Ponte Vecchio Lusso - advice please?

Moon

Pretty neat name Brett .. Redemption of the spro .. sounds more like a Movie rather than a bean. ;D Is it you who also drinks lattes or is that Lacehim? If so, how do you rate it as a milk drink? I really should make a note of who drinks what.

C-man

I don't know how to rate by numbers, but Jeff's Colombian is one of the best beans I have had from him and I have had many. The big mouth feel is like a JBM yet different. The big body and tons of crema is just delicious The flavors are hard to describe, Cacao and exotic unusual spice are a couple words that come to mind I drink it with milk as a creamy flat white, short blacks are good too. Highly recommended. Brett- Sounds like you got the Spro dialed in, you should grab some Colombian next......

Brett_H

Sounds like a plan C-man. The Spro was dialled in from the first shot... How fluky is that!!! In milk the redemption works, but I reckon given your tastes Moony I'd be grabbing that Columbian!!

C-man

Trust me on that one..

Moon

Howdy I have just received KK's Ethiopia Yirgacheffe in the mail today .. a very generous amount I must say 🙂 Can't wait to try these out .. although the minimum 8 day degassing period isn't until Tuesday .. I might get a sneak preview of things to come .. sooner than later .. like right now in fact. Of course I won't be posting my early impressions in here .. until after the 8 days are up .. and a little tweaking. With the amount KK has sent me .. there's no chance of running out before getting these babies sorted. Will be heading up to the Gold Coast next Thursday for 5 days .. and hope to be coming back with some samples of other new beans to try out using my new equipment. Knowing that you now have a good coffee machine and grinder .. it certainly takes bean hunting to a whole new level. Also, now having my gear for 4 months and getting past the initial teething problems, there is much more consistency producing the quality in the cup. I'm sure with more experience .. it can be improved further, only I am happy with the results thus far. I'm still pondering on the idea of getting a home coffee roaster .. although I'm quite happy to leave it to the experienced for the time being .. and simply enjoy the fruits of their labour. It's probably a good idea to hone your skills on your coffee machine, grinder, tamper before complicating things trying to get the roast right. I now believe, like other posters in here earlier were telling me .. that it is better to keep it simple and focus on improving certain areas first .. rather than trying to do it all .. as it makes it too difficult to know where the problem exists that needs improvement. Off to make that coffee now. I used to roast my green beans on my popcorn popper and cool them down with a small fan .. then grind 'em up for a coffee straight away .. or more often .. use them the following day. I'm glad I've moved beyond that practice. Thanks heaps for the beans KK :thumb:.. and looking forward to doing the reviews - (crikey .. I hope they're up there? I guess that's the risk you take) Edit: :thumb:

Koffee_Kosmo

No problem Moon the pleasure is all mine The beans are roasted on the lighter side as requested and noted in the post quote below Note - As a rule of thumb, the lighter the roast the longer it takes to degas and settle to the sweet spot

Koffee Kosmo wrote:

Today I roasted on the KKTO - a kilo of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Peaberry for review by member Moon I found a special reserved bag of Peaberry and thought it to be appropriate for this occasion Roasted to just before second crack Some will be sent to Victoria and a little kept for me to sample KK

