Coffee machine

[Weight Weenie]

Haven't been on the hub lately, and what is the first thread I come across...?? this one

 

Nespresso have pretty much perfected the art of "instant" coffee, not the soluable instant coffee, but the instant "quality" coffee. Insert a pod, push the button and voila... 1x caffe.

Coffee is like wine, each person has their own preference - red, white, sweet, semi-sweet, dry, blah, blah, blah., but every now and then a great bottle is made, when the grapes, soil conditions, amount of rain, luck, etc., are all perfect. Coffee is the same.

 

They (Nespresso) managed to get all the "perfect" elements into those little pods, but the water quality makes a huge difference to the taste of the coffee.

Tap water in Gauteng is too hard (too many heavy metals used in the purification process) and kills the taste. Use filtered or "spring" water.

 

If you're making coffee for the sake of drinking a hot beverage, then get an "instant" machine.

Likewise if you have a lot of friends over, more often than not, then a Nespresso (or similar) is the way to go.

 

An espresso is the base of most coffee's, so if your budget is tight then rather get a good "espresso" machine.

You can always foam milk with a cheaper machine.

Make sure you get a "burr" grinder - it doesn't burn the beans like a disc grinder.

 

As for taste - play around with different brands and strengths, and blend two or three beans to get an alternative taste.

Making coffee is an art, it requires a little more effort than inserting a pod and pushing a button.

 

7g freshly ground coffee + 100ml water @ 94-deg Celcius for 30 seconds = 1x perfect espresso

 

my 2c (+interest)

 

7g to 100ml for 30 sec ? What are you using to make that shot ?

 

7g should pull around a 30ml shot in 25 seconds from my experience or something is off

[DBK]

Nespresso every morning.

[Weight Weenie]

Nespresso machines pump at 19 bar - probably 7 or 8 bar MORE than most machines (and 15 bar more than the mellerware/russel hobbs machines). A barista will tell you that the pressure is an integral part of the cup, allowing a richer, thicker crema and a fuller flavour to the coffee

 

Those are really just marketing blurbs, none of those machines reach anywhere near those pressures and they aren't used to make the coffee anyway. Shots are pulled in the region of 8-9bar (machine dependant ofcourse)

 

Also beware of the entry level semi-auto machines that have pressurised portafilters created to make 'false' crema, though you can get non-pressurised portafilter baskets/portafilters online that will give better shots but are much more finicky in terms of grind etc.

[Weight Weenie]

Just found this thread... I've been a technical judge in the national barista competition for the past four years, have a ridiculously expensive espresso machine and commercial grinder at home, have visited coffee estates and roasters around the world, yadda yadda. If I had to choose between coffee and cycling, well, TG I don't have to.

 

First thing to know is there's a fundamental difference between espresso-based drinks (cappuccino, americano etc) and other methods that expose the coffee to boiling water or steam (plunger pot, moka pot, drip filter, Greek/Turkish...). The whole point of espresso is that hot, but not boiling, water is forced through coffee grounds. This produces a measurably different flavour profile. Don't buy an espresso machine if you prefer the taste of the other methods.

 

Whatever method you use, the biggest influence on taste is the freshness and roast of the bean. When the bean was roasted is much more important than where it came from (Ethiopia, Guatemala, Illy, House of Coffees...). Also, the quality of your grinder is absolutely critical - my "pro-sumer" machine was a huge disappointment until I bought a commercial grinder, but since then it's been equal to the best coffee-shop espresso.

 

I know people who have, and love, super-automatic espresso machines (which is what the Juras, Saecos and Nespressos are) and that's cool. But if you're thinking of dropping your hard-earned cash on one, insist on a demo, taste the coffee/s, and then take yourself off to a good coffee shop (Woolies are a good reference point for reasons I'm happy to explain) and compare.

 

If you're not happy with the demo, you should experiment with the AeroPress - already mentioned on the first page of this thread - and pre-ground, but freshly roasted coffee (a local roaster is best, failing which Woolies coffee shops will grind you some). It'll only cost you R350-ish, and you won't regret buying one - even if you get an espresso machine later - because you can chuck it in your suitcase when you travel. Google "AeroPress" and go through a few pages - it's really a minor revolution. It's also the cheapest way to force sub-boiling water through coffee grounds.

