Coffee making discovery..

[nat8808]

A while ago I had a job in Bath and I came across this odd coffee shop which had a really basic menu and more emphasis seemed to be on the bean type and declaring "washed" etc..

I'd stumbled across a proper connoisseur coffee shop! The coffee was full of amazing flavours etc and later found out they had won lots of barrister awards.

Anyway.. for the filter coffee they used an odd thing, was like a syringe. Thought nothing of it but then came across this coffee makers review on the Guardian website: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/video/2014/feb/06/coffee-makers-budget-baristas-video which reviews the same thing, an Aeropress made by the people who invented the Aerobee frisby thing.

I bought one (~£20) and it's pretty amazing! Ok, I'm coming from making coffee in a cafetierre or occasionally one of those aluminium things on top of the hob, but suddenly there's loads more subtle flavour and a lack of bitterness - much like the coffee I had in Bath (ok there's was yet more flavourful). And so much better than any shop made coffee I've ever had other than that place in Bath..

So for just £20 I can whole hartedly recommend the Aeropress! I bought mine from a company called Brownbear who had it on offer for £19 although their website seems to be down now...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AeroPress

Just thought I'd share that with people before I go to make a cofee.

[wally-to]

Um Mat, did you decide to keep the transport?

[Tim]

:eyebrows:

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?24710-Calling-coffee-lovers-out-there&highlight=aeropress

Been using an Aeropress for sometime now Nat, best tasting coffee (and the simplest) I have ever had at home and I have tried some fandangled machines in the past. I have one at home and one at work and it goes in my suitcase when I travel abroad too! Got myslef a Zassenhaus hand grinder from eBay and have never looked back, nothing beats a freshly ground whole bean for true flavour. I have not drunk instant coffee for well over a year now, folk don't know what they are missing.

If you want to experiment with beans, Has Bean Coffee and Square Mile Coffee (Google them) have great roasts and they deliver to your door. But top tip I got from AlexUK, Tesco Finest Columbian Supremo whole beans are excellent. I also really like the Café Direct Machu Picchu beans too, wonderful chocolatey overtones - Sainsbury's and Waitrose sell them.

Top tip, you can re-use the filters too with a gentle rinse, I use mine around 6 times each before binning them. Careful though, it doesn't take much before you might find yourself becoming a 'coffeeophile' and boring people about the size of the grind, how you grind (hand or machine), brew times and water temperature - making good coffee is a science ;)

[wally-to]

I use freshly ground beans in a jar thing with a push down filter.

Organic beans.

:)

[The Grand Wazoo]

I still prefer my coffee made with steam but on Tim's recommendation I got myself an Aeropress for use at the office instead of a cafetiere and it's leaps and bounds ahead of that. The best bit is the lack of mess and easy wash-up when you've finished compared to the cafetiere nightmare.
I grind my beans too (ooh-er missus!) and my favourite is Booth's Monsoon Malabar, which I absolutely love.

[Haselsh1]

My alltime favourite coffee is Aged Java from Imperial Teas in Lincoln. It has the earthiest taste I have ever experienced.

[The Grand Wazoo]

What, like...
DINER: "Excuse me waiter, my coffee has soil in it"
WAITER: "I'm not surprised Sir, it was fresh ground this morning"

......boom boom!
Ah yes, the old ones are.....
.....etc

[starbucksboss]

Whatever you like works right...Id just add that great coffee is a balence between the grind you use , the proportion of ground coffee you use and the purity of the water and quantity of water you use...see below.

You can use whatever gadget you want however the greatest coffee univerally agreed upon is produced from brewing in a french press.

Just rinse your black coffee from a press in a cup and then do the same from your machine and see just how much more clear oily film is left on the sides of your cup...the press will leave a lot more - this is the flavour and goodness from the bean extracted in the press...a machine or gadget will never match it...enjoy!

The 4 Fundamentals
The recipe for a great cup of coffee is broken into four fundamentals: Proportion, Grind, Water and Freshness. Understand and follow the guidelines for each, and you're on your way to brewing a great cup of coffee every time.

