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

[TallDan]

It is a white rum called Sugar Island. I'm not a liquor drinker (with bourbon as a huge exception) but it's pretty good stuff on it's own. It would be interesting to try a barrel aged rum on the coffee though. Looking forward to hearing your results. I experimented a little bit but once I had a recipe I liked I quit messing around just because I really liked what I had found. There's many different ways to do it, so I'm excited to hear what you do and what you like.

The other thing I have thought about doing is roasting some beans pretty dark and sticking cigars under the beans for a few weeks to see if the wrapper takes on any of the coffee flavor. A while back I had some where the wrapper was aged under Sumatra beans and it was pretty good, but I'm guessing they aged it before they wrapped it. I have no idea how that works though.

Coffee, Cigars, and Bourbon are my three favorite consumables.

...and three that go together quite well!

I'm definitely interested in trying bourbon and at least some other barrel aged spirit for comparison. A barrel aged rum seems like it should work, maybe brandy.

My wife and I both like bourbon, but our tastes vary some, so I can get away with keeping quite the variety on hand. I have 10 bourbons at home now. Four scotches and a few other whiskeys as well. The bourbon count is a little inflated, there's a couple bottles that are almost empty and I just bought 3 in the last week. I don't anticipate using any nice single malt scotch or single barrel bourbon for this, but that still leaves more than a couple that I'd experiment with.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I tried it with Trader Joe's no-name $15 bourbon and Makers Mark. I did a blind tasting and you couldn't tell the difference between the two so whenever I do this I just use the TJ's bourbon. All that was to say, if you are donating your good stuff, give it to us straight, not to the beans!

 

[TallDan]

I tried it with Trader Joe's no-name $15 bourbon and Makers Mark. I did a blind tasting and you couldn't tell the difference between the two so whenever I do this I just use the TJ's bourbon. All that was to say, if you are donating your good stuff, give it to us straight, not to the beans!

Johnny Walker Red label is probably first on the list since I have an open bottle of it, it's cheap, and I generally won't drink it straight. I think Basil Hayden's is cheapest bourbon I have right now, so I'm likely to try that, but this sounds like an excuse to add another bottle.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Behmor-160...375700&hash=item3b30100f57:g:Q7sAAOSw68hcv4kw

$415 now and still has 4 days left! Wow, I guess I didn't do as well as i thought.

 

[Br3w4u]

Shellback rum is my favorite. There are better rums but they cost more than I think they are worth. Shellback dark rum in a black cherry monster or Pepsi max is the way to go!

 

[Sbe2]

I think Basil Hayden's is cheapest bourbon I have right now,

Haha, that’s my most expensive bourbon

 

[applescrap]

Heres some shots from last week, more today. Cheers to Saturday

 

[TallDan]

Pulling a bunch of espresso shots again today. At this rate, I'll run through this batch of Kenyan by tomorrow. Aww shucks, I had better roast another batch tonight.

 

[Kealia]

Damn, I don't drink espresso, likely only because I haven't had any good espresso, but these pics here make me want some.

 

[TallDan]

Damn, I don't drink espresso, likely only because I haven't had any good espresso, but these pics here make me want some.

It's a wonderfully terrible thing. The kind of wonderfully terrible thing that actually has me considering the purchase of a machine that costs as much as what I paid for my (older, used) car and would need to be plumbed in.

 

[applescrap]

Some of todays 6 shots.

 

[jammin]

@TallDan - I would steer clear of Slayer personally. It is an incredible machine that makes top tier shots that other machines cannot match. It’s maintenance issues though are thoroughly documented on the web, primarily the pump. I was close to buying one but I know how upset I would be having to spend ridiculous amounts of money on replacement parts. Here’s some good reading about its issues:
https://www.home-barista.com/espresso-machines/slayer-single-group-maintenance-t50369.html

Recently, Profitec developed a needle valve assembly to fit on their e61 groups allowing for flow control & actual puck pressure readings. ECM is right on their heals for their edition since they are Profitec’s higher end sister company. IMHO this advancement is a total Slayer killer & I look forward to installing it on my Synchronika:
https://dailycoffeenews.com/2019/04...aunch-flow-control-device-for-e61-groupheads/

 

[pshankstar]

Damn, I don't drink espresso, likely only because I haven't had any good espresso, but these pics here make me want some.

@Kealia, I just made an espresso for myself since my wife asked for a cappuccino. This has got to be the best shot I’ve made or had recently. These Cuban beans are amazing as an espresso and in the French Press! Good in the drip but shine in the other two forms.
Sorry, not sorry. Haha

 

[Inkleg]

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@Kealia, I just made an espresso for myself since my wife asked for a cappuccino. This has got to be the best shot I’ve made or had recently. These Cuban beans are amazing as an espresso and in the French Press! Good in the drip but shine in the other two forms.
Sorry, not sorry. Haha

Ok I hate you, but in only a good way.

