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

[TrickyDick]

So, I decided to be a little OCD with my morning drip coffee in my Technivorm KB-741 to give TD another datapoint.

Inputs:
743g of water added to reservoir
42g of ground coffee
coffee+filter+holder+cover 177g

outputs:
coffee+filter+holder+cover 249g (+72g)
carafe 1339g (+596g)

So, I "lost" 75g of water.

I'm not sure how much i actually trust the numbers above. Sources of measurement error are a somewhat crappy scale and the fact that they were all made before I drank any coffee this morning.

I've been told to expect 1% evaporation loss during brew cycle, so that's 7.5g roughly. Your retained liquid ratio seems high. Your coffee brewing ratio seems high 17.69 (suggested range 16-17 parts water to one part coffee). Could be some measurement precision issues, sure.

Are you using a paper filter? If so pre-wet and rinse and shake excess. I don't know where the water went, but you're predicted to have 668 grams of beverage at the end of the brew. I can't explain either. I would suggest that you could measure a blank brew water in, water out by mass, and see what you find. It could potentially even vary from a cold start pot sitting overnight and used in AM, to a hot start that just finished brewing. There is no pump in the technivorm and the boiling is what forces water into the spray arm. I can imagine as the level drops in the boiler that a small layer gets left behind. I would think that this would be trapped there until the next brew. I have the CD Moccamaster, and that might have a different boiler setup and dead space. I'm just guessing here. I noticed in a blank brew 17 g missing and on a back to back brew 12 g missing. I'd try that. If you get a consistent number I'd say to add to your brewing water every time to compensate.
You are losing water in a non rinsed paper filter if your using one too.
Probably a few grams worth. 75 seems like a high value. I could be your grounds are very finely ground and holding more water than they should? I don't know. Try repeating and see if the numbers hold up. It's rather strange to me.

TD

 

[passedpawn]

I was just in Jamaica and drank Jamaican Blue Mountain while looking at the Blue Mountains! It was not remarkable, probably because 1) it wasn't what it was purported to be, and 2) poor roasting.

Here is part of the Blue Mountain chain (I think), as we were putting away from Ocho Rios.

 

[TallDan]

I've been told to expect 1% evaporation loss during brew cycle, so that's 7.5g roughly. Your retained liquid ratio seems high. Your coffee brewing ratio seems high 17.69 (suggested range 16-17 parts water to one part coffee). Could be some measurement precision issues, sure.

Are you using a paper filter? If so pre-wet and rinse and shake excess. I don't know where the water went, but you're predicted to have 668 grams of beverage at the end of the brew. I can't explain either. I would suggest that you could measure a blank brew water in, water out by mass, and see what you find. It could potentially even vary from a cold start pot sitting overnight and used in AM, to a hot start that just finished brewing. There is no pump in the technivorm and the boiling is what forces water into the spray arm. I can imagine as the level drops in the boiler that a small layer gets left behind. I would think that this would be trapped there until the next brew. I have the CD Moccamaster, and that might have a different boiler setup and dead space. I'm just guessing here. I noticed in a blank brew 17 g missing and on a back to back brew 12 g missing. I'd try that. If you get a consistent number I'd say to add to your brewing water every time to compensate.
You are losing water in a non rinsed paper filter if your using one too.
Probably a few grams worth. 75 seems like a high value. I could be your grounds are very finely ground and holding more water than they should? I don't know. Try repeating and see if the numbers hold up. It's rather strange to me.

TD

I did not pre-wet the filter on this brew, mostly because i was using the dry filter to weigh the dry coffee. Honestly, most mornings I do not pre-wet it, as it's usually a pretty quick job to throw together my weekday morning coffee, but on the rare occasion that I am using the drip brewer and am paying close attention to the process I do pre-wet it. The technivorm is really my quick and dirty brewing method, if I'm spending more time on it I'll usually use the espresso machine or french press.

As far as absorption rate, I should also mention that this coffee was roasted less than an hour before brewing this morning, which I'm sure could have some impact here. I grind with a Rancilio Rocky on the 28 setting (which is almost meaningless since there is a ton of variance from one rocky to the next).

