T.G.I.F. Good morning everyone

Sumatra dark roast coffee, Scottish Breakfast Tea and bottled Fiji water in the Break Room.

Take care and stay safe

I've just made my first really good cappuccino in my new automatic espresso machine. There's been a bit of a learning curve, I must say. I still wouldn't say it's as good as my favourite coffee shop but I'm getting there. The best thing is that it automatically saves your settings in separate profiles so once you've got it perfected, that's what you get every time.

Progress! I live for that perfect cup of coffee.

What machine do you have, hagatha? As you say, being able to save settings (as we can on ours, too) means that you can work out the ideal hit and then repeat it!

It's a Phillips 4300 Automatic. I bought it from a Canadian retailer, but you can actually buy it on Amazon.

I'm not at the perfect cup yet, but I'm closing in on it. I find that most of the drinks need an extra shot of espresso or ristretto. I'm playing with the ratio of coffee to water, the amount of coffee and the fineness of the grind.

I bought it because I was becoming too unreliable with my stovetop espresso pot lately, and kept boiling it dry. The day I put it on the stove with no water in it was the day I decided it was time to get a foolproof machine. My life is already stressful enough without burning down the house.

That's a good idea hagatha.

One night last week there was a loud bang here, sort of like fireworks but not quite. My brother ran upstairs looking at all the windows and then went outside looking at them. He thought somebody broke one. Three seconds after he came back in he was yelling up the stairs that he knew what it was. He had a can of cat food heating up on the stove and forgot about it, and the water burned away and the lid blew off - and the food flew. (He got in the habit of heating the food a little because in the winter it is quite cold downstairs and the food gels.)

That's a classy machine hagatha. We only have the 2200 series (with lattego) but love the fact that you can set the milk/coffee ratio to suit yourself and make a pretty large mug (unlike some other machines): my wife Linda likes a weak milky coffee, but like you I add an espresso shot to my latte or cappucino.

We have found that the choice of beans makes a huge difference, and our favourite so far are latte beans from Taylors of Harrogate: a smooth flavour but quite a dark roast (strength 4). We have also had good results with a mixture of very dark roast (strength 5) with a regular roast (strength 3), and we have not even started to try a different grinder setting yet...

Oldbroad that was a great cat food story: quite a shock for all of you including the cat, and quite a mess to clear up!

Good morning, Danish, Donuts, and Bagels in the Break Room. Fish Fry, karaoke to follow at the Eagles tonight.

Good morning everyone ... welcome to the weekend

Maple Bacon coffee, Scottish Breakfast tea and bottled Fiji water in the Break Room.

Yes it's time for chores, projects and relaxation when possible

Have an awesome day!

Lex, I'm really enjoying this machine. This morning I think I've hit upon the perfect combo -- a Latte Macchiato with the grind set to the finest, the amount of beans set to the highest, the milk set to the highest, plus a shot of ristretto. Strong coffee, but not bitter.

I buy beans from a Victoria roastery. All of their beans are what most people would consider a light roast, so for me they really are only good for espresso type drinks. Used in other ways they taste thin and pallid, but in a concentrated drink like espresso the flavours really come out.

I guess a machine like this would not be for me. I REALLY dislike any addition of milk to my coffee. I like it fairly strong and black.

Cloudy day with temps in the 80's. A nice change from days on end of 96°F - 100°F. Heading out to work in the tomatoes. The heat has been hard on them and they are not blooming like they should. I have lots of large green ones, so hopefully that will be enough!

sports and chores.

court shows and even perry mason, and chores, starting with perry mason, america court with judge kevin ross, the people court, judge greg mathis, justice with judge mablean ,the verdict with judge hatchett, judge judy. and chore. for tomorrow

Draclvr, This machine makes any kind of coffee, including regular coffee and espresso/ristretto without milk. I haven't tried it yet, but there is also an Americano setting, which is what I used to drink before I switched to cappuccino.


Roger's Telecom Has been down for two days now, and I have no phone, which is really frustrating. I use a different carrier for my internet and cable, so I'm able to communicate with the outside world, but I have an important conference call on Monday with my financial people, and I's starting to worry. If I can't make that call, there's a domino effect al down the line.

same thing.

same thing.

In a coffee shop I always go for a latte with an extra shot, so that is pretty much what I make with our machine, although technically it is a milky cappuccino with an extra espresso shot.

I had not heard of ristretto and had to google it...

Drac if you absolutely never use milk you could go for the basic Philips without the lattego attachment (and therefore cheaper): espresso shots or a longer black coffee both with size and strength adjustment to suit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npukTzXxQ0E
There is a milk frother, but that is just an attachment to what otherwise produces hot water (hot enough to make tea).

I haven't tried making just a regular cup of coffee in it. I might venture out tomorrow and buy some cream.

I like a long white coffee, not always frothy, and my large mug fits under the spout so I often just microwave the milk and then use the ordinary coffee choice on an adjusted highest setting, still adding an extra shot of espresso of course!

Encouraged by you, I have also ventured to slightly adjust the grinder...

Looks like being quite hot here today, but I must finish weeding the paving.

Good morning, Danish, Donuts, and Bagels in the Break Room. District meeting in Lockhart for the Eagles today.

Lex, once I adjusted the grinder the coffee strength became more like I would expect a shot of espresso to be. Also, the pucks look like pucks, not slush.

Now that the learning curve is over I'm really enjoying this machine. Apart from the coffee itself, my counter is no longer cluttered with a grinder and a scale, there aren't any coffee grounds to clean up every morning, and I don't have to worry about explosions! The machine itself is pretty stylish and looks good on the counter.

I was going to weed the walkway down the side of the house today but once again it's pouring, so I'll continue de-cluttering the house and getting rid of things we haven't looked at for years, small appliances and so on.

Just been watching the Wimbledon tennis final, and it may now have cooled off enough outside to clear those weeds...

Good afternoon Boomers.

I see Djokovic won. He and Nadal will be interesting to follow over the next little while. I'm afraid Federer is done.

Hagatha, as you say Federer has probably had his day, but there were a few interesting new talents on display including Sinner and Norrie. Linda is the great tennis fan in this household, but I am more than content to watch Wimbledon on TV with her: one of my daughters lives in London and went on Thursday of the first week this year as her husband's aunt is a member and therefore has a permanent good seat which she shares from time to time.

The weeding was finished, but I still have to finish brushing salt into the gaps to try to inhibit regrowth...

Good morning, Danish, Donuts, and Bagels in the Break Room.