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Edit: trip report. Cold brew drip with the hack I linked earlier is pretty delicious. That last one was an Ethiopian Goma Duromina Coop and it practically fills the mouth with bright wine and spice flavors, it's wonderful. Doing another batch right now, this time with some Philippine Kapeng Barako I roasted yesterday. Looking into pricing out a tower build. I think I have a coffee problem.herbaceous backson posted:IE goons: is there decent locally roasted coffee in Riverside? I just moved here and I'm not seeing much besides Starbucks and Coffee Bean. Half of the Yelp reviews Augie's in Redlands is fantastic (http://www.augiescoffeehouse.com/). They're opening a new location right next door to and in partnership with the owners of the Salted Pig (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=577228432309165&set=a.212980155400663.58177.145527572145922&type=1). Stell in Redlands is also good (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stell-Coffee-Tea-Company/149015045124643). The Daily Brew (http://dailybrewcrew.com/) on Van Buren sells/brews Klatch Coffee which is based out of Upland and has a few scattered locations in the IE (http://www.klatchroasting.com/). Welcome new Inland Empirer. There are a lot of us here it seems. Are you going to UCR? GrAviTy84 fucked around with this message at 19:54 on Jun 24, 2013 |
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Jun 24, 2013 19:40
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The only real kind of coffee problem is running out of coffee.
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Jun 24, 2013 20:23
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herbaceous backson posted:IE goons: is there decent locally roasted coffee in Riverside? I just moved here and I'm not seeing much besides Starbucks and Coffee Bean. Half of the Yelp reviews There used to be a ton of great coffee shops there back before the huge starbucks explosion.
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Jun 24, 2013 20:54
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Is there some sort of guide to how to describe coffee flavours? For example, GrAviTy84's post here:GrAviTy84 posted:Edit: trip report. Cold brew drip with the hack I linked earlier is pretty delicious. That last one was an Ethiopian Goma Duromina Coop and it practically fills the mouth with bright wine and spice flavors, it's wonderful. Doing another batch right now, this time with some Philippine Kapeng Barako I roasted yesterday. Looking into pricing out a tower build. I think I have a coffee problem. "wine and spice" is easy to get, but words like "bright" and "earthy", not so much. It doesn't help that I have a shitton of diet restrictions and don't know what 50% of things taste like, I guess, but I want to learn!
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Jun 25, 2013 03:41
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herbaceous backson posted:IE goons: is there decent locally roasted coffee in Riverside? I just moved here and I'm not seeing much besides Starbucks and Coffee Bean. Half of the Yelp reviews Augies in Redlands and The Salted Pig (one of the only decent places to eat in Riverside) are opening a store somewhere in Riverside. Until then Augies is a great roaster, but they're in Redlands. I don't particularly like Klatch, but i've only been a few times. Also, get out while you still can.
