Tom's Coffee Corner

Do you like crema? I found a bean that gives ri-donk-u-lous crema: Caffe Borbone Espresso Intenso. It's made up out of a premium mixture of robusta beans, for a creamy espresso (their words). Check the pics below, it's quite nuts.

The bag I bought from Amazon is 4 weeks old, and the results are good. Yes, it makes crazy crema, but it also tastes quite good. It's creamy, a little spicy, slight notes of chocolate. Roasters have to be careful with 100% robusta, because it can quickly taste woody or earthy if the blend is off, but this blend is quite good, imho. They also make a straight up arabica bean, if that's more your bag.

Caffe Borbone Espresso Intenso: amzlink.to/az0P10rtkNDel

Caffe Borbone Arabica: amzlink.to/az07fKLLaSKdA

Have any of you guys tried these Borbone beans before?

Robusta beans by the way grow at between 200-600 meters, and have more caffeine, which acts as a natural repellent to bugs. So, make sure there's a toilet near by, lol.

*DISCLOSURE: The above Amazon link lead to Amazon, and since I am an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

1 week ago | [YT] | 160

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Tom's Coffee Corner

Happy Mother's Day, and thanks for 200k!

As it turns out, the channel hit 200k subscribers during the night turning over into Mother's Day. Pretty cool milestone, and I would like to write this post as an homage to my mom.

My mom was most influential in my life, raising my sister and I, as a single mom. She always believed in us, pushed us to be ambitious, and was our biggest cheerleader. She encouraged me to go into engineering, and though it was never easy, it is quite an interesting field, which has brought me lots of opportunities.

But most of all, my mom showed my sister and I nothing but love. Always super encouraging, and warm, and goofy, and loving. She's definitely unique, and I'm glad she's help shaped me a lot to be who I am.

After college I was still however a work in progress, and my poor wife had a lot of shaping to do, too. She's great to me, and a great mom to our kids.

Therefore, I'd like to say a very happy Mother's Day to any mother's out there, and to all those that benefit from their mothers. There's nothing quite like a mother's love.

Finally, thanks to everyone who watches the channel. 200k is quite the milestone, which I'm honored to have received.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 560

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Tom's Coffee Corner

Amazon has quietly put a BUNCH of Delonghi machines on sale recently. If you've been on the fence about the superautomatic, they're basically all on sale, as of the writing of this post.

In my opinion, the Magnifica Evo Next is the best deal, and savings range from I think 20-30% off.

They also have a few other machines on sale, like the Linea Classic and Stilosa, which is nice.

Check out the (Amazon affiliate*) link below if you want to see the deals:

► Delonghi May Deals: amzlink.to/az0dPcgEoA1h9

I think the Magnifica Plus is the best all'rounder for me, but if you want cold drinks the Eletta could be an option, and I know some people quite like the Rivelia for its swappable hoppers.

Which do you like best?

*DISCLOSURE: The above Amazon link lead to Amazon, and since I am an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 80

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Tom's Coffee Corner

The Ninja Luxe Cafe ES601 is back in stock now. It's quickly become a bestseller on Amazon, outselling similar machines by Delonghi and even Breville. I also gave it a great rating, for the fact that it outsmarts its competitors in a few ways.

Firstly, it places the thermoblock right on top of the brew group, warming the brew group and portafilter. Excellent. It is also more capable of auto milk frothing, since it uses a wheel whisk in the milk pitcher. It therefore makes better milk than Delonghi or Breville.

Not to mention, it's more flexible, with cold drinks and filter coffee, and it's priced cheaper than Breville and Delonghi. I feel like Ninja hit it out of the park with this one.

It's a no-brainer, even at its full price. Check it out below if you want.

► Ninja Luxe Cafe ES601: amzlink.to/az08Q12JdJl7o

Who of you guys have this machine, and what are your favorite features, and pet peeves?

*DISCLOSURE: The above Amazon link lead to Amazon, and since I am an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 93

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Tom's Coffee Corner

I always talk about how it's important to use good coffee beans. The most important factor in getting good aroma and crema is using freshly roasted beans, and the easiest way to find these, is to find a local roaster.

One of the local roasters I like is called Stone Creek Coffee, out of Milwaukee. I've tried several of their roasts, and they do well for me. Their dark roast is very robust and chocolatey, and gives major crema. Their medium roast is nice too, and can be used for pour over, or for experimenting with on espresso with a longer pull.

Check them out below if you like, or look for a local roaster in your area.

Stone Creek Coffee Cream City: amzlink.to/az09NS4lQ6gH1

Stone Creek Coffee 3 Volcanoes: amzlink.to/az0KB3KR0vUFQ

By the way, what's your favorite local roaster?

*DISCLOSURE: The above Amazon link lead to Amazon, and since I am an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 51

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Tom's Coffee Corner

Hey guys, I really do think the most important espresso tool to have is a digital caliper tool. With one of these, you can accurately measure the inside of your baskets, but also their depth, and their outside lip diameters. These are great measurements to be able to make when searching for after market baskets that fit properly in your espresso machine.

A caliper tool is also great to have in general at home, as they can be used for measuring other small distances accurately. I use mine every week for measuring small things, as it works way better than a ruler or tape measure.

Anyway, Amazon has got a highly rated one here you can check out of you like:

Hardell digital caliper: amzlink.to/az0CsUCMTp7vw

Below is a picture of the Hardell, and also how I measure the inside and outside of a basket for the Flair 49 Pro. It's pretty easy to do with digital readouts.

*DISCLOSURE: The above Amazon link lead to Amazon, and since I am an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 44

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Tom's Coffee Corner

Happy Easter, everyone! I'd like to wish you all a happy, healthy and blessed Easter weekend, hopefully with family and friends.

Each year, my wife bakes an Easter braid, an Easter lamb, and of course we color eggs with the kids - nice traditions.

Our church also does an Easter service starting before dawn with a fire, which is cool, but I will definitely need my coffee first!

Does anyone else have similar traditions?

Again, hope you all have a great weekend!

-Tom

1 month ago | [YT] | 279

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Tom's Coffee Corner

Which machine should I open tomorrow? I might do a live video with unboxing and setup.

2 months ago | [YT] | 28

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Tom's Coffee Corner

AMAZON BIG SPRING DEALS ON NOW!

Well, I will be honest. Some stuff is on sale, but these are not rock bottom prices, and some of the stuff is not even hardly marked down at all.

But, Delonghi has some stuff at pretty good prices, and Breville has a couple things too. These prices aren't the lowest I remember, but they're better than full price.

I'd say the Opera is probably the best deal on here, from what I remember. What do y'all think?

I've curated a list here: amzlink.to/az0iHfDCF9o7P

*DISCLOSURE: The above Amazon link lead to Amazon, and since I am an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

2 months ago | [YT] | 44

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Tom's Coffee Corner

Did you know that most baskets are bigger than advertised? For example, E61 portafilters generally have 58.5mm baskets (picture 2 below), not 58mm. Delonghi is also slightly larger than 51mm. Even the recent Flair 49 Pro is actually closer to 51mm (picture 3 below).

For that reason, precision tampers are important, to be able to tamp the whole surface, and not leave coffee powder on the ridges of the basket.

One of the first manufacturers to do this, long ago, was Motta. They made a nice 58.4mm tamper with stainless steel base and wooden handle. These are made in Italy.

These days, there are some more as well, but Motta was the first I saw.

Check them out below if you like:

Motta 58.4mm: amzlink.to/az0Mb8rsAVHhv

Which precision tamper otherwise is your favorite?

*DISCLOSURE: The above Amazon link lead to Amazon, and since I am an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

2 months ago | [YT] | 87

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