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Hello all

Postby gruff » Sat Dec 20, 2003 4:13 pm

As a new member here I thought I'd do a quick intro.

My name is Gruff (pronounced Griff). I live and work in the Isle of Man. I have been developing my espresso skills for the last 12 months (but still have a long way to go!)

My first (and only) machine is an Isomac Tea. I bought it after a lot of research, and have been delighted with it. Initially I was looking to spend somewhat less, but once I looked into it ............ you know how these things go!!

Before I bought it I had a long chat with Gavin from Another Coffee and he assured me that I would soon forget how much it cost, and simply appreciate the quality of the machine and the coffee. He would have been right if my wife didn't keep reminding me :)

Anyway looking forward to getting to know you all
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Postby DrZeus » Sat Dec 20, 2003 4:28 pm

Welcome, Gruff. My name is John (pronounced John) and I'm an American living in Portugal. I'm a Web Developer by trade and a coffee roaster by heart. I brew my coffee by moka pot and press pot. Good to meet ya. :)
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Postby Sunnyfield » Sat Dec 20, 2003 5:10 pm

Hi Gruff, welcome! My name is Eward and cannot be spelled phonetically. ;)
A Dutchman in London. A lot of us have only been really into coffee/espresso since a year ago. The same goes for me, although I have had my VBM Domobar for 3 years now.

Don't be shy to post and comment wherever you can!
La Marzocco GS/3, Elektra Nino, Feima 800N solid drum gas roaster
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Postby Raf » Sat Dec 20, 2003 7:43 pm

Hi Gruff! Welcome aboard.
This week I am eagerly anticipating the first god shots from my La Spaziale machine....

La Spaziale S1, Vibiemme Domobar (retd), Mazzer Mini Electronic, Behmor 1600 230V
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Postby Joey » Sat Dec 20, 2003 10:22 pm

Hi Gruff, Man of the Isle of Man! What a nice Island! Nice race track, I just didn't dare speeding it ;-)
My name is Joey (although I'm female), a nick name for Johanna. I'm from Vienna, Austria. Experience - also not more then a year, but very intense. Started with a Aquaviva, upgraded to an ECM Boticelli, currently repairing a La San Marco 1-group and 3-group machine. I'm working on opening the first "delicatessen" shop for coffee in Vienna (speciality coffee shop & espresso bar)

Have fun, this is a nice and very friendly place!
Joey
"Latte" is french for "you've paid too much for your coffee"
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Postby michel » Sat Dec 20, 2003 10:32 pm

Welcome Gruff!
I'm a bookseller in the Netherlands... so if you have any question's about 'coffee-books'...let me know, and I'll point you where to purchase it fast and quick -except for Illy's 'chemistry' book :wink: -

Nice to have someone around with a HX machine :D and...
Yes :!: : I have two questions already:

-how high/low did you set your temp/pressure (thanks Phil :idea: ) on your Isomac Tea for brewing..?

-how is your foam/froth (if frothing/foaming at all...)? For example: I find myself with two machine's on my 'workingbench' pulling the shot's on Giotto and frothing on Elektra... (as Giotto's foaming capacities are oke... but Elektra's are sublime :!:)...
So -as you hopefully can imagine- I'm verry curious about your Tea and her capabilities...

Michel
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Postby phil » Sat Dec 20, 2003 10:46 pm

Michel wrote:how high/low did you set your temp/pressure (thanks Phil )


Erm, yes, well, I had wondered if you'd noticed the heavy editorial hand ....:oops:
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Postby Joey » Sat Dec 20, 2003 11:34 pm

michel wrote:Welcome Gruff!
I'm a bookseller in the Netherlands... so if you have any question's about 'coffee-books'...let me know, and I'll point you where to purchase it fast and quick -except for Illy's 'chemistry' book :wink: -

Sorry Gruff, I know this is your welcome thread, but I have to ask Michel for a book He :oops: has no email adress in his profile!

Michel, do you also have access to educational videos/DVDs? I'm looking for that latte art vid by George Sabodos :shock: , "coffee making skills: milk texturing & milk patterns" - cheaper as at espressowarehouse (80€) if possible. I guess there is no book from him with the same content!? :?:
Thanks
Joey :)
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Postby gruff » Sun Dec 21, 2003 2:18 am

Hi Joey,
The TT circuit is indeed awesome, but the future is in the balance a bit. Keeping my fingers crossed as it really is spectacular.

