☕ Coffee ☕: Ingredients, Roasting, Grinding, Brewing, and Tasting

[jammin]

What was once fun is now frustrating, as jammin pointed out before. I need a thermometer. Have been stopping heat once 1c. gets going after initial cracks and letting it coast a minute. It is really light like tea but great flavor

The thermometer I got on Amazon (Leaton Digital Dual-channel) was $21.99 and the K Type probes were $7.37 each (1.5m coiled cord, 80mm x 3mm probe). So for under $30 (with prime) I think you could make the leap. I'd only get 1 probe as the ET probe I put it isn't as helpful as I'd hoped it would be.

The last roast of Kenyan I did on the HG/BM is nearly gone and has been tasting great - really happy with the results of that kit.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I'm in Santa monica for a couple days. Anyone have recommendations? Looks like there's a Blue Bottle

 

[applescrap]

^^ I don't think I could give a good recommendation in Denver. I am not sure I have ever been to a nice coffee shop. The only coffee I know that's any good is the homebrewtalk home roast coffee club.

Here is a picture of some cold brew sitting in the refrigerator. I let it sit out overnight pour half of it in a cup and then put the other half in the fridge for the next day. This is a very light roasted Ethiopian drima zede. It really is good. I mean really really good. All the good fruit flavors and brightness are extracted, meanwhile all the bad stuff is not extracted. That's why it will keep for two weeks. I might start making big pitchers of it for even more convenience.

View attachment 1486681842329.jpg

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Stopped by a place called Demitasse. They had slow drip cold brew set up which was sort of neat.

Their pour over options were Columbia, Costa Rica,and Mexico. Hardly a good line up for pour over. Having had my fair share of the first two, I thought I'd give the Mexico a shot since I haven't had it much.

$4,brewed in a Clever, freshly ground from a Baratza grinder. It's incredibly underwhelming and hardly tastes of any of their descriptions. Considering they roast just up the street and this bean is only a few days old it's sort of disappointing.

But always a good way to weigh your home roasts against the pros.

View attachment 1486753858005.jpg

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Had a delicious shot of espresso at a place called The Refinery. Smoky,giving way to florals. At least I think it's smoky,but that could be from the cigar I had a fewh hours ago..

 

[BrunDog]

Brazilian this morning is much better than yesterday. It's possible that it changed in one day, but I suspect something else.

I find that the same coffee can taste totally different a day later. Might have to do with my mouth more than the coffee.

I personally find that with every coffee I roast (Behmor 1600). 1-2 days... too harsh. 2-5 nice brightness/acidity. After that it mellows for a few days, and at 8+ I think it is gone. I know everyone says 2 weeks or more, but days 3-6 are money for me personally.

 

[8rnw8]

Forgive the Noob question, if I want to brew 800 mL of pour over coffee, would I get better flavor by doing 400 mL two times instead of 800 mL all in one shot? It seems like that would mean less over extraction of the beans, since even though the ratio is the same, 800 ml all in one shot would mean some of the beans are being exposed to the full 800 ml of water, but maybe my thinking is totally off. If not, is there a threshold to the largest amount that should be brewed at one time with pour over?

 

[rekoob]

Stopped by a place called Demitasse. They had slow drip cold brew set up which was sort of neat.

Their pour over options were Columbia, Costa Rica,and Mexico. Hardly a good line up for pour over. Having had my fair share of the first two, I thought I'd give the Mexico a shot since I haven't had it much.

$4,brewed in a Clever, freshly ground from a Baratza grinder. It's incredibly underwhelming and hardly tastes of any of their descriptions. Considering they roast just up the street and this bean is only a few days old it's sort of disappointing.

But always a good way to weigh your home roasts against the pros.

That looks really cool... it would have got me in the place too.

 

[jammin]

Forgive the Noob question, if I want to brew 800 mL of pour over coffee, would I get better flavor by doing 400 mL two times instead of 800 mL all in one shot? It seems like that would mean less over extraction of the beans, since even though the ratio is the same, 800 ml all in one shot would mean some of the beans are being exposed to the full 800 ml of water, but maybe my thinking is totally off. If not, is there a threshold to the largest amount that should be brewed at one time with pour over?

It's generally ill-advised to pour in all your brewing water at once for pour-over brewing.

Stumptown has some great brewing guides - I think this one might be helpful for you:
https://www.stumptowncoffee.com/brew-guides/chemex

 

[rekoob]

Now that I'm thinking about home roasted coffee. I'm wondering what you guys use to roast. if it's been discussed in prior pages I will eventually find again.

