# Hello



## jerome221 (Jan 23, 2014)

Hello Everyone,

I've lurked a bit and this is my first post. I've tried to keep my potted coffee history short:

Many moons ago I tried all the beans I could find and settled on Kenya Peaberry.

Roasted own beans in a cast iron skillet for years, bladed and filtered.

Bought an ebay De Longhi Prima Donna 6600 bean to cup for my mum a few years ago (hoping she'd hate it so I could have it) - she was spending a fortune going to Starbucks 2-3 times a day.

Sadly she loved it and was soon bouncing off the ceiling on 5-6 cappuccinos a day, so I reduced her dose.

Bought another on ebay for myself, but they go wrong a lot (once or twice a year) which is frustrating.

Went to Salvation Jane's EC2 every day for lattes in my last job which sowed the seed.

After the job finished the De Longhi went wrong again and I started investigating and learning.

Read coffee books: Rao, Schomer and Illy. Very interesting.

Coffee is fascinating and so complex. I love the purity and flavour of filter but also the knobs, dials and froth of espresso.

Thanks to a stroke of luck I found a used GS3 AV.

Grinders ....

Borrowed a Super Jolly whilst waiting for a K30 Vario.

SJ was heaven on earth. Went to bed smiling at the thought of the next day.

New K30 tasted horrible and metallic with a very unpleasant aftertaste. Advised it needed 10-15 kg to season the burrs, so it went back and I returned to De Longhi.

Borrowed a Compak conical and another SJ to compare. Conical was a big flavour improvement. More depth, more complexity, but I couldn't get the different SJ to work again. I now am sure it was the beans.

K10 arrived and seasoned with 6 kg. (3-4 recommended). Fast but new coffees are nightmare to dial in. 250g not enough. 3 x different 250gs wasted.

Now looking at a Versalab for single dosing and flat burrs to find Peaberry heaven, so shortly posting in Grinders &#8230;.

After K30 disaster decided on training as a substitute for experience.

Did a 3 day VRQ Barista and 1 day cupping and latte art course at London School of Coffee in Kingston. Learnt a lot. Great teachers and a very friendly place. Still crap at latte art after 2.5 gallons of milk (I feel guilty about the waste and the poor cows). Professionals make everything look so easy!

Regards,

Jerome


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

Great journey! Thanks for sharing.

Welcome to the forum, you're in great company here


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

Welcome to the Forum Jerome. Appreciate the detailed intro.

Looks like you are well along your coffee journey.

Many folk on here willing & able to assist in answering most questions you are likely to have.

Do you favour light roasts or do you go dark?. If the latter take a look at our DSOL group.

Enjoy your coffee.


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Welcome to the forum Jerome - great story. If you are considering a Versalab, recommend you check out the HG One too.


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## jerome221 (Jan 23, 2014)

Thank you chaps.

Yes, there's so much to learn and this looks like just the place!

Hi Ronsil - I like lighter and stop just after the 1st crack.

regards,

Jerome


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Hi Jerome and welcome.......(we have chatted a bit off forum). Ronsil on here has a Versalab, and not far from him is a chap with an HG One (systemic kid). I am sure, with you being `southern based' there will be HG owners closer to you, so that you can have a look at one. The K10 is an amazing animal but takes a little mastering, as I have found out!

Anyway, welcome again and nice to hear your coffee journey!


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## DavidBondy (Aug 17, 2010)

Hi Jerome and welcome. I enjoyed reading your story and look forward to hearing much more from you as your journey progresses.

David


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Hi and welcome , training is always money well spent . If you still are looking for some ,there are people in your area that will provide one on one training In your house . Glenn forum admin on here is one of them .

Interesting journey in grinders you have there , and wow getting a second hand gs3 ,congratulations on that .!

Are you pairing it with any gridner currently ?


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## jerome221 (Jan 23, 2014)

Thank you everyone.

- I see from HG's order map there's a 1 in Wimbledon & I'm in Richmond. (http://hg-one.com/the-hg-one-grinder/order-map/)

- Current grinder is a K10 Fresh.


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