coffee gadgets... - Page 32

Just placed my order for two Speedsters in black.

For a cafe, I hope? You really prefer the black? I've always thought that yellow and red powder coating adds just the right touch of colour contrast to the metal body.

I could definitely see the Ferrari color scheme in the right kind of retail decor, but these are not for a café. One is for our office and one is for the kitchen. In both cases, the black will look better.

Woho, 2 Speedsters? Crazy! Such a beautiful machine, truley a dream.

How long is the waiting line to get it? What grinders will you use for them? Congratulations on the buy

Supposed to be shipping this week, so about two months. The grinder was a toss-up. At first I was going with an Elektra Nino, but for a variety of reasons I decided to go with a customized version of a new Macap digital doserless, the 7D.

I have a simple, fairly inexpensive set-up, but makes better coffee than any restaurant I've been to:

 

Fresh roasted beans from a local roaster (cafe is a block away)

Brita water pithcer

Bodum Columbia stainless steel press (lasts forever as the current glass Bodums are of horrible build quality - and the rubber ring in the press ensures that no stray grinds get through)

Solis Maestro Plus (excellent build quality  & 40 stops in an affordable lower middle-end burr grinder)

 

I'll also occasionally use the Chemex on the weekend when I'm looking for a cleaner, lighter cup. 

Ah... reading this thread makes me want to start brewing coffee again. 

 

I picked up one of these a little while ago, and it seems like it's been neglected for a while. Time to turn it on again!

 

What makes espresso better than an Aeropress but is fairly cheap?

A Nespresso CitiZ, but you have to buy their coffee, which isn't bad.

Haha I know I am looking for a long shot but I am talking student cheap here ;l

Will a coffee grinder (cheap one vs. a good one) make a significant difference in taste? I'm using a french press with a ten dollar grinder from Wal-Mart.

With a press, the grind is not as critical.  The best part about a good grinder is consistency, which with french press coffee will mean less sludge in the final product :) 
 

Ah the tasty sludge!

 

Update on my organic coffee testing; I'm starting to notice a subtle difference between it and the Starbucks brand I have. Now I'm gonna have to A/B them side by side and really see if I notice.

Don't worry about DBT in that the placebo effect is pure fiction.

The most important aspect of grinding coffee is evenness or consistency of grind.  Each of the granules must be the same same size in order for extraction to be uniform.  Smaller granules extract flavor too soon while large granules under-extract.  Compared to absolutely even grind size the flavor of the finished product is dramatically different.  A good grinder produces evenly sized granules throughout the grind, thus producing far superior coffee.  This is at least as important with a french press as it is for espresso.

 

The least expensive grinder that I am aware of that does a very good job of evenly grinding the coffee for french press and drip is the Capresso Infinity Series.  You should be able to score one for as little as $70 bux.  It is well worth it.  The caveat for the Capresso is that is does not do well grinding for espresso out of the box.  You should be able to re-adjust the burrs to grind fine enough for espresso, but you'll have to modify the burr adjustment to get there.  The Baratza Maestro Plus is another outstanding conical burr grinder and will grind for french press and espresso out of the box.  They'll run you about 150 us.

 

There no blade grinders that do a good job grinding coffee.