Coffee Snob...

[joanmc]

....and maybe that philosophy extends out further than just coffee....

True dazz! I like a good coffee and although I generally have one cup of instant each morning, I do love it when we get coffee from PNG that the family brings back-yumm. I do find that I choose quality over quantity in more and more things as I get older, especially steak. I used to enjoy cheap steak but now I prefer good quality wagyu and I would rather go without than have the cheap stuff again.

 

[gooram]

We have an espresso machine at home (use pre-ground Harris - strongest I can buy) and I really hate paying for a coffee if it turns out to be almost warm milk. I don't think I am a snob, but drinking bad coffee is like eating bad food. I try not to .

What??? I hate to tell you but you are drinking bad coffee. Don't waste a perfectly good espresso machine with pre-ground beans... let alone Harris pre-ground beans.

A word of advice, buy a grinder and grind your beans yourself for each shot, makes a world of difference. Also, look for beans that are locally and freshly roasted. Good beans will usually have a roasting date on them. You'll have to avoid supermarket beans.

Also, avoid beans from markets that are sitting out in the air in baskets. This looks good but the more exposed your beans are, the shitter they will taste.

The fresher the bean, the better the coffee, that's the secret to good coffee. Doesn't matter how good your machine is.

 

[EGB18CT]

Going to pick up a Nuova Simonelli Oscar HX and a Compak k3t/Wega instant 5.8 grinder, anyone have experience with this combo?

Also tempted to try roast my own beans using the popcorn maker method - is it worthwhile?

 

[Buddybee]

We've had a Compak K3-Touch grinder for about 4 months now - absolutely LOVE it, although the pre-timed grind appears to work backwards - adds time to the grind length, + shortens it (or so my husband tells me)

We've teamed ours up with an Expobar Minore 3, so can't comment on your machine. I can say however, that the improvement we've made in this combo from our old Saeco semi auto machine is outstanding.

Cheers
Buddybee

 

[wylie]

What??? I hate to tell you but you are drinking bad coffee. Don't waste a perfectly good espresso machine with pre-ground beans... let alone Harris pre-ground beans.

LOL. It is 100% on instant coffee though. I cannot drink instant coffee any more.

We have an italian deli/warehouse nearby, so perhaps when I am "in the mood" I'll give some fresh beans a go.... but I do like the Harris stuff, and to be honest, my coffee at home is better than most coffee shop coffee. Perhaps it all comes down to how good the maker is with their hands .

I only drink one or two coffees a day, but with my brother and his workers calling around and each drinking two cups per session, several times a week, we do plough through the coffee. I would be grinding beans all day......

 

[Dazz]

Going to pick up a Nuova Simonelli Oscar HX and a Compak k3t/Wega instant 5.8 grinder, anyone have experience with this combo?

Yeah, we had that combo a few years ago, but it destroys the beans and just makes **** coffee.

The Oscar HX was superceded about 22 months ago by the MX model, and that has now been superceded by the PX model, which is ohhhh sooo much better. I can't believe we imbibed that swill coming out of the HX.

The Compak K3 Touch obviously is named because it has 5.8 blade inches per circumferential rotation, which was a step up from the previous K2 which had only 3.9 BIPCR. It's still cr@p though. The higher BIPCR is what gives you the consistency of grind.

We upgraded to the Ragazo T11 which has 11.1 BIPCR and does the job perfectly....it costs a bit more at $ 7,999.00 retail, but it was definitely worth it.

The Brazilians make a Fondora E6, which exhibits 13.4 BIPCR, but at $ 17,500 per unit, that will have to wait until 2011.

 

[Amadio]

....and maybe that philosophy extends out further than just coffee....

Hard to go back to bitter tasting Resi after nice rich creamy Comm?

 

[our obsession]

The Brazilians make a Fondora E6, which exhibits 13.4 BIPCR, but at $ 17,500 per unit, that will have to wait until 2011

There was a secondhand Brazilian for sale on ebay the other night, and many folks don't realise it waxes as it crushes...talk about bang for buck!

 

[jaycee]

Originally Posted by gooram
What??? I hate to tell you but you are drinking bad coffee. Don't waste a perfectly good espresso machine with pre-ground beans... let alone Harris pre-ground beans.

LOL. It is 100% on instant coffee though. I cannot drink instant coffee any more.

We have an italian deli/warehouse nearby, so perhaps when I am "in the mood" I'll give some fresh beans a go.... but I do like the Harris stuff, and to be honest, my coffee at home is better than most coffee shop coffee. Perhaps it all comes down to how good the maker is with their hands .

I only drink one or two coffees a day, but with my brother and his workers calling around and each drinking two cups per session, several times a week, we do plough through the coffee. I would be grinding beans all day......

I'm not sure what you're talking about when you say "uit's on instant coffee" but then you say you are using beans...