Michel,
Got my pressure at 1.05-1.2 bar. Foams well at that pressure, though I mostly drink espresso so never really been an issue. Plenty of steam when I want it though. By the way Michel how are you finding the LM baskets. One thing about the Tea is that for it to work at it's best I seem to have to overfill the baskets which is OK, but produces an espresso a bit too strong for my taste. I was thinking of getting the Faema 6g and 12g baskets as I have read that these perform quite well with the Tea, but whilst I was ordering stuff was also considering the LM baskets
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Postby michel » Sun Dec 21, 2003 8:12 pm

Joey,
As far as my sources reach there seems to be no book, while educational video's/DVD's are way out of my field of expertise... (sorry. :( )

Gruff.
Seems I don't know much about geography... I thought (as I'm going on a whisky-trip with my father-in-law in a couple of month's, and were going to Islay (lagavulin...) Jura (Talisker) Campeltown (springbank) I'd bring you the basket's in person as they are easy available here in the Netherlands... But damn... I looked it up... and you really live in the middle of nowhere... :shock:

Give the UK importer of La Marzocco a try (as these baskets really - especially the single-basket - make a different/better cup):

U.K. | Mulmar U. K.
Address Lismirrane Industrial Park, Elstree Road,
Elstree WD63EE, Herts, U.K.
Phone (44) 20 8905 1060
Fax (44) 20 8207 5795
Email mulmar@mulmar.com
Web www.mulmar.com
Contact Agostino Luggeri, Enzo Frangiamore

------------------------------------------
One thing about the Tea is that for it to work at it's best I seem to have to overfill the baskets which is OK, but produces an espresso a bit too strong for my taste.
----------------------------------------
Too strong or to bitter?
A too strong cup doesn't exist in my universe... I like the flavours to be rolling over my tongue... while a bitter cup is awfull, and in most cases caused by an uneven extraction...
About the LM baskets: the single basket holds over 8gram of coffee... but I've never had a bitter beverage from it, while the standard Giotto single-basket holds 'only' 6 gram and gave me lots of bitter-brews...
So I think it's not the amount of coffee (the more the better) that makes the LM baskets superior... it's the design... The single basket design of the LM ensures an even extraction of all coffee in the basket (something which can't be said of most other baskets).

And thanks for your pressure settings... (mine are a tiny/little bit higher...)

Michel
(wanting the liquid to hang from the spouts like honey and sirup, with just a little twist near the end...)
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Postby gruff » Sun Dec 21, 2003 8:27 pm

Michel
Sounds like a good trip! We are a bit off the beaten track here, but in many ways all the better for that. Thanks for the contact info.
I think you may be right about the bitterness rather than strength. The problem seems to be more to do with extraction. If the basket isn't overfilled I often end up with a very wet puck. I would prefer to fill the basket with less coffee if I could. Having said that I think the grind is also important. I have just persuaded my Isomac grinder to grind a bit finer which has definately improved things. Then there's the tamping........too many variables!! :?
I'll let you know how I get on.
Cheers, Gruff
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Postby alans » Mon Dec 22, 2003 2:06 pm

Hi Gruff! I'm Alan, an Aussie living in Dublin, with Pavoni PL, Pavoni JDL and Alpenrost (and lots of other stuff I don't use much ;)). I once spent a few days in the IoM for work and found it a very strange place, what's the local coffee like? The Tea looks like a beauty, perhaps even enough to make me think about breaking up with Ms Pavoni (but I won’t say that out loud, she's very temperamental!)

Michel, one thing that's confused me for a while, why is Kenneth Davids "Home Coffee Roasting: Romance & Revival" only sold on US web sites? Are there some publisher related restriction going on? I keep looking for it locally but never bothering to buy it over the web.
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Postby Sunnyfield » Mon Dec 22, 2003 4:53 pm

I bought Kenneth Davids book from our pal Eeffoc (aka Steve). Just order at www.hasbean.co.uk.
La Marzocco GS/3, Elektra Nino, Feima 800N solid drum gas roaster
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Postby alans » Mon Dec 22, 2003 5:16 pm

I checked the site but didn't ask. Damn! Is it a good read?
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Postby gruff » Mon Dec 22, 2003 5:45 pm

Hi Alan, the IoM is a bit strange (75,000 alcoholics clinging to a rock in the Irish Sea!) but you get used to it after about 18 months. The pace of life is good, and it's a great place to bring up kids.
Decent coffee here is virtually non existent though, which is partly why I bought the Tea 12 months ago. It's a great machine, and I know that if I pull a bad shot it is because of something that I have (or have not) done rather than something outside my control.
Also I couldn't resist the name...a coffee machine called Tea (whatever they say about how it should be pronounced!).
Funnily enough, one of the reasons I bought it was because my wife drinks tea, and I drink it in the morning, and I thought the hot water supply would be handy. It's not hot enough to brew tea though so there you go!
I also bought it because I liked the idea of having a machine that was on 24/7, but I nearly always switch it off at night otherwise the water reservoir gets really hot. Still wouldn't swap it though.
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