Coffee

[AMB]

Originally Posted by prydey

.....
Espresso drinkers often fit right at the pointy end of coffee snobbery

haha thanks for the laugh. With my simple tastes never thought of myself as a coffee snob. Espresso is not long enough for me, I need a lot more than a couple of sips. I just like it strong and long, about 100mL, but i go by the colour. if its a bit too bitter I sometimes add some sugar. Not many places know what a lungo is, you get strange looks, not that i frequent coffee shops.

[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by ford71V8

Im with you, can of coke is my heart starter.... never got the coffee fascination

I sometimes work with an ships engineer who has 2 full strength cans for breakfast every day, without fail, and is then on a steady drip of 8 to 10 cans or more during the day.......he complains he can't sleep and needs the coke to get him through the day!

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by AMB

haha thanks for the laugh. With my simple tastes never thought of myself as a coffee snob. Espresso is not long enough for me, I need a lot more than a couple of sips. I just like it strong and long, about 100mL, but i go by the colour. if its a bit too bitter I sometimes add some sugar. Not many places know what a lungo is, you get strange looks, not that i frequent coffee shops.

Must admit I like the strong sugary flavours of properly made Turkish coffee's but rare to find places in the country areas who will make one.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by DJR-351

I sometimes work with an ships engineer who has 2 full strength cans for breakfast every day, without fail, and is then on a steady drip of 8 to 10 cans or more during the day.......he complains he can't sleep and needs the coke to get him through the day!

Following the NSW Commonwealth Cycling Classic from years back the teams would road race into town. First port of call was the coffee shop and order expresso mixed with a can of Coke. Sounds horrible but its what got them through the evening criterium race.
First time I ever saw a very young Jan Ullrich (Bosch team) drink this combo.

[slowsnake]

First time I had Turkish coffee it was at a workemates place, I was picking him up for work, he had this little silver pot on stove, gave Ne a little coffee can and said try that?
Firstly he never said how to drink it so I just threw it down, he turned around and said whatever you do don't swallow the grounds!....it was already gone, one mouthful, I was on the shi..er all day, with my eyeballs feeling like they were glued wide open, I looked like Marty Feldman, lol, he was an ex jocky, French/Yugoslav and made jockeys whips from the skin from bulls dicks! that's true, softest leather you could get, had em nailed up in his shed with lead fishing weights hooked into the skin to slowly peel it off!
He would tan em then braid them, all top jockeys bought em!


Cheers Billy

[ford71V8]

The coffee thread just took an usual turn

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by slowsnake

First time I had Turkish coffee it was at a workemates place, I was picking him up for work, he had this little silver pot on stove, gave Ne a little coffee can and said try that?
Firstly he never said how to drink it so I just threw it down, he turned around and said whatever you do don't swallow the grounds!....it was already gone, one mouthful, I was on the shi..er all day, with my eyeballs feeling like they were glued wide open, I looked like Marty Feldman, lol, he was an ex jocky, French/Yugoslav and made jockeys whips from the skin from bulls dicks! that's true, softest leather you could get, had em nailed up in his shed with lead fishing weights hooked into the skin to slowly peel it off!
He would tan em then braid them, all top jockeys bought em!


Cheers Billy

Remember my first Turkish coffee. Our marina neighbour lived aboard 65ft ketch but was to large for him to sail alone, we cobbled together a motley crew every weekend to head out to sea.
A great Turkish guy brought along his coffee making set which fortunately he made up before becoming seasick on leaving the harbour.
Well we all enjoyed it.

[FTE217]

Turk/Greek and middle eastern has its moments.
Some are nice some are like ive got cut slate from roKWiz jobs lol....
The films in my mouth - weird but I like trying various coffees.

I love a cap with half a sugar daily x 3 or so.
Espresso's only after a top meal out with a liquer or port.

[PooDog]

Originally Posted by prydey

That says more about the shops than it does about maccas, but i agree. I've sampled a few places and very few are anywhere close to what I make at home.

If you follow a few basic principles its not that difficult to make superior coffee at home.

you don't need mega expensive equipment, but there is an element of you get what you pay for, so decent grinders are quite pricey. The grinder is actually more important than the espresso machine.

