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

[rekoob]

Who here uses a popcorn popper to roast? Tips/tricks/words of caution would be greatly appreciated. Can't swing $200 for even an entry level roaster right now, but I'd sure like to give it a shot.

I've been using a popcorn popper for a few years, like you I just can't swing the $$$ for a roaster.
The popper works very well and there are plenty of mods you can do to make it better.
One key thing is the type of popper, not brand but how the hot air enters the chamber. You need the one with the fins on the side, not the screen on the bottom.
It's pretty straight forward, turn it on and add beans until they just stop spinning in the bottom, use a wooden spoon or the like to give them a stir until they start moving by themselves, put the top on. I do this outside as the chaff does go all over the place. I have done it in the kitchen a few times, under the vent hood that vents outside and I just put a large bowl with wet paper towels as a liner and just about all the chaff was kept contained.
When they start Second Crack (I mainly use them in my Giotto ECM espresso machine), I turn it off and dump the beans into a metal colander and blow some air on them to cool them off quickly, they will continue to "cook" if you just leave them in a pile, spread them out.
Also the ambient temp will hinder the process if it's to cold out.
If I didn't answer your questions, let me know.

 

[rekoob]

Anyone seeing any deals out there with the holiday season upon us? Mainly beans, I'm pretty good with my grinder/espresso machine setup. Although I could us a new gasket for the head and I suppose I really should run some cleaner through it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Grind it then vacuum bag it (if you have one). As long as you remove the O2 it'll stay fresh. Fresh enough, anyway.

If you have to grind them, SMs has those plastic valve bags that you could vac-seal (if you have a snorkel type sealer) to remove the oxygen, and if freshly roasted, the CO2 released would purge the remaining O2 in the bag.

Yeah, I have used the one way valve bags from SM's in the past and they work. I could suck the air out of it, but you know the first thing everyone ALWAYS does when they see those bags? Open it up to smell it haha.

At least sucking the air out helps in the short term until they open the bag. I'll probably just do whatever he asks for and live with it.

 

[passedpawn]

Haha, you're right!

Yeah, I have used the one way valve bags from SM's in the past and they work. I could suck the air out of it, but you know the first thing everyone ALWAYS does when they see those bags? Open it up to smell it haha.

At least sucking the air out helps in the short term until they open the bag. I'll probably just do whatever he asks for and live with it.

 

[TallDan]

Two more coffees available on greencoffee.coop. Guatemala and Panama.

Just had my first pot of the Brazilian this morning, can't say it's my new favorite, but i'll wait to really judge it for at least a couple days.

 

[TallDan]

Ugh.

So the last few months, i've been running some water through the technivorm before brewing. Just up to the "2" mark, with the paper filter in to wet the filter and warm up the machine and carafe. I then dump the water into my mug to warm it and brew the coffee as normal. This morning (and last week once too) i forgot to dump the water out of the carafe before brewing, so there's 33% more water in there than there should be. :smack:

Considering dumping it and making a new pot.

Also considering going back to the swissgold filter. The first water through the paper filter definitely picks up some paper smell/taste. Seems like that's probably making it into the coffee as well.

 

[TrickyDick]

Ugh.

So the last few months, i've been running some water through the technivorm before brewing. Just up to the "2" mark, with the paper filter in to wet the filter and warm up the machine and carafe. I then dump the water into my mug to warm it and brew the coffee as normal. This morning (and last week once too) i forgot to dump the water out of the carafe before brewing, so there's 33% more water in there than there should be. :smack:

Considering dumping it and making a new pot.

Also considering going back to the swissgold filter. The first water through the paper filter definitely picks up some paper smell/taste. Seems like that's probably making it into the coffee as well.

