Divine cream - coffee for gods

[Skybird]

And again, for the artistic impression:


I admit the foam looks terrible, like a fat-burned pan

Watching it, I started to feellike having been slammed by a 2000 kg tamper, being transformed into aromes and flavour...

My favourite coffee shot is Espresso, very sweet. I tried Turkish coffee (moka) again recently, brewed it traditionally in a Cezve, had several tries with several powders, and did not find it bad, but to me, it is not really a necessity, I prefer espresso, tea, and filtered coffee over it. Even cacao.

I use a simple Krups Novo 2100,



and it serves my needs for Espresso. Unfortunately, it is no longer produced, since years.

But i have started to fall into a mood of wanting to experiment. I'm in the transition from vacuum-packed powder (Segafredo preferred so far) to manual grinding, experimenting with a coffee grinder that is several generations old (!), but i wonder if the grind really gets fine enough. Maybe I will replace that thing. Will also check my hometown'S own brand of coffee-producers ("roestbar"), and check their espresso melanges systematically from tomorrow on.

And I have ordered myself additionally one of these, if I want to produce a bit more than just 25 ml:



We all know these Bialetti coffee maker, but this one is a newer design, increasing the internal pressure from just 1.5 Bar to - no, not to 9 but at least to 6 Bar, by adding a pressure valve, essential an additional weight. The author admits that it takes experimentation with grinding and how to handle the device in general, but look at what he acchieves to get out of it, this crema - without using a machine! There are many machines which would fail to create such crema, and full automats will fail anyway. That result is very remarkable, i would say, the old Bialetti devices just produced black coffee, and no espresso at all. This one produces a crema that passes both the stirring and the sugar test.

It'S strange, but since two or three years I am absolutely craving for the taste of coffee, a la Espresso. Must think of it all day. I need newer results, and more results, and fast, without costing me a fortune.

[Betonov]

I am soooo buying one of these when I move out (sometime in 2378). A caffein addict needs his dose Plus I also don't like the turksh coffee, especially when it's not filtered

Try this recipee and try to live: Truckers coffee, you brew coffee just like you brew your turkish kind, only you use boiling Red Bull instead of water

[GoldenRivet]

Originally Posted by Betonov

Try this recipee and try to live: Truckers coffee, you brew coffee just like you brew your turkish kind, only you use boiling Red Bull instead of water

Jesus

[Tchocky]

I've been grinding happily away for a few years now, much prefer the taste to pre-ground.
As for beans, there's a decent shop here in Maastricht with a nice variety.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Tchocky

I've been grinding happily away for a few years now, much prefer the taste to pre-ground.
As for beans, there's a decent shop here in Maastricht with a nice variety.

Recommendations for a good - and acchievable - grinder? Manually preferred, due to the noise.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Betonov

I am soooo buying one of these when I move out (sometime in 2378). A caffein addict needs his dose Plus I also don't like the turksh coffee, especially when it's not filtered

Turkish brewed coffee never gets filtered, indeed part of the powder is meant to be consumed - or was that a part of your joke?



The pics speak for themselves, no German language knowledge needed. Imprtant thing: brew very SLOWLY.

It's no bad brew, its just that I like Espresso better.

[MH]

Originally Posted by Betonov

Try this recipee and try to live: Truckers coffee, you brew coffee just like you brew your turkish kind, only you use boiling Red Bull instead of water

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Betonov

Try this recipee and try to live: Truckers coffee, you brew coffee just like you brew your turkish kind, only you use boiling Red Bull instead of water

I love this scene from "Hidalgo": (re-translating from German version)

Arab sultan says: "Some foreigners from the West think our coffee is too strong for them."
Cowboy from Amerioca says: "When brewing coffee we also put an iron horseshoe into the can. When the horseshoe swims on the surface, the coffee is ready."

[Betonov]

[Egan]

I haven't had a single cup of coffee today..

I use a Gaggia grinder myself. Simple on-off switch, nothing else. For finer coffee grind it longer. It simply doesn't need any other settings. I sometimes use it to further grind Lavazza for my espresso machine if I haven't been able to get any thing better, but I've still got two packs of Seggafreda and Kimbo that I brought back from the last time I was in Italy so I'm sorted for a little while yet. Prefer Illy over most everything else, but I've only occasionally been able to make an espresso like I would buy in Italy. I've put a serious amount of time into trying but I'm rarely successful. I believe it may be a combination of too much pressure from my machine (it needs to be 9 bar, apprently, mine is 14,) and the fact that the water here is very soft. I'm convinced the hardness of the water helps a lot.

I used to use a hand grinder, but that gets old really quickly. The Gaggia is great. You really don't need anything else.

Coffee making - now there's a way to geek out in style. Currently, aside from my Cafietiere (Sp?) I have my grinder, another much older one that is wonderful but is waiting for the opportunity to kill me with an electric shock, my Gaggia Classic espresso machine, a regular 8 cup Moka, a Neopolitan moka (which has to be turned upside down before you can pour it - never got used to it though) and a tiny stove-top two cup espresso thing that I bought in Florence last year, and an even smaller one for using on a camping stove.

And yes, I have drunk that weasel crap coffee - and it was awesome!

[GoldenRivet]

I'm lucky if i can drink a whole cup of coffee in a day anymore.

I just dont have the desire for it. Helps me wake up if im groggy in the AM but other than that - i know people who go through their whole day drinking 8-10-12 cups a day throughout the entire day - not my thing... I'm lucky if i finish my AM mug of coffee.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Egan

I've put a serious amount of time into trying but I'm rarely successful. I believe it may be a combination of too much pressure from my machine (it needs to be 9 bar, apprently, mine is 14,) and the fact that the water here is very soft. I'm convinced the hardness of the water helps a lot.

What is the problem? Maybe I can help.

Most decent machines claim a starting pressure of 14 or 15 bar, so you are within limits, because before the water reaches the coffee powder and passes through it, the pressure drops internally, usually to around 9 bar as desired.

The grind is VERY important, it influences the speed of the water passing through and thus it influences the extraction. You want to have a shot of 20-26 or 27 seconds, first 6-9 of it in the beginning may be "empty", no coffee being produced. Water temperature is also to be taken care of, while soft water is preferred over hard water (also saves the machine).

Check the cream. If it is too light and maybe the coffee tastes thin or even "acid", then the coffee is under-extracted, you want to grind finer or tamp with more pressure to make it more difficult for the water to pass through and thus increase the shot length, and to make sure the particles get "bathed" better.

If it is too dark, the shot is overextracted, and all the bitter stuff you do not want in the cup is right there - with you drinking it and tasting it. Less tampering, courser (?) grind.

Try to aim at a timing of 20-30 seconds for a 25-40 ml shot.

I use 12 gr of powder, Segafredo standard powder (relatively big grain), 22 seconds. It gives me around 40 ml. Crema is covering and okay, but not fantastic - while fine in consistency, it thins out a bit too fast and does not carry sugar. So, the extraction I do is not optimal (probably too thin), but by taste I like it, and so do occasional visitors who even copy me.

Of course, there is room for improvements... Lavazza powders are finer grinded than Segafredo, usually, but I do not like them by taste - too acid. Would like to find something completely new, a bean that is milder, but full, voluminous, not bitter, but a bit like the smell and taste of cakao, reminding of the creamy image you have on mind when saying the magical word "mocca" (I mean mocca-chocolates).