View Full Version : Calling all HiFi coffee obsessives!
twelvebears
05-12-2010, 17:16
I just wondered if there are any other AOSers who are also slightly coffee obsessed like what I is.
Have just discovered the joy of proper home-made expresso using coffee freshly ground from the bean! :eek:
Just the thing for those late night music sessions!
Not obsessed but I do try to find the best bargen in great coffee.
in 2009 the best coffee I found was a fantastic Nicaraguan med roast from Archer Farms a Target coffee $7.00 a pound,they still have it but the crop is not the same qaulity as in 09 That was so smooth,you couldn't make it bitter even if you made it to strong and reheated it in the microwave the next day.It was just that good.Another coffee I found was offered by Markez a Brazilan medum roast in 2010 a great roast no longer available.2 pounds $8.00 it comes in a vacuum sealed foil bag then stiched into a berlap sack. Grocery outlet deal.
A great coffee I got in a close out store Igazu Falls from southern Brazil 2 pounds Dark roast $6.00 I got 10 bags and froze them till I find something as good or better to finnish out 2011.Grocery outlet deal.
I shop alot of close out places but who ever buys the coffee for Grocery outlet,they have been on there A game for the last 2 years.
Can't STAND coffee and only took expresso decades ago with sugar when I needed to get home late at night after a drinkie or three - ahem.. Wifey feels about tea the way I feel about coffee, but we muddle through somehow;)
There is only one tea for me anymore PG tips.My wife hates coffee,and drinks Chai, from India tea CTC in a large bag or box.
I just wondered if there are any other AOSers who are also slightly coffee obsessed like what I is.
Have just discovered the joy of proper home-made expresso using coffee freshly ground from the bean! :eek:
Just the thing for those late night music sessions!
Funny you should say that, ive just started collecting coffee grinders including a large cast iron one driven from one of my engines, i love freshly ground coffee the aroma is something else
I'm not mad just a bit obsessive at collecting old tat
Reid Malenfant
05-12-2010, 19:59
Not obsessed with coffee but i do drink quite a bit :eyebrows: Must be decent stuff as well, Kenco is my regular & in all honesty i wouldn't bother with lesser quality stuff ;)
The thing is though i buy the stuff in bulk when my local Morissons sells the jars & offers a free Eco refill :lol: Think i have about a years supply here right now :eek:
My most treasured non-audio posession is my Gaggia. A hefty shot of Illy black label is about the only way to get a sensible answer out of me before noon.
Pete The Cat
05-12-2010, 20:12
Gave up caffeine a few months back after reading that it potentially aggravates tinnitus. Made no difference at all to my tinnitus but I feel more awake and alert without it, even after a poor night's sleep.
I compensate with a double-dose of Sainsbury's decaff filters, or when I'm out and about a Starbie's black decaff Americano...
Pete
Hi Steve,
Yes, I'm a real coffee fanatic, and have a Krupps Espresso/Filter machine which was quite expensive (about £200 I think) but is 8 years old and used virtually every day, so more than worth the investment. I've kind of got lazy and stopped grinding my own beans, especially as the coffee I absolutely love is Tesco Finest Colombian Supremo, and a tin of illy for espresso. I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to instant coffee - i.e. I would never drink it by choice, but would never be rude if offered!
I'd better not invite you here then - Douwe Egberts or bust I'm afraid...
I'd better not invite you here then - Douwe Egberts or bust I'm afraid...
Douwe Egberts is the one I buy for occasional use when in a hurry - but I'm not fussy about tea, so you can't get out of it that easily! ;)
Rare Bird
06-12-2010, 00:53
Coffee = bad breath, no thanks anyway..I don't know whats worse the smell of Coffee or fags!
I have a (proper) cappuccino every morning with breakfast, made with frothy hot milk in a pan (don't like machines), using Bei & Nannini coffee: http://www.espresso-adesso.co.uk/ (trust me, as an Italian, it's the best there is) but that's it as far as coffee goes, unless I'm out for a meal, and then it'll be a large espresso at the end.
What I can't stand is the cheap tasteless black tar that's served as standard at corporate events, or in shitty cafes and restaurants :spew:
If the coffee isn't top-notch, I'd rather do without! I won't drink just any old shite. Tea-wise, I like Assam.
However, I very rarely drink either tea or coffee throughout the day - usually it's still mineral water with a slice of lemon or freshly squeezed orange juice (don't do fizzy drinks) :)
Marco.
Haselsh1
14-12-2010, 15:01
May I take this opportunity to recommend Imperial Teas in Lincoln. They are a family based concern and only deal with tea, coffee and accessories. They have a website with online ordering and do an 'Aged Java' which is very probably the finest coffee I have ever tasted. Although I can no longer continue my obssession with Hi-Fi, I certainly can continue my obssession with the World's finest coffee's.
I have no choice but to drink instant at work as I can only keep a kettle in my office. Juan Valdez is the best instant I've found so far.
What I'd like is a machine that takes beans and makes coffee all in one go. Not espresso, which I don't like, but a nice big black Americano. Any recommendations?
Ammonite Audio
14-12-2010, 21:00
What I'd like is a machine that takes beans and makes coffee all in one go. Not espresso, which I don't like, but a nice big black Americano. Any recommendations?
