# Coffee as a hobby? Hmmmm.....yes!!!



## steelartsa (Feb 22, 2018)

Hi guys, I stumbled across this forum by accident and found I just had to join right away. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised as there are now forums for sharing virtually anything on the planet, but coffee making as a hobby? This still makes me smile; why the hell not! I suppose coffee has always been such a part of my life that I never really thought about it as anything other than an essential. Back in the 60's and 70's when I was a kid (and I guess right the way through 80's too) coffee for me was basically instant - that makes me cringe now although I still occasionally use Nescafe Azera when I'm in a real hurry and rushing to the car coffee in hand.

It was really exotic and magical when my mum went to the hairdresser and had a Rombouts filter coffee, and if we visited friends and they had a percolator the whole coffee making process seemed magical. I remember when I was very young, my mother had a French friend and would grind her own beans in a hand grinder (this was the 1960's remember) and the smell was like nothing else on earth. For the most part, as a youngster I found a lot of "real" coffee somewhat disappointing. No doubt it was because of a lack of information and packs of ground coffee probably stood in the cupboard for months on end getting staler and staler. The French friend new exactly how to prepare a good brew and in my mind's eye I can still see her in her kitchen coffee grinder in hand some fifty years later.

Later, along came filter coffee and French presses but they always seemed a little bit hit and miss - half a teaspoon more or less of coffee, plus how fresh it was could make a real difference between drinking heaven, mud or dishwater. In my 30's I had a girlfriend who was a barista. I was a regular in the cafe she worked in and I must have spent a fortune on coffee because, quite simply, it was amazing stuff (I'm talking about the COFFEE!!!). It was her that told me not to bother with a cheap machine if I wanted a good coffee with a rich crema so I spent what seemed like a fortune back then on a Krupps machine. That lasted for many years until for a while, I had to give up coffee and my ex wife (grrrr) chucked it out. I decided life was too short not to have my favourite beverage so after we split I bought a De'Longhi Dedica. I was going to get a Nespresso machine but after reading that the amount of unrecyclable pods in landfill could circle the globe twice, I decided that an extra few minutes a day preparing a coffee wasn't going to kill me.

Until now, I've always used pre-ground Lavazza Rossa but have always been a bit disappointed with the flavour after about a week and by the end of the packet I couldn't wait to finish it and open a new one. So I considered getting a bean-to-cup machine but now, having come across this forum, I'm so glad I didn't. I just bought a little hand grinder (I'm still waiting after 2 years for a smart grinder I backed on Kickstarter but we're assured they should be with us in a couple of months) and now make my long black with hot water not by running the water through to grounds 3x and I'm blown away by the results. So, whilst I might get a "better" machine sometime in the near future, at the moment I'm really happy with my little Dedica.

Just one question that someone might be able to advise me on. When using pre-ground coffee i used to get a lovely thick rich crema. Now, grinding my own, I get a great tasting coffee but the crema disperses very quickly. What am I doing wrong? Do I need a finer grind (too fine and the water won't run through the filter I've found) or am I not tamping enough? I can't seem to work out the variables very successfully.


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## Batian (Oct 23, 2017)

First, welcome to the mad house!

There is plenty of debate about taste and crema and whether the two are actually related? There is strong opinion on both sides! But because taste is subjective, little actual evidence.

One thing is certain though, crema is often increased by the addition of Robusta coffees, particularly in cheaper blended coffees. These Robustas are by default higher in caffeine but poorer in flavour than most Arabca coffees. They are added to boost crema and caffeine levels for those whose definition of "good coffee" is visually biased and requiring high levels of each!

And of course, to reduce the cost.

So the lack of crema in your home ground, may well be due to a lack of Robusta beans compared to the pre ground coffees you were buying.

If you are getting great tasting coffee, why worry about the crema?

The way forward is with quality beans from quality roasters, many of whom advertise (with discounts) on this Forum.

Drink with your mouth, not your eyes!


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