Moon

Just returned home from the Gold Coast last night .. and seeing my sister is a huge Merlo fan .. I knew I'd be bringing home some Merlo treats. There were 3 Merlo bean blends - 'Private Blend', 'Riveria', and the stronger 'Forza' which I didn't get to try on my sisters 'Lelit' machine and Lelit grinder. After a couple of the Private blends .. it was noticeable that the grind was too course, so we set about adjusting the grinder 3 steps towards a finer grind setting .. that took the lattes I was drinking from a rating of 7.7/10 up to an 8.4/10 which were very nice over the following days. The Riveria blend rated similarly. Previously the pour had been too fast .. and the changed setting had slowed it down to about right, with excellent crema. As well as scoring the Merlo .. we went on a Coffee hunt .. and picked up 2 other bean blends. One from 'Ground Control Coffee Roastery' in Tweed Heads South. The other was an Australian produced blend from the local 'Zentvelds' plantation near Byron Bay NSW. Ground Control was the first stop, as we'd noticed a Coffee Roastery sign when passing by previously. It was located in a Semi-Industrial area and had a Warehouse Industrial theme going. They had about 6 different coffees on the counter of which I chose their house blend and a medal winner at the Golden Bean Awards from Peru .. for 2 lattes in smaller 5 oz glasses to try out. This place, the machinery, and the young Barista at the counter were mega serious about their coffee .. and they weren't all sizzle and no steak .. Man, I was blown away by their house blend named 'Major Tom' and as a result .. came away with a 200g bag to try at home. Shoulda gone the 500g .. only it was the first stop .. and needed to leave room for others. I didn't realize I'd hit the jackpot first up. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ethiopian Yirgacheffe - Day 17 (post roast) Back closer to home .. I have just tried KK's Ethiopian Yirgacheffe - which he generously sent a half kilo for me to try out and review. Thanks heaps KK. 🙂 It will take a little tinkering to get the best out of these beans .. so I'll start with my usual grind setting and take it from there. 18g Tamp - polish only at half full basket .. starting off with a lightish tamp when full. As I was taking photos .. I didn't get to time the pour. Required 2 full lever pulls to get the right shot volume .. appeared about 30ml The pour was too fast .. so I will try a harder tamp on the next one before adjusting the grind finer. Pouring too fast means that it will lack some body and flavour.. so until I can slow it down .. I won't be expecting great results. The result. Smooth .. a little thin, and yep .. lacking flavour. Rating - 8.2/10 [Harsh but fair - checkout under my username - don't tell me I didn't warn yers :angel:] First attempt - could have been a sinker .. so, although a sluggish start - it will no doubt improve. :thumb: * I'll check out the photos and if ok .. will post below Edit: I have attempted to post photos of the Ethiopian pour and result latte .. only it appears as though there is a problem with posting 2 thumbnail photos in one post. I will try again tomorrow.

Moon

Ok .. it's a new coffee day and started it off with some of the last of the Sirius Classic that is around 6 weeks post roast and still performing, as it has from day 1. Rating - 9/10. Consistently very nice. Needed to get the taste buds warmed up for another shot at the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe KK sent me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ethiopian Yirgacheffe - Day 18 Started with 18g .. only using a heavier tamp .. needed to top it up with another gram to fill the basket to 3-4mm from the top .. as I'm aiming to slow the pour down. 1st lever pull produced a rather slow shot of about 18ml .. so I did a 2nd to end up with about 27ml with ample crema. 1st pull took 30 secs .. 2nd 10 secs = 40 secs total. Microfoam was perfect and my latte certainly looked as though it should be good. Milk was heated to 62C which is just past the start of the blue wedge on my thermometer. My preferred drinking temp is about 58C First taste was bitter .. as is often the case .. but Wow, did this coffee impress from then on. Rating - 9.2/10 Smooth, full body, lovely texture .. and flavoursome. Delicious. Yep .. these babies are definitely up with the best of 'em. Nice one KK :thumb: Nice? Better make that - Excellent one KK :coffee2: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the next cup .. I'll be trying the Merlo 'Private blend' to see how that shapes up using my Ponte Vecchio Lusso & Compak grinder? With another 4 beans/blends to try after that ---> it's good Coffee times ahead for Moony 😛

Koffee_Kosmo

I did not want to post my impressions of the portion of beans I had, so it did not influence you I have another shot or two left but will give them till the weekend to sample them again For a single origin they are well balanced and will get better as you extract them better KK

Moon

Just tried the Merlo Private blend Medium tamp .. one lever pull with 3 fellini moves to get the air out of the cylinder - that produced a 25ml shot .. which, for Merlo - I figured was all that was needed. Mega crema and a great result Rating - 9.1/10 This is a full-on in your ~~face~~ mouth flavour .. although more superficial than the Yirg. I tend to prefer a coffee with more depth- which is why I scored the Yirg slightly higher. I look below all the sizzle .. for a bit of steak. So far my scorecard reads - in order of personal preference 1. mycuppa Guatemala (the old beans) 9.3/10 2. KK's Ethiopian Yirgacheffe - 9.2/10 3. Merlo - Private blend - 9.15/10 4. Sirius Classic - 9.1/10 5. mycuppa Guatemala (the fresher beans) - 9.1/10 6. mycuppa Barista - 8.9/10 ^ All very nice coffees right there Still to be tried and rated Merlo - Riveria Merlo - Forza Ground Control - Major Tom Zentvelds - Byron blend

