Nespresso itself the grinder and the milk frother. I almost burned myself on the steamer by grabbing the metal portion instead of the plastic handle. So that was a big brain moment there. I'm not entirely sure about the technique for using the steaming wand, I more just blew a bunch of bubbles in my milk rather than making a froth. But it did heat it up to the temperature I was looking for. I do like how I have the option to make a single or double with either a pressurized or unpressurized basket. So when my parents come around they can use the pressurized one and not have to fuss around with getting the right pressure. The hot water outlet is nice as well since I can use it to make an Americano or just some hot chocolate. Nitrousoxide fucked around with this message at 00:04 on Apr 30, 2021 |
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Apr 29, 2021 23:18
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the hot water on the breville is one of my favourite features and underrated imo
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Apr 30, 2021 00:10
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Nitrousoxide posted:Amazon delivered the device. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YMgB61WyvE That video taught me how to steam milk. It's great. Edit: I'd also recommend buying a milk thermometer, so you know when to stop heating the milk. People will tell you that you should keep going until the base of the pitcher becomes too hot to touch, but that's very variable from person to person. In my case, it lead to me stopping about 5-10 seconds sooner than I should have been. Gunder fucked around with this message at 01:06 on Apr 30, 2021 |
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Apr 30, 2021 00:54
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Gunder posted:Edit: I'd also recommend buying a milk thermometer, so you know when to stop heating the milk. People will tell you that you should keep going until the base of the pitcher becomes too hot to touch, but that's very variable from person to person. In my case, it lead to me stopping about 5-10 seconds sooner than I should have been. I’ve also found that results differ quite significantly between my thinwall el cheapo ikea pitcher and my could-break-man’s-skull-and-make-perfect-if-slightly-reddish-latte-art-after Motta. In other news, if you have a spare three kilobucks lying around, would like to grind a shot in under four seconds and enjoy the thought of owning flat burrs the size of a compact disc, Option-O got you covered: https://www.option-o.com/shop/lagom-p100
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Apr 30, 2021 08:20
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Ok so I tried a couple of things this week: ground finer (~50 on the JX) and poured faster than I had been. I'm pretty consistently coming in around 3:15 now without much slowdown until the very end of the pour over and making some pretty good cups. I think a big part of it was just being too careful about pouring with the gooseneck. I was worried pouring a bit more aggressively would agitate it too much and cause fines to settle at the bottom more quickly, causing it to clog up, but it seems to make the whole process a lot more even when I just pour at full-speed without really worrying about it. I'll keep tweaking things here and there but y'all's advice has helped a lot. Thanks!
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Apr 30, 2021 15:15
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Baron Fuzzlewhack posted:I think a big part of it was just being too careful about pouring with the gooseneck. i had this issue when i first started doing pourovers too
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Apr 30, 2021 15:38
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Yeah, getting the right pour height and flow rate makes a big difference.
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Apr 30, 2021 16:06
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