Official NSMB Coffee Thread

The encore has been good to me for 5 yrs now, bought it from Espressotec and they will do full rebuilds etc etc but I've not had issues just as long as cleaning is done. I find the beans from Bean around the World give me the least light husk leavings, so no static cling. At a pinch, Lavazza properly measured out gives a really smooth coffee when I can't or don't grind beans.

The Bonavita has weight measurements printed on the side based on how much water you have in there, so it's really easy to use a kitchen scales and bracket your settings, haha , like sag and rebound. Very handy for me.

This probably fails the hipster test but it works for me.

That's still a gold standard for me

Posted by: RAHrider

Whoa, that's an amazing looking manual grinder. Great option for a sleeping baby (what a great baby shower gift that for couples with a new infant?).

I have a MACAP grinder that has worked flawlessly for the past 6 years, but it is loud. It clumps a bit more than I'd like but I have a ground distributor that fixes any lumps for me.

I bought a Rocket R58 6 years ago as well, and although the cost of annual maintenance is more than most people spend on a basic coffee machine - it's worth it for me. It also looks great on the counter and keeps my cups warm.

I don't actually listen to freebird every time I pull an espresso shot though ;)

Whoa that's a dream kit you've got there!

Regarding the Baratza Encore, I have two (my parents had one and gave it to me since they didn't use it anymore) and they have been working fine most of the time for the last 5 years, but even if I clean it weekly (around 250-300g), some parts are not up to the amount of grinding I do. The propeller broke twice, then the plastic drive ring, 3 plastic burr holders. Maybe a few other parts that I don't remember.

The last time when the main drive ring broke teeth, one of the plastic frame screws had gotten loose inside (this one had never been opened yet) and the threads were cracked. So I need a frame for this one to make the drive mechanism stay straight and grind properly. I figured this out when the grind was all over the place and the pressure wouldn't go up in the espresso machine.

I'm been using exclusively pretty hard and dry beans for the last 3 years though, so that might be harder for it and the plastic parts give up. If those were made of metal (frame, drive ring, burr holder), it would go from good to great. For the price and most people's use, it's a good buy though.

AND I love the fact that it can be fixed at home with easily available spare parts. Baratza even have super detailed pdf documents and videos on Youtube to help the process. It makes it easy to keep them running. Since I needed 80$ of parts to fix both Encores (one was a backup/parts donor recently), I bought the 1Zpresso jx-pro manual grinder, which is wayyy sturdier, precise, durable (so far) and the grinding action is smooth as. It takes longer but you can rest assured that no parts will break and the grind will be exactly how you want it.

Posted by: grambo

How much am I missing by buying ~5ish days of freshly roasted beans ground for me for my French press at my local shop (Matchstick)? I have a cheap electric grinder that sucks. It definitely tastes better on day 1 but it's still good at the end of the bag? Should sack up and buy a burr grinder I guess since partial work from home seems indefinite now.

I started measuring the grounds and timing the brew/skimming the top based on some YouTube videos and it made a big diff.

Fresh roasted coffee continues to  outgass c02 for a couple days after roasting. Most roasters would tell you to not brew coffee less than a few days after roasting and if you'rein a hurry you should at least open the bag for a few hours.  For many roasts optimal flavor profile is around the 10 day mark. 

The concepts of brewing the freshest beans possible and drinking coffee hot straight out of the carafe are common misconceptions. 

So no, you are actually finishing the coffee just before it is at its best. 

I always found my moccamaster disappointing.  If you look at the shower head above the basket and look at the basket of grounds after brewing, you can see they typically do a pretty poor job of saturating the grounds evenly. 

I recently switched to a bemhmor brazen plus and so far so good. I also have a baratza encore and I'm not a fan. Too many fines. My old department store burr grinder, can't even remember the brand , was much better in that regard.

Posted by: tashi

I’ve been very happy with my Baratza Encore grinder - easily adjustable and rebuildable which is not that common at its price point.

Then Aeropress or French press for to make the coffee. I leave the espresso to the professionals. I’ve never had a good shot from a home setup, even from my friends who think they “have it figured out”.

This, except you haven't had my home espresso (my extraction on display above on the original post).

Tbh, I have a hard time paying for espresso as they often do such a shit job compared to me. The worst is when they use the little disc on the front of the grinder to tamp the grounds. Oso negro in nelson was the worst for this. When in Rome I guess.....

