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Have you tried a tbsp or two? Is more merrier?

I can afford the chemex but I might ask somebody for it for my birthday and just be patient and use my cheap Melitta pour over for now. Can somebody give me a good starting number on the baratza virtuoso for grind, thanks.
 
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1/2 Tbs for my beans and 2oz for me!
 
applescrap said:
Have you tried a tbsp or two? Is more merrier?

I can afford the chemex but I might ask somebody for it for my birthday and just be patient and use my cheap Melitta pour over for now. Can somebody give me a good starting number on the baratza virtuoso for grind, thanks.
Click to expand...
The Baratza products are tough to suggest settings for because they can be calibrated pretty differently from model to model. On my Encore I used 24 or 26 for Chemex... Not sure that's relatable on virtuoso, especially with varying calibration.
 
@applescrap - when did you get a Virtuoso? I had one for a year & remember it being terrific.
Consider a plastic V60 brewer with Hario branded filters. I highly prefer it to the HEAVY Chemex paper filters. The Able Kone will also fit in the V60 brewer.
 
applescrap said:
I can afford the chemex but I might ask somebody for it for my birthday and just be patient and use my cheap Melitta pour over for now. Can somebody give me a good starting number on the baratza virtuoso for grind, thanks.
Click to expand...

I have been using French press exclusively, but I have had some Chemex brews and liked them. I recently ran across a Mellita I forgot I had, and I've been thinking about a showdown between it and the FP. If the Mellita wins, I would consider a Chemex. I have two questions:

1) Could there be a discernible difference in taste between a Mellita and a Chemex brew?
2) Do paper filters negatively affect the taste?

I can't decide if I'm really tasting the paper or its effects, or if I'm just imagining it.
 
Minky said:
I have been using French press exclusively, but I have had some Chemex brews and liked them. I recently ran across a Mellita I forgot I had, and I've been thinking about a showdown between it and the FP. If the Mellita wins, I would consider a Chemex. I have two questions:

1) Could there be a discernible difference in taste between a Mellita and a Chemex brew?
2) Do paper filters negatively affect the taste?

I can't decide if I'm really tasting the paper or its effects, or if I'm just imagining it.
Click to expand...
Mellita and chemex will taste different becuase of the filters. Chemex has thick paper filters, and mellita filters are comparatively thin. Whether you consider this positive or negative depends on your taste.

I used a swissgold filter for years before switching to mellita filters in my technivorm. I don't know that i consider one better than another, but they are different.

I generally like chemex better than french press, but there are some coffees that I've brewed both ways and prefer in the french press. I think i like the process with the chemex better, which is part of the whole equation.
 
jammin said:
@applescrap - when did you get a Virtuoso? I had one for a year & remember it being terrific.
Consider a plastic V60 brewer with Hario branded filters. I highly prefer it to the HEAVY Chemex paper filters. The Able Kone will also fit in the V60 brewer.
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Cant quite recall when I got it, but have had it for a while now. I got it used on Craigslist for $100 and it strikes me as being a little beat up and it still works awesome. I have become a huge baratza fan because of it. He had upgraded it to the preciso burrs and the steel Paddle Wheel. It's been a real pleasure to use. I opened it up when I first got it and familiarized myself with it's insides and confirmed that he had calibrated it to the finest setting inside. I remember you recommending the V60. I like the cmex because it can Brew 3 or 6 cups at a time. Is there a bigger V60? Does that able Kone make better coffee or is it just convenient? I don't like cleaning out the reusable screens and prefer to just throw away a filter but as you know I'm a willing to try about anything.

