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Corla Plankun posted:I only know enough about coffee to be dangerous, but I think that starbucks' christmas blend is actually a pretty good one. Its mostly Sumatran beans, which are pretty much the only type that can withstand being roasted way-too-thoroughly by starbucks roasters. It's for sure better then any the kcups at work.
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Jan 12, 2012 00:27
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dema posted:It's for sure better then any the kcups at work. Hey now, the island coconut brews out to a very nice, long lasting air freshener 
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Jan 12, 2012 00:34
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Please convince me that brewing coffee in plastic containers is not a health issue. The Aeropress and Clever are tempting to get, but the organic nut in me worries that those hot liquids will somehow leach plastic particles into the coffee, and I'll slowly drink myself to cancer. I know the Aeropress website talks about how it uses food-safe materials, and the Clever is listed as being BPA free on Sweet Maria's (although I can't find an official product website to confirm), but I still worry. The other option for me would be to get something like a Hario V60 (I already have a Chemex and press pot), but I do hear the Clever and Aeropress make a better tasting cup, so I'm looking for affirmations on their safety.
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Jan 12, 2012 03:10
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that Vai sound posted:The other option for me would be to get something like a Hario V60 (I already have a Chemex and press pot), but I do hear the Clever and Aeropress make a better tasting cup, so I'm looking for affirmations on their safety. I think the leaching thing is a non issue. These should be* food safe plastics that won't leach, also the contact time is so small I don't think it matters.
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Jan 12, 2012 04:10
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rockcity posted:You're using a Terchnivorm and pre-ground coffee? I'm cheap, why would I throw out my tin of pre-ground if I've already paid for it?
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Jan 12, 2012 12:05
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wildlele posted:I'm cheap, why would I throw out my tin of pre-ground if I've already paid for it? That much I get, but it's pretty crazy to spend $300 on a drip brewer without having a decent grinder.
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Jan 12, 2012 14:31
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GrAviTy84 posted:I think the leaching thing is a non issue. These should be* food safe plastics that won't leach, also the contact time is so small I don't think it matters. And if it helps, the Aeropress was changed to non-BPA plastic once BPA came out as being so bad for you. From what I understand that's why the new ones are a smoke color as opposed to the old crystal clear. Here's the Aerobie page on their materials.
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Jan 12, 2012 15:17
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The Starbucks in one of the libraries on campus is pushing their new "Blonde" roast by offering samples of coffee from their three different roast levels. It's supposed to be a lighter roast than normal. I asked the kid giving out samples if it was more like a Viennese roast and he said "I don't know what a Vietnamese roast is". I tried it anyway, and, as you'd expect, it still tasted like charcoal.
dik-dik fucked around with this message at 16:50 on Jan 12, 2012 |
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Jan 12, 2012 16:37
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I love a decent coffee, but I don't drink that much - maybe a cup in the morning 3 or 4 times a week. I use a french press, and my awesome girlfriend got me a nice burr grinder for Christmas. So far I've been using supermarket beans (Taylor's of Harrogate if anyone cares - I like their tea and preground and thought it would be a good place to start), but would like to start ordering some from roasters. My concern is that I won't use the beans fast enough so the whole buying fresh thing won't be worthwhile. A half pound bag probably lasts me 2-3 weeks, and I keep the beans in tupperware in my fridge. I guess the obvious answer is to buy less, more often, but that seems like it'll get expensive fast when I'm paying for postage too. Anyone have any good ideas on what I could do to improve things? I think I'm making pretty OK coffee at the moment, but when I get a cup from a nice coffee shop the difference is obvious. I'm in West Yorkshire if anyone has any local recommendations.
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Jan 12, 2012 17:02
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First, leave your coffee out of the fridge. If you are having trouble getting through it in a reasonable amount of time (2 weeks), then the best solution is to freeze a portion of it when you first buy it. Little mason jars work well for this. When you finish the first portion, get the next one out of the freezer and wait until it comes up to room temperature, then use as normal. You could separate your half pound into two or three portions. There is a world of better and fresher coffee out there. Two very good UK roasters: Has Bean and Square Mile.
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Jan 12, 2012 18:00
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dik-dik posted:The Starbucks in one of the libraries on campus is pushing their new "Blonde" roast by offering samples of coffee from their three different roast levels. It's supposed to be a lighter roast than normal. The entire specialty coffee industry is getting a lot of good chuckles out of the whole "blonde" thing. Starbucks doesn't follow any of the usual industry nomenclature. "Blonde" to them means not roasting the poo poo out of the coffee past second crack to everyone else.
