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Alright, goons. The girlfriend keeps hinting towards wanting another Keurig style machine. I said no, but I'll look into a decent drip brewer (I only have a french press right now and she wants something she can use easily). What's a decent one these days for under $75ish? Don't need anything crazy -- a 4-5 cup carafe would be perfect. The only pod style setup I was entertaining was a Verismo, but they don't seem to have very good reviews. emotive fucked around with this message at 16:06 on Jan 9, 2017 |
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Jan 9, 2017 15:04
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This is a perfectly reasonable machine for your price range.
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Jan 9, 2017 15:42
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I ordered some beans from a new place, and they say to wait for at least a week before using the beans for best results. Is this generally good advice to follow? Up till now I've just assumed "the sooner the fresher" so I've been using beans straight after roasting.
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Jan 10, 2017 12:12
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How long should it take a Vietnamese coffee dripper to finish, uh, dripping? It seems to take an awfully long time after I fill it (in excess of 5 minutes at least). Is that normal, or do I have the coffee packed in too much (or too much coffee)? I'm using canned preground Vietnamese coffee. Right now, I'm using a rounded tablespoon of coffee. I realize this isn't "good" coffee but it's tasty and gives me a nice caffeine buzz.
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Jan 10, 2017 14:01
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Frankston posted:I ordered some beans from a new place, and they say to wait for at least a week before using the beans for best results. Is this generally good advice to follow? Up till now I've just assumed "the sooner the fresher" so I've been using beans straight after roasting. Some beans are better after a week, but not all of them. I roast at night and use them the next day. Generally you want to wait at least four hours for the coffee too off gas.
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Jan 10, 2017 14:47
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:How long should it take a Vietnamese coffee dripper to finish, uh, dripping? It seems to take an awfully long time after I fill it (in excess of 5 minutes at least). Is that normal, or do I have the coffee packed in too much (or too much coffee)? I'm using canned preground Vietnamese coffee. Right now, I'm using a rounded tablespoon of coffee. I've been experimenting with this recently after a trip to Hanoi last August. It should take a little while, but it sounds like you might have the tamper screwed down too tight. I haven't been taking really close times on my filtrations, but I'm trying to target 4 minutes-ish (again, I'm not clear on where I am at in relation to this). I do start with about 8g of coffee, to about 150ml of water. I'm also using pretty awful coffee for it (well meaning Christmas present...). But in my (limited) experience, you want the tamper screwed down tight, but not extremely tight, not that the drippers give any guide on this.
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Jan 10, 2017 16:23
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foxxtrot posted:I've been experimenting with this recently after a trip to Hanoi last August. Mine is gravity press (ie no screw) so I just kind of tamp it down a bit by hand. I did find after I posted that it brews a lot more quickly if I don't bloom the grounds first. I had been wetting them and giving them 20-30 seconds before I poured the rest of the water in. By not doing this, it seemed to brew faster (just shy of 5 minutes) and the cup tasted a lot cleaner (not sure how else to describe it, but it had been a pretty muddy flavor). I think that when I bloomed them, I was also then pressing it back down before pouring in the water, and that was contributing to a too-packed basket.
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Jan 10, 2017 16:38
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:Mine is gravity press (ie no screw) so I just kind of tamp it down a bit by hand. I did find after I posted that it brews a lot more quickly if I don't bloom the grounds first. I had been wetting them and giving them 20-30 seconds before I poured the rest of the water in. By not doing this, it seemed to brew faster (just shy of 5 minutes) and the cup tasted a lot cleaner (not sure how else to describe it, but it had been a pretty muddy flavor). I think that when I bloomed them, I was also then pressing it back down before pouring in the water, and that was contributing to a too-packed basket. You should still bloom, but I wouldn't repack after the bloom. The bloom will slow down your filtration time, but will also ensure a more complete extraction. Bear in mind that most Vietnamese Coffee is served with something really sweet, like sweetened condensed milk, so that thicker 'muddier' flavor is generally masked by that, and it's not uncommon to get some 'grit' in your cup. Personally, I'm trying to work out a base brewing method so I can make some Egg Coffee, because that poo poo is delicious. Most Southeast Asian brewing methods tend to result in a 'thicker' coffee than what's currently in vogue in the US (Singaporean Kopi is very different from Vietnamese Coffee, but shared this characteristic). They tend to favor darker roasts than I usually buy for, say, my Clever Dripper, and are fairly hard to find discussion about, at least in English.
