My espresso machine wouldn't work this morning so I made coffee in a Bodum tea press

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OK I ADMIT IT I'M A JUNKIE. HELP PLEASE!

ihttp://www.stopaddiction.com/images/outsyringe.jpg

Hurting (A-Ron Hubbard), Friday, 1 December 2006 14:44 (seventeen years ago) link

Let me call you sweetheart, I'm in love with you

Rumps (Rumps), Friday, 1 December 2006 14:47 (seventeen years ago) link

You're not supposed to use a syringe, I think.

StanM (StanM), Friday, 1 December 2006 14:51 (seventeen years ago) link

Unless... are you going to clean your bowels with it?

StanM (StanM), Friday, 1 December 2006 14:57 (seventeen years ago) link

I'm really pissed actually, because I just got it a few months ago and it's supposed to be a high quality machine. This rubber ring in the group came loose and now I can't get the portafilter in. You shoulda seen the shitfit I threw in my kitchen when it happened (before I realized there was another way to get my caffiene).

Hurting (A-Ron Hubbard), Friday, 1 December 2006 15:23 (seventeen years ago) link

How well did the tea presswork? It can't be that different than their French press, can it?

Abbott (Abbott), Sunday, 3 December 2006 22:23 (seventeen years ago) link

It was pretty bad actually - the difference is bigger than I initially realized. A french press has a fine mesh on the bottom that blocks the grinds from getting into the coffee. This wasn't actually a "tea press" per se but one of those bodum tea pots with a press-like aparatus in the middle - the holes in it are much larger so some grinds inevitably got into the coffee, even though I ground it pretty coarsely.

I have to take my espresso machine to some guy called "Rudy" on the upper West Side. Not many places service La Pavoni machines.

Hurting (A-Ron Hubbard), Sunday, 3 December 2006 22:27 (seventeen years ago) link

I feel your pain, Chris. If anything ever happened to our gaggia, well, I don't know what I'd do.

accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Sunday, 3 December 2006 22:32 (seventeen years ago) link

My name is Josh, actually, but I guess Chris will do.

Hurting (A-Ron Hubbard), Sunday, 3 December 2006 22:36 (seventeen years ago) link

This morning I actually ended up getting espresso at the closest place and then throwing it away because it was downright foul (perhaps the worst I've ever had) and then walking a fair distance to another place to get a better shot.

Hurting (A-Ron Hubbard), Sunday, 3 December 2006 22:37 (seventeen years ago) link

My name is Josh, actually, but I guess Chris will do.

Wait, I know you're not Chris, he's someone totally different. Huh, that's the first time I've mixed up ILErs like that.

Perhaps you're not the only one who didn't the get right coffee dose today.

Your plight reminded me of an article I read in Gastronomica. You can download it here:

http://www.gastronomica.org/issues0603.html

It's called "make mine a ristretto".

accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Sunday, 3 December 2006 22:52 (seventeen years ago) link

Oh yeah, I totally relate to that article, except that the eye-opener for me was not a trip to Italy but the opening of a place in town with properly trained baristas, fresh roasted coffee and a great machine. Man, until I tasted espresso at that place I had no idea why anyone drank it. Also, like the author, I briefly experienced a mild heart flutter from drinking too many shots a day (and not exercising) - I cut back and increased my exercise and it went away.

Hurting (A-Ron Hubbard), Sunday, 3 December 2006 23:05 (seventeen years ago) link

My sister sent me articles about this place: http://www.keancoffee.com/

Not this article: http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/atoz/article_981622.php

Youn (youn), Sunday, 3 December 2006 23:31 (seventeen years ago) link

what is taht thing called where its like two parts you screw together, the coffee is in the middle and water is heated, forced thru the coffee, comes out into top part. i actually think that makes better espresso than the exp. machines i've tried. maybe you can get that for emergencies atleast - they are like $20.

Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Sunday, 3 December 2006 23:34 (seventeen years ago) link

I imagine you're talking about a stovetop "moka." That actually is a very good idea - to get one of those for emergencies.

Many people say they make very good coffee, but they don't make "true espresso" by snob standards (the pressure isn't high enough). For that matter it's not easy to make proper espresso even with some very good machines, so it's not unlikely that you got better results with the moka than with the other machines, especially if they were fully automatic (meaning more expensive and much shittier). Good espresso requires good beans, properly roasted and [referably within a couple weeks of roast, freshly ground in a proper burr grinder to an appropriate fineness, tamped with a considerable amount of force into a firm, level "cake" and then shot through with adequately hot water at a high level of pressure, not to mention extreme cleanliness of all parts that touch water/coffee, and filtered or bottled water. Considering all that room for error, odds are usually in favor of bad to mediocre espresso unless someone really knows what they're doing.

