Thread: Woodworking Coffee Adicts

Originally Posted by BobL

I once had a Coffee icecream affogatto with crushed carmelized sugar wafers and a drizzle of Kahlua - Just a tinse over the top maybe

Ahh, Affogatos. Yet another coffee that no one seems to know how to serve

My favourite variant is a scoop of Sarah Lee French Vanilla (or Weiss Vanilla bean), double shot of coffee and a single shot of baileys. Not overly traditional, but sensational

Originally Posted by BobL

Adding hot (90ºC) water to a shot of espresso in a regular cup or mug quickly destroys the crema and rapidly releases the volatiles from the shot. Adding boiling water not only does this but immediately cooks the coffee as it decomposes some of the sugars and oils making an acrid tasting brew. To maximize the retention of the original coffee taste no more than moderately hot water (about 50º) should be added but this does not suit most coffee drinkers who after a hot drink they can linger over. Even at 50ºC a wide open cup will quickly release the goodies and the longer it sits the more escapes and decomposes. So lingering with a black coffee unfortunately for me means lingering with ordinary coffee.

For guests who ask for long blacks I try putting a dash of cold water in it before adding water from the coffee machine boiler but they nearly all say it's too cold and then want me to nuke it in the microwave! NOOooooooo!

I have always made a long black by putting hot water in the cup and then the extraction on top. I have done it this way for no other reason than it was how I was taught. I don't know if it helps to preserve the crema and consequently the taste.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by tea lady

A friend and I were fantasizing about opening a cafe called "the half decent cafe" cos they were so hard to find. How come there are cafes everywhere but they can't make coffee OR tea!

TL

I am afraid that Leanne and I fell into this trap. Fantasizing about having a glamorous little coffee shop that is. We were offered an opportunity to walk in to an existing business and took it on. Fundamentally we didn't know what we were doing and had had no previous history in hospitality or catering. Leanne was a competent cook and I was enthusiastic. They were our credentials.

We served excellent quality food, all made on the premises, offered 19 different teas (loose leaf) including 4 green teas and excluding some herbals, an excellent coffee (way better then most), opened 7 days a week and a couple of nights for dinner and in the end hardly made a living from it.

The only thing we were not going to do was starve to death.

We had a get-out clause in our lease and get out we did before we deceased.

In many ways I don't regret this little excursion in our lives, but I would not do it again and I would certainly explain to anybody contemplating this life how exacting it is.

Regards
Paul

BobL

Re posts 32 & 33.

I laughed.

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Ozkaban

Though when I make them at home, I boil the kettle and allow it to sit for a little while (have never measured the temp), then add two shots of coffe to it, and have always had plenty of crema.

Dave

In principle, the way I used to do it too. One shot for a cup two shots for the mugs (ceramic fluid recepticle, not the customers)

Regards
Paul

I too am a combined addict being hooked on woodwork and coffee. I am at present tasting the range of coffee bean supplied by the Cleanskin Coffe Company in Brendale near Brisbane. I was drawn to this company because they produce a blend specially for the fund raising activities of a group of Ambulance people in QLd who are raising money for the Jamie Jackway foundation.

Jamie was a qld paramedic attached to the helicopter unit in Townsville. On the way down on the winch to boat with a patient on board the cable snapped and Jamie was dropped to the deck ending up a paraplegic. My interest in this was aroused as I am a volunteer ambulance officer.

Anyway enough of that I was saying am tasting the range of coffees this company produces and am very impressed. Their range is all subtly different to each other and full of flavours.

I make my coffee using a Vibiemme expresso machine that has proved to be reliable and consistent over three years unlike my previous two Saeco machines.

Wanted a cup of black coffee with lunch in Ballina Yesterday.The young fellow had not been taught how to make a larger coffee and completely stuphphed the whole operation.

Young lass (waitress) came to the rescue and I wound up with a pretty good brew,

Apparently these pubs just put machines in and then just let the staff learn from each other!

"I want a coffee and I want it hot. Real hot!"

This is the cry that is dreaded amongst coffee makers. Why do we want a drink that is too hot to drink and will take the lining off your tongue and the skin off your throat?

Our answer to this problem was to take a cup, which is already warm having been kept on top of the coffee machine and fill it with hot water, also from the machine. Then we nuked it in the microwave for a minute, which superheated the cup itself. Then chuck out the water and proceed as normal.

The effect of this was to minimise the heat transfer from the beverage to the cup. The coffee extraction is still too hot for the human throat and without heat being transferred to the cup it seemed to satisfy the "hot" brigade without compromising the heating of the milk in particular. Long black and short black were not an issue as those people were not chasing hot liquid anyway.

Regards
Paul

Regards
Paul

I have the EM6910 and the EM0480 conical burr grinder.
I don't consider myself a coffee snob, I just make my coffee the way I like it, at least once a day and I have it down pat to my tastes.

I heat the machine, purge the steam and stretch the milk.
While doing this the porta filter (?) is in the group head warming up.
I then grind directly into the porta filter, fit it to the group head and extract immediately.
I don't use a bumper, I just scrape the coffee from the basket and flush it down the drain.

Even though I have a conical burr grinder I am lead to believe a flat grinder like the Mini Mazzer is much better.

I have also visited coffee plantations in Guatemala and was about to buy some beans but they then told us that 80% of their beans went to Starbucks so I didn't buy them.

I visited the States soon after Guatemala and had coffee at Starbucks, it wasn't bad.
Don't fall for the hype, not all Starbucks is bad, but it is bad in Australia.
They must use different beans here.

Originally Posted by Jack E

I have the EM6910 and the EM0480 conical burr grinder.


Don't fall for the hype, not all Starbucks is bad, but it is bad in Australia.
They must use different beans here.

I have enjoyed and made many coffees on the EM6910 and still have a RED one at work that has been badly abused but still keeps going strong....

As to the StarBucks and many other chains...

Beans and Grinders are important along with machines that are well maintained; however even with the best, if the staff are not correctly trained. Then the beans / Grinder and Machines are useless. And from what I see and experience, most of the issue comes back to poor training and a lack of a true understanding of the bean and what makes a real espresso


We will not even think about what many do to the milk

Originally Posted by BlIss

We will not even think about what many do to the milk

A mate of mine has a good term for the action often used - ie glazed faraway look in their eyes, holding the jug in a half-closed fist and jiggling it back and forth . . . . . .

Brief but expensive coffee story in the post.
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f122/travel-snaps-117545/

Read from about post 13 onwards

Looks like the man has done teh deal...

Wood and coffee; now for teh wooden modifications to the machine and accessories..

Well done Johno.

I have just remembered something. (It is 10 years since I made coffee in anger with a "proper" machine). We always used to throw away the first two coffee extractions of the day.

The reason being they didn't taste any good. Probably it is to do with the cleaning process. The closest I can liken it to is coating a tea pot (not scrubbing it clean) or seasoning a cast iron frypan.

It seems coffee has to pass through first.

Regards
Paul