Another vote for Rounton from me also.
Ross
So far the Guatamala Antigua and Columbian have been good from redber. Filter blend from square mile was better but then it did cost approx 50% more
On to rounton today I think.
https://www.deveroast.com
The Artful Dodger back in the 90's & 00's now is The Artful Roaster.
Give Pete a shout. Probably the best coffee from the nicest bloke you'll meet. Very passionate and knowledgeable and ethical in his choices rather than just buying in and repackaging.
(Tell him i sent you for a bit of discount.)
His coffee roastery shop will be open this summer and a supercool hang out in an old mill well worth a visit if passing in the car or on the bike and he loves his watches.
https://www.deveroast.com
RIAC
Anyone who like their coffee with a bit of fruity funk should try their Rocko Mountain.
https://rountoncoffee.co.uk/products...rocko-mountain
I've drunk gallons of it this season.
Faced with a week away from my espresso machine, I've just bought a Wacaco Picopresso. For anyone wondering it makes an excellent double espresso.
Just as Wacaco suggest, it does need a very fine grind, you need a decent grinder to get good results from the Picopresso. I tried it with some pre-ground Lavazza I had and the results were uninspiring. Lavazza tends to be quite finely ground too.
I'm off for another week away soon. This time I'll be flying out of the country (provided easyjet get their act together). I'll be limited on weight and space. I'm happy taking the picopresso, but would rather avoid taking grinder and beans too.
Has anyone tried replacing the picopresso's single walled basket with a double walled basket more suited to shop ground espresso?
Does anybody have experience of using a Feldgrind 47?
Ive just received one as a birthday pressie and unsure of the grind setting for my Bialetti Mokka pot.
I have a Niche Zero grinder waiting for me at home. Looking forward to the unboxing next week.
My GP advised me to drastically cut down on my caffeine intake, he wanted me to give up my coffee but Ive negotiated cutting out cola (rarely touch it) and going down to one cup of decaf per day.
My local roaster only does one decaf which is pretty good and Ive found another roaster Decadent Decaf not far from me but Ive not tried yet.
Does anyone have any decaf recommendations?
I've an acquaintance who's a gastroenterologist, and he said 6 cups of coffe a day is good for your gut.
You may be able to lessen the amount of caffeine (assuming it does not have to be cut out completely) by changing the roast or brewing method. See
Alternatively this Ikarian coffee method https://www.wellandgood.com/ikarian-coffee/ seems to be the way to spread the intake more across a day.
Nothing wrong with having my two mugs of coffee, its good for you like he said, its my caffeine intake I need to cut.
Ive had a banging headache since Friday due to my withdrawal but Ive noticed Ive not had the side effects of caffeine, lower BP already and even enjoyed an afternoon nap for the first time I can remember.
I prefer to buy freshly roasted but do occasionally buy from the supermarkets if we get caught short although weve a great roaster, Cast Iron Coffee close to us Im hoping the beans ordered from Decadent are as good.
My GP was under the impression that decaf had about 25% caffeine and they still use the dangerous chemicals in its removal so thats why he wanted me to cut out coffee completely.
Decaf has a fraction of caffeine than a normal coffee (normal type depending) so the doc is way out there. A cup of black tea can be 10-15 times as much as decaf coffee. Green tea is much the same as black tea. Tons of things have caffeine in that you might not expect. So I would have thought you need to know what mg level you need to get to compared to your normal dietary intake. IMHO of course :-)
There will be essentially no 'dangerous' chemicals remaining after processing (if any were even used).
Does anyone own a La Marzocco Linea Mini?
I am thinking about potentially upgrading my Rocket Appartamento but not sure if the price differential is worth it?
I have been enjoying some of the selection from here. https://www.neighbourhoodcoffee.co.uk
Espresso yourself is really tasty
I own a Linea Mini paired with a kafatek Flat Max and love it. Its rock solid and produces perfect shot after shot. The only reason I would part with it, is to go to GS3 MP. I only drink light roast now and think the GS3 would allow me to get the most out of it. That said, I spoke with someone who made that swap and said the difference is marginal.