This was with a cold machine that had last brewed about 24 hours prior to this brew. Mostly, my goal was to find a low number for water loss, I was hoping it would be within the margin of error of my measurements, which it certainly was not. I thought I might be able to account for the loss that you saw, but instead have larger water loss that I can't easily explain. I may do some more experimentation over the next few days and see if I learn anything.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

If you haven't been to the green coffee coop, it's a great little site. Bob Yellen is the main man there and does a lot of the cupping. When he rates and reviews a coffee, you can take it to the bank it's what he says it is. He is too humble at times if anything. Although offerings are rare and hard to get in on, the lots are almost always exceptional. Pricing is always fair.

Looks like today an Ethiopian might go up (no time posted as it becomes a terrible free for all) that Bob scored a 91.3 with descriptors of strawberries with sparkling acidity. I'd like to get 15lbs myself (unheard for me) if I manage to get in on it.

Good luck -
http://www.greencoffee.coop/index.p...pic&Itemid=708&catid=23&id=44714&limitstart=6

Looks like I missed this one. I did sign up just now though, and I'm trying to get used to the site.

I'm having a hard time figuring out what is being offered though - is it whichever coffee is listed on the Home Page under the "Coffee Shop" title? Right now it looks like just a Kenyan is available.

Thanks for the tip on this site though - looks like a good one to frequent on occasion.

 

[TallDan]

Looks like I missed this one. I did sign up just now though, and I'm trying to get used to the site.

I'm having a hard time figuring out what is being offered though - is it whichever coffee is listed on the Home Page under the "Coffee Shop" title? Right now it looks like just a Kenyan is available.

Thanks for the tip on this site though - looks like a good one to frequent on occasion.

Which one is it?

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I roasted a Burundi a few days ago, after someone else had mentioned they recently did one and I remembered I had a couple pounds sitting around.

Yesterday in the French Press: It was alright, maybe a little flat, but not bad. A tad bit of a citrus flavor, but nothing really jumping out at me. It was a lighter roast, and it may have tasted a tad tea-like - not sure if it was too young to drink yet, but it had sat 2.5 days. Wife liked it.

Today in the Chemex: I was really looking forward to this in the Chemex, but only after grinding it I realized I forgot to change the grinder settings and I ground it to the same level as I did for the Press. I thought about running it through the grinder again, but I don't know if that's bad for the grinder so I just decided to roll with it. The whole process still took about 4.5 - 5 mins (aside from a 30 sec bloom). The aroma was intense - fig, if I identified it correctly. In the cup, beautiful. Just a fantastic cup of coffee. When hot it had a caramel flavor. Nice subtle acidity, nice level of citrus, becoming a little sweeter as it cooled.

I think I must have ordered this back in December, and turns out they still have some available. If you are in to this sort of thing, I would highly recommend it: https://www.sweetmarias.com/product/burundi-kibande-ruyaga

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Which one is it?

Alright alright haha.

Another note I just saw: Behmor officially priced the upgrade at $199 if you already have a Behmor. http://legacy.sweetmarias.com/library/weblog/behmor-bucks

I'm getting along just fine with mine as it is. If that $199 included a bean probe I'd be all over it.

 

[TallDan]

Alright alright haha.

Another note I just saw: Behmor officially priced the upgrade at $199 if you already have a Behmor. http://legacy.sweetmarias.com/library/weblog/behmor-bucks

I'm getting along just fine with mine as it is. If that $199 included a bean probe I'd be all over it.

Yeah, $200 and as far as i can tell, nothing about it will help me roast coffee better, it just moves the buttons from the front panel to a phone.

 

[TrickyDick]

That Kola Kochore I did is tasting really nice. I'm getting closer to my TDS% targets. I'm finding I get a more complex flavor with 20.5% extraction and less. The Technivorm too easily seems to overextract when you attempt to get a uniform extraction. I think is the crappy spray arm... I have a spare that I might drill some extra holes in to attempt to get more uniform sprinkling of the water. Also, with too coarse a grind, the total brew time is under 5 minutes. And this begs a question. When does one begin to time the brewing process, and when does timing finish? I used to think the start was when water hits the grounds, but now I think its is probably when the water first enters the carafe. Not sure. And ditto on the end of brewing. Is it when the last water has been delivered, or is it when the filter basket ceases draining?

TD

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

With my latest order, I figure I have between 25 - 30 lbs of unroasted beans now.

