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Glockamole posted:Probably the biggest hindrance to online ordering is that for some reason it didn't even occur to me as an option. I do like the idea of buying green coffee in bulk and just having access to the freshest possible coffee whenever I want, though. But truth be told, you just gave me another solid option to consider. If you're interested in roasting, you might go with the ordering online option while you play around with an sr800 or kaffelogic. If you find it too inconvenient for the results, just flip it or keep it in case of emergency (green beans will last a long time in the cabinet!).
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Oct 31, 2023 22:02
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Glockamole posted:Probably the biggest hindrance to online ordering is that for some reason it didn't even occur to me as an option. I do like the idea of buying green coffee in bulk and just having access to the freshest possible coffee whenever I want, though. But truth be told, you just gave me another solid option to consider. There's definitely pluses to both approaches, I'd say. My initial investment in home roasting was based on the fact that green coffee is so cheap compared to roasted (if you don't account for the roasting gear...) and it gives me all the control I could want (once I've dialed it in and got the hang of it, of course) as well as a really easy way to stockpile coffee and have it ready-made within a day or so after degassing. I also like trying the same bean roasted in different ways and diving down the complexity of a completely new way of looking at coffee. It's definitely a fork of the hobby and leads down some interesting routes that lead to more understanding of the beans as a whole. I really like that aspect but it's also been a long journey and I've still so much to learn. Ordering online instead of roasting will give you a great baseline with very little finagling, and a more consistent finished product and as such would probably be more appealing for you if your only goal with roasting was to have a more consistent source of beans. But roasting, while a pretty deep dive, is super fun and satisfying and even led me to have a little income on the side since I can roast enough to sell! If that sounds like something you'd enjoy, it's a great avenue to let you spend more time with coffee in a new and interesting way.
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Oct 31, 2023 22:18
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SlinkyMink posted:There's definitely pluses to both approaches, I'd say. My initial investment in home roasting was based on the fact that green coffee is so cheap compared to roasted (if you don't account for the roasting gear...) and it gives me all the control I could want (once I've dialed it in and got the hang of it, of course) as well as a really easy way to stockpile coffee and have it ready-made within a day or so after degassing. I also like trying the same bean roasted in different ways and diving down the complexity of a completely new way of looking at coffee. It's definitely a fork of the hobby and leads down some interesting routes that lead to more understanding of the beans as a whole. I really like that aspect but it's also been a long journey and I've still so much to learn. This is the main reason I haven’t gotten into roasting. While I’m sure in the long run I’ll save money, and I love the tinkering aspect, I’ll never get results as good or consistent as pros with pro level equipment. And it’s all good fun, but people really discount the time factor. Learning to roast and roast well enough to compete with roaster bought is gonna be tons and tons of time.
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Oct 31, 2023 22:50
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Roasting is a pretty big time investment, but it's super rewarding if you're able to produce beans you like to drink. It's at least an hour every time I do it and hands on the whole time, so not an idle evening activity. I try to make a pound most of the time when I do it so I get a couple weeks worth of coffee. That's usually 6-7 batches and I'll do 2-3 different varieties. I liken it to getting into bikes or motorcycles and counting all the maintenance and wrenching as part of the hobby. Definitely understand when someone doesn't want to spend more time working than riding or more time roasting than brewing. Edit: and I'm not even especially great at any of those things, but good enough for it to make me happy. HenryJLittlefinger fucked around with this message at 05:41 on Nov 1, 2023 |
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Nov 1, 2023 05:28
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Yeah, a big change for me was getting a light duty commercial roaster and being able to roast up to 1 KG of beans per go. The telemetry side of it makes reproducibility much easier, as well. Before that, there could definitely be fluctuations between batches, but now being able to roast in a climate controlled environment with actual digital telemetry akin to the Decent espresso machine has been a very different experience. That experience came with a huge price tag, but I was definitely far enough down the rabbit hole to want to go hard. Being able to roast up to 10 lbs per hour is a welcome capability.
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Nov 1, 2023 17:19
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Pilfered Pallbearers posted:Why is ordering online not an option? Like 90% of us in the thread order online, and I usually get bags 2-4 days after roast date. S&W Craft Roasting is awesome and really affordable. Order in bulk and freeze the rest for later - I've probably got 5 or 6 pounds of random bags I've picked up but didn't get through. I almost always let my beans de-gas for 14 days and freeze them for later. I'm really fortunate that my local roaster is Hyperion. We subscribe to a 2 pound bag for $36 a month. Corb3t fucked around with this message at 22:47 on Nov 1, 2023 |
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Nov 1, 2023 22:44
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Seconding S&W. The Nuts is my daily driver espresso for milk drinks. I buy 3 bags at a time and freeze two of them.
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Nov 1, 2023 23:18
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it sure would own if Wendelboe could find it in his heart to let those of us who subscribe to less than three bags get a taste of his geisha at some point
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Nov 4, 2023 16:54
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Drop by the Café?
