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Doh004
Apr 22, 2007

Mmmmm Donuts...

Nullity posted:

I feel somewhat bad now that I use a liquid milk coffee mix and instant coffee rather than all this fancy grinding. I even have the grinder in a cupboard somewhere, permanently unused.

Only somewhat bad?

:frogout:

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pnumoman
Sep 26, 2008

I never get the last word, and it makes me very sad.

Nullity posted:

I feel somewhat bad now that I use a liquid milk coffee mix and instant coffee rather than all this fancy grinding. I even have the grinder in a cupboard somewhere, permanently unused.

Haha, don't feel bad, it's just coffee. I admit I'll quaff some instant coffee if I feel incredibly lazy, but frankly, once you get used to your coffee routine, good coffee doesn't really take much more time than instant.

Like, say you get a cheapo burr grinder, something that's completely unsuitable for espresso, but fine for french press. You can grind your beans and put them in your french press while your kettle (electric for ease and speed) comes to a boil. Pour the water in, and while you wait a few minutes (I like just under 4 minutes), prep your cup (I like to heat up my milk at this time), then push and pour. Cleanup is really easy if you have a kitchen sink mesh strainer; just swish a little bit of water in the press and just dump out the grounds into the strainer. A french press grind is really coarse anyway, so the mesh strainer catches most of it, and you can just knock that out into your trash bin.

A decent (not uber-sperglord excellent) french press cup is really easy, surprisingly quick, and tastes miles better than instant. And once you get used to the taste of good coffee, you won't mind spending like 5 more minutes for a cup.

Plus, there are other quick methods too; the aeropress takes just as much time, gives you no sediment if you don't like it, and the cleanup is even easier. Pourover takes a bit of skill to do it really well, but that's about as quick as well. So try making some decent coffee; I think you'll be surprised at how much more quality you get for just a tiny bit more time and effort.

Aglet56
Sep 1, 2011

nm posted:

From everything I've heard about them, it is a shame they'll only be used in Starbucks on burned bean.

I used to work at Google Santa Monica, actually, and our office had one of these things, but no instructions. I'm ashamed to say that I had absolutely no idea how to use it; how coarse should the grind be? What's a good temperature? What's a good roast? I spent two months and embarrassing amounts of Intelligentsia beans trying to figure it out, but I could never get a properly extracted cup of coffee. No matter what I did, it came out tasting like I had brewed it for about 40 seconds, which makes sense, since it brewed it in about 40 seconds.

seravid
Apr 21, 2010

Let me tell you of the world I used to know
Temperature question: are the cheapo thermometers on ebay even worth the 5 bucks they ask? Description states an error margin of 5-10ºC above 80ºC, how useful can they be?

edit: that's 10-20ºF above 176ºF in moon degrees

seravid fucked around with this message at 23:34 on Apr 23, 2012

gwrtheyrn
Oct 21, 2010

AYYYE DEEEEE DUBBALYOO DA-NYAAAAAH!
I just finished my 3rd roast on the whirleypop, and I'd like to see if there's anything I can do to improve. Every time I've roasted, the cracks have started about a minute or two before the sweet marias thing estimates.

My first roast: El Salvador Matalapa: Tablon El Naranja

I stopped this after about 7 minutes and 30 seconds, a bit into what I assume was second crack since it started popping really fast. The roast turned out pretty unevenly, as you should be able to see from the crappy phone picture. It still ended up tasting fine though. First crack started around 5 minutes on this one.

Third roast: India Poabs Organic Seethargundu Estate

I stopped this at 6 minutes, just at the beginning what I assume was 2nd crack since the first round of cracking had stopped already. This time I was cranking between 2-4 rps on the whirleypop and I swirled the pot a bit every 30 seconds to 1 minute. This looks like it turned out a lot better than anything else I've done so far. First crack was at about 4 minutes.

What roast levels would you say that these turned out to be, and are there any things I might have to change about how I roast to get better results?

