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So I picked up some aged Aceh locally. I know jackshit about aged (or aging) coffees and don't think I've ever had one. Excited to try it though, any recommendations? I was planning on sampling it at least as pourover, french press and espresso, using the remainder however.
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Dec 24, 2012 18:00
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I just got a coffee roaster/ popcorn roaster for Christmas, along with two pounds of coffee from Sweet Maria's! It's a West Bend Poppery II. Here's my second attempt, first solo attempt - my brother showed me how to use it first and then let me take a shot at it. Probably not gonna brew it til tomorrow because it's getting a little late for coffee, but I'm super excited about this. Sorry about the lovely cellphone pics.  This bean was a Guatamala Huehuetenango Finca Rosma. This is probably the best Christmas present I've ever gotten.
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Dec 25, 2012 20:33
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Wife got me the Bonavita gooseneck kettle for Christmas (best wife ever). Can't believe I've been using non-gooseneck kettles for this long, it's so much easier to do pourover coffee with it 
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Dec 25, 2012 21:36
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Dramatika posted:I just got a coffee roaster/ popcorn roaster for Christmas, along with two pounds of coffee from Sweet Maria's! It's a West Bend Poppery II. Having a batch of your own roasted coffee is so satisfying, and experimenting with blends is as well. Just a word of advice, roasted coffee peaks after 12-24 hours. It is better to roast, seal the beans, and enjoy the next day.
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Dec 25, 2012 23:07
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I really enjoy using my French press to make coffee in the morning. Typically I buy a half pound of whole beans, grind it (enough for the press) and use what I have right away. I want to start brining my press to work, but I don't want to bring my grinder. How well do the coffee bean canisters work for beans that have been ground up? I can probably use all the beans in about a week.
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Dec 26, 2012 22:38
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Dramatika posted:I just got a coffee roaster/ popcorn roaster for Christmas, along with two pounds of coffee from Sweet Maria's! It's a West Bend Poppery II. Your pictures won't show up for me?  Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions as I've had the same setup for a year now.
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Dec 26, 2012 23:12
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Doh004 posted:Your pictures won't show up for me? 
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Dec 27, 2012 00:04
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 Got a 6oz cappuccino cup. Really like it. Nice change from my small latte cups.
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Dec 29, 2012 20:42
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After having my Hario Slim for a week, I finally got my Aeropress today. It's quite a change from a french press and our bean to cup, I had a delicious cup of some sort of mystery blend from my friend's company followed by a cup of Kaffa that was equally delicious.
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Dec 29, 2012 21:16
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dema posted:
Awesome.
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Dec 30, 2012 05:19
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Does anyone know of a good sampler pack of green coffee that isn't from Sweet Maria's? My shop just got a new roaster and we're playing around with some things. We had a Sweet Maria's sample pack, and a lot of them turned out really well. We just kinda want to have something to compare the quality of the beans to. I guess I could get a variety of things from coffee bean corral, but any other options would be great. Also any neat tampers that cost around $20? Or just hella dope ones I wouldn't mind spending more on?
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Dec 30, 2012 05:39
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Got a new Burr grinder for Christmas after having used a blade grinder for many years. My life will never be the same again.
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Dec 30, 2012 06:15
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ACauseToLead posted:Does anyone know of a good sampler pack of green coffee that isn't from Sweet Maria's? My shop just got a new roaster and we're playing around with some things. We had a Sweet Maria's sample pack, and a lot of them turned out really well. We just kinda want to have something to compare the quality of the beans to. I guess I could get a variety of things from coffee bean corral, but any other options would be great. 1st Line has some nice Tampers, this is the on I use. Does Reg Barber still make tampers? I've been buying a lot of beans from Burman - I like 'em as good as Thom at SM. Edit. Reg Barber = awesome. porktree fucked around with this message at 07:57 on Dec 30, 2012 |
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Dec 30, 2012 07:51
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I got started in to drinking coffee with a crap drip brewer and a whirly blade grinder. The best coffee I've had so far comes from CostCo. But there's a reason for this: I live in Korea. Recently, they added this to their stock: http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DGB...rt+coffee+maker Should I get it as an upgrade? There's not much available in terms of brewers or grinders. I also like the all-in-one design. I'm going to America on business for a little over a week and could pick up something different, but I'd really, really, really have to have a good justification because I'd not only have to buy whatever I want, but also have to buy and carry back a 28 pound power transformer to use it. And when baggage weight limits are typically, 50 pounds, the bag probably weighs 10, and I'm already carrying stuff......... Also bringing this back: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001M1JDMM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&smid=A31Q3QUNXNJCJE http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EO5VMS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER ...since the best coffee I can get comes from CostCo, as mentioned previously.
