COFFEE

[Mark1966]

If it is this set currently on sale - the PU6910 Espresso Machine and EM0440 Grinder the grinder is a conical burr type @Nick the Knife

 

[Nick the Knife]

If it is this set currently on sale - the PU6910 Espresso Machine and EM0440 Grinder the grinder is a conical burr type @Nick the Knife

@Mark1966 Apologies in advance if that was merely a statement rather than a question - but yes, the EM0440 pictured there is a conical burr grinder (it's regarded as being quite reasonable and is well matched to that machine). Some folks have placed a small washer in the machine under a burr to act as a shim, allowing a slightly finer grind but overall solid reports.

 

[Mark1966]

@Mark1966 Apologies in advance if that was merely a statement rather than a question - but yes, the EM0440 pictured there is a conical burr grinder (it's regarded as being quite reasonable and is well matched to that machine). Some folks have placed a small washer in the machine under a burr to act as a shim, allowing a slightly finer grind but overall solid reports.

It was a statement. A question is usually followed by a "?". [no offence intended mate ]

My observation would be that it is really just in the really low end models (sub-$100 at least) that do not have a burr grinder nowadays.

See the Sunbeam range here and the Breville range here.

 

[Nick the Knife]

Ah we've taken the scenic route a bit on this one - but my very small and completely trivial point was that Sunbeam (and possibly others makers) for what I assume is simplicity and marketing purposes refer to bladed choppers as grinders. Yes, I'm aware it's only the bottom 2 models in their 'coffee grinder' range - like I said it's just a bugbear as well it doesn't 'grind' (To crush, pulverize, or reduce to powder by friction, especially by rubbing between two hard surfaces) anything. Perfectly fine for certain things but plenty of folks who thought they needed an actual coffee grinder have been fooled by them as it's just not one.

The grinder that I would expect was bundled in with @Arnold J Rimmer 's machine wasn't that one but rather one of their 'choppers' - hence my airing of my petty grievances with SB's marketing dept.

 

[Mark1966]

Ah we've taken the scenic route a bit on this one - but my very small and completely trivial point was that Sunbeam (and possibly others makers) for what I assume is simplicity and marketing purposes refer to bladed choppers as grinders. Yes, I'm aware it's only the bottom 2 models in their 'coffee grinder' range - like I said it's just a bugbear as well it doesn't 'grind' (To crush, pulverize, or reduce to powder by friction, especially by rubbing between two hard surfaces) anything. Perfectly fine for certain things but plenty of folks who thought they needed an actual coffee grinder have been fooled by them as it's just not one.

The grinder that I would expect was bundled in with @Arnold J Rimmer 's machine wasn't that one but rather one of their 'choppers' - hence my airing of my petty grievances with SB's marketing dept.

Edited my post to remove my status to a post below for convenience.

I agree entirely in your comments on the 'grinders' that are really mislabelled 'choppers' and should not be included in their 'grinder' range IMHO. In fact I would go so far as to suggest any grinder should only be used for coffee and not spices as well - unless you want to clean it really, really well. I'm no expert though.

I threw in the links to the product ranges in case that is helpful for anybody wanting to know what all the references to product numbers mean.

Myer seem to only stock the Sunbeam burr grinders (according to the search I did here) and since the set I linked to is on sale at present my guess is that was the one but the points remain the same.

 

[Mark1966]

What am I drinking? Glad you asked ...

I don't claim any expertise, I have a BarAroma Coffee Grinder BCG450 at home with a plunger and a Saeco Intelia automatic machine in the office.

I wasn't using the office machine for ages as a) there are LOTS of good coffee shops nearby and b) it tasted awful. I was thinking of replacing with a Nespresso which is much simpler for meetings.

Being inspired by some earlier comments here I took it home a couple of weekends ago and gave it a good clean out. I threw out the old (stale) supermarket beans and purchased some fresh (date stamped) high quality beans from a local roaster. I ran three shots through with the new beans and then experimented.

The automatic machine has three 'aroma' settings and two (adjustable) settings for the 'size' of coffee - basically the length of the extraction. After adjusting those to about 20 seconds and 30 seconds respectively I produced shots into glasses using each of the different 'aroma' settings and did a 'taste test'. The beans purchased were the single origin beans being offered through the roaster's coffee bar so I'd tried them when purchasing and knew what to expect.

Using the fresh beans made a remarkable difference and on the shorter time setting with the strongest 'aroma' setting I get a very acceptable (to me) tasting shot. Two of those in a cup with some (unheated) milk and I'm happy. Not teh same quality as the best coffee shop but better (to me) than some.