Proportion
Use the right proportion of coffee to water. This is the most important step in making great coffee. For the most flavorful cup of coffee, Starbucks recommends using two tablespoons of ground coffee (10 grams) for each six fluid ounces (180 milliliters) of water. If coffee brewed this way is too strong for your taste, you can add a little hot water to your cup of brewed coffee.
Grind
The shorter the brewing process, the finer the grind. Different brewing methods have different grind requirements, so grind your coffee for the brewing method you use. The amount of time the coffee and water spend together affects the flavor elements that end up in your cup of coffee, and the design of your coffee maker dictates how long the coffee and water sit in direct contact during the brewing process. For instance, coffee ground for an espresso machine should be very fine, in part because the brew cycle is only 19 to 22 seconds long. But for a coffee press, the coffee should be coarse ground, because the water and coffee are in direct contact for about four minutes.
Water
Use fresh, cold water heated to just off the boil. A cup of coffee is 98 percent water. Therefore, the water you use to make coffee should taste clean, fresh, and free of impurities. Water heated to just off a boil (195° to 205° F or 90° to 96° C) is perfect for extracting the coffee's full range of flavors. Any cooler and the water can't adequately do the job. Automatic coffee makers heat the water for you. Make sure the machine you use gets the water hot enough.
Freshness
Use freshly ground coffee. The enemies of coffee are oxygen, light, heat, and moisture. To keep coffee fresh, store it in an opaque, airtight container at room temperature. Storing coffee in the refrigerator or freezer for daily use can damage the coffee as warm, moist air condenses to the beans whenever the container is opened. Whole bean coffee stays fresh longer because there is less surface area exposed to oxygen. For the best results, coffee should be ground just before brewing and used or stored immediately.

[nat8808]

You can use whatever gadget you want however the greatest coffee univerally agreed upon is produced from brewing in a french press.

My enthusiasm for this AeroPress is because of how much better coffee tastes with it compared to a French press!

French presses make a more bitter coffee which masks the intricate flavours and you get more solids in your cup which again make the coffee less nice. The Aeropress is essentially a french press but with a proper paper filter rather than the comparatively useless wire filter you get in french presses.

As the award winning barrister in the Guardian clip says, it can make a better coffee than many expensive proper espresso machines (I don't know that for sure personally thought - never played with expensive espresso machines).

[nat8808]

Top tip, you can re-use the filters too with a gentle rinse, I use mine around 6 times each before binning them. Careful though, it doesn't take much before you might find yourself becoming a 'coffeeophile' and boring people about the size of the grind, how you grind (hand or machine), brew times and water temperature - making good coffee is a science ;)

Me too! Thought I was just being tight... Normally 3 times at most before they look a bit dried up and take longer to stick in place (I use the "reverse method" cos I like pushing the air out like a syringe before I inject the cup with the cure).

I saw those Aeropress championship clips and just thought of the randomness of the whole thing, the placebo effects of the efforts taken in the coffee making etc etc.. Look at the winner and runner-up's "recipes" over the years and they are ALL completely different with no running themes. I'm not even sure they are forced to use the very same beans each time, making it just as likely a competition between coffee bean roasters off-site and nothing to do with the competitors ..

There is a science to a point but I bet beyond that point it is alchemy and mystiscism (as anything which involves human subjective judgement as the final arbiter).

[nat8808]

Um Mat, did you decide to keep the transport?

Hi Geoff - I'll PM you in a second.

I've been too exhausted with work to do much and not been home much either..

Have been an extra in a film this week - really not for the feint hearted with having to get up at 3am and getting home at about 9pm! Mixes it all up a bit, keeps life interesting..

[Tim]

You can use whatever gadget you want however the greatest coffee univerally agreed upon is produced from brewing in a french press.
Sorry Nick, but I just flat out disagree with that. Have you tried coffee using the syphon method?
I would actually put the French press quite well down the list of methods to brew coffee and its certainly IMO inferior to an Aeropress. Mind you a French press is better than most machines for sure, I'm not a fan of machines.

However, the rest of your post is bang on and I agree with that ;)

8OWR_GbWUy8

[nat8808]

Sorry Nick, but I just flat out disagree with that. Have you tried coffee using the syphon method?

