Brown stuff

[d000hg]

What's the general view on using pre-ground compared grinding fresh? Is it really a big difference or does vacuum packing keep it nice and fresh?

And - is keeping coffee in the freezer just a pretentious gimmick or really worthwhile?

[norrahe]

Yes, I'm the same. I think in my case the problem was that I let the descaler sit in there for a while and it corroded the inside of the head which subsequently got blocked.



You can use any beans in your espresso machine though. I usually go with whittards colombian, sometimes blue mountain jamaican or kenya peaberry which are both pretty mild, and guatemalan elephant for a bit of a kick. I quite like the tinned Illy stuff as well.

Monmouth coffee have some great central american coffees, highly recommend them.

[CheeseSlice]

What's the general view on using pre-ground compared grinding fresh? Is it really a big difference or does vacuum packing keep it nice and fresh?

And - is keeping coffee in the freezer just a pretentious gimmick or really worthwhile?

I've found that you get a much better 'crema' when using freshly ground. Crema is the foam you get on espresso that looks like the head on a pint of guiness.



The coffee beans effectively keep themselves, until they are ground. Unlike a bag of ground coffee which will deteriorate quite quickly if left open or exposed to air.

No idea about freezing coffee.

[doodab]

What's the general view on using pre-ground compared grinding fresh? Is it really a big difference or does vacuum packing keep it nice and fresh?

It does taste better freshly ground IMO, not to mention that coffee intended for a cafetiere or percolator is usually too coarsely ground for an espresso machine. If you grind it yourself you can tweak it to get it just right for your machine and taste.

I don't freeze it but I do keep the opened bag in an airtight container in the fridge. I leave beans in the grinder and sometimes you can see they sort of "sweat" the oils out.

[d000hg]

It does taste better freshly ground IMO, not to mention that coffee intended for a cafetiere or percolator is usually too coarsely ground for an espresso machine.

Well you can buy pre-ground for filter, cafetiere or espresso.

I like coffee, but I don''t think I'm enough of a nut (bean?) to go through the hassle of grinding.

[doodab]

Well you can buy pre-ground for filter, cafetiere or espresso.

Yes, but it does restrict your choice somewhat. Most of the bags say "suitable for all machines" but you end up with a weak watery cup. I found that some espresso ones worked better than others in my machine as well. The only ones that gave consistently good results were illy & lavazza. With the grinder (to be fair I had that anyway because it came as a set with my first machine) you just tweak it until it comes out right and you can literally use any beans. I think the tinkering makes it more fun as well

[Spacecadet]

Get a bean to cup machine

[doodab]

Get a bean to cup machine

Nooooooo. Where is the fun in pressing a button? What do you do if it's not *quite* right? Take the thing apart and start adjusting it? Well, OK some of the more advanced ones probably have the same sort of temperature and dosing controls as the more advanced "manual" ones but those are £1500+ and need their own plumbing.

[Mich the Tester]

Nooooooo. Where is the fun in pressing a button? What do you do if it's not *quite* right? Take the thing apart and start adjusting it? Well, OK some of the more advanced ones probably have the same sort of temperature and dosing controls as the more advanced "manual" ones but those are £1500+ and need their own plumbing.

I think the Siemens was about a grand, but I wouldn't know as I don't take decisions about such footling sums of money.

Love, Sasguru. HTH BIDI.

[d000hg]

For home use, I really cannot see the point in spending a grand on a friggin' coffee machine.