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A couple of days ago I walked in to the local "good guys" shop to get myself some kitchen scales, I've been roasting some lighter roasts suitable for filter (CCD) and wanted a small set of scales for work to measure my grinds dose.

Shocked at the prices, I abandoned the idea and will just use "best guess" for now.

Whilst in the shop I noticed a shelf hosting a pile of "water filter jugs". One in particular caught my eye as it seemed to be advertising cafe (coffee) use on the box art. I picked it up for a closer look and had a read. "Water softening, chlorine removal, etc". The price? $29. I'll try this.

I took it to the checkout, $26. Even better. Got it home, unboxed it, followed the instructions to prime the filter and then filled it up and let it sit and do it's thing.

Taste test. Well, I have to admit, it does taste better than straight out of the tap, no kidding. It tasted like it had less chlorine in it. Our tap water even smells like a swimming pool, it's that bad. I'm fed up with filling my espresso machine water tank with the shit tap water, so had to do something as an interim measure until our new house is ready (being built at the moment) and I can do an under-bench filtration system.

Less ramble, more detail. The "jug" is aesthetically pleasing, has a nice hand grip, has rubber feet (shocked, for this price), a nice slide on/off lid, and a plastic "dial" you can set to remind you to change the filter after ~3 months. I believe it will filter approx 1L of water. You can buy larger units.

Espresso taste: Well, I've only poured 1 Ltr in to the Giotto so far (mixed with the existing tank water) so I will need to report back in a few days after I've pulled 3L through the machine. I figure if the water tastes nicer in the cup, it will taste nicer in the espresso.

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Back again at Dimattina this week. Tuesday instead of Wednesday, and only the three of us this time.

4x CoE! (Brazil x2, el salv x2) and 1x Colombian

Really interesting mix, especially surprising to experience the differences in the coffee's from the same regions. We loved the uniqueness of one of the Brazil lots so much that we decided to enjoy a pour-over.

I also had an opportunity to check out the Petroncini sample roaster which Jono has been using for our cupping sessions. It's a bit of an old banger (60's) but seems to roast okay. I think Jono is a little upset that his hottop isn't working at the moment. Perhaps considerably more control with the hottop. "I can't even hear the crack's on the Petroncini" :)

If you guys ever decide to stop using that Petroncini, I'll gladly "borrow" it :)

Come along next Wednesday the 30th Nov at 1pm for a chat, mingle, and coffee tasting, feel free to bring your own roasts to share!

James

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For this session, four of us (all from coffeesnobs) rocked up to see what the guys have been up to. Jono & Simon @ Dimattina roasted up some batches of singles, and a blend for us to try out. We got to catch up, meet new faces, and experience the Dimattina cupping room.

We had about eight samples to try, and also an extra single (indian) roasted brought in by one of the CS'ers to try out.

From memory we had some Bolivian, Cuba, CoE Rwanda, CoE Honduras, Sumatran, Columbian, a blend of those three, and I think a central american (I forgot, perhaps it didn't stand out for me).

My faves were the complex flavours of the Sumatra and Honduras where I caught some grassiness, grapes, and other subtle fruit flavours. The Rwanda was really quite odd, perhaps requiring a little more roasting, the grinds seemed to sink during steeping rather than pool on top which is usually the case. My other fave is the Bolivia... the little experience I have with Bolivia coffee tells me that they are producing some nice stuff. I roasted up some Bolivia a couple of months ago and just really loved it either as espresso or in milk based drinks.

Simon offered me a small bag of the Bolivia to try at home, really keen to check it out!

Cupping will be regular, and usually on Wednesdays at 1pm. I really recommend checking it out! You don't need to be a coffee snob, or a guru at picking 'flavours', it's certainly a great way to learn about coffee, origins, different flavours, and even learning about the cupping process which is a "must do" for specialty coffee roasters in order to find the right coffee for customers.

Hopefully, folk who come along to the sessions will gain some knowledge and experience something different, and perhaps a little more 'raw' than what they are used to at home. On the flip side, Dimattina will gain some feedback from coffee drinkers which might help them choose their beans and perhaps put together blends for customers to enjoy! It's a win-win.

I will try to get some photo's next session!

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Firstly, the NS Oscar was a great machine, a major step up from the Sunbeam EM6910, and great for entering the world of proper boiler machines and heat exchangers. Real steam power!

I sold the lovely Oscar for $500 to a fellow coffeesnobber (coffeesnobs.com.au) who has been making espresso with a hand-held/manual machine (pressi?)

I then found an ECM Giotto for sale, for "$500, make offer". I went to check it out, it was a bit trashy, but looked like it could be rescued. Seems it was used for commercial purposes in a gourmet food shop of some sorts. The new owners didn't want it, and had plans for a serious machine to pump out loads of coffee's. Smart.

The Giotto cleaned up nicely, it's missing a little bit of the chassis (at the front which holds the drip tray) but doesn't impact brewing, although does impact machine stability which will need looking at asap.

