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

[TallDan]

Claim is one thing, doing it well is another. I've never roasted more than 1/2lb in a batch in the behmor. At the moment, i'm doing a 1/4lb batch (decaf for the wife).

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Update, Behmor provided me with all the instructions on how to fix it. Ill give it a try tomorrow and will find out.

The product is basic and admittedly economical in how it's made (which makes sense considering the price) but dang their customer service is unreal in all the right ways

 

[jammin]

Think I'm going to post it on Home Barista perhaps. Mine never made much smoke that I noticed but I do have a really powerful hood setup. It also will not do as much as the Behmor claims, I only ever did 1/2 pound.

Thinking of listing on eBay for $1250 + S&H. Got my eyes on a MCX PSB 300BLK
TD

HB requires something like 30 recent posts in order to list something FS. I've had an account their for ages and they wouldn't let me post my Quest M3 earlier this year. CoffeeGeek's BST moves stuff pretty and I think you'd have good luck there.

 

[applescrap]

I had a client mtg at a starbucks recently and bought a bag of dark roasted beans (caffe verona ). They were oily right out of the bag. I thought I would hate them (impulse buy, didn't realize it was a dark roast), but I've been enjoying a lot. Smells just like dark chocolate.

I might take my next roast a little deeper into the dark continent. I'll call it Heart of Darkness.

Good movie! I like dark chocolate notes. It makes me wonder if they add it somehow, or perhaps it shows up over time? All my really dark roasts taste of char and I dont like them, and am continually amazed at how similar they all taste... regardless of origin. Mill city video calls it "nostalgic" coffee. I can now spot that taste in commercial coffee, its just usually so stale, the flavor is less pronounced. I did get some char, and chocolate in nice balance, with my latest roast. It was definitely into 2nd crack, but not deep, just right after a solid 2nd. Right in that area, is where I like it, just before 2nd, but maybe a little in with some.

 

[applescrap]

Cold brew coffee.


How do folks here do it?
Some folks I work with claim regular drip coffee gives them heartburn, but cold brew doesn't. Last time I tried it, I didn't care for it much, but would like to try again. Any suggested bean/roast combinations?

TD.

If you look back, I think there are pictures of it and some discussion. Ill add that I do it because a. Imo it is one of the most superior ways to brew coffee b. Im lazy as hell in the morning and i like it being on the ready and c. It makes great iced coffee quickly and is versatile in general. A major downside is it takes more coffee. Basically, I put coffee in my french press and leave it on the counter overnight. You can make pitchers of it and let it sit in the fridge for weeks, because the heat of brewing is what oxidizes and stales coffee.


We all know how quickly coffee can stale when left out after brewing, not so with cold brew. I would like to make a ton of it and have it on the ready all week, but it uses a lot so havent done that yet. Anyways I leave it on counter (out) overnight, then press and rack it, or in my case i pour half one morning and put 2nd half in fridge for next day with grounds. Just gets better.


Supposedly a coarse grind is desirable because off flavors or whatever from finer grinds, but I wonder why extraction isnt just extraction after it sits for 48 hours. Surely a finer grind makes the press harder to work, so a little coarser is better. I push my press in a touch to make sure all grounds stay under. There is a video from the chef jamie oliver worth watching. A lot of people dilute the coffee (starbucks does) but i dont, and i have been known to chug it cold or warm while racing to work. I microwave it usually or drink on ice. It extracts everything you want and nothing you dont, and it guarantees you get the most bang for your buck, as extraction is full and complete. Some say there are compounds that are only extracted hot and that is probably somewhat true, but the reality is that this is probably the easiest, purest, and best way to extract flavor from coffee. What else....its great for brewing. Cold brew and racked into keg adds awesome coffee flavor. My wife just got me a single serve cold brew coffee mug with filter in middle. If I want it faster, I start with warmer water...not hot, for slower, put in fridge. The recipe is a s..t ton of coffee to a small amount of water. I think I posted it, but will find and post again.

 

[applescrap]

That coupling piece isn't supposed to be where it is. It's definitely supposed to be in that hole.

I thought something was a little off when I put the drum in the roaster but it took me 7 mins to realize it wasn't spinning. Looks like a sort of shear pin went missing.

Hoping customer service can tell me asap how to best fix it before I start tearing the roaster further apart.

Glad you got it fixed

 

[jammin]

nice little Quest M3 for sale -
http://www.home-barista.com/buysell/quest-m3-t47885.html#p542093

 

[TrickyDick]

me trying to get my post count up at coffee geek.....

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I really like the Quest but the batch size of 120 grams is just so small

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Yep got the Behmor fixed. Sure enough there is a bolt which holds the drum attachment /seat into the motor, and the nut had come off the bolt. Removed a couple things in the roaster, pulled out the motor and was able to reattach everything. Back up and roasting!

 

[jammin]

I really like the Quest but the batch size of 120 grams is just so small

I never roasted anything less than 228g batches. Several folks have gone higher but I liked keeping it to half a pound to evenly go through green coffee. It heats up in about 10min so 3 batches/1.5lbs in an hour start to finish is realistic.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Really. Now that you mention it I found a few postings where people are doing 8 to 12 ounces on it. I did read that 120 was the Max batch size, at least according to a few of the pros but if you can do 8 oz plus batches that's not bad.

I'll have to look into info in that roaster to see if you can integrate software and all that. I'm guessing yes with a little handywork

 

[jammin]

^that 120g limit rumor went around for a loonnnggg time. People interface with artisan via an Omega HH806 (what I did) and there is a cheaper alternative that I can't remember the name of right now. I have a Phidget 1048 on my new roaster which is what I would recommend for anyone looking to instrument their roaster. You can wire your TC's directly to it and the Phidget connects via USB to you computer. Artisan reads it really well and can handle up to 4 probes.

