Ponte Vecchio Lusso - advice please?

Moon · January 2014

The iced coffee sound very nice .. C-man's 2 scoops of quality ice-cream in it sounds most appealing to me. Other than latte .. my other favorite milk drink is a Banana malted .. with 2 largish very ripe bananas, milk or (Sanitarium) soy, 2 heaped tsp of Nestle's malt powder and 2 scoops of vanilla ice-cream... so you can see why I'm going with C-man's recipe. Lucky I'm not overweight - only let's not get into the cholesterol thing right now. Ran out of Coles vanilla ice-cream a couple of nights ago .. which is pretty rare these days .. only I'm reluctant to go down and get some more in this heat .. as refrozen melted ice-cream isn't that flash. Just plucked the last of the delicious Moor Park apricots off the tree this morning .. due to battling those persistent *Wattle birds wanting to poke holes in them all.. so I'll have to head down to get the organic milk and cream to make a few 1 kg tubs of home-made apricot ice-cream. Might as well grab some vanilla while I'm down there.. only I'll wait until the cool change arrives. Once it cools down .. I'll most likely be wanting a latte .. so the vanilla will be used for putting in cones, at least until the next hot day. Hmm? may have to get 2 tubs .. hate running out.. bit like running out of coffee beans .. well, maybe not quite that bad. 9 days past roasting is up tomorrow for mycuppa's Barista beans. Have to try them out to see how they're traveling? Unless they rate up around the 9/10 .. they'll be going back in the cupboard for a while longer? I'm getting more fussy these days. Haven't tried mycuppa's Costa Rica as yet. Since first getting a coffee machine .. about 8 years ago (a very cheapo hand me down) I have chosen mainly (roasted and green) beans grown in Costa Rica and Guatemala. * Left some for them .. and they've got my nectarines to look forward to. January is party time for the birds at my joint

Brett H · January 2014

I'd swap you my limes and passion fruit for stone fruit any day!! I am super jealous of stone fruit growing areas... Perhaps DX will plant an orchard next to his coffee plantation on his new farm.

Moon · January 2014

on 1389926658:

I'd swap you my limes and passion fruit for stone fruit any day!! I am super jealous of stone fruit growing areas...

I've got 2 nectarine trees .. (one planted from a pip) one white and the other yellow. My next door neighbor has the Gold Medal tree .. whopping big juicy yellow nectarines that I help take care of. My main concern is what to do with them all. Tree grown from pip is loaded but last year fruit didn't ripen on it. Thinking of grafting a few branches of next doors tree onto one of mine - in case the house gets sold? Heaven forbid, I may have to cut back on my coffees and start drinking fresh nectarine juice? Tough Gig I know .. but only temporary

hey, good for another one of those kidney/liver flushouts :thumb: Another 4 hrs and the heat wave ends .. then back to :coffee2: and making some stewed apricots to go with the vanilla ice-cream I'm picking up. Tried stewed nectarines .. nice but not in the same league as these apricots.

Brett Just wondering .. have you tried any of the Guatemala yet? (my 9 days since roast is up tomorrow)

Brett H · January 2014

Mooney, my parcel from Jeff has arrived 10 minutes ago :thumb: Off to try a Guat on the Pavoni Lever... Roast date 12 January. Smells amazing.

Moon · January 2014

Just arrived .. how's that eh.. My Guat was roasted on the 11th Jan .. so good they're they're virtually the same date. Yeah .. it's the most exotic, intoxicating aroma I have experienced - when ground. Good timing for the cool change - off to try a new blend myself that I've only just retrieved from the letterbox... been doing the icy cold Pepsi thing. It's time to get back to the real gear. I guess we can look forward to your first impressions shortly :P

Moon · January 2014

Hmm? Ol' Brettmate seems a little quiet? Don't tell me those feisty little Guatemalan brats gave him a hard time .. like they did to me when they were still teenagers? Nah .. surely not? :D I just tried a new blend that were interesting. Opened the packet and the beans had quite a nice beamy aroma .. but mixed in with that pungent vapour I believe to be Carbon Dioxide - escaping after beans have just been roasted. These beans seemed really fresh .. and wondered whether they'd been packed almost straight after being roasted and not given time to at least purge their CO2? Anyway .. pour was good, as was the crema, and after pouring the milk in the cup ..looked like it was going to be really nice? It was .. especially seeing this bean, and I'm only guessing, had not been given any time to rest. Rating - 9/10 Which was a pleasant surprise .. and given more time, will no doubt improve. It scored a 9/10 .. so where is ir going to go? It only lacked a bit of body .. and that chocolatey flavour. Apparently, it is a Guatemalan bean. Not sure whether it is a SO or a blend at this stage. I was given 250g to try .. and ended up a real rip snorter. Definitely be getting more of this as a blend that can be used straight away, and produce a high quality latte. :thumb:

Brett H · January 2014

Sorry Mooney, I kept you hanging. The Guat required minimal grinder adjustment for the Pavoni which is lucky as it's really only good for two shots. The second shot (first choked somewhat) was stunning in appearance and aroma. I made it into a Piccolo Latte and it was just stunning. Everything you promised Jeff has delivered!! I then went upstairs to my Diadema Junior Extra PID and got to try it out with the big boys. K10 grinder and 91deg on the dial, quick grinder adjustment and a perfect double ristretto. Creamy, smooth, rich and so unctious that my wife saw the look on my face and demanded a Latte... on the double (pun-ney guy)!! She too pronounced it 'quite wonderful'. My upstairs setup with the Diadema and the K10 can get great results from most beans thanks to the PID, Thermal stability of the machine (never a cooling flush :thumb:) and way the machine was set up in the first place. Results like these today however require pretty special beans... thanks Jeff, cheers Mooney!! :coffee2:

Moon · January 2014

Like mycuppa said .. [paraphrase] - when you get it right .. it's a cracker.. if you are a little off, it can bite you. Took me a while to get my act happening before I got to tame the wild beast and appreciate how good they really are Was certainly worth it in the end with top scores. Delicious. 8)

mycuppa · January 2014

Thanks Brett I have been sleepless all week worried about heat affected coffee beans as does happen this time of the year with beans in transit. You might like to try upping the temp as an experiment to say 93 degrees but I don't know your machine and every pid implementation can be different. There is a bit of green there for you to play with. Good luck.

mycuppa · January 2014

Moony 'old Chap Re: waiting for resting, etc. As you know, we have been through extraordinary temperatures over the last 10 days. These sort of things are not normal and despite our best efforts to mitigate and manage the preservation of coffee, the facts are temps above 25 deg play havoc with coffee. Your coffee may have got heat affected earlier this week. We have our cooling running flat out but once it gets to AusPost we lose control. Even your kitchen may be siting at plus 30 deg. What all this means is that normal rules do not apply. The coffee may develop faster ! Enjoy

Moon · January 2014

I suppose if people are worried about it .. they are best to avoid hot days as it's not that hard to check out the weather forecast. I'm fine with all that .. and having travelled a little further along the journey .. now understand the importance of resting the beans .. and that this varies. I'll be playing it by ear with the current lot and trying them at intervals until I feel it is about ready for some serious consumption .. and enjoyment. Who was it that advised - relax, breathe (Ol Grumpy) and patience grasshopper (hyphipharrar) ---> Excellent advice :lamp: Even some other beans that I had virtually written off were given another try in the last few days - and turned out quite nice. I'm putting it down to inexperience on my part .. and seem to be getting much better results now that my method has improved.. and getting to know my coffee machine and grinder better with more practice. I'm very happy with the way it is all going, as I have come a long way in the last couple of months .. and now living the Coffee dream. I'm now able to make some great quality coffees at home. :thumb:

Brett H · January 2014

on 1389957677:

Thanks Brett I have been sleepless all week worried about heat affected coffee beans as does happen this time of the year with beans in transit. You might like to try upping the temp as an experiment to say 93 degrees but I don't know your machine and every pid implementation can be different. There is a bit of green there for you to play with. Good luck.

Jeff, there is a very heavy bag of greens certainly more than I specified in the order. You are too kind!!! I'm going to roast today... I'll report back.

Brett H · January 2014

Okay, the Guatemalan pour at 93degC. Stunning taste thanks Jeff!! Before I'm rapped over the knuckles for off-topic I'm responding to the advice please bit with a video of my pour. My advice is even though it doesn't look perfect, this pour yielded a stunning tasting shot. [embed=425,349]

C-man · January 2014

nice extraction, next time show what's in the cup maybe

Brett H · January 2014

on 1390207515:

nice extraction, next time show what's in the cup maybe

Oops... The Mr D800 was on a tripod... My bad!!

