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Try that same method but with a couple grams less coffee. Are you measuring now or just eyeballing?
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Oct 4, 2014 19:10
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rockcity posted:Try that same method but with a couple grams less coffee. Are you measuring now or just eyeballing? Measuring. The last double was about 19g, little heavy, but I needed to get rid of some beans. Whats the rationale behind less?
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Oct 5, 2014 01:04
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dhrusis posted:okay I dunno what I was thinking before, maybe I'm off here, but I feel like I just leveled up as a human. Pulled another double, this time it took 60 seconds, there were no hints of bitterness, just a bunch of awesomeness, a la like what you read on the side of a sweet marias bag. It was stupid good with monster crema. I feel like I can keep doing this now. Is 60 seconds too long for a double? Am I crazy in thinking 30 seconds was what I was supposed to target? All I know is that shot was good as hell and if its wrong then so be it :-) 60s is super long (or rather, lungo  ). You're right, 30s is the classic target for a standard double with ~27 to ~33 being the generally accepted range. If you want to try and hit that mark, I would probably go with a lighter tamp before changing the grind size since you seem to have hit a good spot on the grind.dhrusis posted:Measuring. The last double was about 19g, little heavy, but I needed to get rid of some beans. Whats the rationale behind less? Less beans → less resistance to flow → quicker brew That said, at least in my opinion, your mouth (and nose) are the ultimate judges, and while learning to do a proper 30s pull is definitely good for honing your skills, you should drink what you enjoy. There've been more times than I'd like to admit where I've hosed up and ground the drat beans too finely, or tamped too hard, and had to do a 45s pull to get the shot to blond. Still usually tastes drat good, and a little milk can usually save a shot if it's too bitter (nothing, as far as I know, can save a too-sour shot). Speaking of adding milk to your coffee—anyone here tried cafe bombon? It's just espresso and condensed milk (in a ~1:1 ratio), but it is so loving good. It's basically the coffee version of candy. Excellent dessert drink, and a real crowd pleaser. When I do this I try tend to grind a bit finer and pull a bit longer than normal so the shot can be bitter enough to stand up to the sugar in the milk. dik-dik fucked around with this message at 01:25 on Oct 5, 2014 |
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Oct 5, 2014 01:19
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dik-dik posted:60s is super long (or rather, lungo okay interesting.. upon doing more reading perhaps I am just letting shots run too long, and letting them blonde, seeking the 2oz volume. Aside from the temp surfing I wasn't doing well, I may be letting them run too long for the actual "volume" and getting the overexpressed beans. My shot was 60 seconds @ 2oz, so I'm not sure thats a lungo, it didn't have extra water. It was a non sour, none blonded shot. So after I duplicate /confirm super shot I just did, I will then label that as my current "I could drink this every day and never look back" shot -- 2oz @ 19grams @ 60 seconds and then adjust the grind down and the weight down and bring it to whatever gives me 2oz @ 30 seconds, adjusting one thing at a time... Am I going about this the right way? Is there any flavor impact to a lungo vs a regular shot and should I just leave it alone? laugh. e: I'm actually filling a 2 1/2 oz glass. I think its the blonding thing. http://www.amazon.com/Bodum-2-Ounce...ups+double+wall dhrusis fucked around with this message at 01:55 on Oct 5, 2014 |
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Oct 5, 2014 01:52
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dhrusis posted:Measuring. The last double was about 19g, little heavy, but I needed to get rid of some beans. Whats the rationale behind less? Too much coffee will slow down the shot and over-extract the coffee and give you the bitterness you spoke of. If you drop down to maybe 17 grams it should things up a little bit and might get you where you're looking to be. There's no one way to get the right result, but you generally want to change only one variable at a time to figure out what changes what.
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Oct 5, 2014 02:58
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dik-dik posted:
Haven't tried it with espresso, but I really like Vietnamese coffee: fill a coffee cup about one quarter with Asian sweetened condensed milk and use a phin coffee filter to slowly drip coffee onto the I can't drink Vietnamese coffee black, but it's highly addicting with condensed milk. I save it for special occasions now.