Has this turned into an obsession yet?

 

[TrickyDick]

With my latest order, I figure I have between 25 - 30 lbs of unroasted beans now.

Has this turned into an obsession yet?

Yeah, um, my "coffee library" is getting to be ridiculous too.
However, as a NooB, I figure I would rather have enough of a stash to weather out any shortages in GOOD beans until I have a better handle on the whole market availability thing. I mostly enjoy the Kenya stuff and the "arabian mocha" stuff from commercial roasters. Never had a good Burundi (or even seen for sale commercially) until Blue Bottle in SF on a trip. Wow! I can't roast and brew like those guys can (yet), but I hope to get close with time. Really interesting, I've never seen many Ethiopian coffees and of the commercial roasted beans, I've never tried any that impressed, but I really do like my home roasted Ethiopian beans, and that might be my new favorite.

I previously was accustomed to mostly roasty, occasionally smoky, chocolate and tannic like flavors in my coffee, but the further I get down the rabbit hole, I am finding myself liking the lighter roasts, that have more acidity and sweetness, and fruity flavors and some floral notes occasionally. Its kind of like drinking beer and then you start homebrewing (though nowadays the craft beer market is so good that I've considered quitting homebrewing since I can buy good and great beer most of the time). Not so with coffee however.

TD

 

[jammin]

the further you get down the rabbit hole, the closer you get to converting to ultra-light roasts


I know what you guys mean about ballooning coffee stashes. I've learned to throttle my enthusiasm somewhat and only select srsly appeasing selections. It's tough to control myself at times though. Some of these coffees sound SUPER appetizing.

 

[TrickyDick]

the further you get down the rabbit hole, the closer you get to converting to ultra-light roasts


I know what you guys mean about ballooning coffee stashes. I've learned to throttle my enthusiasm somewhat and only select srsly appeasing selections. It's tough to control myself at times though. Some of these coffees sound SUPER appetizing.

Umm yeah...

So I have a empty 24 bottle beer case box filled (overflowing) with green beans, stashed in the corner of the rec room. Dunno what I'm going to do when I get the 15# of Green Coffee Coop stuff I ordered (Yeah that sounded too awesome to pass by)..

I guess there are worse obsessions.....

TD

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I had to build a closet for my beer just about a year ago. I may just need another closet soon. Or a bigger home.

 

[TrickyDick]

Once my hood gets installed for the basement e-Brew zone, I'll be roasting down there too, and will have plenty of storage for the beans (and beer)!

Today I need to roast up some beans. I'm thinking about a Burundi. I have a half pound of the Kayanza Mpemba - sorta "pooched" the first half pound on that, wasn't terrible but didn't shine. Lately, I've been doing two half pound roasts back to back, and that frees up some time during the week, as a 1/2 pound won't be enough to last through the week. Doing the back to back has been nice I think, because recollection of the previous roast is instant and easier to anticipate and react to what is happening. I might also roast some decaf 1/4 pound or something to try that out. I've not tried smaller roasts in the HotTop yet.

TD

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Yeah i try to do two back to back half pound roasts when I roast as well. That way I can alternate between two different beans throughout the week.

 

[passedpawn]

I had to build a closet for my beer just about a year ago. I may just need another closet soon. Or a bigger home.

Start making cheese. That can get all sorts of complex (and it requires another temp-controlled aging fridge). Bigger home for sure.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I really really want to make cheese but I just have too much going on. And limited space. Plus the wife Wants a kiddo so that likely kills 60% of my hobbies for a while.

I love brie soooo much too

 

[TallDan]

Ugh, frusterated. Two roasts in a row now, the behmor has stopped with an err2 right before the start of 1c. Last time i seemed to recover and got some decent coffee. This time i don't think that will be the case, I never had a good 1c, just some sporatic popping while trying to restart the roast and then for a few minutes after that.

I did have quite a bit of smoke with this one, the Yemen Mokha Bani Haraz
from SM. Maybe I should blame jammin, these were both with coffees he recommended.

 

[jammin]

^that suuucks TD! so you think it was the smoke that shut the roaster down? how unfortunate to lose those Yemeni beans I'm planning on roasting Yemen today myself, hopefully the coffee gods don't strike me down too!

