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

[arturo7]

Gaggia has a forum. I don't have the link, but you might want to check it out.

 

[TrickyDick]

I believe was Jammin that posted a link to a variac. Been looking at it. Does that upscale heavy duty model INCLUDE the Kill-A-Watt functionality?? Kinda seems like if you have the Variac then why would the Kill-A-Watt also be needed to ensure consistent power delivery? I'd use my PS Audio power plant premiere which I believe does the same thing, but its not easily disconnected every time I want to roast.

TD

 

[passedpawn]

I believe was Jammin that posted a link to a variac. Been looking at it. Does that upscale heavy duty model INCLUDE the Kill-A-Watt functionality?? Kinda seems like if you have the Variac then why would the Kill-A-Watt also be needed to ensure consistent power delivery? I'd use my PS Audio power plant premiere which I believe does the same thing, but its not easily disconnected every time I want to roast.

TD

Variacs are incredible simple devices (autotransformer). They won't control/hold any voltage or power level. They just let you change it. So, yea, you need the kill-a-watt too.

I'm assuming you attach variac to wall, then to killawatt, then to roaster, then dial the variac to the power level (looking at the killawatt) that you want. Power is in watts.

 

[jammin]

^yep.

P=V^2/R

R is obviously fixed (the heating element) so by stabilizing input voltage you will have consistent power in your roasts. The KaW's digital read out makes adjusting line voltage a snap. You'd be surprised how much you can drop just by cranking your roaster alone.

This is why I stated that a 20amp receptacle(breaker) is inconsequential b/c the resistive load is not large enough to warrant greater than 1500 watts given a 120V potential.

 

[jammin]

The Quest M3 has an ammeter for adjusting power. This eliminates the need for a variac/KaW combo because P=I^2(R)

 

[ba-brewer]

I use citric acid for descaling and Cafiza for cleaning the group head.

Seems like citric acid might be cheaper then prepackaged descalers, how do you use the citric acid?

 

[JonW]

Seems like citric acid might be cheaper then prepackaged descalers, how do you use the citric acid?

Citric acid is way cheaper. Some homebrew shops even carry it.

My machine is a plumbed in machine, so there is no reservoir to fill like you would on most machines. I have to turn my machine over and remove the drain plugs from the boilers and then fill them with water and citric acid solution. I let them soak, then drain and rinse. Once I hook it back up to the plumbed in water source, I then run quite a bit through it just to make sure it is clear.

If you have a reservoir that you need to fill, you can just mix your solution and put it in the reservoir and run it through. Once it has filled your boiler, just let it soak. You can then flush and do again and then flush with clean water.

Pretty simple process.

 

[TrickyDick]

Mazzaros in St Petersburg FL.

View attachment 1460219530396.jpg

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Mazzaros in St Petersburg FL.

Lucky. When I visited the Tampa/St. Peters area last year I hard the hardest time finding good coffee anywhere.

 

[passedpawn]

Lucky. When I visited the Tampa/St. Peters area last year I hard the hardest time finding good coffee anywhere.

Kahwa Coffee, roasted in st pete. Served all over the place.

http://www.kahwacoffee.com/store-locations/

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Kahwa Coffee, roasted in st pete. Served all over the place.

http://www.kahwacoffee.com/store-locations/

Yeah, I had it a couple times but it was never very good to my palate. I spoke with a local about it and he said they are everywhere but he didn't feel they did anything great. Maybe you have had better experiences with them though.

I found a place in Dunedin which served Buddy Brew out of Tampa and I really liked that a lot.

Coffee while out of town can be a fickle matter. I generally don't bring my own beans, because I don't want to hassle with finding a way to brew them (and I try to pack all my stuff in a small carry on as it is) so we usually resort to trying to find the best place around town for coffee (and beer, really). It leads to a nice little fun challenge and trying a lot of stuff along the way.

 

[passedpawn]

Yeah, I had it a couple times but it was never very good to my palate. I spoke with a local about it and he said they are everywhere but he didn't feel they did anything great. Maybe you have had better experiences with them though.

