Enkerli Senior Member Joined: 1 Aug 2004 Posts: 711 Location: Montreal, Qc Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: (At cafés, not at home) Grinder: Hario hand grinders Vac Pot: (Moka Pot) Bialetti Brikka Drip: Steep and release pour-over Roaster: iRoast-2
Posted Sun Jul 29, 2012, 8:22am Subject: Re: Confessions of a Brikka Lover
Hey gang! [ Haven’t been active on CG for a while. Part of my excuse was a 5-week trip to Spain, France, and Switzerland. (In case you wonder: I’ve mostly been disappointed with my coffee experiences over there, though I had fond memories of Swiss coffee. IOW, “Third Wave” coffee has spoiled my palate and I can’t drink stale coffee anymore.)
Anyhoo…
Very happy to hear from “Junior Members”, around here. A very positive sign, especially since some of you are so experienced in MP brewing.
Nikki: Nice to hear about multiple-generation MP brewing, from your kids helping out to your grandmother enjoying your old MP. A journalist (or Bialetti marketer) should do a feature with your family! ;-) Homeroasting is quite a bit of fun and it sounds like you’d enjoy it, but it’s probably not for everyone. Never went to NE (did live in NB, though), so maybe quality coffee is difficult to get locally where you are. But if you do have a local source, I’d encourage you getting small amounts from a local roaster. In fact, there’s something to be said about packaging individual doses of whole beans. After roasting, I put my fresh beans in mini spice jars with clamps (like , but from the dollar store). I know how impractical it’d be for a large roaster, but there could be ways to arrange these things so they’re efficient. Especially since reusable jars are probably better for the environment than throw-away packaging.
Rob: Liking your attitude about experimentation and fun. Your desire for consistency makes sense, though. And it can be a bit tricky with MP brewing. As we’ve discussed on occasion, it’s pretty forgiving a method, but it’s also somewhat imprecise. It does sound like you’re looking at the right parameters. As you say, a camping stove might help by providing a more precise heating area. Perhaps a silly question but do you weigh your grounds and water? It’s conceivable that some of the variation in results you’re getting may come from small differences in dosage, unless you do weigh things. Another obvious thing is to look at your grind. Are you getting a very consistent grind? Any static? Did you try different grind levels for the MP? I’m surprised that the Brikka would be more consistent but perhaps it has to do with the smaller diameter of the basket? Maybe you get less channeling in the Brikka because distribution matters less? Just thinking out loud, here. In fact, what exactly is inconsistent in the MP brews? As for Vietnamese coffee, I’ve never made it at home but do enjoy it on occasion at Vietnamese restos. In fact, I probably mentioned it at some point as part of coffee’s diversity. Didn’t realize that the roasting method was so different. A huge disadvantage of Vietnamese coffee from a restaurant is that it’s made from Vietnamese coffee beans which are usually low-grade robusta. But I might take your lead and experiment with some green beans I have here. Might have to retrieve my old “Zanzibar” MP as I don’t really want to mess with my Moka Express seasoning.
Ty: Something we have discussed fairly frequently is the distinction between aluminum and stainless steel. Any reliable information we’ve seen so far states that aluminum vessels are safe. They’re not the reason we’re regularly digesting a certain quantity of aluminum. As for acidity, I really don’t think coffee’s pH compares to that of foods which may cause the layer of aluminum oxide to be broken down. While I understand your disappointment, I enjoy my aluminum pots. I might be wrong in the matter, but I’ll only worry once I get convincing evidence that it’s a problem, at which point Bialetti might be convinced to manufacture SS Brikka again.
Enkerli Senior Member Joined: 1 Aug 2004 Posts: 711 Location: Montreal, Qc Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: (At cafés, not at home) Grinder: Hario hand grinders Vac Pot: (Moka Pot) Bialetti Brikka Drip: Steep and release pour-over Roaster: iRoast-2
Posted Sun Jul 29, 2012, 8:29am Subject: Re: Confessions of a Brikka Lover
Oh, and BTW…
Got back from my trip on Wednesday and I’ve been finishing a bag of Handsome Coffee beans I got before I left. So these beans are almost two months old. In my Moka Express, I’m getting a bunch of off-flavours which make for a relatively unpleasant experience. Still better than most coffee I’ve tried in Europe, but a far cry from what I’ve grown used to. In fact, it’s the first coffee I’ve tried when I came back and it was like adding insult to injury. But, of course, what could I expect from stale coffee? Thing is, these beans are more than decent as AeroPress. Made several cups and it rivals some of the best coffee I’ve had since I bought these beans. Not that it’s very aromatic or complex in any way. But it’s tasty without off-flavours, which is definitely a lot more than I can say about much of the coffee I’ve had in the past two months.
