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

[corkybstewart]

After I roast mine I leave them in an open gallon jug in a cabinet in the garage. When I can smell them they are ready, anywhere from 24-36 hours, at that point I seal them in a mason jar. I typically roast 2 12 oz batches on Sunday afternoon and start using the beans on Tuesday morning. SInce it's just my wife and I living here and we each just drink one big cup per day that schedule works almost perfectly for us. By Tuesday I usually have less than 1/2 cup of beans left from the previous batch.

 

[Bensiff]

Ok so the upgrade is rather costly to trade in.
Basically 259 bucks plus s&h.
Think I'm just going to get a set of steel burrs.

Yeah, why bother at that cost.

 

[Bensiff]

I have a confession: I've been using a blade grinder the past few years.

I know, I know. It's basically as sinful as pitching yeast into 90 degree wort, but hey, the wife had a good point: "why buy something when what we have works just fine?" Well, she didn't understand it didn't work just fine, but I digress. It seems funny to be roasting up some really good coffee but milling it up unevenly with a blade.

So yesterday she says, "okay, go ahead and get the burr grinder". And guess what: just like clockwork today, the blade grinder appears to be on it's last leg. It's ironic timing, but I'll take it.

Growing up I remember going over to my friends place to find his dad drilling 1" holes in a railway tie pushing his drill motor as hard as possible. He said his wife wouldn't let him buy a new one if the old one still worked. So, moral of the story, time to grind up a years worth of cinnamon until that bad boy burns out. Or just run it until the over temp circuit trips and show your wife how it doesn't work before it cools back down.

 

[TrickyDick]

I think I'm going to get the steel burr set when they're back in stock.

Some advice to a previous poster: sometimes it's better to ask for forgiveness than to beg for permission.

I see a roaster in my future.

 

[jdubdvdt]

new to the forum, but not new to forums. Glad to find a coffee thread here too.

I own a variety of coffee making devices:
Aeropress - for when I am on the go
French Press - for when I know I am going to sit around and drink a bunch of gooooood french press
Bonavita Drip Machine (thermal carafe) - for when family or friends stay over (or when I am feeling lazy)
Moka Pot- for daily use. I make "Cafe Zorro" in the morning, basically a strong Americano, I think

Grinder:
Baratza Encore- conical burr, can do a wide variety of grinds, works for everything

Beans:
West Coast Roasting is my go to guy. Nate is awesome. He can serve a wide variety of buyers, but his prices are steep. I don't recommend going to them unless you seriously want to step your coffee game up. His beans are always roasted to perfection and then shipped to my door. They normally arrive within three days of being roasted. His beans change on a weekly basis as well.

I haven't found anyone else who is that high of a quality. All my local roasters over roast their beans, and who knows how long they sat after roasting? Most beans I get local also taste stale, so I decided to fork out the extra dough for premium coffee (from West Coast Roasting).



I highly recommend the Bonavita if you need a drip machine. It is easy and actually BREWS the beer at 195 F.



Note: I am not affiliated with WCR or Bonavita. I just like good stuff.

 

[TrickyDick]

I'm going to need to ask for forgiveness sometime soon.
Thanks... jerks!!

TD

 

[Bensiff]

It is easy and actually BREWS the beer at 195 F.

Are you mixing hobbies or just mixing posting with beer

 

[TrickyDick]

Going to need some tutoring on how to roast different varieties of beans when my roaster arrives. SWMBO will be so happy I'm sure!

TD

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I roasted a Huehuetenango Guatemala last night that I had ordered a few months ago. I had a roast profile figured out ahead of time, but screwed it up a bit and accidentally turned off the heating elements before 1C, only to realize I wasn't actually in 1C. Ended up getting to 1C and drew it out to about 2 or 2.5 mins, but my heat elements were all over the place leading up to and during 1C.

FORTUNATELY the one thing I did was take good notes of which buttons I hit at which times, but if this roast turns out fantastic it's going to be difficult to replicate because I was allllll over the place haha.

 

[jammin]

Nice looking Yirg just went up at SM's

https://www.sweetmarias.com/store/c...ia/ethiopia-yirga-cheffe-grade-1-haricha.html

 

[TrickyDick]

Patiently waiting for roaster.
Been reading a lot about coffee freshness. Feels like the allegory of the cave about now.

