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Nuova Simonelli Mythos Coffee Grinder

Nuova Simonelli Mythos I
Today I took receipt of a Nuova Simonelli Mythos grinder, destined for Thieving Harry’s in Hull. The Mythos has become a bit of a big deal, some may say a game changer in the world of coffee. It most certainly has become a go-to grinder for any speciality coffee shop. We haven’t yet got the Mythos unboxed – a longer post about its benefits in practical use will come at a later stage once its dialled in and we’ve fine tuned the results we’re looking for. In the mean time, I thought it worth listing the key benefits as stated by the manufacturer, Nuova Simonelli.

Micrometric grinds adjustments

This system goes beyond the traditional “intermediate settings” allowing extremely precise grind size.

Special Steel Burrs

Long lasting, titanium and special steel burrs. Designed and built with innovative technologies that guarantee effective grinding and consistent grinding all through the day. Nuova Simonelli Mythos grinders are designed to avoid overheating the coffee, so preserving the organoleptic values.

Easy Maintenance

Nuova Simonelli Mythos grinders are simple to set up, easy to clean and quick to maintain. At each service a record is kept of the grinder’s settings so it can be quickly restarted, with no waste of coffee.

Multi-Function LCD Display

An advanced electronic system manages every step in the grinding, so the barista can control every function. A practical and intuitive control panel guarantees maximum flexibility of usage.

Residue Free Grinding

Nuova Simonelli Mythos grinders are designed to expel all the coffee from the grinding chamber so there is no residue. This guarantees ground coffee that is always fresh, long lasting consistent quality and also prevents the burrs from overheating. The specific angle of the burrs in the Mythos is designed to ensure that all coffee is expelled.

Clima Pro Technology

New technology with thermal stability system that grants maximum consistency of each dose.

Clump Crusher

Total elimination of static cling from the ground particles. The dose is dropped into the centre of the portafilter with less than a gram of grounds retained between doses, reducing the need to purge between doses and waste beans.

Ergonomic Front

Open lines of sight to the grounds dispensing and grind adjustment knob, along with the LED illuminated work space.

Stop and Go

Allows the barista to pause the dose and resume grinding, as desired.

Quietness

Mythos One total silence is mark of its superb technology, which is the combined result of using the highest quality materials along with excellent construction precision.

High production

The Nuova Simonelli Mythos grinds more than 18 kg of coffee a day.

Portafilter hook

Hands-free grinding increases efficiency of the bar.

Technical data

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  • Dimensions (mm-inch)
  • L: 188 (7 3/8”)
  • P: 400 (15 3/4”)
  • H:510 (20 5/64”)
  • Sylos (kg): 1,3
  • Weight Net-Gros (Kg-Lb): 22,5 (50) – 24,5 (55)
  • Burrs (mm): 75
  • Voltage (Volt): 220/230 V
  • Power (Watt): 800(50Hz) / 1050 (60Hz)

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Features

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  • Transparent bean hopper (1,3 Kg)
  • Clump crusher
  • Clima Pro technology
  • Stop & Go Barista Mode
  • LCD multilingual Display
  • Micrometric grinding regulation
  • Long life burrs
  • Working switch
  • Portafilter hook
  • Low profile
  • Cooling system

[/unordered_list]

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Sanremo Verona RS

Sanremo Verona RS

The Sanremo Verona RS was the 2014 UK Barista Championship machine used by all the competitors.

The Sanremo Verona RS takes even bigger steps into temperature stability. Warm water feeds the larger, insulated PID controlled stainless steel boilers behind each group, plus the addition of PID controlled heaters in the group head metalwork. The result is temperature stability to +/- 0.2C guaranteeing impeccable temperature stability, perfect coffee extraction and greater efficiency.

Another great new feature of the Sanremo Verona RS is the inclusion of soft pre-infusion. Here, a two way valve allows the barista to programme for water to be pumped to the group head at 3 bar pressure, before ramping up to standard pump pressure (usually 9 bar). The inclusion of this additional control makes to the baristas ability to manage extraction outstanding.