Edit: Sweet Maria's finally got around to posting a whirleypop roast video and they don't preheat and leave the lid open. Does anyone else do this?

gwrtheyrn fucked around with this message at 06:04 on Apr 26, 2012

GrAviTy84
Nov 25, 2004

Those look pretty good for a whirley pop. keep it up! You might be better off tapering off the heat at the beginning of the roast. That is to say, preheat the roaster, add the beans and spin quickly to prevent charring, then turn down the heat after a few seconds (to about a medium) and ease up on the spinning a little and let it coast up to first crack. Remember that the gearing of the whirley makes it so that the stirrers stir something like 3 times per crank, so 2-4 rps is quite vigorous spinning. Then kick the spurs to it in the middle of first crack and crank the heat and spin 2-3 rps to just the start of second crack.

You can try vice versa, too, race to first crack then ease up and coast to second. Welcome to roast profiling. All of this will affect the flavor profile of your coffee and some roasting methods will work better with some coffees and work terribly with others. One thing I've noticed is that dry process coffees with their more variable coffee bean sizes, tend to not like whirley pops in general, but in order to get them decently right you gotta take it pretty low on the heat side and crank it like mad. Peaberry coffees, because of their shape, take very well to the whirley.

Steve Yun
Aug 7, 2003
I'm a parasitic landlord that needs to get a job instead of stealing worker's money. Make sure to remind me when I post.
Soiled Meat
In my journey to learn more about coffee I got my first decently made espresso. It was surprising how complex it was, comparable to a scotch or wine, and it had the creaminess of a coffee with dairy in it. Really really intrigued.

GrAviTy84
Nov 25, 2004

Steve Yun posted:

In my journey to learn more about coffee I got my first decently made espresso. It was surprising how complex it was, comparable to a scotch or wine, and it had the creaminess of a coffee with dairy in it. Really really intrigued.

get ready to empty your bank account if you wanna make it at home...

GrAviTy84
Nov 25, 2004

GrAviTy84 posted:

Those look pretty good for a whirley pop. keep it up! You might be better off tapering off the heat at the beginning of the roast. That is to say, preheat the roaster, add the beans and spin quickly to prevent charring, then turn down the heat after a few seconds (to about a medium) and ease up on the spinning a little and let it coast up to first crack. Remember that the gearing of the whirley makes it so that the stirrers stir something like 3 times per crank, so 2-4 rps is quite vigorous spinning. Then kick the spurs to it in the middle of first crack and crank the heat and spin 2-3 rps to just the start of second crack.

You can try vice versa, too, race to first crack then ease up and coast to second. Welcome to roast profiling. All of this will affect the flavor profile of your coffee and some roasting methods will work better with some coffees and work terribly with others. One thing I've noticed is that dry process coffees with their more variable coffee bean sizes, tend to not like whirley pops in general, but in order to get them decently right you gotta take it pretty low on the heat side and crank it like mad. Peaberry coffees, because of their shape, take very well to the whirley.

So I just roasted a batch of Brazilian Fazenda Aurea in my Whirley. Some notes: I was wrong about the gearing, it just has two arms, forgot that, sorry. gearing is 1:1, but because there are two arms you get 2 agitations per crank. I found the low bound of what I do to be just shy of 2 rps while the upper bound just being over around 3 rps. I noticed the difference in the agitation. Slower rps gives the beans more contact with the metal and with flatter surfaced beans could result in some scorching due to not flipping them enough. Faster rps means that the beans actually spend most of the time in the air or on the walls due to centripetal force. As a result, you can kind of "feel out" a roast based on what you see, smell, and hear your beans doing. I noticed I would crank faster when the smoke started coming stronger thinking that cranking faster would prevent charring. I noticed that I would slow down cranking after the first crack and lower the heat to coast up to 2nd crack. Anyway, just some observations.

Steve Yun
Aug 7, 2003
I'm a parasitic landlord that needs to get a job instead of stealing worker's money. Make sure to remind me when I post.
Soiled Meat

GrAviTy84 posted:

get ready to empty your bank account if you wanna make it at home...

Yeah. I think if I'm going to do it, I'm not going to half-rear end it, so I'll put it off until I can get the proper grinder and brewer for it.

