Community Stories

And What Did You Buy Today?(Not Watches or related)

jimmyd13
Posts
3,174
Likes
7,326
propervinyl propervinyl
My buddy has a Chemex, a special grinder (which Larry has covered), a special kettle that heats the water to a certain level and has a spout, and a special scale that he uses to weigh the whole contraption when he is pouring water in. Best coffee I've ever had, but a bit nuts IMO.

And given this crowd here? We all know what happens in these parts.
Chemex - check
Rancilio rocky - check
Chemex unbleached square filters - check
Bonavita gooseneck variable temperature kettle - check
Hario combined scale and timer - check

What could possibly be nuts about that when it makes incredible coffee? Wait til your friend gets into espresso 😉
 
Larry S
Posts
13,492
Likes
53,057
We have a restaurant/brew pub/coffee bar here “Band Of Bohemia” .. they just picked up a Michelin Star. I have never ever tasted espresso like the one I had last time I was there. Espresso maker recco @jimmyd13?
 
jimmyd13
Posts
3,174
Likes
7,326
Larry S Larry S
We have a restaurant/brew pub/coffee bar here “Band Of Bohemia” .. they just picked up a Michelin Star. I have never ever tasted espresso like the one I had last time I was there. Espresso maker recco @jimmyd13?
It all depends on your budget and how serious you are. You can start at £500 for an espresso machine and go up to £15000. You'll want over £300 for a grinder that's consistent enough to grind for espresso. If you want to make espresso and drip/french press/pour over I always recommend two grinders (because it's a pain in the arse switching grind settings and you lose a fair amount of coffee dialing back in between grinds).

So, if you want the lowest cost entry, either go for the Breville (also branded Sage) barista express; or, gaggia classic (but recently they changed the internals and replaced all the brass fittings with plastic, so not sure if I can still recommend) with a baratza preciso grinder.

If you want to move up a level, for the Americans (because it's American made) I hear lots of good things about the Astra Pro. You can't go wrong with a Rocket or a Linea Mini. But at that point, you're going to be spending more than £4000.
 
Larry S
Posts
13,492
Likes
53,057
Yikes .. I fear Mrs S is already annoyed at the Breville grinder so I think I will enjoy better coffee for now!
 
chanbar
Posts
367
Likes
1,103
New iPad Pro since the kids have commandeered my old one
 
3F47536D-5CF4-49F1-99EE-AFB2D35A1488.jpeg
STANDY
Posts
16,856
Likes
47,859
Coffee nut myself.

image.jpeg

Tried a lot of machines over the years more expensive and cheaper and my personal opinion is the Rancilio silva is the best coffee machine going.

Actually started manual grinding with a ceramic burr Porlex just before each coffee.
image.jpeg


And the coffee is even better
 
ConElPueblo
Posts
9,596
Likes
27,692
STANDY STANDY
Coffee nut myself.

image.jpeg

Tried a lot of machines over the years more expensive and cheaper and my personal opinion is the Rancilio silva is the best coffee machine going.

Actually started manual grinding with a ceramic burr Porlex just before each coffee.
image.jpeg


And the coffee is even better

The Porlex grinder is ridiculously good. It's far better than £200+ grinders at handling espresso grinds, but the amount of work for each cup..!

I had one with me on my tour to Afghanistan years ago. I brought a Handpresso Hybrid:

handpresso_wild_hybrid_c.jpg


And a set of Illy "Art Collection" cups:

ace64e5e3b12148ab1dc1ea2cc3e4b72--espresso-cups-coffee-cups.jpg

and enjoyed perfect espresso in Camp Bastion. For half a year, I probably served the best cup of espresso in a radius of 1000+ miles 😁
 
chanbar
Posts
367
Likes
1,103
ConElPueblo ConElPueblo
I had one with me on my tour to Afghanistan years ago. I brought a Handpresso Hybrid:

handpresso_wild_hybrid_c.jpg


and enjoyed perfect espresso in Camp Bastion. For half a year, I probably served the best cup of espresso in a radius of 1000+ miles 😁

I may need to pick up a handpresso for camping!
 
