Coffee: Intermediate to Advanced (1 Viewer)

[Sam Posten]

You lost me at "Steam Milk" =) Might try it some day tho!

 

[andrew markworthy]

I hear you Dave; I absolutely positively have to add creamer and sweetenings to my coffee. They tone down the coffee and create a smoother drinking experience for me.

To some extent it's personal taste of course, but different types of coffee need milk and sweetener to different extents, in the same way that tea does. You'd never put milk in green tea would you (please tell me you wouldn't}? If you have a very mild roast, adding anything but the barest minimum of milk and sugar will obliterate its delicate flavour. When you get into the high roasts, unless you want a pick me up effect from the bitterness, then milk and sugar not only remove the bitterness, but the combination of flavours makes for a far better overall taste.

 

[Carlo_M]

Green tea lattes are very popular in So Cal. Just saying.
And they're delicious! :yum:

 

[andrew markworthy]

Green tea lattes are very popular in So Cal.

I don't doubt your word that they are delicious, but what on earth are they made from? I wonder if there is a confusion over terminology here. In the UK, 'green tea' means china tea, and in fact it is almost always a pale yellow colour, never lurid green as in the photo. The only green 'tea' I can think of is Dutch mint tea, which is simply fresh sprigs of mint in hot water (seriously - if you've never tried it, do; it is by far and away the most refreshing but soothing hot drink on a cold winter's day; and no calories either!).

 

[DaveF]

To some extent it's personal taste of course, but different types of coffee need milk and sweetener to different extents, in the same way that tea does. You'd never put milk in green tea would you (please tell me you wouldn't}? If you have a very mild roast, adding anything but the barest minimum of milk and sugar will obliterate its delicate flavour. When you get into the high roasts, unless you want a pick me up effect from the bitterness, then milk and sugar not only remove the bitterness, but the combination of flavours makes for a far better overall taste.

I admit I do not have a sophisticated palate, and even the mildest coffee is too starkly bitter for my taste without cream and / or sugar
As for tea: hot tea can be drunk alone, but otherwise with honey. Cold tea needs lots of sugar (or sweet and low, as that's what my grandfather used
I'm not sure what green tea is. I've seen it, drank it, and found it an odd taste. It also appears in ice cream in some Asian restaurants. I can only assume inspired for poor deprived barbarians who have never had vanilla or sugar in their pantry.

 

[Carlo_M]

Actually what we consider true green tea is from Japan and has many varieties but the best ones brew green. We consider Chinese tea to be black teas.
Green tea lattes are made with matcha green tea powder and steamed milk and some kind of sweetener (sugar, simple syrup or white chocolate sauce are examples of what I've seen used).
We have a big Japanese population here and it started in their tea and coffee houses in the various little Tokyo areas in LA.

 

[andrew markworthy]

Green tea lattes are made with matcha green tea powder

D'oh! Of course, I'd forgotten how green it is. It's not very popular in the UK, and i think I've only drunk it once in my life. Chinese teas are generally called green in the UK, but yes, there are black Chinese teas as well and we would classify them the same way.

 

[Carlo_M]

Hey Andrew - yeah I get what you are saying. I think here we also agree that there are both green and black teas from China. But the Chinese way of preparing the tea leaves results in generally darker and non-green colors after steeping. The Japanese Green Tea makers pride themselves in the greenness of their tea after steeping. So it's kind of a rivalry thing more than anything else I think. Check out google images for japanese green tea, especially sencha, matcha and gyokuro. Personally I drink both, but if I am drinking just the tea alone I prefer Japanese green tea like gyokuro. But when at dim sum they serve Chinese green and/or black teas and I put those down by the teapot!

 

[mattCR]

I bought my wife a nespresso for Christmas. Set it up. It leaked like crazy. Returned it. Bought another. It leaked like crazy from a totally different location. Ended up buying a Keurig Vue. So far, I'm happy with it.

 

[DaveF]

Love my Keurig. How's the Vue?

 

[Carlo_M]

Bummer to hear. I'm not much of a brew coffee drinker so I never considered a Keurig, Nespresso, or other one pod, one-cup machines. But I have friends with them and of all the ones I tried, I liked the taste of the Nespresso best. I haven't checked back with them in a while to see if their machine is still performing well.

 

[Colin Davidson]

Looking for some advice / recommendations / actual use on a coffee maker. My current pot is a Braun Thermal which I have had for several years and does an OK job but I know that there are better out there that would really enhance the brewing and taste of my coffee. While the Technivorm seems like a great coffee maker it is going to be very hard to justify $300 to the wife (who doesn't drink coffee) to get one. I also know that I have to spend something more than just what a replacement Mr. Coffee would be at WalMart. The alternatives I have been looking at are: 1. Bonavita Thermal at about $180.00. It is an 8 cup brewer and certified by the Specialty Coffee Association of America for whatever that is worth. 2. The Capresso MT600 Plus at about $130.00. A 10 cup brewer but as far as I can tell not certified by anyone and it also has some additional features such a programmable clock and auto brew which I won't necessarily use. If anyone has any information on the two above or has some other suggestions to look at I would very appreciative. Thanks Colin

 

[Sam Posten]

Can't help ya there Colin, still very happy with my Technivorm. Watch Amazon for sales is best I can say!

