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I've worked at Starbucks for a while because it's a really good job to have right now, and I'm actually transferring to a newer store in Astoria, NY which has the clover brewing machine. The coffee brewed through that machine is loving amazing so I'm excited as someone who thinks Starbucks basically does coffee all wrong (the roasts are bad, they deliberately overroast coffee to remove subtle variances in the beans they get from different farmers, the beans are shipped out of a warehouse and are weeks old by the time they get to the store, the espresso machines are rarely calibrated and deliver horrendous espresso, etc.). If you haven't had a clover cup at a Starbucks yet, you will be very surprised. Also to the above poster, Starbucks didn't introduce a darker roast, they just renamed bold to dark so they could advertise light/medium/dark more easily. Bold/dark roast has always been there. Anyway, a question... I want to be able to steam milk at my house so I can make ole's and tea lattes and whatnot. I don't think I'm ready to foray into espresso machines yet and if I were to get one it would be a really good one anyway. What I'm asking: is there JUST a machine available for milk steaming and frothing or would I have to buy a low-end espresso machine in order to have that option available to me? I can put milk in a pot and heat it up but I want to be able to foam it.
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Mar 22, 2012 19:05
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Wow that cappucino
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May 6, 2012 16:46
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I'm upset because I can't roast coffee anymore! I used to rent a house in CT with roommates and it was easy roasting territory in my kitchen. Nobody cared. Now I'm in a new apartment complex in Queens and there's no way it wouldn't set off the smoke detector/be a huge disturbance/make smoke rise throughout. So now I've lost a favorite habit of mine and I'm back to spending more money on buying really good wholebean coffee.
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Jul 17, 2012 17:19
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Is there a thread for something like "what are the best coffee spots in your neighborhood?" It would be a really interesting thread, I think, for people looking for where to get the best coffee where they live. I know we have Yelp and all that stuff, but it might be a worthwhile venture to give independent spots a little extra promotion. Anybody think it's a good idea?
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Oct 19, 2012 22:04
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rockcity posted:Might be worth it to discuss it in here and then add a section to the OP of recommended shops. We did the same thing in the tattoo thread and having the list is a good resource for people. It might be a really long list, which is why I'm thinking about making a thread. But yeah, let's see what other people think in here first.
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Oct 19, 2012 22:55
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Sometimes I feel like my palette is just strange. I'll admit it's under-developed and needs a lot of refining, but I just brewed a cup of Honduras from Gimme Coffee in Williamsburg. It's delicious, but it comes with a listed flavor profile. It says the aroma is "intense raspberry and blackberry." To me, I get a more subtle raspberry tartness and there is definitely something sweet in the aroma, like coconut or sweet fig. It's definitely there but the flavor profile, from the aroma down to the finish, pretty much just lists tartness. Sometimes I smell things that aren't listed and sometimes it's vice-versa, and sometimes I just have problems and think "I have no idea which flavors these are."
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Oct 30, 2012 17:05
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Try Jubala Village Coffee. Great Yelp profile. They roast Counter Culture beans.
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Nov 1, 2012 17:49
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Punzilupo posted:I've had more or less the same experience. I think darker beans tend to be more brittle, and maybe shatter a bit during the grinding. Even the noise the grinder makes is a little different. This is my experience as well, likely for the brittleness you've mentioned. Interestingly for me, I started out loving the tartness and acidity of African coffees and the mild nuttiness of certain Latin American beans. Now I feel like I've moved on to a more full, dark, syrupy texture. It's the first time I have noticed a change in preference -- I seem now to learn towards textured full-bodied dark roasts with hints of sweetness and nuts.
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Dec 1, 2012 19:51
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kim jong-illin posted:My Dad spilt the beans on my birthday present a week early. "You like coffee don't you? I bought a bag of this stuff from Jamaica, Blue Mountain or some other kind of hippy name". Can't wait! Hopefully it's real Jamaica Blue and not an imposter.
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Dec 4, 2012 22:01
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Is Lavazza coffee any good?
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Dec 4, 2012 22:12
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I just got hired for the second Birch Coffee location on 96th and Columbus. Pretty sweet. It's my first foray into a real coffee place.
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Dec 7, 2012 23:29
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JBM is very good but I just find that there's nothin unique about it to warrant its price. It's an exceedingly smooth cup and has a great finish, but if I'm shelling out that money for coffee I need something more flavorful, like an Ethiopia Beloya sequence.