I descaled it, cleaned it up and away it went. I also back-flushed it, wow, the shit that came out! It's making nice espresso.. however I think it could do with a little more work, the E61 is leaking from the brew lever (easy fix with seals and grease), and i think I might do the shower screen and group seal.

In any case, it's nice to get a bargain! These machines are about $2,500k AU to buy, so I'm fairly chuffed!

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Firstly, it seems like it's been ages, I roasted up some 'Unicorn' blend on the weekend. I just love this blend, I'll post more about it soon. Think complex, full and silky. I was asked why it's "Unicorn"... because it really is a fantasy. Does it really exist? it's pretty good!

I've struggled to find time for myself lately as the wife is busy with work and uni, we are building the house, and I've been spending loads of time with my little ones (which I just love to do).

Di Bella are tweeting like mad these days, as are 5Senses, good to see some Aussie roasters and retailers embracing social media and connecting with their clients, competitors and friends. Not only are the connections interesting, but also educational and even some times inspiring. Keep up the good work. I think more folk need to get on board, even the small roastery's.

http://www.fivesensescoffee.com.au/ Five Senses put up some neat articles on 'naked' portafilter extraction, storing coffee, and some seedlings in Bali. Worth a read.

http://www.smallbatch.com.au/ Small Batch have some notes online about the Syphon comp in Tokyo

Tim Wendelboe toured Colombia on an epic coffee journey and the Colombian govn have set up a really neat site: http://colombiancoffeehub.com/ it's good fun, and interesting. The site covers Tim's journey, but also allows visitors to interact and mingle with others online. There's loads of excellent articles and video's to be seen. Check it out.

Cafe Corporate http://www.facebook.com/CafeCorporate?sk=wall are really pushing their Facebook presence lately. Promoting their products, connecting with customers and other businesses, meshing with other Facebook pages/sites, and giving away great coffee products to their readers through competitions. Check them out, they just might have your next office espresso machine!

I've been enjoying the 'New World' blend from Fiori (http://fioricoffee.com/) lately. Fiori are just down the road from work, so I can walk down to the roastery, have a chat to the guys, pick up some green or brown beans and be on my way, all in the space of a short walk. The guys there are really friendly and happy to give some roasting advice. Much appreciated

I've been really enjoying the Gaggia Classic at work lately, more than ever. The shots from this machine just amazing. Naken extractions are looking brilliant, and the result in the cup is really incredible. How on earth does such a cheap, domestic machine pull such great shots? I'm going to go ahead and say that the pressure is set just right on this thing, one day I'll measure it.

Until next time, enjoy good coffee, every day!

James

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Testing the knowledge of the master roaster, I asked for suitable equiv beans, as close as he could.

So this weekend the roasting continues, with new beans, some experimenting ahead!

I'll report back soon

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Every method has it's pros and cons. For me, this method seems great, there are plenty of pros, mainly the low cost. The biggest con? Probably the batch size. But if you can roast regularly, it's all good. Check out some more info and videos at sweet marias: http://www.sweetmarias.com/airpop/airpopmethod.php

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A 'city' roast of Bolivia, Brazil and El Salvador, lovely strong earthy flavours that cut right through milk, also delightful as espresso. With the 'brazil' roasted separate, slowly and gently, adding a striking caramalised sugar and honey flavour with low acidity and full body to the already smooth flavours of El Salvador and Bolivia.

This is a coffee blend you can drink any time of the day. The taste left in your mouth will having you wanting more!

James - Master Roaster - The Beaning of Life

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It's bagged right now, so hope to try it out in the next couple of days. I'll be roasting again this weekend, weather permitting as I am roasting outdoors (keeps wifey happy).

On another note, I sold my Sunbeam EM6910 espresso machine and now have a Nuova Simonelli Oscar HX machine at home, with the Gaggia Classic still at work. All good, except I'm now short a milk jug and tamp, so need to do some shopping asap as I can see I will get tired of commuting to and from work with barista tools in my messenger bag

coffee breath... flaunt it.

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Earlier I posted about how I picked up a used Gaggia Classic for $150, with a Gaggia MM grinder.

I pulled it down for inspection, cleaned it up, and took it to work to brew for myself and a few people in my team. Here's my experiences so far.

Firstly, this thing can pull incredible shots. I still have my Sunbeam EM0480 grinder at work, which is doing a great job, although a little messy. Here's my process to brew three or four milk-drinks at work.

