Espresso envy - anyone ever held a brew-off between mates??

[Spamhoo Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Spamhoo]

Bit of a pissing contest going at work between four of us over brewing equipment and techniques. While all the banter is fine, just who is the brew ninja remains unresolved ..

Being the newbie, I have suggested a coffee duel - has anyone ever had a go at this type of thing before?

These guys normally take such things very seriously and the stakes are high (as far as I can tell they already intend to bring about half their kitchens along). Any assistance / suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[greenman Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close greenman]

Re: Espresso envy - anyone ever held a brew-off between mates??

Take along your kitchen as well and get some killer beans that will knock their socks off, should be a lot of fun!!! ;D

[Spamhoo Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Spamhoo]

Re: Espresso envy - anyone ever held a brew-off between mates??


As far as i can tell each person intends bring their own equipment (espresso machines, grinders, jugs, tamper etc), as well as their own milk, water, sugar and beans...

Trying to work out the timing and presentation so that an impartial assessment of each others brews can take place at the same time is where the fun starts

[bolb Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bolb]

Re: Espresso envy - anyone ever held a brew-off between mates??

Never tried as most of my mates think i am crazy when they can get their coffee from a Jar.
They dont however knock back a coffee when i offer it too them.

[Spamhoo Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Spamhoo]

Re: Espresso envy - anyone ever held a brew-off between mates??

Happy to say it would absolutely be a Nescafe free zone !!

My poor mans rig and lack of experience place me firmly as the underdog here. Was intending to use Merlo beans and tap water too so copped some flack over that. Gotta say though that I have been impressed with the quality of my brews of late so feeling up to the challenge

[ant_nakedcoffee Member Find all posts View Profile Close ant_nakedcoffee]

Re: Espresso envy - anyone ever held a brew-off between mates??

We kind of have it happening most days at work. To be honest the best shots of veneziano that Ive had have come from Josh and May equally. Theyve been nailing some better ones than I

[scoota_gal Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close scoota_gal]

Re: Espresso envy - anyone ever held a brew-off between mates??

I love this idea and think it would be fun...might even try it here with some friends who reckon they can make coffee.

My suggestion would be...

Have a person who is not brewing be the overall judge? I mean, you can try each others coffee but have someone who stands and watches the whole process and taste tests as well. Then you could possibly use their score to give a final result. Does this make sense?

And you could push it a bit further and give them a list of drinks they have to make and a time to make them in, of course, that would have to be reasonable and take into consideration what sort of brewing equipment they bring.

Just my suggestions...

[Guest Close mwatt]

Re: Espresso envy - anyone ever held a brew-off between mates??

Brew-off, not really ... more what my husband calls the " coffee-nerd equivalent of a LAN party" 8-)

Yeah, been known to geek-it-up from time to time with friends bringing over their gear. Its purely for research purposes

[yeeza Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close yeeza]

Re: Espresso envy - anyone ever held a brew-off between mates??

purely for research purposes

totally. 8-)

[Senator Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Senator]

Re: Espresso envy - anyone ever held a brew-off between mates??

that sounds like it would be a fun party.

You could either do it quite casually (1 shot, 1 drink sort of thing) or as Scoota-Gal suggested, more of a Barista Champ format with a list of drinks, a judge, tasting etc.

To me, this could be an interesting thing for a sponsor to do on a quiet (or closed) weekend day - a bit of an amateur Barista championship. BYO gear might get a bit tricky space & logistics wise, but even if the amateurs could bring along their own beans and use some supplied gear for a few pre-set drinks, would be fun. No cafe workers / Baristas allowed (not sure how it would be policed). Part of me would like to go to an actual Barista champs, but I wouldnt want to embarrass myself that badly, but in a more casual / social environment, it would be a lot of fun

Sen

[A_M Guest Find all posts View Profile Close A_M]

Re: Espresso envy - anyone ever held a brew-off between mates??

that sounds like it would be a fun party.

You could either do it quite casually (1 shot, 1 drink sort of thing) or as Scoota-Gal suggested, more of a Barista Champ format with a list of drinks, a judge, tasting etc.

To me, this could be an interesting thing for a sponsor to do on a quiet (or closed) weekend day - a bit of an amateur Barista championship.  BYO gear might get a bit tricky space & logistics wise, but even if the amateurs could bring along their own beans and use some supplied gear for a few pre-set drinks, would be fun. No cafe workers / Baristas allowed (not sure how it would be policed). Part of me would like to go to an actual Barista champs, but I wouldnt want to embarrass myself that badly, but in a more casual / social environment, it would be a lot of fun

Sen

Yea it has merits, but managing it could get messy.. Unless it was held at someones place as part of a BBQ or general gathering..

Oh as a side line... Maybe we could invite WhoisDenisJC? and we can flush him out... Maybe it would end up like Keyser Söze and the usual suspects ;D

[Spamhoo Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Spamhoo]

Re: Espresso envy - anyone ever held a brew-off between mates??

Nerdy gets a bad rap, if we start breaking out the fairy bread then ill start to worry

This is great, just the kind of feedback i was looking for. At someones house as part of a bbq would work. Having an impartial judge could dampen bragging rights later though - mutterings of bias etc. Will do some research on barista champs and see if that helps.

Got my first grinder (EM0450) today - has made a huge improvement !! Tried the 15, 10 and 5 settings, 10 hit the mark