Too long ago, at the start of January I think, we wrote of the concerns we have about finding a coffee maker that the KF4 Swissgold fits into, and we promised to go away and give the issue some more thought. The KF4 Swissgold box details a list of coffee makers that the KF4 Swissgold is intended to fit but unfortunately many of the brands listed are not sold in the UK. Anyway, we will step through that list in a moment. In the meantime we have acquired a Chemex 10 cup from the manufacturer in the US. They gave us first class service and were extremely helpful, so if you are thinking of selling Chemex brewers I would not hesitate to recommend them as good people to deal with.
Anyway, the 10 cup Chemex brewer is measured using a 5.5US fluid oz cup. The 10 cup capacity is measured to the bottom of the wooden grasp. We did the rest of the world a small favour and translated this curious measure into metric. It's 1400mL to the bottom of the wooden grasp. If you wonder as we have to admit to wondering why the wood, basically the Chemex would be too hot to hold comfortably without it. It is a really nice touch, and conceptually we love the design. It is practical and has stood the test of time. The raw hide leather is also a very nice method of attaching the two half wooden clasps to the brewer.
We used 70g of fresh coffee ground to a medium/filter coarseness to make 1400mL, or 14g per 280mL which is probably a bit easier to relate to as that is roughly the capacity of a 'mug' cup of coffee.
You can see from the images that the KF4 Swissgold doesn't fit in the 10 cup Chemex quite as nicely as it should, but it is 'workable'.
Standard operating procedure for anyway experienced in making drip filter coffee really, boil the jug, wait for all the bubbles to cease forming indicating that the water is sufficiently cool to pour over the coffee, then sprinkle a small amount of water over the coffee grounds to allow the coffee to bloom. You will elsewhere in more elegant terms that this is to allow the full aroma and flavour of the coffee to develop, etc, etc.
Based on my somewhat less prosaic observations i would say that the effect you observe is actually quite similar to what happens when heavy rain falls on parched dry land; it just runs off the land to the lowest point, quickly forming streams, and then rivers. Well, if you don't gently sprinkle the water over the dry coffee grounds, allowing the grounds to swell and bind together then something similar happens and the water simply drops through the coffee without extracting much of the flavour. You can give this process the rather elaborate title of blooming if you like, but I think you can see my point.
The other thing to note is that you cant really use a fine espresso grind coffee in the KF4 Swissgold as we do to great effect in the KF300 Swissgold; the conic shape results in the fine grinds compressing together in the bottom of the filter, causing the water in the filter to drain away too slowly, and if you are using a filter coffee machine it will flood as we showed in the last blog on the KF4 Swissgold at the start of January 2011.
So, what's the conclusion? Well, while the filter obviously fits, making coffee with this large Chemex filter is painfully slow to be honest. We love the look of the Chemex, and we love the performance, and it keeps the coffee sufficiently hot for much longer than we anticipated if you place it on an insulating surface, like a wooden chopping board, but not a granite bench which will suck the heat out very quickly. But you can actually feel yourself ageing as you stand there with the kettle having to top up the filter from time to time. Its at least 10 minutes out of your day and for this reason we are unable to recommend the Chemex for making large amounts of coffee. Would would recommend the Chemex without hesitation in the smaller sizes. For the larger sizes we think you need to have the luxury of home help at your disposal as we found it unacceptably labour intensive.
For us the search for a method to make a large amount of coffee in an easy, everyday fashion continues. While we like a minimum of fuss this experience was a rare occasion where we really felt the benefit that even a basic electric coffee maker brings as it frees you up to get on with other things while your coffee brews.
If you want to acquire a Chemex brewer in the UK we have no hesitation in sending you to Stephen Leighton of Hasbean who carries a good selection of genuine Chemex brewers and accompanying accessories.
From the first day we offered Kopi Luwak for sale we issued about as explicit a caveat as you might expect to receive anywhere that you should not expect Kopi Luwak to taste 10 or 11 times better than other coffee.
