Coffee: Intermediate to Advanced (1 Viewer)

[Sam Posten]

Testing out the iPhone 5, nothing like flash to show just how much you need a good cleaning!

Daily Double by Kadath, on Flickr

 

[Carlo_M]

Resuscitating this thread for some updates:
First, for a killer mocha, I've been experimenting, based on some suggestions I received from our friendly baristas in Intelligentsia Venice and Silver Lake, I have a new chocolate formula based on their suggestions. I don't have the full recipe down pat, and will likely vary based on your taste, but here's what I did. Surprisingly simple but takes a little bit of time, and you definitely do this for "special occasions" and not necessarily every day.
Ingredients for mocha sauce, all in approximately equal parts:

• 100% cocoa powder (I use Valrhona). Do not use 85% or some other % because it already has cocoa butter and other things like lecithin which mess with the sauce.
• Heavy cream
• Sugar (I used sugar in the raw)

I was only testing for one mocha latte, so I used about 1 tablespoon of cream, cocoa powder and a little less of sugar. Double boiled it to incorporate (just put a small aluminum bowl on top of a small saucepan with boiling water) for about 5 minutes until it turned dark brown, making sure not to burn it by turning the heat low then off when everything was heated. Of the resulting sauce I put about a teaspoon and a half into the latte cup and brewed the espresso right on top of it. Mixed to further incorporate. Then steamed milk on top. Wasn't quite Intelligentsia, but it got me like 75% of the way there (the guys who went with me to Intelligentsia can attest to its quality). I'm sure the difference can be chalked up to type of cocoa and proportion of ingredients. They said they use either "Cho's" or "Joe's" chocolate, which I googled and only found Juan Cho Chocolate but no local means of purchasing it. Also they used simple syrup, but rather than make simple syrup and then incorporate, I just cut out the middle man (and the water) and put the sugar in while incorporating. Also using regular sugar instead of raw may change the taste as well.
But this is by far the happiest I've been with a homemade mocha, it trumps my previous recipe and is fairly easy to make! I plan on serving it to my guests the next time I have company and see what they think!

 

[Carlo_M]

One more piece of advice:
Descaling your machine. Do it.
I was skeptical at first. I used filtered water at all times. People say West L.A. water is generally pretty soft and good for machines. So I hadn't descaled since I bought my machine, mostly because it's a pain in the a$$. And the Rancilio worked like a beast!
I noticed though that I had trouble getting microfoam, and I chalked it up to the machine's lack of steam pressure compared to industrial machines with three or four hole tips (mine has one). I decided to descale using Dezcal and following Seattle Coffee Gear's recommended procedure (the Dezcal package's instructions are worthless). And yes, just to warn you, this will take 2 hours total (but you won't have to babysit your machine the entire time if you have a timer).

• Keep machine off until ready, don't really want to descale with hot water
• Fill reservoir 3/4 full of water (about a liter)
• Put one package Dezcal in reservoir, stir with wood or plastic instrument until well incorporated (use warm water will help dissolve)
• Turn machine on, run at least 12 oz (my boiler capacity) of water combined out of the brew head and steam wand so the boiler is filled with solution
• Turn off, wait 20 minutes
• Repeat running 12oz of solution (or your boiler capacity) until all solution is gone, waiting 20 minutes in between each time and turning off the machine so you don't boil the solution.
• Once solution is all gone, clean reservoir completely, fill with clean water, completely run at least one full reservoir of water through machine to get all of the solution out (I did two reservoirs of clean water)

If your machine is really bad (i.e. you can see deposits throughout not just the cleaning but most of the rinse) you may need to let the solution sit overnight. If you still get blockage or bad performance you need to take it into a shop. Luckily mine wasn't this bad but I could see deposits through the end of the clean cycle.
Now when I steam, I still suck at microfoam but I know now it's my technique. I get much closer to microfoam because the milk rolls and heats like never before (I don't even think it was this powerful when new). And the steam knob had a squeak to it which has disappeared.
I know the manufacturers recommend descaling every 2-3 months, and I did this at six months or so. I will be descaling now every two months. I'm a believer.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Rise, RISE from the GRAVE thread!
With my new home I'm gearing up for some new coffee experimentation.
I settled on my new brew pot, the Technivorm MoccaMaster:
http://www.amazon.com/Technivorm-Moccamaster-Coffee-Brewer-Thermo/dp/B002S4DI2S/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1335549287&sr=1-1
This thing ROCKS. It is so cool to watch it in operation, like a work of tech art, AND it brews some of the best tasting drip coffee I've ever had.

do you still like the Technivorm? Has it been reliable? Is the build quality good? In short, has it been worth the $$$?