Interesting... Which model do you own? I have the MoccaMaster CD.
I noticed when testing it out several months back, that you don't always get the same volume of water out that you put in. It varies significantly when I measure (by mass) even in just running plain water through. I know that there is no "pump". The "tests" were conducted back to back, so I wonder if there is more consistent amount of water coming out once the machine is preheated? I didn't take careful notes and what I did record was disposed of. I was trying to dial in my grinder settings and eventually abandonded that since I wasn't getting consistent water output. I wonder if some water gets left behind. I emailed the manufacturer but received a response that didn't really answer the question. I also note that the grounds in the filter basket do not get uniformly extracted (crater in center & high riding grinds). I now brew without preheating, remove the carafe, wait until ground coffee is saturated, stir to ensure all grounds have been wet, then carefully lift the basket up, replace carafe then replace basket. I find that the replacing of the carafe without lifting the basket makes more prone for mess when full filter drains into carafe. Then, I distribute water from spray arm to rinse the high riding grounds back into the water. Lastly, once all the water has been delivered but before the basket has drained fully, I shake it gently in its cradle. This apparently fixes the cratering problem, but I have to coarsen the grind a notch to prevent over extraction from the stirring. I think that over Christmas break, I might try to revisit my experiment with a bag of cheapo coffee, to see if preheating with ~200ml water is helpful obtaining more consistent water output, and then try to dial in my grinder for desired %TDS. If the amount of water coming out isn't always the same as what I put in, there is no way to get consistent brewing from the MoccaMaster when you measure the TDS%. Been looking for a more consistent brewing process/drip machine but so far have not succeeded. Might also try my experiment with the French Press. At least the water in-out will be consistent with that method. Tried the Clever drip, but overall I seem to enjoy results more with the press or drip.

Sorry for long winded reply..

 

[TallDan]

Interesting... Which model do you own? I have the MoccaMaster CD.
I noticed when testing it out several months back, that you don't always get the same volume of water out that you put in. It varies significantly when I measure (by mass) even in just running plain water through. I know that there is no "pump". The "tests" were conducted back to back, so I wonder if there is more consistent amount of water coming out once the machine is preheated? I didn't take careful notes and what I did record was disposed of. I was trying to dial in my grinder settings and eventually abandonded that since I wasn't getting consistent water output. I wonder if some water gets left behind. I emailed the manufacturer but received a response that didn't really answer the question. I also note that the grounds in the filter basket do not get uniformly extracted (crater in center & high riding grinds). I now brew without preheating, remove the carafe, wait until ground coffee is saturated, stir to ensure all grounds have been wet, then carefully lift the basket up, replace carafe then replace basket. I find that the replacing of the carafe without lifting the basket makes more prone for mess when full filter drains into carafe. Then, I distribute water from spray arm to rinse the high riding grounds back into the water. Lastly, once all the water has been delivered but before the basket has drained fully, I shake it gently in its cradle. This apparently fixes the cratering problem, but I have to coarsen the grind a notch to prevent over extraction from the stirring. I think that over Christmas break, I might try to revisit my experiment with a bag of cheapo coffee, to see if preheating with ~200ml water is helpful obtaining more consistent water output, and then try to dial in my grinder for desired %TDS. If the amount of water coming out isn't always the same as what I put in, there is no way to get consistent brewing from the MoccaMaster when you measure the TDS%. Been looking for a more consistent brewing process/drip machine but so far have not succeeded. Might also try my experiment with the French Press. At least the water in-out will be consistent with that method. Tried the Clever drip, but overall I seem to enjoy results more with the press or drip.

Sorry for long winded reply..

Mine is the KB741. I'm nowhere near as detail-oriented with my drip brew as you are.

I've never measured how much water is output time over time, but there's no question that some water stays in the boiler area between brew sessions. I don't really sweat it much. I also have the "crater" from each brew, but don't really worry about that too much either. I've noticed that it really only forms at the end, the coffee maker seems to maintain a nice slurry in the basket during the brew cycle.

Long time ago, i had played with stirring the coffee in the basket after the brew cycle had started, I had read somewhere that it will help with more even extraction. I found that i ended up with off-flavors from overextraction. That may have been before i got a good grinder and I may not have revisited it since then, so it may be worth another try with a coarser grind.

