Let’s talk coffee

[pie_man_25]

There's a whole culture out there of people who take those BBQ'ers with the rotisserie attachment then mount a perforated steel drum and roast away.

-Mike

I figured that something similar to that would be kind of ideal for a bulk-roasting setup. There are a thousand ways to skin a cat I guess.

 

[pisces_bass]

I’m working on a 2lb bag of Nicaragua honey process green beans. Roasted to full city and fresh ground, it’s been great in the Bialetti Moka pot.

 

[Downunderwonder]

Today I have made two of the best brews ever. Maybe 1 week roasted and stored air more or less tight, then ground is ''just right'' for me?

I erred in how much I thought I had roasted in three popcorn loads. Turns out still two or three days' worth left to grind.

I bought an aluminium pizza tray and will have to spend half an hour drilling it for the ultimate roast bean cooler.

 

[MJ5150]

Today I have made two of the best brews ever. Maybe 1 week roasted and stored air more or less tight, then ground is ''just right'' for me?

I erred in how much I thought I had roasted in three popcorn loads. Turns out still two or three days' worth left to grind.

I bought an aluminium pizza tray and will have to spend half an hour drilling it for the ultimate roast bean cooler.

Be sure and post pics of your roaster once you get that done.

-Mike

 

[Downunderwonder]

Be sure and post pics of your roaster once you get that done.

-Mike

Roaster is just the popcorn machine for the present. I figure getting the roast ''on ice'' to stop the process with the perforated aluminium tray could well get me there. I just need to stop with cooking quickly enough.

As it is, a fair proportion of my 'overdone' batch is oily. Makes a damn fine blend with the 'underdone'. That might even be my goto system in the end.

I better finish the bag of commercial roast before next installment of Downunder Roasting Adventures.

 

[MJ5150]

That's a common thing I do, mix a dark roast with a light. I call it intermezzo.

-Mike

 

[charlie monroe]

intermezzo

That’s fancy. You could probably get a premium with that moniker.

 

[Downunderwonder]

That's a common thing I do, mix a dark roast with a light. I call it intermezzo.

-Mike

It was not my idea, I swear.

 

[Downunderwonder]

Today was roast day 2.0

I floated the aluminium pizza tray on top of a fry pan full of water and it worked well enough to nip roasting.

Batch 1 just to start of 2nd crack. A little more done than 1.0's light roast.

Batch 2 about 20sec into 2nd crack just started to smoke as I turned off the machine. No oil on the beans so a tad less done than batch 1.0 and proving the aluminum pizza tray worthwhile I think.

The blend came out VERY rich! I bet after a week it will be perfection.

If my time was more valuable home roasting in a popcorn maker would be a doubtful proposition. Two batches filled a 400ml jam jar taking about 20 minutes from ''I am out of coffee'' to ''I got coffee''.

 

[DarnellBass]

You want good coffee, get River Moon. I use a Moka pot; never going back to brewed.

 

[pie_man_25]

You want good coffee, get River Moon. I use a Moka pot; never going back to brewed.

Moka pots are great stuff. Few moving parts so other than the o-ring seals they'll last a while, and those seals are pretty cheap and also last a while. They're also cheap and make a great cup without much fuss. I've been told you can make it even better with more fuss, but I don't always like fuss.

 

[Downunderwonder]

Moka pots are great stuff. Few moving parts so other than the o-ring seals they'll last a while, and those seals are pretty cheap and also last a while. They're also cheap and make a great cup without much fuss. I've been told you can make it even better with more fuss, but I don't always like fuss.

The neoprene seals on the new Bialetti ones seem indestructible so far. Mine is two years old by now? Still soft.

I wouldn't call it fuss to get the correct amount of water in the tank no more and just enough grind in the top to fill it level without having to pack it down. It takes intent.

The brews of the last two days have been the equal of ''the best ever'' cafe coffee. So I have officially cracked it.

Thanks to MJ for the inspiration to start roasting my own beans.

