What’s on your coffee bench?
 

I’m a relatively new barista but really enjoying mastering the craft and experimenting. I went back and forth on best ‘budget’ machine and decided on the Rocket Apparento and Eureka Mignon.

https://preview.ibb.co/iuVrop/8804_B...BB8804_DF3.jpg

Nice setup.

'budget' in the context of a heat exchange system, which is a big step up ($1K) in cost from a 'budget' single boil unit.

Heat exchange systems are really nice if you need to produce any volume though.

Moka pot for "espresso" and a V60 pour over for my coffee.

Father in law is from Italy and has tried many machines but really likes this one(not this one exactly but looks just like it):

https://www.espressozone.com/mm5/gra...so-machine.jpg

Miss Diva
 

I bought this used Diva and Super Jolly back in 1998 (She was built in '92). Been going strong ever since.

Very nice! I particularly like the nook and lighting.

My Aeropress
 

Is cringing in its non-chromed dish strainer next to a 2 lb bag of pre-ground Costco French roast.

Rocket Apartamento
Rocket Accessories (tamp stand / knock box)
Chris King Mango tamper
Breville Smart Grinder Pro

Currently working through a bag of Irving Farm, "House 71."

Next up is some Highwire, "Conscientious Objector."

Currently on the Trade Coffee (http://www.drinktrade.com) Hookup program, getting a random bag that matches my taste profile every week.

Was in the La Marzocco home program, but wasnt a fan of the customer service and lack of consistency.

A moccamaster and a cuisinart burr grinder that I run the night before because it's too loud for the before coffee time.

I'm a monster.

I've placed a couple orders from Trade. How do you like the new bag each week? The times I've switched it seems like it takes me 10 shots just to get the grind dialed.

The program is new, but Ive been ordering a bag a week lately of randoms b/c of the free shipping. it's a big draw when you're going through a bag of week, generally three doppios a day total between my wife and I.

I am not that fussy on dialing in as I drink through it. I just figure it out as I go, to some degree. Plus I feel like Ive been dialing in long enough it takes a round of shots, maybe two, until I am in pretty good shape.

I can make a pretty spectacular cup with my Aeropress. Decent beans ground at the time of use.

My espresso rigs are a hacked Silvia with a pid and a Rocky. I'm waiting for livingminimal to get sick of coffee and hook me up with a Rocket.

PIDed Isomac Zaffiro and a Rocky.

I'll call you when I get my Boxer.

Honestly, Aeropresses are amazing. Back this fully.



I need to swing by and see this silvia. That's awesome.

We can Hang. An aeropress and a Porlex are always in my luggage;-)

I too had a PID'd Silvia+Rocky that lived in my office. The PID made all the difference. Pulled great shots with that setup.

$20 Moka pot and pre-ground Lavazza Crema E Gusto.

I've messed around with the fancy machines, burr grinders, beans. This is dead simple easy, cheap and tastes just as good.

I love a moka pot too. And I really do like Lavazza. Every once in a while it's seriously discounted at my local Kroger grocery so a buy it, have not been dissapointed yet.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f54c173be3.jpg
La Marzocco Linea and a Mazzer Mini. Over the top and crazy, but so, so good.

surprised you don't have a fancier grinder with that machine.


I also have a Breville Smart Grinder Pro and use an Aeropress. Great cup of coffee, better than a lot of "pro" coffees I have drank in NY.

However I want to step it up, xmas times I will be getting a new machine. Was going to get a Silvia but have done my research and will be getting a Crosslands CC1 now.

You have the digits.

Silvia + Mazzer Mini. 10 years so far.

https://fellowproducts.com/prismo/

i just picked up this product. i have done two extractions so far, neither of which produced a crema. they were both delicious though. it's an interesting idea...

I about bought that a couple days ago. Neat idea and cool that you don't have to upside down the aeropress but doubt it produces better coffee.

I have a couple of stove top pots that I use for brewing and they have served me well for years. I'd love one of the machines to go on the bench but I'm the only one who drinks coffee and I only drink long blacks so it would be overkill for my needs.

And I'm a bit gutted because we were given a brand new Bialetti by some friends who left the country, but we have an induction cooktop so it's worse than useless for brewing on that. I've asked around to see if anyone else can make use of it but everyone seems to use the pods. :crap::crap:

Id say 75% of the drinks I make are Long Blacks. I still really appreciate having a good machine to pull a proper shot. The next best alternative to that would be an aeropress, for me anyway.

tbh, I am too. I have looked at many grinders, and had many grinders in my cart ready to check out many, many times, but mine is still working great. Kinda see no reason to upgrade.

Bialetti 3 or 6 + Illy.
For the fancy machine it is more fun to go to the bar. :)

coffee stains

I'm kinda envious. I have an old Nespresso at home, and there is a Franke FM850 at work. I get decent espresso but I'm sure it doesn't compare to what y'all can do.

