Breville USA

tonyb

Mikey081057 wrote: »

Try the Jamaican Man!

JBM brotha, I think you even sent me a bag last year. Excellent coffee.

Clipdat

tonyb wrote: »

Clipdat wrote: »

joecoulson wrote: »

Now if we want to talk actually coffee, the best in my book is Illy. Bar none. Forget that burnt Starbucks crap and any Seattle branded over-roasted coffee. Illy medium or dark blends are some of the best coffee in the world.

Illy is good, but it's too bad they don't offer any organic beans.

The word "organic" has become a laughing stock of sorts. Know why ?

In 2005, congress deemed toxic synthetic ingredients acceptable substances in organic foods. In 2006 the USDA stacked the national Organic Standards Board with corporate and special interests. Food bearing the USDA Organic seal no longer needs to be natural food.

Your best bet is to do your own due diligence and research any product/food your interested in.

My preference to purchase organic coffee is mainly due to the agricultural and farming methods associated with organic coffee production vs traditional.

Mikey081057

tonyb wrote: »

Mikey081057 wrote: »

Try the Jamaican Man!

JBM brotha, I think you even sent me a bag last year. Excellent coffee.

Like the dope dealer... the first bag is free

joecoulson

Lol

tonyb

Clipdat wrote: »

tonyb wrote: »

Clipdat wrote: »

joecoulson wrote: »

Now if we want to talk actually coffee, the best in my book is Illy. Bar none. Forget that burnt Starbucks crap and any Seattle branded over-roasted coffee. Illy medium or dark blends are some of the best coffee in the world.

Illy is good, but it's too bad they don't offer any organic beans.

The word "organic" has become a laughing stock of sorts. Know why ?

In 2005, congress deemed toxic synthetic ingredients acceptable substances in organic foods. In 2006 the USDA stacked the national Organic Standards Board with corporate and special interests. Food bearing the USDA Organic seal no longer needs to be natural food.

Your best bet is to do your own due diligence and research any product/food your interested in.

My preference to purchase organic coffee is mainly due to the agricultural and farming methods associated with organic coffee production vs traditional.

Agreed, but the key word there is "associated" with, not "guaranteed".

tonyb

Mikey081057 wrote: »

tonyb wrote: »

Mikey081057 wrote: »

Try the Jamaican Man!

JBM brotha, I think you even sent me a bag last year. Excellent coffee.

Like the dope dealer... the first bag is free

LMAO....so when I have to go to coffeeaholics, I can blame you ?

stangman67

I’m gonna have to try some of that jbm, I usually use swings coffee here in dc or blue bottle which I can get the day after roasting at the dc location, have really enjoyed those 2 espressos so far

maxward

The roasting, brewing & cupping course I spoke of was geared more to the small business owner than to home roasters like me. I did learn quite a bit about the potential benefits of blending beans. The business owners were shown how they could add 10-15% cheaper (robusta) beans to their blends to increase profits while not killing the flavor profile of the coffee. So buyer beware. What was of more interest was how the blending of different varieties of beans and blending of the same variety roasted to different levels had sometimes unexpected results for the better when these were tasted. I was all abuzz at the end of that day. I’m starting to experiment with blending light roasts with darker ones of my beans. Not much to comment on yet.

I don’t mean to derail the thread. The OP got me thinking about asking Santa for an espresso machine. Until we remodeled the kitchen, there wasn’t really enough counter space for one. The search is on.

tonyb

Keep in mind, if you go shopping for an automatic espresso machine, the oily beans won't work with them. Usually the darker roasts have more oil in them, if dark is your preference.

maxward

Shouldn’t be a problem. I’m roasting not quite as dark as I once did. The beans have little to no oil anymore. The Jura machines look great, but I may go semiautomatic for starters. No built-in grinder.

Clipdat

My new job's office has one of these:



and one of these:



Been using them daily.

joecoulson

Wow. That’s killer. I’d wear them out if I worked there

Clipdat

Haha, sometimes I use them twice a day, for that after-lunch double shot

It's funny to watch other people use it and have no clue what they are doing. Not putting enough grounds into the portafilter, hardly using any effort to tamp down the puck, going too long on the extraction and overextracting, etc.

