A Good Cup of Coffee

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Hertford Tiger Sep 2024 11:39am, 14 Sep 2024 1,417 posts	0 Hertford Tiger On the subject of coffee I was in Somerset recently and bought a bag of Espresso veloute beans roasted by Miles and co. I am very impressed with these. Low acidity smooth and lots of nutty chocolate flavours. Not outrageously expensive £4.85 for 227g and happy to see they do mail order with larger bags available
Red Squirrel Sep 2024 2:17pm, 14 Sep 2024 24,366 posts	0 Red Squirrel Please give us a review @Diogenes as and when.
Red Squirrel Sep 2024 2:25pm, 14 Sep 2024 24,367 posts	0 Red Squirrel @Hertford Tiger Miles & Co reminds me of my first job as a receptionist in Avonmouth docks. We got our tea and coffee from Miles & Co. I think they had a depot near the docks. My ex-local deli in Bristol stocks them. I’ve yet to try any of the roasters up here in Moray. My last purchase was Sumatran Mandheling from M & S; another good one from them; strong, rich roast. I notice there’s a tiny roaster in Findhorn so will cycle over when I get a good day and give them a try.
Fields Sep 2024 2:58pm, 14 Sep 2024 11,641 posts	0 Fields I bought a kilo bag of Lidl beans during Italian week, hoping it’s a knock off lavazza rosso Still doing fine with an electric bean grinder and a filter coffee machine. Had rave reviews for the taste recently
Diogenes Sep 2024 10:19pm, 14 Sep 2024 88,114 posts	0 Diogenes Red Squirrel wrote:Please give us a review @Diogenes as and when. I will. I plan to use this, unlike our current Nespresso machine. Talking of which, if anyone wants a Nespresso machine, I know of one for sale.
Diogenes Oct 2024 10:29am, 15 Oct 2024 88,763 posts	0 Diogenes Okay, so we've had our Sage machine a month and I promised you a review. The first thing to say is that it makes very good coffee and I have been converted from my posh-coffee scepticism. At first there does seem a lot to it, and not using the machine every day I usually forgot something each time I made a drink to start with, but the only error I've made twice is forgetting the mug. However, like anything, once you get used to it, it becomes much more straightforward. I enjoy steaming the milk and getting it swirling for my flat whites. There is also a lot of rinsing and wiping to to be done. In the early days it was very easy to make a lot of mess, especially if you got it wrong. A lot depends upon the beans you use. We have some from the Borough Coffee Co, which is a premier cru espresso and, I quote, "a full-roasted blend of bright South American and African arabicas complemented by a smooth creamy Indian Mysore". We get this from the cafe where Mrs D and my youngest work part-time and are very happy with them. Once, when we ran out, we bought some Illy beans. These were fine, flavour wise, but the difference in beans caused the machine problems, with the water not flowing through properly. In the end our friend the cafe owner came round to look at it and spent a while adjusting the grind coarseness and amount. He said that Illy is good coffee but oilier than the one we were using previously so it's worth being aware that, if you change your beans, you might need to play around with the settings. Anyway, I've just finished one coffee, I might have another now
larkim Oct 2024 11:41am, 15 Oct 2024 25,821 posts	0 larkim Interesting review, thanks! One of the reasons I stumped up for the Niche Zero grinder was that ability to refine the grind quickly and easily to address different beans. There's a massive difference in the grind setting needed if I ever have a higher quality, lighter roasted bean in the cupboard. "Dialing in" the espresso seems to be an obsession for many coffee enthusiasts, they must waste tonnes of expensive coffee doing it!
rhb Oct 2024 12:40pm, 15 Oct 2024 2,429 posts	0 rhb larkim wrote:"Dialing in" the espresso seems to be an obsession for many coffee enthusiasts, they must waste tonnes of expensive coffee doing it! This is why I stopped making home espresso.
larkim Oct 2024 12:42pm, 15 Oct 2024 25,823 posts	0 larkim And mainly why I stick to the same beans! Though come Christmas time some bright spark in the family will consider it a good idea to buy me a few packs of different beans, and they don't know the hassle it causes!! (I am grateful though, obvs!)
rhb Oct 2024 1:30pm, 15 Oct 2024 2,430 posts	0 rhb Thats what pourover is for @larkim gifted beans are always brewed through the v60 / aromaboy / aeropress.