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Wonder if switching to a bread machine will help my consistency vs a dog bowl. I still get a big range even while whisking for the entire time.
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# ? Jun 26, 2020 20:27 |
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# ? May 19, 2024 16:31 |
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Lord Stimperor posted:Will buying this grant me eternal happiness? I have ordered it. Will report what happens.
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# ? Jun 27, 2020 16:51 |
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i give up. what does that thing do?
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# ? Jun 27, 2020 16:55 |
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other people posted:i give up. what does that thing do? It's a grinder, but with the crank/handle perpendicular to the burrs rather than directly on top. I think the reasoning was it's easier to grind manually cos it's solid and you're cranking up and down rather than "pushing" against the grinder side to side as you would something like a hario mini mill
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# ? Jun 27, 2020 17:12 |
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I haven't looked into it very much, but I think it's meant to be a good manual grinder.
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# ? Jun 27, 2020 18:11 |
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That grinder looks neat. I'm getting by with the basic JavaPresse (which has apparently nearly doubled in price since I bought it); simple and cheap but a bit of a pain when making multiple cups.
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# ? Jun 27, 2020 18:35 |
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Got my new Moccamaster just in time for someone to steal my mail order Verve off my porch (for the send time in a month). I’m not going to inaugurate this thing with my backup trash coffee I bought for quarantine (some beans from TJ’s) so it looks like I’ll just gaze at this thing for the next several days on my kitchen counter.
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# ? Jun 28, 2020 08:12 |
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Speaking of Trader Joe's I did buy a 12oz bag of one of their single origins the other day and it's not that bad. At $9 for single origin it's way too cheap to be all that great and it doesn't have a roasting date but surprisingly it tasted pretty good. It does have a recommended "best by" date of 2021 though lol.
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# ? Jun 28, 2020 09:01 |
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shlomo posted:That grinder looks neat. Gunder posted:I haven't looked into it very much, but I think it's meant to be a good manual grinder. KRILLIN IN THE NAME posted:It's a grinder, but with the crank/handle perpendicular to the burrs rather than directly on top. I think the reasoning was it's easier to grind manually cos it's solid and you're cranking up and down rather than "pushing" against the grinder side to side as you would something like a hario mini mill other people posted:i give up. what does that thing do? Yeah exactly. It supposedly matches prosumer electric grinders in quality, versatility, and speed. And with the long lever it should be much easier to use and grind faster than hand-held mills. I have a Hario Skerton right now and while it's fine, it's very awkward to use for me - either I have to press it down on a table real hard, or I have to hold it tightly between my knees. Major annoyance.
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# ? Jun 28, 2020 13:18 |
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Bean report! IKEA beans, dark roast I was at IKEA so I threw a pack of their beans in the bag. They're a dark roast. I grabbed the freshest bag they had, which was from March. Upon opening the bag, I was greeted with... almost nothing. Just the slightest whiff of coffee came from the bag. This didn't change after brewing: the cup had a very weak aroma. Wouldn't recommend, even though the beans are rather cheap. Starbucks Pike Place Roast Disappointed with my IKEA beans, I moved on. Since so many people are making GBS threads on Starbucks beans, I wanted to try them anyway, so I went ahead and bought a bag. These are a 'medium' roast, produced in May. I'm putting medium in air quotes because the beans are actually jet black. They're also very oily: they will stain paper and leave a faint film on your skin. On the other hand, grinding them goes super smoothly, and the ground beans have a nice fluff to them. How does it taste? Well, it kinda tastes like starbucks. It's a bit ashy, tiny bit chocolatey. I would say not great, but definitely not offensive either. I'll drink up the bag, but probably not buy them again.
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# ? Jun 28, 2020 14:40 |
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marmot25 posted:Got my new Moccamaster just in time for someone to steal my mail order Verve off my porch (for the send time in a month). I’m not going to inaugurate this thing with my backup trash coffee I bought for quarantine (some beans from TJ’s) so it looks like I’ll just gaze at this thing for the next several days on my kitchen counter. lol funny enough I am making TJ’s Columbian beans in my Moccamaster today. I needed to clean my grinder and afterwards put some lower quality beans through it so I bought a can. It’s surprisingly drinkable. Not nearly as good as the Coava Honduran bag I just finished but it’s not terribly offensive.