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Dec 30, 2012 11:50
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Are there any good books - or other resources - for learning more about coffee beans? Specifically, something that goes into the differences between arabica/robusta and the different regional varieties, and ideally something that talks about the chemistry behind coffee making. Bought an Aeropress for my dad at Christmas. It's amazing!
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Dec 30, 2012 12:53
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TreFitty posted:I got started in to drinking coffee with a crap drip brewer and a whirly blade grinder. The best coffee I've had so far comes from CostCo. But there's a reason for this: I live in Korea. Recently, they added this to their stock: http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DGB...rt+coffee+maker Hmm, can you speak Korean? I also live in Korea, and I can find pretty good beans, albeit at a much higher price than in the states. If you go to a specialized cafe (ie, not Starbucks/other franchises), they tend to have beans and also some gear. If you're military, I might be able to try to find you some wherever you're located. Remember we're really close to Japan, so we actually get cheaper prices on pure Japanese gear as well (Hario cones and filters, etc). Are you sure you don't want to get into pourover (they call it hand-drip here)? Thanks to the popularity here, there's an awesome kettle for around 20,000 won (not electric though) that beats the poo poo out of my bonavita gooseneck in pour control. Hario cone + filters will set you back another 10,000 won at most. EDIT: A quick search comes up with the same grinder-combo machine at 289,000 won, but it's probably native voltage. EDIT 2: The Zojirushi Fresh Brew in the post below the OP is 168,000 won, but you'd need a grinder. Have you considered a Hario Hand grinder? Sure it's annoying work, but it'd save you a lot of money and it'll probably be better for drip grinding, but coarse grinds are terrible on that thing. Archer2338 fucked around with this message at 13:38 on Dec 30, 2012 |
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Dec 30, 2012 13:20
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I'm not military, live far from Seoul, and would prefer something that upgrades my coffee at a minimal price. I really want the Breville YouBrew 600-whateverthehellXL, but it is literally double the price as Amazon has it for native voltage (on G Market). I think I should rephrase my question: is the model I linked to decent? It has both a burr grinder and appears to have a better carafe. And combines two functions. I'm also averse to adding too much work to a morning brew. Oftentimes I wake up and am online and working within a minute. I don't have a commute and sometimes need to make coffee in between fighting fires. Being able to wake up and have fresh coffee waiting for me seems like a pretty good deal. So, I guess the input I'm looking for is if anyone would want to talk me out of buying it or if they can recommend better beans to buy in America. I also don't have time to go shopping around for beans in Korea. I might have a day in/around San Francisco to buy some beans to bring back to Korea, though. Just curious: what do you do in Korea? And can you recommend a particular place in Seoul worth checking out for beans and/or equipment? Like I said, just no time for window shopping...but if there's a one stop shop, that might be acceptable.
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Dec 30, 2012 13:50
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TreFitty posted:I'm not military, live far from Seoul, and would prefer something that upgrades my coffee at a minimal price. I really want the Breville YouBrew 600-whateverthehellXL, but it is literally double the price as Amazon has it for native voltage (on G Market). Well I use pourover almost exclusively, so I can't help you with the machine part, I'm afraid  But I think as long as you use good beans, it'll still be a huge step up from cheapo-blade+drip (correct me if I'm wrong, more experienced/knowledgeable goons)...Beanwise: Well, I live in Bundang, so there are tons of small cafes near me. Local roasters and all that. Jeongja Station and its nearby streets are famous for cafes and restaurants, though there are good places at Migeum and Seohyun stations, respectively. Oh, and I'm a native  Seoul, well, I sometimes go to Cafe Classico at Gangnam if I have to meet with someone at Seoul and want to have good coffee. Probably not the one-stop location for shopping you're looking for though. If you can give me your general location, I might be able to help you find a local roaster or at least decent cafe you can buy beans from? Also, I find it kind of interesting that a lot more people seem interested in hand-drip over, say espresso, in Korea. Price barrier and all that, but in the US you see the cheapo steamblock espresso toy machines even at Target or something. Not so much here. Any other coffee-loving goons here in Korea?