I found a place in Dunedin which served Buddy Brew out of Tampa and I really liked that a lot.

Coffee while out of town can be a fickle matter. I generally don't bring my own beans, because I don't want to hassle with finding a way to brew them (and I try to pack all my stuff in a small carry on as it is) so we usually resort to trying to find the best place around town for coffee (and beer, really). It leads to a nice little fun challenge and trying a lot of stuff along the way.

I'll bet I know the place. 9th Bar. Guy who owns it REALLY knows his coffee. I'm positive they served buddybrew. Used to be connected to the Dunedin house of beers, but I think they moved in the last year to a new location. I used to get coffee there after riding the pinellas trail.

I don't buy beans anymore, but Kahwa got me into roasting. I had some coffee roasted from Kahwa and thought it was awesome.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I'll bet I know the place. 9th Bar.

BINGO! Nice work. Yes, the owner knows his stuff, he really does. I feel a little bad for him because he's running one of the best coffee bars in the area and it's tucked away in sleepy little Dunedin (although I'll be the first to say the wife and I loved Dunedin the most of any of the towns/cities we visited in the area).

Dunedin Brewery was pretty kick-ass as well. So many great things in that little area of the town.

 

[UndeadFred]

So, has anyone worked up water profiles for Espresso Brewing from RO like has been done in for beer on this board? I'm kinda starting to think it might be worthwhile to make the "ultimate" water instead of mixing 50%/50% RO to my well water. For beer that works with Amber or Darker if I am not picky, but building up an actually correct profile from RO has kicked up my brews more than a notch.

I wonder if it will do the same for my Espresso.

Cheers...

Fred

 

[passedpawn]

BINGO! Nice work. Yes, the owner knows his stuff, he really does. I feel a little bad for him because he's running one of the best coffee bars in the area and it's tucked away in sleepy little Dunedin (although I'll be the first to say the wife and I loved Dunedin the most of any of the towns/cities we visited in the area).

Dunedin Brewery was pretty kick-ass as well. So many great things in that little area of the town.

Yep, great little town. I hang out there all the time. Good eats, great beer.

A cool little brewery, Woodwright Brewing, just opened there between 7th Sun and Dunedin Brewery. It's in a old woodshop, so it smells like freshcut wood. Mmmm. So, 3 breweries withing about 1000 ft of each other. So sweet.

https://www.facebook.com/woodwrightbrewing/

 

[estricklin]

Roasted my first tonight in a skillet! I'm so hooked! I'm looking to roast darker next time, something for my wife.

 

[ChefRex]

Roasted my first tonight in a skillet! I'm so hooked! I'm looking to roast darker next time, something for my wife.

Nice! Looks like you did a pretty good job:rockin:

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Roasted my first tonight in a skillet! I'm so hooked! I'm looking to roast darker next time, something for my wife.

That's a really good looking roast. Screw the dark roasts, keep 'em light! :rockin:

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Guys, a few of you had talked about how much you liked the Gedeo Worka from Klatch, if I recall. Is it worth $7.60/lb?

Also thinking about picking up some of this: http://www.bodhileafcoffee.com/prod...253506689&mc_cid=5f1f8b11a4&mc_eid=68998bb514

It's $3.25 a pound with code SANTAANA through 4/15 - hard to beat. Anyone try it so far?

 

[jammin]

Guys, a few of you had talked about how much you liked the Gedeo Worka from Klatch, if I recall. Is it worth $7.60/lb?

Yes. Year in and year out

 

[TrickyDick]

just gonna post this here.. I think this echoes throughout this thread...


http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/04/best-coffee-in-seattle-new-roasters-third-wave.html

TD

 

[jammin]

just gonna post this here.. I think this echoes throughout this thread...


http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/04/best-coffee-in-seattle-new-roasters-third-wave.html

TD

Good article but I get sick to my stomach when thinking about 3rd wave hipsters. It's true that Seattle has been quite dogmatic but try a shot of vivace's dolce and get back to me. I had to unplug from the modern coffee scene as it has simply gotten too ridiculous.