 

The other thing you should do before you decide to sell a kidney to feed your espresso habit is buy a moka pot (e.g. Bialetti). Technically it isn't espresso, but who cares - it can taste great, if you get the grind right, always fill the basket (but don't tamp) and take it off the stove before it starts sputtering. This is how countless families in France and Italy get their morning and evening fix.

 

But if you REALLY need espresso in your life, brace yourself for some serious spending, training and a lot of cleaning up. Or keep going to your favourite coffee shop. If there was a better way, believe me, we'd all be doing it.

 

Some gold nuggets here guys, read up !

 

I struggle with my Bialetti, any advice on grind and how much to use ?

To me with an electric stove plate it seems a bit hit and miss in terms of the heat it receives, gas would be better ?

 

Also while most decent coffee shops in Pretoria make a good cappuccino, from the ones I've tried so far only Pure Cafe and the new LivLife (not sure what it's called) in woodlands mall makes a decent espresso. The others - Woolworths, Full Cream Cafe and Vovotelo's all produce sour underextracted shots in my opinion.

 

Maybe you need to go give them some lessons

[walkerr]

 

The other thing you should do before you decide to sell a kidney to feed your espresso habit is buy a moka pot (e.g. Bialetti). Technically it isn't espresso, but who cares - it can taste great, if you get the grind right, always fill the basket (but don't tamp) and take it off the stove before it starts sputtering. This is how countless families in France and Italy get their morning and evening fix.

 

 

+1 on the moka pot - never go camping without one, and use it at home sometimes too. Makes a great cup

[Weight Weenie]

We have a Jura, great for convenience but expensive. In the short run a nespresso will be convenient and cheap but the pods will add up over time. Not sure how the other super auto machines like the Krupps or Delonghi around 5k perform but maybe look into that.

 

If however you have the time and want to make an effort the Aeropress is awesome (as has been mentioned) or if you are not strictly looking for espresso a nice french press or Bialetti Moka Pot. As always fresh coffee that you like coupled with the best grinder you can afford (to freshly grind the fresh coffee) will render the best results.

 

I also have a little Krupps semi-auto and for the money it's not a bad little machine but you need to want to do some work when making coffee to use one. I also bought the cheap Krupps burr grinder (not sure if its conical but I've taken the burrs out and they are not much to write home about but the again for R500 you can't expect more..) as Walker has to go with it and together with good fresh coffee I do (to my taste) pull better shots than our Jura although FAR less consistant in nature. One or two "god shots" have been made with the Krupps and they make you realise just why you spent all the time to make just 30 or 60ml of liquid

 

If you go the semi-auto route get a good coffee making handbook or go for some classes. It took me a long time and much browsing of the net to get an idea of what I was supposed to be doing. Sites like Seattle Coffee Company's YouTube stream, Sweet Maria's and Coffee Geek are all good resources. You can also join SCASA for free and receive cool info via email.

 

Not sure if that was helpfull but there you go anyway...

[walkerr]

Reading this I am darned glad I don't have to choose between cycling and coffee - hard to say which I enjoyed more today, the ride along the coast, or the capuccino afterwards.

 

And with that - I'm off to make a cuppa. All this talk has got me needing a good strong one

[ruib]

I have had a Saeco bean to cup machine and a capsule

coffee machine ,one broke, the other to expensive to keep drinking coffee.If you only enjoy expresso try "instant expresso powder",best value for money.

[Grebel]

For all the Aeropress lovers. Have a look at this link:

 

Aeropress World Championships

[GBguy]

Some gold nuggets here guys, read up !

 

I struggle with my Bialetti, any advice on grind and how much to use ?

To me with an electric stove plate it seems a bit hit and miss in terms of the heat it receives, gas would be better ?

 

Also while most decent coffee shops in Pretoria make a good cappuccino, from the ones I've tried so far only Pure Cafe and the new LivLife (not sure what it's called) in woodlands mall makes a decent espresso. The others - Woolworths, Full Cream Cafe and Vovotelo's all produce sour underextracted shots in my opinion.

 

Maybe you need to go give them some lessons

 

Thanks for your kind words, WW - and to all the other guys who "liked" my post. Wow.