 

[TallDan]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1435418024.137144.jpg

 

[TrickyDick]

That doesn't look so bad, but sounds like the development period was probably significantly shortened.. Time will tell.

Brewed with french press today. Definitely richer in body, some getting used to for sure. Adjusted Vario to coarsest grind setting, and loaded 70.8g beans + 1 L coffee (higher brewing ratio for immersion brewing vs drip brewing). I botched the timing of the brewing but estimate 5:30 give or take 10 seconds. Extraction 19.2% which is pretty much where I was aiming. Unfortunately, this is my last of the Kola Kochere so I won't be able to experiment with different targets. I gently dunked the bloom and placed the filter to keep the bloom submerged during the brewing. Time will tell how repeatable and consistent this is. I didn't measure the volume this time to see what's happening there, but there is nowhere for any water to vanish mysteriously. I'm considering trying a post brew filter (I've read that skipping a paper filter will increase cholesterol levels and I think this is pretty well accepted to be true).

TD

 

[TallDan]

The first one was Guatemala Huehuetenango Hoja Blanca, I'd be curious to hear if others roasting that and the Yemeni coffee find them to be a smoky roasts.

I'm not sure if the smoke i noticed is a result of the roaster stopping or the cause of it. In both cases, i noticed smoke when the roaster stopped and then as it got started again. When it stops, the coffee ends up sitting right near the heating elements (off, but still hot) which could certainly be causing it. The error that the roaster pops up is apparently not uncommon with smoky roasts and indicates a temperature rise out of range.

I might have to forgo the roaster pre-heat or start my manual roast on the 1/2lb setting instead of 1lb as I have been doing.

 

[TallDan]

That doesn't look so bad, but sounds like the development period was probably significantly shortened.. Time will tell.

It looks much more inconsistent than I'm used to seeing. It also may be under-roasted overall. I probably would have let it go longer, but the amount of smoke from the roaster was so unusual that I was concerned and didn't want to take chances with overdoing it.

 

[jammin]

Im with Tricky - that roast looks good at first glance. Sooo hard to tell over a pic on the web though. Id say brew a pot of it Tuesday or Wednesday. If it is really light - some rest will be very beneficial to help mellow the acidity.


Your natural/dry process beans are going to produce more smoke. Wet process beans should produce a lot less chaff and therefor less smoke. I think that Guatemala should be WP.

 

[TallDan]

Side note on the Guatemalan: I enjoyed it yesterday brewed in the technivorm, but this morning from the french press it's pretty boring.

(obvious caveat being that the roast was a bit off.)

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Td, watch your chamber temp (b button). Behmor shuts down at like 325. I always keep mine from going above 312 by flipping between p5/p4.

 

[TallDan]

Td, watch your chamber temp (b button). Behmor shuts down at like 325. I always keep mine from going above 312 by flipping between p5/p4.

Hmm. Good info. Thinking about it, it's just been the last 5 roasts that i've been hitting p5 for manual mode right at the start of the roast, and the last two i've had this problem. I started doing it because i noticed the element turning itself off in the p1 program which is supposed to be 100% power. It was probably stopping itself from going overtemp. So, if that's the issue, I either need to keep an eye on that sensor as you said, or leave it in auto until i'm ready to turn the heat down (usually at browning). Either way, I'll pay some more attention to this on the next couple roasts.

 

[TrickyDick]

i have a question for french pressers - what ratio are you using? I've read everything from 1:6 to 1:10.

I like my coffee strong, but man - i can't get above 30g of coffee for a 1L pot before it gets too intense for me, even for city roasts. I can't imagine using 100g of coffee per liter.

VST coffee tools suggested 70.8g to 1L. Pre-heat the press pot, dump and dry, add coffee and pour in the hot water. Start timing as soon as the water hits the grounds. gently dunk the bloom with a spoon and add the filter to gently submerge the bloom for the duration of the brew. Plunge the filter at 5:30 and decant into a thermal carafe. I hit 19.15% extraction 1.33% TDS with coarsest grind setting. Was not overpowering to me.

 

[TrickyDick]

Woah! Spendy beans for nearly $22/lb

https://www.sweetmarias.com/product/guatemala-acatenango-gesha

Is this stuff THAT good??
TD