Once you have the equipment all you need is fresh beans of a flavour that you like. If you drink espresso, beans have a much smaller window of freshness as well. 2 weeks from roast date is getting close to the limit. Once you add milk, its not so critical however most would recommend using beans within 3-4 weeks of roast date.

Do not buy beans from a supermarket. There are plenty of roasters around australia selling very high quality beans.

Once you have your equipment and supplier sorted, then it becomes about technique. This isn't that hard to learn. The 3 main things to learn are grind, dose and tamp. These 3 all go together but should only be adjusted one at a time so you know the effect that change had.

grind = the size of the grounds. Too coarse and it pours too fast. Too fine and it pours too slow. You need to find a sweet spot that achieves approx 30ml in 30sec, give or take.

dose = the amount of ground coffee in the portafilter. Some tampers will have rings around them to act as a guide for consistency. Correct dose should allow about 1mm of space between the top of the puck and the shower screen when the handle is locked in to the espresso machine. An easy way to determine this, is to put a 5c coin on top, lock the handle in, then release and have a look. The coin should not be pushed in but just leave a slight impression in the top of the coffee. Once you have established that, take note of how far in your tamper goes, and don't vary by too much. Its all trial and error.

Tamp = the pressure you push down on the grounds with your tamper. This is probably the one step with the greatest variation in opinion. A friend of mine, who invented Pullman tampers (the best) did numerous tests and found that a pressure of between 5-15kg was ideal. Between those numbers made very little difference. When learning you can tamp on scales to get a feel for it.

It all sounds long winded, but once you get those 3 steps all working in unison to produce that magic 20-30ml in roughly 30sec, then good coffee at home should follow.

If you drink coffee for the taste etc and you regularly buy it, then buying your own equipment can pay for itself in short time. If you drink for the social aspect, then you'll probably end up drinking a lot more coffee

Sorry for long winded post. I do not have expensive equipment as I can't afford it, but I do enjoy the art of making it and trying to teach others as well. My machine is a breville dual boiler (bes920) which has all the features of the best high end machines and is great for domestic duties for those on a tight budget. Its paired with the breville smart grinder, which I can only say 'does the job'. When I win the lottery, that will be getting upgraded, but given I have milk, its not that critical.

When your Breville packs a sad get a delonghi. I've had 3 Brevilles they don't last long and hard to get parts ,the service people reckon the delonghi or sunbeam were easier to service ( could be a NZ problem) .... the wife hates coffee and my machines that make a mess in her kitchen the last breville that packed a sad I was coerced into getting a pod machine which are pretty average but heaps quicker to use coz sometimes you want a coffee but you're too lazy to go through the hassle making one ..........the ol pod machines are a good compromise

[slowsnake]

Originally Posted by FTE217

Turk/Greek and middle eastern has its moments.
Some are nice some are like ive got cut slate from roKWiz jobs lol....
The films in my mouth - weird but I like trying various coffees.

I love a cap with half a sugar daily x 3 or so.
Espresso's only after a top meal out with a liquer or port.

A good Armagnac is nice, try it you'll probably like it...


Cheers Billy

[MercuryT]

Originally Posted by Itsme

Yea you guys in Tassie need to catch up with mainland Australia; does all your shops still close at 6.00pm?

Yeah Tassie been lucky.

No lock downs yet (yet!)

[MercuryT]

Originally Posted by Pis-ton broke

can you still marry your sister in tas?

Now that isn't very nice.

[MercuryT]

Originally Posted by MITCHAY

I crack a tin of Coke Zero every morning and that is my cofee. Hate the stuff, must be one of few desk jockeys that doesn't like cofee around here

Apart from the fact Coke Zero doesn't exist any more I'm with you

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by HIPO

Anyone into grinding their own, try Aldi for Lazzio brand beans. Far superior & cheaper than most premium supermarket stuff & roasted in Melbourne...have won a few awards too.

My neighbor swears by that too. Being pretty cheap, I bough a bag for when I was teaching myself how to use my machine. With a lot of early extractions going down the drain, at least I wasn't wasting an expensive product.

The small country town I live in has a few local roasters so I have plenty to choose from here.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by prydey

Sorry for long winded post. I do not have expensive equipment as I can't afford it, but I do enjoy the art of making it and trying to teach others as well. My machine is a breville dual boiler (bes920) which has all the features of the best high end machines and is great for domestic duties for those on a tight budget. Its paired with the breville smart grinder, which I can only say 'does the job'. When I win the lottery, that will be getting upgraded, but given I have milk, its not that critical.