 

[applescrap]

For 120g batches a popcorn popper would be king no? What could be better than roasting on a fluid air bed, according to Michael sivetz.

So i can use artisian with the omega hh806 and a hg?

 

[TallDan]

Heads up on an GCBC offer:
http://www.greencoffeebuyingclub.com/index.php/topic,20640.0.html

This coffee had a fairly fruity aroma to it when I roasted it, afterwards, not so much while resting.

I roasted 8 oz on the Artisan 6 and brought it just into the beginnings of second crack.

Rested 4 days and WOW, blueberry BOMB here.

When you grind it you can smell blueberry, while it is brewing you can smell some, you can smell them in the cup and while you drink the coffee all the way down to room temperature you can taste the blueberries. I brewed it my normal way but let it steep in the french press for about an extra 10 minutes, (i got busy) and it was very blueberry. Steeping the normal time, still a lot of blueberry in it, but not quite as much, so it likes to steep a tad bit more to bring the flavor fully out. I tried another batch, steeping the normal time but using a bit more grounds in the batch, I used 34 gram instead of 30 and the blueberry was very prominent as well.

The cup is a nice clean cup, low acidity, with a clean blueberry flavor. As the cup cools the blueberry is constant, but it's .. blueberry aspect changes a bit. Warmer it taste a bit sweeter, cooler it's still very 'blue' but not as sweet, its more the 'blueberry' flavor w/o the sweetness. Note: Lack of sweetness does not imply bitter here.

I began drinking this coffee at 4 days rest, because I had others to test, and past experience has shown me that the blueberry ones, many times a little longer aging really can help coax out the flavors for those that may be having difficulty attaining it. Now I am at day 7 and the flavor is still awesome. I have a feeling this is one that can keep it's peak flavors for a while, IF, you can resist the temptation of drinking it all!

I am getting a little bit of a strawberry flavor as well when it starts cooling down some. A bit of that berry twang.
.

 

[jammin]

He lost all street cred @ "second crack" for me. I want to believe but.....

I'll say this - the most legendary blueberry bomb I've ever heard of came from that same region. It's tempting for sure

 

[TallDan]

He lost all street cred @ "second crack" for me. I want to believe but.....

I'll say this - the most legendary blueberry bomb I've ever heard of came from that same region. It's tempting for sure

I went in for 5LB. Worst case, it disappoints and I save it a few months for when there are no good new offerings.

 

[jammin]

I have a feeling I'm gonna be jealous. I should probably just get 5lbs too

 

[ba-brewer]

A few years ago I had two 28qt cooler filled with green beans plus a few cases of vacuum sealed pint jars, 50-60lb maybe, because I wanted to make sure I always had some good coffee. Got to be work keeping track of inventory to figure out what to buy next and some loose there luster over time. Now I try to just buy a couple pounds of a varieties when they are in season, sort make them seem a bit more special. Also only need one cooler now.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

@talldan how did you get accepted to that green buying club? I've submitted a few times but never been approved

 

[TallDan]

@talldan how did you get accepted to that green buying club? I've submitted a few times but never been approved

Don't know, but before I got approved I just sent PayPal to the sellers by following their links and didn't have a problem.

 

[TallDan]

Drinking the very last of that Ethiopia Shilcho this morning. It's like a caramel cookie. Sucks that it took the first 2.5lb to figure out what I was doing with it.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I loved the Konga so much I ordered another 15 pounds of it just now. I had 7 to begin with, and I only did one roast but I loved it. Now that i've got a bunch more coming I may play with the profile a bit to see how much I can manipulate it. I think it may be complex enough to make it a good candidate for a black and tan, too.

 

[jammin]

^good call. stuff that good doesn't always come around.

Drinking the very last of that Ethiopia Shilcho this morning. It's like a caramel cookie. Sucks that it took the first 2.5lb to figure out what I was doing with it.

just roasted the last of mine for espresso. here's the curve - hopefully its good. probably pull some shots tomorrow morning

 

[jammin]

the new crop kenyans are here -
https://www.sweetmarias.com

pick of the litter here. RARELY do you see a coffee rated above 9 in sweetness AND flavor. This is one of those mythical unicorns. Whenever I see this combo, it's an automatic buy. Also note the low cuppers correction. Usually Tom slaps a 3 on there.

https://www.sweetmarias.com/product/kenya-nyeri-gathaithi-ab

 

[TallDan]

the new crop kenyans are here -
https://www.sweetmarias.com

pick of the litter here. RARELY do you see a coffee rated above 9 in sweetness AND flavor. This is one of those mythical unicorns. Whenever I see this combo, it's an automatic buy. Also note the low cuppers correction. Usually Tom slaps a 3 on there.

Ordered 5LB.

 

[jammin]

Ordered 5LB.

awesome - looking forward to hearing your experiences with it. i grabbed 7 & 2lbs of the Gichatha-ini Peaberry. not sure why i keep buying PB as it always is major pain the arse to roast ... I'm like a moth to a flame i guess.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I literally JUST logged into hbt to spread the word about that very same Kenyan.

Ugh I've got too much coffee!

How long do you think greens will legitimately last? Some people say 15 months but i don't buy it

 

[TallDan]

I literally JUST logged into hbt to spread the word about that very same Kenyan.

Ugh I've got too much coffee!

How long do you think greens will legitimately last? Some people say 15 months but i don't buy it

Stuff that I've had around for about 8mo lost a lot of flavor. I decided then that I'll shoot to finish all coffees in 6mo.

 

[jammin]

^i don't buy that either. i know for sure if they aren't sealed & kept cool its really tough on them. someday i'd like to switch to jars and keep the coffee in a fridge.