Melbourne Advanced Home Espresso Session

[needmycoffee]

Re: Melbourne Advanced Home Espresso Session

Hi Luca,
Not sure what Fiona, Linda and Daniel thought, but that blend you put together for us is great!! Everything I asked for and more - the first coffee (yes, you heard right) that my hubby has actually LIKED and asked for more of! So easy to drink, both neat and with milk. What temp have you guys been using with this one?
Thanks again, now I seriously have to consider learning to roast my own - there is no comparison!!

[luca]

Re: Melbourne Advanced Home Espresso Session

Hi Luca,
Not sure what Fiona, Linda and Daniel thought, but that blend you put together for us is great!! Everything I asked for and more - the first coffee (yes, you heard right) that my hubby has actually LIKED and asked for more of! So easy to drink, both neat and with milk. What temp have you guys been using with this one?
Thanks again, now I seriously have to consider learning to roast my own - there is no comparison!!

Wow, great - glad that worked for you! I have to confess that I just transposed a 30% component of Daves WBC blend into that made that blend very easy to work with.

Brew temperature is always a tricky one to try to simply communicate in numbers. The problem is that "95 C" or whatever on one machine is not necessarily 95C on another machine due to all of the inherent difficulties of temperature measurement. You can actually program the temperature offset on your machine so that "95 C" means whatever you want it to mean! That said, from memory I was looking for a blend that would be good in the low 90s. However, if you wanted to decrease the impact of the Kenya Masai for the finish, Id try mid 90s. Frankly, the best way to go is to just pull a shot at 92 or so, bump the temp up to 95, let it settle and then try another and see what you like best. If you want to really learn how to zero in on temperatures, its probably best to use an SO for a temperature investigation. Something clean, but with a bit of sweetness and acidity, like a decent colombian, would be pretty good.

Cheers,

Luca

[TC]

Re: Melbourne Advanced Home Espresso Session

Thanks to all who attended for making these two sessions so much fun.

Next and final session in this batch of BYO espresso machine sessions will be on 17th February (5 spaces presently available)

Hi all- I have postponed the Advanced Home Espresso session on Feb 17th and have rescheduled for March 17th. We presently have 2 members who have expressed interest. We will run if we can get 6 starters.

Ill be at First Pour on Saturday with the Gene, Hottop and Andy oven for those popping in to grab beans, roast beans shmooze

Chris

[llama]

Re: Melbourne Advanced Home Espresso Session

Hey,

Are you guys likely to be running a beginers course in March?

[TC]

Re: Melbourne Advanced Home Espresso Session

Hey,

Are you guys likely to be running a beginers course in March?

Gday llama,

Id suggest http://coffee.angliss.vic.edu.au/coffeemaking.htm#1...Its a very good entry level course and also good value...

regards

2mcm

[TC]

Re: Melbourne Advanced Home Espresso Session

Ok all- the final of the summer series of Advanced Home Espresso gatherings will be held at First Pour on 17th March (10 til 2). Its $100 and lunch is supplied. Bookings are open and Steven (poddy66) and Leigh (lsd) have 1st dibs on spots as they missed out on the last session.  

We all bring along our machines, grinders and say 500g or so of our fave coffee to play with. The aim of the session is to produce the best espresso possible, with familiar beans using our own equipment.  

The session is limited to no more than 6 participants and will run with 4 takers. I can also bring along a demo machine, should we need one and as per usual, your course fee will act as a further discount off regular CS pricing on any machinery package you purchase in the month following the course. Im happy to throw my Gene Cafe into the car also if anybody would like to play...

We can look at:

-What constitutes an Australian espresso?
-Is that right for my machine?
-What is the best dosing method for my machine?
-How well do I dose and tamp and should I do this naked?  
-Do I need to temp. surf and if so, how should I do it?
-Milk texture- what works best with my machine? (NB this will not be a latte art session but you are welcome to bring your fave cups to impress us with your skills!
-Other- as arranged in advance by the group.


Chris

[Thundergod]

Re: Melbourne Advanced Home Espresso Session

-How well do I dose and tamp and should I do this naked?  

Will the answer be decided on a show of hands?

[Habit]

Re: Melbourne Advanced Home Espresso Session

Sounds good Chris.

Count me in.


Jeff

[ozscott]

Re: Melbourne Advanced Home Espresso Session

The steam is very good once you adjust the steam temp up fully and the pump recovery time down - ie the thread on the EM6910. You will all see that Wushoes has compared it favourably now to the Silvia - almost as good for steam which combined with simultaneous steaming means better in practical terms for milk coffees and no recovery time at all.

As for shot taste, I will leave that to you guys to compare directly to miss Silvia. Can I say a couple of things though. Chris must be a Silvia expert - all machines have their quirks and he must know the absolute best way to get the best out of it. He is a Sunbeam novice it seems, and as such a relatively short comparo between the machines may not bring out a best versus best shot.

The Sunbeam benefits very much from filling the double, spreading it with the little finger (no banging at all) and then filling over (ie about 1.5 cm over as a volcano shape) and then tamping once and finishing with a twist (me using Pulmans gear). I get the same shot, with almost identical characteristics and extraction pressure, every time using this. The Rocky is rarely changed using my preferred coffee which is a not long roasted Merlo Private. With some home roasted I do make minor adjustments. If you are having a taste off again, and in Brisbane, I alongwith others owners up here, I suspect, would be happy to attend and lend a hand to you professional guys with this particular machine. Like all proper espresso machines is requires some use to get the best out of it.

Cheers

[TC]

Re: Melbourne Advanced Home Espresso Session

Off topic replies have been moved to [link=http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1171764447]This Thread[/link]

[TC]

Re: Melbourne Advanced Home Espresso Session

Ok all- the final of the summer series of Advanced Home Espresso gatherings will be held at First Pour on 17th March (10 til 2). Its $100 and lunch is supplied. Bookings are open and Steven (poddy66) and Leigh (lsd) have 1st dibs on spots as they missed out on the last session.  

We all bring along our machines, grinders and say 500g or so of our fave coffee to play with. The aim of the session is to produce the best espresso possible, with familiar beans using our own equipment.  

The session is limited to no more than 6 participants and will run with 4 takers. I can also bring along a demo machine, should we need one and as per usual, your course fee will act as a further discount off regular CS pricing on any machinery package you purchase in the month following the course. Im happy to throw my Gene Cafe into the car also if anybody would like to play...

We can look at:

-What constitutes an Australian espresso?
-Is that right for my machine?
-What is the best dosing method for my machine?
-How well do I dose and tamp and should I do this naked?  
-Do I need to temp. surf and if so, how should I do it?
-Milk texture- what works best with my machine? (NB this will not be a latte art session but you are welcome to bring your fave cups to impress us with your skills!
-Other- as arranged in advance by the group.

Chris

Two takers only so far. We need at least four to be viable

[Gregory_Q]

Re: Melbourne Advanced Home Espresso Session

Chris...can you please count me in? Ill make an interesting throwback with my hand grinder and lever machine.

Greg

[TC]

Re: Melbourne Advanced Home Espresso Session

Ok all- things are not looking good for this one....

We have 2 confirmed.

Ill cancel it in a week unless we get another couple of takers...

Chris

[TC]

Re: Melbourne Advanced Home Espresso Session

Ok all- things are not looking good for this one....

We have 2 confirmed.

Ill cancel it in a week unless we get another couple of takers...

Chris

Session cancelled. Well try for another one in winter...

Chris