Take a look at this cold brew. I don't think the light is very good on it but I wanted to show how rich and dark this cold brew was. I took this picture immediately after I put the water & coffee in and shook it for a few seconds. After a 12-hour rest on the counter you can imagine it got much more extracted. I remain convinced that this is an excellent Brewing method.
20180313_214510.jpg
20180313_214501.jpg
 
^thats a great deal on that Virtuoso. I haven't heard you mention much of it - how do you like it?

applescrap said:
Is there a problem with using different filters in different systems?
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You will want the correct filters for the intended brewer - only based on shape though. V60 is a pointed cone unlike the Melitta style filter which is blocked off towards the bottom. I think you could make the Melitta's work in a V60 in a pinch but I don't think a V60 filter would work in a Melitta. The V60 would theoretically work in a Chemex but depending on brewer size the filter probably wouldn't go all the way up to the top of the brewer. In any case, Hario branded V60 (white, not unbleached) paper filters are great. Best quality of any brand regardless of style that I've used. I'm not a fan of Chemex filters. The thick bonded paper can make it difficult to keep draw down times under 4 minutes, especially with dry processed Ethiopian coffees.

Speaking of Ethiopian coffees - @applescrap 's favorite Konga just posted up again @ Roastmasters. Looks like a fresh crop & the description on it sounds amazing. I put in an order for a few of their coffees but passed on it this time as I still have some leftover & have been through a few pounds already.

I have had my eye out for a good washed Yirg for quite some time - finally found one that sounds good:
Ethiopia Yrgacheffe Kochere "YirgZ"
"This is grade 1, and an especially well sorted lot. This lovely example of Yrgacheffe is floral and has chocolate mouthfeel. Just about zero defects in this coffee to extreme sorting which is time consuming and costly but worth the results. Read the full details."

Full order details:
LzttKqU.png
 
Good looking out, i want both those coffees. I still have konga but am realising even as great as it is, I am wanting something different.

Yeah such a good deal. I have been loving it. It gets by for now with esspresso and has been a real pleasure for cold brew. I am grinding drip and esspresso at 4ish. Since I only brew 3 cups or so at a time the finer grind has been ok for drip. It grinds quick which is nice. I dont use the basket and have a metal 1/3 measure under it. The dust buster fits in it and cleans up quick. I like not worrying about it because I have nothing in it. If I had that scale under it, that would be cool. Overall, super glad I took yours and everyone elses advice on getting it. Good luck to get a deal. I hope to get a dedicated espresso grinder some day, but I think this could suffice pour over and drip for longer term. Wish it had easier hopper bean changing, but that hasnt bothered me. Any thoughts on pour over number? I cant wait to try melita tomorrow. I have a hot shot that boils water super quick.

Lastest roasts have been fast again and I taste to much scorching. Need to find that sweet spot between too fast and too slow. Side note, I am worried about the bread pan material that i didnt sand blast off. Man i hope that stuff isnt toxic.
 
Roasted another batch of the local roaster beans yesterday. Co-roast of 10oz Guatemala and 6oz organic Nicaragua. This time, thanks to my thermoprobes, I was able to pull before overroasting and the result in the cup today was very favorable though the aeropress. Hints of chocolate and caramel and a creamy mouth feel I wasn't expecting. My first impressions I will say must have been skewed by a poor roast job on my part. At $7/lb I think it is only slightly overpriced, but I have to keep in mind he is re-selling from a vendor to make a profit. I could see keeping this as a "house blend" and selling for around $12/lb roasted easy. This blend would pair really well with cigars (another hobby of mine) and I know a few people with shops I could market this coffee to to help fund my habit and equipment upgrades.
20180317_130852.jpg
 
Well I replaced my drip coffee pot with the Bonavita BV1900TS and made a pot this morning. The coffee was excellent, even with a nasty cold. I’m just sad the coffee maker is so small 8 cups/1.3 liters. I feel like my wife and I will be drinking two pots from this new machine every morning and doubling the amount of coffee beans we use.

Now this really makes me want to upgrade to a larger roaster if we do drink two pots each morning.
 
pshankstar said:
Well I replaced my drip coffee pot with the Bonavita BV1900TS and made a pot this morning. The coffee was excellent, even with a nasty cold. I’m just sad the coffee maker is so small 8 cups/1.3 liters. I feel like my wife and I will be drinking two pots from this new machine every morning and doubling the amount of coffee beans we use.