 

[Johnny Angell]

Btw, Williams-Sonoma has a 64oz version which is exclusive to them. I can't find it elsewhere. $370 but today you can get 15% off.

 

[Sam Posten]

do you still like the Technivorm? Has it been reliable? Is the build quality good? In short, has it been worth the $$$?

I make espresso 10x more than I make drip but no complaints on the Technivorm. It is beautiful, fast, and most importantly tasty. I wish the pots were a little bit bigger, so I'd definitely go with the bigger version if you can! That wasn't an option when I bought mine I don't think.

 

[Sam Posten]

One more piece of advice:
Descaling your machine. Do it.

If I never make foam is there any point to descaling the machine? Does it help the espresso side?

 

[Sam Posten]

Resuscitating this thread for some updates:
But this is by far the happiest I've been with a homemade mocha, it trumps my previous recipe and is fairly easy to make! I plan on serving it to my guests the next time I have company and see what they think!

The only mocha I have had in my life was the one with you in LA and it was very good. Making my own like you did seems to be too much work for my lazy butt =) I'll save those for a treat when I go to a real cafe.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I make espresso 10x more than I make drip but no complaints on the Technivorm. It is beautiful, fast, and most importantly tasty. I wish the pots were a little bit bigger, so I'd definitely go with the bigger version if you can! That wasn't an option when I bought mine I don't think.

Maybe the next time there's a sale, we will feel more flush. It was just too much this time around to spend.

 

[Carlo_M]

Sam you're descaling the boiler from which both your brew and your steam come from. The effect on your brew may be more subtle but yes you should do it. As your boiler builds up scale it will affect taste and performance and eventually lead to an an early death of your machine, or at least the need to replace the boiler.

 

[Carlo_M]

At Tcho Chocolate in SF. Bringing home a kg of drinking chocolate to form the ganache for my mochas! Same chocolatier that Intelligentsia and Blue Bottle in SF use!

 

[Sam Posten]

Keep in mind that the 900xl can only be descaled at the Breville service center. And I am making at most 7 Espressos a week, often far less. So I'm slow on their schedule even for changing filters.

 

[Carlo_M]

Wait you can't even run the standard descaling solution that's supposed to be for all machines?

 

[Sam Posten]

Nope.
http://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/breville-dual-boiler-espresso-machine-bes900xl
Take It To The Pros - Unfortunately you won't be descaling this machine yourself. The closest you'll get to decalcifying from the comfort of your home is using filters. But if it's a real flush out that you want, you'll have to have it professionally descaled at a service center every few years

 

[Carlo_M]

Oh wow, that's gotta be a first I've seen re: that!
I'd definitely spring for some filters then in the meantime. Wow that sucks that they make you go to a service center (or worse, mail it in if you don't live near one) and charge for it. Dezcal costs like under $10 for multiple descaling packs.

 

[BrianW]

Does anyone here have an opinion on the Nuova Simonelli espresso machine?

 

[Carlo_M]

No experience with them, Brian. Which model were you looking at? I looked at the NS website and they sell quite a few models.

 

[BrianW]

The Aurelia 2.

 

[Carlo_M]

Oh wow, one of their commercial models. No I don't have any experience with that. I will say most of the small but upscale coffeehouses in L.A. and San Francisco use either La Marzocco or La Cimbali. I have seen one or two Nuova Simonellis but the Marzoccos are the ones I see the most of (second place is Cimbali).

 

[Carlo_M]

Ok so here's the recipe I've settled on for my mocha. Takes less work than previous recipes. Buy Tcho drinking chocolate. They sell it on their website. When your machine is ready to brew, for an 8oz mocha, here's what I now do:
3 tsp drinking chocolate + 3 tsp boiling water in your mocha cup. Wisk about 30 seconds to finely mix (you can add more water if needed). Brew espresso on top and wisk lightly 10 seconds to incorporate. Steam milk and pour on top.
I've used this recipe for about two weeks now and it's great tasting and easy. I use a small second cup to microwave water for the chocolate mix. Takes about 4 minutes total after the machine is warmed up.