jfv wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 8:38 pm

sparky wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 3:07 pm This man has incredible hair, and I believe he knows a few things about coffee too.

Thanks again - I watched the video. Very informative! The most interesting and useful part of the video for me was the explanation of the descriptors and their relation to acidity and fermentation.

I’m glad. Much of what he says goes over the rock I call my head, but his videos are pleasant, slightly mesmerising. Especially around his immaculate hair.

New brewing equipment arrived at my doorstep this morning:

- Hario Harior Noir 300 ml French Press
- Hario Skerton Pro Manual Coffee Mill

Just tried them out with some Costa Rica beans I purchased from Conscious Cup.

This is lovely. I really missed this stuff.

EDIT: I just read posts above about coffee/water ratio, which I failed to review prior to brewing. Looks like I started on the weak side, 15 g to 300 g of water = 1:20.

Mornings I go with auto drip, and I like my moccamaster technivorm. It’s expensive but it’s much better than the cheap Braun we had for years. But irrespective of brand, you have to remember to descale.

But I do like to mix it up on weekends, or if I’m working from home, with either pourover (Hario kit) or aeropress. Cheap blade grinder works is pretty reliable. The pourover in my opinion tastes the best, but I dont have time for it during the week.

Medium roast beans, with chocolate or blueberry notes, usually from Brazil and Ethiopia, respectively.

Im not uptight about the details of brewing coffee, except for weighing the beans. I go with 15g/250ml, or stronger depending on the bean.

If I were to rank the factors by relative importance towards making a good cup, it would be:

the quality of coffee origin/roast (entirely personal preference) > grinding beans fresh before brewing > equipment > brewing method

A quick review of my new burr grinder:

- Hario Skerton Pro Manual Coffee Mill

It successfully grinds beans.

On the coarse settings that are appropriate for French press, it is very inconsistent with the size of the resulting grounds. I mean, I realize that you're always gonna get a little bit of sediment in your cup when using a French press, but this thing is as bad as my old $10 blade grinder.

Considering Hario indicated in their product description that the "Pro" model improves over the standard Skerton, either their standard Skerton was REALLY bad at consistency, or they have failed to accomplish their goal.

I splashed out on a Comandante C40 about 2 years ago. I decided I should probably grind my own beans, and wanted to buy one for at least the next few years. It cost £170 but it feels worth it.
Granted, I don't know anything about the more expensive stuff above it, but it's a fine piece of machinery that produces consistent, high quality results.

You can order stuff online that's ground the day it ships out to you (what a world we're living in...), but I read a blog that tested freshness in the days after grinding and they found it to drop off pretty quickly after about 4 days. I noticed similar and hated my pre-ground bags losing flavour before I could get halfway through.

I was (am?) a fan of black coffee in the aeropress, but me and the gf have been making lattes with the moka pot for a while now and, with a little care and some great beans, I'm blown away by the results. I didn't know what I was doing with a moka pot for years...

jfv wrote: Mon Jan 24, 2022 11:54 am New brewing equipment arrived at my doorstep this morning:

- Hario Harior Noir 300 ml French Press
- Hario Skerton Pro Manual Coffee Mill

Just tried them out with some Costa Rica beans I purchased from Conscious Cup.

This is lovely. I really missed this stuff.

EDIT: I just read posts above about coffee/water ratio, which I failed to review prior to brewing. Looks like I started on the weak side, 15 g to 300 g of water = 1:20.

I've got the same-ish grinder. I haven't used it for french press since I've always had an electric grinder when brewing like that, but have read it's more inconsistent at coarser grinds. That's because the burrs have more room to wobble. There's mods to increase consistency that look somewhat easy to do, though if it was me, I'd just leave it as is. The pro looks really cool! Grind adjustment was a pain on the old one.

The "rules" like water ratio aren't super important. They're a nice jumping off point, and measuring helps repeat good experiences. "This is lovely" is the reaction we're all shooting for, no matter how we get there. Glad it's working out!

andyman wrote: I was (am?) a fan of black coffee in the aeropress, but me and the gf have been making lattes with the moka pot for a while now and, with a little care and some great beans, I'm blown away by the results. I didn't know what I was doing with a moka pot for years...

Aeropresses are great. Been inching back towards that. I had pretty crappy results with a moka pot but would love to try again. What's the trick?

chrisc wrote: Fri Jan 28, 2022 10:20 pm

andyman wrote: I was (am?) a fan of black coffee in the aeropress, but me and the gf have been making lattes with the moka pot for a while now and, with a little care and some great beans, I'm blown away by the results. I didn't know what I was doing with a moka pot for years...

Aeropresses are great. Been inching back towards that. I had pretty crappy results with a moka pot but would love to try again. What's the trick?

I followed this video (that guy again):



- Smooth coffee over, but don't compact it.
- Pre-boil the water and keep the flame on really low.
- Leave the lid up so you can keep an eye on the coffee, and take it off the hob and use as soon as possible the second the coffee starts to sputter.

So the complete opposite of how I used to do it. I look forward to trying it out. Thanks!

Heh, I lived in Italy for five years, and everyone I saw using a Moka pot would just heat up cold/cool water to a boil.

That step may not be absolutely necessary, but I'm cautious as I have a low tolerance for moka coffee when it's bitter.

Also, I bought one of those hand whizzers for foaming the milk and it rocks!