(GPGT)Espresso machine hoot

[calbay]

so im curious wats the diff between a sub 500 machine and 2k machine? if its just bragging rights to show off to ppl come ur house i shall pass...but if its quality and taste im all in! also i read that depending on buget....around 30% shud go to the grinder? wat u guys recommend? they say wat ceramic grinder better coz generate less heat...and gene cafe roaster...alot better than those big companies roasted beans? wr in singapore can buy raw beans? thanks alot for any advice.

Sure there's a difference.

At S$500 you can at best get a plastic Krups machine which probably gets you frustrated and not last more than 2 year.

The architecture in how it works to ensure thermal stability in the grouphead and the boiler.
The pressure control, durability of the components, material of components, steaming power, etc. It's all different between different types of machines.

Even the basic R Silva with just one small brass boiler is at $1000. Brass releases lead which is negative, while copper boilers releases metal which is beneficial.
For the Silva which is the lower line, the temperature flush is quite evident due to how it inducts heat.
It also requires more time to make a cappuccino as it can only do brewing or steaming one at a time.
And all these little details will affect the quality of result and how easy to use for the user.

Say a single boiler and those hand wound grinders, expect the user spending 10-15 mins to make a cappuccino.
A heat exchanger/double boiler with an OD grinder will probably take you 1/8 the time.

The longer and most hassle is the process, the higher probability the user will lose interest in using a home machine quickly. That explains why Nespresso is remarkably successful.

Coffee is a very unique ingredient with over 1600 molecules of aroma, that's almost 1/5 of all known aroma. The molecules are delicate and require the right condition to blossom else it will easily disintegrate or transform in the process.
From these importance and science, explains why connoisseurs and trained professionals always decent amount of money for equipment, which absolutely makes sense.

Forget the reasoning about how much you should spend on your grinder should be base on your machine.
There's nothing logical to back up the theory to work in that way..
I suggest read with a pinch of salt from a lot of articles on the internet, many are fostered by commercial companies for their own benefits.

However, a decent OD Grinder will normally cost starting from S$500.
This grinder is still sufficient in matching a higher end coffee machine.

There's infinite amount of variations that is possibe from different fineness of grinding, pressure and dosage used.
It always gives a lot of questions when a user blame his machine or a grinder(if both are decent) for the result he can't get.

 

[Klee_nex]

went to Yahava just now to try their beans.

ask for their espresso blend, 10days since roast day the guy said. I ask if there's any recent roast, he recommend the 'Black Gold' single origin from Papua New Guinea which they roasted just yesterday. Bought a pack of 250gm($16) to try.

I find freshly roasted beans are easier to grind. Halfway through grinding, sweet chocolatey smell fills the air. Can't wait to taste it. However, the 1st pull is a disaster. Due to excitement/lack of caffeine/sheer laziness, I didn't perform my usual routine of levelling and nutation. Major channelling ensues. I quickly stopped the shot at around the 6sec mark to prevent further spillage. It looks like a pipeline had burst at the bottom of my naked portafilter. After cleaning up the mess, I proceed to grind my 2nd shot.

The 2nd shot. 30gm at the 20th sec mark. Runs a little fast but tasted ok. Pulled this at about 93°c on the thermometer. A little acidic at the beginning but ends with chocolatey taste.

My 3rd shot is drowned with milk.

Maybe later I'll aeropress it.

Great to see you're getting beans from Yahava too! Does it suite your liking? You should try their Single Origin Kahava from India if you're into full bodied beans. Though not as heavy compared to black gold, it does end off with better flavour notes. Works well for filter coffees too.

 

[calbay]

Freshcafe at Stirling rd. I order in quantities of 3-8kg. can choose Kenya AA, colombia , so Salvador, dominican, png, Toraja, sumatra madheling and many more.

Jacob was telling me Hawaiian Kona is coming too, wah Yum !


green beans can keep for yrs compared to roasted bean. keep green beans in cool , dry area ( fridge) and take out to roast when u need. in this way u always have the freshest beans


for those interested in home roasting:

Getting Started Roasting Coffee at Home


Homeroasters.org - Discussion Forum: Building a Coffee Roaster

Actually not more than 2 years, in fact 1 year for where i used to worked at.