 

The trick with moka pots/Bialetti is to always fill the basket to the brim, but don't tamp. Fill the lower tank (I prefer cold water, but some like it hot) up to the bottom of the little safety valve in the side. Put it on high heat - electric or gas - but take it off when it starts "singing", before the coffee starts dribbling out the top. If you've timed it perfectly, and your coffee is freshly roasted, you'll get a nice bit of crema at the end, with a gentle gurgle - not the roaring sound of riding through a hail storm. If you get the hail storm, your coffee will be burned. Which some people like.

 

What comes out should be black and strong - too strong for most people, just like all good espresso - so add boiling water from your kettle to get the consistency you want. On no account put less coffee in the basket. That will give you over-extracted coffee, which is where too much water goes through the coffee, pulling out sour flavours you really don't want in the cup. Horse-p#ss, IOW. Remember, ALL espresso drinks start with a great shot of espresso, even if you drink cappuccino, lattes, americanos or whatever.

 

If your moka is making too much espresso, get a smaller one. Most people buy the bigger models, and never get a good shot because they never use it as designed. Mokas are rated for 15ml single shots - so a four-cup model should produce 60ml of espresso, or two doubles (singles are for woozies). It's the most useful size, IMHO. Resist the temptation to get the cheaper aluminum models, unless you're looking forward to forgetting your own name, let alone how to spell "Alzheimers".

 

As for coffee grind - espresso-grind is too fine for mokas - they build up too much pressure, which equals too much heat, which means bitter coffee. Grind as you would for a drip-filter. Grinding beans yourself is great, but I'd rather buy small quantities of pre-ground coffee (just enough for three or four days - anything more will go stale) than put beans through one of those mini-liquidizers.

 

A last thought on milk - low-fat steams just as well as full-cream if you have a decent steam wand, and low-fat doesn't mask the coffee flavour like full-cream does. However, if you don't have a machine with a proper steam wand, try beating the milk with an electric beater or stick blender in a pot of near-boiling milk, and keep going for a while until the foam is really fine. For this, full-cream works better. If you are using full-cream, try using a fairly acid bean like Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, and darker roasts on your beans, both of which cut through the creaminess of the milk, even though people who drink their coffee black may find the espresso too "winey".

 

Cheers!

Edited May 9, 2012 by GBguy

[wonduhboy]

For anyone looking for an Aeropress, I have seen them at the Jozi market at Pirate's sports club every Saturday morning.

They are at the Green Bean coffee comp. stall, which is where I get my freshly roasted coffee from.

Really great coffee. Try their newest one from Zambia.

 

Also, while I'm talking about the market, Saturday 26 May sees the Jozi Craft Beer fest roll around...

[Snow]

Not sure if this address was posted earlier:

http://www.aeropress.co.za/order.html

Mine is being couried up from CT today!

[CAAD4]

For all the Aeropress lovers. Have a look at this link:

 

Aeropress World Championships

 

The Oirish guy looks really confused... Maybe he is trying to pull....

[walkerr]

The Oirish guy looks really confused... Maybe he is trying to pull....

 

Or trying to work out which end you pour the Guiness into

[splat]

Thanks for your kind words, WW - and to all the other guys who "liked" my post. Wow.

 

A last thought on milk - low-fat steams just as well as full-cream if you have a decent steam wand, and low-fat doesn't mask the coffee flavour like full-cream does. However, if you don't have a machine with a proper steam wand, try beating the milk with an electric beater or stick blender in a pot of near-boiling milk, and keep going for a while until the foam is really fine. For this, full-cream works better. If you are using full-cream, try using a fairly acid bean like Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, and darker roasts on your beans, both of which cut through the creaminess of the milk, even though people who drink their coffee black may find the espresso too "winey".

 

Cheers!

 

Thanks for all of this information. Loving this thread!

 

Does the fresheness of the milk have an impact on foam? i.e. the fresher the better?

(obviously stale milk will taste bad)

[Wayne Potgieter]

Thanks for all of this information. Loving this thread!

 

Does the fresheness of the milk have an impact on foam? i.e. the fresher the better?

(obviously stale milk will taste bad)

 

Long life or fresh?

 

Full cream or low fat etc?

 

I am als rather interested.