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  1. #1
    DF Super Moderator {{909}}'s Avatar
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    Question Coffee drinkers, how do you brew?

    to quote myself from back in 2008 :
    Quote Originally Posted by {{909}} View Post

    gourmet coffee drinker = complete wanker in my book anyway..
    So here I am, on my path to complete wankerdom

    Currently got a simple hand grinder, french press, milk foamer (that doesnt work with the majority of shitty milk you buy here) and chocolate powder shaker thing and templates in case I need to go full homosexual.


    Usually I just grind enough beans in the morning to make 2 or 3 cups and limit myself to that, after learning the mad skills of coffee making via youtube.

    Upon visiting a shop dedicated to coffee brewing, I realise theres a world of different ways to make coffee and I am considering automating the process with a half decent machine, although nothing too flash.




    Currently I am drinking some starbucks french dark beans, which I admit I am not so keen on, but the wife thought she would be nice to me and bought a 2.5kg bag instead of the usual 1kg, so I'm perfecting my methods with it. Previously had some blue mountain and similar beans.

    Course grind, 2 or 3 7gram spoons into the press, cover the grind with just enough water to wet it through and leave to bubble for a few mins, then fill the press half full with the same water, dash of salt before topping up with freshly re-boiled water 2 - 3 minutes later, plunger down, leave for a minute then drink with milk n sugar.

    If I can be fucked I walk to a shop down the road and get a bottle of 'real' milk, which smells a bit funky but will foam properly and then I can drink it like a boss, but that's rare since the bitch that runs the shop refuses to understand my shitty Chinese even though I buy the exact same fucking thing every time I go in. Plus the foamer only works if i use 4x as much milk than I need for 1 cup of coffee.


    Coffee drinkers of DF, what are your methods and preference of beans etc?

    Thanks to {{909}}

    Ashley (2nd November 2014)  


  2. #2
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    Default Re: Coffee drinkers, how do you brew?

    Buy my beans from a local independant roaster - or if online I buy from hasbean which have a great selection but they do roast on the lighter side.

    I picked up a Baratza Encore grinder a month or so ago which is fucking great, I had a Hario mini mill hand grinder before which is a ceramic burr grinder, now this thing is quality but such a lot of hassle - the Baratza is an electric burr grinder and is so much easier than pissing about grinding by hand. May upgrade to something better once I upgrade to a proper espresso machine but for £120 you cannot go wrong - has 40 different grind settings and pretty consistant grinds - not sure you are going to get better for the money.

    I would throw away those starfucks beans and get something decent / different - I was (and still am) amazed at the different variety of coffee out there.

    I use some electric scales to weigh out my beans to get a consistent brew each time - I had some quality jeweller style scales knocking around so use those . . . . you can get electronic scales real cheap now on ebay under £15

    Always just grind what you need to use for a brew have noticed that the taste does deteriorate real quick once ground and left.

    Currently I use a couple of different brewing methods . . .

    Aeropress - I use 18g of beans ground fairly fine in between french press and espresso #9 on my grinder - the areopress is gerat takes 2-3 minutes in total and produces a really nice strong americano style coffee, I use the inverted method with the aerorporess have the water off the boil for a couple of minutes to cool and top up my mug with water once poured (plunged). I have a steel filter for my aeropress which lets more of the oils from the coffee into your brew compared to the paper filters it is supplied with - example video of aeropress
    Spoiler:


    Hario V60
    - this is a pourover style of coffee maker takes under 3 minutes to brew - I use 25g of beans slightly more coarsly ground at #13 on my grinder. I have the ceramic version but this comes in metal and glass as well. Produces a great strong americano style brew and is an excellent method of brewing for the money at under £15 - example video of the Hario V60
    Spoiler:


    I am eyeing up a Gaggia classic for making some proper espresso although not sure my encore baratza grinder will be up to the job of grinding fine enough for this so may have to upgrade that as well.

    Also starting to look into home roasters, seems you can get a fiarly decent machine for a few hundred £ I reckon it may be worth the outlay.

    Oh to add, as above always just grind what you need and don't buy more beans than you are going to get through in a few months they will start to lose flavour pretty much straight away but will keep for around 3 months in an airtight container - and do not keep them in your fridge! - just store where they are going to be kept fairly cool in a cupboard etc.

    Quote Originally Posted by {{909}} View Post
    So here I am, on my path to complete wankerdom
    Embrace the fall into wankerdom, it tastes great
    Last edited by prezzy; 31st October 2014 at 09:06 PM.

    Thanks to prezzy

    elephantsoup (1st November 2014)  


  3. #3
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    Default Re: Coffee drinkers, how do you brew?

    Got a Russel Hobbs percolator with built in grinder about 3 years ago from Currys for about £70 - fill hopper with beans (currently on 1kg bags of lavazza from Costco) fill up to the 6cup mark with water, set required number of cups to 10 and set timer for 630am - wake up when the grinder sparks up at 630am like a small earthquake, get showered, come out of shower to a lovely smell of fresh coffee. Have one big mug of coffee with brekkie and pour the rest of the pot into my travel mug and go to work.

