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

[TrickyDick]

Any suggestions for coffee on vacation in Portland OR?

 

[jammin]

Any suggestions for coffee on vacation in Portland OR?

Oh hell yes!

Coava for sure - they are east of the river. They are the guys who invented the Kone filter for Chemex & the Disk for the Aeropress. Killer coffee and they are often roasting on their vintage Probat right in the middle of the cafe. Heart is also on the East side of the river and very close by. They also kill it and are a top place to try - if you're an equipment geek like me, keep an eye for their KvDW Spirit: GORGEOUS! Water Ave Roasters is right by both of those guys on the east side too and def worth the stop if you can handle more caffeine.

The West side of the river is all cafe - the roasteries can't afford the space there. Portlands east side used to be quite "ghetto" and it's industrial roots have seen some incredible renevation over the last 15 years. The best shops in the heart of the downtown feature guest roasters and have a different vibe all together. Public Domain is the hub IMHO and the feature a very bright and well lit space with a Synesso pulling most of their shots. They also have a Slayer which they fire up during peak hours for single origin shots. Really love this place.
Barista is another really cool hole in the wall spot (PDX has a few that all rock) that features guest roasters. They are pulling shots on a Strada which is another insanely awesome piece of equipment. You really should swing by this place while you're on the west side, it has a great vibe and the baristas are great.

Any trip to PDX would probably be remiss without stopping by good ol' Stumptown. It's an Oregon classic and 3rd wave pioneer. As much as I hate that they sold out to Peet's, you can't deny how amazing their straight shots of Hairbender Espresso are.

I would strongly encourage you to focuses on partaking in straight shots at all these cafes though. Good pour over can be found or made at home but the level of espresso at these places in PDX is truly hard to match.

Be sure and stop by Great Notion for insanely good IPA. I'll be your best friend in the world if I can sweet talk you into sending me a Crowler of Juice Box!

 

[applescrap]

Hey check this out harbourtown, chocolate! Last organic mexican i got was surprisingly good.

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[HarborTownBrewing]

Hey check this out harbourtown, chocolate! Last organic mexican i got was surprisingly good.

Haha yeah I saw that yesterday and chuckled a bit. I will say, this description is better than most, since it also says Walnuts and Cherry!

I just went through four pounds of Mexico I bought from SM's. It was the first time I had bought from the origin, and I thought it was fine. Sort of reminded me of a middle-of-the-road/decent Columbian.

Some people love Mexican coffee - I just can't forget all the shelves of pre-ground "Mexican" coffee I saw sitting in the tourist shops in Mexico, in 95 degree heat. I know they aren't the same quality beans and those were already roasted, but that's now my impression of Mexican coffee.

 

[jammin]

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

have you roasted any yet? it's listed again. curious what you thought of it
http://www.greencoffeebuyingclub.com/index.php/topic,20675.0.html

 

[TallDan]

have you roasted any yet? it's listed again. curious what you thought of it
http://www.greencoffeebuyingclub.com/index.php/topic,20675.0.html

I have it, but haven't roasted any yet. So many coffees...

 

[applescrap]

Foamy chocolate milk espresso

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[Inkleg]

So it begins

 

[Inkleg]

This one will be sideways too, but it's called Naked Cat Coffee Roasting for a reason.

 

[TallDan]

This one will be sideways too, but it's called Naked Cat Coffee Roasting for a reason.

Mobile like!

 

[jammin]

So it begins

awesome. looking forward to hearing more

 

[applescrap]

Nice work, inkleg!

 

[Kealia]

Add one more homebrewing convert to the club. Inkleg and I were discussing this a few weeks ago and I decided to give it a try as well. I bought my wife a few different beans and a Presto Poplite air popper (as an entry level test to see if it is something she will like). Today we roasted two small test batches: 1 stopped 30 seconds after first crack finished and one 30 seconds into second crack.



She is going to taste both roastings side by side tomorrow and again on Tuesday to see how they change at 24 and 48 hours post-roast. Right now the beans are in small mason jars with the lids barely screwed on to allow for degassing.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Welcome! Don't expect much flavor after 24 hours. 4 8 to 72 is where you see flavors develop, sometimes for another 10 or so days

 

[Kealia]

Is that right? Thanks.

Just like when I started brewing I'm trying to read and learn as much as I can.

 

[Inkleg]

@Kealia that's awesome! Happy to drag you down the rabbit hole with me. Next time we send beer we can send coffee too!

I ended up roasting 2 pounds of coffee 1/4 pound at a time just to get my feet wet.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Roasted 6 eight ounce batches of Ethiopia Konga last night, and have another 6 batches to do the next couple days.

It's a long night of roasting, and after a couple batches I start to feel it a bit in my nose, likely the green's dust and smoke. I had a little skin irritation as well.

Weeks like this make me REALLY wish I had a bigger roaster.

 

[applescrap]

@harbortown the smells before 1c make me sick now. Last year in the winter i was roasting while sick and those earthy grassy smells, especially with Ethiopian got to me. I cant smell them now or they make me barfy.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

@harbortown the smells before 1c make me sick now. Last year in the winter i was roasting while sick and those earthy grassy smells, especially with Ethiopian got to me. I cant smell them now or they make me barfy.

Very interesting.