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Dec 30, 2012 14:15
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Archer2338 posted:Beans in Korea Do you typically only get your beans from local cafes? Do you ever order online? I've recently upgraded to a hand-drip setup from the exact sorta thing TreFitty is doing now, and it made things so much better. I'm currently just trying different beans from different sources online and having a blast, but the selection all seems really similar. And TreFitty, like he said you can get beans at any number of small shops or on the internet. And they're all so much better than the CostCo beans.
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Dec 30, 2012 14:18
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cryptoclastic posted:Do you typically only get your beans from local cafes? Do you ever order online? I've recently upgraded to a hand-drip setup from the exact sorta thing TreFitty is doing now, and it made things so much better. I'm currently just trying different beans from different sources online and having a blast, but the selection all seems really similar. Well, I frequently go to the States, so I sometimes bring back beans from Verve or some other big-name roaster and freeze a bag or so in reserve (as bad as that is) for some variety. But yeah, Bundang is pretty blessed with a good selection of cafes, and if I get bored of local offerings, I can take the subway and be at Classico in about 20 minutes. If I -really- want something new/good I go to Dili Kapo north of Seoul -- that's the only place I know that -may- sell green beens, judging by the website, but I don't roast so I never looked into green beans in Korea in the first place. Grinder: I use an encore I brought over pretty recently from the States when I'm here in Korea. My whole family moved back from the US five years ago, so my house had plenty of transformers. I can't imagine lugging one of those bricks on a flight with me, though. I saw a Maestro going for 129,000 won on Gmarket, so if you want a decent grinder, that'll be an option. Considering the plethora of people trying to set up their own cafes/popularity of barista classes, I think it won't be hard to find green bean suppliers if you're so inclined. EDIT: I forgot to mention Schumann and Clara in Gyungju - the owner is pretty famous for being obsessed with roasting and so doing DIY mods on his roasters. Archer2338 fucked around with this message at 14:36 on Dec 30, 2012 |
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Dec 30, 2012 14:29
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I decided to clean my Hario kettle for the first time, and as I was wiping the inside with a paper towel after washing it with soap, there was a faint black smear on the paper towel. Is that normal or is something wrong?
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Dec 30, 2012 18:53
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that Vai sound posted:I decided to clean my Hario kettle for the first time, and as I was wiping the inside with a paper towel after washing it with soap, there was a faint black smear on the paper towel. Is that normal or is something wrong? Are you using a filter like a Brita or something? Might be carbon dust from the filter.
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Dec 31, 2012 01:46
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Archer2338 posted:Are you using a filter like a Brita or something? Might be carbon dust from the filter.
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Dec 31, 2012 02:15
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Does anyone have any tips on using mypressi espresso maker with the coarse basket? I have a Barzata maestro plus and I've calibrated it to go as fine as it can, but the espressos still extract in about 10-16 seconds from the Mypressi, and have a sour/bitter flavor to them. Two different coffee types. Could it be that I need to coarsen it up a little bit, or tamp less? or is this the opposite of what I need to do...
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Dec 31, 2012 02:53
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dhrusis posted:Does anyone have any tips on using mypressi espresso maker with the coarse basket? I have a Barzata maestro plus and I've calibrated it to go as fine as it can, but the espressos still extract in about 10-16 seconds from the Mypressi, and have a sour/bitter flavor to them. Two different coffee types. Do you mean to say that with the regular basket the extraction is only taking 10-16 seconds, or that happens with the coarse basket? I have a Baratza Virtuoso and use the regular basket. Depending on the beans/environment I usually have to use #5-8 grind to get a double (2 fl oz) extraction between 24-30 seconds. If the sweet spot seems to be in between settings I just use the finer setting and slightly under fill the basket or use the coarser setting and over fill. I have never tried the coarse basket, but I have had the mypressi for a year now, so please ask any questions you like.
