The Coffeehouse.... Baristi, Barista, Bariste

[Marco]

For me a bit 'peely wally', as we say in Scotland... The colour lacks richness and depth. Compare it with Grant's, mate, and you'll see what I mean

Marco.

[CageyH]

I am glad you said that.
That was the first pour after changing beans.

The second one looked like this.


There is nothing wrong with this one....

[struth]

spot on

[Marco]

To be honest coffee is a bit of a minefield in terms of flavour and consistency. You can take a single variety of coffee bean and roast in many different ways then pick the roast you like which can be standardised but then make up your coffee in numerous different ways. Throw in the variables of temperature, time , water quality and method of making and you can get a coffee that is perceived to have many different flavours.

Obviously the large coffee chains standardise every aspect of their coffee from variety and production through to roasting and finally make up in the coffee shop. The process will be exactly the same in order that you get the same coffee in any given outlet.

I completely agree, as it mirrors my own experience.

I have a large barista machine at work which has 2 steam wands and 3 groupheads. I use it all day but my observation from using it is that the more coffee that goes through it the better it becomes. Fresher water ( don't forget there can be a 20 litre tank in the boiler) and perfect temperature optimise the coffee produced so you end up with excellent flavour and crema.

Again, based on my experience, that's absolutely correct.

We're lucky to have extremely good quality water here in North Wales (straight from the Berwyn mountains), and I always let the cold tap run for a few seconds before filling the measuring jug with exactly 310ml of water, which represents the maximum amount I can get into the base of the Moka pot, without it coming through into the coffee chamber.

Then exactly that amount is poured into the kettle (the inside of which is always kept clean) and boiled, and the boiling water is then poured into the base of the Moka pot. That always works much better than using cold water, as the longer the coffee is under heat, the more bitter it becomes and the flavour is spoiled. I've also tried using mineral water, to ensure maximum purity, but there's no discernible difference.

After that, the pot goes onto a medium heat (No5, of 9 positions available on my induction hob) and approximately 3 mins later, the coffee starts to bubble through (as shown in my earlier pic), and then I take it off the heat, to allow the brewing process to continue on its own. That makes for a lovely rich, smooth flavour.

The Italians, and I am sure your aware of this Marco, don't drink coffee for thirst like we do with our huge lattes and bucket size cups. They only drink coffee for the flavour and hit of caffeine. As one Italian told me in Milano, "we drink water if we are thirsty never coffee!"

Haha - I couldn't agree more, but then I've *never* drunk coffee (or tea) for thirst, or indeed high quantities of either on a daily basis, as Brits do. I have one large cappuccino in the morning, such as I showed earlier - and that's it until the following day. I may have an espresso after Sunday lunch, if I feel like it. I'm not a tea-jenny or a caffeine junky!

When I'm thirsty, I drink water (or fruit juice).

Marco.

[Marco]

I am glad you said that.
That was the first pour after changing beans.

The second one looked like this.


There is nothing wrong with this one....

Awesome - that's *absolutely* spot on!! Nice one, dude

I think the white cup also makes a difference to how it photographs.

Marco.

[CageyH]

The other cup was white, but a darker roast produced a darker crema.
I have learnt that a crema is a guide to the quality/freshness of the bean, but not necessarily the taste of the coffee produced!

[Tim]

You need to stop generalising Marco, I'm a Brit even though I wasn't born here, but I don't do the things you say us Brits do.

I'm probably as much of a Brit as you are

Sent from my XT1580 using Tapatalk

[Marco]

The other cup was white, but a darker roast produced a darker crema.
I have learnt that a crema is a guide to the quality/freshness of the bean, but not necessarily the taste of the coffee produced!

Absolutely!

Marco.

[Marco]

You need to stop generalising Marco, I'm a Brit even though I wasn't born here, but I don't do the things you say us Brits do.

I'm probably as much of a Brit as you are

Lol, noted... I'm simply talking from my personal experience. I'm not referring to you. I'll add 'in general', in future, or the 'British general public'/your 'average Joe', which simply has been my experience so far, living here all my life.

Such folks can't seem to get through the day without consuming about 20 cups of tea or coffee, and quite often the shit kind, too!

Marco.

[Marco]

Btw, as mentioned many times, I fully agree that 80% of the results achieved is down to the beans chosen in the first place and the grind. This is my current mix (85% Brazilian Arabica, 15% Robusta). I've found that adding a small amount of the latter gives a deeper and more incisive flavour than is achieved with Arabica alone:



The grind itself (hand done) is slightly coarser than that normally used for espresso. I love the taste of this mix, but that won't stop me from still experimenting further!

The other thing I've learned is to completely ignore the 'old wives tale' about allowing a Moka pot to 'season', with remnants of old coffee, which is said to improve the flavour. Bollocks! It changes the flavour all right, but NOT in a good way, simply adding bitterness.

Therefore, after each use, I clean every part of the Moka pot thoroughly in warm water, especially those in direct contact with the coffee I'm going to drink. Then dry everything thoroughly.

The crucial parts here are the insides of the coffee chamber and the filter and gasket/spouts. Only when those are clean, and not caked with oily deposits of old coffee, does the coffee produced taste best! I also grind only as many beans as I need (measured) to make a large cup of cappuccino, fresh every morning, in order to maximise flavour.



Marco.