Proper coffee

[kev_off_the_tee]

My father in law recently gave us a Gaggia coffee machine after he stupidly thought it was broken so bought another. We descaled it and it is now fully operational so have had a few goes at making proper coffees, espresso's, latte's and cuppacino's, some with more success than others.

I've watched videos on t'internet on frothing milk but how long can you/should you froth it as supposedly you can burn milk

I know milk isn't expensive so I'm planning on seeing how far I can steam the life out of milk but though I'd ask in case there were any coffee connoisseurs on here

I want to get it right as freshly ground coffee beans aren't cheap, especially as my mrs drinks latte at 2 shots a go

 

[rosecott]

"proper coffee" is a cafetiere with Illy or Lavazza beans or already grinded.

 

[Jackooo]

If your using a metal jug to foam the milk, do it untill its hot too touch, anymore and it becomes burnt and will be froth as opposed to foam. The key is you need foam, the blend of milk and froth!

 

[Doon frae Troon]

"proper coffee" is a cafetiere with Illy or Lavazza beans or already grinded.

I'll drink to that!
I have a lovely little stainless steel cafetiere which does the job nicely.

 

[upsidedown]

Like all coffee in it's many different disguises, NZ flat whites are awesome

 

[kev_off_the_tee]

As I'm just trying the machine out I opted for Pumphreys special blend and it is very nice.

We also have a filter coffee machine which is much quicker and makes a jug in minutes in which I've tried grade 3&4 strength coffees from all over the the world, my favourite being a volcanic blend from Puerto Rico. Filter coffee is much easier to get hold of and major supermarket chains do deals on 2or 3 bags. It's also much cheaper but the wife wants lattes etc

 

[user2009]

I got a senseo machine about 6 yrs ago and got some plastic ecopods that you fill up with fresh coffee for a fraction of the cost of the normal pods. I've never drank instant since, it's vile in comparison

The stronger the better for me, Tesco do a good espresso blend but I'm not too fussy

 

[Rooter]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Andrew-Jame...=1369555836&sr=8-1&keywords=latte+thermometer

That's what you need!

 

[deanobillquay]

Cafetiere all the way mate with freshly ground beans :thup:

 

[pendodave]

If you don't have a thermometer, it's just guesswork. Can't be bothered to get a link (especially as there's one above) but you should be able to get one for about a tenner.

There's a surprising amount of science in milk frothing ! Anything over about 80degress and the protein structures break down and lose the ability to retain air. There's also lots of chat about how much fat should be in it etc etc, but there's nothing like a full fat latte to set up the weekend mid morning. In fact, I'm just off to brew one...

fwiw, I would recommend getting a little hand grinder if you're just brewing one or two cups. Ensures really fresh taste and you can set the grind for machines, mokka or cafetiere. Hario or porlex are good enough. Because you only grind what you need, it's always fresh. They take up no space and they are easy to rinse out, so no stale grinds on the burrs.