adamgarretty.com

I'm going use to my strengths as a super-organised, filing, data-entering, admin for hire.

I still roast coffee and I'm setting up a side project with www.afreshbagofcoffee.com.

AdamGarretty.com will become my 'admin for hire' page. I am probably one of very few people who enjoys administration work. Organising my calendar and making sure that the last penny in household spending is logged is a task I actually like doing much to my partners delight.

I enjoy working for myself, gives me freedom a 9-5 job doesn't but doesn't give the security a salaried job would. A fine balance so as a sole trader in tough economy I'm going to walk the line of both. There is a market out there for casual administration, people who don't want the hassle of employing a part-time assistant but still reliable admin done. My natural ability to organise myself, others and offices I'm in is a skill that saves people money. I can sort out the mundane jobs that others neglect thus leaving them to do the skills that pays their bills. Employing me for an hour that saves someone else two or three hours is money well spent.

Since arriving in London I have been looking an outlet to sell my coffee beans. Because I am small scale and don't have the capacity to sell big I sell quality artisan and bespoke rounded up with excellent customer service and I wouldn't want it any other way.

From tomorrow (Tuesday 7th February) I will have a stall at Camden Lock Market. I am really excited about this opportunity and I will be roasting all day today (Monday 6th February) so I can have freshly roasted coffee beans only 24 hours old for sale. I aim to do the stall two or three times a week if possible, thinking a regular slot of Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

I still don't think you can beat the straight out of the oven beans and logistics means I can't offer same day roast on a stall but I hope the people of Camden and those passing through will like my wares.

Rating: 3.5/5.

Pros: Well built, good consistent grind.

Cons: Learning Curve, heavy, you need a strong arm.

I've used the Pharos hand grinder by Orphan Espresso daily for about six months now. I consider myself well versed in what it is like to use as your main daily grinder for personal use. It is available priced for $245.00 or EU €189.96 plus your relevant postage charge here at Orphan Espresso. I am based in the UK so I had to pay customs tax to the post office when it arrived and although I can't remember exactly, the charge was around £20 and postage was around $50 making the whole thing cost me around £200.  That is cheap for a quality burr grinder and this not something very many people will own.

The learning curve for the grinder is steep, so much so I don't feel comfortable leaving it out for guests to make their own coffee with so I pre-grind when we have people staying over. The whole device comes apart for easy cleaning and when you do this you can see the quality parts used and just how sturdy the whole thing is. You can also buy replacements parts should you need them but without mistreating the product I would fail to see there would ever be a need.

Adjusting to your prefer grind takes a little getting used to. Instructions are included and the Orphan Espresso website has tutorials showing you how. I actually set the burrs too tight on first use making the handle almost impossible to turn. After making everything a little looser and over a few days to a week of playing, the grind position has been set at my preferred level ever since.

The set of instructions are good and have been written to the layman which helps but a tip failed to mention is as you grind you pull up on the handle and have to keep a very tight grip of the whole thing. For your Turkish to fine grinds your arm will be aching at the end. Sometimes the beans don't seem to catch into the burrs as you turn so a quick push down and pull up on the handle sets the beans in position ready to grind.

Do I recommend this grinder?

Yes and no. Very few people will have this grinder, it looks the part and like no other appliance you'll have in your kitchen. It's big. It produces a quality grind, it's adjustable and for people like me who just love mechanical well built machines - it excites the inner coffee geek/snob (not a bad thing). I expect this grinder to last me well over 10 years it is that well built. If you are after a grinder just to get quick coffee in the morning and you're not intrigued by this product at all then don't bother, there are lots more products of a generic nature around for this. If you want something to show off with and be quite a proud owner of a coffee grinder and have the spare money, then get it.

I am looking for another grinder to replace this one?

Yes and no. I won't be replacing the grinder but I am currently in the market for a good bean to cup coffee machine. I am looking for second hand probably from a barista upgrading or something new generation that has a few cool gadgets without breaking the bank.

Don't use. I made a blog post around six months ago sort of praising them and while I haven't really kept up with the promises of having an active blog - i.e. at least a few posts a week I do have a website I want to keep alive. Zoneedit.com are managing my DNS as a way to bypass the premium service charged by uk2.net just so I can get tumblr to use my domain adamgarretty.com.

Zoneedit have been down several times in the last six months when I've noticed and probably even more than when I haven't. Their user interface isn't very easy for the layman and for me it's just another link to go wrong. Once I notice its normally around 24 hours before it's back up, if I was a super-blogger-who-relies-upon-zoneedit-to-make-a-living-guy then I'd be pissed, luckily I'm not.

The solution I've come up with is to eventually move everything including the domain to hostgator for the relaunch of adamgarretty.com. Hostgator hasn't been chosen out of any weighing up pros and cons of all hosting possibilities, but out of easy logistics for the person who is creating the new website. As always, do your research when you're looking into hosting - some are worse than others, some have features others don't have, jumping into the nearest convenience can cause future headaches is the lesson.

Coffee beans roasted less than 24 hours ago up to 50% on my ebay page http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/geeadamg/

There is a relaunch of my site due in April 2012, the current branding is being sold off but the same great coffee beans are still in the bag.

Coffee gadgets tick every box for me.  I'd love to be able to review them all but I just don't have the resources although it's something to think about for future developments of this blog.  I can only go on the best information I have to hand - i.e. the web.

This bean to cup machine looks like a great piece of kick at a very agreeable price ($249.99 USD) with a burr grinder and programmable types of coffee at the touch of a button or two.  Most bean to cup machines tend to be made for the catering industry and those that just want to make great coffee at home have to either take that plunge (along with investing £1500+) or do it all the traditional way which some will prefer as it gives them better control at every stage (sometimes machines assume too much).

Boing Boing have a discussion on roasting.  I don't use this method, I use I dedicated oven but for anyone who is after the next step of roasting you could try this.  You can also use a heat gun or a conventional oven if you wanted.  ALL HAVE RISK OF FIRE* and WILL CREATE A LOT OF SMOKE* so you have to watch the roast carefully.

You'll need green beans too, plenty available online but if you really struggle you could email me [email protected] and I might cut you a deal (can only send UK only though).

Anyway, roasting coffee is fun, try it if you're feeling brave but do some reading up on it first.

Had a few comments on the layout.

To buy coffee, use the yellow circles to the right.  They are external links and the coffee one leads to google checkout. use the dropdown menu at the top of each page for your favoured style of roast which will go to an external google checkout page.

I plan to tidy up the site a lot and I have been working offline to do this.  Feedback still welcome and thanks for continued support.