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Dec 9, 2012 19:23
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Archer2338 posted:For any east-coast goons (I'm CT), any roaster recommendations? I don't really like the local roaster in my rather small town, but ordering from CA seems rather expensive and far, considering the time it usually takes for them to get here. Willoughby's, for the love of god. They have a store in New Haven and supply from Branford. Their serious selects are some of the best coffees available in the US. Literally the two best coffees I've ever had have been from Willoughby's.
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Dec 11, 2012 01:38
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Monsoon Malabar owns.
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Dec 12, 2012 18:11
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Pour-over is a pretty cheap and wonderful way to make coffee. As long as your beans are fresh and your grinder is good, you'll have flavorful black coffee.
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Dec 18, 2012 20:41
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rockcity posted:Maybe it's just me then, but I definitely taste a difference between my pourover, vac pot and french press. Less so between vac pot and pourover though. Maybe it's just the way my taste buds perceive the sediment in the french press. A lot of people, from my experience, simply need a certain coffee to ease the transition into drinking black. Like I remember I was putting milk and sugar in my coffee when I was 20 and then I tasted a Kenya AA from a roaster near me and it was delicious black. Then I realized I DO enjoy black coffee as long as it's a coffee I like. That's a big step. I recommend an Ethiopian or Kenyan roast, actually, because they're tart and really layered and flavorful without anything.
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Dec 18, 2012 20:51
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Dramatika posted:I just got a coffee roaster/ popcorn roaster for Christmas, along with two pounds of coffee from Sweet Maria's! It's a West Bend Poppery II. Having a batch of your own roasted coffee is so satisfying, and experimenting with blends is as well. Just a word of advice, roasted coffee peaks after 12-24 hours. It is better to roast, seal the beans, and enjoy the next day.
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Dec 25, 2012 23:07
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Just curious, what do people think of Brooklyn Roasting Company?
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May 6, 2013 02:23
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Sorry but I didn't see it in the OP... how much coffee for a 32oz French press in grams?
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Sep 22, 2013 17:53
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Do large goosenecks exist? In other words, goosenecks which can hold water for bulk brew?
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Nov 29, 2013 21:08
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Which grind do you guys use on a Baratza Encore for CCD? Having trouble getting the best cup and I've tried different grinds.
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May 1, 2014 23:17
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Bob_McBob posted:The numbers on any grinder's adjustment dial are just an index, and depend entirely on where the "zero" is set. The adjustment also varies over time as the burrs break in, especially when the grinder is new. Even with the same grinder model, you can never rely on one person's "15" being the same as another person's "15". Makes sense. I guess to re-word the question, how fine do you guys brew for CCD? I thought it was supposed to be a medium grind, somewhere in between a metal filter grind and a paper filter grind.
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May 2, 2014 20:46
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I was doing that too. My cups are never as good as they should be, and I've played around with grind. Not sure why, obviously it's all fresh coffee, I do the process right, I time 3:30 and then let it filter from there. Sometimes it can be good but I feel like it's not as bright/sweet/flavor-defined as it is when I have cups at work.
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May 2, 2014 21:39
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dik-dik posted:Also, how are you brewing at work? Well, we don't do single-brew method at work, but I've had plenty of pour-overs all around NYC and I can't get mine to taste quite that good. I can french press and it tastes great.
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May 2, 2014 22:49
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grahm posted:Are you using different water at home? It's filtered but that might be part of it.
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May 2, 2014 23:15
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So I am just about ready to go into V60 kingdom. I've done french press and CCD and I'm still not satisfied. All the best cups I've had have been from the V60 because I love the brightness and flavor clarity in the cups. I'm gonna get the whole rig next month, but quick question -- when I pour the water to immerse the beans, I've read a couple sites that say to pour water in the center of the beans and never on the filter, but when I see people make killer pour-overs for me in various coffee shops, they pour water around the filter. What is the best way to pour?
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Jan 25, 2015 21:50
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Alright everyone -- I need the cheapest place to get a V60 setup. I want the stand/scale/temp-reading gooseneck included. I've been putting things together on Amazon, but wondering if there's some cheap deal somewhere you guys know about that I do not?
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Jan 26, 2015 19:41
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Man, I finally have my V60 rig and I'm so glad. As someone who prefers brightness and flavor clarity in my cup, my CCD wasn't doing it enough for me. I'm drinking a Cup of Excellence Guatemala from Portland Roasting right now -- I think I accidentally poured an extra 10g of water and I'm still getting the pouring motion fluidity right, but it's delicious. I used Intelligentsia's recommendation of 26g coffee to a final weight of 415g in water. Quick question -- what's the best tool to stir with? I've been using spoons for a while but find that after using them, it picks up some grinds out of the filter. But I suppose that's inevitable? Am I better off using something like a stir stick?