Now this really makes me want to upgrade to a larger roaster if we do drink two pots each morning.
Click to expand...
Don't be sad, be excited for the opportunity to upgrade!! I'm all for enabling
 
As a novice to brewing a quality cup of coffee, what equipment, beans, roast, advice would you all recommend?

I currently have a 8 cup french press for my weekend coffee. I buy a lb from the store and grind it at the coarsest setting. That pound will usually last me 6 weeks, which is definitely not ideal for freshness I know. I am looking at getting a cheap burr style grinder in the near future and then going from there.
 
^^still thinking about your questions.

So I roasted a pound of konga last night and did half power, level 3, low fan, for 4 minutes. Then I raised it to 4 out of 6 bars low fan for 4 minutes more. Then five out of six and high fan. But the roast just seemed to drag on. At some point I put it up to 6 but realized I didn't want to go that high and brought it back down. I was on the Trier the whole time. The coffee looked very consistent and it was changing beautifully and consistently. But it just kept going. I dont think I heard any cracking but it just kept getting darker. There was a point I should have pulled it but I was waiting to hear some cracking. Finally I decided to pull it as it was obviously getting darker than i wanted. For this kind of roasting a thermometer seems an absolute. I normally use the sound of the 1c and my senses but this was harder. Overall, i am curious how it will taste and feel like I my time is more important.
 
Sbe2 said:
As a novice to brewing a quality cup of coffee, what equipment, beans, roast, advice would you all recommend?

I currently have a 8 cup french press for my weekend coffee. I buy a lb from the store and grind it at the coarsest setting. That pound will usually last me 6 weeks, which is definitely not ideal for freshness I know. I am looking at getting a cheap burr style grinder in the near future and then going from there.
Click to expand...

Run and hide your wallet. Once you start with this, it's just like homebrewing beer - it's a rabbit hole of spending money! But, just like homebrewing, it's very rewarding, too.

My advice (keep in mind I started this recently, back in October) is just like for brewing - read, read, read and learn.
 
Apple, I had a similar roast one time on Konga that I took really slow accidentally. I thought it was ruined but tried it anyways and it was like a chocolate milkshake. One of my best roasts with that bean, so hopefully you have similar results. (assuming you like chocolate milkshakes)
 
@Sbe2 I would also recommend reading a lot, but also taking everything you read with a grain of salt. There are, reportedly, over 200 chemical compounds in a coffee bean, which leads to a lot of different possible things people can taste.

If you're looking for brewing tips, I'd personally advise getting a Burr Grinder if you don't have one already. Plan to spend at least 100 for a quality entry level grinder.

Next, freshness is key. I don't drink any coffee over 10 days past its roast date unless I'm desperate.

Similarly, only grinding what you are going to brew in the following 10 or 15 mins.

French Presses are great, but you can get completely different flavors from a cone brewer such as Melitta (sold at any grocery store), Hario V60, or Chemex just to name a few.

I think it's important to weigh your beans and water, I use a 16 to 1 ratio water to coffee.

Finally, brewing temp is also important. For African coffees I usually use a temp of 201 and for Centrals I use 203 to 205.

But this is just one guys opinion so feel free to challenge it like I said in the beginning haha.
 
@HarborTownBrewing thanks for the advice. One thing I was looking to invest in was a burr grinder. Is a manual one a worthy choice or should I just go electric right of the bat?

Who is a good source for roasted beans? Should I buy from the store first and see what I prefer? It’s like when I first started homebrewing haha

Is there a Palmer equivalent book for brewing coffee?
 
applescrap said:
What is working for you. How much are you roasting at a time? I might go back to full power 10-minute roast and try to dial it back at the end.
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1lb roasts. Full power on the HG and opening up the roasting chamber to slow the roast down when approaching first crack.
 