Doh004
Apr 22, 2007

Mmmmm Donuts...

gwrtheyrn posted:

Whirely pop roasting

I tried asking the same thing by posting a picture of my roasted beans, but it's near impossible to judge. While I don't have a whirely pop, I do roast my beans in a 1970's popcorn popper (The Poppery 1).

The only way you're really going to be able to tell from the start is to brew some the next day and see what you taste. If you found that you're tasting too much char or burnt than you know when into the French/Vienna roast. Also, this probably depends on the bean, but if you start seeing the oils from the bean right after you roasted it, it normally means you roasted it too long (at least that's how I've had it).

I also haven't had any luck dealing with "timing" my roast with my popper. Different ambient temperatures, how long the popper's had to heat up previously all come into play. The $25 infrared thermometer allows me to accurately see where my beans are, and once I read a 444 F reading, I pull the beans out. This has given me a consistent FC+ roast on everything :) . I do hope to get familiar with it enough that I can eye/ear it, but that takes lots of practice.

ephori
Sep 1, 2006

Dinosaur Gum
Have you guys got any thoughts on Expobar espresso units? I want to replace my old thermoblock Krups unit, and I was thinking of upgrading to a Rancilio Silvia but I was talking to a guy who's selling his Expobar Office Pulser for about the same price. From what I've read, it's an E61 head which is supposed to be awesome? and it seems like the unit has overall better build quality in general, so I'm kind of waffling back and forth between a new Silvia or this used Expobar.

ephori fucked around with this message at 19:39 on Apr 26, 2012

G-III
Mar 4, 2001

Chiming in as an rancilio silvia v3 owner: the silvia is a finicky machine and you really have to get your grind and tamp right to get a good shot. It's also a single boiler machine (not sure if the Expobar is a single or a double) which means you have to temperature surf between making espresso and steamed milk.

The major plus to the Rancilio is that it can be easily modded to enhance its functionality. The need to temperature surf can go away with the addition of a modded PID which will allow you to consistently regulate the boiler temp and thus create more consistent shots out of the machine.

Of course after all that's said and done, a modded rancilio silvia and a high end grinder will cost you upwards of about $1400+ if you're buying new equipment. The irony for me is that while I love the espresso my silvia makes, I fell in love with a whole different method of making coffee. Boiling coffee in an ibrik to make turkish coffee. I love turkish coffee and it's funny how ridiculously easy it is to make.

G-III fucked around with this message at 15:59 on Apr 27, 2012

rockcity
Jan 16, 2004

G-III posted:

Of course after all that's said and done, a modded rancilio silvia and a high end grinder will cost you upwards of about $1400+ if you're buying new equipment. The irony for me is that while I love the espresso my silvia makes, I fell in love with a whole different method of making coffee. Boiling coffee in an ibrik to make turkish coffee. I love turkish coffee and it's funny who ridiculously easy and simple it is to make.

And it's about 2% of the cost.

Last night my alumni club had our quarterly meeting and we had it at an office that one of our members is doing work with and they had a Vario and one of those new Breville double boiler units. They also had Counter Culture espresso. For only using it once I was able to pull a pretty good shot out of it, not a bad unit, though for the price they want for it, there are better options. I think if Breville took some of that build quality and put it into their compact machines, they could take a good chunk of that market.

PainBreak
Jun 9, 2001

GrAviTy84 posted:

Those look pretty good for a whirley pop. keep it up! You might be better off tapering off the heat at the beginning of the roast. That is to say, preheat the roaster, add the beans and spin quickly to prevent charring, then turn down the heat after a few seconds (to about a medium) and ease up on the spinning a little and let it coast up to first crack. Remember that the gearing of the whirley makes it so that the stirrers stir something like 3 times per crank, so 2-4 rps is quite vigorous spinning. Then kick the spurs to it in the middle of first crack and crank the heat and spin 2-3 rps to just the start of second crack.

