|
I've only ever lurked this thread but I made the stupid mistake of asking goons in a slack last week about a grinder recommendation since my Cuisinart burr grinder poo poo the bed. Now I have a Capresso Infinity, Timemore C2, two pounds of green beans, a popcorn popper, have watched about half of James Hoffmann's content, and have been furiously working on my one cup game with the aeropress and moka pot several times daily. I'm dangerously close to getting a digital thermometer.
|
#
¿
Jun 17, 2023 02:50
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 3, 2024 03:57 |
|
|
HyVee
|
|
#
¿
Jun 17, 2023 03:02
|
|
|
I'm working on roasting some Colombia Huila in 50g batches tonight, just trying to find 2nd crack. I took my first two batches 5 and 8 minutes past first crack, and they still look pretty light.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 17, 2023 03:57
|
|
|
MASSIVEBoonus posted:Enjoy the journey! After a couple years of home roasting and drinking my own roasts, I realized I loved it so much that I wanted to expand and learn more. I ended up investing in an Aillio Bullet and haven't regretted a thing. Now I get to roast big batches for friends and family and also make some money on the side. It's a rabbit hole, for sure! Nice, thanks for the recommendation. I'm a ~scientist~ so I'm going at this with a pretty systematic approach. I did 4 roast levels of a Colombian Huila the other night and 3 roasts of Costa Rican Candelilla. Pretty sure I over roasted most of the Huila, as the longest three of them ranged from "this is coffee" to "toasty water." The Candelilla came out better. It's a more delicate bean in comparison and the first crack was barely noticeable. The shortest roast of that variety is definitely too short, but the longest which is only 3 minutes more than the shortest, is really good. The Sweet Maria guy Byron (?) makes it sound like these should only be taking around 10 minutes per batch, so I'll run another few batches tonight with an eye on temperature and time. I'm also trying to learn to drink lighter roasts. Seems like usually at the shops I go to, lighter roasts are just way too astringent to my tongue. The (successful) ones I've roasted and brewed at home are much nicer. I'm doing all my testing with the Timemore C2 and aeropress and a strict 12g:200g immersion.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 18, 2023 15:41
|
|
|
Sweet, thanks for the encouragement, tips and recommendations. I'll look Rao up. I got my beans from Happy Mug, and they've got a huge variety. Next time I order I'll probably branch out a bit. I want to achieve a good dark roast, but everything I'm watching and reading points to lighter roasts having more flavor and complexity. PNG sounds like a good region to try for that. Re: Aeropress, they're really good. The original holds exactly 12g coffee and 200g water. Hoffmann's ultimate technique is what I've started using. That is, 12g coffee in, 200g water in, as quickly as possible, swirl/stir, then get the plunger on so as little as possible filters out, steep for however long (he says best flavor is 4ish minutes and up I think), then press really slowly. I've always really liked good coffee before my latest level up of nerding over it, and the Aeropress has been one of my favorite methods for a few years now. Just kind of a bonus that I apparently had one of the better tools for making a consistent one cup. It makes replication and experimentation very easy. Plus it's primo for traveling and camping.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 19, 2023 03:14
|
|
|
MustacheNet posted:Maybe your popper doesn't get hot enough. Do you have any way to check? Laser thermometer maybe? I did a few 80-100 g batches the other night and had my IR thermometer. I recorded time and temp at first crack, monitored temp throughout, and took temp right at the end of the roast. Temp range fluctuated quite a bit, between 185 and 200F throughout the process. I think the popper must have a thermostat. I'm kind of surprised, I expected much hotter. Although I guess the plastic housing is likely to get squishy much hotter than that. At any rate, I've been getting a good light roast with the Costa Rica Candelillas. Definitely taste the cherries and brown sugar and whatever else notes. The Colombia Huila is proving harder. I'm getting best results pulling it a little short of second crack but its still a little burnt tasting regardless of duration. I'm going to tinker with grind a bit.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 25, 2023 06:21
