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

[Br3w4u]

Fill a 1/2 gallon growler with steel shot, invert and set it on the basket.

Just don’t drop it. Or shake it. I might be tempted to shake it for some reason.....

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Kind of like espresso knock boxes - those can get out of control in price for something that's basically a mini trash can with a rod through the middle.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Roasted the Guji Hagahi or whatever is called... Took it too slow up front and lost momentum thus having a crappy 1st crack. Ugh. I know the advice was it could take heat but for whatever reason I panicked a bit.

Not my night for roasting anyways. Had a hard time with a couple other roasts, just didn't go smoothly. Oh well, it will all still be good I'm sure.

 

[applescrap]

I roasted the hanabongi. Highest heat straight through to first crack. Took heat very well as noted by jammin and on a coolish windy morning cracked at 1133. Pulled at 1245. Just a pinch darker than I would have liked. I smelled berries about 30 seconds in to 1c. I sometimes will pull a roast the second I smell berries. May try that next time. The problem is pulling too early and getting some green.

Anyways no oil or anything like that. Now I assume if there were berry there it would be there with this roast. That said I have been surprised before where one second to long and it's gone. I got no berries, but a really nice cup of jo. Super good and complex cup of coffee that falls right in line with any gr 1 Ethiopian natural. Roasted surprisingly even for a natural as a side note. I notice little beans which have been present in other blueberry coffees I have had. Glad to have it and at that price would have been worth getting 10 or 20 pounds as a daily drinker. Berry or no berry I would have no problem cozying up to this day in and day out. As a plus, roasts really well. Should have got more, but at least I wont be saturated when next deal happens.

 

[applescrap]

I want a calibrated tamper. Seems like a helpful tool. My mom got me one that fits the ec155 and it work well enough. Couldn't have been to expensive. But sure there is a big difference from using it all day long a hundred times and just a few times a week. So if steel shot and spice jars get it done, I can see that.

 

[jammin]

I want a calibrated tamper. Seems like a helpful tool.

I got one when i got my first espresso machine. Tamping pressure was a hot topic back then. I sold it after a while because i just got the hang of it. It did serve a purpose though as a training tool. Research has shown that tamping pressure really has little to no effect on extraction so i would suggest to save the money. I have a LevTamp from KafaTek which is also a nice tool but as of late I keep using my trusty old Torr with a convex bottom. The curved face really seems to make center punched, single tail extractions nearly every time w/o hardly any puck prep.

I smelled berries about 30 seconds in to 1c. I sometimes will pull a roast the second I smell berries. May try that next time.

My first attempt at this had a surprisingly short development time as well and I dropped it based on aroma. My nose told me if I went any further I'd be losing the best flavors. I'll likely try & repeat my first roast very closely as I was very happy with the results (so was the wife)

 

[applescrap]

^^did you get blueberries?

 

[MaxStout]

I want a calibrated tamper. Seems like a helpful tool. My mom got me one that fits the ec155 and it work well enough. Couldn't have been to expensive. But sure there is a big difference from using it all day long a hundred times and just a few times a week. So if steel shot and spice jars get it done, I can see that.

This is what you need.

 

[TallDan]

One thing I’ve read lately (but am not sure that I agree with) is that you really can’t over do tamping pressure. The statement is that 30lb is where you want to be, but going over doesn’t hurt the shot at all. It’s a bigger concern for professional baristas who will tamp many more shots a day than we will at home.

 

[applescrap]

I was thinking this one.

 

[applescrap]

One thing I’ve read lately (but am not sure that I agree with) is that you really can’t over do tamping pressure. The statement is that 30lb is where you want to be, but going over doesn’t hurt the shot at all. It’s a bigger concern for professional baristas who will tamp many more shots a day than we will at home.

I read somewhere or saw in video,not sure it's true, that once the initial pack is compressed that's it. Or maybe that is all that is needed and there is a limit. Cant recall. But empirically I have found this to be true. Once the initial pack is made, it could be more than 30 and be fine. Taking a second press or compacting a second time I feel diminishes a shot. Granted I am going entirely by feel.

 

[MaxStout]

I read somewhere or saw in video,not sure it's true, that once the initial pack is compressed that's it. Or maybe that is all that is needed and there is a limit. Cant recall. But empirically I have found this to be true. Once the initial pack is made, it could be more than 30 and be fine. Taking a second press or compacting a second time I feel diminishes a shot. Granted I am going entirely by feel.

That sounds logical. Maybe once it's compressed, additional compression causes a rebound effect.

 

[applescrap]

Have you tried some ppf free shots yet Max? Amount and grind also plays a role. Sometimes I will forget to move grinder to espresso grind, go figure, and of I don't have much left roasted, it's getting a water bath. I'll try to compensate for thick grind with firmer tamp, maybe more coffee. Ramblin I'll stop.

 

[TallDan]

Steel burrs for the vario and a v60 arrived today. Going to play with grinders and pour over soon, maybe this weekend.