So Sunday I roasted some Guatemalan on the lighter side and then proceeded to put it in the smoker for an hour with a 70 cherry/30 hickory mix. I left it rest a couple of days before brewing. It wasn't an overwhelming smoke. It kinda reminded me of cherry pipe tobacco. It was OK. I won't rush to do it again, but I'm sure I'll think about what to tweak and give it another go some day.
 
Sbe2 said:
@HarborTownBrewing thanks for the advice. One thing I was looking to invest in was a burr grinder. Is a manual one a worthy choice or should I just go electric right of the bat?

Who is a good source for roasted beans? Should I buy from the store first and see what I prefer? It’s like when I first started homebrewing haha

Is there a Palmer equivalent book for brewing coffee?
Click to expand...

Where abouts are you located? I would seek out any local roasters and give their stuff a try. Some are good, some just burn everything to be like Starbucks. But if you have anything locally, I'd give that a try. If you have a botique grocery store see if they have anything from the smaller roasters, like Intelligenstia for instance. If not, you could order from someone like La Colombe. Their quality has gone down hill significantly but it's still good coffee and they run shipping specials occasionally.

On the grinder, there are some exceptional manual grinders for a reasonable price, but I think you have to figure out if you want to crank it every day. My in laws have an old school Danish grinder, wall mounted, that I have to use when I am there and it sucks. I couldn't do it every day. (Actually sometimes I bring my electric grinder with me when I visit them). I haven't looked at manual grinders a lot, and I'm sure someone here knows more, but from what I recall reading, a $150 manual grinder will give results similar to a $500 electric grinder.

Coffee brewing book? Good question...not that I know of.

Sorry my answers may be not that helpful but wanted to at least put some thoughts out there.
 
HarborTownBrewing said:
Apple, I had a similar roast one time on Konga that I took really slow accidentally. I thought it was ruined but tried it anyways and it was like a chocolate milkshake. One of my best roasts with that bean, so hopefully you have similar results. (assuming you like chocolate milkshakes)
Click to expand...
Yep, exactly. But it may have just been the beers but i smelled peanut butter
 
jammin said:
@Sbe2 - Stumptown has some great “how to” videos for just about every popular brewer. I’ve found them quite helpful

https://www.stumptowncoffee.com/brew-guides/
Click to expand...
Intelligentsia has the good brew guides as well. I also like Intelligentsia's iphone app for it's calculators and timers that work with their brew guides. I use it every time that i make chemex or french press coffee (which is most days).
 
Speaking of John Palmer's book "How to Brew", I have been reminded of a favorite quote: "brewing beer is only as difficult as you make it" (well, close enough). I have recently been swept up in an article and surrounding conversation by Scott Rao "What is Baked Coffee?". The gist of it states that your coffee's flavor will flatten out noticeably if the RoR (Rate of Rise) drops substantially as it enters & moves through first crack. So as nature would have it I couldn't help but make roasting more stressful & hitched a ride on the hype train. I can't offer any definitive feedback yet but it surely has been eye opening.


Here is a fun melange espresso roast I did tonight. About 1/3 Sumatra, 1/3 African & 1/3 Brazil.

Qy77OaA.png


KvKjgnQ.jpg


Here is the curve from Roastmasters latest wet processed Yrg "Z". Very excited to cup this coffee after a short rest:

FXVTaM7.png
 
I'm in the beginning of a kitchen remodel, doing the whole thing by myself so no spare time. I quickly ran out of coffee (drank a lot to power through the remodel) and now I'm in trouble. I have a hard time paying for good coffee when I can roast the same stuff for half the price. Going to be a rough next few weeks. Picked up some Archer Farms today. Yummy... ;(
 
I have done them for 5 days and 7 days on bourbon and I liked the 7 day result, but I'm sure everyone's palate is a little different. For me it brought out more warm caramel flavors.
 
HarborTownBrewing said:
I have done them for 5 days and 7 days on bourbon and I liked the 7 day result, but I'm sure everyone's palate is a little different. For me it brought out more warm caramel flavors.
Click to expand...

