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After more experimentation I think the grinder is the weak spot in my coffee process. Coarse and medium have a ton of fine grinds in them, I’m convinced that’s what’s clogging up my filter and making it taste overextracted. which makes sense, it’s a cheap Cuisinart that’s hard to clean. Should I go for a Capresso 560 as a budget option, Baratza encore as a entry level enthusiast grinder, or splurge on a Breville smart pro or Baratza Sette or Virtuoso for the ‘buy once/ cry once’ prosumer option?
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May 31, 2020 18:32
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BlackMK4 posted:Buy your m2 burr for it This. Very much this.
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May 31, 2020 19:05
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I'll consider it - how much of an upgrade is it?
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May 31, 2020 19:32
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Red_Fred posted:Man, since getting my Wave I completely forgot about my Clever. Do you use scales when at work? 27g coffee (for a large), grind slightly finer than what you’d use for French press, three and a half minute steep time, and if you’re a complete noob make sure you don’t buy the brown filters unless you think paper bags are delicious
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May 31, 2020 20:07
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TheChimney posted:I'll consider it - how much of an upgrade is it? 35ish https://www.baratza.com/shop/cone-burr-2 https://baratza.com/encore-upgrade-gb2-0/ They even talk about it
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May 31, 2020 20:10
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So it's been a couple of weeks I'm grinding beans at home and I'm really liking it. I couldn't get nice coffee with my drip machine (even though it's okay), so I got the smallest French press IKEA had and it's working splendidly. I'm using that James Hoffman technique and it is pretty much foolproof. I've tried a bunch of different beans. So far I'm preferring Colombian and Indonesian beans, and I think I don't like the ones illy makes - too dark for my tastes. I've also found a 'social' roaster / coffee house just a few kilometers away. They're roasting weekly so I have a decent source to fall back on. I've observed the grinding discussion here a few pages back. I have one of those Hario Skertons. Even though I never had a grinder before, it's obvious that this thing has a couple of design flaws. The burrs are wobbly and could do with a stabilizer (for which there's an upgrade mod kit, I saw). It's also finicky to adjust given that there are no markings on the adjustment wheel. The silicone hopper lid gets dirty super quick, would have been nicer to just have used a sliding plastic cover. What bothers me most is that it's very unergonomical. You can't really hold it stable on a table surface unless you're using a lot of force and it's awkward to fixate due to its shape. I find that I'm usually holding it between my knees or feet while grinding. That all being said, I'm still happy with the Skerton - by the time I've ground the beans for 1 or 2 cups, the water isn't even close to boiling yet. And I'm not yet convinced that the consistency of the grind is too much of an issue. America's Test Kitchen ran a blind experiment with a bunch of testers in which they compared the taste of consistently or inconsistently ground beans. The testers didn't prefer either of the grounds, suggesting that in the end a good cup can be had with either. Unfortunately, I'm falling into somewhat of a rabbit hole right now. I'm bookmarking all kinds of specialty beans, finer kitchen scales that I don't need, electrical burr grinders that I also don't need, and coffee roasters that I probably shouldn't even use inside. If this doesn't start boring me soon, I'm afraid I'm going to spend a fortune on this.
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May 31, 2020 20:17
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red19fire posted:Should I go for a Capresso 560 as a budget option, Baratza encore as a entry level enthusiast grinder, or splurge on a Breville smart pro or Baratza Sette or Virtuoso for the ‘buy once/ cry once’ prosumer option? Unless and until you're making espresso, you don't need anything more than the Encore; hell I still have one next to my Linea for when I do drip. And having had both it and a Sette, I honestly preferred the Encore for pourover - the Sette had this habit of producing a small amount of incredibly fine fines, almost like Turkish grind, which would result in a muddy feel as they'd make it through the holes in my kone.
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Jun 1, 2020 00:13
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Clark Nova posted:27g coffee (for a large), grind slightly finer than what you’d use for French press, three and a half minute steep time, and if you’re a complete noob make sure you don’t buy the brown filters unless you think paper bags are delicious This is pretty much exactly what I do except I do 28g of coffee as my cup easily holds 460g of water. I haven't changed my grind at all from my pour over setting but it drains in just over a minute which is apparently how long it's supposed to take so I've left it.