If you are going for a single roast, you might one to go for a blend than a single origin.

Single origin is better split roasted.

 

[Lazy_Tiger]

Freshcafe at Stirling rd. I order in quantities of 3-8kg. can choose Kenya AA, colombia , so Salvador, dominican, png, Toraja, sumatra madheling and many more.

Jacob was telling me Hawaiian Kona is coming too, wah Yum !


green beans can keep for yrs compared to roasted bean. keep green beans in cool , dry area ( fridge) and take out to roast when u need. in this way u always have the freshest beans


for those interested in home roasting:

Getting Started Roasting Coffee at Home


Homeroasters.org - Discussion Forum: Building a Coffee Roaster

Thanks I'll pop by tomorrow night to have a look!

 

[Lazy_Tiger]

Actually not more than 2 years, in fact 1 year for where i used to worked at.

If you are going for a single roast, you might one to go for a blend than a single origin.

Single origin is better split roasted.

I think you mean opposite.

Split roasted for blends and single roasting for origins.

I'm very interested to learn roasting in a class or workshop rather than from books. Been browsing a bit on info on roasting and its really technical. So far have not come across any coffee place offering a roasting workshop....

 

[EatSnakeWarrior]

just ordered this hopefully it wont disappoint me

 

[Lazy_Tiger]

Great to see you're getting beans from Yahava too! Does it suite your liking? You should try their Single Origin Kahava from India if you're into full bodied beans. Though not as heavy compared to black gold, it does end off with better flavour notes. Works well for filter coffees too.

Is yahava stuff darkroasted? i'm keen to try a blackgold and one lighter roasted one for comparison.

 

[calbay]

It's split roast for single origin.
This is to bring out different profiles of coffee from one origin.

For blends people just single roast as the the difference source will have different profiles itself.

Of course you can also split roast for blends if you want, but it's a little overcomplicating it.

I personally prefer prefer single roast blends.
In medium roast, as this will have more clarity, something similar to split roasting.

Split roasted will be a little more sour which people may not appreciate.

 

[relacker]

Thanks I'll pop by tomorrow night to have a look!

freshcafe is not a cafe,bro. it's a shop specialise in selling beans only. u wan better call before gg down .

 

[Lazy_Tiger]

It's split roast for single origin.
This is to bring out different profiles of coffee from one origin.

For blends people just single roast as the the difference source will have different profiles itself.

Of course you can also split roast for blends if you want, but it's a little overcomplicating it.

I personally prefer prefer single roast blends.
In medium roast, as this will have more clarity, something similar to split roasting.

Split roasted will be a little more sour which people may not appreciate.

Ic very interesting...i think this will become a very expensive and time consuming hobby if I start to go into roasting.

You mentioned that you also roast your coffee? do you have any recommendations for a home style roaster besides the gene cafe? I'm considering the hot top.

reviews for the behmor seems promising but it looks like a simple toaster haha!

 

[calbay]

just ordered this hopefully it wont disappoint me

The water will be too hot, all the floral fruity followed by buttery aroma should be burned off.
There isn't pressure either, so not much point in the process. Not easy to clean the tubes.

If you want just brewed coffee, buy a thermometer and a french press will do. Cheap, fast and easy.

 

[Lazy_Tiger]

so im curious wats the diff between a sub 500 machine and 2k machine? if its just bragging rights to show off to ppl come ur house i shall pass...but if its quality and taste im all in! also i read that depending on buget....around 30% shud go to the grinder? wat u guys recommend? they say wat ceramic grinder better coz generate less heat...and gene cafe roaster...alot better than those big companies roasted beans? wr in singapore can buy raw beans? thanks alot for any advice.

hard to put a percentage on what to spend on depending on the budget. I would say a grinder should cost about 600-800 plus..

Some possible and popular choices for a decent espresso grinder (My opinions are based on reviews of what I read and not what I use so pls take with a pinch of salt. I only have used a rocky and Compak K3T)

1. Baratza Vario or forte
2. Mazzer mini or mini e (Mini e has larger burrs and generally mazzer is quite expensive for what it offers)
3. Compak K3t
4. Macap MC4

The vario is very popular, low grind retention, grind on demand, timed dose, but users have reported quality issues with the grinder unable to maintain the grind settings. I understand baratza has revised the vario to fix this.

