The home coffee thread

Home coffee is my salvation in these self isolation times!
I only have an entry.level Breville but I'm quickly realising it's all about the beans!
I have a couple of local roasters,picked up a nice PNG blend yesterday playing around with different grinds,tamp pressures,shot sizes,great fun!!
What are you guys running?

Yes Cootz without fresh beans its like like having TP's factory replica in the shed but with flat tyres and no pump!
And yes beans that are roasted a touch too far become more porous and release their remaining essential oils which become oxidised quickly.

A tip to try S1...only change one thing in your shot / setup at a time and assess the taste.
Keep your dose weight consistent, change either grind setting or tamp weight (which I ascertain is a 1% only) and try different shot quantity out. Or slow / speed up the shot flow ( = shot duration)
Its all about the taste and how you get there well its secondary.

Have you got a good set of scales that weigh to 0.1 g ? Good to have in the kit.

just killed may last machine.
Was a delonghi as well, but not this one.
ive had more fancy machines as well,
but now I’m lazy and don’t drink for the taste as much.
Press button and go.

when I the last one in for repair the guy told me it had a counter inside.
Said he would check it when he gave me a quote.
from the computer inside, apparently in just under 5 years, I drank 27,830 espresso shots and just under 2,400 cappuccino
yep, could explain my random postings..

And I’m the only one that uses it..



these are not the greatest bean, ok when on special for $15 a kilo,
but with the amount I drink, as long as it’s not terrible I make do.
I find the right smoke adds to the flavour or covers it.
I miss Dr Pat and a coffee, but now it’s winfield as I’m slowly trying to get off em.
but I realise that means giving up both.

This! I still get a headspin from it though (I'm a sensitive little guy)

I got tired of replacing auto machines every time the grinder or pump started playing up so I dabbled in a cheap " basic" set up ( sunbeam cafe series). I've been surprised just how good it is, and am kind of enjoying the ritual of grinding/ tamping etc.

Not having the luxury of a local roaster I've been looking for online options - https://www.mansfieldcoffeemerchant.com.au/order

Their house party is to die for imho , not cheap at $48 a kg delivered , but they give you a 20% discount for the next batch, and I've decided 2 decent brews a day is better than 4 crappy ones....

We have a roaster on almost every corner. Pretty hard to go past Villino beans. No bitter after taste. They are online as well.

I just use an Aldi coffee pod - its one of the creamiest/smoothest coffees i've had.



Ok, i'll now crawl back under my little rock.

As S1 and DrAt attest the freshness of roasted coffee has an undeniable input to the quality of the shot and its taste.
No matter how its brewed...Espresso, Pour over, French Press, Mocha Pot, Multitude of Lever /Presso style or Cold Drip.......
Fact once green beans are roasted they need to settle / rest for 6-10days, then in the following 3-5 weeks are at their best. Then will slowly degrade from there.

Italian coffee (largely Robusta beans) is about fresh ground beans and a fresh espresso shot.
Not necessarily about fresh roasted beans used in a specific time frame.

Australian coffee has gone down a different track with more Arabica beans, lighter roast levels, blended, then used at their peak.
Note prob no more than 8-12% of cafes follow this method.

Hmmm....so how closed are the Tasmanian borders?

Last week the least worst local cafe was selling excess beans ( covid etc) so I've got a months supply, but I'll be watching and waiting for options

All you guys must ride BMW's

Oh wait, so do I

Yeah i have plenty of roasters in Nth East Vic to choose from.

I had a Sunbeam that carked it, so i went manual. But if i cant get coffee eventually ill have to arc up the pod machine.

Are we talking coffee away from home now?

We have a Conti single group commercial volumetric machine.
I bought it on eBay as a non runner, stripped it, descaled it, replaced all the seals and the control unit and it’s a ripper. We have a sunbeam grinder which is basic but does the job.
As far as beans go we buy Lazzio medium roast from Aldi, they are surprisingly very good and the price is right too.
We have the machine on a timer so it’s hot when we get up.
I seriously don’t think I could manage without it these days

is that one in the left one of these things.?
If so.. Any good ?
https://www.wacaco.com/pages/nanopresso

looking for an easy travel maker for the bike.

I buy green beans and roast them at home using a hot air gun and stainless steel pan, works a treat.
With all the time on my hands I recently made a drum roaster that works off the BBQ spit, needs a few more batches til I get the roast right though.
Green beans, and ready roasted available here: https://coffeesnobs.com.au/ , no affiliation etc. (but I do ride a BMW).

Yep, brilliant.

@motoxfox is right. Age of the beans after roasting is important, not too fresh, not too old.
I like Fonzie Abbott or Campos beans.

Fortunately I'm isolated with my favourite barista and our old manual La Pavoni, which I've rebuilt a couple of times.