The Sanremo Verona RS now has individual displays located over each group head. The displays provide information on espresso shot time as well as real time group temperature. The main machine display maintains its position on the right of the machine, but is now larger and offers the barista even more feedback. Information such as individual group boiler set temperature, steam boiler temp, water level, along with vital programming and management tools.

Aside from the technological advancements in the Sanremo Verona RS, there has also been enhancements to the build quality. Group head boilers have been enlarged and are now constructed from high grade stainless steel, giving an even more desirable finish. The copper pipework has been insulated for greater temperature stability and thermal efficiency.

The improvements made to create the Sanremo Verona RS has made this machine a serious competitor in the speciality coffee industry and should be considered the front runner in a high end coffee bar.

Sanremo Verona RS

[tabs style=”default”] [tab title=”Specification”][unordered_list style=”bullet”]

Independent coffee and steam boilers
P.I.D. Temperature Control
Dedicated boiler per group head
Independent temperature per group head
Fresh water for tea
Programmable pre-infusion
On-off timer
Auto backflush cleaning facility
Espresso shot timer
Detailed audit trail
LED Illuminated panels & down lights
Triple level boiler safety systems
Copper boiler and pipework
[/unordered_list] [/tab] [tab title=”Variations”][unordered_list style=”bullet”]

2 Group
3 Group
[/unordered_list] [/tab] [/tabs]

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Sanremo Zoe

We decided to work with Sanremo a few years back as we were impressed with sponsorship of the UK Barista championship and level of technology available for their championship machine. Their range is extensive, incorporating espresso machines for start-up businesses and high end speciality coffee shops.

Today I’ll focus on our most popular machine, the Sanremo Zoe. You may see a number of these in coffee shops in Hull and East Yorkshire – please feel free to sample their espresso!

Sanremo Zoe 2 Group
Sanremo Zoe 2 Group

The Sanremo Zoe espresso machine comes in 1 group, 2 group and 3 group formats with an additional compact 2 group version. The innovative design for the first time amongst espresso machines, incorporates the frame as part of the exterior of the machine. This allows the machine to have a small footprint across all sizes. Another design feature sees interchangeable panels in a range of colours that can be coordinated with a white or black exterior frame. We have seen various coffee shops use the colour options to fit in with their shop design and interior colour schemes.

On the technical side, the Sanremo Zoe utilises a heat exchanger boiler to produce its espresso, rather than the Temperature Control System as seen in more expensive models above it. Irrespective, we can achieve very stable brew temperatures under regular use and some pretty tasty shots too!

So, if you’re looking for a dependable, stylish, keenly priced espresso machine – do consider the Sanremo Zoe.

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  • Unique monocoque construction
  • Selectable pre-infusion
  • Auto backflush cleaning facility
  • Double scale pressure gauge
  • Built-in volumetric pump
  • Copper boiler and pipework
  • Two steam wands

[/tab] [tab title=”Specifications”]

1-Group

2-Group Compact

 

2-Group

3-Group
width (mm) 530 530 720 950
depth (mm) 528 528 528 528
height (mm) 537 537 537 537
boiler capacity (Lt) 4.5  7.5 10 14
boiler power (kW) *2.15/2.6 *2.95/4.9 5.6
total power (kW) *2.35/2.8 *3.15/5.1 5.8
voltage (V) *230/400 *230/400 *230/400 *230/400
net weight (kg)  41 45 55 69

[/tab] [/tabs]

Sanremo Zoe 1 Group
Sanremo Zoe 1 Group
Sanremo Zoe 2 Group
Sanremo Zoe 2 Group
Sanremo Zoe 3 Group
Sanremo Zoe 3 Group

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Sparkling Water Decaffeination Process

The Sparkling Water Decaffeination Process was first discovered by a scientist called Kurt Zosel at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in 1967 as he was looking at new ways of separating mixtures of substances. In 1988, a German decaffeination company called CR3 developed this process for decaffeination, whereby natural carbon dioxide is combined with water to create ‘sub-critical’ conditions which creates a highly solvent substance for caffeine in coffee. It is a gentle, natural and organically certified process and the good caffeine selectivity of the carbon dioxide guarantees a high retention level of other coffee component, which contribute to taste and aroma.