 

[TrickyDick]

I'm steering clear of espresso .. too many rabbit holes, and not enough time or money to be down them all.

TD

 

[TallDan]

@TallDan - I would steer clear of Slayer personally. It is an incredible machine that makes top tier shots that other machines cannot match. It’s maintenance issues though are thoroughly documented on the web, primarily the pump. I was close to buying one but I know how upset I would be having to spend ridiculous amounts of money on replacement parts. Here’s some good reading about its issues:
https://www.home-barista.com/espresso-machines/slayer-single-group-maintenance-t50369.html

Recently, Profitec developed a needle valve assembly to fit on their e61 groups allowing for flow control & actual puck pressure readings. ECM is right on their heals for their edition since they are Profitec’s higher end sister company. IMHO this advancement is a total Slayer killer & I look forward to installing it on my Synchronika:
https://dailycoffeenews.com/2019/04...aunch-flow-control-device-for-e61-groupheads/

Honestly, as much as I've liked to think about the Slayer, I'm pretty sure it's not quite for me, so I didn't even go so far as to look into the potential issues. Read the first few pages of that thread just now though. Being direct plumed only, and the size it is are downsides to me. The price is another potential problem for me, given that even used, it's twice the price of anything else I'm really considering. Like the MC roaster, if there wasn't a used one for sale locally, I wouldn't even be considering it. It is a very nice looking machine though.

I did read about the profitec/ecm flow control upgrade a couple days ago. The Synchronika has been a top contender for me anyway, and that just makes it even more appealing. Lelit bianca was another one I've looked at, and I saw someone selling a used Vesuvius as well. The flow control for the Synchnonika negates some of the appeal of those though. I've also read a little about issues with the vesuvius.

The other strong contender in my mind is the Decent DE1Pro. I suspect it's not really your style, but I think there's a lot to like there.
I was reading some of the stuff Scott Rao posted about it, and I'm starting to think that may be the way to go.

 

[TallDan]

Second roast, Ethiopia Hambela Alaka, 375g pre roast, 321g post roast. marked DE and FCe late. Really not sure what was up with the ET, seems like it got stuck from 15s-2m.

 

[TallDan]

 

[jammin]

Re: DE1. The thing I can’t wrap my head around is the machine chasing profiles. Historically, one adjusts grind & recently preinfusion to suit the coffee. How does one adjust grind when the machine is continually subordinate to pressure? Surely there is more to it but at a glance it comes across weird

 

[TallDan]

Re: DE1. The thing I can’t wrap my head around is the machine chasing profiles. Historically, one adjusts grind & recently preinfusion to suit the coffee. How does one adjust grind when the machine is continually subordinate to pressure? Surely there is more to it but at a glance it comes across weird

You're right that it's not going to be immediately obvious in the how the shot comes out of the machine. The last paragraph of this seems to address that:

https://www.scottrao.com/blog/2018/6/27/flow-profiling-on-the-de1

In short, my understanding is that your first feedback on grind is in the pressure that the DE1 uses (and displays in a graph). If it uses low pressure, you need a finer grind so that it can increase pressure without increasing flow. Final feedback is, of course, in the glass.

 

[Br3w4u]

@MaxStout do you still like the new burr grinder?

 

[MaxStout]

@MaxStout do you still like the new burr grinder?

Yeah, so far, so good. Granted, it's not up to par with the machines you guys are using, but I am happy with it. For 40 bucks, it does a decent job and it's a quantum leap beyond the blade grinder I had been using. I ground some espresso yesterday, and I got a couple nice shots from it. In fact, the finest grind looks more like Turkish coffee.

Only complaints so far: It's made from cheap plastic so I'll see how well it holds up in the long run. And it's loud as hell.

 

[Br3w4u]

Yeah, so far, so good. Granted, it's not up to par with the machines you guys are using, but I am happy with it. For 40 bucks, it does a decent job and it's a quantum leap beyond the blade grinder I had been using. I ground some espresso yesterday, and I got a couple nice shots from it. In fact, the finest grind looks more like Turkish coffee.

Only complaints so far: It's made from cheap plastic so I'll see how well it holds up in the long run. And it's loud as hell.