The way see it is the LMLM will hold its value, as will a decent grinder. The only problem is I cant drink coffee on the high street now.
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I would love the Micra. Would be perfect - its just expensive ( I am still just using a moka pot and hand frother 😂)
Thanks everyone,
I had a look at the Micra, but it only saves 1k over the Mini, which has more features. I wasn't sure if the saving outweighed all the things I probably wouldn't use on the Micra anyway? Counter top space is probably the only thing the Mini wins on from what I can see.
Tbh the micra though smaller in terms of size and boiler space was a pretty good match for the home against the mini.
You would not use the micra in a commercial setting - thats where the mini shine in terms of back to back shots.
The other thing was of course the height different under the portafilter and the external pressure control - the micra uses the app.
But when browsing ebay (very bad habit) alot of the minis did not have the app control built in - it was a extra - so it will come down to what you need/want 👍
cheers
matt
Double Espresso with 9barista today. Love the ritual of grinding first and brewing then with such an incredible result. 18 gr of beans, 160 ml of water, the right grinding grade and fire quantity as well as 4 to 5 minutes patience and here it is
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I've been looking into making espresso at home and it's come down to either a La Pavoni lever machine or a 9barista. What I like about the 9barista is it's comparative simplicity and the availability/affordability of spares here, as it's produced in the UK. I'm also attracted to the idea of buying a used La Pavoni and renovating it along with any custom add ons I might want. Can I ask what grinder you use and what level you grind to? At the moment I use both a cafetiere and mokka pot, both ground fairly coarsley using a 1zpresso K-Max. That shot in your picture looks very good!
Edit. Forgot to ask how quick you can make back to back shots with the 9barista, if you do that.
Last edited by magirus; 7th May 2023 at 13:05.
F.T.F.A.
If the 9barista is as the marketing says then it is nothing like a La Pavoni. One is repeatable via design the other is down to the randomness of various parameters. It depend what you want out of the experience. I have a La Pavoni that I got off these good forums that was pre pimped out and it is a fun experimental thing that you gradually strive to master. But a Hario Switch still gives me a quicker easier drink day to day :-)
I use a K-MAX btw which is more pour over coffee oriented based on the burr adjustment but it does a good enough job for me with the La Pavoni
Last edited by reecie; 7th May 2023 at 22:49.
If anyone wants to really geek out, I would recommend a Decent Espresso Machine and Kafatek Flat Max grinder.
Had this machine just over 2 years now and use it at least 3 times a day. Heats up in 2 minutes and has a lot of different coffee profiles for different types of bean, roast levels etc
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Hello magirus. Total time on the clock this morning 6 minutes 14 seconds but I work in parallel. I set up the water for boiling before grinding the beans. I use the Comandante manual grinder set pretty fine grade. I clean the grinder with a soft dry brush as well as the working station and tidy all up in that 5 to 6 minutes. Cheers
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Some proper Italian beans for me this week.
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Thanks for the replies gents.
Obviously I'm aware of the differences between the La Pavoni and the 9barista, at the moment it's about do I want to get into espresso and if so how to do it. On another level I find the prospect of stripping down a used La Pavoni and doing a complete rebuild/refurbish very appealing. Re the K-Max, have you figured how to get the calibration at 0 after cleaning every time without further adjustment?
Thank you for that!
F.T.F.A.
Tbh it has barely gone out of calibration since I have had it and I just blow and brush it out every so often rather than taking it fully apart. Open the burrs as far as they go and use the blower and brush you get with it. The calibration is pretty easy to do anyway if you need to do it. It is a very good grinder and I really enjoy using it. My scales tend to show what goes in tends to come out so there seems very little retention based on what I see left from cleaning.
Sounds that you like a project. In which case the La Pavoni is a good option since there is the sport of the hunt for one and then all the bits you can upgrade and improve. There's a whole cottage industry for spares etc. It makes great coffee when you nail it.
