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

[applescrap]

https://www.nbcnews.com/video/does-...better-blind-taste-test-says-748436035567?v=a

Take two burnt coffees and throw them in a cup and see what people like. Then tell everybody that more expensive coffee isn't worth it. I'm sure in a blind taste test I couldn't tell the difference between folders and konga


@passedpawn I agree that oxo is overlooked, and I trust that it works really well. I like the carafe and brew merhod.

 

[passedpawn]

Another great option often overlooked is a used BUNN. The spray head works well & you can plumb most of them in. Tapping off the fridge & putting in an inline softener/filter combo is a piece of cake. No more filling the resevoir. They are easy to score on Craig’slist for dirt cheap too.

I had a Bunn. Element went on it. Was a good brewer. Brewed very fast which was cool (water stays hot in reservoir).

 

[applescrap]

Thousand dollar cup of coffee sounds good

 

[passedpawn]

I just realized last week that I haven't been using enough grounds. At least, I wasn't at SCA standard levels ( http://www.scaa.org/?page=resources&d=cupping-standards ).

I was under by 25%. I've adjusted this last week and it's a much better cup. Srsly.

 

[jammin]

I just realized last week that I haven't been using enough grounds. At least, I wasn't at SCA standard levels ( http://www.scaa.org/?page=resources&d=cupping-standards ).

I was under by 25%. I've adjusted this last week and it's a much better cup. Srsly.

Nice! Looks they are suggesting 1:18 (grams coffee:grams brewing water).
I have a button on my Vario for 44g coffee for our morning cup. I set the Chemex on a scale & pour brewing water until I get to 700g for a 1:16 ratio. I have another button for 22g (solo mug) & the last button is 14g for Aeropress brew.

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Tom from Sweet Marias gave a nice discussion about Ethiopian coffee & the ECX, selection, sourcing etc. Not sure how to provide a better link but it's on SM's Instagram. I follow them & it popped up in my "stories". If you're familiar with Insta this will probably make more sense

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Great deal on a used Quest M3 + instrumentation popped up today:
http://coffeegeek.com/forums/members/buysell/728576

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Crown Jewel posted a Ethiopian natural. Some mild inconsistencies in color are responsible for the grade 4 designation, the lower physical grade for specialty naturals. Roasting will reveal a few quakers. The seeds are relatively small, long in shape, dry with stable water activity and a surprisingly low density. It will not be the easiest coffee you’ve ever roasted, but it will be worth it.
https://royalcoffee.com/products/cj1190/

 

[jimyson]

I wonder if the drunk me can talk my wife into an Ascaso grinder. Why? I have no idea.

 

[jimyson]

Man o man did I hit it hard last night. On a serious note, I am in the market for a new grinder. I currently use a Handground. I mostly just brew drip and Aeropress, however, next week I am picking up a pre-millennium La Pavoni Europiccola. That said, I need a better grinder.

I’ve seen Ascaso’s in a lot of Europiccola videos. I’ve also heard Breville has a reasonably priced option that should do well.

Thoughts?

 

[applescrap]

That ascaso grinder looks nice. Seems like you can afford it, why not? You are smart and I am sure you work hard, have my permission. The baratza line has options starting at 100. That ascaso would be a nice compliment to that esspresso ? machine. How does that la pavoni work? Whatever you get, if you spend more than a couple hundred I would be wanting weighed doses like Jammin describes above. Weight would be critical. At the top end I think many grinders are just for espresso. They come up used in denver for close to that price. Like the mazzer jolly.

Ok, i need some help. I cant find the answer. I know water boils lower here. So does that mean it is lower at all temps? Measured the gevalia at 184 tops by 4 cups. Initially 174. So is that really like 190 or is it under heating. Our krups pro was at the same temp.

 

[shelly_belly]

The temperatures mean the same no matter the altitude. Only the boiling point changes. This means foods should be boiled longer at lower boiling points to reach the same temperature.

 

[estricklin]

Another great option often overlooked is a used BUNN. The spray head works well & you can plumb most of them in. Tapping off the fridge & putting in an inline softener/filter combo is a piece of cake. No more filling the resevoir. They are easy to score on Craig’slist for dirt cheap too.

Have to make sure to get the restricted spray heads for the Bunn, at least the home models. Bunn will send them to you for free actually. I love my Bunn Carafe model, had to replace it recently after 12 years of faithful service.