You can try vice versa, too, race to first crack then ease up and coast to second. Welcome to roast profiling. All of this will affect the flavor profile of your coffee and some roasting methods will work better with some coffees and work terribly with others. One thing I've noticed is that dry process coffees with their more variable coffee bean sizes, tend to not like whirley pops in general, but in order to get them decently right you gotta take it pretty low on the heat side and crank it like mad. Peaberry coffees, because of their shape, take very well to the whirley.

I roast dry process (Ethiopian) almost exclusively, and I prefer not to heat up the Whirley Pop beforehand. I put the beans in cold, and stir consistently at medium heat. I turn the heat off about 3/4 the way through first crack, stir for two more minutes, and it comes out very evenly, and with the fruity profile I feel it should have, while not being overtly acidic. In short, it's wonderful coffee, and preheating the Whirley Pop is nonsense.

GrAviTy84
Nov 25, 2004

PainBreak posted:

I roast dry process (Ethiopian) almost exclusively, and I prefer not to heat up the Whirley Pop beforehand. I put the beans in cold, and stir consistently at medium heat. I turn the heat off about 3/4 the way through first crack, stir for two more minutes, and it comes out very evenly, and with the fruity profile I feel it should have, while not being overtly acidic. In short, it's wonderful coffee, and preheating the Whirley Pop is nonsense.

Ok I will try that with dry process next time. Thanks.

I've taken to the hot air popper lately because it doesn't require me to crank.

PainBreak
Jun 9, 2001

GrAviTy84 posted:

Ok I will try that with dry process next time. Thanks.

I've taken to the hot air popper lately because it doesn't require me to crank.

Amen to that... There are days that I absolutely love roasting coffee, and days that I think, "gently caress... do I really have to crank this thing for 15 minutes?" Between my wife and I, though, we go through a little over 1lb/week.

I've also found that roasting about 3/4lb at a time gives me the most even roasts. Less, and I feel like there's not enough mass churning around to evenly dissipate the heat. More, and the poor little whirley arms just don't have the rear end behind them to create that sweet, sweet tumbling action.

Edit: drat you, Maria! When will you get in some new DP Ethiopian? I just had to order 10lbs from the Coffee Bean Corral, lovingly known in our household as HORSE BEANS!

PainBreak fucked around with this message at 15:33 on Apr 28, 2012

herbaceous backson
Mar 10, 2009

by FactsAreUseless
What kind of grind are you guys using with your clever drippers?

I figured a coarse french press type grind would be best, since it's full-immersion, but a lot of the write-ups online say to use a fine drip grind.

nm
Jan 28, 2008

"I saw Minos the Space Judge holding a golden sceptre and passing sentence upon the Martians. There he presided, and around him the noble Space Prosecutors sought the firm justice of space law."

a handful of dust posted:

What kind of grind are you guys using with your clever drippers?

I figured a coarse french press type grind would be best, since it's full-immersion, but a lot of the write-ups online say to use a fine drip grind.
15-20 (fairly fine) on my Maestro Plus.

With coarse, you'll get under extraction, the only reason you do coarse for the press-pot is to avoid sludge.

that Vai sound
Mar 6, 2011
I go towards the fine end for the Clever. I steep for about 2:40, and I get about a minute draw time. No stirring, and I think I need to careful with my pour. The grinds should form a cone, because a flat bed of coffee seems to drain too slowly. That's what works for me at least, but other people seem to do things differently based on the videos I've seen.

herbaceous backson
Mar 10, 2009

by FactsAreUseless

nm posted:

15-20 (fairly fine) on my Maestro Plus.

With coarse, you'll get under extraction, the only reason you do coarse for the press-pot is to avoid sludge.

I'll give that a shot, thanks. I've been grinding between 25-35 with my Maestro, based mostly on Prima Coffee's immersion brewing guide.

hotsauce
Jan 14, 2007
Just picked this up from Office Max ($60 on clearance). Before I tear into it, are the "consumer-commercial" Bunns any good? Just looking for a basic maker to brew traditional coffee (have a Hario I use mostly). Reviews say this is a pretty good machine, but some say the temps aren't the stated "200 degrees" that Bunn claims. Edit: My house is at 4,600 feed above sea level. The manual says if you live above 4,500 feet, you need a different model (with a "D" designation). Since water boils at a lower temp at high altitudes, does this mean I may actually get 200 degrees out of this machine? I would think the "low altitude" machine at a higher altitude will have hotter water, no?