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Jun 1, 2020 01:56
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Working from home in daytime temperatures above 90 degrees has reintroduced me to the Japanese iced coffee, which is using half the water you normally would and brewing the coffee directly over ice (ideally ice weighing the remaining 50% of your normal water weight) and then topping off with fresh ice. Makes a cold cup of coffee with a much brighter taste than overnight cold brew.
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Jun 1, 2020 04:53
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Democratic Pirate posted:Working from home in daytime temperatures above 90 degrees has reintroduced me to the Japanese iced coffee, which is using half the water you normally would and brewing the coffee directly over ice (ideally ice weighing the remaining 50% of your normal water weight) and then topping off with fresh ice. Makes a cold cup of coffee with a much brighter taste than overnight cold brew. I have been doing the same and it’s my favorite way to do iced coffee. I found I had to reduce my grind size quite a bit to get a good extraction, or just use an Aeropress instead.
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Jun 1, 2020 14:20
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Yep that's how I do it, though with a bit less ice, more like 1/3. Better than any cold brew I've bought.
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Jun 1, 2020 14:27
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silvergoose posted:Yep that's how I do it, though with a bit less ice, more like 1/3. Better than any cold brew I've bought. It's just a different drink. One downside to the recent cold brew wave is that people seem to have standardized around this idea that it all needs to taste like chocolate milk. Which I still like, it's just that there's a huge variety it misses out on.
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Jun 1, 2020 15:12
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Yeah the Japanese iced method rules. Very different from cold brew since there are certain things that only happen at high temperatures.
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Jun 1, 2020 21:20
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Unless it’s a heatwave, I’ve pretty much given up on my cold brewer now I have a hang of the ice method.
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Jun 1, 2020 22:41
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I've decided to get in to good coffee, looking to get a Chemex and a Barratza Encore grinder but they seem to be out of stock as everyone's got the same idea at the moment in the UK which is slightly annoying, Any recommendations on scales?
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Jun 2, 2020 14:09
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I like my Hario V60 scale. A little on the pricier side compared to the cheap stuff on Amazon, but the it looks nice and the built in timer is nice too. https://www.hario.jp/seihin/productgroup.php?group=VST-2000B I've been trying my hardest to learn how to steam milk since getting the Lelit. Here's my first sort-of-passable latte art after a week of results ranging from hot milk to stiff peaks:  I ordered a bunch of o-rings from 1st Line and some descaler. The PO gave me an unused group gasket which I replaced, but still think I should get a new one, but it's out of stock at 1st Line. I was also getting wet pucks, dripping after turning off the pump, and noticed that there was nothing coming out of the 3-way valve drip tube while doing a back flush. After digging around and cleaning, I found this little spring with a rubber grommet under the dispersion screen. Apparently there was a version of the early Anna that didn't have a 3-way valve, and this "mushroom valve" performed a similar task, closing off the path of water from the boiler when the pump wasn't running. Some how it made it into a batch of machines that came equipped with a solenoid. I figured all of this out reading 10 year old threads on Coffee Geek and Home Barista. Thank you internet.  And here's the set up: 
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Jun 2, 2020 18:47
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MonkeyLibFront posted:I've decided to get in to good coffee, looking to get a Chemex and a Barratza Encore grinder but they seem to be out of stock as everyone's got the same idea at the moment in the UK which is slightly annoying, Any recommendations on scales? Not sure of its availability in the U.K. but I’d recommend a Jennings CJ-4000. It’s accurate, has a huge range, and is easy to use. Resolution of 0.5 grams is fine for anything coffee related. Has an AC adapter so when the batteries run out you are not down looking for replacements. I wind up using it for cooking now too, it’s also great for cocktails...gently caress getting a jigger dirty and leaving sticky rings on your counter when you turn it over to pour the next ingredient, just throw the mixer on your scale and pour away. Thirty bucks in from Prima is pretty reasonable too. I screwed around with a couple of garbage Amazon scales and was always disappointed. If they were accurate they never had enough range for my grinder or if they had enough range they were inaccurate and never came back to zero.