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Nov 4, 2023 17:28
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Well I was on ebay while stoned and bid on a Flair Classic that I totally didn't intend to win. In the last minutes, I got outbid and thought I was off the hook. Woke up this morning to find the winning bidder withdrew their bid and now it's mine. If the description is to be believed it's basically new, and I got it for $85 before shipping and tax, so all in $113. Seller says it hasn't been used in a couple years. My only concern about that is the o-rings on the brew chamber. I know in automotive/motorcycle applications, o-rings that stay dry for too long break down pretty quick. Is that something I should be concerned about here? So I know my last few posts were about giving up on this whole pursuit all together, but James Hoffmann used the same hand grinder I have in his review of the Flair Classic and said results were pretty good so I felt safe. I've been checking out local coffee shops that are known for making good espresso and finding I'm really liking it, especially as a cortado. The quantity of milk used seems to vary, like yesterday I got one that seemed like what I thought was a flat white (it was delicious though). A couple days earlier, I got one where the barista really intently did equal portions and enjoyed it too (if anyone makes it to Fort Collins, check out Harbinger Coffee).
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Nov 7, 2023 17:09
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I mean, it's a cool toy. If you're using it as your only method for coffee, I'm sure it'll be horribly aggravating, but as a novelty or treat, congrats! Now you've got to figure out thermal management and how to go through a bag of beans before they go. Low-volume usage might make tuning that grinder tricky.
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Nov 7, 2023 17:49
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On the other hand, flair + hand grinder is my only coffee maker* and most days I pull one shot in the morning and one in the afternoon, and I absolutely love it. Can't imagine being happier without spending 2 thousand bucks, and the process is great for me. 6 minutes from cold water to hot bean slurp, cleanup included. What I'm saying is congratulations! It's a ton of fun and makes really good espresso. * I have a French press and a kitchenaid electric grinder for large batches for guests, about twice a year
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Nov 7, 2023 17:57
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BrianBoitano posted:On the other hand, flair + hand grinder is my only coffee maker* and most days I pull one shot in the morning and one in the afternoon, and I absolutely love it. Can't imagine being happier without spending 2 thousand bucks, and the process is great for me. 6 minutes from cold water to hot bean slurp, cleanup included. That's great feedback. I've only used a flair once or twice.
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Nov 7, 2023 18:19
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Like I mentioned earlier in the thread, I've got a host of other methods, so yeah this won't be an every day thing. Funny enough, the deep dive I've taken into coffee this year (hand grinding, roasting beans, weighing everything, watching too many videos, nerding out over Aeropress technique and now this) has me drinking a lot less coffee than I used to. Before all this, we'd just brew a full pot of drip in the morning and I'd have one cup with breakfast and take another 16 oz in the thermos to work. Now I have maybe 2 cups a day of less than 8 oz and it's a ritual. It helps that my wife is down to a cup a day and we don't have it at the same time, so we just put the drip machine away. The kitchen is littered with coffee paraphernalia now though.
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Nov 7, 2023 18:31
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So insight into finicky-ness for Flair - neighbor gave me a Fellow EKG (they didn't use it and it needed lots of cleaning), and honestly I prefer my Cuisinart 1.7L. For Flair, the best way to temperature control is to steam the chamber while boiling the water. Then after you assemble the chamber, boil one more time and fill. If you need lower temp brew, stir with a Thermapen while blowing on the water and you'll be there in just a few seconds. Unless you have the 58, the temp of your kettle isn't the temp when you start pressing due to temperature loss. So a Fellow EKG set to 195 means you might brew at 190. Not a huge deal but might as well go for repeatability and consistency, so I temperature surf like this. It works for me. I could go full boil on EKG but the Cuisinart is faster.
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Nov 7, 2023 19:38
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My plan to start: boil water in kettle, dump over brew chamber in a cup. Grind beans, probably 2 minutes on the finest setting my timemore can do. Turn kettle back on. Pull brew chamber, dump in coffee and tamp. Assemble, pull shot. I don't know if that's sufficient to get the brew chamber up to temp, but it's the best I can come up with aside from heating the brew chamber in a pot on the stove.
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Nov 7, 2023 20:02
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I started that way, but found that putting the chamber to steam above the kettle is much better. Steam is a very efficient heat transfer medium. Some kettles will let you set the chamber right on top no problem. Others would require a silicone funnel or similar to keep it falling in. This is much quicker and simpler than heating in a mug & water, since steam is always replenished at 212°F while the soak method will never equilibrate that high. I'll do a quick video this afternoon, it's been a long time since I've done one 🙂
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Nov 7, 2023 20:31
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Oh ok, I'll see if I can figure out how to rig that up. Silicone funnel is probably the best bet, that ought to be inexpensive. I don't remember which kettle we have, but I got it for my wife a few years ago and put a lot of time into finding one that didn't have any plastic inside the pot. It's been great to us so far, and since we have an inline water filter on the sink, it's never grown any scale.