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Jun 25, 2013 04:57
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Geektox posted:Is there some sort of guide to how to describe coffee flavours? For example, GrAviTy84's post here: Just a beginner here, but here's my 5 cents. I found home roasting to be a really useful intro to learning a little bit - I'd cook three or four tiny batches to different levels and jar them up for a few days. The difference between dark and light roasts was really illuminating: dark, smooth and smokey versus sharp and bright. Then let your taste buds dictate what gets roasted next. If you can grab a popper and beans then I'd recommend it. If your diet restrictions are critical it may be worth buying new so you're not inheriting a cooking vessel that's been used for god knows what. Otherwise grab the next $5 machine you bump into, the cheaper the better, and a couple of different bean types for contrasting roast experiences and flavours. For $20 and some effort you'll learn a heck of a lot. Making espresso allows almost too much tweaking - temperature, dose, extraction amount etc etc etc. Literally can drive you mad if you pay attention to it. What I found useful was to try experiments like a centre cut shot - letting the start of the flow and the end fall into the drip tray, just capturing the smooth and sweeter middle extraction of a shot. Compare and contrast - you can go through kilograms of coffee this way, just finding out what works for you, your machine and your beans. When your palette encounters a balanced shot - the caramels and bitter flavours in harmony - you'll start discerning the other flavours of your bean easily. Oh poo poo - there's the fruit people have been talking about! Then you'll waste even more coffee trying to recreate it, ha. If you have a kick arse cafe near you maybe you can get them to help you try some different espresso shots, but I've had middling coffee from even well regarded cafes and now get more consistent results at home, booya. That's how I started anyway - mucking around with my home roasted beans and the worlds cheapest 2nd hand espresso machine. The most important thing is a decent grinder. Also don't to take it too seriously IMO, back in the ole west cowboys cooked beans on an open fire in a cast iron skillet and that's a legitimate endeavour. There's no right/wrong in this - just do whatever tastes better or you. Your taste buds are always right - unlike some opinionated wanker online! Home Barista has a bunch of useful newbie articles, which I've read and reread as I've gone along. Check em out. dusty fucked around with this message at 09:35 on Jun 25, 2013 |
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Jun 25, 2013 09:31
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Geektox posted:Is there some sort of guide to how to describe coffee flavours? For example, GrAviTy84's post here: Those notes are really just the first thoughts that come into someone's head when they taste something. They're not really supposed to be exact representations of flavors. The way it was described to me when I took a wine tasting class was that you taste it, roll it around in the mouth, maybe aerate it by doing that slurpsuck thing which admittedly makes one look like a douche in certain company, and then swallow, but then during each stage of tasting certain flavors will pop in and out. Roastiness, caramellized notes, acidity, etc. As each of these pop out on the palate you just have to think of the first thing that reminds you of that flavor. That's all "wine and spice" means. When I tasted it, something about the acidity reminded me of a glass of red wine, and something about the aromatics reminded me of "spice" whatever that means.
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Jun 25, 2013 18:49
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SurreptitiousMuffin posted:Ah well. The same place has beans for $35USD/100g. JJ Royal. Is it worth a look? You get to support animal cruelty, and pay a lot for coffee that tastes bad. You tell me.
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Jun 25, 2013 20:04
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GrAviTy84 posted:Welp. Here goes. I just got back from Hawaii, brought some Kona beans back an am loving it. There really IS a difference, as far as I can tell. I currently use a melitta one-cup(mug) pour-over with melitta filters (I pre-wet them and don't notice any paper taste) but am curious to try cold brew. The reason I quoted above is I can't do that because I don't have an aeropress and hesitate to get one for an experiment. Any goon-tested suggestions for easier cold brew methods that don't involve glassblowing and half the kitchen table?
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Jun 26, 2013 20:59
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JDM3 posted:I just got back from Hawaii, brought some Kona beans back an am loving it. There really IS a difference, as far as I can tell. I currently use a melitta one-cup(mug) pour-over with melitta filters (I pre-wet them and don't notice any paper taste) but am curious to try cold brew. I've seen people punch holes in the bottom of plastic solo cups. You can line them with basket type filters too but filter quality of basket filters is awful. The only problem with this is suspending the dripper over the coffee grounds and then holding that over a coffee vessel. You can also do full immersion cold brew. Something like 11:1 water: coffee. Into the fridge for 12 hrs and strain is a good starting point. You can use a press pot to do this. The results are good but I think the results from a dripper are better.
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Jun 27, 2013 06:46
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New to this thread and new to coffee snobbery. My husband and fellow goon introduced me to real, good coffee recently (I had been drinking Starbucks) and I will never go back. We are going to try the full immersion cold brew this weekend. What's the best way to heat it up if we want hot coffee from it? Does it even matter? Up next is the clever coffee dripper. Just need to get a scale and kettle.