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Jun 2, 2020 19:23
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MonkeyLibFront posted:I've decided to get in to good coffee, looking to get a Chemex and a Barratza Encore grinder but they seem to be out of stock as everyone's got the same idea at the moment in the UK which is slightly annoying, Any recommendations on scales? The Hario V60 scale is all you need. It's not as "nice" as the (much more expensive) smart scales, but it does the same job.
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Jun 2, 2020 19:37
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i own every Bionicle posted:Not sure of its availability in the U.K. but I’d recommend a Jennings CJ-4000. It’s accurate, has a huge range, and is easy to use. Resolution of 0.5 grams is fine for anything coffee related. Has an AC adapter so when the batteries run out you are not down looking for replacements. I wind up using it for cooking now too, it’s also great for cocktails...gently caress getting a jigger dirty and leaving sticky rings on your counter when you turn it over to pour the next ingredient, just throw the mixer on your scale and pour away. Thirty bucks in from Prima is pretty reasonable too. Seconding this scale! I love mine. The only complaint I have is that if you're hovering right at a half gram it will often jump back and forth between, say 21.0 and 21.5 and it can be hard to be sure which side of that number you're on. It's also very sensitive to heat, so unless you put a coaster or something on it it can be bad for something like chemex because you'll see the weight reading start dropping on the fly when the weighing surface starts to get hot. I've never had this problem for pourover into a mug though. I know it sounds like I'm dinging the scale but like I said, I love mine, it's just something to be aware of. RichterIX fucked around with this message at 22:42 on Jun 2, 2020 |
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Jun 2, 2020 19:47
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Re: scales, I have a dumb kitchen scales that doesn't even show decimals. Typically I shoot for 14.5g beans per serving, so I fill it until the scale jumps back and forth between 14 and 15g. Worst case if the rounding goes wrong is that I'm off by about 5%, but that doesn't seem to have any noticeable effects on me. Help me choose: My beans are up so tomorrow I'll be opening a new bag. I've got two choices of arabica: a) Fair Trade Community Coffee 'Special Roast' b) Australian medium roast
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Jun 2, 2020 22:16
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This is the scale I'm using: https://www.amazon.com/American-Wei...e-garden&sr=1-2 It's not as fast as an Acaia, but it has decimals (tenths) and fits perfectly on top of my Lelit's drip tray.
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Jun 3, 2020 01:59
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I know the prismo attachment is a gimmick but not spilling over the counter and not needing to do inverted is worth it.
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Jun 3, 2020 12:42
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Munkaboo posted:I know the prismo attachment is a gimmick but not spilling over the counter and not needing to do inverted is worth it. I like mine but it does cut into the ease of cleaning the Aeropress a little bit. It's nice just to pop the puck out and be done and the Prismo adds a small amount of work.
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Jun 3, 2020 13:11
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First day NOT working with covid patients, had a meeting and they had some new coffee maker that grinds, adds (powdered, I think) milk, etc. Also makes lattes and stuff. Had a coffee with milk and it was surprisingly not bad. Maybe it just tasted better because I wasn't trying to sip it around an N95 for the first time since March.
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Jun 3, 2020 21:25
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a mysterious cloak posted:First day NOT working with covid patients, had a meeting and they had some new coffee maker that grinds, adds (powdered, I think) milk, etc. Also makes lattes and stuff.
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Jun 3, 2020 22:10
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Our ward has one of those; we rent them from the company for a fixed monthly and keep the proceeds for the Christmas party.
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Jun 3, 2020 22:29
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Has anybody tried Third Wave water? Just made a cup with it and I think I noticed the difference. I mixed a packet of it with a gallon of distilled water. Seems a little more acidic and sweeter. I got it really just as a benchmark to see how good my water was; I would like to avoid dealing with this step all the time, it’s pretty wasteful. It seemed to remove all gendered pronouns and patriarchy as well, which I’m told is good, but was quite surprising.
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Jun 4, 2020 19:14
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Yes I used it all the time before I installed my RO filter and started using mineral drops from Amazon. Definitely notice a difference.