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Nov 7, 2023 21:11
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For those who might enjoy: 5 1/2 minutes of Flair, with no soundtrack or commentary because  https://youtu.be/0Vn9h3KhXhg?si=boKxMP900ld5lRDD
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Nov 8, 2023 02:08
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Nov 8, 2023 02:19
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BrianBoitano posted:For those who might enjoy: 5 1/2 minutes of Flair, with no soundtrack or commentary because Nice shirt. I appreciate this. Makes me realize I need to grab something to hold all the little bits and pieces so they don't dominate the coffee zone. That whole process is only a little longer than the aeropress, and less if you count the 4 minute steep time for the aeropress. I think this will be fun. HenryJLittlefinger fucked around with this message at 03:11 on Nov 8, 2023 |
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Nov 8, 2023 02:42
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BrianBoitano posted:For those who might enjoy: 5 1/2 minutes of Flair, with no soundtrack or commentary because I'm a simple man. I see a video of someone making espresso, I watch the whole video. I really like that scale. Which one is it? I need something lower profile than my Hario scale for the La Pavoni since the group head is so chonky and that one looks really great.
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Nov 8, 2023 04:07
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According to my purchase history, it's this from 14 months ago: https://a.co/d/2mIondV When I first got it, I confirmed accuracy using water & a graduated cylinder, so I'm pretty happy with it for $14. Haven't tested since though!
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Nov 8, 2023 04:13
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BrianBoitano posted:According to my purchase history, it's this from 14 months ago: Dayum. I trust that due diligence. Thanks for the tip!
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Nov 8, 2023 04:20
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Does anybody itt have any recommendations for a green bean that can do a good roast well suited to espresso in an air popper? Something not toooo bright with good texture? My air popper so far does pretty good lighter end of medium roasting at abougt 13-14% weight loss, so I guess City+/Full City. My favorite bean lately is a dry process bean from El Salvador from a farm called Finca San Luis, which I got from Sweet Maria's. It's super fruity and bright and I don't know if it's best for espresso though. I'm thinking something with a thicker texture, smoother mouthfeel, and more dark fruit flavors would be best? I don't know, just recommend poo poo, I'll probably buy it.
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Nov 8, 2023 04:46
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What do you folks do with the end of a bag? My partner loves buying coffee, but often we have stuff that's a few months old but like 1/6 of a bunch of different bags. Any interesting approaches?
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Nov 8, 2023 05:19
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HenryJLittlefinger posted:Does anybody itt have any recommendations for a green bean that can do a good roast well suited to espresso in an air popper? Something not toooo bright with good texture? My air popper so far does pretty good lighter end of medium roasting at abougt 13-14% weight loss, so I guess City+/Full City. My favorite bean lately is a dry process bean from El Salvador from a farm called Finca San Luis, which I got from Sweet Maria's. It's super fruity and bright and I don't know if it's best for espresso though. I'm thinking something with a thicker texture, smoother mouthfeel, and more dark fruit flavors would be best? I don't know, just recommend poo poo, I'll probably buy it. Rwanda ftw
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Nov 8, 2023 05:23
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Make a blended cold brew of stale beans would be what I’d end up doing
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Nov 8, 2023 05:27
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Google Butt posted:Rwanda ftw Cool, thanks. I already had Rwandan dry process in my cart.
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Nov 8, 2023 05:28
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I dump the end of the old bag in with the new and give it a good shake. For all I know my coffee canister has a five-year-old bean or two still mixed in there with the new ones.
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Nov 8, 2023 05:38
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Carillon posted:What do you folks do with the end of a bag? My partner loves buying coffee, but often we have stuff that's a few months old but like 1/6 of a bunch of different bags. Any interesting approaches? Make chili.
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Nov 8, 2023 05:40
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George H.W. oval office posted:Make a blended cold brew of stale beans would be what I’d end up doing This is exactly what I do. I save it up and make cold brew when it gets hot.
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Nov 8, 2023 19:25
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I always just blend the last beans from the old bag together with the first beans from the new bag
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Nov 8, 2023 19:46
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hypnophant posted:I always just blend the last beans from the old bag together with the first beans from the new bag This. I rarely leave a small amount of a bag unfinished. It’s such a waste to me, especially after taking the time to actually dial out the bag.
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Nov 8, 2023 22:41
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Related: What do you do with bad coffee beans? I have two bags that I realized after I bought them that one is 5 months old and the other is 3. They are both roasted to charcoal anyway even though one says light and the other medium. Plus some Kona a friend brought back from Hawaii that is also dull and burnt. So about two pounds of stale, overroasted beans
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Nov 8, 2023 23:06
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i own every Bionicle posted:Related: Cold brew, chili, brownies, ... anything where you want some generic coffee flavor and freshness doesn't really matter.
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Nov 8, 2023 23:08
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Espresso for milk drinks if it's overroasted anyways.
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Nov 8, 2023 23:20
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those are fine ideas but i hereby give you permission to throw them out if that's what you want to do
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Nov 8, 2023 23:45
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hypnophant posted:those are fine ideas but i hereby give you permission to throw them out if that's what you want to do I've also been known to put coffee beans in a bowl in the bathroom or where the cat shits in the laundry room to help absorb/mask scents.
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Nov 8, 2023 23:50
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Make kahlua
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Nov 9, 2023 00:01
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