A dual boiler machine is the one thing I wish I had paid extra for, that and a separate grinder.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

My neighbor swears by that too. Being pretty cheap, I bough a bag for when I was teaching myself how to use my machine. With a lot of early extractions going down the drain, at least I wasn't wasting an expensive product.

The small country town I live in has a few local roasters so I have plenty to choose from here.

have you tried Mansfield roasters.

[MercuryT]

There's instant "smooth" Moccona at my work place. (yes I'm finishing up)

Might give it a whirl on Monday

[prydey]

Originally Posted by PooDog

When your Breville packs a sad get a delonghi. I've had 3 Brevilles they don't last long and hard to get parts ,the service people reckon the delonghi or sunbeam were easier to service ( could be a NZ problem) .... the wife hates coffee and my machines that make a mess in her kitchen the last breville that packed a sad I was coerced into getting a pod machine which are pretty average but heaps quicker to use coz sometimes you want a coffee but you're too lazy to go through the hassle making one ..........the ol pod machines are a good compromise

I had the breville bes900 for a few years before upgrading to the 920. Been pretty reliable. Parts are actually not that hard to come by either and having worked on my old one, they aren't that difficult to fix. I'll pass on the delonghi.

[PooDog]

Originally Posted by prydey

I had the breville bes900 for a few years before upgrading to the 920. Been pretty reliable. Parts are actually not that hard to come by either and having worked on my old one, they aren't that difficult to fix. I'll pass on the delonghi.

Mine have been the cheaper models , put me off buying a flasher model yeah I cannabilised a few bits off them but just got sick of fixing them ....so far so good with the delonghi pod machine

[ford71V8]

Originally Posted by DJR-351

I sometimes work with an ships engineer who has 2 full strength cans for breakfast every day, without fail, and is then on a steady drip of 8 to 10 cans or more during the day.......he complains he can't sleep and needs the coke to get him through the day!

I had a can of coke this morning while watching local U14s play (we won by 2 pts, putting us in the grand final!).
First can for a while and really noticed how sweet it is and couldnt stop thinking about this post.... up to a dozen cans in a day, his teeth must be trashed

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by ford71V8

I had a can of coke this morning while watching local U14s play (we won by 2 pts, putting us in the grand final!).
First can for a while and really noticed how sweet it is and couldnt stop thinking about this post.... up to a dozen cans in a day, his teeth must be trashed

Interestingly enough, for a decade when i was working in the cbd i was on 3 coffees a day. So 1 before work, 1 at smoko and 1 in the arvo. Also drank a fair amount of coke. But i wasnt a full on coffee snob, i knew what i liked, but i cut it out in favour of fruit juice. My preffered was fresh orange, watermelon and pineapple. So, whilst the caffine kick wasnt there, it did leave me feeling more refreshed and better. I also stopped nailing the cans of coke too. In favour was the most booring thing ever, yep water. So being off the cans of coke, i recently bought a 10 pack. Dunno if they have changed anything, but it tastes different. Its probably the placebo effect.
When i was going hard on the caps with 1 sugar, i was good with 1 cafe owner so it was freebies, and in another building i was good mates with the building manager so was allowed access to the business tab for the foyer coffe shoppe.
Decent coffee beans make a big difference, but burnt milk is the worst. I know some full on coffee snobs that swear by sustainable sourced coffee beans that have been digested by birds and spider monkeys in the amazon rainforest etc, but i reckon that stuff is too sour. And expensive as its been harvested by an animal that works for free and come out its butthole.

[oldel]

I had a machine a long time ago I spent lots of time and money on coffee while trying to quit drinking.

These days I don't bother, you only need a machine if you drink espressos and I hardly did - usually long or milk drinks - same for most people anyway - if it wasn't no one would be buying pods or instant.

There's a lot you can do with basic gear. I still buy beans and use my grinder but in summer I cold brew with a $12 kmart jug and in winter/cooler weather I use a delter press (similar to an aeropress but more of a hand 'pumped' espresso where you force water through the coffee, not like a aeropress/french press).

cold brewer from kmart
https://www.kmart.com.au/product/ice...ew-jug/2702339

delter press
https://alternativebrewing.com.au/pr...r-coffee-press

And I've got a breville smart grinder from the old days, and a hand grinder to use away from home.

