Coffee recs for a pump espresso machine?

[bungeejumper]

It's been three long days since my faithful Krups 963 espresso machine went to the great recycling plant in the sky, after 35 years of waking me up in the morning. (It was tripping the ring main every morning, dammit. ) I lost no time in buying another machine to replace it - but it just ain't the same.

There's nothing really wrong with my pump action shot deliverer (sorry) (https://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-pa ... l/p4839988) - it seems to work exactly as designed, and the reviews are great. But dammit, it doesn't deliver so much coffee. Maximum is a double shot, whereas my old Krups (as I now realise) delivered three and a bit. And the cups are smaller, too! Breakfasts are just not the same.

So I'm on the lookout for some stronger wake-up juice. Our usual standby, Taylors Italian (mostly arabica, roast strength 4) just doesn't hit my nervous system in the same way, and it seems very bland. Should I up the strength? Or go for more robusta? Any recommended brands?

TIA

BJ

[Pipsmum]

I'll ask my son (who is a barista) for you.

[swill453]

I can't see beyond Lavazza Qualità Rossa, I buy them by the dozen with an Amazon subscription. Strength 5, it seems.

Scott.

[Pipsmum]

Bearing in mind said son is at work... his first response was this... I can ask more questions if you'd like.

Hmm... A double shot is all you need or should want from an espresso machine. It doesn't impart any more caffeine by being higher in volume, but drastically ruins the flavour. Might be worth trying 2 double shots if it's not hitting the spot, or transition to filter coffee, as its generally stronger and more easily absorbed by the body. Also, when shopping for coffee, stick with speciality grade as it doesn't taste like [expletive deleted] (support your local independent roasteries if you can) and look for coffees grown at lower altitudes as they will contain more caffeine.

[servodude]

Bearing in mind said son is at work... his first response was this... I can ask more questions if you'd like.

Hmm... A double shot is all you need or should want from an espresso machine. It doesn't impart any more caffeine by being higher in volume, but drastically ruins the flavour. Might be worth trying 2 double shots if it's not hitting the spot, or transition to filter coffee, as its generally stronger and more easily absorbed by the body. Also, when shopping for coffee, stick with speciality grade as it doesn't taste like Manure (support your local independent roasteries if you can) and look for coffees grown at lower altitudes as they will contain more caffeine.

Should it taste like manure if the beans were pulled out the bum of a Civet?

Moving swiftly on:
I loved this post; it encapsulates everything that makes this Fool the best place on the interwebs!

On the coffee:

I've been told that you can't tamp too hard (there's only so much air) bit you should only it once (because Voodoo?)
- 15bar pressure
- don't pull for more than 30secs; you can see the coffee change as it moves through
That's when everything is working! and the one of biggest factors in that is the grind (well grind and pressure)
The grind will really affect the flow, and that's a balance you need to find for your machine, porta filter and pressure.

And mix the beans up... you'll get used to them and they'll not have that zing!
Fresh as you can; get a Civet for a pet!

Try a cold brew (I got one for Xmas) skinny jeans, sculpted beard....
maybe not?
-sd

[88V8]

In re flavour
https://newatlas.com/science/scientists ... 3-92456261
although they do not pick an ideal machine.

V8

[JoyofBricks8]

I always found this coffee company an intriguing business:

https://killtheenemycoffee.com/products ... e-bean-8oz

[redsturgeon]

In re flavour
https://newatlas.com/science/scientists ... 3-92456261
although they do not pick an ideal machine.

V8

I tried this for my coffee this morning and I am not a fan of their suggestions.

I found the coarser grind coupled with the shorter extraction time gave a thinner brew with less crema and less complex taste than my normal dialled in brew at 19g dry, 38g wet and 30sec extraction vs their suggested 15g dry, 38g wet and shorter extraction.

John

PS I am now wide awake!!!

[servodude]

In re flavour
https://newatlas.com/science/scientists ... 3-92456261
although they do not pick an ideal machine.

V8

I tried this for my coffee this morning and I am not a fan of their suggestions.

I found the coarser grind coupled with the shorter extraction time gave a thinner brew with less crema and less complex taste than my normal dialled in brew at 19g dry, 38g wet and 30sec extraction vs their suggested 15g dry, 38g wet and shorter extraction.

John

PS I am now wide awake!!!

I'm with you on that!

I get the flavour changing to be "smoother, less bitter, more oily", and I was very shocked at the caffeine in the cold brew,
..but if it ain't got that crema! You might as well be drinking coffee in America.

(It wasn't till coffee became popular again that I realised what my dad's Kona was, and I'd been washing it up for years as a wean! wouldn't have one, pain in the <pink marshmallows> to clean)

-sd

[swill453]

I've been using my Aeropress daily for years. Rubbish for espresso, but fantastic for a longer drink (Americano, as they say).

Cheap, quick, easy to clean, easy to take on holiday.

Scott.

[Lanark]

In re flavour
https://newatlas.com/science/scientists ... 3-92456261
although they do not pick an ideal machine.

V8

If you read the full original research paper they published,

"This modification may result in very fast shots (< 15 s), a reduction in espresso concentration, and a different flavor profile. [...] It is clear that espresso made at 22% EY in the partially clogged regime tastes more “complex” than a fast 22% EY obtained using the optimization routine presented"

In other words: scientists discover coffee can be made more cheaply by compromising on strength and quality.