I nicked my parent's 70s Cona coffee maker thing quite a few years ago beause it was fun to use although the parafin bit annoying.

Then found one that goes directly on a hob which was good until the lower flask cracked and the bottom fell out, coffee everywhere. Perhaps it was only designed for gas hobs afterall.. Still was only like £15 on ebay.

[Yomanze]

Cool, well am definitely giving an Aeropress a go!

[Tim]

Cool, well am definitely giving an Aeropress a go!
I think they are great, you get a very clean tasting and consistent coffee with an Aeropress, very easy to wash up afterwards too. The only downside is if you are making more than one cup at a time, then a French press can be more advantageous. Certainly if you want to make 3/4 cups and only have a single Aeropress, then it can be a pain, but for one cup its brilliant. But like anything in life, we all have our own personal preferences.

[nat8808]

Yeah, definately a slight bit of effort for more than two cups.. Although a regular sized caffetiere is about 2.5 Aeropresses and it doesn't take long really.

Thing I've found is I drink less coffee now but enjoy it much more instead (and look forward to it more). Used to end up downing a full caffetiere out of fidgetyness and then fancy another one later on..

[Tim]

Thing I've found is I drink less coffee now but enjoy it much more instead (and look forward to it more).
That is exactly the same experience for me too, I only have 2 cups a day now sometimes maybe just the one, but its a real treat and I enjoy hand grinding the beans, weighing them out to exactly the right amount I want and getting the water freshly boiled and at the right temperature. Its a bit like the Chinese tea ceremony, which adds to the whole enjoyment and the brew tastes gorgeous. You should give those roasters a go too, Has Bean and Square Mile? Quick delivery, freshly roasted and some really interesting beans and flavours. I have loved coffee for years but have never got as much out of it before at home.

[starbucksboss]

Whatever floats ya boat...enjoy!

[Tim]

Whatever floats ya boat...enjoy!
Now there's a true word http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w63/greatgig/thumbsup.gif (http://s173.photobucket.com/user/greatgig/media/thumbsup.gif.html)

[nat8808]

That is exactly the same experience for me too, I only have 2 cups a day now sometimes maybe just the one, but its a real treat and I enjoy hand grinding the beans, weighing them out to exactly the right amount I want and getting the water freshly boiled and at the right temperature. Its a bit like the Chinese tea ceremony, which adds to the whole enjoyment and the brew tastes gorgeous. You should give those roasters a go too, Has Bean and Square Mile? Quick delivery, freshly roasted and some really interesting beans and flavours. I have loved coffee for years but have never got as much out of it before at home.

I will check them out. Sounds like Square Mile must be very nearby. (just googled them - walkable anyway but disappointingly not in the square mile so not living up to their name!)

The whole weighing thing and timer is what they do in the Bath coffee shop.. certainly not a ceremony when the american guy there does it because he's someone who moves and talks fast and is looking to keep the customer waiting for as little time as possible.

I love to hand grind the coffee beans too between two massive stone wheels and I power it by walking around the human sized hampster wheel - takes up most of the kitchen but worth it! Actually just got some 110V grinder which someone threw out almost brand new around here because of the voltage (must have moved here from somewhere) which works a treat but worries the cat and not good to grind into the small hours.

[Yomanze]

Loving the Aeropress guys such great engineering too, very easy to clean and awesome coffee.

[Yomanze]

For me it makes the perfect Americano, but the lack of crema means that the expensive machines still have their place for espresso.

[nat8808]

Loving the Aeropress guys such great engineering too, very easy to clean and awesome coffee.

Yes it's nice to use isn't it. Not like some things which feel like they'll be falling apart and a bit scummy a few years down the line.

[Tim]

This may be of interest Nat as you live 'in town' ;)

http://www.londoncoffeefestival.com/App_Themes/LondonCoffeeFestival/Images/Graphics/LondonCoffeeFestival-Logo.jpg

03 - 06 April 2014

http://www.londoncoffeefestival.com/

[nat8808]

Thanks for that - worth a look and walkable which is great, so can go on a whim.