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Jan 10, 2017 17:42
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foxxtrot posted:You should still bloom, but I wouldn't repack after the bloom. The bloom will slow down your filtration time, but will also ensure a more complete extraction. Bear in mind that most Vietnamese Coffee is served with something really sweet, like sweetened condensed milk, so that thicker 'muddier' flavor is generally masked by that, and it's not uncommon to get some 'grit' in your cup. Personally, I'm trying to work out a base brewing method so I can make some Egg Coffee, because that poo poo is delicious. Yeah I'm brewing into a cup with sweetened condensed milk, then stirring and decanting that into an ice filled cup. I guess I just need to play around with how much I tamp it and make sure I don't retamp after blooming. This is the coffee that I'm using. Should I stick with this for authentic flavor, or is there a fresher whole bean coffee that I should try using in its place? https://smile.amazon.com/Trung-Nguyen-Vietnamese-coffee-can/dp/B000F17AKC/
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Jan 10, 2017 17:45
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:This is the coffee that I'm using. Should I stick with this for authentic flavor, or is there a fresher whole bean coffee that I should try using in its place? I'd use a whole bean coffee (Amazon has several whole-bean Vietnamese imports). Whole bean isn't going to solve all freshness problems, but it will solve some. The guideline oft touted in this thread is that coffee is fresh for ~15 days after roasting, and ~15 minutes after grinding. I've actually seen some people suggest Cafe Du Monde's pre-ground as a domestic alternative to importing roasted coffee from Vietnam, but I don't think Cafe Du Monde sells their coffee in whole-bean form, it's just considered to have a similar character. It has chicory mixed in though, so you'll either love or hate that. I'm currently using an awful blend I got for Christmas from a well-meaning but clueless parent, because I can't just toss it since I have it now, but it's way over roasted. I haven't done a lot of looking yet for Vietnamese-style blends roasted domestically though, so once I'm through this garbage, it's entirely likely I'll buy some Trung Nguyen.
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Jan 10, 2017 18:29
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foxxtrot posted:I'd use a whole bean coffee (Amazon has several whole-bean Vietnamese imports). Whole bean isn't going to solve all freshness problems, but it will solve some. The guideline oft touted in this thread is that coffee is fresh for ~15 days after roasting, and ~15 minutes after grinding. I've actually seen some people suggest Cafe Du Monde's pre-ground as a domestic alternative to importing roasted coffee from Vietnam, but I don't think Cafe Du Monde sells their coffee in whole-bean form, it's just considered to have a similar character. It has chicory mixed in though, so you'll either love or hate that. I will say the Trung Nguyen makes coffee that tastes just like what I get at my favorite pho place, so I'm happy. I wasn't so much looking to improve upon it as I am to replicate it, and it seems like I'm pretty much there. Given all the sugar, and the strength at which this style of coffee is brewed, it seems like any nuance to the bean would be lost. I just have to see if the flavor of the Trung Nguyen is still good enough when I get to the bottom of the can as it was when I opened it. What temp do you brew at? The instructions that came with mine said 200f +, so I've been pulling my kettle at 200.
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Jan 10, 2017 18:44
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:What temp do you brew at? The instructions that came with mine said 200f +, so I've been pulling my kettle at 200. I set my kettle to 98C (about 208F). I don't know that I'd go much lower than that personally, especially since the low-volume of water is going to bleed heat faster than a larger volume would, but that's just what I typically brew all coffee at. It's my 'just off the boil' setting.