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Oct 5, 2014 04:01
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dhrusis posted:
I wrote a whole bunch of poo poo that I just deleted about how you should definitely try and pull a 30s shot, but honestly if you like what you're doing, keep at it. What I know about espresso says that a "good" shot is one that finds the (literal) sweet spot between a sour shot and a bitter one, which usually happens under the following conditions (for a double, which is the only kind of shot I know how to pull): ~17-19g ground coffee in ~25-35s brew time ~27-36g brewed espresso out If you want to try and pull a shot that way, fiddle with your grind until it gets there, then start playing with dose and poo poo. If you liked your 60s shots, keep at it! To echo old advice, keep a journal of your recipes and how they taste. Also this discussion got me to read the wikipedia articles for ristretto and lungo. I learned how to pull shots without being exposed to much Italian terminology, so I thought ristretto just meant a shot that was less than 1:2 coffee:water, and lungo was over that ratio. It's baffling to me that someone would want what to me is a shot pulled deliberately off-recipe, but where I work so much effort is constantly put into having shots that taste good, it seems like a waste to throw out all that work for a demitasse full of battery acid or ash water.
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Oct 5, 2014 04:07
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dhrusis posted:okay I dunno what I was thinking before, maybe I'm off here, but I feel like I just leveled up as a human. Pulled another double, this time it took 60 seconds, there were no hints of bitterness, just a bunch of awesomeness, a la like what you read on the side of a sweet marias bag. It was stupid good with monster crema. I feel like I can keep doing this now. Is 60 seconds too long for a double? Am I crazy in thinking 30 seconds was what I was supposed to target? All I know is that shot was good as hell and if its wrong then so be it :-) If it tastes good, drink it. That's the rubber vs. road opinion. Academically though? You're shots are 100% longer than common spec. On my Gaggia if I went out that long it'd be a watered-down, bitter mess. Obviously milages... they do vary. One of the multitude of "standards" you could entertain is the old world "14g double" and see what's what. I'm usually in the range of 17g and have no issues pulling sweet, fragrant, not-bitter shots in ~25 seconds. If I witnessed what you're describing coming out of my machine... that shot would get dumped and I'd be taking a serious look at loosening my grind.
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Oct 5, 2014 04:14
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If you have the time/patience/beans for it, this is a decent guide I used to learn how to dial in grind settings and whatnot: http://www.home-barista.com/tips/espresso-101-how-to-adjust-dose-and-grind-setting-by-taste-t16968.html
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Oct 5, 2014 06:04
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rockcity posted:Too much coffee will slow down the shot and over-extract the coffee and give you the bitterness you spoke of. If you drop down to maybe 17 grams it should things up a little bit and might get you where you're looking to be. There's no one way to get the right result, but you generally want to change only one variable at a time to figure out what changes what. Roger. I'm definetely having this happen if its taking 60 seconds, however I know its a matter of the grind also... see below Alleric posted:If it tastes good, drink it. That's the rubber vs. road opinion. Keep in mind yours likely wouldn't be a watered down mess because its still only 2.5oz.. its just taking a LONG time.. So, more results: that first 60 second pull tasted awesome but I've not been able to quite duplicate it as of this morning. I've only pulled 2 shots though, one with 19g and a very light tamp which resulted in some slight bitterness with 2.5oz @ 60 seconds on the Vario, setting J-1 (left slider - right slider). The other was same beans, 16g, light tamp (basically setting the tamper on top after the grind and twisting slightly as I remove it) @ about 35 seconds with Vario setting (N-1). Came out faster and more evenly, but still seemed to be a little bitter (didn't seem to be sour). I recognize I need to play with this a lot more, which I'm happy to do but I'm outta beans and I need to roast some more (which will introduce some more variables... YAY). Tamp will be staying constant, what I call "light", which is just setting the tamper on top and giving slight twist, not multiple pounds of pressure as before. Temp surfing method will be staying constant. Bean weight will be on the higher side because I'm trying to fill a 2.5oz glass without overextracting/blonding. Grind will be opened up until I get a 30 second pull. So something like: 16g @ Vario O/P-1. I'm thinking that the reason why my "super good shot" (to me) was decent was that it was the first one I didn't overextract, and I think my tastebuds are being confused between sour and bitter as I work my way down to 30 seconds and adjust coffee gram weight. Thank you all for the help. Let me know if there's something you recommend I do.. One thing that's been challenging thus far is I didn't have too many beans to play with, but I'm about to roast a ton so I can play with it all week and get something locked in.