But very defintiely, and quite obviously if you think aobut it, how you make the coffee actually makes a lot of difference... I I could buy $200/kg beanns (if they exist) which might be fantastic, but if I only use 4 grams and grind it wrong, regardless of what typoe of machine I use, the coffee will come out watery and w34eak - 1. not enough coffeee to make a full sstrength shot 2. ground wrong, so wont work. 3. If you didnt tamp it down tight enough for to suit the machine's pressure (like it or not, this is what you are wqorking with), then it will coume out watery

With coffee, unlike say a cup of tea where you jsut put in the teabag in and waait, for epspresso coffee, you are making coffee, like cooking ffod - if you turn the flame up to super super high and crack an egg in itand jsut leave it for 5 minutes wihtout looking at it, what will happen ? Even if the egg is organice and fresh laid - it will burn..

HOW you do it usually makes a differemnce, no exception in this case

I know some people seem to think foreigners and sons of foreigners etc are wierdo's or soft or fake sophisticates for drinking and liking this sort of thing, but honestly, it's just a cup of coffee I dont think of myself as sophisitacted for knowing about something.. others seem to think the fact that I bothered to care means I'm an idiot of some sort - wierd is it not ?

 

[gooram]

Also tempted to try roast my own beans using the popcorn maker method - is it worthwhile?

You do save on greeen beans, but the popcorn maker is tricky... there's a real sweet spot between too much and too little, a bit like popcorn only the WOOP is smaller, and you can't afford to burn any beans, well you can but you'd rather not.

Do some research, as there is an art to it. You'll probably lose a few batches so best to start on some budget beans.

You have to love it though, but judging by your set up, that's a given

 

[HiEquity]

There was a secondhand Brazilian for sale .......... waxes as it crushes .......... talk about bang for buck!

OK, now I'm daydreaming about something altogether different to coffee...

Myself, if I have a real coffee after noon I have trouble sleeping at night. Likewise if I have more than approx 4 coffees per week.

If anyone else is similarly afflicted by caffeine I can recommend a Lavazza decaf espresso from the stovetop. If find the flavour excellent, without the side effects...

 

[gooram]

Let's be honest, the ONLY reason people drink coffee is because caffeine is a stimulant. Take the stimulant away and there's not a whole lot of point.

Its about the only socially acceptable drug these days.

Getting schmancy about it is akin to decanting wine and using red and white wine glasses.

Don't see too many people into the Maison these days.

 

[jaycee]

Let's be honest, the ONLY reason people drink coffee is because caffeine is a stimulant. Take the stimulant away and there's not a whole lot of point.

Its about the only socially acceptable drug these days.

Getting schmancy about it is akin to decanting wine and using red and white wine glasses.

Don't see too many people into the Maison these days.

never been brave enough to try the Maison or non alcoholic beer etc...

 

[EGB18CT]

never been brave enough to try the Maison or non alcoholic beer etc...

I'm getting hooked on the organic beer - ever tried Mountain Goat, had some of the Double Hightail limited edition (250 650ml bottle brewed) and it's sensational!

 

[JoKo]

I joined a coffee forum a while ago to get some info.... they're a bit snobby though http://coffeesnobs.com.au

 

[charlieandkath]

Indifference and everyone, we are coffee snobs now. We had a espresso machine given to us for a wedding present and recently just replaced it with a new espresso machine called a Giotto (Italian). This was after we both did a Baristas course. This is like a semi commercial machine. Problem is now that our grinder cannot grind fine enough for this machine so we need a new grinder now.

We love our daily coffee. It is our special time of the day together. I love making them aswell. Very passionate now.

 

[Bon]

Big, big, BIG coffee snob here

I do a weekly run to a boutique coffee roaster in Marrickville to buy whole beans roasted just 24 hours earlier. I buy unhomogenised jersey milk directly from a farmer at the Lilyfield markets. Supermarket milk just doesn't cut it. I grind my own beans in a commercial grinder and I pour latte art

I justify it all by telling myself how much I save each week by not having to go to cafes!

Oh, sounds like Coffee Alchemy!

 

[HappyCamper]

Oh, sounds like Coffee Alchemy!

Bingo! Best coffee beans in Sydney, IMHO.

 

[imonmyway]

I have a Rancilio Gaggia and a Sunbeam Bur Grinder with the right beans ground at the time you make the coffee it makes the perfect espresso. I like it that much that when we go on holidays i pack the machine up and take it with us strapped between the twins car seats like our third child : ). I hate going on holiday and having to drink crap coffee it ruins it for me.

I live in melbourne and getting a good espresso is very difficult any idiot can make a lattee or a cup-a-chino but they mostly screw it up. Pelegrinis at the top of bourke street makes good coffee.

Just before Christmas I discovered the best coffee beans I have ever bought it was Atomoica medium blend makes an exceptional espresso. Its a coffee shop in brunswick street I bougth the medium blend if your in melbourne and your obsessed with coffee try this

 

[Indifference]

Wow, so many coffee lovers! It's great!

I see a few Baristas amongst us... now that is true passion!

It really is good to hear so many people willing to shell out a little extra for some of life's simple pleasures... it makes every day that much more enjoyable

Happy grinding!