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Jan 10, 2017 18:51
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:I will say the Trung Nguyen makes coffee that tastes just like what I get at my favorite pho place, so I'm happy. I wasn't so much looking to improve upon it as I am to replicate it, and it seems like I'm pretty much there. Given all the sugar, and the strength at which this style of coffee is brewed, it seems like any nuance to the bean would be lost. I just have to see if the flavor of the Trung Nguyen is still good enough when I get to the bottom of the can as it was when I opened it. I do this frequently for nostalgic reasons too. The restaurants that I'm trying to replicate use the Trung Nguyen brand, so that's where I settled. That sugary coffee poured over ice is just great and not over ice isn't half bad either (it's all the sugar). I actually keep mine in the freezer in an airtight container (I know, sacrilege for most coffee, but here it works), and the end of the bag tastes the same as the beginning. The instructions that came with my gravity press instructed to put in the coffee, I end up about just shy of a tablespoon because it's not nuanced enough for me to be arsed to pull out a scale. Damp it down, bloom, and then loosen the tamper before adding the rest of the water. I use water not long off the boil, so it's probably about 207ish. Mine has a screw down tamper and I forgot to unscrew once to terribly long results. They also recommend not tamping them down too tightly, so that might be where your longer steep is coming from. FWIW, I've bought it from these guys, and they ship quickly and it's probably less expensive than Amazon if you're buying a few things at a time. Shipping is about $7, so you'll have to figure out where it's cheaper for you. https://importfood.com/products/assorted-thai-grocery/item/vietnamese-coffee?category_id=7
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Jan 10, 2017 19:13
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I've noticed since I've started buying beans from roasters that for the first couple of days after opening a new pack, the coffee I make comes out great and I can really smell and taste the different notes and enjoy the hell out of it. After about 3 days though and no matter what beans they are they all seem to develop this generic smell and taste which is really disappointing. What prompted me to make this post are the latest beans I bought, honestly for the first two days the coffee I was making was probably the best I've had yet but before I made it halfway through the pack they seemed to lose those awesome nuances that made me enjoy so much. Are coffee beans really that volatile that they'll change for the worse after such a short time? My brewing methods are quite consistent so I don't think it's anything to do with that. Is it a storage issue? I've been storing beans in in their original packets in an airtight tupperware box in the cupboard (not next to the oven or fridge so no heat fluctuations) which I thought would be sufficient but a bit of googling says that even airtight tupperware is only good for 72 hours or so. How do you guys store your beans?
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Jan 16, 2017 01:04
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Frankston posted:I've noticed since I've started buying beans from roasters that for the first couple of days after opening a new pack, the coffee I make comes out great and I can really smell and taste the different notes and enjoy the hell out of it. After about 3 days though and no matter what beans they are they all seem to develop this generic smell and taste which is really disappointing. What prompted me to make this post are the latest beans I bought, honestly for the first two days the coffee I was making was probably the best I've had yet but before I made it halfway through the pack they seemed to lose those awesome nuances that made me enjoy so much. I use a green mason jar that came with a batch of beans I bought from a local roaster. I keep it on the counter, but in a spot where it doesn't get any light. I've gotten to the point where I notice a pretty big drop off after about a week (or so), I make it a point to buy beans the day after they were roasted. That seems to work for me. How many days past the roast date do you usually buy?
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Jan 16, 2017 04:04
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qutius posted:I use a green mason jar that came with a batch of beans I bought from a local roaster. I keep it on the counter, but in a spot where it doesn't get any light. I've gotten to the point where I notice a pretty big drop off after about a week (or so), I make it a point to buy beans the day after they were roasted. That seems to work for me. I order mine online and usually pay for first class postage so they typically arrive the day after roasting.
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Jan 16, 2017 11:06
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Frankston posted:How do you guys store your beans? Airscape container. There's an inner lid you push downward in order to force air out of the container. It might be a placebo effect but I notice a difference in how long my coffee lasts.
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Jan 16, 2017 12:24
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Frankston posted:I've noticed since I've started buying beans from roasters that for the first couple of days after opening a new pack, the coffee I make comes out great and I can really smell and taste the different notes and enjoy the hell out of it. After about 3 days though and no matter what beans they are they all seem to develop this generic smell and taste which is really disappointing. What prompted me to make this post are the latest beans I bought, honestly for the first two days the coffee I was making was probably the best I've had yet but before I made it halfway through the pack they seemed to lose those awesome nuances that made me enjoy so much. It's an odd phenomenon and I suspect has something to do with the freshness of the green coffee(moisture)combined with the roasting style. I've bought from roasters where I've experienced the same thing - great for like three days off roast and then a massive nosedive. On the other hand, the prevailing wisdom among roasters with a very light roast profile is to wait at least a week for the coffee to "degas" before brewing. I've experienced a definite carbonic acid type flavor, like stale soda water, from brewing certain coffee too early and it's *very* noticeable in espresso. The same coffee though is good for at least 3 weeks after the first week of degassing. I recently drank some coffee that was in cold storage for 3 years and it tasted fresh, so freezing beans to prevent spoilage seems to be an option if done correctly. Some info on that: https://strivefortone.com/2017/01/03/freeze-beans-not-peas/
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Jan 16, 2017 14:00
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Freshness of the green beans before roasting is huge. If your roaster doesn't share learn when different regions harvest arrives in your country and try to stick with more recent harvests. Of course more than a few "specialty" roasters buy cheaper old beans from previous crops. Although even this varies from bean to bean. There's coffee out there that tastes better roasted right after harvest then stored for months before brewing and coffee that the green beans just don't seem to ever age out and every roast comes out pretty much the same. It's hard to say.