I've been using a popper for roasting coffee for espresso (Baratza Vario grinder / ECM Giotto machine) and well it works well I have to do two batches of coffee to get enough roasted beans for the hopper to last the week.

I guess I don't need to roast a larger quantitiy than that, but would like to do one batch instead of two. and if availible I guess I would roast a little larger of a batch. right now the two batches I roast and mix together don't fill the hopper, almost but theres still room. This "double" batch will last me 5-7 days.

What are you guys using and what would you suggest?

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Forgive the Noob question, if I want to brew 800 mL of pour over coffee, would I get better flavor by doing 400 mL two times instead of 800 mL all in one shot? It seems like that would mean less over extraction of the beans, since even though the ratio is the same, 800 ml all in one shot would mean some of the beans are being exposed to the full 800 ml of water, but maybe my thinking is totally off. If not, is there a threshold to the largest amount that should be brewed at one time with pour over?

As Jammin mentioned,gradual pouring is best. I usually pour some water in every 30 secs.

But you mentioned extraction and you are correct that there will be some impact to extraction with the larger brew size. I've found that my bigger batches require a more course grind. Otherwise the larger amount of grinds slows the brewing process and over extracts

 

[8rnw8]

Ok, thanks. I knew gradual pouring, but wasn't sure if there was a batch size threshold for pour over. Sounds like if I want to use the same grind I might be better served doing two smaller batches than one big one.

 

[BrunDog]

Now that I'm thinking about home roasted coffee. I'm wondering what you guys use to roast. if it's been discussed in prior pages I will eventually find again.

I've been using a popper for roasting coffee for espresso (Baratza Vario grinder / ECM Giotto machine) and well it works well I have to do two batches of coffee to get enough roasted beans for the hopper to last the week.

I guess I don't need to roast a larger quantitiy than that, but would like to do one batch instead of two. and if availible I guess I would roast a little larger of a batch. right now the two batches I roast and mix together don't fill the hopper, almost but theres still room. This "double" batch will last me 5-7 days.

What are you guys using and what would you suggest?

I think the Behmor is great for the price. Been using one for about 3 years.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I'm a Behmor user as well. Works great and gives a lot of control. To get the same level of control in another roaster will cost more money

 

[applescrap]

I have been roasting lighter lately. After the first couple of cracks when it gets going, i am cutting all heat and letting it coast a minute or so more. Kenyan with and without flash.

View attachment 1487386140426.jpg

View attachment 1487386149801.jpg

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

That's looking good Apple. I just got a similar result from a Kenyan I roasted yesterday.

 

[jammin]

^let us know how you like it. Def looks light.

I've been on a Kenyan kick lately too. That's what is in my grinder now and another 5lbs is on the way.

 

[jammin]

So I received my new 500g gas roaster January 25th. It is set up for LPG currently which Ill probably stick with indefinitely. I built a little cart for it to set on with casters & a direct vent exhaust that I can sneak under the garage door when it's opened a few inches (great for winter months to stay a little warmer). The roaster has a stand alone cooling tray that has it's own fan which comes in handy when roasting back to back (free's up main fan for ventilating drum etc). It came with a ball valve to control the gas - the roaster has a 0-500mmH20 manometer to monitor the flame. The ball valve was garbage for fine control so I upgraded that to a nice Parker needle valve that has a knurled knob and it does an AMAZING job at adjusting pressure under flow.

I have to be upfront and say this new roaster kinda put me in my place very quickly. My initial roasts were all over the place & mostly WAY too fast. I recall smashing through 1C & starting second crack (something I hadn't heard in years on my Quest) in less than 6 minutes. I purchased 20lbs of "seasoning greens" along with the roaster which are past year's crop & a mixture of what ever Central American stuff Mill City could snag for cheap; decent coffee, but not single lot & showing signs of age. Probably better quality than you'd get in the grocery store out of the self serve bins but nowhere near what you would expect from Sweet Maria's or GCBC. So I have been trudging along and getting in a small session here & there to season the drum and learn the new machine.

This morning I finally cleared my schedule and roasted the remaining 7lbs (1lb @ a time) back to back & finished the session off with a pound of DP Ethiopian from SM's that i found to just be OK as not to risk ruining my better stuff. I have been drinking a batch of Kenyan I roasted a few days ago lately that actually came out fairly good as well. All told, Ive probably roasted just under 25 batches now & feel like Im starting to get my Sea Legs so to speak.