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# ? Jun 28, 2020 14:58 |
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Lord Stimperor posted:Bean report! That's how I tend to view most starbucks stuff. They're pretty mediocre - not the worst ever - because they're so over-roasted that they all taste the same (which is kind of the point imo). If you've got an actual starbucks near you, the Guatemala bag is not that bad, imo. None of their reserve beans are remotely worth what they charge considering what you can get from actual small batch single-origin roasters.
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# ? Jun 28, 2020 15:46 |
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If you prefer dark roasts, I’m sure there’s much better out there than IKEA and Starbucks. Your grinder deserves better. Also: if you keep running dark, oily beans through it, you’ll need to clean that thing more often. I’d do it at least once a month. Just grind some Urnex Grindz through it. It’s cheap, easy and effective.
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# ? Jun 28, 2020 15:50 |
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mediaphage posted:That's how I tend to view most starbucks stuff. They're pretty mediocre - not the worst ever - because they're so over-roasted that they all taste the same (which is kind of the point imo). If you've got an actual starbucks near you, the Guatemala bag is not that bad, imo. None of their reserve beans are remotely worth what they charge considering what you can get from actual small batch single-origin roasters. Part of the attraction was that the Starbucks bag (and certainly the IKEA one) were very affordably priced, so I don't consider that money thrown away. Good thing: the cup tastes exactly like what they sell in their stores, so at least the experience is very authentic. Gunder posted:If you prefer dark roasts, Im sure theres much better out there than IKEA and Starbucks. Your grinder deserves better. I had actually specifically bought a medium roast hoping they weren't that dark. I'm kinda morbidly curious now how dark their actual roasts are. Thanks for the tip with the Urnex Grindz. I was looking for some cleanin pellets anyway. The Urnex ones seem a bit pricey in EU, but Google is suggesting plenty alternatives.
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# ? Jun 28, 2020 16:08 |
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Bear in mind that the grindz will last quite a while. I think Amazon ships them to me in the UK for about £16, and that’ll last more than a year.
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# ? Jun 28, 2020 17:46 |
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mediaphage posted:That's how I tend to view most starbucks stuff. They're pretty mediocre - not the worst ever - because they're so over-roasted that they all taste the same (which is kind of the point imo). If you've got an actual starbucks near you, the Guatemala bag is not that bad, imo. None of their reserve beans are remotely worth what they charge considering what you can get from actual small batch single-origin roasters. What about Starbucks Reserve; any better?
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# ? Jun 28, 2020 19:12 |
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I have zero clue as to why you would buy anything Starbucks reserve or specialty stuff when you could just as easily buy something 10 times better from a local roaster.
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# ? Jun 28, 2020 20:18 |
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Munkaboo posted:I have zero clue as to why you would buy anything Starbucks reserve or specialty stuff when you could just as easily buy something 10 times better from a local roaster. This is why I asked whether it was good or not.
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# ? Jun 28, 2020 20:30 |
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It’s a bit of a silly question to most. It’s below quality and overpriced. Shop local and regional, there’s no way you’ll exhaust those before having to go to a big brand, and by then you’ll have a taste for how bad Starbucks tends to be.
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# ? Jun 28, 2020 20:50 |
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sellouts posted:It’s a bit of a silly question to most. It’s below quality and overpriced. I'm not sure why asking whether something is good quality or not is silly. If people agree it's below quality and overpriced then great, the question is answered. No plans to buy any, I was just asking for clarification on an earlier comment.
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# ? Jun 28, 2020 21:31 |
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Mu Zeta posted:Speaking of Trader Joe's I did buy a 12oz bag of one of their single origins the other day and it's not that bad. At $9 for single origin it's way too cheap to be all that great and it doesn't have a roasting date but surprisingly it tasted pretty good. It does have a recommended "best by" date of 2021 though lol. I also tried a bag from Trader Joe's and it was decent but didn't encourage me to try another bag given its obvious lack of freshness as well. The price point isn't the best either since my local will always have a 350g bag of single origin for $10; only $1 more for freshly roasted is a simple decision to make.
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# ? Jun 28, 2020 22:45 |
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shlomo posted:I'm not sure why asking whether something is good quality or not is silly. If people agree it's below quality and overpriced then great, the question is answered. Sorry that wasn't directed at you specifically. Go with the assumption all Starbucks will be poo poo.