Funny story about coffee smells. When I occasionally stay at the in-laws, I always bring my coffee equipment and grind/brew some home roast for me and anyone else who wants it. No big deal. But whenever I'd be grinding and wetting the beans my mother in law (if she was around) would pass through quickly and start murmuring under her breath. Now, I know she likes me alright, so this has always perplexed me - you could dislike me (I can understand that), but you can't dislike coffee. But she also doesn't really drink coffee - she drinks that fake stuff from a can that you mix into hot water, kind of like a cocoa.

This went on for about 3 years when finally I asked my father in law, "why do I feel that my MIL is always cursing me under her breath when I make coffee?" He said, "ohhh, you didn't know? When she was a kid her mom would make coffee early in the morning and then start yelling at her to get out of bed and start their chores. She hated getting up at 5 AM as a young kid, so now whenever she smells coffee she associates it with those memories."

Mind blown. But I still make coffee at their place.

/end coffee aroma story/

 

[TallDan]

have you roasted any yet? it's listed again. curious what you thought of it
http://www.greencoffeebuyingclub.com/index.php/topic,20675.0.html

Roasted some the night before last and am drinking it today. Unfortunately, wasn't paying close attention when roasting and went a little dark, haven't given it as much rest as i should, and messed up my weights some while brewing.

Nice flavors here, like a vanilla cookie and just hint of berries. If I don't get better berry flavors with a better roast, this should make a great espresso. There was more berry aroma while brewing (chemex) than there is in the cup.

Actually, I'm really enjoying it, but this batch is no berry bomb (unless it comes out over the next few days with more rest). I think it's in there, I just didn't bring it out this time.

 

[jammin]

how dark did you go? Cuppers notes stated he hit 2C and got lots of berrries

 

[TallDan]

how dark did you go? Cuppers notes stated he hit 2C and got lots of berrries

Well, I oversimplified, degree of roast is only part of the problem. The roast is a bit inconsistent, some beans appear to be vienna, others FC. I had a lot of heat in the roaster going into 1c and it rolled into 2c before i thought 1c was done. That high heat after browning seems to kill the berries in my roasts.

The cuppers notes also indicate four days of rest, this had less than a day and a half.

 

[jammin]

Yeah I know what it's like to blow through 1C... aggravating

 

[applescrap]

Thats a cool story harbortownbrewing. I got a kick out of you saying you still brew there. Its cool really, a smell can bring back memories sounds and feelings in a millisecond.

 

[applescrap]

COFFEE!

Check it out @htb, cocoa. Realized that I dont go racing from 1c into 2c even on full blast. I dont know if thats due to air style roasting or roasting full pounds. I used to think I was rushing into 2c, about 10 pages back, but I was just being all paranoid. I heard two cracks and was like, thats it, thats second crack, pull it. Boom, out and cooling, awe s..t its light. Its does go veryy quickly at the end though.

I am sticking with full speed ahead, as of now anyways, and get a good robust, and loud 1c. Goes real quick but there is a nice little pause until 2c. Somewhere right towards the end of that pause is good, i think, but in the blink of an eye it starts racing into 2c. Since I can basically cool the coffee almost instantly I am learning that I can save it a little bit if it's not too late. This roast is not as good as before it hits that moment in my opinion. But I do think it makes better espresso generally speaking. A little bit of oil will sneak out, sometimes even a little sheen, like a scarlet f...in letter. Anywho, I am using my little rigged up tryer to also stir the beans up just to make sure they really are getting around. With my first roast the Peruvian, I heard the slightest Whisper of second crack and was all over it. I think it made for a very decent roast. It's such a fine line in there and it happens so quick. Still need to get that damn thermometer in there so I can start to gauge where I like it so it is easier to repeat.

Almost got in trouble again. Was inside writing a response and forgot about the coffee again. Good thing it was this Columbian micro lot. I got out at 11 minutes and it was definitely in first crack. I let it finish and pulled it shortly thereafter. I don't know why but this coffee I think is the toughest coffee I've seen to roast. At least that I've noticed I probably have had tougher and just ruined it. The Peruvian was typical 850 first crack and 1050 or so pulled. 11 is late for 1c on my rig. Honestly a lot of this coffee is chocolaty. The columbian micro lot has caramel odors that are easy to pick out but must be dug a little for.

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[kev211]

Congrats guys. I've now added a new hobby to my garage thanks to this thread. Went out and bought a popcorn popper and here I am. First batches done tonight. First one I think I underroasted (on the right), but I didn't have a mesh on the popper so I kept losing beans. Corrected that for the next batch and I think it turned out much better. It smells fantastic. Can't wait to follow this thread and see what I can learn and roast!

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[applescrap]

Awesome kev211 welcome

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

@applescrap ...Lots of info there. I can't relate much since I don't use the heatgun method, but I will say I've got a few beans I've been roasting darker than I'm usually comfortable with (1:30 past the end of 1C) and I've gotten some nice bittersweet chocolate notes.

But most importantly, Do you have a TV on your patio?!?! Because that would make for an awesome place to watch football.

 

[applescrap]

Yeah buddy. Sitting out here drinking beer now. Don't use it enough really. Free hd too.

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[jammin]

^that does it. party @ apple's crib! dude has BBQ, coffee, homebrew AND FOOTBALL!