What's the scoop on brewed coffee? How long will it stay "fresh" after brewing? I need to come up with a way to enjoy fresh coffee while at work. I'm coming up blank. I've been bringing a thermos and an insulated tumbler, enough to store one pot of brewed coffee poured into preheated tumbler and thermos just before I leave for work. Takes about 15 minutes to get to work. Usually don't drink much on drive, as its a little too hot to sip without burning my tongue. From what I've read it's already started to go stale. I've read a little about cold brewing and that the cold brew process will extract fewer of the compounds that turn bitter over time in the hot brew. It is recommended to brew it very strong using cold method then blend with hot water to dilute to desired strength and make it hot again so it can be enjoyed at usual serving temp.

Any merit to this plan? Any science that backs it up? I can't find much one way or the other.

Alternately, I'm dragging my grinder to work to grind and brew on the drip BUNN machines at the office, or another brewing apparatus, which seems a bit ridiculous.

TD

 

[TallDan]

Patiently waiting for roaster.
Been reading a lot about coffee freshness. Feels like the allegory of the cave about now.

What's the scoop on brewed coffee? How long will it stay "fresh" after brewing? I need to come up with a way to enjoy fresh coffee while at work. I'm coming up blank. I've been bringing a thermos and an insulated tumbler, enough to store one pot of brewed coffee poured into preheated tumbler and thermos just before I leave for work. Takes about 15 minutes to get to work. Usually don't drink much on drive, as its a little too hot to sip without burning my tongue. From what I've read it's already started to go stale. I've read a little about cold brewing and that the cold brew process will extract fewer of the compounds that turn bitter over time in the hot brew. It is recommended to brew it very strong using cold method then blend with hot water to dilute to desired strength and make it hot again so it can be enjoyed at usual serving temp.

Any merit to this plan? Any science that backs it up? I can't find much one way or the other.

Alternately, I'm dragging my grinder to work to grind and brew on the drip BUNN machines at the office, or another brewing apparatus, which seems a bit ridiculous.

TD

Well, I work from home most of the time, so I don't have this particular challenge right now. When I did work in an office regularly, i did the same as you, brew at home and bring in a vacuum insulated travel mug. I'm not willing to go through a ton of effort to have fresh coffee at work, so I accept that by late morning it's not quite as good as it was hours earlier. Even three hour old good coffee is better than crappy office coffee and that's good enough for me during the week.

I've worked with people in the past that have kept a french press at their desk and either also had a small electric kettle or used hot water dispensed from the breakroom coffee maker. I'd consider this if i worked in an office. It's easy enough to do without much hassle or cleanup at your desk and grinding at home in the morning and brewing at the office would be a step up in freshness over bringing brewed coffee from home.

 

[TrickyDick]

Yeah, not to get overboard with a wooden barrel martini set worn as a dog collar but instead for coffee, but...

It's either, continue as I've been doing,

Consider an aero press or french press for work, or cold brew and dilute with hot water at work.

Not much published about the cold brew methods and curious about what the consensus is here.
I fiddled with it a while back when cold brewing for a imperial stout recipe. I liked it, but I don't think I had the dilution and brew strength correct.

I agree that just like flat warm beer as with drinking coffee brewed in the morning in the late afternoon, if your going to drink it, it's better when the beer is better to begin with.

TD

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Fresh coffee at work is a tough one. I bought a few 1/4 lb one-way valve bags from Sweet Marias, and I normally grind up coffee before I go to work and pack it in the 1/4lb bags. I picked up an electric water heater for my desk, and a $5 pour over cone. Some people use a Cleaver, which I kind of wish I had gotten instead.

It's not jaw dropping coffee each time, but it beats any bagged beans I put in a coffee pot. And it's affordable.

What kind of roaster did you end up going with, TD?

 

[maffew222]

Not much published about the cold brew methods and curious about what the consensus is here.
I fiddled with it a while back when cold brewing for a imperial stout recipe. I liked it, but I don't think I had the dilution and brew strength correct.
TD

Check out http://brewmethods.com/. They've got a few cold brew methods posted. They're out there for sure. I worked in coffee (primarily roasting) for a while and never had a fondness for cold-brewed coffee, and even less so for hot coffee with ice. To me it lost way too much of what the coffee had to offer.

