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Getting a good cup of coffee - again - is "espresso" really "best" ?

Second attempt.
Inverted method. Let it stew for a few minutes.

Bit of panicking when I was holding a brimming Aeropress of hot coffee and the filter tray didn't want to lock in. :eek:

The result seems to be closer to my cafetière - but without the chewy bits.
 
:D

I'd be tempted to suggest refining one method before trying another, GG. As a quarter of a turn of the grind-tightener can make quite a difference to a cup. And finding out where the grind-tightener was can be an absolute nightmare. Well, completely impossible, unless it's marked.

Though I fully appreciate the temptation to do otherwise :D

Delighted to hear you're having fun.
 
It's a shame they didn't leave more of the threaded part of the shaft - it's difficult to see how to reproduce the setting after cleaning it ...
 
gentlegreen said:
Second attempt.
Inverted method. Let it stew for a few minutes.

Bit of panicking when I was holding a brimming Aeropress of hot coffee and the filter tray didn't want to lock in. :eek:

The result seems to be closer to my cafetière - but without the chewy bits.
Click to expand...

You only need to fill it 2/3 full. And stir for 10 seconds then brew for 30. 17g of beans.

e2a, I do it like Steve

 
I like coffee but baulk at the expense and todo of machinery and whatnot. Would prefer to go to a proper coffee place than do it myself, or go to somewhere like italy where they know what they are doing. I like instant coffee too, esp in the mornings when you just need to wake up. Dunno why people are so down on it, it's perfectly drinkable with plenty of milk.
I suppose it's like cooking - to some it's not worth the effort to make coffee from scratch, to others it certainly is.
A lot of non-instant coffee I've tasted is foul though - bitter and sludgy.
 
Even the most carelessly-made "proper" coffee is preferable to "classy instant" - to my palate at least.

The bland espresso I had the other week was clearly someone else's idea of coffee and was intended to have all sorts of syrups and dairy products added.
 
I can't recall ever having a bad cup of non instant. I do drink instant, in the mornings (when I am pushed for time) and at work, but I usually have it black without sugar. I generally wouldn't drink a cup of instant coffee if offered, I'd rather have tea.
 
gentlegreen said:
It's a shame they didn't leave more of the threaded part of the shaft - it's difficult to see how to reproduce the setting after cleaning it ...
Click to expand...

Don't bother cleaning between grinds.

Unless there's something seriously fucked with your burrs, there won't be more than, like, 0.1g of coffee in there. And it'll mostly be oils that're on there. I haven't cleaned my kyocera's burrs since I bought it (though I'll give the grinds-holder a clean-out / rub-round with a finger). And when I cleaned the burrs of a couple of vintage German grinders, it was just by soaking in Puly Caff.

It'd also be possible to mark one of the 4 prongs on the adjuster (I'm guessing there are 4? Like a little cross-shape for turning?) with a permanent pen, and to put a dot on the bottom of the stable / still burr-casing. Which'd - at least - allow you to get it to the right place within 1 full turn. And 1 full turn should (with a bit of practice) be pretty noticeable.
 
Orang Utan said:
I like instant coffee too, esp in the mornings when you just need to wake up. Dunno why people are so down on it, it's perfectly drinkable with plenty of milk.
I suppose it's like cooking - to some it's not worth the effort to make coffee from scratch, to others it certainly is.
A lot of non-instant coffee I've tasted is foul though - bitter and sludgy.
Click to expand...
Very much agree with that. A lot of 'proper' coffee places also serve shit that I wouldn't be willing to drink - I'd far prefer a cup of instant to a shit extraction based on a dark-roast, stale, robusta-heavy blend. Which'd produce, basically, raw bitterness, possibly with a strong hint of sourness, a whole load of ashy flavours, underscored by heavy tones of burnt rubber and sewage.

gentlegreen said:
Even the most carelessly-made "proper" coffee is preferable to "classy instant" - to my palate at least.
Click to expand...
Massively, massively disagree with that. It's possible to wreck fresh-ground in a way that just isn't possible with instant. Unless you put, like, 40 spoons of coffee powder in. It's a different drink, mind. But a different drink that can be almost infinitely preferable to 'proper' coffee. Which can be undrinkably bitter, sludgy dreck. With almost no 'coffee' flavours at all.
 
gentlegreen said:
View attachment 13880

:cool:
Click to expand...
Wouldn't worry about that level of grinds. Blow on it / wipe the bottom off with a dry cloth, if it's worrying you.

