Coffee Drinkers? (or other hot beverages)

[EdipisReks1]

Marc, that isn’t an oboe. I specifically said “oboe.”

[EdipisReks1]

Good coffee day for Jacob. Sample of Yemenia from friendly and generous colleague arrived. AeroPress (I haven’t had one in years, since a roommate stole it) arrived. Niche Zero shipped. Zutto for Heather arrived. 

Funny enough, I have not had coffee today. 

Edited December 6, 2021 by EdipisReks1

[EdipisReks1]

Why do I feel slightly intimidated? I’ve used one of these many times! I guess because the last time I used one I was buying pre-ground coffee. I do indeed have zero idea of where to grind on the Ode with SSP.  I do espresso at 1.75 or so; pour-over is somewhere around 7. I guess start at 4? I suppose that is more than “zero idea.”

Edited December 7, 2021 by EdipisReks1

[EdipisReks1]

4 was too fine. But it’s a perfectly nice cup of washed Finca Los Andes. Just the basic Hoffman recipe. I find his basic recipes to be good starting points. Precisely zero bitterness, though. Not really any stronger than my standard V60 method, I would say. Chocolatey, nice brightness (this was a medium-light roast, water was 210F). Coats the back of the tongue nicely. 

It was certainly easy.

I can see why my old roommate stole it from me 15 years ago.

13.75/250 would probably fill the mug, and is what I would do next time, and at a 5 on the SSP multipurpose (I grind rather fine for pour over, and this really wanted something closer to my pour over than espresso, based on the puck being a bit wet).

Edited December 7, 2021 by EdipisReks1

[EdipisReks1]

Still don’t have the Flair 58 dialed in (still going too coarse; getting turbos, though less so now), but I have the Bellman figured out. I could have done latte, but of course I don’t do latte art.  The smug smiley face doesn’t count as latte art.

Not terrible. Not bad for the second time I’ve used the Flair and the third time I have used the Bellman. 

Edited December 7, 2021 by EdipisReks1

[EdipisReks1]

I don’t understand how anybody complains that the Bellman doesn’t have enough steam pressure: it will produce as much pressure as you are brave enough to produce. It’s built about as tough as my Fissler pressure cooker, and the safety valve is… liberal, so I bet it’ll produce more pressure than I’m brave enough for, and I don’t have much of a fear impulse.

I BARELY opened the valve for the vortex, and then slightly more for the stretch. I would have oat milk all over my kitchen if I had opened it all the way. I could have steamed several more drinks, with it off heat. No problem. 

[HemiSam]

LOL.  Good stuff, ER.

I'm already looking forward to the weekend so that I can have the Bianca kicking my arse again...  Some equipment has showed up that will make my life easier like the tamp/leveler you recommended and I have a nice stainless milk steamer pitcher vs the coffee cup I used last weekend.

HS

[EdipisReks1]

Let’s see how you are talking after 5 years of weekends; we’ll have an idea of how the espresso is going by then. 

[Augsburger]

"IMS basket" Is that a Flair 58 accessory? Is that a drop in you use instead of the Flair's puck screen?

[EdipisReks1]

IMS makes espresso baskets. The Flair 58 has a standard sized portafilter, so you can use commercial parts. I choose IMS over VST due to cost and availability. A precision basket will be better than most of what is shipped with machines (Flair has a perfectly good basket, but it’s not precision). Makes a difference on extraction evenness. I’ve attached comparison pics. The IMS precision competition basket has a significantly different shape and is more free-flowing; also has very precise holes (hence “precision.” :)).

Difference is not subtle.

Edited December 8, 2021 by EdipisReks1

[EdipisReks1]

Yemenia pour-over. 16:1 210F 3:30 draw. This is a fascinating coffee. Delicious. Thank you Covered_Ears!