Edit2: Just decided to try it out. I know this may be sacrilege to the resident coffee elitists, but it makes a drat good cup of coffee. Like diner good (you know what I mean). Nothing fancy, just a good cup. I'm thrilled for what I paid for it. After my wife finished rolling her eyes at (yet) another coffee gadget, she agrees it's a really good cup o'joe. So, it isn't fancy but it works very well in my experience.

hotsauce fucked around with this message at 06:01 on May 6, 2012

SmokeyXIII
Apr 19, 2008
Not Stephen Harper in Disguise.

That is simply not true.
Well this weekend I splurged my buns off.

I had had my eye on the Elektra Microcasa Leva manual espresso machine for a long time.




My wife being the #1 lady that she is insisted on me buying it since I've spent ~SO~ many hours at work so far this year.

Afterwards I went and got a pound of my favorite locally roasted beans and went to work.

It took pretty much half a pound of beans before I got a drinkable shot out of the machine but it's coming along nicely. This morning only took me one practice shot before I got to drink one!


I decided to make my first cappuccino and it came out amazing, it was just like candy.



Looking forward to the day I master this puppy.

I need to go get a proper grinder for this thing, I figure I'll pick up the Bezzera
BB 004, it looks pretty sharp.

dema
Aug 13, 2006

:aaa:

gorgeous.

Brodeurs Nanny
Nov 2, 2006

Wow that cappucino

grabulasa
Apr 3, 2005
i'm new. beee nice
bit on the foamy side no?

SmokeyXIII
Apr 19, 2008
Not Stephen Harper in Disguise.

That is simply not true.

grabulasa posted:

bit on the foamy side no?

Yep, I let the milk go a bit long but it was still pretty tasty!

ephori
Sep 1, 2006

Dinosaur Gum

G-III posted:

Chiming in as an rancilio silvia v3 owner: the silvia is a finicky machine and you really have to get your grind and tamp right to get a good shot. It's also a single boiler machine (not sure if the Expobar is a single or a double) which means you have to temperature surf between making espresso and steamed milk.

The major plus to the Rancilio is that it can be easily modded to enhance its functionality. The need to temperature surf can go away with the addition of a modded PID which will allow you to consistently regulate the boiler temp and thus create more consistent shots out of the machine.

Of course after all that's said and done, a modded rancilio silvia and a high end grinder will cost you upwards of about $1400+ if you're buying new equipment. The irony for me is that while I love the espresso my silvia makes, I fell in love with a whole different method of making coffee. Boiling coffee in an ibrik to make turkish coffee. I love turkish coffee and it's funny how ridiculously easy it is to make.
You tipped me over the edge! You prompted me to do some more reading, and while I was debating on the Expobar, a Silvia showed up for sale in my area and I pounced impulsively.



I don't think it's a V3, as it doesn't have the articulating steam wand or the newer pressure knob, but I'm not sure. Either way, it's a monumental upgrade over my previous rig. I had no idea how much better espresso could be-- and I know I'm not even pulling particularly good shots yet (by anyone else's measure), but wow, it's so much better than what I was doing before. Even the bad shots are a whole other level compared to what I'm used to.

Now I just need to find myself a better grinder. I have a Krups burr grinder that isn't completely terrible, but it's definitely not measuring up anymore. I also need to get the hang of steaming; I don't normally add milk to anything, but I had my parents over on the weekend and I struggled to steam the milk properly. It ended up hot with a thick swatch of immovable foam floating on top, and not the 'microfroth' that's supposed to pour ever-so-gently from the pitcher. Any tips or good videos for technique? The cappucinos I made for my folks looked nothing like the one up above there.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

gwrtheyrn
Oct 21, 2010

AYYYE DEEEEE DUBBALYOO DA-NYAAAAAH!

ephori posted:

You tipped me over the edge! You prompted me to do some more reading, and while I was debating on the Expobar, a Silvia showed up for sale in my area and I pounced impulsively.