In some ways I think the comparison to wine is apt (though wine is probably considerably more difficult to get right than espresso). And imagine someone having tried only wine that had been heat-damaged or made with unclean equipment or with poor-quality grapes all their life and basing their opinion of wine on that.

Hurting (A-Ron Hubbard), Sunday, 3 December 2006 23:47 (seventeen years ago) link

I use a stoveto vev vigano stainless steel moka machine. Have had it so long it is blackened all over the base. It doesn't make espresso - it can't - but the coffee it makes is good rounded stuff.

I used to love ristrettos and short machiattos but I dont drink a lot of coffee anymore - caffiene messes with my hypoglycemia :( *grumble*

Trayce (trayce), Sunday, 3 December 2006 23:53 (seventeen years ago) link

i've always heard it was espresso. ok true it doesn't really taste that espresso-y, but it is not a bitter thin taste you get with crap espresso machine- more like very full strong coffee yes. i wooudl prefer that in a pinch atleast.

how can you tell if you have a decent machine - have the multiple thousand dollar one at work. you press yourself - i use full body weight practically, has good pressue but shot amount comes out in less than a minute probably. have special detached grinders tho. we use peet's espresso blend beans and filtered water... i don't think end product is mind blowing tho. slightly flavorless to bitter. i'm thinking its the beans.

Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Sunday, 3 December 2006 23:59 (seventeen years ago) link

i hate learning that what i've been drinking is not real espresso ;_;

Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Monday, 4 December 2006 00:04 (seventeen years ago) link

Yeah I would have defended my stovetop as an espresso til recently but when I think about it, it doesnt do that slightly thicker liqor. I dont mind this at all, and I love the coffee my machine makes.

I used to have a tiny stovetop one that did one short black: you sat the cup on a platform and the coffee dribbled down from a brass spout. I called them short machiattos even though they were probably a lot weaker (and a bit milkier) than the proper thing.

Trayce (trayce), Monday, 4 December 2006 00:15 (seventeen years ago) link

Susan, you have a fancy espresso machine at work? Do you work in a restaurant?

Hurting (A-Ron Hubbard), Monday, 4 December 2006 03:53 (seventeen years ago) link

yes it's a nice one, but not related to the business ( except increases productivity i imagine)

Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Monday, 4 December 2006 05:43 (seventeen years ago) link

Can you get me a job there?

Hurting (A-Ron Hubbard), Monday, 4 December 2006 06:04 (seventeen years ago) link

ha-ha you really have a problem

Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Monday, 4 December 2006 07:24 (seventeen years ago) link

Josh, you should get a job in Google. Mister Monkey works there, and when they moved into their new offices in Dublin, he and the Italian guys in the office led the charge for a proper espresso machine rather than a fully-automated push button thing. They were sent to a company to try out machines, and then sent on a barista course to teach them to make proper coffees, and to clean the machine correctly.

Of course the problem is that he comes home and complains endlessly about all the people who don't know anything about using the machine, but at least it's properly caffeinated complaining.

He makes excellent coffee (or so it seems to me).

accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Monday, 4 December 2006 08:12 (seventeen years ago) link

isn't there a warranty if it's just a few months old?

coffee is my last addiction and i'm never giving it up everrrrrrrrrrr!

Mike McGonigal (yetimike), Monday, 4 December 2006 08:14 (seventeen years ago) link

http://www.e-menager-discount.com/emd/images/produits/zoom/philips-senseo.jpg

We recently got the Senseo. I don't want any other coffee now.

nathalie (stevienixed), Monday, 4 December 2006 08:40 (seventeen years ago) link

BAN NATHALIE

;-)

I used to be happy with that too, until suddenly, one day, it started tasting like cardboard instead of coffee. A couple of weeks later (nothing helped, all the flavours all tasted flat and fake), I ordered an espresso in a quite expensive pizza place where they had a Real espresso machine. Gave the Senseo away and got me a Gaggia Classic. Addicted to espresso now.

StanM (StanM), Monday, 4 December 2006 10:42 (seventeen years ago) link

ya bastard! bannin'me! :-(

i will get a proper espresso machine next year. :-D

nathalie (stevienixed), Monday, 4 December 2006 11:09 (seventeen years ago) link

I've always been Senseo-curious, but they are banned from our house. Still, it would be nice to think that there was a way to make espresso without having coffee grounds EVERYWHERE all the time. Boys are NOT big into cleaning up after their espresso adventures, in my experience.

accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Monday, 4 December 2006 12:18 (seventeen years ago) link

He's in that Martini ad now too, no?

I've always been Senseo-curious, but they are banned from our house.