Moon

Just tried a Zentvelds Byron blend 19g - medium tamp, double fellini .. poured slowly - 30 secs 1st pull + 10 secs on the 2nd = 40 secs total. Seeing I knew that Australian grown Coffees are on the mild side .. it wasn't a bad thing to be slow to extract more flavour. Heaps of crema. It had a full body .. and a flavour I couldn't work out. I had noticed a bit of oil on some of the beans. If this happens when I'm roasting .. I throw them in the bin. It's a timing thing... oops too long. Crikey - I'm not sure whether I like this coffee .. have to give it a few more tries .. to be fair ..especially seeing it's Australian grown. I like to support the Aussies .. even if it costs more - but only if they produce a quality product. Jury is out on this one.. For this point in time Rating - 7.6/10 That's a drink it or sink it score .. it didn't taste really bad .. a little strange .. a bit of a nothing coffee really. A Claytons coffee .. that's it - it's the coffee you think you are having .. but not 100% sure? No satisfaction there.. which is not good. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The story behind finding this coffee goes like this.. My sister knew we were going on a coffee bean hunt on the Gold Coast and had previously taken her Lelit coffee machine in for a repair which ended up being at the Zentveld Coffee plantation at the back of Byron Bay. She rang them about their coffee and was told that they had a Cafe in Bangalow that stocked all of their coffee. As we were in Terranora .. it was a 45 min drive. When we arrived and found the Cafe, there was a sign on the door .. 'Due to unforeseen circumstances the shop is closed' That's a wtf moment right there. After looking through the window .. we could see some movement out the back, so we drew his attention. After explaining our situation .. he told us that he was one of the coffee machine repairers that worked at the plantation. Must be the handyman .. cause he was there fixing the problem they were having with the power, which was why they were closed. Anyway, this friendly bloke invited us in after we said we were interested in purchasing coffee beans .. only had no idea of what type to get .. so this d00d started making me one .. even though they were closed. He loads up and starts the pour thinking he's making me an espresso shot .. when I told him I drink lattes - and couldn't tell whether I liked the coffee from having a short black. So .. after explaining that he wasn't the Cafe's Barista .. proceeded to finish my latte It was extremely nice of this bloke to go to the trouble and I was very appreciative .. only when I sat down at a table to drink it .. err .. my sister asked me what it was like. I said it's shidhouse and I can't drink it .. especially seeing I was on a coffee run and had a limit as to how much caffeine I can consume .. and didn't want to fill up on that .. My sister offered to drink it .. only I knew she had reached her limit and was feeling a little ill from all the coffee. I was looking at the pot plants to sneak over and pour it into while he wasn't looking .. when my sister figured out what I was planning - again offered to drink it. I ended up swallowing it down in a gulp or two .. can't remember .. I think my brain shut down for a few seconds there. Anyway, that was the house blend .. so I had no idea whether it was any good or not .. based on that experience. Funny .. as I handed back the empty cup .. he looked at me and asked me what the coffee was like .. which put me on the spot. I don't like telling lies .. but this Guy was so nice and obliging .. how could I tell him his coffee was terrible I couldn't .. so I said it was nice and then asked for 200 grams of a different coffee. I wonder whether he caught on? By the taste of the first cup of this Byron blend .. I don't fancy my chances of being able to say 'It was all worthwhile in the end' ... without telling another lie.

Brett_H

There's some lovely coffees on your list Moon! Thanks for sharing the journey :thumb:

Lacehim

Brett H wrote:

There's some lovely coffees on your list Moon! Thanks for sharing the journey :thumb:

Yeah, glad to see you back Moon. It's been too quiet without you. Sounds like your lusso is cracking out the shots! 🙂

Moon

Brett H wrote:

There's some lovely coffees on your list Moon! Thanks for sharing the journey :thumb:

The pleasure is all mine (<--- ~~stole~~ borrowed that line from KK) It's great to get to try out a few Merlo blends on my new setup. Apparently they have expanded their range. I'm also happy to be re-introduced to the Ethiopian beans .. as I had only tried them on my old Gaggia Baby, and was a bit disappointed at the time and as result - had been avoiding them since. I figure that with my new gear .. I should wipe the slate clean and discard any prior conclusions I had drawn using my inferior equipment .. and start off again with a fresh approach. Speaking of a fresh approach .. I reckon I'm in need of a few fresh celery & carrot juices to flush out my kidneys and liver .. as well as revitalizing my palate .. so that I can fully appreciate these new coffee beans I now have to try out. That was pretty full-on coffee consumption over the 5 days up at the Gold Coast. It was my nephews 21st .. and although they were overdosing on the alcoholic beverages, as you'd expect .. I was giving my Sister's Lelit coffee machine a solid workout and overdosing myself on the caffeine ... plus a few Bundy & Colas .. of course. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lacehim wrote:

Yeah, glad to see you back Moon. It's been too quiet without you.