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Jan 16, 2017 15:04
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Ever have one of those days when you're sicker than hell, and while staggering through making coffee in the morning you pour the water in the grinder and almost put beans in the kettle? Yeah. 
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Jan 16, 2017 16:43
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foxxtrot posted:It should take a little while, but it sounds like you might have the tamper screwed down too tight. Late to the party, but I've been told by multiple Vietnamese and Cambodian people that the screw thread's just there to gently caress with you and screwing it down any is screwing it down too tight. Having actually weighed out Trung Nguyen grounds like a nerd, I'd tend to agree: if you're using the prescribed 20g of coffee for a standard-sized phin, you're going to be level with or slightly above the screw on most designs (convenient!) and probably not going to be screwing anything down even if you wanted to. Scoop, tamp without screwing, wet pour, brew pour, done. Brews on exactly the timeline the bag/can suggests, and tastes like Vietnamese coffee. My initial filter came with some ridiculously convoluted instructions about how many times to unscrew and screw it, and I experimented with varying amounts of screwing and unscrewing (and various filters) for months, but nothing's ever brewed better Viet coffee than just pretending the drat things don't have a screw.
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Jan 16, 2017 18:08
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a mysterious cloak posted:Ever have one of those days when you're sicker than hell, and while staggering through making coffee in the morning you pour the water in the grinder and almost put beans in the kettle? Last week I had a fever and poured grounds and water in the wrong end of the Aeropress
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Jan 16, 2017 18:16
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RichterIX posted:Last week I had a fever and poured grounds and water in the wrong end of the Aeropress I added grounds and water to my Aeropress this morning, but never put a filter in. I didn't even notice until I overflowed the mug. I need coffee to get my poo poo together enough to make coffee, apparently.
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Jan 16, 2017 22:03
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Suddenly a compelling argument for a super-automatic
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Jan 16, 2017 22:58
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Last Sunday I pulled my first shot of the morning, made the cortado, then turned around and walked to the fridge and almost put ice in a now-full 4oz demi because I was suddenly going through the "hey I need some ice water" motion. Pre-coffee coffee making is dangerous business.
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Jan 18, 2017 18:02
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That's why I pull & drink 4 double shots to """dial in""" the machine every morning before actually making my pre-work coffee. That's a normal and healthy amount of coffee, right?
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Jan 18, 2017 21:07
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Tomie knows me posted:That's why I pull & drink 4 double shots to """dial in""" the machine every morning before actually making my pre-work coffee. As long as you're not having chest pain... Related note: when I worked nights, I drank a ton of lovely coffee regularly enough that I started having severe palpitations and almost passed out a few times. My buddies in the ER were super supportive and caring while they checked me out They laughed their asses off and ragged on me about it for months afterward
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Jan 18, 2017 22:38
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From recent readings, the definition of a "healthy amount of coffee" is "whatever floats your boat". However, after I consumed enough caffeine per day in highschool to eat a hole in my stomach and put me in the ER... cold turkey for 2 years and then a more pragmatic approach put me at one double as cortado, two if I'm feeling saucy. Mileage, variances, et al...
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Jan 18, 2017 22:41
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As a nominally-functional adult I find myself fully capable of waking up and performing basic tasks without any chemical assistance. Perhaps you should address your apparently debilitating addictions? ...But seriously just keep some cold brew in the fridge and avoid the mess of forgetting how to brew.
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Jan 18, 2017 22:48
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By now pulling a shot is so ingrained in my morning ritual that I could probably do it while hungover on less than 6 hours sleep. I did, however, get a V60 for Christmas and once tried making pour over while hungover on less than 6 hours sleep. I thankfully managed to remember that this isn't a French press and took the coffee grounds out of the carafe and into the filter before I started pouring. 