    None of that snobby posh stuff for me lol

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  4. #4
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    B B Leo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Coffee drinkers, how do you brew?

    always a coffee shop black americano perfect

    a proper coffee shop not a greasy spoon although mcdonlds coffee is surprisingly smooth, bean to cup machine
    www.facebook.com/bigbadleo
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  5. #5
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    Default Re: Coffee drinkers, how do you brew?

    Wankers. Tea for me


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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    DF VIP Member cassy34's Avatar
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    Default Re: Coffee drinkers, how do you brew?

    I've got the Gaggia color. Had it for 4 years without any issues. Just have to descale it every now and again. I buy the Lavazza Decaf espresso coffee. When I was on the full caffeine, it would be Lavazza Oro Gold, which was lovely. The decaff is still pretty good though. Would recommend the machine, produces a nice dense foam with the steamer. Just as an aside, the darker the roast, the lower the caffeine content.
    Attached Images Attached Images

    Thanks to cassy34

    prezzy (31st October 2014)  


  7. #7
    DF VIP Member DavidF's Avatar
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    Default Re: Coffee drinkers, how do you brew?

    Hate coffee myself BUT misses grinds her own beans and uses old fashioned coffee pot with filter ect. She also has one of them Dloci Gusto machines that she uses inbetween cups of normal coffee. Then you have my brothers misses....she has went the whole hog and paid the best part of £1000 for one of them bean to cup machines. I know she gets her coffee from specialist shops ect.....don't think they are into nescafe ect lol......bloody £1000 on a coffee machine ffs.

  8. #8
    DF VIP Member
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    Default Re: Coffee drinkers, how do you brew?

    As an Italian i live and breathe coffee, or i used to until a hospital specialist said i had to cut out caffeine due to health issues, this thread is all i need

  9. #9
    DF VIP Member elephantsoup's Avatar
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    Default Re: Coffee drinkers, how do you brew?

    Aeropress for me too.

  10. #10
    DF VIP Member AspectUK's Avatar
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    Default Re: Coffee drinkers, how do you brew?

    Nespresso is good enough for my uneducated palette with refills from The Fine Coffee Club

  11. #11
    DF Super Moderator {{909}}'s Avatar
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    Default Re: Coffee drinkers, how do you brew?

    some good info to chew on, especially from Prezzi.

    I never touched coffee aside from the occasional cup at friends homes, mother was a yorkshire tea drinker so it was i my dna to drink tea, but living out here its green/black tea or nowt and I think I am rapidly building up a dependency on the caffine after getting into coffee.

    I certainly couldnt swing 120 for a grinder though, I'll have to make do with the manual methods but as an internet user for the last 15+ years, I have a strong right arm. This badboy looks almost identical to the one I have and set to course grids it doesnt take a lifetime to grind a pot.

    The Aeropress looks great, I was expecting some crazy expensive thing after reading the description. I found my french press on sale for a fucking fiver, so I am eliminating that from my routine asap.

  12. #12
    DF VIP Member WRATH OF BOD's Avatar
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    Default Re: Coffee drinkers, how do you brew?

    tassimo t45 but i use My Ikea Stove Top The Most With A manual milk frother & Love Starbucks Dark whole bean, ground by me

    Sent By Brick Wrapped In Paper Thrown Through The Window..........

  13. #13
    DF VIP Member Cosmicpore's Avatar
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    Default Re: Coffee drinkers, how do you brew?

    My cafetiere has been demoted to a press for loose leaf teas.

    Been using a stovetop moka pot/espresso maker (parents have been using one since our trip to Italy 15 years ago, and they make damn good coffee) for a couple of years and usually boil up some milk for a latte. Used to get coffee roasted and ground by our local merchant (they have more types of coffee than you can imagine) but keeping the ground stuff in the fridge never really works for long, ground on the day or dont bother.

    Now I swear by lavazza, pretty sure they coat their beans in crack because there's nothing that tastes better.

    If it's particuarly chilly and I'm feeling fancy, I'll stick in some flavored syrup.

    Tried all the milk frothers, they never work so don't bother now.

    Used to have a proper coffee machine (barista style one) which made excellent coffee, used to steam the milk and everything. Fantastic but of kit, gorgeous cappucinos, lattes etc, but the amount of work that went into it and cleaning it? The machine found its way to the shed after a few months...

  14. #14
    DF VIP Member losttoy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Coffee drinkers, how do you brew?

    I bought a faulty bosch benvenuto b20 bean to cup machine about 4 years ago for about £50 and fixed it up. They were retailing for about a grand at the time and I'm still feeling smug when I have my morning coffee. One of the valves was stuck and I've had to change a couple of orings since but it really got me into coffee. As long as the heater and pump are good then it's likely to only be a simple fix and there's usually loads of knackered bean to cup machines going on ebay.

    I got my Mum an aeropress last week for her birthday which makes at least as good a coffee as the bean to cup machine. In fact I've decided to get one for next time we're away on holiday.

