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Devoyniche posted:I am interested in getting a grinder, but I pretty much only drink French Press. I see people recommend the Baraza Encore, or the Capresso Infinity as "starting" grinders that are still good - I don't really want to get a crappy grinder because I used to use the grinder the grocery store had but when I switched to buying straight from the roaster and having them grind it for me, the difference in the way it tasted when you made coffee was amazing. Their grind was a little bit finer, but more even and the cup had a much richer body and smoother taste, so I assume the grind is affecting that. But even buying from them, by the end of the bag, the coffee is a little bit stale, and I'm kind of interested in roasting my own beans which means I would need a grinder anyway. The main advantage to buying brand new is that you can have it in two days from Amazon, whereas on Baratza's refurb site, who knows how long you'll wait. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a refurb grinder from them. Ideally, theoretically, more steps is better, because it allows you to tune your grind. I have read some folks complain that one step on an Infinity was too fine for their brewing method, and the next one up was too coarse. Will this actually be a problem for you? Probably not, but it might depend on what your drip brewer is, what filter you use in it, etc. Google Butt asked the most important question. If you think you're gonna get more into coffee and might eventually start brewing more than two different ways, and if you can swing the extra cash, a refurb Baratza Virtuoso 586 (with the newer Preciso burrs) is a pretty solid option and will handle pretty much anything you would want to throw at it. It also performs better for coarser grinds than the Infinity or the Encore, and since the press pot is your primary method of brewing, that may make it worth the extra dollars for you.
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Mar 25, 2015 18:26
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Haggins posted:That sounds good to me. Spending $500 on a grinder makes my stomach turn but I can handle sub 200. That also means I can start experimenting with all the delicious coffee available in this city sooner. I got one of these a year ago, it's incredible. http://www.amazon.com/Bonavita-Vari...electric+kettle The Cuisinart is cool too( I got one for Christmas because my parents didn't know I already bought a Bonavita), especially if you are making coffee for guests or if you sometimes like to brew iced tea- the extra capacity is awesome. The control you get on your pour with the gooseneck is amazing though, and the digital temp adjustment as opposed to the presets really lets you tinker around and make the perfect cup. Honestly, you can't go wrong with either of them.
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Mar 25, 2015 20:12
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Devoyniche posted:I am interested in getting a grinder, but I pretty much only drink French Press. I see people recommend the Baraza Encore, or the Capresso Infinity as "starting" grinders that are still good - I don't really want to get a crappy grinder because I used to use the grinder the grocery store had but when I switched to buying straight from the roaster and having them grind it for me, the difference in the way it tasted when you made coffee was amazing. Their grind was a little bit finer, but more even and the cup had a much richer body and smoother taste, so I assume the grind is affecting that. But even buying from them, by the end of the bag, the coffee is a little bit stale, and I'm kind of interested in roasting my own beans which means I would need a grinder anyway. The Barazas also "feel" better built (though I'm not sure if that makes them more reliable. They're also basically completely rebuildable with spare parts they sell.
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Mar 26, 2015 07:00
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becoming posted:The other consideration is heat loss. If you're brewing two tasse cups of coffee, everything else being equal, coffee will be hotter/closer to optimal brewing temperature in a two-cup press than it will be in a twelve-cup press. This can be mitigated somewhat by getting a well-insulated press pot, but you will still lose heat to the extra air in the pot. Couldn't you mitigate this by pressing the plunger down to just above the water level while brewing? I've never thought to try that, not sure if it makes much difference either way.
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Mar 26, 2015 18:34
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HappyHippo posted:Couldn't you mitigate this by pressing the plunger down to just above the water level while brewing? I've never thought to try that, not sure if it makes much difference either way. Somewhat, sure. Heat is still gonna rise off of the coffee and through the plunger, though. I have both a Frieling press pot (insulated lid) and an Espro (non-insulated lid) and the difference in temperature of the brewed coffee is noticeable, all other things being equal. I would think that the plunger will do an ever poorer job than the Espro lid/plunger combination, but that's just an educated guess - I haven't gone and measured with a thermometer or anything. Perhaps that's the next test.
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Mar 26, 2015 18:51
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Since we are talking grinders...I have a Breville Smart Grinder. What would be a good step up from that? The coarsest setting is too fine for french press so looking to upgrade.
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Mar 26, 2015 18:54
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thebehaviorist posted:Since we are talking grinders...I have a Breville Smart Grinder. What would be a good step up from that? The coarsest setting is too fine for french press so looking to upgrade. Yeah that's the one real downfall of that grinder. After they shimmed it to grind finer for espresso, it's now a hair too fine for French press. I still use it for it, but I cut my brew time down to compensate. You're still left with a bit more sediment than normal, but I just make sure not to drink it.
