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Lets talk about COFFEE

chobochobo

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At home, we don't drink that much coffee - usually only a latte on Sunday morning. We used a basic Nespresso - which was easy and consistent, and you could get compatible pods from shops when travelling eg Cafe Terzi in Bologna, San Eustachio in Rome etc. I've had a Rancilio Silvia and Rocky for ages but could never really get the hang of it given our low consumption. I had brought it out of storage and tried again, but it just seemed too much hassle, so we put it for sale.

We used the Rocky grinder to grind beans for a newly acquired Aeropress and Fellows Prismo, and we could get decent lattes 99% of the time. We sold the Rancilio combo last week and I bought a 1Zpresso JE-plus hand grinder (from Taiwan) which seems decent. I had wanted the Niche Zero but it was pricey here (about 770USD) so I had settled on the Rok Grinder. However they don't had a local distributer, so I'd have to buy from the UK and spend 70USD on shipping - in the end, I got the 1Zpresso which seem to be well regarded and ship for free! Thinking of a Flair Pro or a Cafelat Robot (based here in HK) for a 'real' espresso machine. The 9Barista seems interesting but the price is ouch.
 

patrickBOOTH

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A long, long time ago I had this amazing cup of coffee at my hotel in Chiapas. I told the owner it was one of the best cups I‘d ever had, and he said “Thank you! My brother grew it, he will be happy to hear that!”
That's one of the best regions for coffee from Mexico.
 

edinatlanta

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asked my wife this morning if affogato is the best food i make (lol, "make"). she said no but i think she was lying.
One can never trust She-devils.
 

edinatlanta

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So one of the of-the-moment aspects of our lives are Black-owned businesses. And in coffee they are exceedingly rare. Portrait Coffee is a new (to me) roaster that is Black owned and seems to be universally appreciated. They basically sell out each Tuesday once word got out a few weeks ago.

I suppose it's because people want to be woke in more ways than one (was that a distasteful pun?)
 

thatboyo

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Anyone have recommendations for entry espresso machine? Was looking at Breville Bambino Plus and if anyone has other suggestions, that'd be great too. Not looking to spending thousands because I'm poor.
 

edinatlanta

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Anyone have recommendations for entry espresso machine? Was looking at Breville Bambino Plus and if anyone has other suggestions, that'd be great too. Not looking to spending thousands because I'm poor.
Semi-apostasy but why not a Nespresso? The consistency-to-quality-to-ease-of-use ratios are phenomenal. Pods are like 70 cents each, they last forever unlike traditional beans and you can have a ton of flavor profiles. The mouthfeel from Nespresso isn't super fantastic but the Ethiopian has a wonderful blueberry flavor that coats your palate, the Kona is ridiculously floral, all the Italian lines will scratch your itch for dark, roasty blends, the summer limited editions are great over ice and taste like a contemporary American espresso when had as a shot.
 
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Despos

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Anyone have recommendations for entry espresso machine? Was looking at Breville Bambino Plus and if anyone has other suggestions, that'd be great too. Not looking to spending thousands because I'm poor.
Cafelat Robot if you don’t mind the manual process.
It s very forgiving. No problem with electronic issues down the road.
Get the best grinder you can afford. Has a great effect on the results.
 

am55

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Got stuck 2 weeks in hotel quarantine. No filter or equipment. It was Turkish coffee, or Nescafe...

If you are in the same situation, the key is to have too high a ratio of grounds to water. Then, you can leave it to steep as long as you like (Turkish style) without that overextracted smell.
 

chobochobo

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Got stuck 2 weeks in hotel quarantine. No filter or equipment. It was Turkish coffee, or Nescafe...

If you are in the same situation, the key is to have too high a ratio of grounds to water. Then, you can leave it to steep as long as you like (Turkish style) without that overextracted smell.
The Robot is on my list, at least partly due to it being a local (HK) company. I got a 1Zpresso JE Plus hand grinder (Taiwanese company) and it's been pretty nice so far.
 

cocostella

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Couldn’t you just dump that in a French Press and be done with it?
 

edinatlanta

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Get the best grinder you can afford. Has a great effect on the results.
This is why without knowing if he already has a grinder I think he should go with a Nespresso. For $150 he gets a decent system or $200 to get a milk frother (I've heard Nespresso's aren't the best so maybe skip that). Even if he already has a grinder, I still think he's going for as cheap as possible.
 

mhip

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One of my favorite micro breweries in San Diego also roasts coffee.
I stumbled upon this one years ago, and order it semi-regularly.
It's pricey, but the aroma while grinding it never fails to give me a woodrow.
 

thatboyo

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Cafelat Robot if you don’t mind the manual process.
It s very forgiving. No problem with electronic issues down the road.
Get the best grinder you can afford. Has a great effect on the results.
This is why without knowing if he already has a grinder I think he should go with a Nespresso. For $150 he gets a decent system or $200 to get a milk frother (I've heard Nespresso's aren't the best so maybe skip that). Even if he already has a grinder, I still think he's going for as cheap as possible.

thanks, I'll do a bit more research into Cafelat Robot & Nepresso.
I have a Baratza Encore and from a quick google search, most ppl seem to recommend upgrading that for espresso.
 

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