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Oct 5, 2014 15:54
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Maid posted:I wrote a whole bunch of poo poo that I just deleted about how you should definitely try and pull a 30s shot, but honestly if you like what you're doing, keep at it. What I know about espresso says that a "good" shot is one that finds the (literal) sweet spot between a sour shot and a bitter one, which usually happens under the following conditions (for a double, which is the only kind of shot I know how to pull): P.S. I want to pull a 30s shot. I want to respect the definition of espresso and experience the true deliciousness. I don't want to back in some convoluted 60 second monstrosity because I have to. I'd rather work from the official starting point and work until I get it right! dik-dik posted:If you have the time/patience/beans for it, this is a decent guide I used to learn how to dial in grind settings and whatnot: http://www.home-barista.com/tips/espresso-101-how-to-adjust-dose-and-grind-setting-by-taste-t16968.html The journey continues..
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Oct 5, 2014 15:56
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Anyone seen this thing: Minipresso? It's supposed to be a hand pumped travel espresso maker. However it's in "preorder" now so I don't know if there are any actual reviews that aren't just paid for by the makers. I know it's not going to be a decent espresso maker, but it looks interesting from just a "I want some strong coffee now and don't just want weak drip from the work canteen".
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Oct 6, 2014 15:31
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Crain posted:Anyone seen this thing: Minipresso? It's supposed to be a hand pumped travel espresso maker. However it's in "preorder" now so I don't know if there are any actual reviews that aren't just paid for by the makers. Just from watching the video it looks incredibly awkward to use and like it couldn't possibly produce anything much like espresso. There pressure only builds to a single hand pump's amount, just one press of the pump. Just get an Aeropress.
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Oct 6, 2014 16:35
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picked up some yirgacheffe beans from Happy Cup roasters They're a local roastery that employs special needs individuals to help w/ packaging/labeling etc. The best thing is they let their special needs employees name the roasts so you end up with coffee names that sound like marijuana strains, "flying unicorn", "purple ape", "boom! boom!", "Kurt Cobean" etc. I used a 22 grind on the virtuoso for 42g coffee & 700g water. The Chemex took too long to brew, about 6.5m, I think I'll try a grind of 24-25 tomorrow morning and see how that does. Are there any particular tips that I should try to brew yirgacheffe differently or do you typically treat it the same as any other type?
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Oct 6, 2014 19:12
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Finally found decent decaf: Red Bird Coffee
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Oct 7, 2014 00:51
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Blasphemy, I know, but we settled on one of the new Keurigs for a quick single serve machine. Surprisingly enough, the few kcups out of the sampler I've had we're not completely offensive. Until I popped in a Starbucks House Blend. How the gently caress is this stuff even passable as something called coffee? I mean, I'm not the biggest dark roast fan, but this was just past burnt. It was the medium roast. 
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Oct 7, 2014 15:18
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Starbucks' "blonde roast" starts somewhere around everybody else's Full City+, and it only gets darker from there. A huge element of the trademark Starbucks experience is the fact that you can, in theory, walk into any Starbucks location and have the same cup of coffee that you could get at any other Starbucks. The way that Starbucks accomplishes that consistency is by using super-dark roasts and brewing stale coffee, as far as I can tell. Most Starbucks customers seem to load up on the cream, sugar, or other extras, which masks the worst of it. I've never been able to tolerate Starbucks brewed coffee, since I drink it black. The Keurig probably doesn't help. TheJeffers fucked around with this message at 17:02 on Oct 7, 2014 |
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Oct 7, 2014 17:00
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The only coffee worth drinking from Starbucks are their eggnog lattes, that stuff is so nice
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Oct 7, 2014 17:05
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They save tons of money because the shittiest beans taste the same as the best beans when you roast them both to charcoal. Most of the customers don't care because they are shopping for coffee-flavored dairy drinks and the taste of the coffee barely shows up.