If the Technivorm isn't to your liking, I'm not sure that any other drip brewers will be. Maybe the Behmor Brazen? Use of drip brewers is more for convenience than anything else. Notice that any reputable coffee shop puts a lot of effort into their espresso, pour over, and press pots, but the drip brewer is just an after-thought on the back counter.

 

[jammin]

Press Pot or gtfo. So easy to throw my bodum Columbia on the scale and pour water. Coffee is already ground by weight on the vario w

 

[TrickyDick]

Press Pot or gtfo. So easy to throw my bodum Columbia on the scale and pour water. Coffee is already ground by weight on the vario w

Yeah, I guess I am at that point. Need to rearrange my AM schedule to accommodate for the longer prep and brew time to use my press pot. Just wish that the drip pot was more consistent. Sometimes it turns out great and sometimes meh despite meticulous measurement of water and coffee grounds.

TD.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Two more coffees available on greencoffee.coop. Guatemala and Panama.

Just had my first pot of the Brazilian this morning, can't say it's my new favorite, but i'll wait to really judge it for at least a couple days.

Did the Brazil improve for you? I'm going to give it a try early this week.

I'm also probably going to order 5lbs each of the Guat and Panama. I'm thinking one of those should blend nicely with the Brazil for a Christmas blend.

 

[TallDan]

Did the Brazil improve for you? I'm going to give it a try early this week.

I'm also probably going to order 5lbs each of the Guat and Panama. I'm thinking one of those should blend nicely with the Brazil for a Christmas blend.

Some improvement, but still not a favorite. I might try a different roast routine with it for the next batch. Not that it tasted bad, just kinda boring.

 

[jammin]

Amaro Gayo from the GCBC. Excited to see how this roast turns out. Kept the MET around 500* for the ramp and close to 445* for the stretch. 1C was very subdued. Hoping that a lot of the delicate DP nuances are preserved in this batch due to the roast profile.

PS - the prep on this coffee is really good for a dry process Ethiopian.

 

[TrickyDick]

wow. did you get any tipped beans dropping at over 500º When I've tried to drop at 450º or higher I get tipping on my Hottop, even with hard beans, but its worse (as expected) with less dense or softer beans. I try to stay around 400-450 range for most beans, even lower for soft beans. Have occasionally tempted the fates by dropping higher on Kenyans, and Ethopians, and some Guats. I'm planning one of these days to run the TC4 setup for PID control, but so far haven't been able to find the time to even get it out of the shipping box. Once I do, be nice to save and share files for roasting (if they aren't too big I could perhaps host them).

TD

 

[TrickyDick]

Oh and by the way, for folks using artisan, this is a nice read. Even if you don't use artisan it discusses briefly at the end about airflow, which I have always struggled with. I had previously slowly incrementally increased the fan speed to clear out the smoke, but this article suggests doing the opposite. Last night I roasted two Kenya bean batches and followed the advice, starting high on fan and tapering to slow speed near the end. Granted it's less than 24 hours that I brewed with the beans, but I am very happy with the results.
Here is a link
http://kostverlorenvaart.blogspot.nl/2015/11/designing-smooth-roast-curves-in-artisan.html

TD

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Meant to pick up the Panama from GCC but life got in my way and I didn't get to buy it until this morning when it was gone. Whoops.

So I just bought 10 lbs of a Kenyan from SM, along with some slick looking white stand-up bags, and will be blending this with a Brazil for a Christmas Blend to give out for gifts.

A friend sent me a coffee from a roaster-friend of his: Populace Coffee in Bay City, MI. It was pretty good - always fun to calibrate against another roaster. The packaging was really well done, and explained brew methods for various brewers, along with a roast date. Roasted on 11/24, and delivered to my condo sometime before 11/29 - impressive!