I am a coffee obsessive. I am as obsessive about decent coffee as I am obsessive about audio. And proud of it! Coffee in my book means espresso and its derivatives, rather than filter coffee, cafetiere stuff etc that I find universally undrinkable, particularly German and Dutch stuff. I have as many espresso machines as I have record players: one Gaggia Classic (a superb machine that I shall keep forever), a KitchenAid Artisan (made by Gaggia and essentially a posh Classic with a separate steam boiler), and finally a Gaggia Titanium bean to cup automatic machine, which has been very troublesome and is not very good. Beans are ground by a Gaggia MDF grinder, which is excellent, if a tad noisy.
The thing about decent coffee is that, assuming you start with decent beans, you can make a perfect coffee with the most unpromising machinery, as long as you do it right. It's all down to technique. Compare that with HiFi, where you do need some decent machinery to get the most from the recording. In both cases, expend some time and effort with the details and rewards will be reaped!
As for coffee, the finest coffee that I have ever tasted (anywhere in the world) is sold by Burgil Coffee on Norwich Market. I buy my beans there when I'm in Norwich and keep them in the freezer to grind in small batches. Anyone weaned on Illy, Lavazza etc deserves much, much better and Burgil's Peruvian organic is superb. Some of the coffee that Burgil sell is available from Climpsons (http://webcoffeeshop.co.uk/buy-coffee/) in London.
Martin - if you want a good bean to cup machine that can be properly set up and will be reliable, then you need to look at Jura machines from Switzerland. They aren't at all cheap, but they are good and highly adjustable so that you get a consistently good brew. I believe that machines from Siemens are pretty good too. The main reason for not buying one of these machines is that coffee beans go stale incredibly quickly, so unless you drink gallons of coffee, the beans sitting in the machine's hopper will go off and your coffee will be disappointing.
I could go on and on about coffee, so I shall stop myself there!
Ok, looking at the Jura and Siemens small models, it's going to cost me about £500 to get a machine. I don't understand espresso, however. Tiny cups of godawful strong tarmac that's gone in three gulps. What I want is a long drink that tastes of real coffee. I've had enough good ones to know it can be done, but not in this country. I don't ever use cow juice so care not about milk, capuccino, latte etc. What I want is a machine that makes a good long drink.
As for coffee going off in the hopper, can it not be fed minimally, keeping most of the beans in the freezer?
Martin T.
What you need is one of these;
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=espresso+maker+stove+top&tag=googhydr-21&index=garden&hvadid=6053845473&ref=pd_sl_7krp2v4ty1_b
Try to avoid the aluminum pots and get a stainless steel one.
And some of this.
Lavazza Caffe Espresso.
For a proper black coffee (Americano if you must use that god awful imported description)
Put a cupful of water in the pot base. Add two heaped teaspoonfuls of Lavazza and heat until coffee bubbles through.
It’s quick, easy, and better than any coffee one of those bloody machines make.
This is how they do it in the South of Italy at home. What you get is a cupful of very strong black coffee.
Martin,
If you have to drink instint coffee this one is by far the best tasting.
http://www.starbucks.com/coffee/via
I have kept some in my desk for those rare days when I don't get up in time by 4:30 AM to brew a thermus full of my formentioned bargin of the year beans.
I drink 3 to 4 mugs = to 6 to 8 cups each morning to get me jump started,by noon I drink a Rock Star Energy drink and that holds me till 1:30pm when I get off work.
Sadly I'm close to 45 and my pee stream is much like an 80 year old man,but I am still able to make it to the toilet in time if I run as soon as I get the urge!
Ammonite Audio
15-12-2010, 07:24
Ok, looking at the Jura and Siemens small models, it's going to cost me about £500 to get a machine. I don't understand espresso, however. Tiny cups of godawful strong tarmac that's gone in three gulps. What I want is a long drink that tastes of real coffee. I've had enough good ones to know it can be done, but not in this country. I don't ever use cow juice so care not about milk, capuccino, latte etc. What I want is a machine that makes a good long drink.
As for coffee going off in the hopper, can it not be fed minimally, keeping most of the beans in the freezer?
An Americano is actually a shot or two of espresso, topped up with hot (not boiling) water, so these machines will do what you want. A common mistake is to pass too much water through the coffee - that just extracts the harsh flavours that are best avoided. There is good practice behind the 25ml espresso shot! Machines like the Jura will let you make the mistake of over-extracting the coffee, but set them right and very good results are to be had. All these machines will deliver hot water at the correct temperature to top up an espresso to make an Americano.
You can keep the minimum quantity of beans in the hopper, and that would probably be OK with a Jura machine. Try that with a Gaggia automatic machine like my Titanium and the dosing of ground coffee into the brew unit goes to pot, so YMMV.
You could try the Bialetti Mocha Express type of stovetop coffee makers but these have a fatal flaw in that the water has to boil to pass up through the coffee. Boiling water results in harsh, burnt flavour notes that some people may like, or tolerate, but in my view are best avoided. That's why espresso machines are temperature controlled to 80-something degrees C.
Sometimes I wonder where I might sit along the Autistic Scale;)
Ken Moreland
15-12-2010, 07:44
When you're really obsessive , like me, get onto www.hasbean.co.uk or www.sweetmarias.com and buy your beans green . Then get a simple popcorn maker and roast to your own taste. Hard to beat.
KM
Techno Commander
15-12-2010, 12:56
I like the idea of the bean to cup machines, but I expect there is lots of cleaning invloved. I usually just make filter coffee using an old Krupps machine. I rarely use the milk frother as its too much trouble and a pain to clean.
I want "push button coffee". I also like the pods idea, but they are far too expensive at the moment.
An Americano is actually a shot or two of espresso, topped up with hot (not boiling) water, so these machines will do what you want.
That's the key fact I needed to know! Thanks all for your feedback. Now for some more research...
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