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Mar 26, 2015 22:08
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whoa what's that mat? I have been unsuccessfully fighting the scourge of chaff since I got my Baratza
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Mar 27, 2015 04:00
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Laminator posted:whoa what's that mat? I have been unsuccessfully fighting the scourge of chaff since I got my Baratza dhrusis posted:Thats a Glock gun mat, basically a giant mousepad. http://www.amazon.com/Glock-AD00062-Bench-Mat/dp/B000U3YWEM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427164291&sr=8-1&keywords=glock+gun+mat
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Mar 27, 2015 14:38
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quote:Coffee consumption reduces the risk of liver cancer, but also that of multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. You know what to do boys and girls
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Mar 29, 2015 20:26
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Google Butt posted:
Does this count decaf? Or just real coffee? My father only drinks fake coffee these days and I'm wondering if I need to expect him to take up real coffee again.
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Mar 30, 2015 03:00
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I've started drinking sparkling water with my coffee at home (alternating between the two), and I've gotta say, it really improves the experience. Makes every sip taste like the first sip.
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Apr 2, 2015 16:58
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I just started making coffee with a Kalita Wave and on my second bag of beans I got an extraction much shorter than my last bag (around 2:30-2:45 vs about 3:30). If I like the way it tastes anyway am I doing anything 'wrong' with this?
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Apr 3, 2015 00:21
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inferis posted:If I like the way it tastes anyway am I doing anything 'wrong'? Nope. Rule #1 is: if you like the way it tastes, you're doing it right.
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Apr 3, 2015 00:32
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So long as you're enjoying it, the only wrong way to drink coffee is with a Keurig 
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Apr 3, 2015 00:47
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dik-dik posted:I've started drinking sparkling water with my coffee at home (alternating between the two), and I've gotta say, it really improves the experience. Makes every sip taste like the first sip. My local roaster makes cold brew coffee with sparkling water. It's like coffee soda. If you're in to that.
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Apr 3, 2015 03:53
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dik-dik posted:Nope. Rule #1 is: if you like the way it tastes, you're doing it right. My preferred local shop (Prufrock) got some Rwandan beans in recently from Drop Coffee in Stockholm and they tasted utterly amazing through multiple different pour-over methods - incredibly light and floral with really refreshing acidity. I ended up going to Stockholm for a weekend break a short while afterwards and dropped into their cafe and got hugely disappointed when I got some pour-over from there. Swedes like their pour-over strong and concentrated, way different to the lighter, more fragrant way pour-over tends to go in London. Everyone has their own ideal taste of coffee, whether that's strong/concentrated/bitter or light/fragrant/floral; so long as you make coffee that satisfies you then that's all that matters.
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Apr 3, 2015 12:42
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kim jong-illin posted:My preferred local shop (Prufrock) got some Rwandan beans in recently from Drop Coffee in Stockholm and they tasted utterly amazing through multiple different pour-over methods - incredibly light and floral with really refreshing acidity. I ended up going to Stockholm for a weekend break a short while afterwards and dropped into their cafe and got hugely disappointed when I got some pour-over from there. Swedes like their pour-over strong and concentrated, way different to the lighter, more fragrant way pour-over tends to go in London. Try a coffee from one of the Department of Coffee and Social affairs shops scattered around the city, they've roasted some of my favourite coffees
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Apr 3, 2015 13:38
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kim jong-illin posted:
I'd add an addendum to that of "as long as they buy coffee at prices that keep farmers producing coffee"
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Apr 3, 2015 14:55
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Eugh I haven't even made pourover in months but now I really want to make this, or something similar (maybe a stand for my already existing pourover brewers):
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Apr 3, 2015 20:11
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That's actually pretty rad and now I want to make something like that to hold my V60.
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Apr 4, 2015 01:04
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Any pourover stand that doesn't fit on my scale is of no interest to me.
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Apr 4, 2015 01:35
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What's wrong with putting the filter funnel on top of the cup? Does a six-inch drop help somehow?
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Apr 4, 2015 02:09
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withak posted:What's wrong with putting the filter funnel on top of the cup? Does a six-inch drop help somehow? That particular one just uses a glass funnel and not an actual pourover cone. Some people also like wider cups than the rim on the cone. More than anything I just think it looks cool.
