Thought it might be a bit of fun to think back over the year. I spent a large part of the year delving into brewed coffee. I bought several things like a Hario Switch, a new Cafetiere and loads of SO beans before I gave up and reverted back to blended darker roasts drinking americanos made with a shot of espresso and water! I had both a Niche Zero and Duo. I sold the Duo and replaced it with the Solo T64. I have thought about moving it on and going back to a Duo again but in truth, the Solo is spot on. Yes, it is noisy and to get zero retention you need to grind on the lowest 800 rpm setting then when the grinding has finished turn it up to the maximum of 2000 rpm and it blows all the retained grounds out. All of this includes Redspeed 64mm SSP burrs at an incredible price below £500. That makes it very hard to beat in my eyes.

So, if you can only select one item for the year, what is it and why?

https://www.suddencardiacarrestuk.org/2024/02/thank-goodness-for-madeira-cake/

    For me… I’ll be the bringer of doom and gloom… nothing really. I bought a Duo… in hindsight should have kept the Zero! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

    Ok… there’s one thing for me. 58mm paper filters on top of the puck. For a machine with a 3 way valve…. Best thing ever since sliced bread. I now backflush very infrequently. The water in my drip tray is pretty much clean!

      The Philos for me. On paper shouldn’t be anything but an expensive 64mm grinder but to have one grinder that produces very nice filter and espresso, back to back, multiple times a day, it’s perfect for me.

      Having said that I don’t actually remember buying much else other than coffee.

      La Marzocco Linea Mini - Mazzer Philos

      Ikawa Roaster

      I had a nice flat white at Starbucks on the M6 near Blackpool after a rather long day.

      I could be delusional, im sure all those words dont belong in the same sentence really. ☕😎

      Ade Smith. ACS Evo Leva v2. Kafatek Flat max 2, ssw 2024. Mazzer Philos, Craig Lyn HG-1 prime., WW key mk1.

      About Me

      dfk41

      Has to be the Evo v2 Or the Kafatek

      The philos and t64 were OK.

      Im hoping 2025 will be cheaper 😎

      Although as Jake put it “youre getting the evo 2 for free once you sell the syncka, evo1 and Vesuvius” . Thats how i got away with it when i explained the purchase to Jude 🥰

      Ade Smith. ACS Evo Leva v2. Kafatek Flat max 2, ssw 2024. Mazzer Philos, Craig Lyn HG-1 prime., WW key mk1.

      About Me

        Nothing on the equipment side. For us, Darkwoods coffee.

          LMSC just drinking a cup now!! Was a good recommendation.

          Ade Smith. ACS Evo Leva v2. Kafatek Flat max 2, ssw 2024. Mazzer Philos, Craig Lyn HG-1 prime., WW key mk1.

          About Me

              MWJB Another vote for Dark Woods

              They are up there as one of the most consistent top roasters in the UK. IIRC, it was @Systemic who initially brought this roaster to our attention via their yellow and purple fruits. 😊🙏🏽

                  dfk41 they sent out bags to a couple of us that were something like 4 weeks past roast

                  Not having a dig, because I also complained to them about this - to the point they ended up sending me replacement coffee with a more suitable roasting date.

                  However… don’t we all rest our coffee anyway? Sometimes for 3-4 weeks? I personally don’t rest my coffee for that long (1 week max) but one could argue that receiving coffee that’s “ready” is not a bad thing.

                      MediumRoastSteam I’ve never discussed this point with Dark Woods, but ever more roasters selling beans for filter are recommending resting for upi to 4 weeks (Curve and Prodigal for example, off the top of my head).

                          MWJB - I suppose the only thing is - and this was the point I made when chatting to them - is that most of us expect coffee to be roasted to order, and we, ourselves, keep our stock rotation bearing the roast date in mind. As I told them, I ordered one kilogram bag of coffee… if I had a family of 6 to make coffee for daily I wouldn’t bother with the roast date being off by 4 weeks… but for me, 1kg of coffee lasts 4-5 weeks.

                            dfk41 - purposefully doing it or not… what difference does it make to the recipient, if they were to drink it straight away?

                                dfk41 Find me a roaster who is consistently supplying better filter roasts?

                                For me, there is nothing more soul destroying than realising you are low on coffee, buying a bag to drink within the coming week & being told by the roaster it’s best after 4 weeks.

                                    MWJB For me, there is nothing more soul destroying than realising you are low on coffee, buying a bag to drink within the coming week & being told by the roaster it’s best after 4 weeks.

                                    In case of Darkwoods - I find it to be hit and miss. Some were bang on, some were over a week old - in the same order.

                                    When corresponding with them, I even suggested if they want to shift coffee already roasted, they could add as an option when buying for “rested coffee”, given the expectation is for always to be fresh. If I want to order coffee and drink straight away, I tick the box. Simples. So for me it’s not about being rested or not - it’s more about having a consistent approach.

                                    • MWJB replied to this.