|
|
|
Sorry, I meant degrees Celsius. Still expected hotter as it never breaks 400F. Let me get some good pictures for color comparison. At a glance, they're City+ to Full City though. For my latest batch anyhow.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 26, 2023 01:17
|
|
|
Is the cloth filter for the aeropress good? I'm just ripping through paper filters.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 1, 2023 15:55
|
|
|
Deathlove posted:I can't speak for it. But I will say the metal one I have does great. Cannon_Fodder posted:I second this. I love my metal filter. But James Hoffman says the metal filter makes it taste bad e: yeah, I know there's no way I could taste the difference. I didn't realize the cotton ones have a pretty short lifetime. Metal it is. Funny that a metal filter, 3 cotton filters, and 700 paper filters are all the same cost. Metal makes more sense for me anyway for travel, it'll be dry and packable quicker. HenryJLittlefinger fucked around with this message at 04:36 on Jul 3, 2023 |
|
#
¿
Jul 3, 2023 04:27
|
|
|
I've roasted 25 batches of 5 different coffees now (Colombia Huila, Costa Rica Candelillas, Papua New Guinea, Sulawesi Aged, and Mexico Veracruz, all from Happy Mug). I've come to the conclusion that my popcorn popper is not capable of either the temperatures or the control over temperatures to get a roast curve that gives me a good roast beyond light-medium. Average weight lost across batches is ~14%, but with pretty low variance within variety. The good news I guess is that I'm coming around to lighter roasts and making coffee that I enjoy. I've done every cup of coffee I had over the past few weeks either with an Aeropress or V60 clone (Bialetti), with fairly precise ratio control by weight, all hand-ground with my Timemore Chestnut 2. Right now, I'm tinkering with grind size and extraction time and finding that a finer grind really helps roasts that are less interesting. It's intimidating how many different parts of this whole process affect taste and satisfaction with each batch. I think I had the idea at the beginning that I'd track down a few different "perfect" roasts/brews, but now I probably should just expect to constantly be looking for new stuff, documenting everything, and having some options for gifts, home use, drip/press/espresso/moka brewing. Anyhow I think I have to get a better roaster to gain a little more control. How is the terribly named Popper* (*popper is a coffee roaster)? edit: So remembering the range of % loss in my batches (I don't have my spreadsheet with me), seems like my roast levels fall in the City+ to Full City range. The thing is that few of the batches are falling into this color range. Now I don't have a color card in hand, but using good light and looking at pictures of these roasts on various different computer and phone screens, everything is looking more like City- to City. Descriptors I've written down are things like: cinnamon-dark cinnamon, burly/bright/cavendish, mahogany (darkest I've gotten), distressed saddle leather. My roast times are 7:00-11:00 depending on variety, but I think the average time is probably 8:00-8:30. I think perhaps my temperature is too low, so I'm roasting for longer than ideal at a lower than ideal temperature. Seem right? HenryJLittlefinger fucked around with this message at 18:38 on Jul 10, 2023 |
|
#
¿
Jul 10, 2023 17:44
|
|
|
I've been enjoying my Timemore Chestnut 2. I've been using it exclusively for Aeropress and V60 with light roasts. It's my first hand grinder so I can't compare it to anything else but it's very consistent, nice and heavy, smooth, overall a joy to use. My coffee tastes great to me and apparently to others I share it with.
HenryJLittlefinger fucked around with this message at 02:05 on Jul 13, 2023 |
|
#
¿
Jul 13, 2023 02:01
|
|
|
I've made myself coconut milk lattes a couple times lately and man is that poo poo good. With a darker roast, it gets a toasted coconut flake note to it. I could just drink straight full fat coconut milk from the can though.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 31, 2023 23:39
|
|
|
Right? I practically clean the can with my tongue every time I make curry.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 1, 2023 05:47
|
|
|
gwrtheyrn posted:A manual grinder for 14-16oz Come again?
|
|
#
¿
Aug 5, 2023 03:21
|
|
|
What sources do yall use for green beans other than Happy Mug?