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Jan 12, 2012 18:08
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Bob_McBob posted:The entire specialty coffee industry is getting a lot of good chuckles out of the whole "blonde" thing. Starbucks doesn't follow any of the usual industry nomenclature. "Blonde" to them means not roasting the poo poo out of the coffee past second crack to everyone else. I don't get that either. If they roasted them until they actually looked blonde, they wouldn't even be at first crack.
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Jan 12, 2012 19:29
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big scary monsters posted:I love a decent coffee, but I don't drink that much - maybe a cup in the morning 3 or 4 times a week. I use a french press, and my awesome girlfriend got me a nice burr grinder for Christmas. So far I've been using supermarket beans (Taylor's of Harrogate if anyone cares - I like their tea and preground and thought it would be a good place to start), but would like to start ordering some from roasters. Two suggestions: 1) Find a local roaster. 2) Do any of your friends like good coffee? You could buy a pound at a time and split it with another person or two so that you always have fresh coffee. That's what Im trying to do, anyway, but most of my friends don't seem to care enough  .
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Jan 12, 2012 19:33
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rockcity posted:That much I get, but it's pretty crazy to spend $300 on a drip brewer without having a decent grinder. Ya I realized this after I bought it... I've got a line on a Preciso though so that will be resolved shortly.
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Jan 12, 2012 21:42
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This project seems interesting, anyone funding it here? PID-Controlled Espresso Machine http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zpmespresso/pid-controlled-espresso-machine
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Jan 12, 2012 22:27
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wildlele posted:This project seems interesting, anyone funding it here? Sold out. You can preorder at full price for December 2012.
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Jan 12, 2012 22:37
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So I got my Maestro Plus. It is broken. I hate my life.
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Jan 13, 2012 03:13
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nm posted:So I got my Maestro Plus. What's wrong with it? Was it a refurb?
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Jan 13, 2012 03:52
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I don't know if the Maestro is the same way as the Vario but you really have to twist the bean hopper into position at first...or it won't fire up.
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Jan 13, 2012 03:58
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Bob_McBob posted:What's wrong with it? Was it a refurb? The timer is busted, so it just runs continuously when it is plugged in. This problem: http://www.baratzallc.com/wp-content/uploads/Switch-replacement.pdf But I'm not cracking open a 1 day old grinder and voiding the warranty.
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Jan 13, 2012 05:14
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Bob_McBob posted:First, leave your coffee out of the fridge. I keep seeing different opinions about this. I recently got myself a grinder and been storing the beans in the fridge, because the guys at my coffee shop told me to do that with preground. So what's the best way?  Their bags have a tiny valve to remove condensation I guess.
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Jan 13, 2012 13:42
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Metanaut posted:I keep seeing different opinions about this. I recently got myself a grinder and been storing the beans in the fridge, because the guys at my coffee shop told me to do that with preground. Vacu-Vin Coffee Saver The valve is to let off outgassed CO2 and to keep oxygen from getting in with the beans. Condensation is always an issue when moving coffee from cold to warm and then back to cold.
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Jan 13, 2012 14:01
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It's been a long time since coffee storage was ACTUALLY a point of contention. It is now generally agreed that you should store your coffee at room temperature or slightly cooler, in a sealed container, in a dry dark place. A jar in the cupboard is perfectly acceptable. The vacuum container above is a great idea if you feel a need to spend money, otherwise strikes me as a bit overboard.
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Jan 13, 2012 17:36
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lags posted:It's been a long time since coffee storage was ACTUALLY a point of contention. It is now generally agreed that you should store your coffee at room temperature or slightly cooler, in a sealed container, in a dry dark place. A jar in the cupboard is perfectly acceptable. The vacuum container above is a great idea if you feel a need to spend money, otherwise strikes me as a bit overboard. I find that it preserves the nuances of a bean's essential essences while allowing the oils to outgas the optimum levels of CO2, while perhaps toning down the post cupping flavors but not to an overly detrimental degree. Actually, I have no idea WHY I use that over anything else. I think it might have been recommended sometime in the bowels of the last Coffee threat, or perhaps in the GWS Product Recommendation thread. At this point, it's placebo I'm sure.
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Jan 13, 2012 17:51
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Nah it'll keep it fresher longer since you're minimizing the beans' contact with oxygen, and if I didn't already have 637 sealable containers ready-to-hand in my home, I would probably buy one, or maybe if I didn't roast-to-order about half a week's worth at a time I would consider it. I do like your spergy coffee geek reason though.
