(GPGT)Espresso machine hoot

[chikyblink]

Hi everyone!

Hey there fellow home barista!
While I applaud your effort in creating this subscription service, I have doubts it'll gather much interest.
If you're targeting those avid drinkers, I'm sure most would've already know those famous roasters from all over the world and have been buying from them on a regular basis.
If you're targeting those casual drinkers, the price alone would've turn off most. Although I understand the reason for the pricing.

I think a better idea is something like massdrop, where there's certain discounts when x amount of bags are hit.
Not to be a wet blanket or anything but I do hope I'm wrong and I wish you success nonetheless.

 

[mirage86]

Hey there fellow home barista!
While I applaud your effort in creating this subscription service, I have doubts it'll gather much interest.
If you're targeting those avid drinkers, I'm sure most would've already know those famous roasters from all over the world and have been buying from them on a regular basis.
If you're targeting those casual drinkers, the price alone would've turn off most. Although I understand the reason for the pricing.

I think a better idea is something like massdrop, where there's certain discounts when x amount of bags are hit.
Not to be a wet blanket or anything but I do hope I'm wrong and I wish you success nonetheless.

Hi Chikyblink! Thanks for the feedback, those are really valid points and I can see where you're coming from. Massdrop or group buys could have better pricing when there's economies of scale, but what we are trying to do here is to provide something unique and convenient - kind of like Loot Crate but in the coffee world. The fun part of this subscription is that you won't know which roaster you'll be receiving from until you get it, and it is guaranteed to be different every month.

We also try to bring more people into the home barista scene by providing coffee origin information and brewing tips for each coffee we bring in, so that it's easier for newbies to enjoy specialty coffee at home.

Nonetheless, thanks a lot for the well wishes!

 

[testerjp]

Not sure if they still say sour and sharp as underextraction because that's how most cafes in SG are doing with their expensive monster looking machines. Doubt they be please to hear that.

There are already a lot of roasters in SG, imo pretty redundant to have another. You might get into trouble with AVA for being a home food supplier.

 

[mirage86]

Not sure if they still say sour and sharp as underextraction because that's how most cafes in SG are doing with their expensive monster looking machines. Doubt they be please to hear that.

There are already a lot of roasters in SG, imo pretty redundant to have another. You might get into trouble with AVA for being a home food supplier.

Espressos shouldn't taste sour and overwhelming, they should be sweet, complex and pleasant to drink. Some people confuse sour with acidity, they are not quite the same. Although I'd agree that some cafes in Singapore tend to underextract as it's a safer choice than overextracting..

Just to clarify, we are not roasting the beans ourselves. We are importing directly from roasters overseas and we do not process the beans at all We also have clearance with AVA if that's a concern.

 

[Lazy_Tiger]

To help increase the variety of options for coffee beans we can get here, I'm starting a coffee subscription service called Joe Curious. The aim is to bring in coffee beans roasted by well-known cafes or roasters from overseas, so that all of us can enjoy great coffee without having to travel.

Having travelled quite a fair bit myself, I can only say that coffees from the same origins can taste very different when roasted by different people - which is why I always make it a point to try new cafes when I'm overseas. Hopefully by starting this subscription service, it'll be easier for everyone here to get access to great coffees easil

Will support. But would be great if your could give some info of where would you be getting the beans from so we can be assured of some quality. Also some info on how old would be beans be by the time we get them will be good.

Do u have different subscriptions for espresso and filter?

 

[Corsabrin]

For smitten, liberty and bettr barista? Their roasts are not that dark IMHO.
Bettr barista was previously roasting a geisha for espresso. very aromatic. Staff was very friendly too.

Liberty i think is decent. I have not tried smitten yet.

I tried joe and dough today. Joe 1913 blend. Seems to be a dark roast. I think its decent. They don't roast their own but get one of the local roasters to roast for them.

Jimmy Monkey makes a fantastic dark/medium style roast. Ironbark blend i think. Works really well with milk. The powdered cocoa flavour really shines thru the milk.