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Jun 27, 2013 12:53
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JDM3 posted:The reason I quoted above is I can't do that because I don't have an aeropress and hesitate to get one for an experiment. Any goon-tested suggestions for easier cold brew methods that don't involve glassblowing and half the kitchen table? You could buy a Toddy for about $35 but that's more than what you'd spend on an Aeropress. You could also just buy a couple of the Toddy filters for about $7 and rig something up with like a 2-liter soda bottle with the bottom cut off, inverted, with the filter wedged in the bottom (just unscrew the cap when you're ready to drain). It could get messy though, I'd just drop the $25 for an Aeropress or $35 for a Toddy. frenchnewwave posted:We are going to try the full immersion cold brew this weekend. What's the best way to heat it up if we want hot coffee from it? Does it even matter? Since you end up with a concentrate from cold extract, you can just add about an equal part of hot water just shy of boiling to it and you'll end up with hot, regular strength coffee. At least, that's what the Toddy instructions suggest, I've never tried it since I like my cold brew cold and undiluted. Also, keep in mind that if you like sugar and are going to drink it cold, the sugar isn't going to dissolve so you may want to cook up a batch of simple syrup. I like making mine with muscavado sugar since it adds some nice molasses flavors. Lawen fucked around with this message at 13:22 on Jun 27, 2013 |
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Jun 27, 2013 13:16
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I should have know there's a coffee thread somewhere, because everyone loves coffee. I finally ordered a Moccamaster for the household, and I can't wait to use it.
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Jun 29, 2013 00:02
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Geektox posted:Is there some sort of guide to how to describe coffee flavours? For example, GrAviTy84's post here: The best way to describe a coffee is by using general terms. The more specific you get, the more alienating the discussion can become, but if you're nerding out then go for it. Think of it in the following categories: Aroma, Acidity, Sweetness, Body, Finish. Aroma: How it smells Acidity: This can be tough to relate to, but its kind of the sparkling or tingling sensation you get with citrus fruits, apples etc. At its best it's sparkling, complex and well supported by a coffees sweetness. At its worst its sour, sharp, simple and unbalanced. You can get more in depth by tasting different types of acids: Malic, tartaric, etc. Sweetness: Self explanatory, molasses, honey, fruit sweetness. Should be balanced with acidity. For sweetness and acidity you should consider quantity, quality, and how they support each other. Body: Flat, Thin, Smooth, Buttery, Oily. Also think did it taste round (high quality) or empty (low quality). These last two sound abstract but are very intuitive. Finish: Long or short= How long does it sit on your palate. Clean or dirty (again, abstract but intuitive). Most importantly, trust your palate. Say what you taste. If it's not there, don't search for it. If you want to develop your palate then think more about what you're tasting whenever you're eating food, drinking alcohol etc. Fino Martini fucked around with this message at 02:23 on Jun 29, 2013 |
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Jun 29, 2013 02:20
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I hate you guys-seriously all of you, but especially Gravity for making this thread. I used to grab a coffee from dunkin donuts with cream and sugar and thought it was normal. I used to drink coffee by the gallons on my boat in the military and think, "Yeah, it tastes burnt, but cream and sugar will fix that." Then, I thought I moved up i the world when I moved to a Kuerig. I thought that tasted good, as long as I put some creamer in there of course. Then I figured I would grind my own coffee, because it's better, right? So I bought a Cuisinart burr grinder. gently caress me, was that thing loud. My wife despised me and continued to use her Kuerig. Then a year or so later, I decided to open up this thread. And that's when it all started. I first shook it off saying all you people are crazy loving spergs. Then I saw a French Press for cheap at World Market, so I picked one up. You all know where I'm going with this. One Capresso Inifity, a CCD, an aeropress, two popcorn air poppers, and several pounds of green beans from Sweet Maria's and here I am. I don't use cream or sugar anymore. Thanks to this thread, I learned that coffee can actually taste good on its own. My wife still likes convenience and her Kuerig. Plus, she adds a gallon of creamer to her special flavored coffees that we buy at Target and we put into those reuseable pods, because 1)pods are expensive as gently caress and 2) drat that's a lot of plastic. Therefore it really doesn't