 

[jammin]

i pulled my Vario apart last year to use the tin foil shim method for alignment. after a few hundred pounds of coffee i was curious to see how sharp they were and they felt as if they were new.

i would recommend using the tin foil shim method for alignment since you'll have the grinder opened up anyways. it wouldn't hurt to have some alcohol & cotton swaps to detail out the chamber while you're at it. looking forward to hearing your results.

im a big v60 fan. its my go-to for single cup pour over. i always use Hario white paper filters.

 

[TallDan]

I'm in the first full day of my 4.5 day holiday weekend.

Took baratza's guidance for grinder settings on the vario for v60 (currently still with ceramic burrs). Ground a small sample of beans, and then adjusted the rocky and HG-1 to get into the ballpark of the same grind setting.

Using Legacy Farms Lempira that i roasted Tuesday night. Hario white filters and the ceramic #2 v60. I'm going to do 18g of coffee, 288g of water for each. (Funny thing, i was initially thinking i'd do 20g/320g, but realized right before i started pouring that i did 18g of coffee out of espresso habit.)

Decided to go with the HG-1 first. This is my first brew of the last batch of Lempira that I roasted, so there's no real comparison I can make yet, but I don't remember this coffee being this tasty or complex.

I'm not sure what I expect to get out of this comparison right now. The v60 is new to me, so I'm mostly just going to enjoy it, i think. I don't feel like I can nail down the variables with pourover as well as I could with espresso.

 

[TallDan]

Rocky was up next. Tried to keep the same process, but keep in mind i'm new to this. Tastes over extracted compared to the first cup. Flat and with some astringency. Going to adjust the grinder a bit coarser and likely give it another shot.

 

[MaxStout]

Have you tried some ppf free shots yet Max? Amount and grind also plays a role. Sometimes I will forget to move grinder to espresso grind, go figure, and of I don't have much left roasted, it's getting a water bath. I'll try to compensate for thick grind with firmer tamp, maybe more coffee. Ramblin I'll stop.

No, I haven't gotten around to doing the mod on my machine. Trouble is, Mrs. Stout enjoys espresso as much as I do, and she's not fond of me monkeying with what she sees as a perfectly operational device. I might have to do the mod on the sly some time when she's out of town. Then if I break it I can quick order another one.

For now I have to continue doing a light tamp, or the water won't pass through.

 

[shelly_belly]

I just ordered this $8 basket for my Krups machine. It should fit the DeLonghi too.

https://www.amazon.com/MagiDeal-Coffee-Pressurized-Breville-Delonghi/dp/B01JRH3DMS

 

[TallDan]

Third round: baratza vario ceramic. Seems slightly over extracted, but still good body and flavor. Will also adjust this one a little coarser before trying again.

 

[Inkleg]

I’m in a cabin in north Georgia for my sons wedding. I planned ahead so we could enjoy good coffee.

 

[applescrap]

Cheers to that, congratulations!

 

[TrickyDick]

I was thinking this one.View attachment 628034

While you’re at it, get two- one dedicated for decaf.

That’s crazy money there...

 

[TallDan]

Another Elektra Sixties for sale locally. Less money and looks to be in better shape than the last one. I know it's a big beast of a machine and not the best/most practical for home use. I'm still tempted to get one even if it's a short-term learning experience thing.

 

[Inkleg]

This surprise gift just arrived in the mail from a friend in Kentucky.
Thanks Sharron!!

 

[Ruint]

Let us know how that coffee is Inkleg. Very curious if it is all they say it is, at least for the crema. I have been looking at espresso machines. Long time ago, pre--roast my own days...lol, I had an entry level machine. And we are talking very bottom level entry level. Single boiler, no head group to speak of. Don't think I ever got a good cup of espresso from it, but back then I was trying to use commercially bought pre-ground coffee. Been looking at a breville bdb 920 or similar. Anyone have suggestions of some others. Not looking at getting top line machine yet. Just want one that will fill a void until I save up enough, and give me some experience with pulling good shots.

 

[TallDan]

I think the BDB is pretty hard to beat for anything near it’s price.

 

[jammin]

by all accounts the BDB is a savage beast that does everything all the “dream” machines boast about (with mods).. and then some. paired with a Baratza Sette you’d have no one to blame but yourself or the beans for unsatisfying shots

 

[Ruint]

I can easily fall into that Jammin!!! I expect to get much better results than any of my previous attempts, but also, will expect to have a bit of a learning period to go through. I have been finessing my roasting skills on the bullet. I do have to say that, that roaster is very enjoyable to work on or at roasting beans. I haven't roasted a lot for doing espresso, but from what I am learning, I might not have to adjust my roasts in order to get good shots, just adjust presoak, pressure, and duration of pull...

 

[Ruint]

LoL!!! The sette 30, the sette 270, the 270Wi, and then the Forte! Favoring just the 270....maybe 270Wi. Don't know that I would be able to distinguish the difference that a flat would make...… at my present level. Might not be able to distinguish from the encore I have now! I did calibrate it, and it does grind to powder on it's finest settings. I do realize that the sette takes it up quite a few notches in the consistency and the ease of dialing it in.