coffee gadgets...

[grawk]

I'll stick with the aerobie for lunch espresso.  

 

[nick n]

Quote:

I'll stick with the aerobie for lunch espresso.  

I just looked that up . Does it make a decent shot? ( I assume so )
So you need to buy a bunch of tiny filters and it is sort of like a compressed air engine piston thing? Looks interesting. Like the ultimate french press, only not really .
 
The orange-vanilla thing sounds so gross I will have to grab some real vanilla beans and try it. I hope this sort of thing doesn't start getting similar to some of the micro-breweries' beer stuff:, apricot, pumpkin spice, blackberry, strawberry, etc.  I sort of prefer to keep it on the simple side rather than the 120 degree-no foam-verde- long-non fat-in a smaller cup-cinnamon infused-triple-whippacinos....with sprinkles....oh and hold the coffee.

 

[grawk]

The aeropress does a pretty good job.  It comes with a huge supply of the filters, but you can buy more if you run out.  It works as a slightly lower heat high pressure extraction, not that different from regular espresso, but less bitter.  I prefer it to a moka pot for at home espresso (I don't have a real machine), and to starbucks.
 
Quote:

I just looked that up . Does it make a decent shot? ( I assume so )
So you need to buy a bunch of tiny filters and it is sort of like a compressed air engine piston thing? Looks interesting. Like the ultimate french press, only not really .
 
The orange-vanilla thing sounds so gross I will have to grab some real vanilla beans and try it. I hope this sort of thing doesn't start getting similar to some of the micro-breweries' beer stuff:, apricot, pumpkin spice, blackberry, strawberry, etc.  I sort of prefer to keep it on the simple side rather than the 120 degree-no foam-verde- long-non fat-in a smaller cup-cinnamon infused-triple-whippacinos....with sprinkles....oh and hold the coffee.

 
 

 

[kwkarth]

 
Quote:

I just picked up one of these yesterday on the way home from work. I just could not resist.
It figures that I would go into a store for $3 worth of foam scraps to re-stuff some headphone earpads and walk out with this thing. I've been eyeing them up for weeks after the lady let me look at one and my excuse is that it will save me $ in the long run. Always have to plan ahead!!! I tried it only 4 times so far with some Direct Trade Intelligentsia "Black Cat" blend. that ran me $22 / lb. but its worth it all the way. Only thing is my grinder is a piece of you-know-what and yes i did see the top post above this...
It's called a HANDPRESSO. Comes in a textured black slideout box that's inside the outer shiny box. Has a spare o ring and screen too. Obligatory manual with 7 pages of english and the other 5000 pages are foreign
Boy is this thing a sturdy and very high quality build.  All hand operated and incredibly fast/easy to clean. I especially love the golden bean logo on the front lol. Anyhow here's how it works see the video because I don't feel like typing it out again, I lost my last post-in-progress.
It even blows steam out after it is nearly done .I was shocked.
Anyone else try these yet? Looking for some tips on tamping, tweaks, etc anything to help make a better shot.
 
video link on operating this awesome gadget:
http://www.handpresso.fr/hp_videos/hp_manual_domepod.flv
 I know there's similar things out there but this is the only one I have ever seen for sale around here. It had to be done.
 
One other thing it sounds weird but is supposed to be great. I was talking with the guy making my americano ,( same place I got my beans ) about the upcoming coffee competition here and he mentioned that last time someone had infused orange juice with real vanilla beans and used that instead of water for some of his shots. He said it was amazingly good. The espresso apparently already had some citrus notes in it which this amplified. Thought that was worth mentioning in case someone wanted to try that themselves and report back. I don't know how that would work but I guess it might.

That looks pretty cool, how much was it?  The basked looks very small, as does the water reservoir, but hey, even a small shot, if good would be fun to make. 
 
 

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

I'll stick with the aerobie for lunch espresso.  

The aerobie is my go to coffee gadget too, but the pumper looks interesting.
 

 

[nick n]

The HANDPRESSO locally had a retail pricetag of $110 Canadian, but I get a discount through my work at this store so it came to $104 after taxes.
 The water is apparently  50 ml. It's enough for one shot, and it cleans so fast you can fire out another really quickly, considering you'd probably already have a pile of extra grounds and hot water set to go from prepping the first one.
 
Compared to the Aerobie, from what I looked at , this is significantly more $. You'd really have to demo it at a store to see if it was what you are after. It has a decnet wieght to it, sort of reminds me of those old-school flashlights that use C cell batteries, that sort of weight.
In my opinion it's sort of like this site:::: if you can convince yourself you need fancier stuff for reasonably similar end results, then you will believe yourself and hurt your wallet.
I'd really like to try the Aerobie. This was the first thing I have seen, so I have no way of comparing it  to others. It was the solid heft of the shiny black metal and golden bean logo that made me buy it, I admit it . Also special gauges on the top-front don't hurt either. I am a sucker for crap like that. I should stick with "function before fashion" This place has changed me.

 

[cn11]

My setup:
 

 
 
I'm also thinking of getting a vacuum canister for better bean longevity. Anyone have experience with something like this?:
 
http://www.amazon.com/Vacu-Vin-Coffee-Saver-Starter/dp/B000XR2GMK/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1322751161&sr=8-8

 

[dfkt]

My coffee beans never last so long as that I had to worry about their freshness.

 

[cn11]

Yeah, pretty much same for me. There's always a weekly run to the same local cafe to pick up a fresh pound of espresso roast.

 

[RedLeader]

I just roast my own, really lets you keep control of your stock and freshness

 

[cn11]

What roaster do you use? I've been contemplating getting a Behmor. Also, is your roasting setup smoky at all? Do you have to vent to the outside? 
 
Home roasting really does seem to be the best way to control freshness. A funny aside story on that note (one which made me realize what a coffee snob I really am)-- I went to my favorite coffee shop to get the week's supply of espresso roast, and I noticed a roast date on the bin of 12/22. So I asked the counter worker if there happened to be any fresher espresso since the bin was two weeks old! He went downstairs to check, and came back up with a new large sealed bag, dated 12/29. Ah, somewhat better. But one wouldn't have to do that if one roasts their own! 

 

[grawk]

check out http://oldbisbeeroasters.com  They roast to order.  

 

[rroseperry]

Sweet Maria's has a nice line of roasters http://www.sweetmarias.com/sweetmarias/coffee-roasters.html?source=side, and lots of information about roasting. There's a moderately active forum too. I've had the same Fresh Roast for close to six years, only having to replace the basket when it broke. It's a bit smoky, depending on how dark you push the roast. They've got a newer programmable model now, I think.

 

[Turbo Ron]

I use a Pasquini Livia 90 for espresso and cappuccino.
 
http://pasquini.com/Front/Views/Products/ProView.aspx?Pnum=1041

 

[El_Doug]

At that price point, I refuse to accept a unit that doesn't have an anti-burn wand, and an e61 brew group
 
Quote:

I use a Pasquini Livia 90 for espresso and cappuccino.
 
http://pasquini.com/Front/Views/Products/ProView.aspx?Pnum=1041