Or leaving the portafilter attached to the machine instead of taking it off, knocking out the puck and rinsing it out with hot water and setting it aside to dry. Literally just leaving it attached with your stale coffee grounds still in there and expecting the next person to use the machine to clean up after you. Seriously how rude is that? Man that irritates me.

maxward

That one is probably above my pay grade, but it looks great. Break room etiquette usually leaves a lot to be desired.

Clipdat

maxward wrote: »

That one is probably above my pay grade, but it looks great. Break room etiquette usually leaves a lot to be desired.

They're in the $1-2k range: https://www.wholelattelove.com/espresso-machines/semi-automatic?product_brand=89

stangman67

That expobar brewtus Is on my short list for our next house. They have plenty of option a to fit whatever’s your plans are, I’m going to get the rotary plumber unit. It’s a gorgeous piece that should last a very long time

Upstatemax

I have the same Breville Barista Express as above. I had the older model as well, the 860XL I think.

They are GREAT machines.

For my drip, I really like my Technivorm Moccamaster KBT 79112. Brews fairly quickly, great coffee and the coffee stays hot.

The Breville gets used MUCH more. I make a double Americano every morning and the wife makes a latte every morning.

For my espresso, I really like Kicking Horse Cliff Hanger. I've been through A LOT of different espresso trying to figure out what I like best and I kept coming back to the Cliff Hanger blend. Good balance and tasty.

Upstatemax

For the drip, I usually rotate between a couple of Kicking Horse blends:

- Smart A** (you can plaster it on the side of bag, but god forbid you type it online)
- Three Sisters
- When I can find it, Hoodoo Jo is my favorite.

stangman67

Oven used kicking horse 454 horsepower and it is ok for what seems to be an over roasted product. It’s cheap and easily available so that is a major plus. I have found the local fresh roasted stuff to be a cut above though

Upstatemax

I was not a fan of the 454 either. It lost a lot of the balance that I've found in a lot of their other blends.

Upstatemax

As for local roasters. The only one that is easy for me to get to was WAY too inconsistent.

Some batches would be great, then the next was garbage...

joecoulson

@Upstatemax you have to try the Illy in the barista

stangman67

I’ll give the illy a try as well once my blue bottle stuff is gone

maxward

So here’s what I am considering so far, all prices from Whole Latte Love.

Single boiler machines:
Gaggia Classic - $379
Breville BES840XL - $499
Rancilio Silvia - $715
ECM Casa V - $999
Heat exchange machines:
Expobar Office Lever - $1299
969.Coffee Elba 1 - $1299
Superautomatic machines:
Jura (used, slim pickings locally)

I know, it’s a pretty big range. I will likely stick to a single boiler machine, but could be talked into something else. Local Craigslist has a Gaggia Classic for $250 OBO and a Rancilio for $350. I’d appreciate any suggestions, good or bad experiences with any of these, and perhaps other machines I should be looking at. Thanks.

stangman67

I only have experience with the Breville 870, which is the 840 plus onboard grinder. If you don’t have a nice Burr grinder already, I’d go with the 870xl. I love the machine and the program ability is a nice touch. The Silvia is supposedly a fantastic machine but it’s fully manual and requires some attention to detail to not burn up the boiler as it allows you to run the boiler dry, where the Breville auto refills the boiler.

I have heard great things about that expobar but you are talking a huge price delta there, I think you need to definite exactly what you went to do with the machine before you realistically look. I myself will be getting the expobar brewtus for my next machine even though the Breville does a great job

joecoulson

I almost got the Rancilio but settled on the Breville. Been quite happy.

maxward

Thanks. I do have a good burr grinder, but may need to upgrade depending upon which machine I get. That’s why I’m thinking about the Breville without the onboard grinder. I’ve read that the Rancilio is finicky about the grind. Seems to be several happy Breville owners here.

joecoulson

I’ll agree about the grind but that’s just experience for me. The more coarse a grind, the harder I tamp it. You’ll get to know your machine after some time.

stangman67

I love mine. I got the 870 on sale for 550 a few months back so you can find them cheaper than msrp

Clipdat

I freaking love espresso! I've had some shots made by expert baristas at local cafes, and it's been an incredible experience.

Sometimes I have to immediately get back in line and have them make me another, they're that good.

Espresso as is, without milk or sugar, is coffee in it's purest form in my opinion.