Coffee Drinkers? (or other hot beverages)

[EdipisReks1]

I had a dream last night that I met James Hoffman at Square Mile, which for some reason was in an old broken down cabin. I left with coffee, but there wasn’t any under my pillow when I woke up. 
 

I think I might be watching too much coffee YouTube!

[Covered_Ears]

Good thing it was James Hoffman making coffee for you. The reverse situation would be what I'd call a nightmare (even if dream Hoffman reacted very encouragingly).

[Augsburger]

I would recommend that everyone here avoid Clive Coffee at all costs. Do not waste your money on their defective merchandise. Details to follow once I settle down. 

[n_maher]

^^ That sounds spectacularly shitty, Greg. 

[grawk]

12 hours ago, Augsburger said:

I would recommend that everyone here avoid Clive Coffee at all costs. Do not waste your money on their defective merchandise. Details to follow once I settle down. 

That really sucks.  They're regularly recommended on home-barista.

[HemiSam]

Sorry to see this, Augsburger.  Never fun when you spend good money on bad service/merch.

I had a good experience with them on my espresso equipment fortunately.  

I hope they try to make it correct for you.

HS

[EdipisReks1]

This is my second coffee for the morning, so I went decaf (Counter Culture Slow Motion). Oat milk macchiato made with the Flair and the Bellman. Was delicious. 

[EdipisReks1]

I’m proud of Heather: taking retention into account!

[EdipisReks1]

On 1/12/2022 at 9:29 PM, Augsburger said:

I would recommend that everyone here avoid Clive Coffee at all costs. Do not waste your money on their defective merchandise. Details to follow once I settle down. 

I just saw this. That sounds not excellent. 

[EdipisReks1]

Boy I feel dumb: if you fold a Chemex paper like this and put the thick side in the runnel it stays completely clear for the whole brew and you don’t get a stall. This is better than putting a chopstick there!

[Augsburger]

Yep I posted my version last week on here. No need for a straw of a chopstick unless you are into that kind of kinky thing with your morning coffee.

 

[Augsburger]

OK, abbreviated version of the Clive debacle.

I purchased the Eureka Oro Mignon XL on 12/20 from Clive based on Angus' recommendation that it would be the best at doing both fine espresso grinds and switching to pour over grinds. When the Mignon arrived I plugged it in and loaded 28 grams of beans into the hopper and turned it on...nothing came out. I removed the bean hopper emptied out the remaining beans and partially ground coffee.  Turned on the grinder to make sure the burrs were spinning freely, and they were.  Reloaded another 28 grams of beans and turned on the grinder and again nothing came out the chute. I called Clive and after a lot of back and forth returned the Mignon for another one. Suffice to say, same outcome with the second Mignon. Nothing, not even a gram of coffee came out. 

This week things got really frustrating.  The Clive customer rep first recommended that I take the Mignon apart to assess why it was not working and see if I could unjam it myself. I told her I would not dismantle the machine to trouble shoot it for them because if that did not resolve the problem they might claim I broke the machine and void my warrantee. So I sent the second unit back to Clive.

The rep also emailed me this week to tell me the following-

1) Yes the first unit was clogged and not functioning but that can happen and the Mignon needs to be cleaned periodically,

This was my first use with only 28 grams of beans and the machine couldn't handle that? What am I supposed to do clean it while running it each time?

2) She claimed that I had the grind set too fine which could clog the grinders and that I should back the grind setting off a few notches,

The reason I bought this model was that I was told by a sales rep that the Mignon was exceptional at handling all espresso and pour over grind levels. So when the dial provides settings of 1-10, I should not use 1 because then my unit will not work?

3) If the second unit was found to be in working condition they would take the unit and refund my purchase price less a 10% restocking fee. 

Really? A defective return for a machine that does not work is a "restock" subject to a 10% fee?

Based on my experience I feel that if you ever have a problem with anything you buy from Clive they have no intention of making things right.

[HemiSam]

Augsburger,

I would be equally upset in your shoes.  That appears to be a high end grinder and you should fully expect a unit that functions day one, certainly within the provided settings.

Really sorry you had that experience...I'd be pissed.

Clive was good to me.  I had one of the walnut knobs on the Bianca that wasn't right...they made it correct by getting another to me.  A young lady was very helpful with this.  Then there was a fitting that was supposed to be included so I could plumb it to my water source.  The gent wasn't as outwardly friendly as the lady and less communicative via email throughout the process but low and behold the fitting showed up promptly.

Shame they did not treat you equally well...it's a high end coffee shop where it's all about products and service IMO.

Sipping an Ethiopia Work pour over.  Damn the Ethiopians are blessed when it comes to coffee...

HS

12 hours ago, EdipisReks1 said:

Boy I feel dumb: if you fold a Chemex paper like this and put the thick side in the runnel it stays completely clear for the whole brew and you don’t get a stall. This is better than putting a chopstick there!