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Anyone experiment (purposely) with changing brew temps while brewing blends to see how the flavors change?

This morning I made this XMas blend from Populace, which is a combo of Columbian and Kenyan. Today I let my water sit a tad longer before I did the pour-over (not on purpose) and it came out with a ton more citrus and acidity today, presumably from the Kenyan. Which got me thinking...

I've read documentation that East African beans perform better with lower brew temps, whereas Centrals appreciate higher temps.

So, if you adjust your brewing temp with blends, can you systematically alter the tastes of the product - brewed cup by brewed cup?

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I was dragging today at work so I ended up drinking...a lot of coffee; much more than I usually do. I hoped it would make me more productive, but instead I can't focus and have a lot of anxiety. Urg!

I should have trusted my normal routine, but I got greedy.

 

[TrickyDick]

I was dragging today at work so I ended up drinking...a lot of coffee; much more than I usually do. I hoped it would make me more productive, but instead I can't focus and have a lot of anxiety. Urg!

I should have trusted my normal routine, but I got greedy.

Yeah I would get that too, until I got put on beta blockers. Now I can drink as much as I like.
Would rather not have to take the meds but a perk is a perk.
TD

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Yeah I would get that too, until I got put on beta blockers. Now I can drink as much as I like.
Would rather not have to take the meds but a perk is a perk.
TD

Beta blockers and copious amounts of coffee. Sounds like it could be a dangerous combo? I'm not familiar with BB's.

I suffer from a great deal of anxiety, part of which I believe comes from drinking coffee, but mostly it's just who I am. I've mentioned it to the wife before (she's the stereotypical person who, once you complain about something health related, she's all over you to go to the Dr.), but she never really said anything or took me seriously, so I just don't mess with it.

After a 2 hour car ride with the wife and her friend (who is on medicine for anxiety), her friend has raised a great deal of awareness to the wife about my anxiety and my "tells". So, now the wife wants me to see the Dr. about it.

I know there are options, but I just don't want to go on a medicine for it, and am afraid it will change who I am...my character.

Anyways, anyone else have experience with it? I know it's a shot in the dark but figured I'd ask.

 

[passedpawn]

Beta blockers and copious amounts of coffee. Sounds like it could be a dangerous combo? I'm not familiar with BB's.

I suffer from a great deal of anxiety, part of which I believe comes from drinking coffee, but mostly it's just who I am. I've mentioned it to the wife before (she's the stereotypical person who, once you complain about something health related, she's all over you to go to the Dr.), but she never really said anything or took me seriously, so I just don't mess with it.

After a 2 hour car ride with the wife and her friend (who is on medicine for anxiety), her friend has raised a great deal of awareness to the wife about my anxiety and my "tells". So, now the wife wants me to see the Dr. about it.

I know there are options, but I just don't want to go on a medicine for it, and am afraid it will change who I am...my character.

Anyways, anyone else have experience with it? I know it's a shot in the dark but figured I'd ask.

Go decaf for a while. You'll be amazed.

 

[TallDan]

I was dragging today at work so I ended up drinking...a lot of coffee; much more than I usually do. I hoped it would make me more productive, but instead I can't focus and have a lot of anxiety. Urg!

I should have trusted my normal routine, but I got greedy.

I'd agree, I too much coffee is quite uncomfortable, kinda like drinking too much beer. The only time i did it recently was when i made two press pots comparing your batch of home roasted coffee to mine.

Beta blockers and copious amounts of coffee. Sounds like it could be a dangerous combo? I'm not familiar with BB's.

I suffer from a great deal of anxiety, part of which I believe comes from drinking coffee, but mostly it's just who I am. I've mentioned it to the wife before (she's the stereotypical person who, once you complain about something health related, she's all over you to go to the Dr.), but she never really said anything or took me seriously, so I just don't mess with it.

After a 2 hour car ride with the wife and her friend (who is on medicine for anxiety), her friend has raised a great deal of awareness to the wife about my anxiety and my "tells". So, now the wife wants me to see the Dr. about it.

