New Members Experience of Using Cafetiere (French Press)

[cmorgan]

Many thanks Lukas will give that a whirl.

Looks like some experimenation ahead!

Colin

[bogner]

good to hear - I think the Zass is a great grinder (a bit on the slow side, but that has nothing to do with the grinder ), would be a pity if you couldn't put it to good use - sounds like you solved the problem ...

[Joris]

Welcome Colin

[GeorgeW]

Colin, welcome to the forum. How did the grinder blades look?
Mine were not too good but I found I could sharpen them by using the grinding attachment of my Dremmel. You have to be careful and not let the metal become too hot however.

[cmorgan]

GeorgeW - As far as I can remember the burrs looked fine but the grinder is fairly new. It didn't even occur to me that they may need sharpening. Certainly doesn't seem any immediate need as the grinding seems to be excellent at the moment.

All - I am thinking of using by Birthday money to upgrade my Cafetiere, especially now my grinder seems to be working properly (to be honest the manual grinder adds to the experience whereas an electric one may be quicker but surely the end result won't be better unless I am grinding really fine for espresso?). Will I see much benefit from this? I think my cafetiere was a cheapo supermarket purchase. If so which make and features should I look out for?

thanks once again (everyone has been so friendly!)

Colin

[GeorgeW]

The Zass is hard work for any amount of coffee and for me it's a back-up. It enjoys good opinions on this forum as it appears to be the best manual machine for espresso machines given the fineness of its grind.
Have you thought about a Moka pot instead of a cafetiere? It's possible to buy one very cheaply in TKMax and I for one prefer it for coffee in volume. Simple, foolproof, and with no need for filters.

[lukas]

I find mokkapots much less easy to use (and to clean!). But the result is really great when everything comes together! At least with stainless steel ones.

[cmorgan]

George W - On the subject of Moka pots I had a bad experience when holidaying in a friends very new and well equipped villa, when the Moka starting leaking coffee over the nice new hob and in my efforts to avoid a burnt mess moved the pot to the side where it blistered and burnt the worktop!! I think I will therefore leave the Moka pot for now! However just seen the thread on the Aerobie Aeropress, that seems more than a little interesting?

Received my Hasbean Columbian Relationship coffee last Friday (born on the 29th June!) and have been experimenting all weekend. First off used the coffee geeks method and must admit was slightly disappointed. Next tried Lukas's method (with a finer grind) and the results were much better although I think I made it too strong (1cm of bloom appeared on the top). Next tried the same method with slightly less coffee (5mm of bloom this time). Result a very smooth coffee. Definitely my best yet. Do you think 5mm of bloom is too much or about right? Is the coffee being ground too fine (this is by no means the finest setting on my Zass - probably the finer side of mid way)? Or am I making it too strong? I notice when using this method when I push down the filter the first time there is a lot of resistance but when pushing down the second time the resistence is much less.

[cmorgan]

Bought the aeropress which arrived the other day. Must say the results are good and very consistent. I even made a latte out of it for my wife and she is very impressed saying it was better than starbucks latte (not sure if this is a complement). However this is a disaster as I will be using all my Hasbean coffee on Latte's? Second time round I tried her with the old tesco beans I hid in my freezer. She says it wasn't quite as good as the first latte but pretty good all the same (damn she can tell the difference).

This could be a disaster as up until now the ground coffee has been my preserve.

This means will have to upgrade my hand grinder, with the Ibertal MC2 seeming to be a good contender (the Macap range being too expensive). When I mentioned an electric grinder to my Wife she said whats wrong with the hand grinder (well she doesn't do the grinding?!). Then she said I could do with building up my biceps???? So ain't going to get much change there.

Any how apart from a grinder upgrade it now seems I will need something to froth the milk for latte's. Not being very experienced in this area what can anyone advise? Or should I be looking at a machine that can make latte's and americano's (my favourite tipple - I like the flavour of espresso's but I prefer a longer drink before I am wired to the ceiling!). Or am I getting a serious case of wallet hitting upgraditis?? Any budget suggestions welcome.

As always kind regards and thanks for listening
Colin

[CakeBoy]

Do you have a French press Colin? If so, you could use that to froth your milk. There are also milk frothing gizmos out there specifically made for the purpose.

[lukas]

Cakey, look at the title of the thread ... indeed he has

Colin, I would suggest you take a step back, enjoy your French Press and Aerobie coffee (glad my tip worked!) and try out different coffees one after the other. Everything else will just lead to very empty bank accounts!

I, for example, have an old Coffee Gaggia, a Gaggia MDF grinder ... and what do I do? Since about one month now, I haven't drunk a single Espresso, Cappuccino or Latte at home. All I use my MDF for is grinding coarse coffee for the French Press or the Vacpot! And Damn, I love it!
When I'm a little better at roasting (and get consistent with the results), I think I'll ressurrect my Espressomachine, but for now ... coffee's just great.

[CakeBoy]

Ahhhh ..... yes indeed, you are so right Lucas . You have to make allowances for my impending old age and seive like brain. It's a miracle that I can manage any lucidity at all. Without the intravenous expresso I would be nothing

[Beanie]

. . . expresso. . . .

For shame! For shame!

[CakeBoy]

Told you ...... I'm leaking from the brain

[Gouezeri]

seive like brain.

And in second place for the TMC Spelling Bee.....