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Oct 7, 2014 17:07
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TheJeffers posted:Starbucks' "blonde roast" starts somewhere around everybody else's Full City+, and it only gets darker from there. It doesn't  but I really had no choice. I'm crunched for time in the mornings, so grinding fresh and making a pot aren't really an option. And I so infrequently am able to actually make a pot, the beans are beyond stale and I throw most of a lb away. I would have opted for a Nespresso VertuoLine but the loving thing was $300 plus expensive proprietary coffee pods, and when my wife sees a $135 Keurig 2.0 w/ 48 free pods at Costco my fate was pretty much sealed. That being said, I now know to stay far away from Starbucks Kcups. At least I knew enough to not even entertain the Verismo. Tldr: fml Please forgive me coffee thread for making GBS threads the place up with keurig chat but suggest to me the best Kcups, if there are any. Who Dat fucked around with this message at 17:34 on Oct 7, 2014 |
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Oct 7, 2014 17:30
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Using the temp controlled kettle and v60, it takes me 5 minutes total from grind to cleanup to make a cup.
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Oct 7, 2014 17:34
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One thing I noticed about the Nespresso pods we had at my old office was that they definitely have a shelf life. If you get them pretty fresh, the coffee can be decent, but if they've been purchased in bulk and have been hanging around they're going to taste absolutely terrible. From what I remember, the Rosabaya, Arpeggio, Livanto, and Capriccio pods were least offensive and not awful with a little sugar. Unless of course they were old with off, fishy, rancid flavors.
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Oct 7, 2014 17:36
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Oddly enough I've found Starbucks' dark roasts to be... ok-ish. While their standard / regular / whatever was awful the last time I had it. I'd suggest trying the "blonde" or dark roasts before buying the k-cups but there's really no point when you can get better. Like I think I remember seeing Peet's k-cups at the supermarket.
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Oct 7, 2014 18:01
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Who Dat posted:
I have a keurig too. I use it as hot water maker for my aeropress while my wife still uses the keurig normally. Just wake up 5 minutes earlier each day. The coffee makes it worth it.
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Oct 8, 2014 01:29
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If you aren't willing to get up 10 minutes earlier for good coffee then I just don't know.
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Oct 8, 2014 02:53
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I know. I think I might start trying pourover. I'm pretty loving lazy though so IDK  Maybe my wife knows me better than I do because I'm trying this Peet's Major Dickason k-cup and I'm thinking this is pretty loving good for minimal effort. 
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Oct 8, 2014 03:23
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San-Francisco-Bay-Coffee-Fogchaser It's the best kcup I've had. No plastic cup, so less waste, and better tasting than most.
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Oct 8, 2014 03:29
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Who Dat posted:I know. I think I might start trying pourover. I'm pretty loving lazy though so IDK Ya. Haters gonna hate. Make what tastes good to you with the time you have to make it. A Kuerig isnt even close to awful abomination sime would have you believe and there is a high percentage of anal retentives in this thread. I especially enjoy the "but it only takes me x minutes and if you luv coffee" argument. Enjoy.
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Oct 8, 2014 03:45
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Really. I even have time in the morning (usually) and I don't care to do anything but random pre-ground drip coffee. 
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Oct 8, 2014 04:05
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Hey I'll microwave a hot dog and put it on wonder bread once in a while but I don't think it tastes good. It's a time saver and also I hate myself.
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Oct 8, 2014 04:36
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Mu Zeta posted:Hey I'll microwave a hot dog and put it on wonder bread once in a while but I don't think it tastes good. It's a time saver and also I hate myself. You know, in just x minutes you could bake a roll and while it's baking, grind fresh sausage. Yeah, I love my CCD, I roast my own beans and I still did keurig at work because it was faster and better than Starbucks. Not every cup of coffee has to be an experience.
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Oct 8, 2014 14:50
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torgeaux posted:You know, in just x minutes you could bake a roll and while it's baking, grind fresh sausage. Last night I bought Peets Dickason and Cafe Domingo kcups and I poo poo you not the Dickason was good, but the Domingo was one of the best cup of coffees I've done zero work for. As of right now I'm not regretting purchasing the Keurig at all. Perfectly serviceable as something on the fly or an on the go morning cup. We can still be pretentious snobs and enjoy something like a kcup from time to time. That being said I still have my bonavita pot and bodum grinder for when I have time for coffee experiences i.e. weekends because holy poo poo 5 extra minutes I can stay in bed means I don't kill people during the weekday.