Funny how so many media outlets manage to twist these results into something completely different. I increasingly find it to be the case that journalists are either incompetent at the job of accurate reporting or they just you know, make stuff up.

[bungeejumper]

If you read the full original research paper they published.

I tried. Honestly, I tried. But by the time I got to......

"Motivated by the bimodal distribution of particle sizes in the model, it may be assumed that the bed is composed of two families of spherical particles with radii a1 (fines) and a2 (boulders). Further, we denote the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of the different families of particles by bet1 and bet2, respectively. The BET surface area characterizes the amount of interfacial surface area between two intermingled phases per unit volume of the mixture, and therefore has units of 1/m. We also introduce cs1 and cs2 to denote the concentrations of solubles in the two particle families"

.....I was losing the will to live. And I was less than a quarter of the way through....

I salute the learning and the deep science that's clearly gone into this scholarly document. But a part of me is still wrestling with the distinct possibility that it's all one great April Fool's gag. I look forward to reading the authors' next magnum opus, on the preconditions and technical specifications for the optimal presentation of pelletised and partially pre-fermented civet faeces. Particle size and surface area and all. Until then, I think I'll stick with trial and error, and with a couple of personal recommendations.

Have bought some of the red Lavazza, Scott, and will give it a test run in the morning. Thanks, all.

BJ

[Pipsmum]

As the mother of said barista... who, bless him, has tried every type of aero/cold extraction/wondercoffee on me to try and get me to like 'proper' coffee...

... (grovelling and whispering now)... I still prefer instant for daily use... I've tried really hard to love real coffee and do occasionally really, really love one... I just don't like them all day and I drink a lot of coffees. I do choose slightly nicer instant coffees than nescafé but there you are. The truth is out.

[bungeejumper]

... (grovelling and whispering now)... I still prefer instant for daily use... I've tried really hard to love real coffee and do occasionally really, really love one... I just don't like them all day and I drink a lot of coffees. I do choose slightly nicer instant coffees than nescafé but there you are. The truth is out.

I've noticed that the French are buying instant nowadays - I don't think that would have happened ten or fifteen years ago - and several of the main traditional coffee brands are running instant blends - in confusingly similar packaging!

I blame Jamie Oliver, personally. Not because he has ever embraced instant coffee, but because he sold the younger French audience on the idea that quick-fix food was an acceptable way to eat - much to their mothers' horror...... The trend toward quick 'n easy coffee was bound to follow!

But back to the point. I owe Pipsmum (and everybody actually) an apology for not having reported back, as promised. Two weeks down the line, I have the new espresso machine under some sort of control, and I can now get half a mug of pretty good strong coffee, with lots of crema and another two inches of frothed milk. I'm still experimenting with blending coffees! - the level 5 Lavazza was a tad too highly roasted for me, but I'm mixing it with the Taylors Italian and getting to where I want it to be. Life is good. Thanks again!

BJ

[john10001]

I've been making do with a small Bialetti since my Krupps Espresso machine broke a few years ago. I will eventually get a new machine.

I have noticed a few things with coffee over the years. The strength numbers of coffee that you see on the packaging in supermarkets and coffee places of e.g. 3, 4, 5, 6 and sometimes even 7 doesn't equate to caffeine content but the strength of the flavour or roast of the coffee.

Some light roast coffees have more caffeine than the darker roasts with strength numbers of 4, 5, 6, 7 etc simply because they are more compact and dense. The majority of beans and ground coffee you buy though are all Arabica beans and there is little difference overall in caffeine content whether it is grown high up, low down or whether the roast is light, medium or dark.

Robusta beans do contain more caffeine content but they are rarely used for filter coffee and espresso and only really used for Instant coffees. I am unsure about Liberica and the many other varieties without researching into that.

If you really want a better caffeine boost in the morning then I would go with a cup of black tea. I only really drink coffee in the afternoon when your performance and productivity drops off a cliff. It gives a little needed boost. In the morning you really don't want to have a diuretic after sleeping for several hours. Your body needs water.

I've recently been roasting my own coffee because I prefer light roasts and it is almost impossible to find any on sale in supermarkets. I have only seen one or two things that come close but are not really light roast they are medium which are Starbucks Blonde roast coffee beans and also Rwanda, PNG and I believe one Kenyan type were strength 2 but they were really medium roasts.

For making espresso using an Espresso machine I would stick with ground coffee that is designed for espresso machines as opposed to filter coffee machines. Costa used to make a bag of this that was very good but I have only recently seen the filtered variety.

The other ones I would use would be Illy Espresso Ground Coffee (the red classic roast one) and Lavazza Qualita Rossa. The latter can be quite strong in flavour though and some might find it has a bitter aftertaste. Those three are the best for espresso in my view and I would describe them all as a medium roast probably a number 3 with Lavazza being a number 4 even though they state it is a 5. Those are my preferred three for espresso. Illy is very expensive though and costs twice as much as the other two unless you can get it on a discount. It is difficult to find it in smaller tins anymore.

If you are grinding your own coffee for espresso then it needs to be ground up more finely than for filtered coffee to get a good end product and crema. I prefer strength 3 coffee from places like Colombia, Peru, and Central America. Maybe go up to strength 4 Italian.

[AsleepInYorkshire]

I think two tablets is one strong coffee

I have four every morning with my decaf tea

AiYn'U