We sell Kopi Luwak for this reason; there is a market for it. We think a lot of the Kopi Luwak on offer is counterfeit, and almost without exception it is stale, therefore we are selling what we believe is the best example of Kopi Luwak we have tried anywhere, often for considerably less than alternative suppliers. We think Kopi Luwak presents us with a unique opportunity to demonstrate to customers who are willing to pay a lot for their coffee just how much better the same coffee can taste when it is (i) authentic (ii) correctly roasted (iii) freshly roasted. Almost every roaster claims they deliver on all 3, but unfortunately you will easily be able to taste the deficiencies when you try a coffee that really does meet all 3 criteria.
Basic economics tells us that the price of any product is simply a mechanism that balances the forces of supply and demand. In the case of Kopi Luwak there really isn't much of it produced, and so even a tiny number of fanatics dotted around the globe lead to the price becoming what most people would consider outlandishly high. We too think the price is outrageous, but we are building a business that is pitched at a very niche market and we can not afford to bring a socialist agenda to the table and refuse to offer a product because it costs more for 250g than some people are paid for a day's work.
The concerns as a buyer are (i) whether you are getting the genuine article (ii) whether the roaster has sacrificed enough coffee to learn how to roast it properly (we chewed through 5Kg roasting ten 500g batches before we were completely satisfied with our offering), and finally is it fresh????
We're not saying Kopi Luwak is 11 times better than other coffees, or even twice as good. We simply recognise that a market exists for this niche product, we had a go at roasting it, obtained very pleasing results, and felt that we could compete globally with a pretty decent product for aficionados. For this reason if you have not tried Kopi Luwak before we would implore you to buy it from someone else first, then come to us. That way we think you'll appreciate just how big the taste difference is between ours and the rest.
Last week we ordered our Bosco demonstration machine, such is the level of interest. We firmly believe that any prospective customer is entitled to try before they buy. For that reason we hold demonstration models of every product we sell so you can come any try them out; you just need to arrange a time that suits you in advance. We have ordered a single group as we don't have a retail presence and therefore no real need for a multi-group machine, and as always in London space is precious.
We have paid the 10% premium for the gold plated edition. We can here some of you cringe from here. Don't worry, we don't have a gold fetish, but we think it is in keeping with the nature of the machine as it is almost entirely free of decorative touches. This is a very functional, practical machine, reflecting its Neapolitan heritage. A box entirely in stainless steel seemed a little austere, but anyway, come and see it in the flesh and decide for yourself. We have also specified the optional cup warmer, not because we have any real use for it ourselves, but it is a demonstration machine and for that reason I think it is important that it is fully optioned. And as is the way with the kind of things we like to sell, that's all the options there are. We prefer robust, no-nonense engineering over consumer grade junk every time. Our generation's preference to pay for convenience, gloss, and hype over robust, durable goods is an environmental threat in itself. Buy once, buy right. I sometimes wonder if I was born 100 years too late, such is my preference for the way things used to be made.
We have sorted out a multi-stage water filtration package that both softens the water with H-ion replacement (not Na-ion replacement as is still prevalent, despite now being illegal in the UK (no salt is to be added to water that is to be ingested)) and uses a 5 micron carbon filter to remove chlorine and heavy metals and any other nasties that might lurk in the London water supply. We pair this with a digital flow meter meter to ensure your filter is changed only when it needs to be.
You will no doubt be aware that a number of water filtration systems use a 'time-based' interval to change the filter. We think this approach contributes significantly to the profits of these companies, but good on them if the market accepts it. We are increasing the capital cost with the introduction of the digital flow meter, but not significantly, and expect the payback period to be less than a year in reduced spend on water filters as a result of eliminating premature changing of the filter. We also have a digital meter to measure the total dissolved solids in your water supply which will allow us to calculate with reasonable accuracy just when your filter needs to be changed.
We have seen all too often in London that cafes fail to adequately address the filtration needs of their espresso machine. We appreciate that water filtration adds to operating costs, but then again limescale wrecks machines. Yes limescale can be removed, but have you ever wondered why the machine comes back a little the worse for wear each time it is subjected to descaling? A little weeping leak here and there? It is a daft, short-sighted practice premised on false economy. The limescale is often chiseled out in a none-too-delicate fashion which is tough on any welds and rigid fittings. Once the worst of the limescale has been chiselled out the boiler is placed in a acid bath to dissolve the remainder of the limescale. Removing the limescale from the pipe work and ancillary items is hard on the seals, significantly reducing their service life. If you believe nothing else you read on this website, believe this; don't let limescale into your machine; ever. Limescale is a silent assassin, if you let it in it will kill your machine.