Game changer for me was a grounds distributor. A naked portafilter will tell you what you did wrong every time. Before I got a ground distributor, I had such a hard time eliminating channeling. Now rarely any.

My tools of the trade:

4 barrel coffee tamper and distributor

Acaia lunar scale

Naked portafilter

I bought the Rocket a couple of years ago, the grinder last year. I'm pretty hard pressed to pay for coffee anywhere these days. Even when I mess up it's still better than most store bought shots.

Posted by: RAHrider

Posted by: tashi

I’ve been very happy with my Baratza Encore grinder - easily adjustable and rebuildable which is not that common at its price point.

Then Aeropress or French press for to make the coffee. I leave the espresso to the professionals. I’ve never had a good shot from a home setup, even from my friends who think they “have it figured out”.

This, except you haven't had my home espresso (my extraction on display above on the original post).

Tbh, I have a hard time paying for espresso as they often do such a shit job compared to me. The worst is when they use the little disc on the front of the grinder to tamp the grounds. Oso negro in nelson was the worst for this. When in Rome I guess.....

Game changer for me was a grounds distributor. A naked portafilter will tell you what you did wrong every time. Before I got a ground distributor, I had such a hard time eliminating channeling. Now rarely any.

My tools of the trade:

4 barrel coffee tamper and distributor

Acaia lunar scale

Naked portafilter

I have to agree here. I feel so many of the places you would expect a good pour just fail miserably. Barista isn’t a fine craft to many it seems.

One thing I find interesting is when in Italy you can walk into any random supermarket or even an Autogrill highway stop and there'll be an espresso bar with an old guy straight out of The Godfather behind the counter and for less than 1 euro he'll prepare your cup without any fanfare and it's almost always better than what you get for $5 in one of the hip coffee places over here.

Posted by: [email protected]

One thing I find interesting is when in Italy you can walk into any random supermarket or even an Autogrill highway stop and there'll be an espresso bar with an old guy straight out of The Godfather behind the counter and for less than 1 euro he'll prepare your cup without any fanfare and it's almost always better than what you get for $5 in one of the hip coffee places over here.

dark roasted though

Posted by: [email protected]

One thing I find interesting is when in Italy you can walk into any random supermarket or even an Autogrill highway stop and there'll be an espresso bar with an old guy straight out of The Godfather behind the counter and for less than 1 euro he'll prepare your cup without any fanfare and it's almost always better than what you get for $5 in one of the hip coffee places over here.

About 20 years ago, I was lucky to make several work trips to Italy. Every day, after lunch, the local guys I was working with would take me to a different little place (including one gas station) for an espresso. They were all so good. Often, that was followed up with a trip to a different place for a shot of limoncello, or something similar, before heading back to work.

I've been using a Hario Skerton hand grinder and a Bialetti for my morning hit for years. When camping, I swap the Bialetti for an Aeropress.

Posted by: DaveM

I bought the Rocket a couple of years ago, the grinder last year. I'm pretty hard pressed to pay for coffee anywhere these days. Even when I mess up it's still better than most store bought shots.

What a beautiful machine (I have the exact same one except the older version). Firstly, where did you find so much counter space in Vancouver? Mine is tucked in a corner of the kitchen that my wife begrudgingly allows me to have. Which grinder is that? You like it? Small enough increments on the grind setting? Clumping? Messy? Finally, I feel like you deserve a fancier tamper to go with that setup.

Posted by: RAHrider

Posted by: DaveM

I bought the Rocket a couple of years ago, the grinder last year. I'm pretty hard pressed to pay for coffee anywhere these days. Even when I mess up it's still better than most store bought shots.

What a beautiful machine (I have the exact same one except the older version). Firstly, where did you find so much counter space in Vancouver? Mine is tucked in a corner of the kitchen that my wife begrudgingly allows me to have. Which grinder is that? You like it? Small enough increments on the grind setting? Clumping? Messy? Finally, I feel like you deserve a fancier tamper to go with that setup.

Mine's tucked in a corner too, must be a bigger corner. The grinder is a Eureka Mignon Silenzio. It'll grind however you need it. The adjustment is a rotary dial, increments are infinite. The bonus is it's also super quiet which helps as I'm up way before everyone else in the morning. It doesn't clump, not messy at all. As far as the tamper, I use a distributor to even the grind, the tamper just finishes it off and polishes the surface. I don't feel I need anything special there.