Moon · January 2014

Day 10 Phew .. I didn't want to be the one to say that :rofl: Harsh but fair

1. Barista - 9/10 2. Sirius Classic - 9.1/10 3. Stewed apricots - 10/10

Brett H · January 2014

Right, huge step backwards in camera tech but here goes... Due to popular diss'ng of my previous video... Glass is a Pavina Piccolo. [embed=425,349]

Moon · January 2014

^ Nice one Brett Make a footnote in that little book - Moony didn't actually say it .. yeah?

Day 12 - Barista Day 11 - Guatemala Day ? - Sirius Classic Ratings 1. Barista - 9/10 2. Classic - 9.1/10 3. Guatemala - *9.2/10 4. Home-made apricot ice-cream - using Moor Park apricots from my tree out back - tba ---> 9.5/10 I'm guessing all 3 beans have some improvement in them - so top score is now 9.5/10 to allow the comparisons to be more accurate. *Current Guat rating of 9.2/10 isn't quite as good as previous 9.2/10 .. but seeing the other 2 scored 9 & 9.1 .. the Guat was slightly better at this stage.. so had to give it a 9.2/10 (previous top score) Update 5. Guat - 8.9/10 Think I was a bit generous with the previous 9.2/10 The other 2 bean blends are a tad better at this stage. Imho .. the Guat has not matured enough yet .. very smooth but lacks the full body .. and no hint of chocolate yet. Last batch .. peak started from Day 17 .. will keep an eye on its progress.

C-man · January 2014

Brett really nice!

Naki^chap · January 2014

Nice one Brett :thumb: What basket are you using ?.

Brett H · January 2014

on 1390309068:

Nice one Brett :thumb: What basket are you using ?.

Thanks guys! 18g VST of course. I love it!

Moon · January 2014

Day 14 - Barista Day 12 - Guat 1. Barista - 8.9/10 2. Classic - 9/10 3. Barista - 8.9/10 4. Guat - 9/10 Wonder which one will jump out of the blocks first? Pleeeease .. give me a 9.2/10 one of youz Guys.. Breathe .... patience Grasshopper :angel: Yeah .. I know.

C-man · January 2014

on 1390344713:

Thanks guys! 18g VST of course. I love it!

Brett, are you dosing low with a fine grind or what?

Moon · January 2014

Day 16 - Barista Day 14 - Guat

Yesterdays results 1. Barista - 9/10 2. Classic - 9.1/10 3. - Guat - 9/10

Todays 1. Barista - 9/10 2. Classic - 9.1/10 3. Guat - 9.25/10 Ooooh .. Guat was the mover and takes a clear lead with large crema .. and very smooth.

Moon · January 2014

Seeing the Guat is coming to Moony's party .. I thought I'd take some photos to share.. I remember a few months ago seeing a photo that Jack from Sorrentina posted of a shot from his Ponte Vecchio Lusso .. and looking at it .. I must admit .. it was mass envy. The photo wasn't much different to these..

Moon · January 2014

Here's more.. This is what a mycuppa Guatemala looks like that rates a 9.2/10 It's a cracker .. trust me ;D * The light has bleached the colour of the coffee in the cup.

Brett H · January 2014

Looking terrific Moon, and a 9.2 no less! Terrific mate!

on 1390506957:

Brett, are you dosing low with a fine grind or what?

Hi C-Man, 20grams in the 18gram VST basket and adjust the grind as needed. If you start varying the dose in the VSTs you're in for a whole world of pain in my limited experience.

Moon · January 2014

Day 18 -Barista Day 16 - Guat Tastes like Barista is starting to peak .. true to form .. last time Day 17 .. this time Day 18. Need a few more tastings to confirm. Slight chocolate coming through now. 1. Barista - 9.1/10 2. Barista - 9.1/10 Damn .. I'm gonna have to make a Classic and a Guat today - just to taste how they are traveling? Tough gig I know.

ash · January 2014

Moon, I have no idea how you manage to do this day after day..... :rofl: It is an interesting journey into coffee that you are making here - long may it continue! I hope you manage to tough it out.... :coffee2:

Moon · January 2014

Hi ash What's happening with your PV Lusso .. have you sold it .. or did you decide to keep it? I sent some d00d looking for a 2nd hand Lusso your way not that long ago. Just made a Guat .. oh Man Rating - 9.3/10 Ahhhh .. a 9/10 Guat .. to calm the inner beast :angel: Actually .. I'd put the last Barista @ 9.1/10 ahead of this cup of Guat. That Barista was pretty damn tasty

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