Ok, ok… This might be more of a rant about coffee in Western Europe. But it’s also a way to say that different brewing methods may provide pleasant results in suboptimal conditions.
nikesta Senior Member Joined: 5 Jun 2012 Posts: 4 Location: Nebraska Expertise: Just starting
Grinder: porlex hand grinder
Posted Mon Sep 24, 2012, 8:25am Subject: Re: Confessions of a Brikka Lover
frankthecrank Said:
After supper I can't drink a whole cup of coffee so I make a mini Americano with it. I brew the moka, put it in a small cup, add hot water, cream and sugar and get just enough of a caffeine fix for the evening! Delish!
:-) My 5-yr old and I tried something similar. After reading Pippi Longstocking (who has coffee for breakfast). So occasionally we brew up some decaf, add a bit of milk sprinkled with cocoa-mix. I have the brikka 2c now--which she prefers :-) I think because of the whoosh. It makes about the same amount as my 1 cup.
nikesta Senior Member Joined: 5 Jun 2012 Posts: 4 Location: Nebraska Expertise: Just starting
Grinder: porlex hand grinder
Posted Mon Sep 24, 2012, 8:48am Subject: Re: Confessions of a Brikka Lover
Enkerli Said:
In fact, there’s something to be said about packaging individual doses of whole beans. After roasting, I put my fresh beans in mini spice jars with clamps
Welcome home, hope you enjoying good fresh coffee again. I am a newcomer to coffee in my family. As I like fresh dark, strong coffee, and would rather do without than have bad coffee. If I hadn't ended up working in a building with a coffee-shop, I probably would still not realize that enjoyable coffee existed. Made it through college without coffee, somehow. ;-)
Thanks for the packaging idea . The closest local roast I have found was still too far for driving, so I occasionally mail order a pound from the roaster, then divide and mail half on to my mom, to enjoy while they are still fresh. My mother-in-law, who is nearby usually humors me with sharing a cup, but tells me she prefers lighter roasts than I have found myself enjoying.
So if I would take my half pound and seal it up into spice jars, each dose would stay fresher? I wouldn't mind a little coffee line-up at all. Will look for little containers the next time I am super-store or dollar-store shopping.
Also, I have been trying to guess where NB is, but am not clever enough to understand.
Enkerli Senior Member Joined: 1 Aug 2004 Posts: 711 Location: Montreal, Qc Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: (At cafés, not at home) Grinder: Hario hand grinders Vac Pot: (Moka Pot) Bialetti Brikka Drip: Steep and release pour-over Roaster: iRoast-2
Posted Thu Oct 25, 2012, 5:15pm Subject: Brikka and Baratza Preciso
Hey all!
Just got myself a Baratza Virtuoso Preciso. Using it to grind some Sidamo for my AeroPress with Coava disk, I found out that I could go quite fine (went all the way down to 6D) and I wasn’t getting fines. Got more bitterness out of the beans, though.
Then I tried the same grind for my Brikka. The impressive thing is the intense aroma. What I was mostly getting from these beans, until now, was the kind of cherry-flavoured chocolate filling. But this Brikka version, at a fine grind, was like «Crème de cassis» (blackcurrant liqueur). The flavour was rich and complex like little I’ve had in recent past. The crema was smooth and sweet. Really nice shot. I do notice some fines at the bottom of the cup, though. Now, it might be stuff remaining in my Brikka, especially since it’s much smaller than the grounds themselves (though the grounds are really quite fine). But I was wondering what grind level other Preciso owners might be using for Brikka brewing. I’ll probably experiment more, but it’s always fun to discuss these things.
Posted Fri Nov 2, 2012, 4:54am Subject: Re: Confessions of a Brikka Lover
FINALLY got my own 2cup after like what? A year? Haha! XD
Anyway, it's First Impressions time:
After only one sacrificial brew and an actual brew that kinda went southward, I still got a 2 ouncer that really got the flavor out of the Costa Rica that I could only enjoy mildly as a pour-over. The thing made sputters instead of one big release so I'm thinking that a coarser grind is in order. Nevertheless, this thing still performed beyond my expectations. In addition, the small size of this thing as well as the convenience factor of my new CM45 grinder means that I could do stuff faster now compared to before when I was using a monstrous 6cup moka and a poorly-designed CM50. 2 seperate brews for me and my dad were easily done in quick succession.
This thing gets 2 big thumbs up from me. The only question now is how much punishment from me can this thing endure. :D
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