Hi there all
in the name of sharing experiences and learnings, I thought I would pass on some of the things I have learnt about using my Cafe Roma (CR) before and after coming to CS.
History
I purchased the CR about 4-5 years ago largely on the basis of a very positive recommendation by Choice Magazine who made a point of mentioning it produced the best tasting coffee out of all the machines they tested.
Almost three years ago the steamer stopped working, and because I only drink coffee, I have never fixed it.
Before finding CS
Sin No1.
I used supermarket coffee.
Most often I used Lavazza and every now and then I used Illi for a change. To my mind there was a difference. The Illi was more subtle and had a cleaner finish which I liked. (Today I would say it is not as complex).
Sin No2.
I had no idea of how to make a good coffee.
Making good coffee requires know how, even with a CR. I thought heating the machine up meant use it after the heating light went off. I let the shot run over 30ml and remember thinking the bitterness must be due to having old coffee. I used the single shot basked and remember once thinking, gee it tastes good even though I can see light through the coffee.
Sin No3.
In hindsight, I never really, really paid attention to the taste of the coffee the CR was producing. Now, no matter how I try and what I do, I cannot produce the intensity of flavour the Cafes can. Before I thought my CR produced coffee that was more than just ok.
Sin No4.
I purchased a grinder on the recommendation of Choice Magazine (The magazine edition with the grinder test came out late last year and I only found CS this year in February)
You guessed it, I purchased the De Longhi, double Doh!
While it is ok for the CR now, it will not grind beans fine enough for when I decide to upgrade; I am using it at its finest grind setting now. There is a work around I have found to get a finer grind see the SOLIS 166 tweak at http://www.kwilson.fsnet.co.uk/grinder_tweaks.htm
That’s it for now, next post will be about experimenting to get the best from the CR.
Would love your comments too.
Ciao
F.
in the name of sharing experiences and learnings, I thought I would pass on some of the things I have learnt about using my Cafe Roma (CR) before and after coming to CS.
History
I purchased the CR about 4-5 years ago largely on the basis of a very positive recommendation by Choice Magazine who made a point of mentioning it produced the best tasting coffee out of all the machines they tested.
Almost three years ago the steamer stopped working, and because I only drink coffee, I have never fixed it.
Before finding CS
Sin No1.
I used supermarket coffee.
Most often I used Lavazza and every now and then I used Illi for a change. To my mind there was a difference. The Illi was more subtle and had a cleaner finish which I liked. (Today I would say it is not as complex).
Sin No2.
I had no idea of how to make a good coffee.
Making good coffee requires know how, even with a CR. I thought heating the machine up meant use it after the heating light went off. I let the shot run over 30ml and remember thinking the bitterness must be due to having old coffee. I used the single shot basked and remember once thinking, gee it tastes good even though I can see light through the coffee.
Sin No3.
In hindsight, I never really, really paid attention to the taste of the coffee the CR was producing. Now, no matter how I try and what I do, I cannot produce the intensity of flavour the Cafes can. Before I thought my CR produced coffee that was more than just ok.
Sin No4.
I purchased a grinder on the recommendation of Choice Magazine (The magazine edition with the grinder test came out late last year and I only found CS this year in February)
You guessed it, I purchased the De Longhi, double Doh!
While it is ok for the CR now, it will not grind beans fine enough for when I decide to upgrade; I am using it at its finest grind setting now. There is a work around I have found to get a finer grind see the SOLIS 166 tweak at http://www.kwilson.fsnet.co.uk/grinder_tweaks.htm
That’s it for now, next post will be about experimenting to get the best from the CR.
Would love your comments too.
Ciao
F.

(Rumsfeld, D. 2002. "I feel that we know what we know and we dont know what we dont know")
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