Today I finally found it, the perfect espresso bar towel. Isn't it pretty?



I also got a set of 6 for quite little money, and considering that's it's a designer brand it's quite the steal.

My towels are similar in color to that. I think they were organic cotton or something like that. Are yours?

What's the texture like?

Yes, Microfiber towels are very nice. They really clean a steam wand and are great for use on the brushed stainless. After a hint on TMC (Too Much Coffee) I bought a couple black 16"x16" microfiber bowling ball towels. They are really thick and work well.
HERE
I am looking for a place to buy a good dye to re-dye all the pastel ones I have like yours.
Thanks for the tip on H-B.
Cheerz
-Richard

shadowfax wrote:My towels are similar in color to that. I think they were organic cotton or something like that. Are yours?

What's the texture like?

Pure 100% cotton, just like my bath-towels and bath-robe (which incidentally are made by the same company) only a bit less fluffy. No microfiber stuff going on here, since it wouldn't like my La Pav very much. It also makes them easier to clean...

BTW, these are designed by a dude called Ristomatti Ratia (who's mother is behind the Finnish "Marimekko" brand, which I'm told is quite big in the US.)

Hi Stuggi,
My bad, I still like the microfiber ones.
Cheers
-Richard

I'm sort of fond of these, perfect size to use once and toss in the hamper and I have enough I never run out.

Ira

espressme wrote:I am looking for a place to buy a good dye to re-dye all the pastel ones I have like yours.

Coffee has been used as a dye for almost as long as the first to-go cup was served to some poor schmuck with a white tunic on an ox-cart. Not only would it hide the stains, but any re-introduction would just be touching up the dye job. Grind some old stale coffee, or better yet, save a couple weeks worth of pucks, and boil the lot with your towels. Use quite a lot of coffee per towel, especially if you're using spent pucks. Once it's boiling, dunk the towels, and let it come to a boil again. Simmer for as long as you can stand the smell of boiling coffee in your house, and let it cool. Dump the grounds/water on your garden as soon as it's cool enough not to scald your tomatoes, and then rinse the towels in cold water. If you do this in your kitchen sink, wrap your strainer in pantyhose or cheese cloth to keep the grounds out of your trap. It's better to do it outside, over the lawn, the garden, or a tree well.
VIOLA, unstainable coffee cloths!

Mine's a dark brown dish cloth I got from Wally World. Less than $2 IIRC. Shoulda bought a few for that price. Its grooved cotton on the front and some kind of plastic "scrubby" on the back. I don't use in on the steam wand. Just under the grinder and to wipe the counter.

I like the idea of microfiber, but its hard to find dark ones locally. Good suggestion, Richard.

espressme wrote:Hi Stuggi,
My bad, I still like the microfiber ones.
Cheers
-Richard

Yeah, they're great around the house (my mother swears by them, and they are really good), but as I said, they melt on the hot pavoni...

Psyd wrote:If you do this in your kitchen sink, wrap your strainer in pantyhose or cheese cloth to keep the grounds out of your trap.

I've been putting grounds down my drains for years and have never had a problem. Your post suggests otherwise?

It depends on how your house treats wastewater. In the US some houses have something like a mill that grinds down anything you put down the drain, in that case you should be alright. If you have a straight pipe under your sink (well, not perfectly straight, but without added contraptions bolted on) it's borderline, and if you have a trap under your sink (canister that you have to empty every once in a while), you shouldn't if you don't fancy cleaning that thing every month.

networkcrasher wrote:I've been putting grounds down my drains for years and have never had a problem. Your post suggests otherwise?

This would actually be quite a lot of grounds if you didn't stop it. Grounds can and will build up in the trap, 'cause they are by nature, sediment. If you flush when you put the grounds in, it isn't a big problem, but remember, I'm suggesting that you boil quite a few grounds with those towels. So yeah, that amount of grounds in the sink could create an issue.

But who does that laundry? And in what kind of machine?
I do all of my own clothes and I am responsible for all kitchen laundry. We have had an Asko front loader for many years. Great machine. It doesn't use bleach but relies on super hot water from an inline heater to get whites really clean. "Clean" doesn't necessarily mean bright white, though. while they're practically sterile after 205F for twenty minutes, the Asko simply cannot pull the espresso stains out of the big pile of little cotton tea towels I got at IKEA ten years ago. My coffee towels are kinda dingy.

david boise ID

I have two Cafetto microfiber cloths that do a fantastic job on steam wands. They're not cheap, but I have had them for two or three years and they look pretty close to brand new after having been thrown in the washing machine every week. Espressoparts is now stocking Cafetto products, so y'all up north can now get them.

Cheers,

Luca

bogiesan wrote:But who does that laundry? And in what kind of machine?

?!? Who are you asking?
In any case, I'd re-iterate soaking the towels in a ground coffee and hot water mix to dye them a uniform coffee brown. This way new stains don't show up, and older towels don't look dinghy, they look 'natural'.
What coffee shop are you working at? I'll send my nephew.

Do you have to restain them every time you wash them or does the color keep well?

Stuggi wrote:Do you have to restain them every time you wash them or does the color keep well?

I believe that the boiling "sets" the color in pretty well (like dyeing with a regular dye). I've been saving up my pucks since I read Chris' comment the other day, and I am looking forward to attempting to do this with my coffee rags soon. I'll report back after the experiment.

Nice if that works out, I might do the same to some of my towels so they look cleaner.

Stuggi wrote:Nice if that works out, I might do the same to some of my towels so they look cleaner.

I like that concept. Make something "dirty" on purpose so it looks cleaner! I will have to use this line on my wife, though I doubt she will buy it.
("Honey, I didn't clean the table because I am trying to make it cleaner")