|
|
#
¿
Aug 14, 2023 16:12
|
|
|
ThirstyBuck posted:I’ve deviated several times but I always come back to Sweet Maria’s. I’ve graduated now to ordering in 5 lbs bags. Ok yeah they were next on my list unless I heard otherwise.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 15, 2023 05:04
|
|
|
Nice, thanks for the recommendations. I just picked up three new batches from Sweet Maria's. I wish they had aged process, I had some Sulawesi beans from Happy Mug that I really liked.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 16, 2023 17:27
|
|
|
Discussion Quorum posted:I'm looking for a manual grinder for pourover, aeropress, maybe moka pot (but probably not often). Budget is flexible but decidedly entry level. I do think I would be happy to have the extra capacity when I need it, so I am focusing on options that have an advertised capacity of 30g (I think this rules out the cheaper 1zpressos but their product lineup confuses me) I've been loving my Timemore C2 for Aeropress and pourover grinding. The only thing I'd change is add an inch to the handle length for a little more torque on my fresher home roasted light roast beans, but that's more because I have some shoulder issues and it's an unusual motion regardless. It's solid, the bearings are very smooth, and the knurled finish is easy to grip even with damp hands. No problems with static.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 16, 2023 18:46
|
|
|
If any of yall home roasters want a variety to try, check out this Finca San Luis. Out of the 10ish varieties I've roasted so far, this is my favorite by miles. It's a little like bittersweet baking chocolate, dried cherries, kind of winey.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 25, 2023 16:21
|
|
|
Corb3t posted:Does anybody have a partner whose stomach can't handle lighter/medium roasts, or they just outright prefer dark roasts? Yeah my wife is this way. She's also pregnant right now and avoiding high caffeine stuff anyway. She's tried the lighter roasts I'm making but not crazy about them. We put the big Bunn machine away and most mornings I make mine with an aeropress and she uses Kirkland's house roast and a Mr. Coffee espresso machine. I've also started taking beans and my hand grinder to work, where I have a Bialetti v60 clone, electric kettle, and access to very accurate lab scales and me and coworkers have little coffee sessions and take them for a walk rather than going to a coffee shop.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 5, 2023 16:05
|
|
|
i own every Bionicle posted:20 years actually. The PSL was introduced in 2003 and it is in fact extremely basic. 
|
|
#
¿
Sep 5, 2023 20:29
|
|
|
My sister was staying with us a couple weeks ago and couldn't handle the Capresso grinder - french press - electric kettle flow. She made a press one morning and drank it all herself and when I went to clean it she'd filled somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 the volume of the press with coffee. Like a 1:5 ratio or something.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 9, 2023 16:20
|
|
|
If yall like fruity, try roasting some Salvadoran Finca San Luis from Sweet Maria's.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 17, 2023 13:59
|
|
|
I didn't have time to have a second cup of coffee at home this morning so I figured I'd have one in the office and when I got here I didn't have enough of any one type to make 15g of beans so my cup is about 2g my own roast, 9g kirklands/starbucks, 4g of the blackest daz bog there is , which I found about 10g of super coarsely ground in a bag on top of the break room fridge, so I just tossed it all in my hand grinder for a pourover and I kind of feel like a junkie using a found needle. It's an acceptable cup.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 2, 2023 16:13
|
|
|
What's the best method to get the best possible cup out of a Mr. Coffee """espresso""" machine? My wife is the only one who uses it but oddly enough she's not very picky about her coffee as long as it's dark and strong since she makes it pretty heavy with milk. I made a few cups in it and didn't like the results enough to use it over my aeropress, french press, moka pot, or pourover. Our other equipment is a Capresso Infinity grinder or hand grinder. I assume the comedy answer is "put it outside on the curb on trash day and go to a good coffee shop for a real espresso," but I'm curious to play around with it and see if it can produce something I actually like.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 4, 2023 21:39
|
|
|
Internet says the Flair Neo is a decent inexpensive manual espresso machine. Is there a better alternative for under $150?
