Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Mar 8, 2024 13:54:40 GMT
The first batch from my latest Square Mile sub:
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zerimski
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Post by zerimski on Mar 8, 2024 23:01:00 GMT
Upgraded to an electric grinder (Fellow Opus) from a Hario hand grinder that I apparently never really got dialled in, and I've just started properly weighing stuff. I'm getting good results with my V60, but I really need to sort out my Aeropress method. I think the dosing is the problem, so will have to experiment over the weekend.
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Post by uiruki on Mar 12, 2024 11:41:30 GMT
Hoffmann's reviewed the Niche Duo. Honestly, that's probably saved me a few bob: I'd been thinking of getting one for espresso but at this point I might as well wait for a proper advancement or just get a Zero which is 120 quid less.
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gamecat
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Post by gamecat on Mar 12, 2024 13:35:41 GMT
but I really need to sort out my Aeropress method. I think the dosing is the problem, so will have to experiment over the weekend. I've been using the coffee Jesus approved method for ages, seems fine. (200ml/11g, 2 mins, swirl, 30 secs, press) |
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Mar 12, 2024 15:03:52 GMT
I go inverted - 45-second bloom, 90-second steep, press. Works fine for me.
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Mar 12, 2024 15:04:57 GMT
The Ukuku from Square Mile is pretty good - not the best espresso product I've had from them, but better than any of their (usually kinda bland) filter coffees.
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Post by uiruki on Mar 12, 2024 15:07:55 GMT
I put in an order today and have their Easter blend coming!
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Mar 12, 2024 15:08:52 GMT
I put in an order today and have their Easter blend coming!
Nice!
Espresso or filter?
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Post by uiruki on Mar 12, 2024 15:09:34 GMT
Espresso, got some Red Brick as usual as well but I saw it on the page and thought that's a good idea.
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Mar 12, 2024 15:15:10 GMT
Ah, cool. Hope you like it - will be interested to hear what you think.
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zerimski
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Post by zerimski on Mar 12, 2024 17:44:55 GMT
but I really need to sort out my Aeropress method. I think the dosing is the problem, so will have to experiment over the weekend. I've been using the coffee Jesus approved method for ages, seems fine. (200ml/11g, 2 mins, swirl, 30 secs, press) Yup, he was going to be my first stop as I've watched it before but didn't note the dosage. Been using those timings though. |
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Tomo
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Post by Tomo on Mar 12, 2024 20:21:42 GMT
but I really need to sort out my Aeropress method. I think the dosing is the problem, so will have to experiment over the weekend. I've been using the coffee Jesus approved method for ages, seems fine. (200ml/11g, 2 mins, swirl, 30 secs, press) I use this too. Inverted is a health hazard frankly lol |
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Tomo
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Post by Tomo on Mar 12, 2024 20:22:38 GMT
Hoffmann's reviewed the Niche Duo. Honestly, that's probably saved me a few bob: I'd been thinking of getting one for espresso but at this point I might as well wait for a proper advancement or just get a Zero which is 120 quid less.
Didn't even realise this was a thing. |
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Tomo
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Post by Tomo on Mar 12, 2024 20:43:26 GMT
Watched the video now. Niche Duo sounds plain bad. When he overlays the Niche Duo graph on top of the Niche Zero graph, it basically shows you're getting the same grind results. Basically snake oil lol. Also, who the hell wants to swap burrs constantly. You are wayyyyyyy down the rabbithole at that point.
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Tomo
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Post by Tomo on Mar 12, 2024 20:47:13 GMT
PS: I have a Niche Zero and always been happy with the espresso results. I really think you gotta be some kind of super taster to tell the difference between a 500 quid and 3k grinder.
That said, a friend has a Decent DE1, which is a frankly insane coffee machine, and it's probably the best espresso I've ever tasted. Niche Zero grinder. The jump in taste comes from the serious science shit in that machine where you precisely configure the flow profiles and literally watch it happen on a graph on a connected tablet. If I had 3 grand to burn, I'd get one.
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Post by uiruki on Mar 13, 2024 0:23:33 GMT
Yeah, I'd been thinking of something like the Niche as an end-game grinder and had assumed that the flat burr would have been an improvement, given how they're hyped up - which made me appreciate James's explanation of the difference. I mostly drink americanos so I do like a bit more body which means that conical burr profile is probably more suitable for my taste overall.
While I do like the coffee I make from my Sage setup (Bambino plus and smart grinder) the one thing I've never been able to achieve is that unctuous, rich long black that in fairness I don't get every time even from cafes I like and I suspect a grinder upgrade is the less expensive part of the 'endgame' upgrade process.
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Tomo
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Post by Tomo on Mar 13, 2024 8:45:56 GMT
Yeah exactly. I think chasing those perfect coffees you sometimes get in cafés is down to one's preference towards obsession. My friend cited above with the Decent is very much of that mindset. He was telling me at the weekend he wants to upgrade his grinder from Niche Zero to that one that looks like a telescope made out of mostly magnets. We're both scientists but he approaches his entire life like one, hence the flow curves on the Decent and an obsession with coffee preparation. By way of example, this weekend he showed me how he folds his filter papers four times so it has 8 fold lines. Apparently it gives better results lolll.