Oh yes, and we almost forgot, the number one reason for not allowing limescale in your machine if you are generating cashflow from it is unscheduled downtime. We have lost count of the number of calls we have received from cafes who need an engineer to appear instantly, like a genie from a bottle, with a replacement machine and to take the old one away to descale as it has finally clogged with limescale to the point that the inlet valve is no longer allowing water into the boiler. If you are at peak period in a busy location selling 200 coffees an hour at an average of perhaps GBP2.50, any unscheduled downtime becomes very expensive. If you are unable to provide espresso you will almost certainly miss out on all the other ancillary purchases that the customer would normally have made. We'll say it again; don't let limescale into your machine, it can be a very expensive.
At Londinium we think you should only have to buy an espresso machine once. Choose wisely, look after it, and it will provide a generous income for you and your staff for many years, long after the initial capital outlay is repaid. The right espresso machine in a well run cafe is likely to contribute 20% or more of your turnover, and a much higher percentage of your net profit. It can be your very own cash machine.
A lot of people cling to the traditional view that an espresso roast needs to be a blend. We have nothing against blends for espresso use per se, there are many exquisite blends, other than to say roasters have at least two commercial reasons for pushing blended roasts. The first reason is it presents an opportunity to lower the average cost of the coffee used. This will apply less to the very best of the gourmet roasters, but it is an unsurmountable commercial fact no matter how hard our competitors try to tell you otherwise. The second reason applies regardless of how upmarket the roaster, and that is quite simply that a blend is more difficult for a competitor to replicate than a single origin coffee, there are simply more variables to match. A blend offers more of a chance to create some intellectual property in a highly competitive industry. These are both valid commercial reasons that we have no problem with. We don't have a vendetta on blends at all, but we do have a problem with roasters who can't accept that some single origin coffees can make very good espresso.
At Londinium Espresso we have chosen to specialise in single origin as we like the idea of conveying the taste of a specific country/region/estate in single 30mL shot of espresso.
It becomes a bit academic when you start to consider what constitutes a blend. If the same type of coffee is taken from two coffee estates lying side by side is that a blend? Typically this is regarded, and sold, as a single origin coffee. But we can tell you from experience that supposedly the same coffee bought from two estates lying side by side will more often than not taste quite different.
What about coffee taken from two estates side by side, but by happy coincidence are considered to lie in different countries as a result of where the border runs between the two estates? These coffees would be sold as originating from two different origins, and roasted together would be considered a blend, but they may well taste more similar than the first example where both estates are in the same country.
It is common practice when coffee in one country is in extremely short supply (for whatever reason) for coffee just over the border in neighbouring countries to mysteriously make its way in to the country where coffee is in short supply and for it to be sold and re-bagged in bags bearing the mark of the country where the coffee is short supply. Such events are by no means unusual, especially as the producing countries are typically poor and the opportunity to fetch a significant premium for the coffee with relatively little effort is very tempting. With the recent shortages of coffee in Columbia we understand the coffee was being bought by road from Ecuador to be resold as Columbian coffee.
The only guide we rely upon is our impressions of what the coffee actually tastes like as an espresso (no milk). This is particularly relevant when roasting for espresso as a lot of the celebrated micro roasts produce a bright acidic cup that we find unpleasant in espresso. The fact is the vast majority of the public enjoy 'espresso-based' beverages. These are typically latte, latte being sold as cappuccino, cappuccino if you are very lucky, and a flat white if you are in Costa where they are trying to pass this uniquely antipodean creation off as their own, indeed even Starbucks are having a go.
At Londinium espresso means espresso. A single shot means 30mL. A double shot means 60mL. The dose is between 7 and 8g per shot. We respect the established traditions in terms of dose and measure. While we don't find the super dark robusta dominated roasts of Napoli to our taste we have yet to find another place on earth where the baristas are so connected to the coffee, in a large part this is a function of the use of lever espresso machines which are used in around 90% of the cafes in Napoli. We respect the professionalism of the Neapolitan baristas, which comes without the 'attitude' that seems to have infected some baristas elsewhere. Call us old-fashioned but we also appreciate the white shirt, black waistcoat, black tie dress code that is in force almost without exception in Napoli; scruffs need not apply for the role of barista in Napoli.