 

[pie_man_25]

Offbeat question I suppose, but I have no interest in owning a Keurig or the nestle equivalent. However, I've seen a boatload of the machines in the many places I've worked. In canteens you can either pay a buck for some coffee from some bunn coffee maker, or a buck twenty five for a K-cup... Or just bring your own. Most offices seem to have one to boot. I don't get it when coffee isn't hard to make, and I can't imagine some of you guys would either.

Now, I can see the appeal - space aged convenience technology that at least theoretically could make a better cup more tailored to a specific grind variety than I could certainly be asked to at 0-dark thirty. Whether or not it does I would argue isn't up to me to say, but they're certainly selling a lot of K-cups, and I figure that licensing out the manufacture of that stuff is probably a mint in itself

I just want to see a video of some guy dissecting one, so that I don't have to pay for one and dissect it myself and see what it's really doing, tbh. I also got a bunch of K-cups from my girlfriend's parents, and periodically I think of dissecting them and seeing what goes on in there, and what deceptively simple but incredibly clever things might be hidden in all of that.

 

[MJ5150]

Here you go my friend......



-Mike

 

[Lizooki]

"WAS" a coffee snob, but migraines and the neurologist put a stop to that.
She said stop drinking coffee. I said " Nooooooo".
We came to a compromise and I get one tumbler of half-caf a day.
So it's not worth it.

BUT, being a connoisseur takes a bit of work.
Start with fresh whole beans.
Decide what you like.
Then figure out what grind is best for it.
Then what type of grinder is best to get that type of grind.

IMHO, it's all in the bean and grind. The rest is water and heat.
Even marginal coffee can be made to taste good if you know what you are doing.
I feel the most common mistake in making coffee is people generally make it too weak.
Trust me on this.

 

[pie_man_25]

Here you go my friend......



-Mike

That was... Actually kinda disappointing. The hype that some people make for these things somehow makes it seem even more underwhelming.

I suppose it's not that surprising given it's made the second most watery cup I've ever had.

 

[AQUANOVA]

I got myself a stainless steel percolator and really like the way it makes coffee.

 

[Downunderwonder]

There's a whole culture out there of people who take those BBQ'ers with the rotisserie attachment then mount a perforated steel drum and roast away.

do these people own cafes or just sleep 1hr with one eye open?

Last week I went nuts and roasted a heap so I could keep some maturing for the week. That fell to the experimental double batch of dark and extra dark roast. It has mellowed out nicely, very oily now in the bag. I can taste more of the cocoa and less of the fruit.

Roasting micro is far too much fun to want to go doing half a kilo at a time although I can see how it would lend to much more control over the roasting.

 

[MJ5150]

do these people own cafes or just sleep 1hr with one eye open?

Last week I went nuts and roasted a heap so I could keep some maturing for the week. That fell to the experimental double batch of dark and extra dark roast. It has mellowed out nicely, very oily now in the bag. I can taste more of the cocoa and less of the fruit.

Roasting micro is far too much fun to want to go doing half a kilo at a time although I can see how it would lend to much more control over the roasting.

Most are hobby roasters that roast for themselves, friends, and family. I know of one guy who owns a cafe and roasts that way.
Yes you need to let the roast rest for the flavors to develop.
I like to start drinking it on 24 hours rest and taste the flavors develop over the next week. After about a week, it hits the peak freshness.
I do not like my beans oily, so I never roast that dark. I will for others when they ask me to. When you do roast that dark, then you start losing the natural fruit flavors in the beans and start picking up the cocoa/caramel/brown sugar/molasses/etc that comes when you start cooking those sugars and oils in the bean.
My roaster does one pound (half kilo) at a time, which is perfect. I can roast a pound in about 6-8 minutes.

-Mike

 

[Downunderwonder]

Half a kilo would take me about 5 batches and best part of an hour with all the shagging about cooling them before moving on. I could get more organized but it would still take 5 min per batch to roast.