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Let’s talk coffee

#161
Downunderwonder said:
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.
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Yep, same with me when I use the modified popcorn popper. It's perfect for roasting just enough for a few cups of coffee. It's just the waiting that's the bummer.
I roast for friends and family in addition to ourselves, so being able to knock out a few pounds an hour is nice.
What's not included in that 6-8 minute roast time is the set up (five minutes) and breakdown (10 minutes since it includes cleaning the equipment) of the machine. That is why I roast 9-10 pounds in a session, to make it worth getting the machine set up.

-Mike
 
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#162
It really is controlled chaos at the end of each roast.

To get just a little oily takes a fine nose I think. If I wait until it smokes visibly it's well dark . The 2nd cracking is too strung out. I sort of intuit where I think it's at and then it's power off and chuck into the pizza tray before it's burnt.

I think I prefer the less dark just a little oily after a week roasts but will see how this dark stuff plays out. I might have to start weighing beans and timing 2nd cracking.
 
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#163
I totally agree with the fun of roasting tiny batches in a popcorn popper. A couple friends who roast have avoided one variable by roasting a single variety of bean until they are tired of it...10 pounds or so. They have roasters that do about a half pound. I still like switching up every couple or three weeks and for me that’s about 2 pounds worth.

It usually takes 2-3 batches to dial in a new variety but it’s part of the fun.
 
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#164
Downunderwonder said:
It really is controlled chaos at the end of each roast.

To get just a little oily takes a fine nose I think. If I wait until it smokes visibly it's well dark . The 2nd cracking is too strung out. I sort of intuit where I think it's at and then it's power off and chuck into the pizza tray before it's burnt.

I think I prefer the less dark just a little oily after a week roasts but will see how this dark stuff plays out. I might have to start weighing beans and timing 2nd cracking.
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Indeed.
On my machine, once first crack settles down, I have a 30-45 second window before second crack starts going off.
During those 30-45 seconds it is definitely that controlled chaos. I am listening closely and also checking the smell, and watching the exhaust fan for how heavy the smoke is.
I had a friend over last night for his first roasting session. He got a kick out of the process, and the joy that comes from nailing the roast just right when you drop the beans is great.

I'll usually roast a few cups in my popcorn popper when it's a new to me bean. For the most part, I am settled in to what I like so we get the same beans throughout the year
Once I dig it, I will roast up a few pounds to create some blends then save some for single origins.

-Mike
 
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#169
Downunderwonder said:
Imagine the death threats if he took a swipe at BACON!

I do wonder if my brown paper bagged green beans labelled FAIR TRADE ORGANIC, from various far flung dirt poor places, are the real deal. It's not like I pay a heck of a lot more for them than I would for regular ripoff beans.
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Fair trade is complicated. It gives people a warm fuzzy feeling to buy it, and retailers can charge more for it.
I don't bother making sure the beans I buy are fair trade since there are other ways to purchase coffee if one is concerned about the ethics of how that bean got to your kitchen.
If that is something that concerns you, great. It does me too. Take the time to research the industry, the growers, and the importers. Then you can make a more informed purchase.

-Mike
 
#170
MJ5150 said:
I have some suggestions to start.
First, only buy whole bean fresh roasted coffee. By fresh, I mean roasted in the last 1-2 weeks. You can accomplish this by finding yourself a small roaster in your town and getting to know him or her. If you need help finding someone around you, let me know. I know roasters all over.
Second, get yourself a good quality burr grinder made for coffee. You can spend upwards of $400 for a grinder, and they are worth what they cost. You don't need to spend that much, but that one for $15 with the blades is just going to tear the beans up inconsistently.
Third, only grind the beans moments before you're ready to make and drink the coffee. Oxygen and light are enemies of good coffee. As soon as you grind a coffee bean the quality begins to deteriorate.

When you get yourself situated with a grinder and brew method, or maybe methods, let me know. I'll send you some fresh roasted coffee. That's a little side business/hobby/passion of mine.
Y'all play bass, I roast and drink coffee.



-Mike
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My brother has been roasting his own for over twenty years. He buys beans online from Sweet Maria's. He also uses a popcorn popper with a stirring attachment. I'm enjoying a cup of his custom roast as I type. :cool:
 
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#173
I've been mostly an electronic/drip coffee guy over the years, but I think I am getting to the point of being done with that now:

- Had two fairly fancy Cuisinart coffeemakers go belly-up on me; I don't think either one lasted more than two years

- I bought a Kenmore (by Sears) electronic drip unit when the local Sears was blowing everything out while closing (in the wake up bankruptcy); I don't think that one even lasted as long as the Cuisinarts, but at least it was cheaper

- Currently have a Braun with a thermal carafé...I've only had it about two months, and it's working fine, BUT...