Why? I know that a Senseo is not the proper thing but for now it'll (have to) do.

nathalie (stevienixed), Monday, 4 December 2006 13:34 (seventeen years ago) link

Isn't the pressure on them pretty low? And can't you only get Nestle coffee for them? I could be wrong, but that's the impression I get from the ads.

accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Monday, 4 December 2006 13:42 (seventeen years ago) link

Several people have insisted to me the Nespresso is good. I don't really know anything about the senseo. In theory, there's no reason a pod machine shouldn't at least be able to make decent espresso, since the pods give you the equivalent of the perfect grind and tamp every time.

BTW, this morning I made coffee in this fine MESH tea filter thingy, and with the coarsest grind possible, and it's actually quite good! Hooray!

Hurting (A-Ron Hubbard), Monday, 4 December 2006 13:49 (seventeen years ago) link

I tried Senseo coffee the other day - everyone else was going 'oh this is nice coffee!' and I thought: man, what kind of coffee do you people usually have? But then I am a bit of an awful snob and barely ever even drink cafetiere coffee.

I make mine in one of those waisted italian stovetop things (i'm sure i used to know a name for them that isn't moka); we've got a gaggia knocking about, in fact, but it never got enough use to justify having it constantly out since it's such a fuss to clean. In fact mine isn't stovetop: it's got a little electric element it sits on, like a cordless kettle, which turns itself off automatically when it's ready, so it's really really easy -- but I think it overcooks the coffee slightly so it isn't as good as you'd get from a normal one you have more control over. Also it's a six-cup (six espresso cups, though): ah, it's a good thing I don't get hyperactive. I need to start grinding my own beans, though, it takes me a a really long time to get through a pack of pre-ground lavazza and all that sitting around can't be good for it.

cis boom bah (cis), Monday, 4 December 2006 14:00 (seventeen years ago) link

According to the above-linked article, ground coffee loses its freshness within a few hours. From my experience using preground Illy, I'd say it's true.

I got my Capresso burr grinder for $80 - there are much more expensive ones, but this one seems to do fine.

Hurting (A-Ron Hubbard), Monday, 4 December 2006 14:11 (seventeen years ago) link

i have a Nespresso machine w/ the pods etc. at home - pretty much total crap.

Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Monday, 4 December 2006 15:27 (seventeen years ago) link

It's a little bitter for me and I'm sure it doesn't compare to espresso done well but it is so unbelievably easy to do. The whole concept of no-effort espresso is exactly what I need in the morning and it has been draining my pockets for far too long. I am also actually George Clooney.

Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Monday, 4 December 2006 15:48 (seventeen years ago) link

The coffee machine at work is a Senseo - it's pretty good at generating coffee-flavored liquid, but like accentmonkey pointed out, the coffee choices are pretty limited.

I pulled the trigger on an Aerobee Aeropress a couple months ago and it's my hands-down favorite right now.

Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Monday, 4 December 2006 17:33 (seventeen years ago) link

I saw one of the waiters at the local Vietnamese place making himself a coffee with some sort of old-fashioned looking contraption that I think might have used the same principal as that Aerobee thing.

Hurting (A-Ron Hubbard), Monday, 4 December 2006 20:39 (seventeen years ago) link

(Have we figured out how someone cleans their bowels with a syringe yet?)

Jesus Dan (dan perry), Monday, 4 December 2006 20:42 (seventeen years ago) link

yah its a french press rilly is all.
xpost

sterl clover (s_clover), Monday, 4 December 2006 20:45 (seventeen years ago) link

http://www.optimalhealthnetwork.com/images/products/coffeelabel.jpg

(xpost)

StanM (StanM), Monday, 4 December 2006 20:48 (seventeen years ago) link

OkayokayOKAY you figured it out, I KNOW SHIT ABOUT COFFEE. Hey, Senseo is a step up from what I used to have. So SHUT the hell up, you buncha snobs! ;-)

nathalie (stevienixed), Monday, 4 December 2006 22:11 (seventeen years ago) link

ok, fair enough.

BAN US

:-)

StanM (StanM), Monday, 4 December 2006 22:38 (seventeen years ago) link

What do you all think of the French press?

Abbott (Abbott), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 01:07 (seventeen years ago) link

Easier to clean than a drip coffee maker. I finally threw out my Melitta Grind & Brew and only use the french press at home.

I Am Curious (George) (Slight Return) (Rock Hardy), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 01:10 (seventeen years ago) link

we have an ecm giotto. its cheaper than i thought but have no idea how it compares quality wise.

Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 01:49 (seventeen years ago) link

mazzer luigi grinders. these seem to be v good.

Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 01:51 (seventeen years ago) link

I think the French press can be very good once you get the grinds, temp and proportion down, which I guess makes it no different than any other coffee maker.

