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Cake day: July 4th, 2023

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  • I’m still learning myself, but it’s potentially because the machines are already warmed up and the grinder is “dialled in” for the beans on offer. One very important aspect (among other things such as temperature, pressure etc) with espresso is the grind size, which will need adjusting between different bean types and roasts. Everything else being equal, a grind that’s too coarse will let the water through too quickly and give you an under-extracted “sour” tasting coffe, whereas too fine and you end up overextracting and it gets very astringent and bitter tasting; not pleasant at all.

    Alternatively, they could be using a pressurised portafilter, which give much more consistent results, but do take away some control and limit the end result. If it’s a high end machine though it’s probably an unpressured filter basket.




  • Coffee.

    I blame James Hoffman entirely.

    Within a year I went from:

    Drinking instant coffee at home, but really enjoying “proper coffee”

    To

    Buying a cafetiere (~£15) + preground coffee

    To

    Buying a Nespresso (~£60 on offer) + pods

    To

    Buying a budget espresso machine (~£120) + preground coffee

    To

    Wasting my money on a cheap manual coffee grinder (~£50) + beans

    To

    Immediately replacing it with an entry level Sage grinder (~£170)

    To

    Buying an entry Level “proper” espresso machine (~£700)

    It took me a good 2-3 weeks of practicing and dialling in before pulling a good shot of coffee that I’d actually want to drink, but by that point it was also about learning a new skill, learning how different aspects of the process affect the end result and learning how to make all sorts of different espresso-based drinks.

    My girlfriend thought I was nuts at first, but a year or so later even she agrees it was worth the investment. I still for the life of me can’t get the hang of latte art though.

    The problem is now though that I’m a waaaay more critical of coffee from coffee shops, because I spent a long time making bad coffee whilst learning!