As far as the office coffee thing goes, I've had various methods. I had a fairly large kitchen at one of my old jobs, and could hide a press-pot or v60 in there pretty easily. I've got a tiny american weigh scale that worked well, and luckily the office had an electric kettle and a decent grinder (after the old one burned up 3 times I got my way!). You can always pre-grind some coffee in the morning into a ziplock and brew using that. (edit - like HarborTown said) I feel like you're losing more by having the brewed coffee sitting around than the ground coffee, but ymmv.

 

[TrickyDick]

Fresh coffee at work is a tough one. I bought a few 1/4 lb one-way valve bags from Sweet Marias, and I normally grind up coffee before I go to work and pack it in the 1/4lb bags. I picked up an electric water heater for my desk, and a $5 pour over cone. Some people use a Cleaver, which I kind of wish I had gotten instead.

It's not jaw dropping coffee each time, but it beats any bagged beans I put in a coffee pot. And it's affordable.

What kind of roaster did you end up going with, TD?

What is a Cleaver (other than an actual meat cleaver?)

I work at a variety of locations over the course of a week - 5 offices/2 hospitals (mostly just one though, and mostly offices). At the offices I could stash a few things, particularly where I spend most time. Not feasible to have stuff at all locations.

I think the small amount of ground coffee even if 4-5 hours old since grind, but stored in an o2 proof bag, would be better than 4-5 hour old coffee from a thermos. Would need to brew, but would have access to hot water without a need to heat. Small Aeropress might be best idea.

I ended up ordering the hottop basic roaster.

TD

 

[TrickyDick]

Check out http://brewmethods.com/. They've got a few cold brew methods posted. They're out there for sure. I worked in coffee (primarily roasting) for a while and never had a fondness for cold-brewed coffee, and even less so for hot coffee with ice. To me it lost way too much of what the coffee had to offer.

As far as the office coffee thing goes, I've had various methods. I had a fairly large kitchen at one of my old jobs, and could hide a press-pot or v60 in there pretty easily. I've got a tiny american weigh scale that worked well, and luckily the office had an electric kettle and a decent grinder (after the old one burned up 3 times I got my way!). You can always pre-grind some coffee in the morning into a ziplock and brew using that. (edit - like HarborTown said) I feel like you're losing more by having the brewed coffee sitting around than the ground coffee, but ymmv.

Good info here! I'll check out that cold brew site later and see how it works for me.

Thanks

TD

 

[jammin]

if you put freshly brewed coffee into a vacuum bottle it seems to hold up pretty well. IMHO - there is nothing like fresh brewed though.

I only drink 1 nice mug of coffee in the morning. This keeps my tolerance low and I don't overwork my adrenal system (leading to the 3 o'clock blues)

 

[Bigscience]

For work I bring beans and grind them right before I brew in my Aeropress. I have a small Hario grinder that I motorized with an electric screw driver. It turns out a really good cup. I also have a Chemex but it's way to much grinding unless I'm showing off a new roast with workplace proximity associates.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[maffew222]

What is a Cleaver (other than an actual meat cleaver?)
TD

they mean Clever. Clever Dripper at Sweet Maria's. The idea is that's it's Full-immersion and has a filter. I've only tried it a few times and never felt like I should buy one. neat concept though.

 

[Bensiff]

I have a good thermos travel mug with a click top to seal things up between sips that keeps 16 ounces toasty hot longer than it takes me to drink it. Which when I'm working takes a few hours most days. Maybe not super fresh towards the end but it's still very good coffee, good enough for my picky self at least.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Here is a question for you guys:
How important do you find water quality to be to your coffee tasting? And if your tap water doesn't do the trick, do you have any bottled water suggestions?

I ask because we all know, as brewers, that water quality is important.

I was speaking to a roaster recently, and in touring their facility I saw they have a very big water treatment setup to make sure their water is optimal and consistent. The roaster told me he can't even make coffee at home because his water is horrible for coffee.

When I make coffee at my parents house, using their well water, I can't get a great cup. I'll get a good cup, but never great.