Even at home with a plunger the fresher beans make a huge difference.

So sure, I could get a manual and maybe get a better result - but to me it seems a little like using a straight compared to a DE ...

[sits down, grabs popcorn]

 

[Nonick]

I'm going 'dry July' on coffee, see if it has any effect. Maybe I should start a tea thread...

 

[MrT]

What am I drinking? Glad you asked ...

I don't claim any expertise, I have a BarAroma Coffee Grinder BCG450 at home with a plunger and a Saeco Intelia automatic machine in the office.

I wasn't using the office machine for ages as a) there are LOTS of good coffee shops nearby and b) it tasted awful. I was thinking of replacing with a Nespresso which is much simpler for meetings.

Being inspired by some earlier comments here I took it home a couple of weekends ago and gave it a good clean out. I threw out the old (stale) supermarket beans and purchased some fresh (date stamped) high quality beans from a local roaster. I ran three shots through with the new beans and then experimented.

The automatic machine has three 'aroma' settings and two (adjustable) settings for the 'size' of coffee - basically the length of the extraction. After adjusting those to about 20 seconds and 30 seconds respectively I produced shots into glasses using each of the different 'aroma' settings and did a 'taste test'. The beans purchased were the single origin beans being offered through the roaster's coffee bar so I'd tried them when purchasing and knew what to expect.

Using the fresh beans made a remarkable difference and on the shorter time setting with the strongest 'aroma' setting I get a very acceptable (to me) tasting shot. Two of those in a cup with some (unheated) milk and I'm happy. Not teh same quality as the best coffee shop but better (to me) than some.

Even at home with a plunger the fresher beans make a huge difference.

So sure, I could get a manual and maybe get a better result - but to me it seems a little like using a straight compared to a DE ...

[sits down, grabs popcorn]

Agreed. Fresh beans make all the difference.

With the age of the beans, I usually open the bag about 1 week after roasting. If I am still using the same bag 2 weeks later, I can definitely taste the difference and lack of freshness. So I try and use beans within 1 week of opening, having opened the bag anywhere from 1 - 2 weeks after roasting.

Plunger isn't better or worse than espresso. It's just different. Automatic machines are ok...

 

[Mark1966]

Yep - but 250 grams at a time so it stays pretty fresh.

 

[Nick the Knife]

Word around town is there's a new hot shot barista in the outer Western Sydney suburbs. Goes by the name of the Whalan Whisperer. Might be one to keep an eye out for if you're in that neck of the woods and needing a hot cup of joe.

 

[gthomas04]

Word around town is there's a new hot shot barista in the outer Western Sydney suburbs. Goes by the name of the Whalan Whisperer. Might be one to keep an eye out for if you're in that neck of the woods and needing a hot cup of joe.

Gee thanks @Nick the Knife - now I am going to have these guys lined up around the block wanting to know where each bean was grown and the name of the cow that provided the milk.

 

[MrT]

I believe her name is Daisy.

 

[borked]

Daisy Duke ?

 

[Arnold J Rimmer]

Sorry for the delay in getting back. Enjoying my coffee!

There's actually a lot of debate about even whether legit crema is a good or bad thing - just goes to show how open to perception coffee is.

Yeah, I'm happy with the machine. It is a very large step up from pod systems. I use my own coffee, so I know it is fresh - the crema debate doesn't really blow my hair back anyway. That, and my dosage sits between a ristretto and an espresso ... so the system doesn't get a lot of opportunity to get something going artificially.

@Mark1966, yes, that is the system I purchased.

To steal a line from @Mark1966 ... What am I drinking now?

Presently, I am running through a medium roast of Costa Rican Honey Helsar. Next will be a batch of medium roasted Jamaican Blue, then some Sumatran Organic beans. Gotta love frresh organic beans, that don't taste like pesticide. I'm looking at you, Nespresso.

 

[Nick the Knife]

@Arnold J Rimmer , congrats on your new system - which I assume was the Sunbeam set......thats the same one I coerced @gthomas04 into getting you're you're in the company of scoundrels on that one!

I agree that crema is very much overrated - often non-coffee folks will associate it with a coffee either being good or not - which is completely untrue & a vast over simplification.

Dosage wouldn't actually differ with a ristretto or espresso - as dosage refers to the amount of grinds that you're putting into the basket for any given shot. So I assume you're referring to the size/volume of the shot instead (as you know ristrettos being the same amount of grinds as an espresso but 1/2 the actual extraction volume).