matter what kind of coffee we get her, even though she states otherwise. I've given her a couple blind taste tests and she never tells the difference with the gallon of creamer she adds. So thanks for taking me down into another rabbit hole of a hobby. Onto some questions: I'm using my 1500 watt poppery air popper today and go to feel the cord. It is warm/hot as gently caress. I know it's a lot of wattage going through it, but drat-I bought this thing used on ebay, so is this normal or should I look into replacing the wire? I have a mental image of the thing arcing and sparking and making a nice wall fire one day while roasting some coffee. I've bought three sampler packs of green coffee from Sweet Maria's. One bean that really caught my attention was Ethiopia Dry-Process Yirga Cheffe Konga. It tastes absolutely great to me. I always use the CCD now in the morning and realized I like starting to pour it at 2:50. Any later and I just don't like the flavor. Any suggestions for other things I might like if I like this offering? Also, Sweet Maria's just got more of the Gesha in: Guatemala Acatenango Gesha. It's about $20/pound, but I decided I might as well get it once and see what all the fuss is about. Finally, regarding my Capresso. I grind 20g of coffee each day. How often is it recommended to use Grindz for that?
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Jun 30, 2013 03:15
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If you enjoy the dry process yirg, it's very likely that you'll love other natural/dry processed coffees. Drinking natural's is an unforgettable experience at first because of the huge ferment/fruit bomb flavor they can give you. I'd also reccomend buying a natural Ethiopian from another roaster to compare yourself to, and then try a washed Ethiopian to see the other side of the coin. Heart's Ethiopia Chelba is the best Ethiopian coffee I've had yet this season.
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Jun 30, 2013 06:38
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nwin posted:I first shook it off saying all you people are crazy loving spergs. 100% accurate. nwin posted:I'm using my 1500 watt poppery air popper today and go to feel the cord. It is warm/hot as gently caress. I know it's a lot of wattage going through it, but drat-I bought this thing used on ebay, so is this normal or should I look into replacing the wire? I have a mental image of the thing arcing and sparking and making a nice wall fire one day while roasting some coffee. Buy a heat gun and a dog bowl.
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Jun 30, 2013 21:15
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Loucks posted:Buy a heat gun and a dog bowl. Seriously buy a heatgun and dog bowl
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Jun 30, 2013 21:25
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Fino Martini posted:If you enjoy the dry process yirg, it's very likely that you'll love other natural/dry processed coffees. Drinking natural's is an unforgettable experience at first because of the huge ferment/fruit bomb flavor they can give you. I'd also reccomend buying a natural Ethiopian from another roaster to compare yourself to, and then try a washed Ethiopian to see the other side of the coin. Heart's Ethiopia Chelba is the best Ethiopian coffee I've had yet this season. Heart's Chelba is amazing. That, Roseline's washed Konga, and Grumpy's Idido are the three best coffees I've had in the past few months. grahm fucked around with this message at 22:04 on Jun 30, 2013 |
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Jun 30, 2013 22:01
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Gravity Pike posted:I'm cold-brewing coffee by coarse grinding about 1/3 cup beans, dumping them into a mason jar, filling it with water, and leaving it in the fridge for 12ish hours. I then paper-filter it by just dumping it into the top of my Mr. Coffee, return it to the fridge, and drink it over the course of a week or so for breakfast. I'm just reading the thread (up to page 42) but wanted to get more information on cold brew. I've got 24oz mason jars, what amount of coffee should I be putting it? I've read all kinds of ratios on various sites but I'm still a little confused. Edit: nevermind, the ratio conversation started on 44. It's 1:3. MasterControl fucked around with this message at 00:30 on Jul 1, 2013 |
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Jun 30, 2013 22:14
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Loucks posted:100% accurate. I hate you guys almost as much as the love/hate relationship I have with amazon. :I put it in my cart: Edit: how big a bowl are we talking? nwin fucked around with this message at 22:23 on Jun 30, 2013 |
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Jun 30, 2013 22:20
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nwin posted:I hate you guys almost as much as the love/hate relationship I have with amazon. I use a 64oz I bought for $4 at the local pet store, I roast a 1/2lb at a time.