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Jun 4, 2020 19:19
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i own every Bionicle posted:Has anybody tried Third Wave water? Just made a cup with it and I think I noticed the difference. I mixed a packet of it with a gallon of distilled water. Seems a little more acidic and sweeter. I got it really just as a benchmark to see how good my water was; I would like to avoid dealing with this step all the time, it’s pretty wasteful. New thread title pls
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Jun 4, 2020 20:08
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Tbh i view that stuff as a waste but it's possible i've never lived anyplace with lovely enough water to bother changing it when i've tried calculating my own
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Jun 4, 2020 20:57
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I used Third Wave Water for a while and was very impressed with the results, but didn't really enjoy the waste and hassle. Ditto for mixing my own minerals. Right now I'm considering buying a more specialized water filter like a Peak or BWT and seeing if that's better than the Brita I have.
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Jun 4, 2020 21:16
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I just picked up baby's (ie. my - I'm a baby) first Aeropress and some ground beans from a local coffee shop. Holy poo poo is this a million times better than my lovely drip machine. I'm scared I'm going to drink like 8 cups a day, now... It's so tasty!
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Jun 4, 2020 21:27
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thehoodie posted:I just picked up baby's (ie. my - I'm a baby) first Aeropress and some ground beans from a local coffee shop. Holy poo poo is this a million times better than my lovely drip machine. Uhmm just wait till you grind your own. The taste will double again.
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Jun 4, 2020 22:34
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Munkaboo posted:Uhmm just wait till you grind your own. The taste will double again. Second this, a half decent burr grinder will lead to the biggest jump in flavour you'll experience
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Jun 4, 2020 23:55
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Tippecanoe posted:Second this, a half decent burr grinder will lead to the biggest jump in flavour you'll experience Even a terrible one, according to people in this thread despite me having been recommended in this thread the skerton pro as an entry burr grinder and finding it perfectly adequate.
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Jun 4, 2020 23:57
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Tippecanoe posted:I used Third Wave Water for a while and was very impressed with the results, but didn't really enjoy the waste and hassle. Ditto for mixing my own minerals. Right now I'm considering buying a more specialized water filter like a Peak or BWT and seeing if that's better than the Brita I have. We have an Aquasana 3 stage filter under the sink, it does great and we only need to replace filters twice a year (there are three of us and two doggos).
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Jun 5, 2020 00:38
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So my retired father has finally realized that instead of walking to his local coffee place to get a mediocre cup of coffee every day, he should probably start brewing at home. As is usually the case with these sort of things, he doesn’t want anything too fancy. I was able to steer him away from the idea k-cups, but he still wants a single serve or very small drip machine. For reference, this Hamilton Beach is what he sent me, but I feel like I’m almost too far through the looking glass to evaluate it: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EI7DPS0/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_i_v5x2EbPM9BCMM I’ve been roasting my own beans and his birthday is coming up, so I was thinking I’d give him a starter bag of whole beans and I’d pass along my retired Baratza Encore grinder to get him started. Any ideas on the coffee machine itself? I’m not entirely sure he’s going to stick with this so I’m a little loathe to get something too expensive.
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Jun 5, 2020 02:39
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Probably one of these? https://www.chefsresource.com/best-scaa-certified-coffee-makers/
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Jun 5, 2020 02:48
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Happy Pizza Guy posted:So my retired father has finally realized that instead of walking to his local coffee place to get a mediocre cup of coffee every day, he should probably start brewing at home. That Bonavita in the list above (I have one and it's excellent) and/or a Moccamaster are your go-tos, and if he doesn't stick with it, you can probably sell it for most of what you pay if you don't want it yourself.
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Jun 5, 2020 03:53
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Thank you both for the recommendations. I should have said this but I actually have a Bonavita 1900 (trapped in an office I haven't been to since before the pandemic) and it's a great machine. I'm very aware of the SCA approved drip machines. The problem is that they're all more expensive and larger than his request. I think he's a bit stuck on the idea of a single serving brewer. Perhaps I should just go with the Bonavita 5-cup model and see if he likes it. I know on my 8-cup Bonavita it's not too hard to brew right into a thermos, which seems to be his dream.
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Jun 5, 2020 04:41
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