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Jan 29, 2015 18:33
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rockcity posted:Why are you stirring in a V60? You really only need to stir in immersion brewing methods. Various videos I've seen online by premier roasters say to stir the bloom. If I don't need to stir, that's even better.
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Jan 29, 2015 20:53
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rockcity posted:Yeah, I've never stirred and I've never actually seen a video where they say to. Just slowly pour enough water to soak the top of the grounds and it will filter down through them and let that sit for 30 seconds. Then just continue on with your pourover. Awesome.
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Jan 29, 2015 21:48
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dik-dik posted:
Yeah. Intelligentsia's video says to "stir the bloom like a bandit."
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Jan 30, 2015 20:24
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I've seen at least three or four different folks recommending a stir during the bloom. If you google "v60 stir" you'll find plenty of examples.
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thebehaviorist posted:Please share your french press ratios. I have been trying 1:16 but it tastes weak to me. Does the 1:16 apply to french press? I know it doesn't matter as long as I like it so I should keep experimenting, but I NEED RULES. 55g for a 32-ounce press has worked great for me. 27g for a 16oz.
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Mar 3, 2015 19:20
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Easychair Bootson posted:First roasting session under my belt. I picked up a Poppery II from eBay and an 8# sampler from Sweet Maria's. I grabbed 80g of Ethiopia Agaro beans and went for it. The very first first crack was at the 2:45 mark, with a few more kicking off at about 3:10. I stirred with a wooden spoon every 30 seconds or so, but they were moving around pretty well on their own. First crack seemed to finish around 4:30. At about 5:20 I heard what I believe to be the very first second crack, so I dumped them into a colander and tossed to cool. I was going for something close to full city. The result is pictured below. Did I do okay? Yeah, this is a really really good job. Every 30 seconds or so is a good stirring technique -- you don't want to agitate the beans too much but you also want to make sure they all roast fairly evenly. Nicely done my friend!
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Mar 13, 2015 19:04
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JohnCompany posted:Re: latte art This is exactly how I feel. I think latte art is great to train people with because, as is mentioned above, it ensures proper milk texture and steaming, it's essentially "can you get the milk to pop." And latte art is something you can practice and get good at and it kinda motivates you to be a better barista.
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May 25, 2015 18:33
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Mu Zeta posted:That stumptown video? Yeah it's been on my mind every day. I loving hate stumptown. And of course they pimp Mast Bros. chocolate and it turns out that the company is a sham selling lovely chocolate to hipsters. Which Stumptown video?
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Dec 22, 2015 04:43
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Klades posted:So I have a maybe weird question. It's possible. Mess around with ratio - 26g of coffee and 400g of water in 1:45 has always worked well for me. But you might just like an earthier cup.
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Jan 2, 2016 01:56
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Goons: What is the best popcorn popper for roasting? I used to use a West Bend Poppery 1 years ago but those aren't sold anymore. Is the 2 good?
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Jun 9, 2016 18:07
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Home-roasting on a West Bend and I'm curious, after the roast, how long do you guys let the gases out before sealing? 12 hours?
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Jul 12, 2016 02:50
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I have a Baratza Encore refurb (going to upgrade to a Virtuoso soon, I think) and have been playing with v60 ratios and just have not gotten my cup to taste the way it would at a specialty shop yet. Here's what I'm doing. -Grinding at 14 on the Encore -21g of beans -360g of water -40-50g of bloom, wait 45 seconds, pour the rest, reaching 360g weight at 1:45 -Drips out completely between 3:00-3:10 Seems good? Also, re: grinder updating, I have the Encore refurb which I bought 5 or 6 years ago and I think the grind is starting to get inconsistent, and I've wanted a better grinder for a while anyhow.
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Apr 4, 2018 23:26
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 20:51 |
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rockcity posted:Something is off if it takes over a minute to drain. It's weird that your pour is under two minutes and it it is that long for the water to drain out. You might be pouring too fast and you're getting too much contact time with the grounds. Leave the grind where it's at for now and slow down your pour a bit. I usually aim for about 2:30 with the drain finishing around 3:00. Interesting - I looked online and some specialty coffee website recommended those specs and I thought it was oddly long for a v60. I'll slow down my pour and hit it at 2:30 and let you know what I think.
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Apr 5, 2018 01:40
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