For us the 23g dose was invented for Americans who needed to supersize to a 5 gallon cappuccino and the taste of the coffee was unsurprisingly being lost with conventional measures. We also think the supersizing of drinks has been responsible for the recent rise of very acidic microlot coffee in espresso; another attempt to cut through the smoothing effect of large volumes of milk fat.
We are not afraid to innovate when the mood takes us, but for the best part we are simply trying to offer a freshly roasted, smooth, and complex espresso. We can not abide the fashion for passing of very bright micro lot coffee intended for use in espresso based drinks (i.e. with milk) as being 'wonderful for espresso'. In our opinion they are wholly unsuitable for pure espresso. The situation arises because probably only 1 in 20 customers going into a cafe in London actually drinks espresso. So almost all coffee roasters roast their espresso roast for espresso based drinks that will have milk added to them. With milk added they are superb roasts, we have no problem with that. We simply take exception when they are billed as exceptional espresso roasts. Unless, per chance, you like your espresso to taste strongly of acetic and citric acid. Perhaps you do, there's no accounting for taste, after all.
When Londinium bill something as an espresso roast it is intended to be drunk as an espresso; without milk. We readily accept that our espresso roasts can be criticised for being bland and insipid when drowned in milk. We feel there are more than enough coffee roasters looking after the needs of the 19 milkies. Londinium Espresso look after the needs of the 20th person: the minority espresso drinker who needs are still dismissed as a niche market. For this reason real espresso drinkers in the UK typically find themselves investing in the necessary kit to make their espresso at home. If this is you, Londinium Espresso is your answer.
Almost nothing to go wrong. Low on features. The Olympia Cremina is good for only one thing; the finest espresso in the world, in your home. A boiler, a pressure stat, an over-pressure valve, a sight glass for the boiler level, a pressure gauge, a couple of wires. That's it. A machine. In metal. Built to last a life time.
by orphanespresso on Fri Oct 02, 2009 10:18 am
I do not think that I have ever read such a concise bit of insight on pulls with a La Pavoni EVER!!!!
but allow a few observations on preinfusion.....we were just at CoffeeFest Seattle and Cafe Vita had their Bosco two group on the trade floor and there were two Victoria Arduino two levers as well (though not serving the best masters) and we were paying close attention to preinfusion times and in all 3 cases....Cafe Vita was the most attentive to actual espresso on the Bosco....no more than 5 seconds preinfulion time. they were shooting for extreme Ristretto and they were using their special CoffeeFest blend which was their usual espresso blend with some new Ethiopian they have just gotten in. While in Seattle we went to Hal Parry's and fiddled around with his Termozona HX one group and same thing 3 to 5 seconds preinfusion....tops. Never with a single drop during preinfusion. And then we come home to our Faema Wallbanger.....so our no tamp process (similar to Timo's description ie light or no tamp) and get drops at 5 seconds with a slowdown of drops (indicating that the puck is self packing.....an effecct I appreciate personally)....at the slowdown of drops I release the lever and get not a real long lasting crema but a very flavorful pull (using single origns beans from Stumptown).
The group heat on the La Pavoni is such a huge concept here. We have tested our line pressure at 1 bar and so on our machine we are preinfusing at 1 bar. If you have your machine set at .85 for heat control there is not going to be full preinfusion to the point of drips. Check Juanjo's videos with his Brunetti and he gets drips coalescing under preinfusion pressure which seems to be what one wants in any lever extraction.....full infusion of the coffee in the basket before application of lever pressure.
By the way, the Cafe Vita Bosco was very nice....a little old school with some cheesy braided brassette trim, but a very nice CMA group, very classic rectangular Italian "I am here to work not look good" format...lots of polished chrome panels....but really, the best shots in the room. The 2 group VA machines aslo very good and quite a small footprint (cost $8000) and the same group and lever as well, but lots of fancy hammered copperette and chrome. We went to Cafe Vita later that day and they use a Synesso 3 group and the shots at the store were not even close to flavor and just plain OOOOOOHHHHHH factor as the ones on the Bosco lever.....but the Baristas at the store were much cuter.