 

[corkybstewart]

I bought some beans from I guy I used to buy from, an Indian Arabica bean that I couldn't find anywhere else. When I got the beans it was obvious there was a mixture of different beans in the bag, colorwise and different sizes. I roasted a couple of pounds, but the roast was terribly inconsistent. I end up with French roast beans and tan half roasted beans in every batch. I contacted the seller and he verified that it looked like a mix of beans but that's how he bought them so tough ****. My wife loves it, but then she adds a bunch of cream and sugar, I drink it black and can't finish a cup. I'm back to my Central American and Sumatran coffees for good I think.

 

[applescrap]

30 percent off ALL, thats ALL kenyans. I haven't been buying the cheap coffee because I don't want it anymore. Even though I'm not a Kenyan fan this is the best coffee that's shown up on sale. Any idea if any of these are good. Some of them go up to $8 a pound. Its bodhi leafs kenyans.

 

[passedpawn]

That ascaso grinder looks nice. Seems like you can afford it, why not? You are smart and I am sure you work hard, have my permission. The baratza line has options starting at 100. That ascaso would be a nice compliment to that esspresso ? machine. How does that la pavoni work? Whatever you get, if you spend more than a couple hundred I would be wanting weighed doses like Jammin describes above. Weight would be critical. At the top end I think many grinders are just for espresso. They come up used in denver for close to that price. Like the mazzer jolly.

Ok, i need some help. I cant find the answer. I know water boils lower here. So does that mean it is lower at all temps? Measured the gevalia at 184 tops by 4 cups. Initially 174. So is that really like 190 or is it under heating. Our krups pro was at the same temp.

I used a hydrometer on my coffee once. It read 1.005. I think it might have been cold (fridge temps), so that might not have been accurate. Point is, it might be a way to assess extraction. If you were low, you'd need to use more coffee (or something ). I guess the only way to know you were low is to send somebody at sea level the same coffee and compare notes (hmmm, who's at sea level...)

 

[applescrap]

Haha, you bet. Pm sent. About time I shared some with you. Especially since you have to read all my posts (good and bad) [emoji3] found a lighter roast with the konga and brought blueberry back. Was starting to tire of the full city.

Check this out coffee buddies. Got lights up. Snapped lines after first row and planned it out. Used 3/4in gold hooks and small pilot holes. Fitting i am posting this here as jammin helped provide inspiration for buying something of quality vs the cheap lights. All started with a ribeye really. Anyhoo these lights were at home depot but got 48 ft for only 10 more on amazon. They say guaranteed for life, who knows. Enbrighten cafe they are called.

 

[passedpawn]

^^ looks great scrappy. I've spent the last several weeks re-inventing my patio (haven't touched the lights, but lots of woodworking etc).

I'll check out the PM now.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

That's nice, the lights really give it a nice look. Probably will be a fun place to hang out and drink some homebrews this summer.

I need to redo my patio area after I finish my kitchen project. They had installed a pergola a long time back but the treatment has dissipated and I've got an issue with paper wasps in the summer - they eat the wood to build their nest. So, I've got to tear it down before it gets too warm.

Too many projects, not enough time.

Oh, and now with the kitchen project in full swing I am fully out of coffee so I bought Starbucks Veranda and am making it in a drip machine. I will say, it is pretty nice not spending 6 mins every morning making coffee. But the quality...it sucks.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I bought some beans from I guy I used to buy from, an Indian Arabica bean that I couldn't find anywhere else.

I have heard nothing favorable about Indian coffee. Or Chinese. Everyone says the quality is bad and the roasts come out extremely uneven.

Maybe you have already, but take a look at Burndi or Rwanda as an origin. You get the fruit flavors of an Africa coffee but the body of a Central coffee. I don't know why, but those two origins seem to be very under-rated.

 

[corkybstewart]

I have heard nothing favorable about Indian coffee. Or Chinese. Everyone says the quality is bad and the roasts come out extremely uneven.

Maybe you have already, but take a look at Burndi or Rwanda as an origin. You get the fruit flavors of an Africa coffee but the body of a Central coffee. I don't know why, but those two origins seem to be very under-rated.

My Behmor came with 8 pounds of coffee, one was Indian and it was one of the best coffees I've ever tasted, bar none. But I could never find that particular coffee again. This was the first and last I'll buy. I'll look for those you suggested.