If u want something really traditional and good quality try al banco and siesta from coffee in a place. Roasted in Naples and delivered here fresh. This roast is very dark and takes skill to pull but if you do it right it can be very smooth but powerfully aromatic. This is the South Italian traditional espresso profile. zero acidity, chocolate liqueur flavour. Beans sourced from Nordic Approach.

Spinelli also roasts fresh and dark. You can go to their website and order and state you want a fresh batch. Collect at the outlet of your choice.

Oh yahava and pacamara too. yahava just order online.

thanks for the summary on the local roasters. by the way, any reco for cheapest delivery for minimum order of beans?

 

[Corsabrin]

Espressos shouldn't taste sour and overwhelming, they should be sweet, complex and pleasant to drink. Some people confuse sour with acidity, they are not quite the same. Although I'd agree that some cafes in Singapore tend to underextract as it's a safer choice than overextracting..

Just to clarify, we are not roasting the beans ourselves. We are importing directly from roasters overseas and we do not process the beans at all We also have clearance with AVA if that's a concern.

ill support also actually, but need to see how much and min order quantity. i like the idea though

 

[Corsabrin]

Would it be correct if :

16g coffee -> extract for 25-35 seconds -> 60 ml espresso

or should it be

16g coffee -> extract for 25-35 seconds -> 30 ml espresso

 

[Corsabrin]

As a starting guideline, 28-30 seconds works quite well. You can then adjust your grind size based on the taste of the shot. Too sour and sharp usually means underextraction, so you can either adjust the grind size finer and/or pull a longer shot. Do the opposite if your shot tastes bitter

I'd pay more attention to the taste than the duration - if you see jap cafes, they extract for much longer time and produce much lesser espresso, but their coffees turn out to be very chocolatey and smooth.

This is quite a nice and easy guide to calibrate your shots: http://www.baristahustle.com/the-espresso-compass/

thats an informative guide! thanks for the link

 

[IntelFlash]

Would it be correct if :

16g coffee -> extract for 25-35 seconds -> 60 ml espresso

or should it be

16g coffee -> extract for 25-35 seconds -> 30 ml espresso

The first is a double espresso. The second is a double ristreto.

Actually you should not really ask us. It depends on your preference.

If my beans is dark,i prefer ristretto if drink in black. Less bitter.

 

[Lazy_Tiger]

thanks for the summary on the local roasters. by the way, any reco for cheapest delivery for minimum order of beans?

Hmmm Not sure cos I rarely order delivery for local beans. Usually I just go to the shop try one espresso and get a bag if I like the beans. Can also ask the brewing parameters.

 

[Corsabrin]

The first is a double espresso. The second is a double ristreto.

Actually you should not really ask us. It depends on your preference.

If my beans is dark,i prefer ristretto if drink in black. Less bitter.

hmm.. is a double ristretto an espresso? sorry for noob question

 

[Corsabrin]

Hmmm Not sure cos I rarely order delivery for local beans. Usually I just go to the shop try one espresso and get a bag if I like the beans. Can also ask the brewing parameters.

ah i see.. ya i should really find time to make a trip to the local roasters..

By the way, I am facing big problems with frothing milk. In my first few attempts, bubbles were so huge. On my last couple of attempts, milk was so hot and yet there was no microfoam at all.

When I froth the milk, it feels to me that the milk heats up very fast (using a thermometer). I submerge the steam wand about 1 cm into the milk. Can shifu help me diagnose what is going wrong? So far i only managed to dial in the grind.

 

[erwinseow]

hmm.. is a double ristretto an espresso? sorry for noob question

Its all about Brew Ratios. Use this as a guide. http://home.lamarzoccousa.com/brew-ratios-around-world/

 

[Lazy_Tiger]

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By the way, I am facing big problems with frothing milk. In my first few attempts, bubbles were so huge. On my last couple of attempts, milk was so hot and yet there was no microfoam at all.

When I froth the milk, it feels to me that the milk heats up very fast (using a thermometer). I submerge the steam wand about 1 cm into the milk.