I know there are options, but I just don't want to go on a medicine for it, and am afraid it will change who I am...my character.

Anyways, anyone else have experience with it? I know it's a shot in the dark but figured I'd ask.

Well, I haven't been down that road myself, but my wife has seen doctors about anxiety issues, and at times has taken some medications for it. I would not say that the medications changed who she is. It would be closer to accurate to say that the medication changes her mood (although that's not quite accurate either). Of course, everyone's situation is different and I'm sure there are a lot of different treatments out there for different situations. I'll add that her anxiety-related problems were one of the drivers for her decision to remove caffeine from her diet over a year ago.

 

[TallDan]

Go decaf for a while. You'll be amazed.

You know, it's been quite a while since I last cut caffeine for a period of time. I've also had some sleep problems this week.... Hmm...

 

[JonW]

My Doctor was on my case about my caffeine intake so I cut it by a 1/3. I do my espresso blend with 2/3 caffeinated and 1/3 decaffeinated. I now no longer get caffeine headaches if I go a day without espresso.

 

[passedpawn]

I drink a full pot of coffee every day (sometimes I'll make another pot if I'm working really hard, which I manage to avoid most of the time). It's a 12-cup pot, but I'd say that's 7 or 8 of my cups. By the evening I'm on fire.

I have zero interaction with any humans in my job. If I did, I wouldn't get so sparked up; I'd limit that to a cup or two in the AM, or just drink decaf.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

That may not be a horrible idea to cut my coffee with some decaf, but honestly, on a typical weekday I only drink two 16 oz cups. I've never thought that was too much coffee (each cup being with about 22 grams of beans).

I'm kind of with @PassedPawn where I also have very little interaction with humans (or anything, other than this thread) in my job. I find I drink more coffee when I'm alone compared to when I'm around others. Never really thought about it much.

Sounds a bit depressing, but I've never been ashamed to drink alone

 

[UndeadFred]

Caffeine in proper moderation is good for you unless you have a specific sensitivity to it. It literally is an antioxidant. And as far as coffee extraction methods. For people like us who appreciate the finer things.. (home brew, kegging, beer that has flavor, etc..) .. Good grinder, fresh roast and an a Espresso machine with the minimum of a three way valve, or go home...

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Anybody have tips on how to mail coffee for cheap? I just spent $5.75 to mail 2 lbs to a friend. I now realize USPS charges the envelope as a package when the envelope's height is greater than .75 inches.

I think I had mailed some before for about $2.50, but I believe it was because it was about 6oz and in a flatter container, so it must have qualified as an envelope.

 

[DrunkleJon]

I don't see how people can drink coffee throughout the day. I have a rule for myself that I cannot drink hot coffee after 10 am or else I have trouble sleeping. I can do a cup of iced coffee in the afternoon, but not every day or anything. Weirdly enough tea and soda caffeine do not seem to affect my sleep.

I just make a point to have one cup of strong black coffee in the morning on weekdays, with the occasional weekend day cup. Hot water if I really want a second cup. I just love the smell/flavor of coffee.


Try using one of the padded envelopes or packages that are the one cost for whatever you manage to cram in this envelope.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I don't see how people can drink coffee throughout the day. I have a rule for myself that I cannot drink hot coffee after 10 am or else I have trouble sleeping. I can do a cup of iced coffee in the afternoon, but not every day or anything. Weirdly enough tea and soda caffeine do not seem to affect my sleep.

I cut myself off at 3pm, which is usually pretty good as it gives me enough of a buzz to go home and be productive for the rest of the night. But I have no problem going to bed around 10pm. If I drink after 3pm I usually won't be able to sleep until after 1130 or so.

My wife can drink coffee all day and all night. It's a blessing and a curse, because caffeine doesn't really do much for her, so when she's tired she can't resort to coffee for a pick-up.