 

[Carlo_M]

First bummer situation: had to return my Baratza Preciso grinder. Was working with the manufacturer directly over the last few months. Here's what was happening: I'd dial in my espresso grind at about say 4. Over time, I'd have to adjust to finer and finer grind (because of the rate of espresso pour) until I had no numbers left. Grinder was replaced by Baratza (who had outstanding customer service I will admit, they cross shipped so I was never without grinder) but alas, after three different grinders, all of which did the same thing, I didn't want to keep playing this game until I was out of warranty. So the guy I bought the setup from in Silver Lake offered to take back the machine and refund me the purchase price, or put it towards a new grinder. I ended up buying a new grinder from him. I decided to "buy the last grinder I will ever need". The Mazzer Mini E doserless He has been using one as well and I was able to examine the build quality and grind while at his house this morning. This thing is built like a tank. Listed at 20 pounds but feels much heavier. No plastic in the body/frame (bean hopper, yes). Not sure it would stop a bullet but it certainly inspires much confidence. Lower RPM means low heat, meaning your bean isn't "roasted a second time" when being ground. The Baratza would definitely add a measurable amount of heat to the grind. When I ground the beans into my hand, there was almost no discernable heat (felt like it was at room temp). Doesn't hurt that just about any serious espresso house you go to, chances are they've got a Mazzer or two in the setup. The grind fineness and consistency was amazing. Like the finest grains of sand, all uniform and round. Low RPM for low noise, yet a motor that provided more than enough torque and power at the lower revolutions. I'll be getting it in black anodized body (instead of silver) and Type A (meaning the electronic timer).

Should be here by next weekend. I'll let everyone know how it performs!

 

[Sam Posten]

Holy smoooookes!

 

[BrianW]

Wow, nice!

 

[Carlo_M]

I'm starting to get antsy for its arrival. Whoever said "patience is a virtue" never had to wait for a Mazzer Mini to arrive! Seriously, this is one half of the "dream setup" for me. The other half is a nice dual boiler machine like an Alex Duetto v.3 or La Spaziale Dream S1 or Mini Vivaldi II. Those machines cost just north of $2K but will essentially perform near the levels of the professional machines in both steaming and espresso extraction quality. They can also maintain those exacting temperature and pressure levels for many consecutive drinks without the need to recharge between shots/steams like my Rancilio Silvia does. I know this is the perfectionist in me talking, as the Silvia can make quite good drinks back-to-back-to-back quickly, but I like to let my boiler get all the way back to the optimum brewing temperature for my beans (too hot and the extraction tastes bitter, too cool and it may taste sour) before crafting the next drink. True dual boiler machines keep both boilers at the exact right temperature for brewing and steaming so you can make drink after drink with little to no variance. While the Duetto looks like the better machine below (with the gorgeous stainless steel housing) most people say the internals of the La Spaziale are superior. Also the La Spaziale comes with a built-in water softener filter [replaceable] whereas I'd have to jury-rig one for the Duetto.

La Spaziale S1 Dream T

Alex Duetto III Hopefully in a year or two I'll have either the Alex or the La Spaziale in house, and will either resell my Silvia, or take it into work. In case you were wondering, the above setup is my dream setup, but my "just won the lotto" setup would be the La Marzocco GS3. Now that is a beast, and I could basically open up a coffeehouse with it. You'd better be able to, for just under $7K, you'll need to start a cafe in order to recoup your costs!

Final step? Home roasting of coffee (don't even get me started on that).

 

[Sam Posten]

Carlo I believe now might be the time for you to admit you have a problem =p

 

[Carlo_M]

I don't believe I've ever denied that I did

 

[BrianW]

Can you guys possibly recommend a grinder? I'm currently using a Nuova Simonelli MDX grinder, and I'm dismayed at the lack of control I have in the amount of coffee it dispenses into the portafilter. I run the grinder as I flip the dosing lever so my grind is nice and fresh. But when the portafilter is nearly full, and all I need is just a tiny bit more, I nudge the lever ever so slightly, and BLARRRGH, it dumps a crapload of grounds, ruining my shot, and making me start all over. This, more than anything, has been the bane of my coffee-making life since opening my coffee shop. If I could dose more accurately, I would be able to serve customers much faster than I'm doing now. Is there a (commercial) grinder that allows more precise control over the amount of coffee being dispensed?