I don't have the money or inclination to go that bonkers. He's a 4090Ti kinda guy whereas I'm more of a 3080 person. Go a bit crazy compared to most normal people to the point I can tell it's better than Nescafé, but stop short of full on midlife crisis. Mild life crisis ;D
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Tomo
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Post by Tomo on Mar 13, 2024 8:50:41 GMT
Also - having had a couple of coffees at Prufrock recently, where I was expecting to come out with recalibrated taste buds or something, the coffees I had there were just fine. My expectations were unrealistic but it did remind me taste is hugely preferential and influenced by all sorts of factors. Those unctuous perfect coffees exist, but they aren't guaranteed, even in coffee Nirvana. Hence I can be arsed to strive to precisely replicate them myself haha
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Bongo Heracles
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Post by Bongo Heracles on Mar 13, 2024 9:25:18 GMT
You drink good coffee at home by the sounds of it and you drank good coffee at prufrock. Your taste buds have baselined 'decent' so you will only ever react strongly to bad coffee. Soz.
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Vortex
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Post by Vortex on Mar 13, 2024 9:26:52 GMT
It's the mark of having good coffee at home when you go to a cafe and are left disappointed, thinking 'I could have done better than that!'. Then you truly are a coffee wanker fit for this thread!  |
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Mar 13, 2024 9:42:22 GMT
Coffee Jesus has a relevant video on this front:
Since I had my coffee epiphany in mid-2022 - and moved away from the dark roasts I'd always drunk, towards light, fruity, and acidic roasts - I probably drink less coffee while out and about, rather than more.
I know where the good local places are, and if they're not open/I'm somewhere else/whatever, I just don't bother.
I haven't set foot in a branch of Costa for almost two years.
If I'm going someplace new, I'll often Google 'specialty coffee [place name]' before setting off.
If I'm going to be away overnight, I'll give serious consideration to taking my AeroPress with me, rather than settling for the super-dark stuff I know the hotel is bound to serve with breakfast.
All of which is by way of saying that becoming a coffee wanker is a double-edged sword - it's a lot of fun, and I get massive amounts of enjoyment from treating coffee as a hobby of sorts, but it doesn't half make life awkward sometimes 
Once you've recalibrated your taste buds such that specialty is the norm, there's no turning back.
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Post by uiruki on Mar 13, 2024 11:56:01 GMT
I don't usually travel with coffee stuff because I tend to go to places with good coffee scenes. When I travel for work I'm mostly in Leeds and London, and I know where I can get a good cup pretty easily near the office. When I'm travelling for myself, nearby quality cafes are an element when I pick a hotel; last time I stayed in Tokyo I was quite close to a coffee shop that had six national winners/cup of excellence beans on at once and I ended up bringing about 120 quid worth of beans back for me and family.
That said, if there's somewhere nice to sit like an airport lounge where the coffee's poor I'll still have a latte or something. Sometimes they have nice tea bags on so that's a choice too.
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Tomo
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Post by Tomo on Mar 13, 2024 11:59:47 GMT
There are definitely cafes that make better coffee than I can at home. Especially on the espresso/flat white front. And I love going to those places. Part of the fun.
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Mar 13, 2024 12:09:46 GMT
I love visiting new coffee shops, or revisiting those I've enjoyed in the past; it's just that nowadays, I'll do a bit of research before setting off.
I kind of like that I have a mental list of specialty places to which I've been, just in case I ever find myself returning to a particular city, town, or village.
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Post by uiruki on Mar 18, 2024 9:27:12 GMT
Ah, cool. Hope you like it - will be interested to hear what you think. Had my first proper cup of the Easter blend this morning and it’s probably the sweetest cup I’ve made on my home setup, as someone who exclusively makes black americanos. I’ve had the Sweet Shop before and I’ve never been able to overcome the acidity but the one I made while half asleep this morning was delicious and different, to the point where I’ll have to check my working to make sure I didn’t do something weird or it didn’t react with something else I had. |
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Mar 18, 2024 11:12:04 GMT
Thanks, uiruki! As someone else who only drinks black Americanos, this sounds right up my alley (although I do love Sweet Shop as well). Will have to see if I can snag a bag before it's discontinued. |
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Post by uiruki on Mar 18, 2024 11:36:41 GMT
It’s certainly made me want to try Sweet Shop again, now I’m more experienced at getting the right extraction from coffee. I was just thinking about how I was so often drinking the same coffee as well, it’s a very pleasant surprise.
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Apr 5, 2024 10:49:43 GMT
This month's Square Mile delivery:
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Vortex
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Post by Vortex on Apr 5, 2024 11:10:52 GMT
My sister is up from London this weekend. I am hoping she has brought some coffee beans for me. |
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Apr 11, 2024 20:34:21 GMT
Vortex Was your wish granted? The Itumpi beans from Square Mile are excellent - much better than the Ukuku and Red Brick bags I've had from them of late.
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