Sale bargains?

flogen

Anyone spotted any coffee-related bargains in the New Year sales?

I'm keeping my eye out for a good burr grinder - the hand one I have is getting a bit tiresome - but I can't justify spending €200+ to get an electric one.

Any other good gets out there for a good price at the moment?

All My Stars Aligned

Will you be using it for espresso or filter? If filter you should be able to pick up an Encore for well under 200.

murphyebass

http://gaggia.ie/machine/gaggia-mdf-grinder/

€175 - Gaggia MDF.

I've been using one now for the last couple of years. Well fit for espresso etc.
I use a Gaggia Classic with it but use aeropress mostly during the week.

Actually this Xmas is the first time I've been using the classic 5 or 6 times a day. Poor thing.

I find its definately worth staying on top of the cleaning of it though to keep the grind consultant and fine

flogen

All My Stars Aligned wrote: »

Will you be using it for espresso or filter? If filter you should be able to pick up an Encore for well under 200.

Espresso mainly - use a press or aero press the odd time but mainly the machine.

flogen

murphyebass wrote: »

http://gaggia.ie/machine/gaggia-mdf-grinder/

€175 - Gaggia MDF.

I've been using one now for the last couple of years. Well fit for espresso etc.
I use a Gaggia Classic with it but use aeropress mostly during the week.

Actually this Xmas is the first time I've been using the classic 5 or 6 times a day. Poor thing.

I find its definately worth staying on top of the cleaning of it though to keep the grind consultant and fine

I've spotted that one alright - and seen some positive chat around it. Will have to see how the finances repair in the weeks ahead!

murphyebass

flogen wrote: »

I've spotted that one alright - and seen some positive chat around it. Will have to see how the finances repair in the weeks ahead!

2 negatives.

One is that when you're dosing the coffee it comes out to your left so you end up having to move the handle in and out of the grinder to tap some coffee to the right again. Hard to explain, I don't find it a problem personally and I over dose a lot which theoretically should make the problem worse but as I say I cope just fine with it.

Biggest issue though people talk about is dialing your shot in. Personally again I'm really affect by this one as I'm happy with the choice of grind settings it offers but if you're after the god shot you'll need to mod it which is possible seemingly, or buy a different grinder.

As I say I use it day to day mainly for aeropress these days but times when I have more time on my hands like Christmas I use it for espresso which is more than capable of producing imo.

donnacha

Which hand grinder are you currently using flogen?

flogen

donnacha wrote: »

Which hand grinder are you currently using flogen?

One of these Hario jobbies. Have had no issue with it, other than the fact that hand grinding for each coffee gets a bit tedious. Also not easy to adjust for different grinds.

murphyebass

flogen wrote: »

One of these Hario jobbies. Have had no issue with it, other than the fact that hand grinding for each coffee gets a bit tedious. Also not easy to adjust for different grinds.

Yeah I bought my dad a Hario grinder for Christmas along with an aeropress. I hadn't used one before but heard good things and in fairness it is good in particular for a courser grind imo but I wouldn't fancy doing more than one coffee with it at a time.

Thankfully that's all he needs it for as he uses a cough nespresso cough machine for when's there's more than himself.

In other news I only found out recently there's only 5-7 grands of coffee in each capsule!

A single espresso is normally around 8grams and a double around 16grams.

Personally I overdose at around 18grams on a double espresso.

I'd need at least two pods if not 3 for a similar strength coffee! Eek

donnacha

That's a grand hand grinder. There are better ones out there but they all have price tags that are nearing what you can't justify spending on the burr grinder. I use a Hausgrind from Knock which was an upgrade for me from the Hario Skerton. There is a significant difference in the speed, ease of use and consistency of grind but it of course comes with a price tag. Similarly with burr grinders there are various price points. I'd suggest holding off if you can't justify €200 as you would be much better investing significantly more for an espresso grinder. After investing myself in various burr grinders over the years I can't recommend the Mahlkonig Vario enough - the Compak K3 touch is also a good espresso grinder though its a large piece of equipment. Bella Barista in the UK have a great selection, fantastic customer service and regularly have sales on.

In terms of other coffee equipment worth picking up a decent scales is a good investment as is a good tamper. A mini scales for espresso dosing (to 0.01g) can be got cheaply enough from the likes of aliexpress and measuring the right dose in/out is key to getting a better espresso.

Though it doesn't sound like you are much of a filter drinker it is a journey worth venturing on and a decent set-up costs nowhere near what is required for a good espresso and I'd recommend a chemex as a brewing device that I find gives very consistent results. A brewing scales also helps and again these can be picked up cheaply enough online.

Bailies have an up to 30% sale on currently that might be worth checking out http://www.bailiescoffee.com/collections/winter-sale

You'll get some great tampers from Knock: http://www.madebyknock.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html

Hope that helps.

flogen

murphyebass wrote: »

Yeah I bought my dad a Hario grinder for Christmas along with an aeropress. I hadn't used one before but heard good things and in fairness it is good in particular for a courser grind imo but I wouldn't fancy doing more than one coffee with it at a time.

This is it - it's not a major pain to make one for myself with the hand grinder, but it starts to become a pain when I want a second one - or I'm making coffee for a couple of people.

That's usually when the french press comes out - but as it's such a pain to readjust the grind on the Hario I tend to just use *cough* pre-ground *cough* in those cases.

Muahahaha

I did the Hario thing for a while and the more addicted to coffee I got the more tedious hand grinding got.
So I bought this and can recommend it highly as an entry level burr grinder. It is German built and very sturdy. Has 20 grind settings on it so will cover you from espresso to aeropress. I paid €150 for mine about a year back, they're down to €130 which is excellent value for what you get. Use Google Translate to read the reviews, the Germans love this grinder
http://www.amazon.de/Graef-CM800-Kaffeem%C3%BChle-CM-800/dp/B00CS2DAEG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452812687&sr=8-1&keywords=graef+kaffeem%C3%BChle

quadrifoglio verde

donnacha wrote: »

That's a grand hand grinder. There are better ones out there but they all have price tags that are nearing what you can't justify spending on the burr grinder. I use a Hausgrind from Knock which was an upgrade for me from the Hario Skerton. There is a significant difference in the speed, ease of use and consistency of grind but it of course comes with a price tag. Similarly with burr grinders there are various price points. I'd suggest holding off if you can't justify €200 as you would be much better investing significantly more for an espresso grinder. After investing myself in various burr grinders over the years I can't recommend the Mahlkonig Vario enough - the Compak K3 touch is also a good espresso grinder though its a large piece of equipment. Bella Barista in the UK have a great selection, fantastic customer service and regularly have sales on.

In terms of other coffee equipment worth picking up a decent scales is a good investment as is a good tamper. A mini scales for espresso dosing (to 0.01g) can be got cheaply enough from the likes of aliexpress and measuring the right dose in/out is key to getting a better espresso.

Though it doesn't sound like you are much of a filter drinker it is a journey worth venturing on and a decent set-up costs nowhere near what is required for a good espresso and I'd recommend a chemex as a brewing device that I find gives very consistent results. A brewing scales also helps and again these can be picked up cheaply enough online.

Bailies have an up to 30% sale on currently that might be worth checking out http://www.bailiescoffee.com/collections/winter-sale

You'll get some great tampers from Knock: http://www.madebyknock.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html

Hope that helps.

Thanks for that, picked up an encore last week and am questioning why I left it so long to move from the hario skerton
I'd been thinking about one for 6 months or so and the discount made me jump on it