OT: Portable Espresso Machine Recommendations?

[grawk]

the decent espresso machine ships in a suitcase, just sayin.

[froze]

Originally Posted by MikeD

Cowboy coffee, brewed over an open fire, grounds strained through the teeth. Mmm good!

History on Cowboy coffee. When the settlers came to America from other countries, some of them set out across America and traveled in caravans and rode herd with cowboys, some of those people were the cooks for the crew, those cooks came from various countries, like Turkey, Arabia, Sweden, Bosnia and surrounding areas, Russia, etc. All they were doing is making coffee for the crew from where they came from and how they made it. We know cowboy coffee to be Turkish coffee that for some odd reason is difficult to find in coffee shops since at one time here in America it was the main way to make coffee, so you would have thought we would have stuck to stronger coffee making ways, but instead we started to slowly water it down which eventually led to the god awful automatic drip makers.

The same thing happened to our beer!

Swedish coffee was just slightly different, they put an egg into the coffee which kept the grounds from floating in the coffee, but that just seems odd because if they simply waited the grounds would settle to the bottom of the cup.

The Turks would make you a cup of coffee then after you drank it you handed them the cup and they would read the grounds and tell you your future...all nonsense of course but they believed in that stuff back then, they still do readings today in Turkey but it's more for entertainment purposes.

[froze]

Originally Posted by Kirkmichaels

Always wanted to try the aeropress!

For home use I have the Aeropress, Moka pot, Takeya cold brew coffee maker, Hario V60 Ceramic pour over maker, French Press, Turkish Cezve, and a Flair. They all make coffee differently, but the one that makes the most shockingly difference is the Turkish Cezve, not that it's better, it's just a huge difference between all the others in flavor, the others have subtle differences, though the one I like the most is the Takeya cold coffee, it's extremely smooth yet strong without being bitter. Supposedly with cold brew you're suppose to dilute the finished product with half water, I don't dilute it at all, just drink it straight.

I like strong coffee, which is why I don't dilute the cold brew, it's also why I put more coffee into all my different ways then the instructions call for, the Moka pot you can't really do that, the basket only holds so much coffee. I don't have a method that I don't like, but my least favorite is the Pour over, not that I hate it, it's just one I don't prefer to use more regularly, it makes a weaker tasting coffee in my opinion.

The Aeropress is very similar to the French Press, except you can filter the grounds out. If you get the Aeropress, the best way I found to make coffee with it is to basically treat it as a French Press. You turn the unit upside down, what is known as the nuclear position, put in the amount of coffee you prefer, put just enough hot water to cover the grounds and let it set for about 30 to 45 seconds so that it blooms, then pour in the rest of the water, then use the plastic stirrer it comes with and gently stir the grounds, wait 4 to 5 minutes (as you would with the French Press), turn a coffee cup upside down and place it on top of the filter basket that is connected to the Aeropress, then with the two together turn the whole thing right side up and press the plunger down pressing the water through the coffee grounds into your cup.

[crankles]

Originally Posted by froze

but instead we started to slowly water it down which eventually led to the god awful automatic drip makers.

The same thing happened to our beer!

I always thought "weak" coffee was the result of the Great Depression followed by WW II rationing.

[goonster]

Originally Posted by froze

We know cowboy coffee to be Turkish coffee that for some odd reason is difficult to find in coffee shops since at one time here in America it was the main way to make coffee

The coffee filter basket was not developed until 1908, and before that, decoction was pretty much the only game in town.

(I fell down a rabbit hole recently researching commercial processes in the pre-espresso golden age of the Vienna Kaffeehaus. They did large batch decoctions with a coarse piston-actuated filtration, and the serving carafes were stored in hot-water baths. Cooler-than-boiling extraction was apparently quite rare.)

[froze]

Originally Posted by crankles

I always thought "weak" coffee was the result of the Great Depression followed by WW II rationing.

hmm, maybe?!

[Ken C]

After reading through the manual lever espresso thread and now this one, I now have a Robot Barista, a 1zpresso JX-Pro grinder and a Bonvita variable kettle coming in the mail.

Went back and forth going with this set up or buying a used Rancilio Silvia off ebay. Decided since I mainly like straight espresso or long blacks this would be the best set up for me. Plus I can take it camping when we hit up the RV parks here in SD.