I now disassemble the K-Max once a month for a good clean, although to be fair there's not much comes out. I found the supplied blower ineffective, and even the much more powerful Rocket blower I have in my camera bag doesn't do much. Also the supplied brush is excellent for cleaning around the underside of the burrs without disassembley, but is far too large to get inside the body when the main shaft is removed. I bought a cheap detail paintbrush with a slim handle, bent the head to a suitable angle, and trimmed the bristles at an angle so they brush properly rather than slide across the inside parts.
After reassembly, when recalibrating, I found that even with a good finger pressure on the bottom of the burr shaft a fine adjustment was needed as the 0 would be just off either way in relation to the red marker after tightening the top nut. What I do now is stand the grinder resting on a wine cork and push it down with decent force whilst tightening the top and this gets it bang on every time. Re refurbing a La Pavoni, it's ironic that I'm considering this in the middle of getting rid of clutter and "stuff", as I'd end up with a box of parts and probably some soldering gear! Coffee could be quite a rabbit hole.
F.T.F.A.
An Aeropress is a good first recommendation for most people who want to try better quality coffee and its usually my first suggestion for anyone who asks (although I do check first if people just want good coffee with the minimum of hands-on faff, in which case theyre really better off with a beans-to-cup solution as long as they want to afford a decent one).
Aeropresses make a good enough brew that you can try out a lot of brewing variations and check whether you can detect them and decide what you like: putting aside beans, roast, grind and weight, you can fiddle around with water temp, volume, time, stirring, right way up or inverted, and with a bit of care the results are reproducible.
I began like that around 5 years ago, and I havent felt the need to move on (plus we dont really have space in the kitchen).
My gawd theyve gone up in price though - my cousin bought one at my suggestion a couple of years ago and I think he paid 25 quid. Current prices are 50% higher, it seems, despite several clones providing competition.
BTW I recommend these guys, who Ive used mail order since we left London: https://algeriancoffeestores.com/
Several local roasters have started up here in the past few years, and Ive just started trying them: local would be good if I can find the right people.
Well I did buy a 9barista which is great fun - and then jumped upto a linea micra - its a perfect size for my space and makes great forgiving coffee!
More steam than you could ever use and very quick to get to heat. The only possible downside would be the length of the steam wand if you wanted to use huge jugs - though for the 3-400ml size I find I only need to have the power set to 1 the lowest steam setting !
If there is interest in a 9barista I will stick an ad up in SC - as I am not using it anymore 😂
Wow thats a big jump
It was slighly unplanned as LM offered a easter discount and had stock in the UK 👍
1972 La Pavoni Europiccola
My new daily
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I've been looking at getting into espresso and was considering buying a used La Pavoni and refurbing it, but decided against as I'm picky and the time involved in sourcing a suitable example, sourcing any parts needed, doing the work etc etc wasn't really doable alongside other things. Then I looked at maybe a 9barista, being attracted to it's comparative simplicity and easy availabilty of spares from the UK manufacturer. I came within a whisker of buying one from the forum a few weeks ago. I've now settled on a Cafelat Robot, as simple as it gets for good coffee. I'm very impressed with how Paul Pratt, who has a very long history in the coffee industry, designed and perfected the Robot before bringing it to market. It's now just a case of choosing the colour and whether or not to get the model with a pressure guage. The La Pavoni is a very impressive design, one of my regular channels on Youtube did a resto refurb on one recently and my what a job he made of it . . .
F.T.F.A.
After much, much more research I decided that manual is the way for me. Postie called earlier, I like it when Postie calls . . .
F.T.F.A.
thanks to this thread i ended up going down the espresso rabbit hole. settled on the 9barista + niche zero. i'm pretty impressed with the level of espresso it can make now i've dialled it in. i live in east london which is artisanal coffee mecca and while my home setup can't compete with a great barista + professional machine, i feel a lot of the baristas arent so meticulous (or perhaps just making a lot of coffees under time pressure) so it can often be quite disappointing.