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Apr 4, 2015 02:25
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rockcity posted:That particular one just uses a glass funnel and not an actual pourover cone. Some people also like wider cups than the rim on the cone. More than anything I just think it looks cool. I think it looks cool but would splash coffee on my bench top
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Apr 4, 2015 02:44
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withak posted:What's wrong with putting the filter funnel on top of the cup? Does a six-inch drop help somehow? They serve no purpose unless you're making a lot of drinks one after the other. Makes sense in a coffee shop.
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Apr 4, 2015 02:54
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rockcity posted:That particular one just uses a glass funnel and not an actual pourover cone. Some people also like wider cups than the rim on the cone. More than anything I just think it looks cool. Ya, I do too. I'm going to make one. Then I'm going to make a cup of coffee without using a scale from beans I roasted by ear.
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Apr 4, 2015 04:40
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Our Cuisinart coffee maker has finally bit the dust after 4-5 years of daily service, and we're looking to upgrade to something a little nicer. We no longer need the automatic start timer, so I've been looking at the recommended Moccamaster. Is there any particular model that has an advantage over the others? Aside from the thermal carafe they all seem fairly similar.
Zhent fucked around with this message at 19:20 on Apr 4, 2015 |
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Apr 4, 2015 15:25
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I've been struck recently how even dirt-cheap coffee beans in a Mr. Coffee makes pretty good coffee when you use a burr grinder. Bring a burr grinder to work, live better.Devoyniche posted:I am interested in getting a grinder, but I pretty much only drink French Press. I see people recommend the Baraza Encore, or the Capresso Infinity as "starting" grinders that are still good - I don't really want to get a crappy grinder because I used to use the grinder the grocery store had but when I switched to buying straight from the roaster and having them grind it for me, the difference in the way it tasted when you made coffee was amazing. Their grind was a little bit finer, but more even and the cup had a much richer body and smoother taste, so I assume the grind is affecting that. But even buying from them, by the end of the bag, the coffee is a little bit stale, and I'm kind of interested in roasting my own beans which means I would need a grinder anyway.
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Apr 5, 2015 14:25
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Anyone in the thread have experience with Porlex hand grinders? I'm wondering if they can handle a French Press grind any better than a Hario.
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Apr 5, 2015 14:48
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Zhent posted:Our Cuisinart coffee maker has finally bit the dust after 4-5 years of daily service, and we're looking to upgrade to something a little nicer. We no longer need the automatic start timer, so I've been looking at the recommended Moccamaster. Is there any particular model that has an advantage over the others? Aside from the thermal carafe they all seem fairly similar. I've got a Moccamaster and it's awesome, but you owe it to yourself to check out the Bonavita BV1900TS. The showerhead on it is apparently a fair bit better at evenly wetting the grounds than the Moccamaster. It's also about $120 less than the Technivorm. As far as actually answering your question, I'd get thermal carafe over burner, but other than that, I think the differences are cosmetic.
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Apr 5, 2015 16:57
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Dr Cheeto posted:Anyone in the thread have experience with Porlex hand grinders? I'm wondering if they can handle a French Press grind any better than a Hario. I have the Porlex mini and after you get past 8 clicks they become really inconsistent. 8 is what i use for the Hario V60. I'm pretty sure it's exactly the same parts as the Hario mini mill. Mu Zeta fucked around with this message at 19:41 on Apr 5, 2015 |
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Apr 5, 2015 19:36
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Bob_McBob posted:Any pourover stand that doesn't fit on my scale is of no interest to me. It would take a bit of measuring to make sure it fits on your scale but you could do one that fits with the legs. Hario has one. For my stand I weigh the coffee in the cone prior and then pour into the hario glass thingy. Its volume based so when you get to the 500 line..stop.  Bronze pipe is expensive as poo poo so I just used some some cheap plywood, screws and bolts. There's a black steel pipe that cafe imports (a green coffee importer) made too. http://www.cafeimports.com/test/2010/03/cafe_imports_pour_over_station_1.php Steel pipe is cool but I've had a hard time with them. They're a bit too sturdy. 