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Oct 8, 2014 15:20
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It is fine to use a keurig like it is fine to wear pajamas all day, but I don't post about my pajamas in the fashion thread and I wish people would stop posting about their keurigs in this one.
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Oct 8, 2014 15:44
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torgeaux posted:You know, in just x minutes you could bake a roll and while it's baking, grind fresh sausage.  
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Oct 8, 2014 17:18
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porktree posted:You said that much better than I did. I've been roasting my own coffee for almost 20 years, I make a vac pot every morning, and only drink espresso at home for the most part. I still find it interesting to hear what other coffee making methods are out there, even the ones that emphasize convenience. I may even get a pod coffee maker down the road because sometimes I just want a quick cup and it's good to know what other experienced palates think of the different brands and coffee varieties. Cheers I still drink the house coffee here at work now and then. I recognize it for what it is, but I do drink it. I also drink stuff from gas stations, occasional starbucks, whatever. Not every meal can be five star, nor can every cup of coffee. Sometimes function trumps form. 
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Oct 8, 2014 18:23
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Ok I need some advice please. My husband LOVES coffee, but I do not. (Please don't hate me) I tend to drink my brewed cocoa in my french press. It is this one http://smile.amazon.com/Bodum-Chamb...ch+Coffee+Press I drink 2 cups when I make it. Now my husband usually grinds his own beans, and uses a one cup drip percolator (I think it is called) with a paper cone inside, that he pours the water into. He prefers to use the one cup because he rarely drinks more than one cup at a sitting, so a pot isn't worth it to us to have. He expressed interest in my french press, and I was thinking it might be nice to get him one for his birthday (It's on Halloween). However he keeps saying he doesn't want to get a large one like I have, but he would rather have a small one big enough for his cup of coffee. Now, the only ones I have seen small like that, have a plastic bit on the inside, and I know from my own experience that it easily breaks. I would prefer to get him one with an all metal insert including the screw mechanism, so no plastic if at all possible. Bodum, the kind I have, seems to only have the kind with the little black sleeve inside that screws on the meshes. If anyone has any tips or ideas I would love to hear them. He is terribly hard to get presents for, let alone ones he will use.
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Oct 8, 2014 18:42
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Disco Salmon posted:Ok I need some advice please. I'm fairly certain that the 12 oz version of your french press is all metal (except for the knob on top): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FFBV5I/
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Oct 8, 2014 18:47
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Mr. Glass posted:I'm fairly certain that the 12 oz version of your french press is all metal (except for the knob on top): That's what I originally thought as well, but when you mouse over it on standard packaging, you can see the black plastic sleeve that screws the meshes onto the rod. That's very much like the ones I had before that broke (and was replaced) several times. I'd like to try to not get that if possible. The one I have has a metal sleeve rather than plastic and is much more durable.
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Oct 8, 2014 19:29
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Disco Salmon posted:That's what I originally thought as well, but when you mouse over it on standard packaging, you can see the black plastic sleeve that screws the meshes onto the rod. That's very much like the ones I had before that broke (and was replaced) several times. I'd like to try to not get that if possible. The one I have has a metal sleeve rather than plastic and is much more durable. What about this one? http://smile.amazon.com/Highwin-P1001-8-Doublewall-Stainless-Plunger/dp/B005FEF1DM Or check out some of the other stainless steel french presses too.
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Oct 8, 2014 20:23
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Alleric posted:I still drink the house coffee here at work now and then. I recognize it for what it is, but I do drink it. I also drink stuff from gas stations, occasional starbucks, whatever. Not every meal can be five star, nor can every cup of coffee. Sometimes function trumps form. Pretty much this. I'll drink pretty much any coffee, but if I'm making it, I want to partake is something good and don't mind spending the time to do so. I still go to Starbucks here and there, though I haven't ordered anything but a blonde roast in probably 2 years and I only go there when I need wifi for work and there isn't anything else in the area.
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Oct 8, 2014 21:59
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