this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2023
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Coffee.
I blame James Hoffman entirely.
Within a year I went from:
Drinking instant coffee at home, but really enjoying "proper coffee"
To
Buying a cafetiere (~£15) + preground coffee
To
Buying a Nespresso (~£60 on offer) + pods
To
Buying a budget espresso machine (~£120) + preground coffee
To
Wasting my money on a cheap manual coffee grinder (~£50) + beans
To
Immediately replacing it with an entry level Sage grinder (~£170)
To
Buying an entry Level "proper" espresso machine (~£700)
It took me a good 2-3 weeks of practicing and dialling in before pulling a good shot of coffee that I'd actually want to drink, but by that point it was also about learning a new skill, learning how different aspects of the process affect the end result and learning how to make all sorts of different espresso-based drinks.
My girlfriend thought I was nuts at first, but a year or so later even she agrees it was worth the investment. I still for the life of me can't get the hang of latte art though.
The problem is now though that I'm a waaaay more critical of coffee from coffee shops, because I spent a long time making bad coffee whilst learning!
Before diving into this hobby I was worried that I might not be able to tolerate the type of coffee that happens to be available to me at some random gas station or cafe along the way. That hasn’t been a problem for me yet, but how about you?
Having spent some time experimenting with my AeroPress, I have learned to notice some basic flavors and notes, but I wouldn’t call myself a experienced coffee taster yet. I can tell the difference between light and dark roast. Trying to tell the difference between two expensive coffees is usually very difficult for me, so I guess gettin an espresso machine might not be worth it yet.
Not really been an issue for me either. I'd say I notice more now when a coffee is slightly under/over extracted, but I'd probably have noticed it tasted 'weird" before and just not known what was wrong. That said, I've found it to be very rare. A lot of places just use quite forgiving dark roasts that are a LOT easier to make than more lightly roasted beans.
Oh, so that’s why I can’t seem to find any cafe making good light roast. Every place seems to love dark roast, super dark roast, ultra-mega-hyper-dark-still-smoking-black-hole-shade roast.
About a month a go I went to my local cafe and asked if they’re selling coffee beans. They had some options, so I bought a bag of their lightest. Back home I tried it out and it tasted rather dark to me. I compared it with a cheap store brand that is labeled as roast level 1, and the taste difference was significant. Their lightest is probably like level 3 or 4, which is nowhere near what I’m looking for.