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Apr 6, 2015 15:20
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Oh coffee thread, I come to thee in need of assistance, for I cannot make good coffee to save my life. No matter what I seem to do, my coffee has this really strong bitterness that overwhelms all other aspects of flavor. The bitterness is most pronounced in the first sip, and is harder to taste in subsequent sips, but my overall coffee experience still seems unpleasant and not that great. I feel like I'm doing everything right, so I'm just not understanding why my coffee seems bad. I have a Baratza Encore, model 1EP1SP burr grinder. I have a Bonavita BV1800SS drip brewer. I measure everything using a digital kitchen scale -- grams for beans, mL for water. I have tried ranging from 1:15 to 1:17 ratio, with little impact on the bitterness. The rest of the flavor changes, though, so I can tell it's different. I grind the beans immediately before using them. My Baratza has settings 1-40, so I started with 20. Since I thought bitterness meant my grind was too fine, I've been trending coarser and have gone up to 23-25. It's less bitter, but now my coffee is weak, too. I just recently read that I should actually be around 13-15 for automatic drip. I tried it once and the rest of the cup was more developed, but still bitter. I use fresh water from the tap, and Des Moines Water Works has pretty good tap water. I've tried all kinds of beans: ranging from macro roasters like Trader Joe's and Dunkin' Donuts all the way down to regional roasters like Kansas City's The Roasterie, and even beans from a local roaster in downtown Des Moines. Oh, and I got some from the Blue Bottle Internet subscription service. I rinse the paper filter before brewing. I've checked the temperature coming off the shower-head in the Bonavita and it's hitting 198.5 degrees, so that should be right in the ballpark. I'm just stumped. The only thing I can think of is that my burr grinder must just have some nasty residue on it and I need to get some of those cleaning beans for it. I've taken it apart and cleaned it, of course, but haven't run any of those cleaning things through it. I think they're called "Grindz"? (Ugh, awful name.) I ordered some from Amazon. Are those actually useful or are they more of a placebo effect? What else am I missing? What should I be trying?
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Apr 7, 2015 13:21
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OK.
Squashy Nipples fucked around with this message at 21:52 on Apr 9, 2015 |
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Apr 7, 2015 13:36
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BigBadBrewsta posted:
Man, I'm sorry you're having such a bummer of a time with that. Must be frustrating as hell. To me bitterness is always from the roasting. Or some crazy sour ethiopian. From my experiences the majority of roasters roast dark and even blue bottle has some roasty coffees. You seem to really understand the brewing aspect so I don't think its there so it makes me think again it's the coffee and roast level. Maybe give someone who really works in the light spectrum a shot? Onyx has a sample box for $25. http://www.onyxcoffeelab.com/coffee/yuhi0sztqng4qnid5237wxy8e7ohnv Madcap or Four Barrel too. 4b is a favorite of mine. https://secure.fourbarrelcoffee.com/coffee/africa/ https://madcapcoffee.com/buy/coffee/kanzu
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Apr 7, 2015 14:29
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BigBadBrewsta posted:Oh coffee thread, I come to thee in need of assistance, for I cannot make good coffee to save my life. I'd try a brew method where grind size does not affect steep time. A french press or the Clever dripper are my two favorites, and I'd recommend the Clever in this instance. Do your normal grind, but adjust steep times, and keep notes. What does it taste like at 2:30 steeping? What about 3:00? 3:30? Once you are consistently making good coffee this way, then we start playing with grind size to get the proper extraction in your Bonavita.
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Apr 7, 2015 15:02
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Dr Cheeto posted:Anyone in the thread have experience with Porlex hand grinders? I'm wondering if they can handle a French Press grind any better than a Hario. The floaty burr Porlex I rigged to create a fixed gap in between the burrs by placing a thick rubber band around the burr ring and shoving it into the body, so it is immobile. Also, I wrapped some rubber bands inside the burr cone to limit the amount of play it has when its crushing beans. The setup isn't as good as a decent burr grinder probably, but it is much better than the floaty burr action I see from the Hario and the pre-MacGuyvered Porlex. And it'll cost you two rubber bands. So go eat some broccoli/asparagus.
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Apr 7, 2015 23:38
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I may know the answer to this already, but: The last few of my roasts have been weird. Not cracking, no chaff, but the beans are browning and seem to be expanding. Taste-wise it's off, too. They taste... organic, if that makes sense. Not coffee organic. I do heat gun/dog bowl, and haven't changed technique or anything, and I've even asked Sweet Maria's if they've had any complaints about the beans, and after hearing my story they suggest I'm under roasting. I don't taste anything grassy, but I'm thinking maybe the heat gun is toast, even though it seems like it's blowing hot as hell (and readily killed a wasp yesterday). Any advice from HG/DB bros?
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Apr 8, 2015 01:32
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Nostratic posted:I may know the answer to this already, but: My prime suspect would probably be the heat gun. How old is it? Maybe grab a new one from Home Depot and see if that fixes it? If not, their return policy is super generous (in my experience) so if you just used it for a roast or two you could probably return it no problem.
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Apr 8, 2015 03:48
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