    I've been having weekly deliveries of freshly roasted beans from pact coffee the last few months. Some of it is cack, other bags have been awesome but I'm definitely moving away from off the shelf coffees in favour of more gently roasted zesty flavours. With red lavazza as a backup for when we run out of beans.

    Some say the grinder makes a difference. The cheap rotary blade types allegedly burn the beans or something whereas conical burr grinders dont but that could all be a load of marketing shit to sell expensive grinders.

    Miserable headaches if I don't get two cups of Joe a day

  15. #15
    DF Super Moderator piggzy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Coffee drinkers, how do you brew?

    Got a £39 machine from Aldi that does any ground coffee plus nespresso capsules (since Nescafe lost the patent)
    I get 10 nespresso clone capsules for £1.79 from lidl, strength 10 of course (make is Bellisimo)

    Fookin loverly

    Also early summer got the Mrs a machine she was moaning for called The Ninja, which amongst other things claimed to turn ice cubes to snow
    so over summer was able to enjoy a couple of strength 10's poured over snow. Was better than the coffee shop jobs

    Someone told me to try this:
    Shot of coffee in a little blender, good knob of UNSALTED butter(ideally quality grass fed cows), cinnamon (nutmeg optional).
    Blast the crap out of it. I was skeptical but was actually really good

    But as a rule I just like good strong quality coffee

    Thanks to piggzy

    {{909}} (4th November 2014)  


  16. #16
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    Default Re: Coffee drinkers, how do you brew?

    Hi
    I am even worse than all you coffee snobs, I dont like Coffee at all, but.... I was fully trained Barista =, did training with Lavazza in Torino, Italy. Later I worked for a company who were the first to test legalities of the already mentioned Nespresso Patents lapsing and getting capsules made in Switzerland with Italian Coffee inside.
    The Blend of your beans should depend on what drinks you make, milk based drinks should be a mix of Arabica and Rubusta beans as Arabica on its own with milk tastes bitter. if you drink Espresso (not expresso as one coffee shop near me has on its menu) then 100% Arabica is cool. - wont bore with the washed and unwashed bean or country of origin bit yet.
    You can have excellent beans, well blended and perfectly stored, (not in the hopper where the oil comes out on the sides and goes off - no oil = no crema) but if your Grinder is faulty or not set correctly you will get shit coffee. First cup of the day is for the Barista, every day. Fresh beans in hopper he should time the time it takes for the water to espress through the coffee ground, less than 25 seconds or more than 30 seconds means grinder needs adjusting. Under 25 seconds means coffee is not ground enough and water is pissing through the coffee and will be weak as piss, over 30 seconds and coffee is ground too fine and water cannot pass through, this causes coffee to burn with the boiling water and your coffee to smell like an ashtray.
    If you use steam wand to froth your milk then wipe with sanitised cloth after every use, if not it will get caked with hard white calcified milk which is disgusting and hard to clean and a frequent cause of food poisoning as a breeding ground for bugs.
    If you go to proper coffee shop walk away if:
    1) Hopper on Grinder or Bean to cup machine has beans in from yesterday or is covered in greasy residue (natural oil from beans that leaves the beans as they dry in hopper and goes rancid)
    2) Coffee takes too long or not enough time to espress to cup (see above).
    3) Steam wand is caked in shit and not cleaned.
    several pounds for a cup of coffee should mean that it is made with decent beans and done properly - otherwise just get capsules (same grind every time) or instant.
    LS
    Last edited by Lou_smorals; 2nd November 2014 at 09:56 PM. Reason: spelling
    Dear Lord, please grant me the ability to punch people in the face over Standard TCP/IP

    6 Thanks given to Lou_smorals

    Ashley (3rd November 2014),  piggzy (5th November 2014),  prezzy (3rd November 2014),  WRATH OF BOD (2nd November 2014),  Zoots (2nd November 2014),  {{909}} (3rd November 2014)  


  17. #17
    DF Super Moderator {{909}}'s Avatar
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    Default Re: Coffee drinkers, how do you brew?

    fucking hell, I went to a coffee shop next to my work at the weekend, what a pot of shit they served me but I think it was so bad that even an instant coffee drinker would say the same, so I went to my locker and pulled out a packet of my old faithful instant nescafe that I used to drink 2 to 3 a day of a few months ago. another pot of shite, I have no idea how much of a complete wanker I had become.

    2 Thanks given to {{909}}

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  18. #18
    DF Moderator
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    Default Re: Coffee drinkers, how do you brew?

    The wife has bought me a Espresso machine and a grinder for xmas(wont be getting it till the big day) so I just need to work out what beans to get.

    Cheapreefer on instagram

  19. #19
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    Default Re: Coffee drinkers, how do you brew?

    Hi M8
    Lavazza super Crema are a great all purpose bean.
    LS
    Dear Lord, please grant me the ability to punch people in the face over Standard TCP/IP

    3 Thanks given to Lou_smorals

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  20. #20
    DF VIP Member WRATH OF BOD's Avatar
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    Default Re: Coffee drinkers, how do you brew?

    i also like to use a good cinnamon syrup, anyone else use syrup's(not the wig type)

    Sent By Brick Wrapped In Paper Thrown Through The Window..........

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