Most CR's are nice as single origins - Jamaican Blue tends to be hideously expensive, even for what it purportedly is...a nice coffee..so hopefully it lives up to its price tag. I don't think I'd want a Sumatran as a SO. They tend to be very heavy, earthly in nature - a bit like the bass guitar of the coffee world. I know when most folks blend they tend to limit them at 20-30% max - but again I hope it works for you.

Ah now I'm no fan of Nespresso however I don't think that even the most finely tuned palate could detect 'pesticide' in their products. So I'm sure you're more referencing what you perceive as the quality of their pods rather than ACTUAL pesticide - though I've no idea what an actual pesticide would taste like though rumour has it that @gthomas04 keeps a spray bottle of his own customised blend of DDT, Dieldrin with just a smidge of Agent Orange onhand to get rid of those pesky 'Squitos come the warmer months! They breed them tough out Rooty Hill way!

Glad to hear it's going well for you - make sure you start using the unpressurised baskets (lots of holes in the bottom) rather than the pressurised ones (less holes than the other or maybe only one hole in the bottom). They'll be a tad trickier to use BUT you'll get better results.

 

[Arnold J Rimmer]

I was already in the company of scoundrels (membership: 1, with 1 apprentice).

Re: Dosage, sorry I was referring to the water content, not grinds. I fill the basket the same either way. It just depends on how thick I like the mud that I am slurping...

Re: Nespresso - Yes, I was being facetious. However, I do not like what comes out of those pods. The more I drink them, the sicker I feel. I sent about 250 assorted pods to my old man last week. He seems to like them. He thinks that the stuff I am making now is too heavy. Some Italian he is!

The Jamaican Blue is expensive - $30 for 500g of green beans. They forgot to ship my order, so they sent me a full kilogram for the price. I'm happy, but we shall see how it cups. A couple of days left for it to breathe, then in she goes. The Sumatran, you may be right. I haven't roasted it yet, but it may end up in a deeper blend. I'll keep you posted on that one.

The baskets that came with this machine are well-holed. There is an espresso basket and a long-black basket. The espresso one would have at least 100 fine holes in it. The long black, easily double that.

 

[gthomas04]

@Arnold J Rimmer , congrats on your new system - which I assume was the Sunbeam set......thats the same one I coerced @gthomas04 into getting you're you're in the company of scoundrels on that one!

though I've no idea what an actual pesticide would taste like though rumour has it that @gthomas04 keeps a spray bottle of his own customised blend of DDT, Dieldrin with just a smidge of Agent Orange onhand to get rid of those pesky 'Squitos come the warmer months! They breed them tough out Rooty Hill way!

.

No coercion needed @Nick the Knife - you saved me a few dollars. As for the spray you have it about right - I like to make up a couple of gallons at the beginning of summer as it makes a very refreshing drink with ice cubes

 

[Nick the Knife]

Re: Nespresso - Yes, I was being facetious. However, I do not like what comes out of those pods. The more I drink them, the sicker I feel. I sent about 250 assorted pods to my old man last week. He seems to like them. He thinks that the stuff I am making now is too heavy. Some Italian he is!

Oh yes I figured as much however you've got to walk carefully in that subject area as there's a couple of very ardent pod fans here - so I'm steering well clear of that one. I know where you're coming from but I do think good pod machines and someone made a very good point about not all pod machines (or likely pods either) being the same - and they fill a niche very well. Haha now I'm moving on from that whilst I'm still intact.

The Sumatran, you may be right. I haven't roasted it yet, but it may end up in a deeper blend. I'll keep you posted on that one.

Ah you're a home roaster as well, good man! If you do go SO on the Sumatran I think they have to be taken quite dark or they can be be a tad bitter. I'd definitely blend it with a lively African & perhaps a Central American as well in thirds but see what works for you.

The baskets that came with this machine are well-holed. There is an espresso basket and a long-black basket. The espresso one would have at least 100 fine holes in it. The long black, easily double that

Oh they're the unpressurised ones so you're on the right path - IIRC they used to ship with both pressurised and unpressurised baskets but they might have changed it on the later models.

 

[Arnold J Rimmer]

This one at least, came with a one-cup and a two-cup basket. I'll have to check the box again, but I think they were it for this machine. I didn't see any pressurised baskets in the carton, but I may have missed them. Stuff is still in there that I didn't immediately need to use.

I did read that the Sumatran is best taken dark. I have Peruvian and Costa Rican beans that I can blend with, so we shall see how it goes.

 

[eggbert]

I think all Sunbeam baskets used to be pressurised, and you had to replace with Krups baskets if you wanted non pressurised. Although come to think of it I thought the EM6910 came with both types.
Do a search at coffeesnobs as I'm sure its come up there a thousand times.