I don't think it's a V3, as it doesn't have the articulating steam wand or the newer pressure knob, but I'm not sure. Either way, it's a monumental upgrade over my previous rig. I had no idea how much better espresso could be-- and I know I'm not even pulling particularly good shots yet (by anyone else's measure), but wow, it's so much better than what I was doing before. Even the bad shots are a whole other level compared to what I'm used to.

Now I just need to find myself a better grinder. I have a Krups burr grinder that isn't completely terrible, but it's definitely not measuring up anymore. I also need to get the hang of steaming; I don't normally add milk to anything, but I had my parents over on the weekend and I struggled to steam the milk properly. It ended up hot with a thick swatch of immovable foam floating on top, and not the 'microfroth' that's supposed to pour ever-so-gently from the pitcher. Any tips or good videos for technique? The cappucinos I made for my folks looked nothing like the one up above there.

Thanks for the feedback guys.
Not to sound like a vulture, but what are you going to do with your old machine?

Astronaut Jones
Oct 18, 2007
Destination Moon


ephori posted:

You tipped me over the edge! You prompted me to do some more reading, and while I was debating on the Expobar, a Silvia showed up for sale in my area and I pounced impulsively.



I don't think it's a V3, as it doesn't have the articulating steam wand or the newer pressure knob, but I'm not sure.

That's a V1.

PainBreak
Jun 9, 2001
I'm kind-of disappointed with Coffee Bean Corral. I placed an order for 10lbs of Ethiopian Sidamo Special Prep (DP), and when it arrived it was 3lbs of the Sidamo, and 7lbs of Ethiopian Niguse Lemma Natural, substituted without bothering to contact me.

Luckily, it's pretty good coffee, although not as good as the Sidamo (and it was slightly more expensive per lb), but it's pretty discourteous to substitute something and not ask the customer first.

AriTheDog
Jul 29, 2003
Famously tasty.
Why don't you just bitch at their customer service people? You paid for one thing and got something else.

Not an Anthem
Apr 28, 2003

I'm a fucking pain machine and if you even touch my fucking car I WILL FUCKING DESTROY YOU.
Regarding the clovers.. THAT is what Intelligentsia had for a bit. Their stores in Chicago had clovers, at least 4 in each, and they were way awesome. They got rid of them, obviously due to starbucks buying it and closing sales (I didn't know), and switched to pourover. I don't like it because its slow as balls, but more importantly, less robots and more 30-somethings in mustaches and vests. If ever there was an argument for roboticization in the workforce, its mustaches and vests.

PainBreak
Jun 9, 2001

AriTheDog posted:

Why don't you just bitch at their customer service people? You paid for one thing and got something else.

I get the feeling it's a pretty small operation, and it's not like I won't use the beans. I guess I don't feel it's worth the hassle of shipping back $50 worth of beans, or yelling at them, or what have you. I don't think they would change their business practices if I yelled at them--I'm guessing they thought they were doing me a big favor by substituting more expensive beans, and that it would be ridiculous for a customer to be upset about that.

Instead, I will just choose to not do business with them in the future, and buy from Sweet Maria's exclusively, while telling strangers on the internet about my experience.

ephori
Sep 1, 2006

Dinosaur Gum

gwrtheyrn posted:

Not to sound like a vulture, but what are you going to do with your old machine?
I gave it to my parents.. but trust me, you didn't want it. :)

SmokeyXIII
Apr 19, 2008
Not Stephen Harper in Disguise.

That is simply not true.

PainBreak posted:

I get the feeling it's a pretty small operation, and it's not like I won't use the beans. I guess I don't feel it's worth the hassle of shipping back $50 worth of beans, or yelling at them, or what have you. I don't think they would change their business practices if I yelled at them--I'm guessing they thought they were doing me a big favor by substituting more expensive beans, and that it would be ridiculous for a customer to be upset about that.