Figure I can add a V60 to go with the kettle and 1zpresso grinder and go down the pour over rabbit hole as well.

Originally Posted by C40_guy

I propose that we have a new tagging option for threads.

OT is for threads that are off topic
$OT is for threads that are off topic and risk exposing readers to new things they must purchase right away.

and of course, we can tweak the $OT with a ranking of how risky the thread might be...

For instance:

$OT for best camping tent stake
$$$OT for best portable camping espresso machine

Thoughts?

[jkbrwn]

Originally Posted by Ken C

After reading through the manual lever espresso thread and now this one, I now have a Robot Barista, a 1zpresso JX-Pro grinder and a Bonvita variable kettle coming in the mail.

Went back and forth going with this set up or buying a used Rancilio Silvia off ebay. Decided since I mainly like straight espresso or long blacks this would be the best set up for me. Plus I can take it camping when we hit up the RV parks here in SD.

Figure I can add a V60 to go with the kettle and 1zpresso grinder and go down the pour over rabbit hole as well.

Let me know how you get on with this combo. It’s what I have and have been incredibly happy with it.

[Ken C]

Originally Posted by jkbrwn

Let me know how you get on with this combo. It’s what I have and have been incredibly happy with it.

Will do. Your posts on paceline regarding the robot and 1zpresso grinder are what led me to finally try espresso at home.

Before reading about these two products here on Paceline I didn't know they existed. After researching both, it was hard to find any negative experiences.

[jtferraro]

Hey gang,

Completely agree the Aeropress can't be beat for portability, convenience and taste in the cup, as others said, it's not technically espresso.

I'm not sure if this would be portable enough, but since the Rancilio Silvia was mentioned, I thought I'd chime-in. Smaller and more portable, but also a single boiler machine, is the Saeco Via Venezia. The rebadged Starbucks 'Barista' (Saeco VV) was my first machine, and I now have used it exclusively on vacations. The older machines, like this one, even have the regular steam wand (not that 'panarello' style!). Unlike this Siliva, this machine utilizes a 'barista 101' pressurized portafilter system. However, one can modify the stock portafilter to 'de-pressurize' it or simply purchase a regular, non-pressurized PF (I have both a dual spouted and bottomless, non-pressurized PFs for it).

Thanks,

[jkbrwn]

Originally Posted by Ken C

Will do. Your posts on paceline regarding the robot and 1zpresso grinder are what led me to finally try espresso at home.

Before reading about these two products here on Paceline I didn't know they existed. After researching both, it was hard to find any negative experiences.

That’s great. I hope you enjoy it then - ha! Well my love affair with both continues. My wife is having surgery today and on Friday we’re going away for a week for her to get some R&R. The Airbnb has a pour over kettle and pour over equipment, but that can get boring. So I’m taking the Robot with me in the car. How cool is that? I know I could take a bigger machine in a car, too, but realistically I wouldn’t do that. But with the Robot? Easy peasy!

[froze]

Originally Posted by Ken C

After reading through the manual lever espresso thread and now this one, I now have a Robot Barista, a 1zpresso JX-Pro grinder and a Bonvita variable kettle coming in the mail.

Went back and forth going with this set up or buying a used Rancilio Silvia off ebay. Decided since I mainly like straight espresso or long blacks this would be the best set up for me. Plus I can take it camping when we hit up the RV parks here in SD.

Figure I can add a V60 to go with the kettle and 1zpresso grinder and go down the pour over rabbit hole as well.

You have the Robot Barista? That thing cost $200,000

[Ozz]

Originally Posted by froze

You have the Robot Barista? That thing cost $200,000

This?: https://prima-coffee.com/equipment/c...green-cafel-pp

Pretty interesting.....

[jkbrwn]

Originally Posted by Ozz

This?: https://prima-coffee.com/equipment/c...green-cafel-pp

Pretty interesting.....

Yep. It’s wonderful.

[froze]

Originally Posted by Ozz

This?: https://prima-coffee.com/equipment/c...green-cafel-pp

Pretty interesting.....

Oh, that one, you left the Cafelat off on your post and this is what is found: https://cafexapp.com/ They're are several of these Robot Barista's on the market and they are exceedingly expensive.

That was good for a laugh, thanks! LOL!!