Also, you could mark one of the raised bumps, and put a mark on the outer edge.

That'd give you a reference point.

e2a: oh, hang on. Is that with an 'adjuster' nubbin unscrewed? I'm guessing those raised nubbins might hactually be what gives the grind 'adjustment' its grip?
 
Yeah.

Mark one of the arms of the cross. Put another mark on the outside (static) edge of the burrs. Sorted.

e2a: p.s. be careful of overtightening, too. I basically flattened my nubbins by overtightening. And then had to re-create them using a penknife.
 
My palate still isn't 100 percent due to my lurgy.

I cycled up a very big hill yesterday to buy some Guatemala El Bosque beans.

I just made a cup using 32g (two scoops) - took 3 1/2 minutes to grind :hmm:

Inverted, stirred 10 secs, brewed 30 secs. The grind must be fairly fine as it took quite some force to push the last bit through.

Almost perfect coffee - not sure yet if I like perfect. :hmm:

I think I should try the one scoop, 3/4 full bit ....

One thing - this coffee is really spinning me out, caffeine-wise ...
 
32g for one cup, is that?

Because if it's 32 g for one cup, then I'd be a bit kind of WHAT THE FUCK?

e2a: well, or, at least, about 22-24g would be a very large top-end for a LARGE mug of fp. And tbh, that's more than I'd like. 14-20g would be more like a sensible / balanced cupful. IMO.

42g would produce 3 double espressos in one of my machines, 2 triples and a single in the other.
 
I topped it up to 2/3 of a mug - I'm used to chewy coffee.

Might explain the difficulty in pressing and the caffeine then :D

Oh well. I'm so whizzy I daren't try again till Saturday....
 
gentlegreen said:
I topped it up to 2/3 of a mug - I'm used to chewy coffee.

Might explain the difficulty in pressing and the caffeine then :D

Oh well. I'm so whizzy I daren't try again till Saturday....
Click to expand...

tbh, I'd be tempted to post somewhere like TMC about what you're doing. And to ask about the likely impacts / outcomes / suggestions.

I'm not sure how much water you're using, I'm not sure what kinda pressure you're using, but I'm seriously wondering whether you're actually doing anything effective by using that much in the way of grounds. Water can only absorb so much. And I wouldn't be at all surprised if you were fairly heavily skewing the proportions of this, that and the other (oils / solids / caffeine, say) in your extraction by using such a high ratio of solids:water.

And if you're using 32g for the equivalent of a couple of shots then IMO you'd be - most likely - wasting your time, and your coffee. Regardless of how 'chewy' you like it, that just doesn't sound like something that's likely to yield even a semi-functional extraction.

e2a: also, I'm not remotely surprised that you've had difficulties tasting nuances in coffees in the past, if you've been using those kind of quantities per cup :D ffs. Or that you're caffeinated today :D
 
Just a thought, but the most you'd ever get out of an espresso is a triple basket.

18-22g (tops), producing 2.5-3floz of espresso in 25-28ish seconds.

That'll be working at 9 bar, call it 8-10 bar for the sake of argument.

If you're trying to use:
  • less pressure (you will be); and / or
  • more grounds to produce
  • less liquid

then IMO you're likely to be running up against a brick wall. The only potential swap I can think of is time for pressure. But I'm really not sure how you'd work that un. Presumably longer at a lower pressure (that being the norm). But, well, IMO the high quantity of grounds / low quantity of liquid produced thing is still likely to be a massive problem. Emphasised at lower pressures. The way you're describing your extractions atm, at least.
 
One scoop this time.
Very large difference.

Much less effort to make.

This will halve my coffee consumption.

I'm still lurgified - to the extent that I'll be getting myself a Sudafed nasal spray later - so no revelations regarding taste, but I can tell it's right. :)
 
mrs quoad said:
My concern is that this will double the length of time you have bags hanging around for!
Click to expand...

Yes, this is an issue.

As it happens just two minutes ago, thinking just that, I folded the top down firmly.
I will get a jar organised later.
 
I'm finding that one scoop - 16g is optimum for a quick press, but it doesn't make a whole mug of coffee at the strength I like, so I'm going to have to grind 24g, and make it in two goes.

But it is pretty well optimum on the taste thing. Even with my tubes blocked, I could tell the difference when I did half and half Guatemala and El Salvador.
 
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