Instead, I will just choose to not do business with them in the future, and buy from Sweet Maria's exclusively, while telling strangers on the internet about my experience.

You never know, they might just say sorry and ship you the proper beans without asking you to return the others. Thats the sort of thing that will lose a company repeat business, like you said, you should at least give them a chance to remedy the problem. Just phone them up and ask, if they want to fight about it just let it go but it could work out really good for you.

Base Emitter
Apr 1, 2012

?
I am not a coffee gourmet at all, I enjoy a good cup of coffee but I'm pretty lazy about making it. I recently started using a French press instead of a normal commodity brewing machine (and I don't find it any more of a hassle than a basic brewer), and after a few experiments have been really pleased with the difference. (How big a difference? I've gone from needing additives to enjoying black coffee for its own sake.)

What's the next step to upgrade my coffee? I'm assuming its going to be better beans.

I don't think I'm ready to do the whole DIY roasting thing yet, I'm still at the place where I'm looking for good payoffs from relative little effort... What are some good brands or sources of beans that tend to be better than average but are still fairly easily available?

I see in the thread Starbucks is not so well regarded. If Starbucks mistreats their beans so badly in the opinion of many, what is their rationale for doing so? Have they just miseducated consumers about what makes a "quality" bean? Or is it just a difference of opinion?

nm
Jan 28, 2008

"I saw Minos the Space Judge holding a golden sceptre and passing sentence upon the Martians. There he presided, and around him the noble Space Prosecutors sought the firm justice of space law."

Base Emitter posted:

I see in the thread Starbucks is not so well regarded. If Starbucks mistreats their beans so badly in the opinion of many, what is their rationale for doing so? Have they just miseducated consumers about what makes a "quality" bean? Or is it just a difference of opinion?
Because different beans taste different. Starbucks is built on the idea that its coffee will taste the same everywhere. You can do this with emphasizing roast flavors (by overroasting) over bean flavors.
Where do you live? Someone can probably point you in the right direction for roasted beans. For green beans, Sweet Marias is considered pretty good.

gwrtheyrn
Oct 21, 2010

AYYYE DEEEEE DUBBALYOO DA-NYAAAAAH!

Base Emitter posted:

I am not a coffee gourmet at all, I enjoy a good cup of coffee but I'm pretty lazy about making it. I recently started using a French press instead of a normal commodity brewing machine (and I don't find it any more of a hassle than a basic brewer), and after a few experiments have been really pleased with the difference. (How big a difference? I've gone from needing additives to enjoying black coffee for its own sake.)

What's the next step to upgrade my coffee? I'm assuming its going to be better beans.

I don't think I'm ready to do the whole DIY roasting thing yet, I'm still at the place where I'm looking for good payoffs from relative little effort... What are some good brands or sources of beans that tend to be better than average but are still fairly easily available?

I see in the thread Starbucks is not so well regarded. If Starbucks mistreats their beans so badly in the opinion of many, what is their rationale for doing so? Have they just miseducated consumers about what makes a "quality" bean? Or is it just a difference of opinion?

Part of the motivation for Starbucks, or any other chain of their size, is providing a consistent experience across all of their locations. In this case, the easiest way to make the coffee always taste the same is to burn the hell out of it so there is no real roast variation. I ordered a double shot espresso from them last week because it was the only place open that was selling drinks...huge mistake

For sourcing beans, there are roasters that sell online like intelligentsia and counter culture, but if you can find a roaster locally it will probably be better for you in the long run.

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Base Emitter
Apr 1, 2012

?

nm posted:

Because different beans taste different. Starbucks is built on the idea that its coffee will taste the same everywhere. You can do this with emphasizing roast flavors (by overroasting) over bean flavors.
Where do you live? Someone can probably point you in the right direction for roasted beans. For green beans, Sweet Marias is considered pretty good.

Of course I should have mentioned I live in Seattle, a few miles from the Coffee Kremlin apparently. It isn't all Starbucks, but I've lost track of who owns who. :confused:

Kind of interesting that Starbucks has so many different varieties and blends of beans, if they go to so much trouble to make them all taste the same.

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