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Dec 31, 2012 04:09
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Associate Christ
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Does anyone else besides Gravity have that bonnavita drip machine? I'm tempted to get one because I am lazy and it'll be more consistent than me. Just afraid that I'll consistently prefer to use the aeropress instead. I still can't pull off a manual pour over to safe my life. Too acidic.
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Dec 31, 2012 06:17
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geetee posted:Does anyone else besides Gravity have that bonnavita drip machine? I'm tempted to get one because I am lazy and it'll be more consistent than me. Just afraid that I'll consistently prefer to use the aeropress instead. I still can't pull off a manual pour over to safe my life. Too acidic. For $70 more, I'd also consider the Behmor Brazen.
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Dec 31, 2012 15:53
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Kaluza-Klein posted:Do you mean to say that with the regular basket the extraction is only taking 10-16 seconds, or that happens with the coarse basket? Thanks for the help. I suspect I'm going to need it!! I've only pulled 4 or so shots so far. First one was with the standard basket, it was a gushing creama-fest and made a huge mess. That led us to purchase the coarse basket. I've pulled 2 shots with the coarse, and both of them have been bitter, the first one extracting in about 5-6 seconds (with one bean type) - tons of creama that eventually turned into espresso.. It came out fast but didn't spit/sputter. The second extracted in ~16 seconds with a different bean type.. it looked like a perfect shot, but didn't taste like it. I don't want to buy an expensive grinder if I can help it... like I said, I did re-calibrate the Maestro+, but I don't think it did anything really. Any thoughts to getting the coarse basket working? I don't expect this to taste like artisanal espresso, but I do expect it to make workable espresso.. Could it be the beans I'm using?
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Dec 31, 2012 16:00
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dhrusis posted:Thanks for the help. I suspect I'm going to need it!! I've only pulled 4 or so shots so far. First one was with the standard basket, it was a gushing creama-fest and made a huge mess. That led us to purchase the coarse basket. I've pulled 2 shots with the coarse, and both of them have been bitter, the first one extracting in about 5-6 seconds (with one bean type) - tons of creama that eventually turned into espresso.. It came out fast but didn't spit/sputter. The second extracted in ~16 seconds with a different bean type.. it looked like a perfect shot, but didn't taste like it. Are you using espresso beans? If you are using something else, it may not taste how you expect an espresso to taste. http://mypressi.com/collections/all/products/presurized-basket Is that what you are using? My Twist came with one, it was not an extra purchase. I will give it a try next time I make a shot. I really think you should be able to get the standard basket to work with that grinder. I used a $30 Hario hand grinder for months with the Twist and while it was a bit more of a pain in the rear end to keep it calibrated, it could easily produce grinds way too fine. It seems like your Baratza should be able to do the same. If you set your grinder to produce the finest grind that it can and use the standard basket, how long does it take to get 2 fl oz? I have to back off the finest grind a few clicks before the Twist can even produce a drop, even with a hand grinder. My advice is to not worry about measurements beyond trying to produce 2 fl oz in 20-30 seconds. I used to weigh grinds and tamp on a scale and all that and all it ever did was drive me crazy. I make much better espresso when I forget about it. Also, I usually leave the spouts on so I don't fret over how the extraction doesn't look just perfect like all the youtube videos :p. Once you can hit the 20-30 second window and make a "good" espresso, you can worry about everything else... 0. Right before use, fill assembled Twist with boiling water to warm it up. Do it at least twice. 1. Fill basket with a heaping portion of coffee grinds (straight from grinder, hopefully). 2. Rest your pointer finger horizontally on the edge of the basket and brush it across the top to direct the grounds to fill any spaces. You can bend your finger to leave a bit of a mound if you like, it will slightly increase extraction time. The idea is that you want the basket to be filled evenly, but you don't want to be pushing down on the coffee. Be gentle! 3. Give it a tamp. One decently hard push. Don't really worry about it beyond trying to produce a level surface of coffee. Brush any grinds off the rim of the basket so it doesn't effect the seal. A $20 metal tamper would be a nice gift to yourself vs. the plastic thing they give you. 4. Put basket in Twist, fill with water, pull trigger. Way too fast? Finer grind. Way too slow/no extraction at all? Coarser grind. Just a wee bit off? Use slightly more coffee (bigger mound) to slow it down or slightly less to speed it up. My only advice for grind size (since I am blind as a bat) is that if it is starting to clump it may be getting too fine for the Twist. But it is nicer to start too fine IMHO because at least you can enjoy those few drops of syrupy espresso (it's a ristretto!) it produces vs starting too coarse and just having a gush of poo poo you wouldn't feed your worst enemy. Anyway, I hope that gives you some direction, or please excuse me if that is all old news to you :p. I will give the coarse basket a try later today and see what it does for me.