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# ? Jun 29, 2020 01:50 |
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My girlfriend's dad and I have bonded over coffee. He's a huge coffee nerd and when I asked for a coffee grinder last Christmas expecting just kind of a cheap blade grinder, he got me a Breville Smart Grinder Pro instead. So far I really, really like it. The only problem: I only have a kinda -level Bunn drip machine that I've had for years. It's pretty bad at making a small amount of coffee, and since my girlfriend doesn't like coffee (meaning I'm always just making coffee for myself), I usually make more than I actually want to drink. I'm considering an Aeropress to make a cup or two at a time. The other option is to actually get a pour-over setup, but I don't have a kettle so I'd just be heating up water in the microwave or something, and I feel like that's going to make it hard to really get the most out of a V60 or something like that. Anyone here use an Aeropress and have recommendations about whether it's the kind of thing I'm looking for?
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# ? Jun 29, 2020 04:30 |
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Harrow posted:My girlfriend's dad and I have bonded over coffee. He's a huge coffee nerd and when I asked for a coffee grinder last Christmas expecting just kind of a cheap blade grinder, he got me a Breville Smart Grinder Pro instead. So far I really, really like it. I have an aeropress and a gooseneck kettle (bonivita I think?). I'm the only person using the aeropress. You don't really need a gooseneck, all that does is help you control the water a bit more which I find handy if I'm using mocha packets (not sure what you call in America but they're basically powder in prepacked tubes). Also, my gooseneck tells me the temperature which I like a lot. I'd go with a pourover rather than the aeropress if speed is your thing and you're doing more than one person a lot. I've been using the aeropress for about a year and a bit. You could just get a $10 kettle from a department store if the microwave isn't your thing too.
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# ? Jun 29, 2020 04:47 |
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As long as you're able to get the temperature up to an appropriate degree and keep it within range (iirc 90.5-96c/195-205f is the commonly touted range) you can really do whatever with the aeropress. A gooseneck kettle mostly helps by limiting how much can be poured out, and allowing you to much more precisely control what it saturates/the movement of the grounds in a pourover dripper. If you're not wanting to spend money on a kettle, I'd just go with the aeropress. You will be agitating the grounds through some utensil, likely, anyway, so how the water gets into it matters a lot less than a pourover. Just make sure the temp is OK and you'll be making nice cups in short notice. Fair warning, you're getting less than a 300ml~ cup, usually, per extraction, so if you like to drink more it's not really terribly negotiable because you get what you get out of a single press.
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# ? Jun 29, 2020 05:08 |
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The Aeropress is nice but I think there are better options if you're just making coffee at home. I highly recommend the Clever dripper especially if you're just making it for yourself. No fancy kettle required, you just need to add boiled water. It uses the standard coffee filters you can find at any grocery too. It gives you options too since you can just use it like a pour over device if you want to make more than one cup of coffee. https://www.amazon.com/Clever-Coffe...Y2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1
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# ? Jun 29, 2020 05:23 |
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Harrow posted:Anyone here use an Aeropress and have recommendations about whether it's the kind of thing I'm looking for? It is exactly what you are looking for. You just need a way to heat water and you'll be able to make a delicious cup of coffee. It also travels well. I've been using an aeropress for my daily coffee for 6-7 years. It is pretty foolproof and, ignoring heating water and grinding coffee, takes me under 2 minutes a cup. I feel comfortable starting the process of heating water, grinding, and brewing if I have 5 minutes free. I usually knock out two cups first thing in the morning for me and my partner. I also have a clever coffee dripper and very rarely use it. I tried dialing in using it and never got to a point of making a cup as consistently good as the aeropress. The clever is probably even easier to use but it just doesn't do it for me.
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# ? Jun 29, 2020 13:42 |
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I switch back and forth between an aeropress and a v60 and my general feeling is every cup of coffee I make with the aeropress is an 8 out of 10, never worse, never better, where with the v60 I sometimes get a 10/10 amazing cup and other times I get like a 4/10. The better I get at it the more I can get those really good cups, but if you don't want to spend a lot of time screwing around I'd go with the aeropress every time.