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Jun 30, 2013 22:33
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We talking something like this: Loving Pets Standard No-Tip Dog Bowl, 64-Ounce http://amzn.com/B00176FBK0 Or this: Ethical 2-Quart Mirror Finish Stainless Dish http://amzn.com/B0002AS5FA Or just do this: Cook Pro 5-Quart Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl http://amzn.com/B001U0O36G
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Jun 30, 2013 22:35
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nwin posted:We talking something like this: Loving Pets Standard No-Tip Dog Bowl, 64-Ounce Mine looks like the second one. I think the idea is that the size of the bowl should match the amount you plan to roast at a time. Too big a bowl and you lose too much heat. What I read was 64oz for 1/2lb, so double that if you want to do a lb at a time I suppose.
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Jun 30, 2013 22:58
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Pros use a Whirlypop.
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Jun 30, 2013 23:15
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ded posted:Pros use a Whirlypop. Have you actually tried a heat gun? I'm sure the WP is fine, but the heat gun method is incredibly controllable with a very short learning curve and results in an even roast. Google Butt posted:Too big a bowl and you lose too much heat. What I'm sure this is accurate, but I set the bowl on a nonslip mat and wrap the whole thing in an old towel. It seems to help keep the heat in, but since I don't have a third hand for a thermometer I can't say for sure. Loucks fucked around with this message at 23:59 on Jun 30, 2013 |
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Jun 30, 2013 23:49
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How sensitive is a typical heat gun performance to crappy electricity? I had to switch from a hot-air popper to a whirlypop when I moved because the electricity in my new place is poo poo and the hot-air popper took over 20 minutes to get to a roast that was barely drinkable (previously it was around a french roast at ~12-15 minutes). Lately I've just been taking the whirlypop outside on a camp stove and letting the chaff and smoke go where it wants. withak fucked around with this message at 01:39 on Jul 1, 2013 |
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Jul 1, 2013 01:37
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I would guess its the same. The air popper I use is 1500w and the heat gun I'm looking at is 1200w. I don't think if you buy an air popper and a heat gun with similar wattage that you'll see any difference in heat output.
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Jul 1, 2013 02:35
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Obviously you'll be limited by the power you're feeding whatever device you use, but with the gun you have the flexibility to use the power intelligently rather than just tossing a handful of beans into a popper and hoping you hit the sweet spot where the batch all hits your target roast at the same time. It's also nice just to roast a pound of coffee at once and be done for a few days, but admittedly not everyone goes through as much as we do.
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Jul 1, 2013 03:08
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So yeah, the heat gun and dog bowl method is completely awesome. I picked up a couple lbs of Guatemalan from Sweet Marias to learn how to do this with and hot drat, why didn't I do this sooner? Cafe Pulcal is pretty awesome stuff if you roast it to a FC or FC+. Any tips on roasting small amounts (1/4lb)? I'm scorching the outside of the beans before I get the internal temp up to where I want it sometimes. I suspect my bowl is too big and I'm losing too much heat and having to over-apply the gun to compensate, leading to some scorching on the surface. So many variables to test  Since I just started learning how to do this I've been leary of throwing a full lb or 1/2lb in at a time, sacrificing a badly roasted 1/4lb doesn't make me feel quite as bad.
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Jul 1, 2013 03:14
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Loucks posted:Have you actually tried a heat gun? I'm sure the WP is fine, but the heat gun method is incredibly controllable with a very short learning curve and results in an even roast. Why would I want to bother with a heat gun when a whirlypop can do 1/2 lb on my gas stove? It's also very controllable you simply turn the dial on the stove and crank a handle for 8-10 minutes.