The process is as follows:

  • The green beans enter a ‘pre-treatment’ vessel where they are cleaned and moistened with water before being brought into contact with pressurised liquid carbon dioxide. When the green coffee beans absorb the water, they expand and the pores are opened resulting in the caffeine molecules becoming mobile.

  • After the water has been added, the beans are then brought into contact with the pressurised liquid carbon dioxide, which combines with the water to essentially form sparkling water. The carbon dioxide circulates through the beans and acts like a magnet, drawing out the mobile caffeine molecules.

  • The sparkling water then enters an evaporator which precipitates the caffeine rich carbon dioxide out of the water. The now caffeine free water is pumped back into the vessel for a new cycle.

  • This cycle is repeated until the required residual caffeine level is reached. Once this has happened, the circulation of carbon dioxide is stopped and the green beans are discharged into a drier.

  • The decaffeinated coffee is then gently dried until it reaches its original moisture content after which it is ready for roasting.
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Hull Coffee Scene

When I started the company six years ago, it was with the intention to bring a small scale coffee roasting operation to Hull. To provide people with a selection of small batch roasted coffee, mainly through this website and a few market stalls that I did – Beverley Market, Humber Bridge Market etc. Roasting coffee was a hobby, an interest, but no thought was applied to wholesale coffee roasting. Why? Hull’s coffee scene was in its infancy.
Admittedly, it has only been since early 2011 that I have concentrated solely on roasting speciality coffee for Hull and the East Riding, but I have seen an upward trend in more quality focussed establishments. The city has an awfully long way to go yet. But we can now see a number of coffee shops considering their approach to coffee, beyond which milk based drinks to have on a menu. There are shops willing to invest in RO (Reverse Osmosis) water systems, temperature controlled espresso machines and grinders that grind on-demand. There is at least one shop distributing tasting notes with their beverages and an increasing number serving single origin filter/Aeropress brews. This makes me very happy.

Where to next? I see this trend continuing as we move towards 2017 and City of Culture status – an increasing number of coffee shops considering where and how they source their roasted coffee. Some may even take part in bespoke blend development or form a buying cooperative for certain micro-lots. I’d like to see greater understanding of coffee – the bean varietals, processing methods, altitudes etc and how these along with brewing techniques, will effect flavour in the cup. This will come in time.

The Hull coffee scene is by no means mature, but it has begun its journey towards what is expected in other major UK cities.

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Clean Burrs Extract More

I get to taste quite a lot of espresso throughout my working week, and when travel permits, on the weekend too. I visit various shops – some that are wholesale customers of mine and some that are not. I also drink espresso at the roastery too. It strikes me that the variance in ‘quality’ of shots received is huge. Some of this is down to choice of coffee, espresso recipe (different starting and brewed mass pulled over different extraction times), water, training or general aptitude for delivering a quality drink. These factors and more, form the basis of my espresso training in order to produce a set of procedures that a novice barista can follow in order to create a quality drink.

Whilst recently researching areas of development in my industry, I came across a great video produced by Colin Harmon at a Tamper Tantrum event. The video was aimed at introducing the Nuova Simonelli Mythos I grinder. Apart from the obvious brilliance in grinder development research, one point stood out as an action that may give every barista another tool in extraction, even if they don’t own a Mythos. Clean your burrs in soapy water.

Roasting an espresso blend, or single origin for espresso (and any coffee for that fact) is a pursuit of creating full bean development from the inner core to bean edge. If full development at your chosen roast colour is achieved, it greatly helps the extraction potential of that coffee. This is an approach I take to my espresso blend for the area in which I operate, Hull, East Yorkshire. We have poor water – high levels of Calcium Carbonate and a TDS value of 390 or so. It’s nearly impossible to get a light/medium roast to fully extract unless we install Reverse Osmosis. So I constantly look for inspiration from the industry to add to the extraction arsenal. I have tested the above method under RO and standard Everpure Claris Ultra filtered water. It works for both, with extraction gains of 1%.

Advice to all wholesale partners – clean your burrs daily and wash in soapy water weekly. Clean burrs extract more.