 

[jimyson]

New toy alert! Pre-millennium La Pavoni. Awaiting a new gasket set to start pulling shots.

 

[jammin]

^awwwwww yisss! not to put the horse in front of the cart, but I’m already modding that thing out for you haha

A temp strip on the group would be my first move. Those groups can over heat easily & those strips come in handy.

I’d probably add a manometer to the group as well. I guess it’s not terribly hard to do & the thought of being able to pressure profile your shots sounds amazing!

Hopefully you have a good grinder. Makes a world of difference for espresso. The Baratza Sette I hear preforms way above its price point for espresso. eBay or craigslist I’m sure could turn up a nice used Mazzer - find one for cheap that needs to burrs & swap in some Red Speeds from SSP and you’d near the top of the food chain.

 

[jimyson]

^awwwwww yisss! not to put the horse in front of the cart, but I’m already modding that thing out for you haha

A temp strip on the group would be my first move. Those groups can over heat easily & those strips come in handy.

I’d probably add a manometer to the group as well. I guess it’s not terribly hard to do & the thought of being able to pressure profile your shots sounds amazing!

Hopefully you have a good grinder. Makes a world of difference for espresso. The Baratza Sette I hear preforms way above its price point for espresso. eBay or craigslist I’m sure could turn up a nice used Mazzer - find one for cheap that needs to burrs & swap in some Red Speeds from SSP and you’d near the top of the food chain.

I saw the temp strip mod. I’m curious how accurate it is though. Much like the temp strips for fermenters, aren’t they quite inaccurate?

My thought is to do some trial runs to see what temps I’m getting at certain times to hopefully gauge when the best time is to pull shots. I know this machine can be difficult for that.

My original thought was to get a Breville smart grind pro. I currently have a Handground and know that won’t cut it.

I definitely want to get the thing descaled, cleaned on the outside, new gaskets, and then based on some videos, it would be cool to powder coat the base and shine the Crome again. I think I’ll be keeping this for a while.

 

[gnef]

I only now saw this thread, but I've been doing espresso and home roasting for quite a while now. I am on my 3rd setup, upgrading as I go along over the years.

My current home setup is a behmor 1600+, I have gotten really comfortable with Sweet Maria's Espresso Monkey blend which I like.

My grinder is an ECM S-Automatik 64 which I have really liked once it had a good amount of coffee through it, and my machine is a Rancilio Silvia. I'm saving up for an ECM classika PID. I wanted to stick with single boiler with e61 since I only do neat espresso, no milk or anything added.

I currently use a bottomless portafilter in the Silvia with a triple basket. I have the ECM grinder set to dose 21g of coffee, and then I weigh the shot to 42g since I like a 2:1 ratio.

I am also into woodworking, so I've gotten into making new handles for the portafilters and tamp, as well as a new lid from spalted maple for the grinder.

My previous setup I brought to work with me, a baratza preciso which I single dose 16g with. The machine is a Saeco Via Venezia with a narrow double basket, and I also do a 2:1 with that.

I've been using the Behmor for a while and I really like it. Before the Behmor, I used the Nesco Pro coffee roaster with the mechanical auger. It worked well enough, but could only roast 4oz of beans at a time. I worked that to death though, so when it was done I got the behmor.

The behmor definitely can't do a dark roast (I have been doing full pound roasts lately) at the highest programmed setting, but I don't like my roasts beyond city to full city anyway. I haven't experimented with the manual modes yet, though at this point I doubt I'll do that in the near future.

 

[applescrap]

Are any of these bunns any good?

 

[jimyson]

Time to take the La Pavoni apart!

 

[jimyson]

Dear Lord.

 

[jimyson]

And PBW to the rescue.

 

[applescrap]

Oh man, what a deal.

 

[pshankstar]

I think you need a beer or two after that @jimyson!

 

[Inkleg]

And PBW to the rescue.

I'm beginning to think there's nothing PBW can't fix. I think if grandma had it back in the day she'd would have put a big ole glob on everything instead of a wad of chewing tobacco.

 

[jimyson]

I think you need a beer or two after that @jimyson!

Man, I wish. I cut myself down to weekend drinking. Except tonight, that is. I’ll be celebrating being one year older with some beers from NY.