Good to be back .. wouldn't want the readers to think I must've kicked the bucket due to caffeine poisoning .. this isn't really the place to be doing that sort of thing .. eh .. or is it?

Lacehim wrote:

Sounds like your lusso is cracking out the shots! 🙂

Hopefully I've got all of the personality traits worked out .. and we now have a very pleasant working relationship. No problems .. other than the steam valve sticking a bit .. only that is a minor issue that doesn't bother me. Other than that .. the PV Lusso is working like a charm. Insulating the boiler and not having the machine on all day appears to be the key to not having any internal heat issues. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Had another Ethiopian Yirg today. Did the double fellini (to horizontal) and the pour was 25ml using just the one complete lever release. Heaps of crema .. only due to the shot being small .. I didn't fill the cup up with milk. Rating - 9.1/10 This score is on par with the Merlo Private blend .. only they are completely different coffees. How's this .. *Merlo is the Rafael Nadal of coffee *Ethiopian Yirgacheffe & mycuppa Guatemala are the Roger Federers. Completely different styles that produce excellent results. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just to throw in another comparison The Ponte Vechio Lusso (single lever) coffee machine would be around $1,350 if available in Aus. My Compak Touch was around $500 Total = $1,850 My sisters Lelit coffee machine is around $630 in Aus .. and her Lelit grinder is approx $230 Total = $860 Using the same Merlo bean blend in both setups I rate the lattes I was making on the Lelit - 8.7/10 On my Lusso and Compak .. I rate the lattes - 9.1/10 For the extra $1,000 - the coffees produced go from very good at 8.5/10 to excellent at 9/10 The question is - is it worth the extra $1,000 for the better quality in every cup that you and your friends get to drink? For those who are happy with a really nice cup of coffee at the cheaper price - it would probably be no. For those wanting a top quality coffee each time .. and prepared to pay the extra for it - then yes, it is worth it. When I had my Gaggia Baby ($450) .. my aim was to eventually get a Rancilio Silvia and a Rocky grinder. Then I came onto this forum and CS .. and HB in the US to check out what the experienced coffee people were using .. and seek advice/opinions. A Silvia and Rocky combo was going to cost around $1,200 .. and I ended up spending $1,650. Do I have any regrets spending the extra $ to skip the Silvia & Rocky and upgrade to the PV lever & Compak? :rofl:

Moon

Ground Control - Major Tom - bean blend - Day 8 (post roast) $35/kilo + $7 postage (I'll add cost/kg + post when reviewing beans) This is a more moist bean blend - and pours well .. unlike those drier types that you have to tamp like a gorilla and they still pour too quickly in my lever machine. 1. Medium tamp .. 1st extraction (lever release) 20ml in 25 secs .. I err'd as to whether to go the 2nd extraction to top it up .. I did after 90 secs which is a bit too long.. and figure this will affect the result in the cup. Mega crema Result - 9/10 2. 1st extraction 25 secs and went the 2nd + 10 = 35 secs for a 30ml shot. Full-bodied, good rich colour, not quite as smooth as the Yirg .. although the microfoam wasn't perfect this time, which I find does affect the result. Result - 9.15/10 A tad smoother would have given it a 9.2/10. An excellent blend.

Moon

I emailed Glenn Anthony, the Master roaster from Ground Control to ask about ordering some more of his beans online .. as they are wholesalers. Glenn replied saying that ordering 500g would cost $7 postage .. and if I ordered a kilo he would keep it at $7 .. so I will shoot off an email later today to find out what the 'usual' postage is for a kilo .. in case it is more than the $7 I have included in the above post .. to keep it accurate in case anyone is considering ordering some. I also need to confirm whether the public can order .. or whether they only supply wholesale to Cafes/Restaurants etc. I intend trying another cup of his Major Tom beans for a second assessment before getting back to him later .. as well as brewing up another cup of the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. Hmm .. that's some top quality coffee coming up right there. :coffee2: ps. Looks like the celery/carrot system flush is on hold for the mo. :angel: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At the time I was at their Cafe .. I tried 2 lattes .. one was the Major Tom .. and the other was an organic Peru (kontiki estate) that had won 2 medals (not sure what colour) at the Golden Bean awards.. and were dangling down from the counter. After trying the Major Tom first .. the latte made using this poor medal winning bean was consumed without any lingering thoughts. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just had a Major Tom Pour - 1st extraction 25 secs + 10 secs for the 2nd = 35s for a 25ml shot. Rating - 9.15/10 Any rating of 9/10+ is a lovely coffee .. whereas an 8.9 drops off the pace. I'm getting more fussy in this group now .. which explains going to the 2nd decimal point to distinguish between the really nice pack scoring 9.1 and those I consider have the wow factor .. rating a 9.2. The Major Tom this time just fell short of that .. only I figure there will be slight variations between cups .. due to how my taste buds are traveling at the time, as well as preparation/extraction .. i.e. dose, tamp, pour time, shot volume etc. Next will be the Yirg. Yep .. some more joy to be had there. 😛