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Jan 18, 2017 22:55
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My worst coffee mishap was forgetting to lock the filter cap onto the Aeropress (and I do it inverted) so when I turned that bad boy upside down hot water and grinds went flying all over the kitchen and me.
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Jan 19, 2017 00:00
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Frankston posted:My worst coffee mishap was forgetting to lock the filter cap onto the Aeropress (and I do it inverted) so when I turned that bad boy upside down hot water and grinds went flying all over the kitchen and me. This is similar to why I stopped doing inverted aeropress. Twice I had flipped it over only to have the plunger come out of the device and spill near boiling water all over my counter.
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Jan 19, 2017 07:42
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Molten Llama posted:Late to the party, but I've been told by multiple Vietnamese and Cambodian people that the screw thread's just there to gently caress with you and screwing it down any is screwing it down too tight. Good to know. I've been trying to follow the ridiculously convoluted directions and screwing up regularly. Seemed a bit much for over-roasted months-old bagged preground, but
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Jan 19, 2017 09:22
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I've tossed out grounds after grinding them more than once.
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Jan 26, 2017 10:40
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I watched their drat site like a hawk the last 8 months, but no Sidama Deri Kochoha from Sweet Marias. I fear they've lost supply channel with the farmer since I see a whole bunch of other roasters on google have the stuff ready to ship. Bleh. Ah well, 15 lbs of green on the way to the house, two Ethiopians and a Kenyan. The Mrs. also ordered two pounds from Victrola last night as a treat. I should have Streamline Espresso in my hands in a couple days. In Behmor-related news: Any of you guys roast manual on the plus? I've been doing it for two weeks now and I fear that the improvement in roast outweighs the sheer convenience of the programs.
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Jan 26, 2017 17:03
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Alleric posted:In Behmor-related news: Any of you guys roast manual on the plus? I've been doing it for two weeks now and I fear that the improvement in roast outweighs the sheer convenience of the programs. I'm roasting a blend - 40% South American (usuually Columbian), 30% each of African and Central American, with a handful or less of Monsooned Malabar. Thats my generic espresso blend and pretty much all I drink at home.
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Jan 26, 2017 22:20
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Is there a latest version of the faq for the heat gun dog bowl roasting method. I'm tired of showing up at the store and maybe they have fresh beans or maybe not
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Jan 26, 2017 22:46
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porktree posted:I'm about half and half, I put it on profile one until the failsafe, then switch to P5 for 2 minutes, then back to auto. I'm rural, and have some power issues, in that I will always need to roast longer than allowed. I finish the roast as the 2nd crack starts, I'm hitting about 400/280 on the two temp monitors. I've noticed on some beans I get a toooooon of carryover into the cooling cycle. On the beans I'm roasting now I kick off whatever profile, then immediately go max burner until first crack starts (15 mins in on this bean). I then drop it down to 60% on the burner through first crack. 15 seconds after first crack is done, I hit the cooling cycle and crack the door. It's worked wonders on this current bean. mulls posted:Is there a latest version of the faq for the heat gun dog bowl roasting method. I'm tired of showing up at the store and maybe they have fresh beans or maybe not What do you need to know? I ran with the gun for a couple of years. My equation was pretty much 4 quart steel bowl + wooden spatula + https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004TUCV/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 + a pound of green coffee = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1woJAtCWmrc Bonus cooling option is a cheap fan and a colander. Pro tips: don't use an extension cord try to find a circuit in your house that has nothing else pulling power when you roast throw the gun on max heat adjust distance of gun from bean to slow or speed roast (I like to slow it down a bit during first crack)
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Jan 27, 2017 16:23
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Alleric posted:In Behmor-related news: Any of you guys roast manual on the plus? I've been doing it for two weeks now and I fear that the improvement in roast outweighs the sheer convenience of the programs. What's your general protocol look like when roasting manually? I haven't yet figured out one that I like.
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Jan 27, 2017 22:50
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Alleric posted:I watched their drat site like a hawk the last 8 months, but no Sidama Deri Kochoha from Sweet Marias. I fear they've lost supply channel with the farmer since I see a whole bunch of other roasters on google have the stuff ready to ship. Bleh. I roasted manual a few times, but I've gone to just using the programs now. Monitoring the wall temp to make sure I didn't cause any overheating was tedious, especially because the display is hard to read in daylight outside.
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Jan 27, 2017 23:40
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