Beans are just aldi or coles or local when I can be bothered, but even the coles or aldi ones are better than instant. And the delter is better than pod coffee for sure.

[T3rminator]

Love my Hario cold brew. Problem is it takes a good 24 hours to get a decent flavour. And if you forget to make it the day before, you don't have it in the morning.

That delta press looks like a lot of hard work . Similar concept to the moka pot but in reverse?

[oldel]

Problem with a mocha pot is the water is too hot. Problem with a french press is you can't use a fine grind and it gets a little bitter sitting around mixed.

The delter is a bit of work, but the closet thing you can get to a coffee machine made coffee - which is just pumping/pressing water through grinds in a basket type thing (the delter uses a plastic screw on lid with filter paper so not exactly the same)

[Big_Daz]

My best mate is a massive coffee snob, he's always stuffing around with new things. He has tried to get me into it on more than one occasion but I'll stick to my favourite type of Coffee - Iced... Ice Break in fact. I used to have one every day at work but I'm cutting back to a few a week...

[ford71V8]

Yep I can do an iced coffee once in a while.
Farmers Union is the go

[slowsnake]

I make my own ice coffee, in summer in particular, it blows people away when they taste it!

One long tall glass, if you like sugar put normal dose, 1 and half heaped teaspoons of Nescafe, or your normal instant coffee brand, if you have a glass, capacity unknown then fill your normal coffee cup with water and tip in glass, that will work out sugar if you use it and you may need 2 heaped spoons of instant coffee.

Put sugar and coffee in empty glass and add hot water, just enough to dissolve into liquid, add cold milk and stir it up, add half dozen ice cubes and top with vanilla ice cream, get a good thick straw and go for it, you won't buy another from the shop again!.....enjoy


Cheers Billy

[oldel]

Originally Posted by slowsnake

I make my own ice coffee, in summer in particular, it blows people away when they taste it!

Cheers Billy

If you want you can get all snobby about that too, the rest of the world has

Iced coffee here is no big deal but mention it overseas and you might get snobs that talk about how great their greek frappe was, and it has to be greek according to them.
Like Australia people in Greece have been doing iced coffes with instant coffee for years (they claimed to have invented in in the 50s), and there's botique cafes in greece using espressos from regular coffee machines and thickshake machines and blenders, and ice machines that make different sort of cubes for different types

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frapp%C3%A9_coffee

You can look at vids online about the lengths they go to in order to be snobby about it - "caffe freddo", the "freddo espresso" and the "freddo capacino" apparently the greeks thought of in 1991 haha

[.:4:.]

I used to work with a genuine italian bloke. He was all about the short blacks. If he had had a rough morning, feeling a bit dusty after a few too many vb's, it was a long black. But he couldnt really get his head around a flat white or a cap, pretty much anything with milk in it. But he did ark up at one apprentice who would order a cap with almond milk. Fair call sorta. Coffee shoppe's have milk and skim milk on hand, but almond milk, that takes a bit of extra time.
Although, my best story was when i was an apprentice. My tradesman got refused service and abused by the coffee shop barista. He ordered a small cap with 4 sugars. He got rudely told/asked how can you taste the coffee with all the sugar? That was pretty funny.

[MrEL]

I used to buy my morning coffee from a shop in Sydney that was the local highway patrol shop of choice.
There was one particular bloke that was always rude , thought he was above everyone and was just plain arrogant. His was that bad his own fellow officers didn't speak to him at any time.
He used to order his morning coffee and demand that he only got Almond milk.
Well one morning as I'm grabbing my scumbag tradie cap , he pushed past , grabbed his coffee and took a big mouthful of it.
That was the time I decided to ask the barista very loudly if "he knew why it was called almond milk?"
He looked at me puzzled and said "uh no idea"
My reply was "it would take a brave person to go to the shops and ask for 2 litres of nut juice"
Hysterical laughter through the shop and the officer whom I assume was enjoying his coffee spat it out on the ground and threw the cup down and stormed out.
I walked out of the store with everyone still laughing and one of the other coppers saying "nice work mate. I'll make sure he never hears the end of it"

I drove a bit slower around there for a while after that.......