Moon

Ethiopian Yirgacheffe time My first attempt was a choker .. due to my cheap digital scales giving incorrect readings on bean weight, so I had to guess bean volume and packed the basket a little too full. I also made the error of tamping a little too firmly so as not to waste the excess grinds that would be left over. A case of false economy there .. as I ended up having to sink it and try again. For the second attempt .. I made sure the grinds weren't packed too tightly which resulted in a pour of 19ml in 25 secs from a single extraction. I decided to revert back to trying a piccolo latte (19ml in a 4oz/180ml cup) instead of doing the 2nd extraction to top up the shot to my preferred 25ml for the standard 6oz/180ml cup. The result made me wonder why I had decided to go for quantity in recent times instead of sticking with the quality that the piccolo lattes produced back in my early experimental days shortly after receiving my new PV Lusso machine. I guess I was trying to extend the coffee experience by sacrificing quality for quantity.. or perhaps falsely believing I could reproduce the flavour of the piccolo shot in a larger volume. It doesn't work that way ..as I have found out .. due to different levels/types of bean flavour being extracted as the pour continues. One member in here pointed this out to me a while ago. One advantage of having the dual lever model of the Lusso .. is that you can do 2 piccolos at virtually the same time.. when one is not enough. This is why I haven't warmed to the idea of drinking espresso ----> one sip and you're left thinking .. gee that was yummy .. is that it? What a tease that is. 😢 I'd probably have to roll off about 3 double shots for starters in the morning .. and end up with caffeine poisoning after about a month. Rating - 9.2/10 The Yirg seems a mildish bean .. although having it as a piccolo adds to the body. A quality coffee all the way down .. even if its life-span is way too short. It's back to piccolos for me. :laugh: I guess I'll just have to indulge myself a little more often. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I've shot Glenn from Ground Control Coffee an email to find out about whether they sell to the public. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Moon

ANNOUNCEMENT Tomorrow ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ETHIOPIAN YIRGACHEFFE and GROUND CONTROL MAJOR TOM go Head to Head in *THE GRAND PICCOLO CONTEST* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE GLOVES ARE OFF - IN THIS NO HOLDS BARRED SLUGFEST BETWEEN 2 COFFEE BEAN POWERHOUSES ... using the very capable Ponte Vecchio Lusso single lever coffee machine & Compak K3 grinder - in what is expected to be an eye-popping caffeine indulgence guaranteed to get my heart racing faster than Phar lap in his prime. *Must see viewing* .. don't miss it! :rofl:

Moon

Must be close to getting the showdown started for the PICCOLO LATTE CONTEST. In the Red corner we have YIRGACHEFFE single origin - weighing in at 18 grams representing Ethiopia. Winner of 6 medals in the 2013 Golden Bean Awards Gold medal - Filter coffee Gold medal - single origin espresso Bronze medal - single origin espresso 3 Bronze medals - Syphon Hmm .. none for milk coffees .. ok In the Blue corner .. we have MAJOR TOM blend - from Ground Control, representing the world with their all-stars blend.. also weighing in at 18 grams. The new kids on the block .. with no wins on the board, as yet. Let's just say - these feisty little fellas have bean all fired up, and have bean jumping out of their skins with youthful enthusiasm for their 2nd crack at some coffee action. This is a best of 3 round contest of heart pounding caffeine proportions - comprising of.. 1st round - double shot piccolo latte in a 4oz cup 2nd round - single shot latte in a piccolo cup 3rd round - ? - *let's play this one by ear. I'll have had 8 single shots by this stage *If I find myself being wheeled along on a gurney, and hooked up to drip .. I may have to go IV for the final round.. and as you would be aware .. that takes all the fun out of it.. and I doubt the medical staff would be too impressed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Round 1

Brett_H

We're waiting....

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