The Coffeehouse.... Baristi, Barista, Bariste

Just stumbled on this thread and although i don't class myself as a coffee geek as many of you undoubtedly are (nothing wrong in it and i'm not passing judgement btw) when i moved to Spain a number of years ago i drank coffee with milk but for some reason the cafe con leche (coffee with milk) always tasted weird, as it turned out all the bars, cafes there used UHT milk which i hate (only took me about a year to figure this out) so i started drinking cafe solo (espresso) and now it's my preference, however even when i was living there i preferred the coffee in the bars and cafes to the stuff i made at home, i figured it was probably the way they made it, but then i found that without exception as far as i could tell anyway they all used the same blend of coffee called Nescafe Bonka, i buy it online now in pods for my Dulce Gusto machine ( as i'm typing i can hear the gasps and disapproving tuts of folks that buy the stuff that's been shat by monkeys) but every time i have a cup it reminds me of my time in Spain and the coffee is just the way i like it.

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Originally Posted by struth

depends on your def of microfoam i guess. to me proper microfoam can only be made with steam. its like cream, rather than whipped egg white.

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Well put a actually. Was trying to express how it comes out and whipped egg white is nearly there. It's better than that, though.

The trouble with streamers is that the steam condenses to water in the milk. And you need to be well practised in the art.

A lot of steam wands won't do a good job no matter what.

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Originally Posted by Jac Hawk

Just stumbled on this thread and although i don't class myself as a coffee geek as many of you undoubtedly are (nothing wrong in it and i'm not passing judgement btw) when i moved to Spain a number of years ago i drank coffee with milk but for some reason the cafe con leche (coffee with milk) always tasted weird, as it turned out all the bars, cafes there used UHT milk which i hate (only took me about a year to figure this out) so i started drinking cafe solo (espresso) and now it's my preference, however even when i was living there i preferred the coffee in the bars and cafes to the stuff i made at home, i figured it was probably the way they made it, but then i found that without exception as far as i could tell anyway they all used the same blend of coffee called Nescafe Bonka, i buy it online now in pods for my Dulce Gusto machine ( as i'm typing i can hear the gasps and disapproving tuts of folks that buy the stuff that's been shat by monkeys) but every time i have a cup it reminds me of my time in Spain and the coffee is just the way i like it.

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...and that's all that matters. Don't worry about coffee snobs (are there even any here on this forum?). If it tastes good then just enjoy it. I travel to Chile from time to time for work, and pretty much every hotel breakfast joint serves cafe con leche with instant, powdered Nescafe (gasp! :eek:)...you put powder into cup to taste, waiter comes around with a pitcher full of hot milk, and voila! cafe con leche. And it's delicious! I love it.

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Originally Posted by Svend N

...and that's all that matters. Don't worry about coffee snobs (are there even any here on this forum?). If it tastes good then just enjoy it. I travel to Chile from time to time for work, and pretty much every hotel breakfast joint serves cafe con leche with instant, powdered Nescafe (gasp! :eek:)...you put powder into cup to taste, waiter comes around with a pitcher full of hot milk, and voila! cafe con leche. And it's delicious! I love it.

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peasant :eyebrows: only joking.. one should drink what you like, as long as its not harming you. My son has a tassimo and daughter a dolce gusto nescafe one... both love them and you just press a button for decent coffee.
I just like making it by hand and think it tastes better.

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Originally Posted by struth

peasant :eyebrows: only joking.. one should drink what you like, as long as its not harming you. My son has a tassimo and daughter a dolce gusto nescafe one... both love them and you just press a button for decent coffee.
I just like making it by hand and think it tastes better.

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I do like the simplicity of the dolce gusto, but the pods are anything but cheap i keep looking to get a Gaggia machine and do the whole grinding faff and i'm sure in the long run it would work out a lot cheaper and the coffee, once i'd found a blend i liked would be nicer.

if your prepared to grind manually the Orphon lido range are by far the best ive seen or used... I have this one

https://www.coffeehit.co.uk/lido-3-h...e-grinder.html

Hard work grinding espresso but you get the perfect grind every time once set. grinding is so slow that the oils in the beans dont get warmed or burnt as can happen with faster electric ones.
downside is its not cheap and you have to use a fair bit of elbow grease, but if you only want afew a day its perfect.

Grinding correctly is THE most important bit to good coffee

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Originally Posted by Jac Hawk

I do like the simplicity of the dolce gusto, but the pods are anything but cheap i keep looking to get a Gaggia machine and do the whole grinding faff and i'm sure in the long run it would work out a lot cheaper and the coffee, once i'd found a blend i liked would be nicer.

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Got a fairly cheap De Longhi machine a few years back - makes a decent brew and has a very good steam wand (although they can be apparently a bit hit and miss)
After trying a few useless electric jobs, I got a good adjustable hand grinder from Hario - ceramic burrs and takes no time to grind enough for a couple of cups ... very highly rated, I paid about £40 but it's on offer here

We have a local importer who always has a few interesting beans to choose from but usually I just buy a can of Illy beans at the supermarket (I love em)

Don't mind the faff at all and the sense of achievement every time you make a good cappuccino adds to the flavour :lol:

What I hate is all the cleaning up afterwards just for one coffee .... so I rarely bother now :(

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Originally Posted by struth

if your prepared to grind manually the Orphon lido range are by far the best ive seen or used... I have this one

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Just curious ... but did you ever try a Hario Skerton Grant?
Excellent little grinder for just over £30 .... used one for a few years now and never disappoints:

https://coffeetastingclub.com/access...SABEgKgX_D_BwE

Great feature is that it uses the same thread as Kilner jars - so easy to have a range of different grinds/types in the fridge :)

What gets me in this country at least is the cost of getting a coffee while you're out shopping, in Spain a coffee was 1 euro everywhere and it didn't matter if it was a greasy spoon or a top notch restaurant, whereas here i took 2 of my kids along with me to carry the shopping and we had a Costa while we were out, very little change out of £15 and the coffee was just ok nothing mind blowing

I looked at quite a few but got enamoured with the orphan stuff. The burrs are lovely and whole thing can be taken apart with 1 driver.
Lidos have got good cred in USA especially. But I do nearly buy one similar to that one you've got. Had to sell a few things to afford it so I guess only nuts like me buy them. Lol