Marocchino

Do exactly the same thing, even been caught short on one occasion when I had to make up the shot weight with decaf beans ........when needs must.

Always good to have a unique selling point.....sounds like a plan. As I’ve been given permanent time off for good behaviour from the world of work, I’m free to be your wing man should you ever need one 😀 The bean blends over here have too high a robusta content to make the coffee palatable. Though found a place that has coffee beans from Square Mile along one of the side-streets.

Always thought 20kgs was a bit restricting... guess there’s always hand luggage 🤔

.... heard of people packing their Aerobie Aeropress to go away on holiday, even heard that decent will put one of their machines in a travel case, but don’t you think this is taking it to extremes? 😊

Update - Found somewhere else doing coffee bean plastic bag repurposing together with varieties of other “foodstuffs”.😀 They appear to make bags of all shapes and sizes, together with phone cases and wallets - sounds like a similar set up to @Drewster post above.

Shame you didn’t get your wallet, but you really can’t be too careful in that kind of situation. Still good to hear there’s clever people out there with ideas on how to use what is essentially waste, in imaginative ways. Anything that can upcycle waste into useful products must be a good thing. On the subject of upcycling, I found out that there’s a coffee drink sometimes asked for in Madeira called a Carioca d’cafe. A barista I was talking with tried explaining that it’s a weak coffee drink made from an already used espresso puck. Each to his own, but maybe that’s taking recycling a step too far?

Whilst in Madeira, I found that some ingenious people with a sewing machine and a good idea had come up with recycling plastic coffee bags to sell to tourists. To be fair, their idea extended to other kinds of plastic bags too, it seemed the more colourful the better. After some clever stitching together, suddenly you’ve got yourself a bag for life. Has anyone seen anything else repurposed coffee bags have been turned in to?

It took an internet search to find great tasting coffee in Funchal, Madeira. Found a place that’s at the top end of Rua Das Pretas - Legs Eleven Coffee Co. Run by a young couple Ash & Steve, they’re really enthusiastic and knowledgeable about their coffee. As well as sourcing roasted beans locally they also ship them in from roastaries around the world. Tasted a lovely single origin washed Columbian bean in our flat white’s with them today. https://l.instagram.com/?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffacebook.com%2Flegselevencoffee%2F&e=ATMEwxdVUj9lf3aQy4QfO110nW1LZRPC9Ixw18gTyxxfNm0Kt-fJ2yG4_-qDJynwEr21tQx9

For what it’s worth, echoing @kennyboy993earlier post, designers and manufacturers must get their heads around sustainable coffee machine designs, let’s hope this one delivers on that score and can make a fine cup of coffee too. The prospect of not having a coffee machine as a glorified inefficient room heater should appeal, particularly in relation to consuming less expensive energy.

Thanks for the PM MildredM.

When someone has a moment, I’d be grateful if they could forward me the code so that I can try a new roaster and some new beans?

Didn't realise until seeing the videos that the numbers of rakes on the underside of the tools varied, I wonder if the vast majority for sale have 3 instead of 4 rakes. Being a very old sceptic maybe it has something to do with standing out in the marketplace. I don't know enough about the physics of the process to definitively comment. Interesting to see in both videos the tamping procedure still follows on from using the distribution tool. I tried rotating the tool in both directions when using it for the first time and there seemed a far better feel and look to the coffee bed with the rotation in the clockwise direction. Incidentally, I seem to occasionally get some small quantities of ground coffee adhering to the polished surface of the tool, this phenomena seems to be inconsistent. I just look at the underside of the tool after use and give it a brush with my trusty pastry brush if and when required.

Enjoyed reading about your thoughts on the distribution tool / tamper. Mrs M bought me a stock black Motta 58mm distribution tool as a birthday present earlier this year from BellaBarista. I confess to being a little sceptical about using it at first, but it has now become a part of our daily coffee making ritual and hopefully adds another layer of consistency to the process. I still finish with a flat base tamper afterwards, but this has become more of a polish than with any real pressure being exerted - not entirely sure what this brings to the cup, I guess some old habits die hard.

Thanks, an interesting article on coffee machine types.

Thanks, an interesting article on machine types.