Thanks for saving me the time to go back and find your thought!!! I’ll have to give it 5 days b/c we all leave on Sunday and I won’t be home to roast at all next week. But it sounds like I’ll have to play around with how long to let it be like you did. Who doesn’t like to experiment in this forum??? Thanks again HTB.
 
jammin said:
Speaking of John Palmer's book "How to Brew", I have been reminded of a favorite quote: "brewing beer is only as difficult as you make it" (well, close enough). I have recently been swept up in an article and surrounding conversation by Scott Rao "What is Baked Coffee?". The gist of it states that your coffee's flavor will flatten out noticeably if the RoR (Rate of Rise) drops substantially as it enters & moves through first crack. So as nature would have it I couldn't help but make roasting more stressful & hitched a ride on the hype train. I can't offer any definitive feedback yet but it surely has been eye opening.


Here is a fun melange espresso roast I did tonight. About 1/3 Sumatra, 1/3 African & 1/3 Brazil.

Qy77OaA.png


KvKjgnQ.jpg


Here is the curve from Roastmasters latest wet processed Yrg "Z". Very excited to cup this coffee after a short rest:

FXVTaM7.png
Click to expand...

Great read. So how do we keep it from dropping? This batch was my first baked beans. The Konga just tastes flat. It's not surprising that I like full heat straight through. That would keep the rate of rise from dropping I assume.
 
HarborTownBrewing said:
I'm in the beginning of a kitchen remodel, doing the whole thing by myself so no spare time. I quickly ran out of coffee (drank a lot to power through the remodel) and now I'm in trouble. I have a hard time paying for good coffee when I can roast the same stuff for half the price. Going to be a rough next few weeks. Picked up some Archer Farms today. Yummy... ;(
Click to expand...
Would love to see some pics. I have done quite a bit of work and if you have any thoughts or questions feel free to throw them out there. I know many of us are pretty talented. Archer Farms? Oh man, somebody mail him some coffee. Bodhi leaf does sales on there roasted coffee. Last weekend it was 30% off. I've drank it and it's not bad stuff. It will cost about 10 lb shipped, maybe a little more.
 
HarborTownBrewing said:
I have done them for 5 days and 7 days on bourbon and I liked the 7 day result, but I'm sure everyone's palate is a little different. For me it brought out more warm caramel flavors.
Click to expand...
And for the trifecta, I just read on a different thread that someone loves to soak their beans in vodka, and then tried whiskey, and decided vodka was better. By the way the tip from you guys about coffee on ice cream is solid.
 
Quick review of the Archer Farms Tierra Del Sol: This is a "medium" roast but upon loading my grinder with the beans the coffee glistens with oil covering a very dark, glossy bean. While I'm primarily a lighter roaster, I don't think I have ever taken my beans this deep and still drank them.

Despite a fresh grind, the bloom was flat and uninspired, sort of how I feel when I visit the produce section at Target. There was an aroma reminiscent of my uncle's hands after his 13th cigarette of the day.

In the cup, I'm reminded of char similar to burnt hot dogs. Like when a kid sticks the hot dog into a fire, giggling and panicking at the same time as the wiener slowly bubbles and blackens. The char flavor gives way to more char flavors as the cup cools. As I finish the cup I get a nice chewy bitter flavor from the loose grinds which escaped my Kone filter. Truly, this chewy, ashy after taste was fitting of the coffee.

---

I don't think I can do this every day for much longer; I decided I'm going to get up early and roast or something. It'll be worth it to make time for roasting!!!

I'll have to post some remodel pics once I get further along because the demo work is not very sexy. So far it's been a matter of removing 105 year old plaster and lath, along with the dust which has settled on top of it in the attic space. I'll be opening up an exterior wall soon, which will lead to more mess. Just about done with the electrical, then I'll be on to drywall. I love trim carpentry so I can't wait to get the drywall up and move on to the fun stuff ;)
 

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