Urgent question for Giles (re: Coffee)

[VNVObit]

Have tried oat milk and almond milk both were ok but still prefer milk (semiskimmed)

Be careful when you next order the capsules as price has shot up recently(my next reorder is end of May so it could have gone down again but suspect not)

[gilesgoat]

Maybe more accidentally than "by reasearch" I think I may have discovered at least one secret of the Supreme Creme ...

1. Cup of water ( soft, Welsh water is really soft )
2. Three (3) teaspoons of sugar
3. put the water in a pot on really high heat
4. add the sugar and dissolve it stirring while it begins to heat
5. just before it gets to boiling point/begins to bubble sprinkle over an amount of Lavazza ( in powder ) "as you think it should fit"
6. make it boil vigorously for a couple seconds until "all the coffee is wetted from the bubbles"
7. immediately take out of fire and let it sit
8. decant out

Not only the cream seems to be coming out "all time" but the flavour of the coffee is really interesting.

Maybe one of these days I should ask Yak to get a video of the whole procedure.

[(o)(o)]

Have tried oat milk and almond milk both were ok but still prefer milk (semiskimmed)

Be careful when you next order the capsules as price has shot up recently(my next reorder is end of May so it could have gone down again but suspect not)

It is specifically the Oatley Barista that does it for me !! I can drink it neat and tbh I've glugged a litre of the stuff in a day.. (I'm hoping it's good for cholestarol as oats..)

Yes "everythiing" seems to be getting more expensive, and (whilst I dislike using Amazon intensely, I sort of have to rely on home deliveries) camelcamelcamel has been switched off during COVID19.. which is annoying because they are doing it across the board not just for 'in demand' products.

I split the 500 odd capsulares with a family member I'm getting through them fast!

[gilesgoat]

I am getting ALMOST to the point to think / say "that a simple pot is the best way of making coffee".

I can make "that cream" 95% of time, I can even "trim it" to how I like.

The flavour is lightly different/better which opens some questions like :

- so does the pressure really have something to do, is the pressure in a "standard moka" that much higher ?

- is the temperature really "all of it" ? Or it's matter that "less pressure + more temp" "compensates" for it ?

- is it a case "you get used to that taste" ?

The taste is lightly different, however if properly made is as good if not better than moka, certainly "the good blend is key" ( Lavazza ).

But yes proves to me that "with some tecnique and experimentation" you may get some results.

Mind you I think "95% of all this is in the blend" if the blend ( coffee itself ) is crap nothing good will ever come out.

[phattslagg]

Morning, coffee lovers!

So, for the last six months or so, I’ve been using a 3-cup Bialetti moka pot.

The great thing about this is how consistently it does the job. You know exactly what you’re going to get, so long as your methods are also consistent. However, the results I’ve been getting up until last weekend have been consistently underwhelming. *OK*, but not great.

Now, they’re consistently great-to-amazing.

What happened last weekend? Three things:

Firstly, I performed a meticulous cleaning of the filter holes in both the basket and screen - very tedious job, basically poking every hole through with a pin. I also replaced the gasket and cleaned the funnel with a bottle brush.

Secondly, I changed the way I filled the basket. Using a fine grind (finer than most seem to advise), I now fill the basket in at least 4 stages - each time, tapping it firmly on the counter to settle the grains. The exception is the final dose, which I scrape flat with a knife and don’t tamp in the slightest.

Thirdly, I’m not letting the brew fill any further than the bottom of the spout. No more waiting for it to start gushing.

Apparently, the main aim in moka pot brewing is to avoid “channelling”, which is where uneven distribution of the grains causes the water to mostly flow through a small channel in the grinds. Tapping the basket on the counter means that they settle far more evenly, and with gravity being the only force.

@Giles - you still doing the Turkish thing?

[phattslagg]

Since my last post, things were fine for a while, and then the coffee started becoming distinctly average again, despite regular, meticulous cleaning and adherence to the method. I began to wonder whether it might be the rubber gasket (which was brand new a month ago today), and sure enough - as soon as I replaced it, the coffee came out as rich and foamy as it ever has.

I must admit, this is a bit annoying as it means I’m going to have to replace it about once a fortnight, but at least I’ve narrowed it down.

[MattyP]

So a bit controversial here.... I tried some Alpro "Barista Oat Milk" in my coffee at the weekend and despite being a bit sceptical it was bloody lovely. Really creamy and flavourful.....

What is the preferred additives people like in their brew? (for all the non-purists / rebels out there! )

[Ratsoap]

So a bit controversial here.... I tried some Alpro "Barista Oat Milk" in my coffee at the weekend and despite being a bit sceptical it was bloody lovely. Really creamy and flavourful.....

What is the preferred additives people like in their brew? (for all the non-purists / rebels out there! )

In Greece, they have this stuff called ΝΟΥΝΟΥ, which I think is basically unsweetened condensed milk. Add a splosh of that and a large spoon of sugar, and it turns your coffee into liquid cake. I'm sure Giles would approve.

[MattyP]

So a bit controversial here.... I tried some Alpro "Barista Oat Milk" in my coffee at the weekend and despite being a bit sceptical it was bloody lovely. Really creamy and flavourful.....

What is the preferred additives people like in their brew? (for all the non-purists / rebels out there! )

In Greece, they have this stuff called ΝΟΥΝΟΥ, which I think is basically unsweetened condensed milk. Add a splosh of that and a large spoon of sugar, and it turns your coffee into liquid cake. I'm sure Giles would approve.

Think Giles is actually speechless. Not sure if you'll get any achievement points for that!!!!

[Orava]

Coffee. Take a caffetier, grind some beans. Fill it up to about 1/3 of beans, add boiling water. Short brewing, none of the long lasting ones. Maybe some milk added to the cup, done.

[PFVA]

So a bit controversial here.... I tried some Alpro "Barista Oat Milk" in my coffee at the weekend and despite being a bit sceptical it was bloody lovely. Really creamy and flavourful.....

What is the preferred additives people like in their brew? (for all the non-purists / rebels out there! )

In Greece, they have this stuff called ΝΟΥΝΟΥ, which I think is basically unsweetened condensed milk. Add a splosh of that and a large spoon of sugar, and it turns your coffee into liquid cake. I'm sure Giles would approve.

Think Giles is actually speechless. Not sure if you'll get any achievement points for that!!!!

Coffee and condensed milk

Cà phê sữa đá. Coffee, condensed milk and ice. I love that. One of the things I miss from California. Easy to find there and I used to have it often . They have a hot version too but the cold one is great.

https://www.hungryhuy.com/vietnamese-co ... da-recipe/

[PVB]

My current coffee:

https://moneyrowbeans.com/product/goril ... ffee-250g/

Moneyrow Beans is proud to be the first UK Distributor for Gorilla Conservation Coffee, a social enterprise which supports coffee farmers in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda, as part of Conservation Through Public Health programme.

I buy the ground coffee and use a Moka hob top coffee maker.

I too use oat milk, either barista or normal.

[PVB]

Apparently, the main aim in moka pot brewing is to avoid “channelling”, which is where uneven distribution of the grains causes the water to mostly flow through a small channel in the grinds. Tapping the basket on the counter means that they settle far more evenly, and with gravity being the only force.

I just put three teaspoons of coffee in it, then roughly level it out with the back of the spoon.

[Orava]

I am a big fan of 'frappe' or a Greek coffee of instant coffee (yes!), crushed ice and condensed milk (and a lot of sugar).

Almost as good the 'Turkish coffee' I make in my Bosnian coffee pot.