Coffee: we drink it or we get angry.

Discussion in 'Food and Drink' started by Jeb, Jan 16, 2016.

  1. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    I read that in Finland they average 7 cups a day. Is this true @Poleepkwa ?
     
  2. supertransformingdhruv

    supertransformingdhruv Almost "Made"

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    I think actually most people drink 1.5 cups and Coffees Georg drinks 30415000 cups every day.

    Jokes aside, someone talk me out of buying a Breville Bambino Plus?

    Pros:
    • Under $500
    • Automatic/smart steam wand for noobs like me, heard it works great on oat/almond milk too.
    • Heats up in 3ish seconds
    • Decent reviews for espresso quality
    • Easy first espresso machine
    Cons:
    • $200 more than Breville Bambino without the steam wand, same brew quality.
    • Cheapish build quality for the price?
    I've got a Baratza Encore, which some googling suggests should be fine paired with an entry level machine like this?
     
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2021
  3. Walderstorn

    Walderstorn Friend

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    Here in Sweden, at least in my work environment, they drink (in mugs):

    - When they arrive at work

    - When they Fika (morning break) - then some take another one to the work station

    - After lunch, no directly but they take to their work station (some)

    - When they Fika (afternoon break) - then some take another one to the work station

    - If they go out to hang out

    - Evening (if they had early dinner 5pm-6pm - which is common here)


    It's hard to count but it's definitely, in average, between 4-6, i would say.

    It's mind boggling to me since i drink 0.
     
  4. Beefy

    Beefy Friend

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    Coffee is the elixir of life, and I'm hopelessly addicted. I don't actually drink a lot - 2-3 a day tops - but if I don't get it at regular intervals there are severe consequences. Miss the morning coffee? I will have an awful headache by 3 in the afternoon. Miss the afternoon coffee? Will wake up with an awful headache the next morning.

    I don't get anywhere near full coffee geek, but it does have to be decent coffee. Drip/brew will do in a pinch, but espresso-based is where it's at. Normally do long macchiato or flat white at home, flat white or cappuccino when out and about.

    I've never used the Bambino or plus variant, but the Infuser is an outstanding machine for the price, had one since 2013. I upgraded to a Dual Boiler which was better, but it starting leaking like a sieve right at the end of the warranty period, very common problem. I never bothered fixing it because when dropping back to the Infuser I decided it was good enough.

    The Baratza seems like a fine grinder to pair with any of these machines. Although be wary of very light roasts that are tough to grind, or very dark roasts that will clog the grinder with oils. Medium through medium-dark for espresso are ideal.
     
  5. Poleepkwa

    Poleepkwa Friend

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    According to the International Coffee Association, each Finn consumes 12 kilograms of coffee per year. Second highest coffee consumption in the world apparently.
     
  6. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    @Walderstorn - from what it looks like the top consumers are all northern cold countries. Northern Europe and Canada.
     
  7. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    Have you seen this comparo?

    I used to have a stock OG Silvia and got reasonable results with temperature surfing. The Bambino seems limited in what it can do purely making espresso.


    Had something weird happen today. I pulled a shot this afternoon, noticed it smelled a bit strange, and it tasted really strange ... chemically/soapy. Since the shots I pulled this morning, I'd only rinsed the basket with water and wiped it with a damp cloth like I usually do. I tasted the water coming out of the brew head, nothing strange. Same batch of beans I'd used in the morning, which had been fine. I've pulled over 10 shots since I backflushed with Cafiza on the weekend.

    Pulled another shot and it tasted just a little off, but nothing that would have caught my attention if not for the previous shot.

    Anyone ever have a batch of coffee with 1 bad bean? Short of my wife putting some Cafiza in my grinder as a practical joke, that's all I can think of.
     
  8. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    Breville Infuser or Bambino Plus?
     
  9. dllmsch

    dllmsch Friend

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    Better espresso - infuser
    Better milk frothing - bambino
    IIRC bambino plus only has the auto milk frothing function over non plus version, so if you have the milk steaming skills non plus would be a better value.
     
  10. supertransformingdhruv

    supertransformingdhruv Almost "Made"

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    • Executed on this-- got the Bambino Plus. I'm kind of an espresso noob myself and I want it to be easy enough for my girlfriend to make milk drinks with almond or oat. From what I've read, the auto steam wand is pretty good on those-- haven't had a chance to check it out yet though.
    • I really love the 3 second heating time-- it makes the process of pulling shots feel so instant. I think all the Brevilles have that?
    • One minor pain point of the Bambino Plus is that it only comes with a pressurized portafilter basket, so you do have to buy your own unpressurized basket. I picked up one alongside with a bottomless portafilter to expose my tamp quality and stuff.
    • The Baratza Encore turned out to be insufficient after all. Doesn't go fine enough at its default settings, and doesn't have enough fine-adjustment at the fine settings even when you move the calibration (sour to bitter in one click). Besides, the retention is high enough that I get fines in my pourover and vice-versa. Ordered a Eureka Mignon Notte to dedicate to espresso. Overkill? We'll find out. Didn't see anything else at the price point other than the Baratza Sette 30, and I decided I'd rather go stepless.
     
