Lets talk about COFFEE

[WiredandTired]

To break up the wall of text and tldr.

I always wanted to try a Yama vacuum brewer. It seems not terribly practical, but my curiosity persists on what cup of coffee it produces.

I should've tried it when I was at blue bottle years ago before my coffee OCD kicked in full gear.

 

[b1os]

I agree it's a waste of coffee, but it's the best method if you don't have a scale.

Anyway, report back indesertum!

 

[indesertum]

I will guys thanks

To break up the wall of text and tldr.

I always wanted to try a Yama vacuum brewer. It seems not terribly practical, but my curiosity persists on what cup of coffee it produces.

I should've tried it when I was at blue bottle years ago before my coffee OCD kicked in full gear.

It's very good. One of my favorite cups.

 

[A Y]



I always wanted to try a Yama vacuum brewer. It seems not terribly practical, but my curiosity persists on what cup of coffee it produces.

I have the stove-top Yama. An Aeropress will produce a very similar brew, but will be easier to clean up and use. The Yama will make more coffee, but its cloth filter is a PITA to clean. I usually soak it in Oxyclean after each use.

Ind, have you thought about getting a naked portafilter if you're worried about channeling?

Also, this.

A coffee business over in Taiwan recently came up with the idea of providing a unique product to customers by having photographs of their faces printed directly onto the foam of the coffee they’re ordering!

http://petapixel.com/2013/06/21/taiwanese-coffee-machines-prints-photos-of-customers-onto-lattes

(Am I the only one bothered by the bad kerning?)

 

[indesertum]

What's kerning?

I did staub and wdt and got a perfect shot each time. Forgot to bring my scale tho

I'd rather not waste money on a naked portafilter since its not mine

 

[b1os]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerning

Good to hear. How long will you keep the machine? Have you tried 45-50ml instead of 60? Also, you might want to weigh the espresso since volume, as we all know, is unreliable, and crema varies a lot. More importantly though, just do what tastes good to you.

 

[indesertum]

Until I stop working

I typically like ristretto shots but I've been liking this full 2 oz shots.

Gimmee started serving their espressos with Saratoga sparkling water which I've been craving for ever since I was served one at joes art of coffee in grand central. Really like the combo. The mineral and carbonation really pair well with the intense flavored of an espresso.

I get annoyed when I'm served without water and doubly so when I have to ask for a demitasse spoon and even saucer. Which is marsupialed because an espresso takes 30 seconds to finish and I only use the spoon to check the crema.


Now they my shot is dialed in somewhat somebody help me with my milk steaming skills. I watched that bios video but my milk stretches way too quickly and I turn it off before it overflows which results in half foam half hot milk. I think I need to vortex it more but dunno how to do this without stretching. Do you move the tip of the wand up slowly as the milk stretches?

 

[b1os]

You don't want to expand the milk a lot. With my Rancilio Silvia, when the tip is fully emerged into the milk, it will hardly introduce air. Have you done it exactly like in the video? Listen to the sounds. They are the best guidance.

Here's another video. Same principle, different position of the steam lance (mine is tilted too because of the size/design of the Silvia).



Your problem should be one of these:
- You overfill the pitcher to begin with.
- You introduce way too much air. You don't want the sound it makes at 02:32: Maybe trying to avoid that the milk creates large bubbles might help too (this is more important with small machines with not as much steaming power though).

 

[b1os]

So, I've tried some latte art again and I still suck. Still, this video is, again, one of the better I've seen on latte art.



I'll probably be as good as him/them in two lifetimes.

 

[A Y]



I get annoyed when I'm served without water and doubly so when I have to ask for a demitasse spoon and even saucer. Which is marsupialed because an espresso takes 30 seconds to finish and I only use the spoon to check the crema.

Ah, the bro 'spro: no spoon, no saucer. Serving sparkling water or plain water with espresso is apparently a traditional Italian thing to do. As you say, it's to cut the intensity of the coffee, and it's much more needed here with American 3rd wave espressos than what the Italians normally serve (think Nespresso in style).

 

[b1os]

The new Motta pitchers look great and I suppose are less of a pita to clean.

 

[indesertum]

My shots come out beautifully. Wdt helps dosing properly. I constantly get 20, 21g and a 1.5 to 2 oz shot comes out in 25, 27 seconds

Is the milk supposed to have uniform texture or half foam half hot milk?

 

[b1os]

Uniform! Definitely uniform. If it's not, gently circle it around until it is. Splitting it in smaller pitchers (not necessarily fill pitcher one, then two but a bit of one, then a bit of two, then a bit of one etc) might help too.

 

[indesertum]

Is blonding when the stream no longer has black streaks?

 

[b1os]

It's with regards to the color of the crema. Of course, crema itself isn't really important (frankly, it doens't taste good), but it's a good indication on possible improvements. Too quick blonding is mostly a case of channeling, too coarse grind or too old beans (or not enough grounds, though that shouldn't be the case with your 20-21g which already is the upper end of the range).

Then again, if it tastes good, don't mind.