...in all of the above cases, I never ended up with coffee that tasted as good to me as Starbucks coffee, or some of the other coffees from the local chains.

I think this is due in part to the fact that, as near as I can tell, home brewers don't brew nearly as hot as the machines they use at coffee shops...never really understood why this is, perhaps someone can enlighten me, but I'm almost sure it's a factor.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to pull out my stainless steel stove top percolator. I'm sure you know the type...you have that stem, with the baseplate, and on the stem goes the filter, and a cap for the filter...at least with this setup, I can get the water to an actual boil, which I am 99.9% certain is not the case with the electronic drip units I mentioned. :meh:
 
#174
@HubbardsFate there's no reason you can't brew at home as hot as the big coffee chains do.
195-205 F is the optimal temp for extraction, and home machines get that hot. When you push the upper limits of that you'll also run the chance of over extraction making it bitter, or burning the coffee.
I brew my coffee at 196 to 198, no higher and sometimes a little cooler depending on the coffee I'm using.

-Mike
 
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#175
I think the biggest factors in a good cup of coffee are fresh beans, consistent grind (burr grinder), and filtered water. I boil a liter of water and let it sit for 1-2 minutes before using it in an aero press. I don’t know the exact temp but it works for me.
 
#176
MJ5150 said:
@HubbardsFate there's no reason you can't brew at home as hot as the big coffee chains do.
195-205 F is the optimal temp for extraction, and home machines get that hot. When you push the upper limits of that you'll also run the chance of over extraction making it bitter, or burning the coffee.
I brew my coffee at 196 to 198, no higher and sometimes a little cooler depending on the coffee I'm using.

-Mike
Click to expand...
Sorry, I have to respectfully disagree. When I go to any one of the multiple Starbucks around town, I get coffee so hot that I have to take very small sips for the first couple of minutes, and/or give it a couple of minutes to cool off. None of the electronic drip coffeemakers I mentioned owning have ever brewed a pot of coffee that hot for me.
 
#177
MJ5150 said:
Fair trade is complicated. It gives people a warm fuzzy feeling to buy it, and retailers can charge more for it.
I don't bother making sure the beans I buy are fair trade since there are other ways to purchase coffee if one is concerned about the ethics of how that bean got to your kitchen.
If that is something that concerns you, great. It does me too. Take the time to research the industry, the growers, and the importers. Then you can make a more informed purchase.

-Mike
Click to expand...
The most scholarly work I've read about fair trade is that there's very little to no respectable work on whether or not fair trade actually helps to develop areas.

I'm not inclined to trust somebody who's selling anything. But in the same vein, to ridicule somebody from buying something touted as ethical doesn't seem a good route either. It's argue it's in poor
MJ5150 said:
@HubbardsFate there's no reason you can't brew at home as hot as the big coffee chains do.
195-205 F is the optimal temp for extraction, and home machines get that hot. When you push the upper limits of that you'll also run the chance of over extraction making it bitter, or burning the coffee.
I brew my coffee at 196 to 198, no higher and sometimes a little cooler depending on the coffee I'm using.

-Mike
Click to expand...
I'm not sure most consumer coffee makers are generally made less for good coffee than for good price for the consumer and good margins for the seller.

If you've had enough bad experiences with those machines there are plenty of options for serviceable coffee like the stovetop percolator, the French press, Moka pot, and those pourover cone-type things. Heck, for a while I was just boiling water in a pot or kettle and just dumping the coffee right in - it works pretty darn well at that. At any rate, those methods all make a good cup, the hardware doesn't have to cost a lot, and just takes a bit of tinkering to dial in how you like it.
 
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#178
HubbardsFate said:
Sorry, I have to respectfully disagree. When I go to any one of the multiple Starbucks around town, I get coffee so hot that I have to take very small sips for the first couple of minutes, and/or give it a couple of minutes to cool off. None of the electronic drip coffeemakers I mentioned owning have ever brewed a pot of coffee that hot for me.
Click to expand...

What is there to disagree about? Home coffee makers brew the coffee between 197 and 205 degrees. That's not my opinion.
Starbucks does not make their coffee hotter than that unless you ask them to. Ask any barista the next time you're in there what temp they brewed the coffee at.
If your home coffee isn't that hot, then it's either something wrong with your machine or it's on the low end of that range. Or an issue with how you're making it.

-Mike
 
#180
48thStreetCustom said:
"So let me ask you this: is it impossible to get a cup of coffee-flavored coffee anymore in this country? Huh? What happened to coffee? Did I miss a ******** meeting with the coffee? Huh? You can get every other flavor except coffee-flavored coffee. They got mochaccino, they got chocaccino, frapaccino, capuccino, rapaccino, al paccino."

–Dennis Leary
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I like coffee in my coffee. If you think you need flavoring in your coffee, then you really don't like coffee.
 
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