  11. Beefy

    Beefy Friend

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    Yeah, the Infuser is definitely slow on the milk. But with a little finesse, you can definitely get anything between microfoam and big airy froth.
     
  12. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    I can’t imagine that any kind of autofroth function can get anything like proper silky micro foam that’s not too stiff. It takes some finesse that I don’t think could be cheaply automated.

    My first espresso machine was a Gaggia. I think it had some sort of tip that was supposed to do it but luckily I was able to remove it and use it like a regular wand. The upgrade in quality of foam when I upgraded to an HX machine was pretty shocking though.
     
  13. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    BTW, the Gaggia was 30 bucks used and the HX machine (an Expobar) was 400 shipped. Also used. Both lasted me a long time. Friend still has the Expobar and finally had to get it serviced after years of use and 3 owners. These machines are really dead simple and getting a used one is not that big of a risk if you get it for the right price IMO.

    the lady who sold me the Gaggia thought it was broken. Probably just vapor locked. The guy who sold me the Expobar was asking more for it and I made an offer of the money I had at the time.
     
  14. CharlesM

    CharlesM New

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    Hi there, I'm fairly new here but I always like coffee discussions.
    On my side I use :
    - espresso setup : Niche Zero and Cafelat Robot
    - filter : Niche Zero or manual grinder and Hario Switch
     
  15. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    I actually have no issues with a more manual frother. I was baptized with fire using the ECMP50 frother and after a long time I had/have no problems with micro foam and latte rando-art.

    The issue is my ECMP50, while decent, gave the ghost. It was expected. So I want something better built and more durable since I hate to throw things to the garbage can. On top of that the ECMP50 is discontinued and not much of a bargain anymore anyway.

    What concerns me about the Bambino Plus vs the Infuser are the claims that the Infuser does coffee better than the Bambino. Is this so? And why? (particularly given the small delta in price and less features)
     
  16. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    This sounds like a stripped down version of my Specialita, with smaller 50mm burrs. The "ACE" system works really well to reduce static and clumps. I'm sure you'll be very happy with it as a dedicated espresso grinder. I converted mine to a single dose machine using a bellows hopper a local "maker" designed.

    (not my photo)
    [​IMG]
     
  17. supertransformingdhruv

    supertransformingdhruv Almost "Made"

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    If you don't care about the auto steam wand, you should consider saving $200 and get the base Bambino? I don't think any of the other changes are particularly standout.

    As I understand it, the pros of the Infuser are that it's ever so slightly more powerful, has a pressure gauge, and has a water spout. It also makes real espresso out of the box, while you have to separately purchase a non-pressurized basket for the Bambino Plus. But on the other hand here's a wirecutter article, in which their "experienced barista" claims that that the Bambino beats the Infuser on a number of points:

    So I don't know how much those features are worth. Didn't dig into it enough, but is the infuser just a legacy model? It looks like a lot of the Bambino's features are trickle-down from their newer touch-screen higher end models.

    Other than the burr size difference, I think the only other cuts are the dosing timer and the sound dampening. Your bellows hopper looks sick! I might have to look into something like that down the road-- especially since I won't have the dose timer.
     
  18. redrich2000

    redrich2000 Facebook Friend

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    Picked up an Ode this week. Been eyeing them since they came out. But now that there's a new burr set available that goes a bit finer and an even better set in the works, I decided it was time.

    Wow is it fast! It grinds my 17.5g for aeropress in about 3 seconds! Retention is not a problem using the RDT method and neither is mess. In Australia there's no stock with the new burrs but they're only $40USD from Fellow. The further improved set will also go straight into production and be sold through their website. I really like that they didn't take this opportunity to release an Ode2.

    I'm still waiting for the new burrs to ship but even the original burrs, it's a nie upgrade on the Encore (as it should be!)
     
  19. nishan99

    nishan99 Friend

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    I was going to get an espresso machine but I delayed it for financial reasons. What is the alternative for espresso/lungo shots?. The V60, chemex and drippers pourovers taste too thin and lean to me and the Turkish coffee is painful to drink.

    So I found out about the French Press, will it be richer and fuller than Americanos? because I find Americanos to be thin and lean too. I know the FP is cheap but I have to order it online (it's not known here at all) and will take some time to get it so I want to know if it's the right choice for full and rich coffee.
     
  20. Woland

    Woland Friend

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    Probably aeropress will hit the sweet spot for you. It's nowhere near as strong as turkish, but the makers advocate adding a lot of water to dilute it to regular American strength.
     

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