Portland started the 3rd wave, stumptown leading the charge. I've tried all their best and it's no doubt awesome. San Francisco, LA & Chicago are all coffee "Meccas" now as well.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

just gonna post this here.. I think this echoes throughout this thread...


http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/04/best-coffee-in-seattle-new-roasters-third-wave.html

TD

Sometimes I forget how freaking fortunate we are to be roasting at home and able to get whatever we want out of our coffee. Articles like this remind me that there are some struggles out there to get good coffee (heck, this is real similar to the beer scene is in some locales still).

To me what's most interesting is how the coffee changes wherever you travel. In Chicago, we are (what I would consider) very fortunate to have a number of roasters roasting light with some great beans. When I travel I find a hard time finding the same thing.

San Francisco was eye-opening for me, honestly. Illy - "What's that?" Now granted I was still newer to coffee, but Illy is not served anywhere here, yet in San Fran it's huge. Along with super super dark roasts.

But this article reminds me of how fortunate I am to be roasting at home and getting whatever I want every morning (for a lot cheaper, too, than buying anything already roasted). Thanks for posting, Tricky.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

My wife brewed the coffee this morning for the first time in probably 1.5 years. I tried really hard not to be involved in it, and I think I did a really good job staying out of her space. But I had the hardest time not saying anything, I really did.

She did a good job. Granted, she forgot to turn the scale on, but she DID give the beans a proper bloom. I'm proud.

 

[passedpawn]

My wife brewed the coffee this morning for the first time in probably 1.5 years. I tried really hard not to be involved in it, and I think I did a really good job staying out of her space. But I had the hardest time not saying anything, I really did.

She did a good job. Granted, she forgot to turn the scale on, but she DID give the beans a proper bloom. I'm proud.

Made me laugh. It's not easy being OCD. It's not easy for all involved parties.

 

[TrickyDick]

I did two roasts today and was trying to simplify my method:

heat to 425 then charge with beans
full power through drying completion (300 F) no fan except at 220 for about 10 seconds.
Back off heat to 60-50% power at 300-320 range and fan at 20%
At first crack, or just before anticipated FC, boost fan to 50-60% and drop heat to 30%.

I thought I would get a nice prolonged "development" phase, but instead I got beans that began to LOSE temperature! I suspect my probes are not 100% accurate readings, however, what I saw was a peak temp of 348 then dropped to 343 when I decided to dump.

I did a Ethiopian and a Burundi this way. The Burundi actually dropped temp, the Ethiopian began to drop temp and so I dumped them immediately (forget the temp but was a light roast.

What can I expect? I'll post graphs in a bit...

TD

graphs are up.
I did the Ethiopian first and set the heat to 60% right after drying then held it until FC started.
The Burundi I held heat until 320 then dropped to 50%.

 

[TrickyDick]

Just gonna say that the above coffees, the Ethiopian was very very good. The Burundi had great aroma, and sweetness but there was something...off. I can't quite pinpoint.

I'm sure you all saw the email from SM, but I thought this was an interesting read, so I'm posting it. McDonald's 90+ point coffee.....

http://legacy.sweetmarias.com/library/node/9600

TD

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Thanks for sharing that tricky, I missed that from sm. One thing I do like about Sweet marias is all the details they provide and how serious they take the cuppings.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Well, I went ahead and ordered an espresso machine this morning: Gaggia Classic is the one I went with.

I shopped ebay and CL for a while looking for a fair price on a used one, but after shipping they were normally going for $230-$300 used. Whole Latte Love posted a refurbished one for $299 w/ free shipping so I jumped on it (6 month warranty as well).

We'll see how it goes. I'm HOPING it comes by this weekend so I can experiment all weekend. Better start roasting to prepare!

 

[arturo7]

The Gaggia Classic is a fine machine and a great value. I love mine.

Look for "temperature surfing" vids on you tube.

Also, don't use the little doodad that sits in the bottom of portafilter beneath the screen.

This is an excellent Gaggia specific forum.

http://www.gaggiausersgroup.com