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Dec 31, 2012 16:38
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Is a cuisinart burr grinder an acceptable purchase for aeropress/frenchpress coffee? I know there are better ones out there but I can't afford to spend a whole lot.
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Dec 31, 2012 17:25
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The Third Man posted:Is a cuisinart burr grinder an acceptable purchase for aeropress/frenchpress coffee? I know there are better ones out there but I can't afford to spend a whole lot.
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Dec 31, 2012 17:30
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Kaluza-Klein posted:Are you using espresso beans? If you are using something else, it may not taste how you expect an espresso to taste. This is all great stuff.. let me try again tonight / tomorrow and I will let you know. I've been using the pressurized / coarse basket (the one you linked). Maybe I need to re-visit the recalibration and include some pics so you guys can tell me if I have it right. My wife bought me the refurb mypressi, so I had to buy the coarse basket separately. As far as the beans go, I've been roasting them as hard as I can, but they probably aren't officially espresso beans, just french/dark roast. Does this matter with regards to bitterness or just other flavors??
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Dec 31, 2012 22:45
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In a sampler pack from Sweet Maria's, I got 2 pounds of beans that are listed as being good for espresso. Since I don't have an espresso maker, are these worth roasting for my normal coffee? I'm going to try it regardless, but would like to hear if it's viable or worth it even.
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Dec 31, 2012 22:57
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nwin posted:I had the cuisinart for a year and it loving sucks. Loud as poo poo and leaves powder everywhere. This is the truth, when I was using mine for aeropress I was having to carefully pull out a third of the grind from the hopper because it was dust. I think it produced more dust than the blade grinder I used to have.
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Dec 31, 2012 23:39
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The Third Man posted:Is a cuisinart burr grinder an acceptable purchase for aeropress/frenchpress coffee? I know there are better ones out there but I can't afford to spend a whole lot. Don't bother. Doesn't even approach a consistent grind, and as nwin mentioned, it's loud as hell. Anything between a Bodum blade grinder (~$20) and a Baratza is going to not be worth your money.
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Dec 31, 2012 23:50
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Astronaut Jones posted:For $70 more, I'd also consider the Behmor Brazen. I was sold on this until the 20 ounce brew minimum. Seems like a poor oversight. Now of course the lack of Bonavita features is going to bother me.
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Jan 1, 2013 00:56
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nwin posted:In a sampler pack from Sweet Maria's, I got 2 pounds of beans that are listed as being good for espresso. Since I don't have an espresso maker, are these worth roasting for my normal coffee? I'm going to try it regardless, but would like to hear if it's viable or worth it even. Those beans will make perfectly good coffee. Or at least coffee no worse than you usually make.
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Jan 1, 2013 02:57
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So a NYT reporter spends three days learning to pull espresso like a nerd. And after an entire weekend of hardcore coffee geekery it turns out that:quote:Great, I am improving. But this is impractical. I buy my coffee preground. I don’t own a scale. ...no one ever told him that he had to grind immediately before brewing for decent results.
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Jan 2, 2013 19:16
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I haven't used this site before, but it seems you can nab a Vario for $359 + shipping for the next couple days: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/baratza-vario
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Jan 2, 2013 19:47
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A co-worker who also roasts wanted me to hose up a video of the process using the heat gun. As I told him, it's boring as hell to just watch. I find it oddly relaxing to do it though. Anyway, here it is if anyone is curious. Half pound batch of Kona estate from coffeebeancorral: http://youtu.be/1woJAtCWmrc I turned around and did a pound batch of my espresso blend right after. Roast time didn't change. Switching to the 2 quart bowl to roast in seems to retain way more heat.
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Jan 4, 2013 04:53
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