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GrainPro

I mentioned in the last post about green coffee, that our coffee gets transported to us in Jute bags with a Grainpro liner. So what is a Grainpro liner and why is most speciality coffee transported in it?

A Grainpro liner is a bag that acts as a gas and moisture-proof barrier which guards against the ingress of water vapour, while retaining low Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide levels created by the respiration of the commodity. They are made of tough, multi-layer plastic with gas barrier between layers of PE 0.078mm thick material. They are sealed using tie-wraps and placed inside an outer jute bag. The bags can be used with any kind of commodity, and in tests using coffee, the bags have been shown to extend the colour, flavour and aroma life of the coffee.

When I first started roasting commodity style coffee six or so years ago, all of the coffee I bought came in a jute bag with no Grainpro liner. I noticed that the coffee seemed to ‘fade’ within the periods of time they were in storage at the roastery. Admittedly, I didn’t roast as much coffee as I do now, so a bag would sit around for longer. However, since moving into roasting speciality coffee and the use of Grainpro for all the coffee, I’ve noticed that the coffee doesn’t fade. Now, I can’t say that the initial take up of Grainpro liners wasn’t instigated by me, but the work of our importers. However, Grainpro bag liners have become a prerequisite to my purchasing criteria of green coffee.

Every coffee that is listed on our site has been shipped from origin in Grainpro. This indicates that we are making every attempt to optimise the flavour profile of our coffee throughout it’s route to the roastery and whilst it’s warehoused with us.

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Green Coffee

Green Coffee
Although we operate a ‘by appointment only’ approach at the roastery, we often get people dropping in. This usually (if we’re not roasting) ends in a small tour of the facility and description of the processes involved in order to produce roasted coffee. Often people are keen to see (and handle) coffee in its raw state – green coffee. Most are genuinely surprised at the colour, and the fact that they don’t smell like coffee (think fresh cut hay or possibly peas). If we ever have a bag of naturally processed Ehtiopian coffee in store, it’s this bag and it’s boozy aromatics, that startles most.

With the above in mind, I thought it would be useful to post a photo of raw green coffee, or green beans as us roasters call it. The beans in the photo are from a washed Central American farm, Muxbal. You’ll notice that the beans are a green/yellow colour and look vastly different from the brown, roasted product that you may be used to. You might also notice that the beans are stored in what looks like a plastic bag, which itself is inside the traditional jute sack. This is a Grainpro bag, which is now commonplace as a storage method for the speciality green coffee we purchase. These bags form a moisture and gas barrier which protects the coffee during transportation and storage. I will post an article on the benefits of different materials for transportation and storage at a later date.

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Coffee Subscription

Coffee Subscription package by The Blending Room, Hull, East Yorkshire

Coffee Subscription
When we fired the roaster up on January 5, along with our weekly espresso roasts, we were roasting the first batch of coffee for our coffee subscribers. Don’t ask me why it has taken nearly six years to put together a subscription coffee package, but better late than never. From January 2015 onwards, each month we will select a coffee to roast and send out as part of our coffee subscription. Sometimes the coffee might be part of our range, often it’s a pre-release coffee, and sometimes we offer a coffee which is exclusive to our subscription customers.

With each coffee subscription we produce a newsletter giving additional information about the coffee we have sent. Our aim is to try and vary the content of these newsletters and include subjects such as coffee sourcing, roasting and brewing.

We hope that those who purchased their coffee subscription are enjoying their brew, and hope those to come do too!

Our coffee subscription can be purchased as a 3 or 6 month package through our website.

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Roast and Shipping Schedule

Moving to our new roastery back in November 2012 has brought many positive changes for us, including re-working our roasting schedule. Your webshop orders will now be roasted to order on Monday and Thursday every week. The order will then be dispatched by your chosen delivery method the following day, Tuesday and Friday. Your orders will need to be placed by midnight the day before roasting. Orders placed after 12am will ship on the next roast/post day.

You will also notice a positive change in our postal options. It is now possible to select Royal Mail Second Class postage as an option along with First Class, Standard Parcels and Courier.

These changes are reflected in our Shipping & Returns policy located here: