[Gallant]

A few recent bean purchases:
http://www.pilgrimscoffee.com/products/brazil - are awesome thus far, espresso has been a highlight, with a weird orange peel aftertaste which I didn't expect, but did enjoy. Aeropress is a rather lighter affair in the flavour profile, fairly subtle with some sweetness to it.

http://www.foundrycoffeeroasters.com/shop/fresh-coffee-beans/rungeto-co-operative-ngairiama-kenya/ - messed around with for a while, got a very good espresso from them, light enough roast that you're not drowned by a really deep flavour, and not too much acidity either. Made a cracking pour over too, although I didn't play with the aeropress enough to get it quite to my liking, I think if I'd bought more in I might have got something pretty decent from it rather than just alright.

I've got a bag of pilgrim's Columbian sat in the cupboard waiting until I have space to open and seal it again properly so it doesn't get stale too quickly, which I'm rather looking forward to.

Had a kilo of http://www.northstarroast.com/product/czar-st-seasonal/ just before the Christmas, which was decent, met the guys at Cup North and would definitely get more from them in future, I just need to stop finding new roasters to buy from and try out!

[GazM]

I got me an aeropress and it's rapidly replaced the cafetiere for my breakfast brew.  I'd class myself as a total coffee punter - love to drink it but don't know anything about what makes a 'good' brew.

So, my question: What are people's recommendations for a good entry level off-the-shelf ground coffee that makes a half-decent aeropress brew? Money/time etc generally means shopping is done rushing round Tesco on my lunchbreak, rather than ambling round the local farmers market, so I'm after the sort of thing they would stock.  I'm tending towards the red Lavazza stuff at the moment and thoroughly enjoying it, but could I do better?

[Muenchener]

I'm tending towards the red Lavazza stuff at the moment and thoroughly enjoying it, but could I do better?

You could do better, but it would involve buying freshly roasted beans not from a supermarket and grinding them yourself with a halfway decent grinder. You could also do worse. Lavazza is ok as supermarket stuff goes.

[tomtom]

We use Lavazza red in our bean to cup machine at work. Its a decent all rounder - though personally I find it a little sickly and prefer something a bit more bitter...

[Fultonius]

We use Lavazza red in our bean to cup machine at work. Its a decent all rounder - though personally I find it a little sickly and prefer something a bit more bitter...

You do WHAAATTTT 

£1k+ on a machine and your using 4 week + old factory roasted crap?? 

Swing by your local roastery every week and get some of their espresso blend. No excuses!

[galpinos]

Tom doesn't drink espresso, he drinks expresso......

(Sorry Tom, couldn't resist.......)

Tom, if you do fancy locally roasted coffee, ManCoCo Manchester Blend is my Aeropress bean of choice. If you like bitter, their espresso blend might be more up your street. There is also a toaster in Ancoats but it's all a bit fruity and Ethiopian for me.

[galpinos]

Money/time etc generally means shopping is done rushing round Tesco on my lunchbreak, rather than ambling round the local farmers market, so I'm after the sort of thing they would stock.

Get yourself down the farmers market, they're great:

[mini]

For online ordering, I've pretty much exclusively used Hasbean coffee. It's been a great place to find out how very different coffee can taste from different countries, and have great useful tasting guides so you know what your getting. And most orders are delivered next day using there standard service, ideal for when you get down to your last bean!!

[shurt]

I got bought a subscription to Kopi for my birthday which I am halfway through. Its not 'alf bad...

[Fultonius]

I got bought a subscription to Kopi for my birthday which I am halfway through. Its not 'alf bad...

I'm confused  what's "A subscription to Kopi"?

[Gallant]

One would assume : http://www.kopi.co.uk/

[shurt]

yep you are right. sorry for lack of explanation. its a good thing and arrives by post every month. whats not to like?!

[chris j]

So, my question: What are people's recommendations for a good entry level off-the-shelf ground coffee that makes a half-decent aeropress brew?

I like the cafe direct macchu picchu blend (commonly seen in tesco and sainsbury). Used to be available as beans as well but sadly they discontinued that. Otherwise I just started a subscription to kopi and the first package was quite drinkable.

[DAVETHOMAS90]

YYFY

 

Go on, put me to shame baristas.

[Paul B]

So, it was my Birthday on Fri and Nat has obviously had enough of me whinging about the Nespresso (I have guilt with the aluminium pods, even if they do get recycled) and has thus sourced a factory recon'd Gaggia Classic (one of the older models as supposedly the new ones have gone a bit sh*t?).

The problem is now, ideally, I'd like a grinder. Reading about the subject you're advised to spend the same amount on the machine as the grinder and as the machine cost me 0FAs, that's not a fantastic budget.

Should I stick to hand grinders to get more bang for my buck or is there some hidden gem that's 'OK' to the coffee geeks of this world?

(Nice work Dave, I tried for ages at the Foundry and failed spectacularly, especially at hearts for Valentine's day).

[moose]

I went for an Iberital MC2.  I use an aeropress / filter cup so can't personally comment on the suitability for espresso makers but it gets pretty good reviews for that use from coffee geeks (which is why I bought it - in case I ever up-grade to a Gaggia).  Looks a bit agricultural but seems pretty robust - kinda the Land Rover Defender of grinders.

Reviews:

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?3380-Switching-grinders-from-a-Gaggia-MDF-to-a-Iberital-MC2
https://ronsrants.wordpress.com/2010/07/10/iberital-mc2-auto-first-impressions-%E2%80%93-mark-2/
http://coffeegeek.com/reviews/grinders/iberital_grinder/Schnorbitz

Dealer (seems a good bit pricier than I recall, but might still be good value):
http://www.happydonkey.co.uk/iberital-mc2-grinders/

[TobyD]

Should I stick to hand grinders to get more bang for my buck or is there some hidden gem that's 'OK' to the coffee geeks of this world?

get a handgrinder, its free aerocap. I've got the slim Hario, it was twenty quid off amazon, and does a great job.

[Gallant]

It depends how much you want to nerd out over coffee really.
I picked up a rancillio rocky (an older one) second hand on ebay for £120 or so I think. Thus far it's lasted me well, and I've had friends who use either hand grinders or the cheap kenwood electric say they can't get close to the flavour. Hand grinding for espresso is a massive pain in the arse if you're dosing correctly and getting a fine grind. If you've got company over it's even worse and you'll be there for a fair old while.
My caveat would be if you are buying an electric, try and go doserless to prevent build up of grinds. A doser is handy in a shop when you're making drink after drink, but at home you just get occasionally very stale tasting espresso (or zero crema at all!)

[shurt]

It depends how much you want to nerd out over coffee really.

Hopefully the whole idea of this thread is to geek out as much as you like without raised eyebrows or glazed expressions from friends and family! I mean I'm interested in some info about the ins and out of dosers...

[Fultonius]

No doser unless you brew LOADS of coffee - too much will sit there getting stale. If you really want to nerd out then doserless and a very accurate set of electric scales is what you need. 

[shurt]

Well seeing as you bought this up I'll ask a question.  I've read that a fair few people weigh their coffee in an effort to keep another thing constant in addition to tamping pressure, machine pressure, grind etc.
So, why don't they do this at a coffee shop, even the independent ones who claim (rightly so) to serve the best coffee? I've never seen anyone do it.   

[Muenchener]

Because they rely on their dosers being consistent enough. Just like I rely on the Aeropress scoop.

In fact, on a climbing trip I once went into a roastery wanting x days supply of coffee pre-ground. I told the guy I wanted three aeropress scoops per day for x days, and he knew - without hesitation and as it turned out correctly - what that was in grammes.

[galpinos]

Because they rely on their dosers being consistent enough. Just like I rely on the Aeropress scoop.

But that measures volume so is dependant on the courseness of the grind as opposed to the weitgh of the coffee?

Irelaise this is knit-picking as personally, I know how full to fill my hario with beans for my Aeropress though I have been to quite a few coffee shops that have scales, they registered too high on my pretentious scale though.

[Muenchener]

They're using a doser to measure espresso ground which should have a fairly consistent grind size & therefore density. I'm using my scoop to measure beans, which vary somewhat  in size and therefore pack density, but not all that much.

[galpinos]

I'm using my scoop to measure beans, which vary somewhat  in size and therefore pack density, but not all that much.

I always thought the scoop was for grounds, not beans?