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Jul 1, 2013 05:02
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ded posted:Why would I want to bother with a heat gun when a whirlypop can do 1/2 lb on my gas stove? It's also very controllable you simply turn the dial on the stove and crank a handle for 8-10 minutes. You wouldn't, because you have become some sort of master of roasting since you started in January, enough so that you felt qualified to dismiss them less than two months after your first roast. The rest of us are not expert roasters, and enjoy experimenting. The rest of us "bother with" heat guns because it is interesting to be so involved with every element of the roast and see it develop in so much detail. Also because you can roast twice as much as with a WP.
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Jul 1, 2013 13:20
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Speaking of the HG/bowl method... I've been roasting pretty small batches (about half a cup of green beans), since I only drink a few cups a day. I believe I have a 32oz bowl. The question I had was what sort of stirring device does everyone use? I've been using a cheap wire whisk, but I'm not sure it's moving things around as well as it should. Maybe I've been getting lazy in my HG positioning, but the last few roasts I've done have been pretty inconsistent. Maybe it would be better if I do a larger batch so my beans aren't all over the place in roasts? I typically have a quarter of my beans getting to 2nd crack by the time first crack is over.
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Jul 1, 2013 14:45
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I'm brand new to roasting, and am doing it for the cost savings and better flavor, in that order! I went with the air popper method based off of this thread and sweet Maria's articles. The cost savings part is worthless so far. My second (!!) air popper just died after maybe 6 roasts. First popper died after four. I only did 1-2 roasts per day, and waited for the machine to cool down if I did more than one. So, not trying that again. Before I waste more money on something stupid, can you guys tell me - does the whirlypop method kick up a lot of smoke? If so, anyone want 5 pounds of green beans? Hah. scunish fucked around with this message at 04:14 on Jul 5, 2013 |
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Jul 5, 2013 04:10
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It's really weird that you keep losing poppers. Do you have power issues? Mine is still fine after hundreds of roasts. If you can't have smoke indoors and have access to relatively clean power outdoors you could always drop  on a heat gun and scrounge up a metal bowl and wooden spoon.
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Jul 5, 2013 06:04
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What brand and model of popper did you get? Was it new? It's not normal to get a lot of smoke. I assume the smoke isn't from burning the beans? I got a used Poppery 2 for $25 off eBay. I'd say I've used it on at least 30 batches over the past 6 months. Typically, I do 4-5 batches at a time without any waiting for it to cool down. It's still going strong.
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Jul 5, 2013 14:42
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No power issues that I'm aware of, but I am about 90% home maintenance retarded so anything's possible. For example - do outdoor outlets usually have a higher voltage? If so, maybe that's my problem. I only really had a ton of smoke with the first popper, but it was the wrong kind of popper, mesh bottomed, so that could be why. Second popper was an air crazy. I kept that one outside less from the smoke, and more for the chaff. If nothing else this experience has taught me that I LOVE lighter roasts! I bought a cup of Starbucks yesterday and could barely choke it down. Sludge in a cup, and I loved that stuff just a month ago.
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Jul 5, 2013 15:22
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scunish posted:No power issues that I'm aware of, but I am about 90% home maintenance retarded so anything's possible. For example - do outdoor outlets usually have a higher voltage? If so, maybe that's my problem. This may be a a dumb question, but since I'm assuming you roast outdoors, you didn't leave the popper outdoors for extended periods of time did you? Condensation can short out the various electronic components. I'm usually pretty good about it but I lost one in one night due to that.
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Jul 5, 2013 17:50
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Nope, brought them in when finished. But condensation wouldn't be an issue here anyway; I'm in the desert, and it's dry as bones.
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Jul 5, 2013 18:07
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I don't know know yet whether the Technivorm is actually worth three hundred bucks, but it does brew a pretty decent cup x10 in not a lot of time. Not throwing away my other gear, but it will be nice for company.
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Jul 6, 2013 02:15
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