Coffee wankers thread

Perky Blenders decaf is quite good. Fairly punchy, roasty flavour.

Artisan coffee in Scotland do a nice one you can order - remember it being bit sweeter than PB, but been a while.

Currently on Wood St decaf, which is also good.

Re: Perky Blender's, I had a sub for there a few years back from my sister. Loved the name, but the coffee was always a minor let down. Always ok, but never great.

I got this a few months ago

Beko Bean to Cup Coffee Machine CEG3190B | Black Design |19 Bar Pressure-Stainless Steel| Includes One Touch LCD Control, Pre-brewing System & Removable Water Tank amzn.eu/d/hhvrYmy

It’s the definition of no frills but it’s pretty good. It has two programmable settings so I have one for espresso and another that pushes through more water for an americano. It doesn’t grind fine enough for *good* espresso but it does an OK one. If you feed it good beans the americano it spits out is actually pretty good, though.

I’m more than happy with it for a cheapish one touch. I only drink black coffee anyway so it’s absolutely perfect for that.

Ena 4 is their cheapest yep, if you see a mega cheap E6 it could be the old version as it's recently had an update (the old version had a 10g max dose). Looks like decent prices for both at JohnLewis. Jura have a decent comparison thingy:

uk.jura.com/en/homeproducts/automatic-coffee-machines

That was my experience too. One or two were good, a few were ok, one was iffy.

Shame.

One of the local roasteries here always over roasts until the beans are oily and it's such a shame as I do try to support local, but also want good beans, so i won't touch them anymore.

Hello, everyone! We got DeLonghi EC885 for Christmas (so very low end stuff) and I’ve spent the morning messing about with it (before getting drunk and cooking dinner). It’s not too shabby, considering our budget, but it’s going to take a little fine tuning.

I used to be a Barista (in fact I managed a coffee shop for a while) so it’s been fun trying to make coffees again. Obviously the machine and steam wand do not compare to the insanely expensive machines you might run a business on, but the coffee tasted good. We have a cheap coffee grinder too, which at first doesn’t seem to grind as fine as I would expect, but still makes a rather good espresso!

I’m open to all and any bean suggestions! I need to pick up some decaf beans as I’m trying to teach the other half to steam milk properly. She’s already made a pretty great latte, but wants to learn to make everything, it seems.

I get my beans from hasbean and they are consistently good. Not overly cheap but have used them for ages and never had an issue.

I thought I would try a subscription service and signed up with Pact Coffee. Got the first batch today, 250g of La Pedregosa Espresso which I've just made a latte from and very very nice indeed it is.

Got some Brazilian beans from my sister from Assembly roastery for my Xmas and have been using them for the last few days.

Very nice.

Re:ulythium's query, nope sorry. Is it just a fancy aeropress?

I thought Hoffmann covered it on his trip around London video but it was the Wacaco Picopresso. None of the ones he tested had water heaters and they generally made fine espresso but they were all a bit fiddly in their own way.

IMO if he's willing to get fiddly to save some space and money, he might as well just get a gooseneck and a V60 and give pourovers a try, with the added benefit that it'll still not be obsolete when he does decide on a new machine.

If the actual goal is something that will give Gaggia Classic-like espresso then that best under 500 video would be worth a watch, especially since Hoffmann compares it with some others. It also gives a good idea of some of the tradeoffs as you go down in price.

The Colombia El Placer beans I got for Xmas are exceptional, if you like funky naturals.

Very much a once-a-year treat for me, at £15 for a small tin, but excellent nonetheless.

New Red Brick through the door today.

Glad to see it, as the current local roastery (usually decent) have over-roasted their espresso classic blend this time round. Their head guy has retired, so i hope this isn't a sign of things to come and is just 'teething troubles' from the change.

I bought a Sage Barista Express Impress in the xmas sales (was down to £550 after getting a discount code from Coffee Kev). Previously I had only ever used a cafetiere or a Moka pot (and occasionally a briki for Greek coffee).

It took a little while to get used to - not least because I didn't realise shot time included the pre-infusion so I thought my shots were all being pulled 10 seconds too fast when they were spot on - but I'm feeling far more confident now I've been through a few bags.

Finding I'm dialling in quickly now, the coffee tastes great to my unsophisticated palate, and when I go in the office now and use the bean to cup machine I'm appalled at how acrid or sour it can taste. 

My partner loves it too as she knows once I have set it up for new beans she can just make a good cuppa without faffing and the machine basically doing all the measuring and timing for her.

Tried some beans from a local (Crouch End, N London) roaster which were fine, some from cworks which were again fine (and relatively cheap with an intro offer), but last week got a kilo of Xolo from Dark Arts and it's amazing.

I need to practice a lot more with the frother, but my daughter declares the hot chocolate I have been making her the best ever, so that's a win for dad.

Overall, very happy with my purchase - I'm not full wanker yet, but I'm getting there

I can only drink cappuccinos or lattes at work as they mask the taste just enough. Usually I’ll take my own, ground that morning, and brew it there.