Ok just wanted to see if you still liked it. I’m gonna order one now. It’s definitely got to be a step up from my blade grinder and I can’t justify spending 140 on a grinder just yet.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

My wife had a guest this weekend, so like all my guests I woke up a little early to make a large pour over for us to all drink. It was a fantastic, mild Tanzania which drinks like poetry when it's brewed in the Able Kone.

Our guest came downstairs just as I finished the pour. I made a ton, so the chemex is basically at its max capacity. I'm giving it a nice swirl to aerate it a bit, coffee is jumping out of the chemex because it is so full. I say, "hey, I've got a real nice coffee for you to try." Guest: "oh no, I'm good."

Wait, what? Like, I'm a little speechless I guess. "oh, well I can make you a cappuccino if you'd like." Guest: "no, that's okay".

"Get out."

Is what I wanted to say... But I didn't. Apparently they aren't a coffee drinker, which I wasnt aware of. So my wife and I ended up drinking a ton of coffee which was all right, but man... That was kind of sucky. Nothing like being excited to give someone something to try and they won't even give it a chance.

 

[TallDan]

My wife had a guest this weekend, so like all my guests I woke up a little early to make a large pour over for us to all drink. It was a fantastic, mild Tanzania which drinks like poetry when it's brewed in the Able Kone.

Our guest came downstairs just as I finished the pour. I made a ton, so the chemex is basically at its max capacity. I'm giving it a nice swirl to aerate it a bit, coffee is jumping out of the chemex because it is so full. I say, "hey, I've got a real nice coffee for you to try." Guest: "oh no, I'm good."

Wait, what? Like, I'm a little speechless I guess. "oh, well I can make you a cappuccino if you'd like." Guest: "no, that's okay".

"Get out."

Is what I wanted to say... But I didn't. Apparently they aren't a coffee drinker, which I wasnt aware of. So my wife and I ended up drinking a ton of coffee which was all right, but man... That was kind of sucky. Nothing like being excited to give someone something to try and they won't even give it a chance. View attachment 624566

Had a similar thing when my brother-in-law and his girlfriend (now fiancee) visited in the fall. Made some coffee in the morning and offered it to them, they declined, I think I even offered to make some lattes. Then an hour later when we're going out, they stop at starbucks. They both got iced sugary drinks that were nothing like what I ever make, but still...

 

[Br3w4u]

They don’t like coffee they like ice cream

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Then an hour later when we're going out, they stop at starbucks. They both got iced sugary drinks that were nothing like what I ever make, but still...

Now that's horrible. My story was more just a bummer - yours is a slap in the face and then some!

I've had various situations come up over the years and all you can do is brush it off. I've got some stories but due to the openness of the web, it's probably best not to tell them. Unfortunately....

 

[TallDan]

Now that's horrible. My story was more just a bummer - yours is a slap in the face and then some!

I've had various situations come up over the years and all you can do is brush it off. I've got some stories but due to the openness of the web, it's probably best not to tell them. Unfortunately....

Yeah, it would have been a little different if they got something that wasn't iced and sugary, but either way I'd just be just be shrugging it off in the end.

Actually, my wife will kinda do this to me as well. On weekends, she's passed on coffee from me then went out to a coffee shop. That's more about her wanting to go to a coffee shop either for a social thing or to go somewhere other than home to work on something, but I'll still give her a hard time about it.

 

[TallDan]

...or maybe my coffee just sucks.

Whatever, it makes me happy.

 

[MaxStout]

My wife had a guest this weekend, so like all my guests I woke up a little early to make a large pour over for us to all drink. It was a fantastic, mild Tanzania which drinks like poetry when it's brewed in the Able Kone.

Our guest came downstairs just as I finished the pour. I made a ton, so the chemex is basically at its max capacity. I'm giving it a nice swirl to aerate it a bit, coffee is jumping out of the chemex because it is so full. I say, "hey, I've got a real nice coffee for you to try." Guest: "oh no, I'm good."

Wait, what? Like, I'm a little speechless I guess. "oh, well I can make you a cappuccino if you'd like." Guest: "no, that's okay".

"Get out."

Is what I wanted to say... But I didn't. Apparently they aren't a coffee drinker, which I wasnt aware of. So my wife and I ended up drinking a ton of coffee which was all right, but man... That was kind of sucky. Nothing like being excited to give someone something to try and they won't even give it a chance. View attachment 624566

Heathens.

Serve the guests instant next time.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

In case anyone was curious, coffee as a wearable fragrance isn't too great of a scent. I was sitting on the train on my commute in when a guy lost balance and fell on me (and my coffee) and I ended up soaked in Ethiopian Agaro I had been looking forward to trying. By soaked I mean, everything I was wearing and had with me...ugh. Not my week/month/year.