Alpha
Posts
17,419
Likes
164,518
I confess I am a bit of a dabbler in the kitchen and decided it was probably about time I had myself a cookbook 🤦
Jamie Olivers' 5 Ingredients is right down my street and already have a few meals in mind over the coming week 😁

IMG_7097.jpg IMG_7098.jpg
 
tyrantlizardrex
Posts
8,890
Likes
28,366
Alpha Alpha
I confess I am a bit of a dabbler in the kitchen and decided it was probably about time I had myself a cookbook 🤦
Jamie Olivers' 5 Ingredients is right down my street and already have a few meals in mind over the coming week 😁

IMG_7097.jpg IMG_7098.jpg

Let us know how you get on - Charlotte bought a copy before Christmas, and I think once I'm back up to eating proper, the recipes within shall be regular dinners!
 
jimmyd13
Posts
3,174
Likes
7,326
Larry S Larry S
Yikes .. I fear Mrs S is already annoyed at the Breville grinder so I think I will enjoy better coffee for now!
You can always spend £200 then spend another £100 on new seals and cleaner and pull in favours from all directions to get a vintage machine up and running ... I've had this one for months and it's still an ongoing project:
STANDY STANDY
Coffee nut myself.

image.jpeg

Tried a lot of machines over the years more expensive and cheaper and my personal opinion is the Rancilio silva is the best coffee machine going.

Actually started manual grinding with a ceramic burr Porlex just before each coffee.
image.jpeg


And the coffee is even better
I never got on with the Silvia but that Rocky looks just like the one in my kitchen 😀
 
Alpha
Posts
17,419
Likes
164,518
tyrantlizardrex tyrantlizardrex
Let us know how you get on - Charlotte bought a copy before Christmas, and I think once I'm back up to eating proper, the recipes within shall be regular dinners!

Certainly will, five ingredients is probably about my max. 😉

Hopefully you are going to be tucking in soon 👍
 
STANDY
Posts
16,856
Likes
47,859
Alpha Alpha
I confess I am a bit of a dabbler in the kitchen and decided it was probably about time I had myself a cookbook 🤦
Jamie Olivers' 5 Ingredients is right down my street and already have a few meals in mind over the coming week 😁

IMG_7097.jpg IMG_7098.jpg

If you want more time with the dogs 😉

image.jpeg
 
jimmyd13
Posts
3,174
Likes
7,326
I can't help but think that this one might not go down so well here ...
IMG_20180114_2243129.jpg

My favourite recipe in there does take about three days to make ....
IMG_20180114_2244084.jpg IMG_20180114_2246017.jpg IMG_20180114_2246123.jpg IMG_20180114_2246340.jpg IMG_20180114_2246413.jpg

😁
 
Alpha
Posts
17,419
Likes
164,518
STANDY STANDY
If you want more time with the dogs 😉

image.jpeg

Four or fewer certainly worth investigating 👍
 
Larry S
Posts
13,492
Likes
53,057
We got us some cookbooks ... I enjoy the process and the results. Wish I had more time to dig through these.
 
230F436F-03A1-4E7C-B4C6-476455ADE1D4.jpeg
Tio
Posts
6
Likes
21
Two pair of good wool socks, not very sexy but man are my toes warm.
 
Looneytoons
Posts
285
Likes
1,043
Finally gave up my Android phone and went back to iphone 8 +. I like IOS much more than the alternative.
64gig in black. Otterbox case on the way.

20180114_203657.jpg

The salesman in the Verizon store tried hard to sell me add-ons. First he offered $200 off the price of an ipad. I politely declined.
Then he said, "Will you adding the Apple Watch to your purchase today?" I laughed and said as I lifted my left arm to his eye-level
"No, I wear a real watch" and showed him this....
New Bulova Wrist.jpg
 
1219 More Posts...
Sign up or log in to reply...

Similar threads

CanberraOmega

And what did you sell today (watches)

CanberraOmega Open Discussion
Jwit
Jwit
Posts
6
Views
2K