Doug Garrott
Bomb-proof Bosco lever espresso machines. Bosco don't just offer a lever machine machine for old time's sake; lever machines are Bosco's core business; that's why we chose Bosco.
We love lever espresso machines and feel they have received much unwarranted criticism. This invariably stems from people's entry into gourmet coffee with the purchase of a La Pavoni lever machine, a notoriously difficult beast even in proficient hands and one that eats newbies' best endeavours for breakfast.
Newby quickly moves from the La Pavoni to an electric pump espresso machine and for the rest of their days tells anyone who'll listen of the scourge that lever machines are to the world. It doesn't have to be like that. Our first machine was a La Pavoni lever, and yes as newbies we got frustrated before we became proficient. But we loved the engineering simplicity of the lever machine so we persevered, doubled our bet, and bought an Olympia Cremina for our second machine. We enjoyed it so much we went on to secure the UK agency for Olympia machines. We've never looked back. In non-plumbed home espresso machines the Olympia Cremina is the pinnacle.
We now sell two brands of lever machine, both of which are easily tamed with just a few guidelines, and mostly importantly a grinder that is up to the task. Lever espresso machines are the ultimate tool for crafting your espresso. For this reason the manufacturers of the absolute pinnacle in electric pump espresso machines, La Marzocco, Synesso, Slayer, et al are altering the pressure profile of their pumps so the pressure tails off as the extraction progresses in an effort to match the pressure profile generated by a lever machine.
It was at about that point we thought, hey, why not just sell lever espresso machines. We are comfortable with them, and will roll our sleeves up, get out to site and provide comprehensive training for our customers so they are as competent and confident with these machines as they would be with any other.
Espresso machines bring together three elements who are notoriously bad bed-fellows; water, heat, and electricity. This means that the old adage 'if something can possibly fail it will, and at the least convenient moment' is in force at all times. This too drove us back towards the selection of a simple machine that has been satisfying the demands of the largest population of espresso drinkers on the planet for over 50 years.
Yes, the Bosco lever machines of Napoli are our choice in perfect espresso, simplicity, and reliability. When coupled with our water softening solution (currently under development) it is highly likely that you will wear out before they do. Best of all, Bosco don't change their model range every few years, so the few parts that you find yourself in need of will be available long into the future. Buy a Bosco lever machine; get your capital investment right the first time.
If space is at a premium in your kitchen as it is in ours, and you are often short of time when preparing your coffee, your might want to acquire one of these; a kettle with a built in water filter. One less item on the bench, one less water transfer. 3000W heating a single litre of water helps it get the job done in a hurry. Probably lacking sufficient capacity for a large family, but adequate for one, two, or three people. 
The second image in the series is a close up of the ubiquitous 'time-driven' Brita profit engine ;) telling the health obsessive to change the filter every 4 weeks, even if its only had 5 litres through it! We'd show a little more respect if this indicator was 'volume' driven, but as an accountant in a former life I can't see that happening any time soon.
Bottom image: Ah well, nothing's perfect. Nasty neon blue light appears when you switch it on.
Remember that filtering your water doesn't just significantly improve the taste of your coffee (much greater clarity in the taste, not dissimilar to the clarity that hi-fi brings to audio), but reduces staining in the cups which I find a benefit of almost equal value.
I understand from the Brita literature that the Maxtra is a 4-stage filter, removing something like 20% more impurities than their standard filter. As always, remember that filters only work until the filter is saturated with pollutants. If you keep using a filter beyond this point it just lets the pollutants pass on through.
As mentioned above, I have a bit of a problem with the time driven indicator that Brita provide, as time is a constant, whereas I suspect many of their customers never put anything like the rated volume of water that the filter is designed to process before the 4 weeks is up and the indicator suggests a new filter is due. Selling fear? Surely not.
Notwithstanding, a great product.
We acquired ours from Sainsbury's, I'm sure they're available from numerous retailers and online.
Brazilian yellow bourbon from the Rainha estate. As a classic, timeless espresso they don't come much better than this. Nothing fashionable or trendy here.
... you're probably still drinking Starbucks. Come on in, and discover just how good black coffee can taste.