I use the pre-folded filters and once I do the bloom and follow up with another 200+ grams of water I just give the slurry a good stir with a metal straw or the like and I don't have to do anything else assuming my grind is reasonably coarse, J.

For what it's worth.

HS

[n_maher]

11 hours ago, Augsburger said:

OK, abbreviated version of the Clive debacle.

<snip>

That sucks, Greg, and agreed that there's a range of settings on the grinder for a reason and that if it's not even able to function within those settings out of the box, something isn't right.  It's pretty absurd of them threaten a restocking fee for a device that isn't working and I'd fight that thru my CC if I were you if they go down that route. I also wouldn't be particularly shy about leaving a detailed review if needed.  For now, I'd just move onto the next vendor and grinder and put it behind you as much as possible.  Life is too short to be mad at coffee.  

[EdipisReks1]

I have heard some mumblings on a couple forums and blogs over the years of Clive shipping returns as new, and I’ve read some issues with support. I don’t know if it’s broadly true, but it doesn’t really surprise me, given that. 

I’m sorry, Greg. That really sucks. 

I totally forgot about your post on Chemex!  I just have subconsciously been accidentally finding a YouTube video that showed this fold after reading yours. 

Edited January 15, 2022 by EdipisReks1

[HemiSam]

Bought some espresso beans earlier this week.  They are a week off roast.  Made a great flat white I believe one would call it.  Soooooo much easier to produce good coffee with a bean that caters to the machine.  

HS

[EdipisReks1]

Too bad I had already steamed the oat milk. It was the most delicious latte I have ever had. 7 bar peak and a slow decrease for the Counter Culture Apollo, 20 in 48 out in 50 seconds. The tiger stripes aren’t channeling, in and of themselves: there was minimal channeling in the puck (the small dots at the edges) until it began to erode towards the end (where the larger spots start appearing, in the same places in relation to the earlier small spots: no puck has no channeling, and all pucks erode through the length of the shot), but you can definitely see where the initial channeling increases over the length of the pull.

Notice that the “meat” of the shot doesn’t show channeling. I think this is a result of the grounds expanding and contracting and then contracting and expanding through the pressure release, as water is forced into the coffee and then forced out. The initial pressure opens the small imperfections in the bed, but then they close from 6-3 bars, which is about 40 seconds of the shot. When the pressure reduces enough towards the end they open back up.  Obviously, visually, in the same places in the bed: no additional channeling happens during the shot.

The rings are a result of the ramp down in pressure, and the pretty distribution is just because I somehow didn’t fuck up and the ramp down was even, and pausing for a tiny bit watching the gauge with each marking. Puck was as pretty as you please. I just love that you can count the ramp down from 7 bars pressure in the rings.

I would call that minimal channeling.  

Edited January 16, 2022 by EdipisReks1

[EdipisReks1]

I think I’m just going to get a Rancilio Silvia to replace my Breville. Just the base one (though maybe in black; I don’t think I have room for the Pro, or the X, really). With the Flair 58 I don’t really need anything to get better espresso for when I’m being fancy-fancy, but I need something more convenient that is better than the Breville. I thought about the Bambino, which is much nicer than the Breville I have (mine is an old entry level, remember, from ten years ago: it’s pretty nice for what it is, but it’s what it is), but I want a larger machine that uses a 58mm porta and has more cup storage.

I haven’t totally decided, but I think it makes a lot of sense, even with that dumb drip tray. And lots of upgrades for after I get to know the machine. Plus easy pressure modulation out of the box.

Also: coffee setup art finally on the wall.

[HemiSam]

I did a lot of reading about the Silvia and took a hard look at it, ER.  I think it would be a solid choice based on what I have seen.  A serious community out there using and improving up on it.  Should be fun.

HS

[EdipisReks1]

The other obvious option in the same space is the Lelit Victoria. Already has PID. I need to think about it. Heather’s birthday is next month and that is going to eat my fun money, not to mention coming off of Christmas. I think either is likely to be a good choice for my use case. 

Edited January 18, 2022 by EdipisReks1

[EdipisReks1]

You know, I guess when you think about it, the Flair 58, Bellman boiler, and my Brewista kettle makes a pretty darned capable double boiler setup. 

[EdipisReks1]

I just made a latte with the Breville that made me say “ooh,” so maybe I shouldn’t be in a hurry to spend money. The problem is that I had to pay attention, and if I’m going to do that I might as well use the Flair.

Edited January 18, 2022 by EdipisReks1

[EdipisReks1]

VST in the house. This is a radically different basic geometry and build from the IMS (ignore the size difference; one is an 18/20 and one is an 18/22). Honestly, just looking at them… I have no idea.

[Augsburger]

I bought the VST as well but it is sitting next to the Flair while this Mignon grinder debacle is getting sorted out.

[EdipisReks1]

6 hours ago, Augsburger said:

I bought the VST as well but it is sitting next to the Flair while this Mignon grinder debacle is getting sorted out.

I sure hope it’s resolved soon. Espresso is hard enough without that shit.