Here is a quick shot of today's final roast & what I will call my first "real roast" on the new machine. I'm pretty happy with the control during the drying & development (AKA the stretch/finish etc) phases but I need to learn how to tighten up the maillard/browning phase without transition into 1C too quickly.
*this coffee was very dry & I can't put too much stock into the 1C time/temp as I only heard about a total of 3 snaps throughout a fairly thorough development

Obligatory shot of said roast

 

[applescrap]

^^looks professional there. How are you adjusting heat through stretch and finish? Would enjoy seeing the cart you built. The Kenyan is good, certainly not fruity like the ethiopians but good. I'm realizing that I need a grinder. I don't think I want to step up into the $200 range as I'm okay with using a pressurized portafilter for now. Thinking baratza encore

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

^^looks professional there. How are you adjusting heat through stretch and finish? Would enjoy seeing the cart you built. The Kenyan is good, certainly not fruity like the ethiopians but good. I'm realizing that I need a grinder. I don't think I want to step up into the $200 range as I'm okay with using a pressurized portafilter for now. Thinking baratza encore

I have an Encore and it is a good grinder for the money. I've thought about selling mine actually to get something a little quicker since I grind for a lot of people.

 

[TallDan]

I have an Encore and it is a good grinder for the money. I've thought about selling mine actually to get something a little quicker since I grind for a lot of people.

I kinda regret letting the mazzer i had go. Got a used one off of ebay years ago. It was packaged very poorly and damaged in shipping. Tried to get them to let me keep it with a partial refund since I figured it could be fixed, but ended up sending it back to the seller and getting a full refund.

*goes off to ebay looking for deals on grinders*

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Yeah I was just looking at grinders now that Apple got me thinking about it.

I always wanted the Sette since it was announced last year but I haven't read a ton of great reviews on it.

But it's so dang sexy.

 

[applescrap]

I kinda regret letting the mazzer i had go. Got a used one off of ebay years ago. It was packaged very poorly and damaged in shipping. Tried to get them to let me keep it with a partial refund since I figured it could be fixed, but ended up sending it back to the seller and getting a full refund.

*goes off to ebay looking for deals on grinders*

I didnt see any amazing deals, figure the good ones are kept.

 

[jammin]

^^looks professional there. How are you adjusting heat through stretch and finish? Would enjoy seeing the cart you built.

i have a needle valve that gives great control over the heat & the fan really has a big impact on RoR during the finish as well. its a balancing act that is gonna take some getting used to. ill try and a get a good pic of the cart so you can set the whole kit

 

[jammin]

That Yrg I posted a pic of is drinking fantastic right now - really stoked on it. The type of cup that makes you want another even if you don't need it. Big milk chocolate-berry aroma and super smooth flavor.

 

[passedpawn]

I roasted 2# of Kenyan this weekend and it tastes a LOT like "more". It was a perfect roast, very uniform and a little darker (but didn't strike oil) than what I've been doing. I'm on my second pot

 

[applescrap]

The dry process yrg I got from sweet marias has been good and is an outstanding value under 30 for 5 pounds. I am on two pounds of it now. My two friends and i liked bodhileaf drima zede and nitsu ruz a little better. At well over 8 a pound i will be waiting for a sale again as it wasnt 2$ a pound better. Finished the whole one pound light kenyan kieri roast this weekend (sat,sun and Mon). It tasted sour if not acidic, friend said same. It was better a little darker I think.

 

[jammin]

Finished the whole one pound light kenyan kieri roast this weekend (sat,sun and Mon). It tasted sour if not acidic, friend said same. It was better a little darker I think.

Kenyan coffee can stand up to darker roasts better than almost any other coffee. A prolonged development can work wonders on them in a light roast though. I've seen some people prolong the stretch for 5 minutes on a City roast and win competitions. I've had great luck with this technique as well.

 

[applescrap]

Kenyan coffee can stand up to darker roasts better than almost any other coffee. A prolonged development can work wonders on them in a light roast though. I've seen some people prolong the stretch for 5 minutes on a City roast and win competitions. I've had great luck with this technique as well.

Your new rig and needle valve excel at that kind of development i assume. I saw a video of a guy using an analog (volt? Watt?) knob/potentiometer and a hg. Always wondered what he was doing. He was probably trying to control the development with it.

Also explains why my friends slower roasted kenyan was better. We have also drink some sulawesi white eagle. It was herbal like tea and of course the seemingly ubiquitous citrus notes. Thanks for always passing on the coffee knowledge jammin.

 

[passedpawn]

Jammin is our resident expert. Seriously. We're all like students. He's that guy in the robe

All kidding aside, I'm glad you're here jammin.