Hurting (A-Ron Hubbard), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 02:47 (seventeen years ago) link

Le Monde could be livened up with a few more pictures.

Madchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 12:57 (seventeen years ago) link

The Rosthchilds are currently killing it; the only question is whether it's intentional.

Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 13:31 (seventeen years ago) link

I make mine in one of those waisted italian stovetop things (i'm sure i used to know a name for them that isn't moka)

My Italian grandmother called it a macchinetta and indeed, the first thing that comes up in GIS is a stovetop coffee maker.

I have started using Illy preground espresso coffee in a pressurised tin through my Krups espresso maker - what's the verdict?

Maaarghk C (Maaarghk C), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 13:56 (seventeen years ago) link

We use the cheapest machine around—the $50-$60 Krups. A friend of ours had a way fancier one and his kids' babysitter left it on all day and killed it. We've left ours on all day many times. Nothing happens. I've had better coffee out of more serious machines, but I've had worse, too.

Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 14:23 (seventeen years ago) link

I've about to have some coffee right now. We drink coffee out of cups that are the size of industrial mixing bowls.

Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 14:24 (seventeen years ago) link

I have started using Illy preground espresso coffee in a pressurised tin through my Krups espresso maker - what's the verdict?

The main problem is that once you've opened those tins the shelf life is short. It will be fairly fresh when you open it though.

I always thought they should make some kind of vaccuum jar for coffee that can pump all the air out of itself and reseal. Do they?

Hurting (A-Ron Hubbard), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 14:30 (seventeen years ago) link

They do!


VacuVin Coffee Saver Vacuum Jar

Maaarghk C (Maaarghk C), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 14:36 (seventeen years ago) link

Ooh, this is a good page for vacuuming stuff:

http://www.judyofthewoods.net/pump.html

Maaarghk C (Maaarghk C), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 14:40 (seventeen years ago) link

We have a very fancy coffee maker (restaurant grade) with seperate grinder in my office. No real reason why just when we were moving in my colleague and I went a bit crazy and decided we needed a proper machine. We weren't under budget constraints so spent a fortune.

Sad thing is she didn't even drink coffee and I've given up. Still, our colleagues like it.

kv_nol (kv_nol), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 14:40 (seventeen years ago) link

o that sounds about right, Mark, esp as I've heard the gaggia called the macchina (tho' i always think of that as meaning 'car').

re-vaccuuming a tin every time you want coffee seems like so much fuss, though, even compared to grinding fresh and cleaning up after.

cis boom bah (cis), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 14:48 (seventeen years ago) link

The solution is surely to drink so much of it that it never goes off (cf. soft cigarette packets)

Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 15:20 (seventeen years ago) link

re-vaccuuming a tin every time you want coffee seems like so much fuss, though, even compared to grinding fresh and cleaning up after.

I can see how a person might think this, but in fact it is not true. There are no lengths too great, apparently.

My favourite, favourite thing about the coffee in our house is that I never, ever have to make it myself, giving it all the advantages of restaurant coffee with all the advantages of home coffee.

We use Palombini beans, ground as needed. They are very good.

accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 15:57 (seventeen years ago) link

I have a VacuVin for wine and it's no hassle at all - you just pumpy pumpy and it'd done.

Madchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 16:40 (seventeen years ago) link

Even if you grind your own it's probably worth it to get a vacuum jar if you're REALLY serious - beans lose their full freshness after a week or two.

Hurting (A-Ron Hubbard), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 16:44 (seventeen years ago) link

Hmm. If only there was some major gift-giving festival coming up at which I could present my beloved with a vaccuum jar.

accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 17:38 (seventeen years ago) link

I have a VacuVin for wine and it's no hassle at all - you just pumpy pumpy and it'd done.

and if you can't find the pump you can suck the air out. TRUE LOVE FINDS A WAY.

Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Tuesday, 5 December 2006 23:17 (seventeen years ago) link

I think I have the same reaction to caffeine that ADD kids have to ritalin -- it's a stimulant that calms me down. I just drank a cup of coffee and it's knocking me right out. Weird.

I Am Curious (George) (Slight Return) (Rock Hardy), Thursday, 7 December 2006 04:14 (seventeen years ago) link

i only use my french press, which i love to bits.

derrick (derrick), Thursday, 7 December 2006 07:34 (seventeen years ago) link

i only use my french press, which i love to bits.

http://history.nih.gov/exhibits/nirenberg/images/photos/instruments/06_fpress_pu.jpg

Seems a bit excessive, Derrick.

Maaarghk C (Maaarghk C), Thursday, 7 December 2006 14:23 (seventeen years ago) link


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