- Fill water tank, turn on machine, bleed steam wand to prime boiler, wait 5-10 min for warm up
- half-fill 600ml milk jug and put it in the fridge
- grind a double basket (on demand, directly in to basket), tamp
- 'temp surf' the classic. To do this I put a glass under the group and switch it on, half fill the cup, boiler turn's on. I wait 5 or 10 secs then lock in the PF. As soon as the boiler light comes back on (ready) I hit it for brew, ensuring I have max temp.
- I brew in to a small glass because none of our mugs fit under the classic's group with the PF in place then tip the shot in to the mug.
- After brewing two shots, I flush the group, then switch to steam and wait. After about 20 secs I start to steam the jug of milk, just before the ready light comes on, this seems to allow enough steaming power to easily finish off the jug. Pour in to two mugs
- flick steam off, hit brew switch to purge steam and prime the group, clean up the PF basket, grind again
- repeat above process for remaining one or two drinks

It takes a while, as it's only a small boiler machine, with the right waiting time between each part of the process, it's no trouble. I should mention I 'surf' the temp between each shot I pull (so I pull water from the boiler first to activate the boiler, then brew as soon as the boiler is ready again)

Modifications and Observations:

Rancilio Silvia steam wand replaced standard steam wand. It's longer (good), and seems a little more powerful. It also has a little rubber grip so you don't burn your hands. Downside, it's so long that you can't get a 600ml jug under the wand because it's too close to the benchtop. I solved this by raising the machine a little higher, on a phone book.

This machine is very simple, inside and out. It feels like a quality machine when I'm using it, which is nice, it's very simple, and very easy. I am really surprised at how great it pulls shots.

Future:

Future modifications might include a PID temp controller, and adjustments to the OPV to set brew pressure. Maybe also a bottomless PF. At this stage we are just enjoying really nice coffee from this machine!

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I started the roast and about 3 min in, the bread maker stopped mixing, flicked over to 'rise' and then came up with an error "H". Probably meaning "hot". It shut down entirely. I stopped the heat gun and attempted to reset the machine without luck. Even un-plugging it didn't help, it still had "alert" on the screen, despite being unpluged! ghostly.

So I lost 250g of El Salvador, 100g of Bolivia Montanas Verde, and 250g of PNG Goroka. Unlucky. But that is what you get for not re-setting the gear between roasts.

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Today I roasted 500gm of PNG Goroka. NO surprises, went well.

Also made some further changes to the roasting station, most important being the 'hood' on the LCD monitor so I can see the display better in the sun

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The first thing I did was open it up and inspect it. This machine is super clean, only a little dust. A quick wipe down, and a wash of all the parts in some warm water, and it looks brand new. I soaked the PF handle, baskets and shower screen in some cafetto before rinsing and switching the machine on.

When I removed the shower screen, I expected some serious muck, nope, super duper clean. This guy wasn't kidding when he said it was hardly used.

I turned the machine on and immediately activated the brew & steam switches which primes the boiler with water by jetting water out of the steam wand (turning on steam knob too). Within a sec or two it was primed and water was gushing out, it was just a fraction murky (not perfectly clear, but no floaty bits, good). A whole tank of flushing and I was ready to back flush it with some cafetto. I back flushed it about four times, then it was clean.

Fired up the Gaggia MM grinder with some crappy supermarket beans (bought specifically to taint this machine after cleaning), what a terrible grinder, loud, crude, and struggling to grind, it eventually got there, funny, the setting I chose (backed off one notch from the burr's smashing each other) was perfect. I dosed the basket, tamped, locked in and brewed a shot. The machine fired up and the pour began. I was instantly shocked at how much slower, thicker, creamier the pour was compared to my Sunbeam EM6910. First shot and I get this really nice slow thick pour. The crema was quite brilliant (especially for my first shot!). I ran off four or five more shots to rid the machine of any cleaning agent and run it in a little. I took a sip of the last shot, it was -ok-. Not sour, or bitter, but creamy and full of body. The actual flavour wasn't brilliant, stale supermarket beans! I wasn't about to grind up and possibly waste any of my home-roasted good stuff!

Before cleaning up the machine and packing it up ready to take to work I had to give the steam a go. I flicked the steam switch on and waited 15 or so seconds for it to be ready. Turned the steam knob and..... damn, I've never jumped so high. The steam that came out almost knocked me over! I knew the sunbeam steam was poor, but now I know it's really quite awful! This thing smashes the sunbeam for steam, it's insane. (yeah I took off the stupid turbo frother). I can see this machine requiring a longer steam wand however (silvia).

I suppose it's ready to take in to work. To be honest, I'm thinking I'd rather keep it for home. I honestly believe this machine just kills the Sunbeam, not just in pour, but in steam (obviously).

Three of us at work will be brewing on this, all milk drinks, so we will see how it goes. Perhaps the Sunbeam would work better for the several milk drinks due to it's ability to brew and steam back to back (despite poor steam power). Time will tell and I will report back soon on my findings.

Now excuse me while I pack this bad boy up in a box ready for work, and print some sign's out that say "property of James, do not touch upon pain of death". heh

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I had to drill holes in the BM, it worked well, mounted from the under side, so allows for easy and fast pan removal at EOR (end of roast)

Results to be posted in my next entry

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I've started to put together a new roasting station. Something stable, convenient and portable.

I've reconfigured one of my metal shelving units to make this new station. It hosts an adjustable heat gun stand (ex-camera tripod) and a "floating" LCD display for monitoring roasts.

Next up will be wheels, data logger, power and maybe wind protection

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