TBH i am not very consistent with my milk frothing too cos i'm clumsy.

You using a thermometer is ok when you are learning but eventually you can just use your hands to gauge the temperature. I find that the hands are faster at giving you feedback when the milk is too hot.

This one is a good guide http://www.latteartguide.com/2013/02/steaming-milk_22.html

Getting the vortex is important to ensure the microfoam is created. You need to experiment and find the correct angle for your want and pitcher for this vortex to happen

The milk must be cold. I stretch the milk until it reaches body temp then i spin until the milk is just too hot to touch.

When spinning the milk have to be careful not too introduce any more air inside otherwise the milk will not have that microfoam you are looking for.

if you want to practice you can use cold water and just a tiny bit of dish washing detergent or you can use cold water and just add a tiny dash of milk into it. Surprisingly this also works very well and you can make something that resembles actual microfoamed milk. Jimmy monkey's Michael intro me this method.

lastly your pitcher size must be suitable for the power of your machine. if the machine is too powerful its hard to get a consistent vortex without the milk splashing all over the place.

 

[Corsabrin]

Its all about Brew Ratios. Use this as a guide. http://home.lamarzoccousa.com/brew-ratios-around-world/

thats a good read indeed. thanks for the resource!

 

[testerjp]

hmm.. is a double ristretto an espresso? sorry for noob question

Ristretto is 15ml extraction .
Espresso is about 25ml +-5.

I think if you take 30 sec to pull 15ml , there's a higher risk of over extraction.
Normally it's keep the flow at abt 25ml per 25 sec, then stop earlier at the 15th second for the Ristretto.

 

[mirage86]

Will support. But would be great if your could give some info of where would you be getting the beans from so we can be assured of some quality. Also some info on how old would be beans be by the time we get them will be good.

Do u have different subscriptions for espresso and filter?

Thanks Lazy_Tiger! Every bit of support for local startups like us goes a really long way and I appreciate it.

I am a home barista myself so I'm particularly fussy about roast dates and roast quality, which is why we make sure our partner roasters pack and ship the moment they roast the beans that we order. We also use express shipping with a guaranteed ETA, so that we can control the time from roasting to delivery.

This means the coffee beans will reach our customers' doorstep within 7-10 days from roasting, just nice to be used on your machine and you should have at least 2-3 weeks to consume them.

We also order samples from roasters and try the beans ourselves before we commit to any partnerships. So far, we have rejected at least 40% of the roasters we tried because their coffees are either too generic (not special enough to import) or the roast quality is not up to standard, usually underdeveloped.

I can't reveal our line up of roasters as it's meant to be a surprise box every month, but I can say we have roasters from Asia, Australia and Europe so far. The list is also growing as we go along - there are just so many good roasters around the world that are yet to be discovered.

Lastly, yes we offer both espresso and filter roasts. Espresso can be a blend or single origin, depends on what we think is the best from that roaster.

(Enter HWZ10 for 10% discount off first month - valid until 15 April!)

 

[mirage86]

ill support also actually, but need to see how much and min order quantity. i like the idea though

Thanks Corsabrin! The minimum is 1 x 250g pack per month for our coffee subscription and that is $30 monthly. Delivery is free

To thank you guys for the support, I've created a coupon code just for HWZ.

Enter HWZ10 to get 10% discount off the first month - valid until 15 April which is the cut-off date for our first shipment!

 

[mirage86]

Would it be correct if :

16g coffee -> extract for 25-35 seconds -> 60 ml espresso

or should it be

16g coffee -> extract for 25-35 seconds -> 30 ml espresso

Someone else mentioned this already - it's the brew ratio that matters

I'll suggest you try extracting shots using different ratios and taste the difference for yourself and find your favourite. That's the best part about espresso - you can experiment with so many different variables!

I personally prefer 1:1.5 or 1:1.7 when I make 6oz whites, and 1:2 when I have it as a black.

16g of coffee extract 30g (note I use grams, not ml) should be a good starting point. You should always weigh your espresso and not measure by volume.