[EdipisReks1]

Trying to figure out why one of these was $50 and the other was $10, other than “Jacob is a gullible dipshit with a credit card:” The Subminimal is a little nicer, but it ain’t 5x nicer. 2.35x nicer, tops. The anodized finish on both is, as far as I can tell (and I used a loupe) absolutely identical. 

Edited December 8, 2021 by EdipisReks1

[grawk]

the handle looks cooler, obv.

 

The one on the left might allow for more precise latte art.

[EdipisReks1]

41 minutes ago, grawk said:

the handle looks cooler, obv.

 

The one on the left might allow for more precise latte art.

That is the cheap one!

Made a decent macchiato, but ground too fine. The Ode is just not suited to the task. 

[EdipisReks1]

This is not a surprise, re: Ode with SSP. It is very, very good for filter, but just doesn’t have the specificity for espresso. Good thing my Niche shipped. 

Edited December 8, 2021 by EdipisReks1

[EdipisReks1]

Packing up for my trip to Greensboro next week (I do this gradually so as to not let the cats know anything is about to happen). Not as fancy as Dan’s set-up, but I like it. Now the question is: do I pack the Niche, if it arrives in time, or do I pack a/the hand grinder(s): you know; the things I bought specifically for this use case (we all know the answer: I’ll pack all of them, if possible).

[HemiSam]

Jacob,

If I were you I'd leave that beautiful Niche at home.  It's heavy and there's more downside than upside there, particularly with your travels down the rabbit hole on grinders...ya got options.

Sam

[EdipisReks1]

That’s a good point: I haven’t seen one in person (though the delivery has been updated to tomorrow apparently!), so I don’t know how heavy it is, or how large the box is. Also, because I’m traveling with all these stupid Christmas gifts I’m going to be more space constrained than usual…

[grawk]

I dunno, it's not that big or heavy, especially for the quality.

[HemiSam]

I don't think it's heavy for a home unit, but for traveling it feels like a bit much.

Then again. you should see my toolbox on my trailer when I used to take my Challenger racing...packing weight.

HS

[grawk]

I wouldn't take any of my coffee stuff on a plane, but if I'm driving, there's room for a grinder, for sure.

 

[EdipisReks1]

If I’m in NC for longer than two weeks I typically take my NAIM MuSo2, which is quite large, but this is a trip where I am having to make decisions; the Tiguan really doesn’t have that much room even with the roof bag, and the cats take up a lot of room. 

There also may not be kitchen counter space. 

1 hour ago, HemiSam said:

I don't think it's heavy for a home unit, but for traveling it feels like a bit much.

Then again. you should see my toolbox on my trailer when I used to take my Challenger racing...packing weight.

HS

And see, this is why I started only driving other people’s cars around Mid-Ohio!

Edited December 9, 2021 by EdipisReks1

[EdipisReks1]

We’re gonna need a bigger boat. 

Edited December 10, 2021 by EdipisReks1

[EdipisReks1]

Not close to calibrated out of the box (and there is a large safety factor between “calibrated” and chirping, but I don’t particularly want to grind coffee beans unto talcum powder, so that’s okay) but boy is that an easy calibration process. This is dead center in the espresso range after calibrating to the manual’s process. Lots of range there. 

[HemiSam]

Good stuff, Jacob!  That's quite a collection.  I need a work space that big...one day.

Well, I am back at the espresso / cappuccino game this morning.  I had a lovely cup at a local independent shop after lunch yesterday and I was inspired this morning.

It was not as good, and I did purchase their recommended beans, but it was respectable and definitely better than Starbucks or Black Rock (portland chain that's been here a few years).

My biggest challenge is the flow rate.  I put in 20 grams and I stop at roughly 30 grams of espresso...the flow even centralized / balanced itself out of the basket/portafilter.  But...it's coming out too quickly.  Done at just over 20 seconds.

My tamp will be slightly more next time, but I'm fairly confident it is my grind as I had the same issue last time with a more firm tamp.  I set the Niche it to 14 this morning.  I shall try a bit lower next cup.

HS