Lots of home baristas! I am looking at maybe grabbing a new single group machine.
[IMG]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4433/...b887c0cb_h.jpgHome espresso by Matt.zilliox, on Flickr[/IMG]

i also roast my own at home

It is a pretty nice grinder but I am amateur at best. They were getting rid of it at work and I am surprised no one wanted it, I was like, hell yeah I will take that.

Fine, I'll bite:
 

We use a chemex and chemex filters exclusively (tried others, found that they really do make a difference), and do pourover. We have a Bodum burr grinder with a hopper for a few days' worth of beans, and have it pre-set to just push a button for pot's worth at a time. The fresh-ground beans has been a game changer. We use a Hario pour over kettle, but admit to often pre-heating the water much more quickly in a cheapo electric kettle and then transferring to the one with the long, skinny spout. We should just get a Hario electric pourover kettle, but more crap etc etc....

For beans, we're kind of stuck on Grumpy espresso beans, Heartbreaker blend, which are a bit brighter, medium roast, Ethiopean/Columbian mix. Pretty much everyone we've made coffee for goes, "holy sh*t this is amazing."

Making pourover is a pain, for sure: watching, pouring, waiting, etc. But I've essentially stopped buying pre-made coffee in shops. The stuff we make at home is too good.

For camping, we have a Bialetti Moka, and just pre-grind a bunch of the same beans really fine. Tasty....

edit: our friends in Portland have this https://ratiocoffee.com/ and holy hell does it rock. the price tag is insane, but the coffee is just as good as our pourover, without the hassle. As an object, it's too space consuming for an NYC apartment, but if you have a big kitchen, it's a beautiful object. On the same trip, after visiting these dear friends, we hoofed it up to Seattle to visit family, and my brother and his wife make French press every day, which they're very proud of. We found it nearly undrinkable. Totally acidic. Yuck.

Dual grinder set up. :hello:

Real recognize real.

Totally agree! I don't get spending tons of money on a home coffee machine.
I used pre-ground Kimbo that I bring back from Italy in a Capresso EC100 ($100) machine and it makes fantastic espresso. 15 bar pump pressure

But I do enjoy going to my coffee-nerd friend's house for a coffee.

I need to get another espresso machine. What would you say is the best one for under $200?

I think coffee is like beer or wine. You can nerd out and spend tons of money, but in the end it's what you prefer. Some people genuinely like Bud Light and Dunkin Donuts coffee.

On my bench this morning. A warm cup of breakfast ;)

Yeah, one for espresso only, one for the other stuff. Id never dream of moving my espresso setting to pour over then try and dial it back. I already rip through espresso fast enough as it is without having to fiddle with grind all the time. PS, theres a 3rd grinder not in the picture, and a 4th hario hand grinder for camping.:banana:

If I could drift this a little bit... I was gifted a moka pot and I've never been able to get a good pour out of it. Any tips?

A few years back I got into the home barista thing pretty heavily. Ended up with an Alex Duetto and a Versalabs M3 for my espresso. Drip is a another story. Bunn Trifecta and Barazta Vario W.

Still sticking with Moka Pot + French Press + Hario V60.

All really simple. Hario hand grinder and I've got a digital scale. The digital scale seems really key for the pourover methods. I was never that happy with pourover till I got the scale.

The Moka pot is dead simple. IMO it has a pretty high tolerance for the range of grind. I have the 3 Cup one. 14-16g of beans, grind them fairly fine, fill water to the line. Put the coffee in the basket, you distribute it with you finger to fill all the spots but don't really pack it in. Stick it on a gas stove on the smallest burner. For me it's the really small simmer burner on about 45% power (gas stove). Turn it off right before the bubbles start coming out.

I often use a little plunger style milk foamer to make a cappucino style moka drink.. plunge for 10-15 seconds and then stick it in the microwave for 30 seconds.. pour the coffee out of the moka pot, add sugar if desired, stir, then pour the hot milk in, then put the foam on top. Works really well if you've got a good dark bean.

Then you take it all apart and clean it in about 1 minute when you're done drinking your coffee.. best part about it.

There are lots of video tutorials on Moka pots on Youtube, often from Italians as they seem to swear by them for home use as opposed to us Americans buying the zillion dollar home espresso makers.. it should not be hard to figure it out watching them.

I would not bother personally to get a real espresso machine unless I got really into drinking straight espresso shots. About half the coffee shots I go in their espresso is no better than what I get out of the Moka pot. Straight espresso shots is just not my thing though.

Key for Moka
1. Turn off heat before or just when you hear the noise. longer and it gets bitter.
2. don't clean it with soap. if you have a new moka or have not used it for a while, make a coffee and throw it away. it will taste like metal. it should have some brown stuff left i there.
3. it does not taste like an espresso at a bar. it's a different drink.