|
|
#
¿
Oct 14, 2023 18:03
|
|
|
To follow up on an earlier post, my wife mostly uses a Mr. Coffee espresso machine now. I suggested to her the other day that we get ourselves a better machine for Christmas and she kind of bit. Budget is pretty low and we're not espresso enthusiasts, though she likes a good latte. I watched Hoffmann's £500 budget video and his "can you do it for £250" video. We have a Capresso Infinity and a Timemore hand grinder won't be getting a new grinder. For a $300ish budget, seems like the Breville Bambino, or Bambino Plus if we can find one on sale, is maybe the likely best machine for our setup? If my wife can make a good milk drink that makes her happy, and I can make an Americano or occasional milk drink that makes me happy, especially with beans I've roasted, then it'll be a success. Lance Hedrick's review of the Bambino is promising, if he's a source to be trusted. I'm not interested in tinkering or modding, other than maybe a better portafilter if it's worth it. I have too many hobbies for tinkering with poo poo and I think my wife would prefer I just leave something alone for once. So I won't be buying used with the intent of restoring, or buying a machine known for "just one flaw you need to put $100 to fix and then it'll be just right." Bambino good? Other options? I've heard the Gaggia is only ideal if paired with a grinder that is outside my budget.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 17, 2023 17:41
|
|
|
Corb3t posted:
Nah, she just uses the finest setting on the Capresso, which tbf is finer than any grind I've ever had out of a counter top grinder. I have hand ground a handful of times at the finest setting on the Timemore, and I wouldn't want to do it more than once a day or if I was in any kind of hurry, but it didn't bother me much. It's easier with oilier store-bought beans than my own roast. quote:The portafilter does indeed suck. An IMS basket is a must. A self-leveling tamper is also nice to have. I'd get all 3. HenryJLittlefinger fucked around with this message at 19:39 on Oct 17, 2023 |
|
#
¿
Oct 17, 2023 19:35
|
|
|
amenenema posted:Are you opposed to manual machines like the Robot or Flair? I personally am not, but I don't think my wife is into that idea. I was looking at the Flair/Flair Neo for a while, but figured maybe right now it's better to have one machine that makes a decent cup than a lovely Mr Coffee machine and a gadget that only I use.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 17, 2023 20:07
|
|
|
Yeah it's not worth it to me to add another $200 to the cost. If nothing works with the equipment I already have I'll just pass on it entirely.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 17, 2023 21:26
|
|
|
hypnophant posted:Waste of money if you don’t also upgrade your grinder imo. The capresso doesn’t have enough adjustment to do a good espresso and the end result will be bitter, sour, or muddy. The bambino plus makes nice milk with the automatic steam wand, but so do the various milk frothers, at a third to a tenth the cost amenenema posted:For what it's worth, pairing a good grinder with a cheap coffee maker can net surprisingly good results. My folks have some hand-me-down drip machine; I got them a Baratza Encore and drat if it doesn't result in excellent coffee. The grinders we have do great for Aeropress, French press, pourover, Moka pot, and drip. Aeropress and French press is about all I drink at home and I pretty often use my hand grinder, which also does fine. I'm happy with everything I've been drinking so far and don't see anything needing change there. If it takes adding a new "good" grinder to make the purchase of an espresso machine worth it when we're on a tight budget, I honestly don't care enough to pursue it any further. I've got plenty of options to make coffee that I and other people like to drink, neither of us are pining for espresso, and $500 buys a whole lot of shots from any one of the good coffee shops I can go to if I really have to have espresso. Thanks for the input. We'll take the money we'd have spent on that and get the kid a new bike for Christmas instead.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 18, 2023 17:30
|
|
|
mulls posted:I got a refurbished SR800 plus extension tube straight from the manufacturer, and it was like $70 less than brand new and very worth it I think. https://www.homeroastingsupplies.com/ 
|
|
#
¿
Oct 30, 2023 21:38
|
|
|
oops
|
|
#
¿
Oct 30, 2023 22:28
|
|
|
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 |
|
#
¿
Nov 1, 2023 05:28
|
|
|
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).
|
|
#
¿
Nov 7, 2023 17:09
|
|
|
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.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 7, 2023 18:31
|
|
|
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.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 7, 2023 20:02
|
|
|
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.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 7, 2023 21:11
|
|
|
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 |
|
#
¿
Nov 8, 2023 02:42
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 3, 2024 03:57 |
|
|
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.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 8, 2023 04:46
|
|