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Jan 13, 2012 18:06
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So, what to think of this? http://www.home-barista.com/store-coffee-in-freezer.html TL;DR - freezing seems to be a viable choice to preserve coffee.
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Jan 13, 2012 20:42
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Long-term storage yes, but not if you're opening the jar & taking coffee out of it, and putting it back into the freezer. So if you absolutely must buy 1+ month's worth of coffee at a time, portion it out into week-sized batches & freeze it sure. Take out batches as you need them and do not re-freeze. A deep freeze would be best, and in the door of your freezer would be the worst.
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Jan 13, 2012 20:57
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I've read to think about storing coffee like a loaf of bread. Sure you can freeze bread to keep it "good" longer but really you need to eat it within a few days. I am going to take this approach with my coffee as well. Find a local roaster and get beans roasted within 2-3 days, grind them minutes before brewing and drink within 15-20 minutes of brewing.
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Jan 13, 2012 22:33
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If I want a decaf for when I feel like having coffee soon before going to sleep, what are good (preferably inexpensive since it'll likely be around for a while) options? I know that the water process decafs are supposed to be good, but I'd like to see if I can get something for maybe 10-12 dollars a bag including shipping if applicable. I suppose I could just order two bags (one decaf one regular) from somewhere.
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Jan 14, 2012 03:04
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lags posted:I do like your spergy coffee geek reason though. (Completely made up  )
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Jan 14, 2012 04:08
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kirtar posted:If I want a decaf for when I feel like having coffee soon before going to sleep, what are good (preferably inexpensive since it'll likely be around for a while) options? I know that the water process decafs are supposed to be good, but I'd like to see if I can get something for maybe 10-12 dollars a bag including shipping if applicable. I suppose I could just order two bags (one decaf one regular) from somewhere. Decaf? 
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Jan 14, 2012 05:54
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kirtar posted:If I want a decaf for when I feel like having coffee soon before going to sleep, what are good (preferably inexpensive since it'll likely be around for a while) options?
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Jan 14, 2012 06:07
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kirtar posted:If I want a decaf for when I feel like having coffee soon before going to sleep, what are good (preferably inexpensive since it'll likely be around for a while) options? I know that the water process decafs are supposed to be good, but I'd like to see if I can get something for maybe 10-12 dollars a bag including shipping if applicable. I suppose I could just order two bags (one decaf one regular) from somewhere.
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Jan 14, 2012 06:50
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that Vai sound posted:Are you sure you need decaf for that? Good quality coffee (arabic) has less caffeine than generic coffee (robusta). I typically have one cup of coffee a day, and sometimes none, but one cup in the night won't make a difference for me. Of course, the alcohol may be helping out with the sleep. Have you tried normal coffee in these cases before? Yes I have tried it, and it does end up making it difficult to get to sleep. nm posted:Remember that basically you need a higher quality coffee for decaf than regular as the process leaches the flavor out. A bad place to cheap out.
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Jan 14, 2012 16:09
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This was waiting for me on my door step when I came home from my ride yesterday: It's everything I'd hoped it would be.
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Jan 15, 2012 02:41
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I know this is the equivalent of asking "where should I get pizza in New York," but do you guys have any favorite coffee places in SF near Moscone?
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Jan 15, 2012 06:16
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There's a blue bottle coffee place near there, 66 mint street. Pretty decent.
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Jan 15, 2012 07:42
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Residency Evil posted:I know this is the equivalent of asking "where should I get pizza in New York," but do you guys have any favorite coffee places in SF near Moscone? Bit of a walk unless you're coming from the CalTrain station but, Philz. They do pour over by the cup. I haven't tried Blue Bottle yet. http://www.yelp.com/biz/philz-coffee-san-francisco-3 edit; this one is probably closer: http://www.yelp.com/biz/philz-coffee-san-francisco-4 dema fucked around with this message at 16:41 on Jan 15, 2012 |
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Jan 15, 2012 16:37
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Like others here before me, I tried the starbucks lighter roast. ha. They have a display of the three roasts they employ. Three clear plastic tubes filled with the three roasts. At a glance, they are dark roast, burnt, charcoal, so I assume the dark roast is their new "blonde." Tasted like crap. torgeaux fucked around with this message at 18:20 on Jan 17, 2012 |
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Jan 15, 2012 18:15
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Residency Evil posted:I know this is the equivalent of asking "where should I get pizza in New York," but do you guys have any favorite coffee places in SF near Moscone? My favorite coffee place in SF is Ritual.
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Jan 15, 2012 18:39
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