 

[TrickyDick]

This is a great question. It came up in another unpopular thread without any significant response. We need AJ or Martin to help out here! I wonder, as if for beer, if the similar flavor ions sulfate and chloride, contribute significantly to coffee.
Would need to conduct an experiment. From what I've read, you don't want mineral free water, or it won't taste great.
Beyond that I don't know.
My treated tap water, (ion exchange with charcoal prefilter) is unsuitable for brewing all but the darkest beer due to high RA. I use RO and build from there. I've never tinkered with coffee water chemistry. I asked a college friend, now a chemistry professor, and he was clueless. I guess we are on our own.

TD

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

This helps a tad bit: the SCAA Water Brewing Standards, http://www.scaa.org/?page=resources&d=water-standards

As I understand, the SCAA guidelines are the ones being followed for the roasting facility I mentioned.

I'd really like to know if there is any bottled water which is good for brewing at home. It's frustrating for me to take coffee beans to my parents place and make okay coffee, but then take the same beans 30 mins up the road and brew fantastic coffee.

 

[TrickyDick]

What about using a brita filter or buying one to keep at your parents place?

Interesting article! I need to review my water report when I get home!
I am not familiar with the term calcium hardness. Might need to ask ward lab how to derive that from my report. However, given my very low Mg, I suspect that the total hardness would be a suitable surrogate, if in fact it isn't the same.

 

[TrickyDick]

Did you really expect it wouldn't see that big huge box getting delivered? What did you buy this time and why didn't you want me to know?

Fun times! I got the full scowl and hands on hips. Time for a 10.1% dopplebock homebrew.

But think of all the money I'll save on shipping fresh roasted coffee over the years vs buying green beans

 

[jammin]

^really excited for you to get roasting, TD! The hottop is a fine machine and will serve you well

 

[TrickyDick]

Did my first roast.

Had the Guatemalan heat ten an go or whatever is called beans as my 5# freebie with the roaster.

So, I think error #1 so far and counting is that I plugged it in, and somehow missed the selection between auto and manual.

Couldn't figure it out so I proceeded.

For some reasons it chooses a pre charge temp of 167°. I couldn't figure out how to change on the auto mode.
So after it heated, and then shut down when I didn't add beans, I finally added the beans (in auto mode) 227g, with set temp 428 )seems to require intervals of 2 for temp setting). Marked the pre charge temp at 167. I didn't see a way to change this, ams seems like I might be an issue...

Initially temp dropped. Took 3 minutes to rise back to 165"
Here is rest of pen and paper roast data

Time temp
3. 165
3.5 177
4.0 194
4.5 210
5.0. 224
5.5 237
6.0 252 ish (lost attention)
6.5. 262
7.0 275. Saw smoke/steam around this point
7.5 285
8.0 296
8.5 307

At approx
10 min hit 340 and cut power to 50%
I think I had hit 1C but hard to tell since I wasn't sure what I was hearing, damn spring break badgers next door!!
Certainly 1C started at about 10-20 seconds from the 10 minute mark. Could be that it began as early as 9:00 mark
Hit Eject at 384° and that was approx 3 minutes after 1C.

Need a digital timer I think.

Beans look uniform and evenly roasted. Will take a pic in a couple days before I brew with.

Anxious to brew tomorrow, but i hear are best at 2-3 days after roast. Seems I can brew 4 pots with the one roast load, so I might just roast up a pot tomorrow for the heck of it to see how I like.

TD

 

[Bensiff]

Here is a question for you guys:
How important do you find water quality to be to your coffee tasting? And if your tap water doesn't do the trick, do you have any bottled water suggestions?

I ask because we all know, as brewers, that water quality is important.

I was speaking to a roaster recently, and in touring their facility I saw they have a very big water treatment setup to make sure their water is optimal and consistent. The roaster told me he can't even make coffee at home because his water is horrible for coffee.

When I make coffee at my parents house, using their well water, I can't get a great cup. I'll get a good cup, but never great.

I had the same question and the owner of Sweet Maria's dismissed the need for adding salts to build a specific profile. He said good pure filtered water makes the best coffee.

 

[jammin]

^TD - congrats on your first roast on the new machine!

What temp did you hit 1C at?
(I like to call 1C start when it actually gets going a little. You'll often hear a few "vanguard" beans start sounding the alarm - after that you'll just know when the true 1C begins)

I totally forgot there are a few pre-progammed roast profiles on the manual version. They are crap haha. You do need to switch over to MANUAL during pre-heat.