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# ? Jun 29, 2020 14:47 |
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So, a couple of years ago, I got a Nespresso VertuoPlus espresso machine and sixty pods for $20 from a friend who was clearing house prior to a move and whose rich parents bought her too many things she never used. It changed my life in terms of getting out of bed in the mornings and I've reused the pods for about a year now. Currently using Illy's pre-ground espresso blend, but I'm looking to branch out if I can find something of similar quality that isn't $15/tin. Y'all have any good recommendations? I'd go for whole beans if we could afford a burr grinder with consistent output. Maybe some day.
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# ? Jun 29, 2020 23:29 |
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shlomo posted:What about Starbucks Reserve; any better? I tried it once for shits and giggles. I wouldn't say it's disgusting but - especially considering what they charge - it was roasted so dark that any of the great distinctness it may have had was mostly gone. It's too bad. I wouldn't say no to drinking a cup of perhaps if i had to go to a starbucks for some reason, since the cost isn't that much greater over something else, but never buy the bags. Imo I don't think starbucks sells a better coffee than the guatemala in the big bronze bag. It makes a fine espresso but again, not really worth it imo if you live remotely near a local roaster of even middling skill.
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# ? Jun 29, 2020 23:35 |
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Anyone have a Fresh roast? Thinking about abandoning the heat gun dog bowl out of frustration and getting an SR540.
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# ? Jun 30, 2020 00:59 |
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Lord Stimperor posted:Bean report! If you're looking for good coffee on the cheap, try ALDI if you have one nearby. Specifically this stuff: It's about $5 a bag and I'm sort of embarrassed to admit I often can't tell the difference between this and small batch, fresh, local roasts that are at least twice as expensive. Only medium roast though.
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# ? Jun 30, 2020 01:23 |
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Sir Lemming posted:If you're looking for good coffee on the cheap, try ALDI if you have one nearby. Specifically this stuff: There's a difference but this is where I spend my "oh poo poo I'm out of coffee and need some in a hurry" dollar.
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# ? Jun 30, 2020 01:48 |
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I personally keep a punishment bag. It is an assortment of leftovers from bags that has a few grams left from a nebulous point in time. It's generally pretty bad, but more importantly, is there. I use it mostly as a constant reminder to keep on top of getting the good stuff.
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# ? Jun 30, 2020 01:56 |
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Kalsco posted:I personally keep a punishment bag. It is an assortment of leftovers from bags that has a few grams left from a nebulous point in time. It's generally pretty bad, but more importantly, is there. I use it mostly as a constant reminder to keep on top of getting the good stuff. My backup coffee is this. My backup to the backup coffee is whatever beans I bought that I turned out to not like.
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# ? Jun 30, 2020 02:04 |
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zgrowler2 posted:So, a couple of years ago, I got a Nespresso VertuoPlus espresso machine and sixty pods for $20 from a friend who was clearing house prior to a move and whose rich parents bought her too many things she never used. It changed my life in terms of getting out of bed in the mornings and I've reused the pods for about a year now. Currently using Illy's pre-ground espresso blend, but I'm looking to branch out if I can find something of similar quality that isn't $15/tin. Y'all have any good recommendations? I'd go for whole beans if we could afford a burr grinder with consistent output. Maybe some day. I'm sorry can you explain this further. You had 60 pods so that's 60 servings..how did this last you a year? Seconding the Aldi beans as a last resort. They are my in between if I can't get to a local roaster. I tried the Starbucks once beans once and wow they were basically Folgers quality of taste
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# ? Jun 30, 2020 02:19 |
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DangerZoneDelux posted:I'm sorry can you explain this further. You had 60 pods so that's 60 servings..how did this last you a year? zgrowler2 posted:and I've reused the pods for about a year now. Munkaboo posted:Anyone have a Fresh roast? Thinking about abandoning the heat gun dog bowl out of frustration and getting an SR540. eh
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# ? Jun 30, 2020 03:16 |
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... Sooooo anything else to add?
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# ? Jun 30, 2020 12:26 |
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Munkaboo posted:... Sooooo anything else to add? I started on a fresh roast forever ago. They’re fine, I just always found it frustrating because you can really only do very very small amounts at all well, really, in any of them. Combine that with coffee’s need to sit around and it felt like I was roasting daily just for myself. If you’re an occasional drinker of small amounts, though, it’s fine.
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# ? Jun 30, 2020 13:39 |
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# ? May 19, 2024 16:31 |
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Have you tried buying the extension tubes from the dude on Etsy?
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# ? Jun 30, 2020 14:02 |