If i'm not wrong heat generated is more due to burr size (surface area) rather than whether its ceramic or steel. Big cafe use giant conicals due to one of its advantages of being able to grind alot without heating up the large burrs too much.
For home use I think 58mm is sufficient. My K3t is still very sharp even after 3 years of use.

 

[calbay]

Ic very interesting...i think this will become a very expensive and time consuming hobby if I start to go into roasting.

You mentioned that you also roast your coffee? do you have any recommendations for a home style roaster besides the gene cafe? I'm considering the hot top.

reviews for the behmor seems promising but it looks like a simple toaster haha!

For home, i'm using something like this.
I got mine in italy.

It's enough to put about 200 grammes of greens in.
Barrel is copper which conducts heat very well and evenly.
Inside there's some rugged patterns, so the beans can "flip" while it rotates, rather than just slide which will roast very unevenly.

It's running by a motor and it spins over the stove top.
You can apply some techniques and tricks to roast better.

 

[Lazy_Tiger]

just ordered this hopefully it wont disappoint me

I'm not very successful in brewing with a vacuum pot but I found the papa palheta vacuum pot guide online makes better coffee than the one hario recommends in the little booklet that comes with the product.

 

[flameignite]

hard to put a percentage on what to spend on depending on the budget. I would say a grinder should cost about 600-800 plus..

Some possible and popular choices for a decent espresso grinder (My opinions are based on reviews of what I read and not what I use so pls take with a pinch of salt. I only have used a rocky and Compak K3T)

1. Baratza Vario or forte
2. Mazzer mini or mini e (Mini e has larger burrs and generally mazzer is quite expensive for what it offers)
3. Compak K3t
4. Macap MC4

The vario is very popular, low grind retention, grind on demand, timed dose, but users have reported quality issues with the grinder unable to maintain the grind settings. I understand baratza has revised the vario to fix this.

If i'm not wrong heat generated is more due to burr size (surface area) rather than whether its ceramic or steel. Big cafe use giant conicals due to one of its advantages of being able to grind alot without heating up the large burrs too much.
For home use I think 58mm is sufficient. My K3t is still very sharp even after 3 years of use.

Where can I get a compak grinder?

 

[Lazy_Tiger]

Where can I get a compak grinder?

Got mine from highlander. Not sure if they still carry it though.

 

[derazor]

For home, i'm using something like this.
I got mine in italy.

It's enough to put about 200 grammes of greens in.
Barrel is copper which conducts heat very well and evenly.
Inside there's some rugged patterns, so the beans can "flip" while it rotates, rather than just slide which will roast very unevenly.

It's running by a motor and it spins over the stove top.
You can apply some techniques and tricks to roast better.

Is it very smelly?

Since it's sealed how to know first crack and 2nd crack ?

Is it easy to use?

How is the roasted coffee ? * Most important, tee hee *

 

[chikyblink]

Great to see you're getting beans from Yahava too! Does it suite your liking? You should try their Single Origin Kahava from India if you're into full bodied beans. Though not as heavy compared to black gold, it does end off with better flavour notes. Works well for filter coffees too.

Black gold is nice but I feel its a little too heavy bodied for me. Too darkly roasted.
Will try the India beans in the future.

 

[Lazy_Tiger]

The red brick by square mile is here! Unfortunately it's 11 days post roast so much finish quickly.

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Tired 2 shots to dial it in, seems to be a very light roast and easy to pull.

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A nice floral aroma, and grape like juicy mouthfeel. Finishes like a dark chocolate with some notes of honey. Not as mellow as nylon's recent 4 chairs I guess due to a higher acidity. Benefits from a higher temperature I feel.

I noticed the puck from this blend swells up a lot and I don't get a soupy puck.

Overall an good daily blend for being easy on the palate and good fragrance.

 

[chikyblink]

The red brick by square mile is here! Unfortunately it's 11 days post roast so much finish quickly.

wah you whack 2 bags ah? Thats 700gm of 11 days old coffee leh...

need help finishing it let us know k??