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Does anybody have any tips on using or taking care of a manual grinder? My parents have a second one around the house (my mom uses the first one as a pepper grinder), so I may use the second one for myself whenever I want coffee (I drink mostly tea, so it isn't something I'll be drinking all that often). I found a place in town that serves decent coffee, and I ended up buying a small sampler bag of their bold blend.
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Dec 19, 2011 03:23
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Bob_McBob posted:Uh... don't break it? There isn't really anything special you need to do with a hand grinder other than not grinding other crap in it. If it has nasty old coffee stuck to the burrs, you could try grinding some minute rice to clean it. No, it's pretty clean. It's certainly in better condition than the pepper grinder.
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Dec 19, 2011 05:29
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I really have to thank you guys. I finally bought my first pound of coffee beans (Ethiopian, in case you're curious) from a local coffee shop and roaster, and I really enjoyed myself. It used to be that I could only enjoy coffee if I put a shot of flavouring (or some other sweetener) in with some cream; now my response whenever a barista asks me if I want "room for cream," my answer is invariably, "Nope. Fill that son-of-a-bitch up." I still usually order Americanos when I'm out somewhere else (lack of employment prohibits me from owning an espresso machine), but it's nice to know that regular-brewed coffee can actually be good. Especially since the national drink in this country seems to be a double-double from Tim Horton's. I'm using a hand-grinder I found at home and a French press I initially bought for tea, and I'm getting drat good coffee. The next step is to figure out which coffee I like the most, then learn how to roast it myself, and then buy a lot of those unroasted beans.
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Jan 30, 2012 00:45
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I'm looking for a new, smaller French press since my current one does 24oz, isn't as reliable at staying straight (I bought a cheap $10 one to use for tea), and I want one not only dedicated for coffee, but also one that doesn't force me to grind as much coffee for just one person. I noticed that the local coffee roaster sells the Bodum Brazil for $17 (link says $20 plus shipping), and I was wondering if I could get some feedback on it. Most other stores I've been to (minus surplus/overstock which is where I bought my first one) have similar presses for a lot more money. The price really isn't a concern since my rationalization for it is that if I can make less coffee, I'll extend the life of the beans I buy; I'm just looking for something that when I press down on the plunger, it goes down straight (my current one wobbles and I have to carefully watch to make sure no grounds are shooting past it on the sides).
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Mar 14, 2012 02:45
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Gravity Pike posted:I've got one. (Actually, this model.) It works fine. The filter is tight enough that there aren't really any issues with the grounds getting into the wrong half of the chamber. It's not the be-all-end-all coffee experience, but a presspot isn't exactly rocket science, and there's no reason that it really needs to be any fancier. Thanks, that's exactly what I wanted to hear! It actually just hit me that they probably bought a three-pack or bulk presses or something, and sell the individuals for less than an individual one directly from Bodum.
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Mar 15, 2012 03:44
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Boris Galerkin posted:So I just bought a 3 cup Bodum french press, and I'm really not sure how much coffee powder to put into it for one cup of coffee. It came with a scoop but I don't know what size it is either. I had a 3-cup one before it broke, and I usually just put in two scoops. It says on the scooper "7g/cup", but (and I don't know why) a coffee cup is 4oz. It says '3 cups' but I could get at most 9-10oz of coffee at the most (a little under 2 cups).
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Jul 5, 2012 02:07
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Boris Galerkin posted:Edit: I've been buying beans from a local roaster for about a month or two now, and all I really know is that it's "from Ethiopia." Yesterday I went again and instead opted for the ones from Brazil just to try something different. I'm noticing that these ones make much smoother coffee, maybe not as bitter, but doesn't feel like it has the same "kick" or that it's just not as strong (maybe I'm just associating bitterness with strong). Is this a product of the roasting or the beans? I've noticed the same thing. There's a local roaster in my town that has a number of blends, mostly from Central/South America. They have two African ones, and a Sumatran. I personally prefer their Ethiopian one like you, and I've noticed exactly what you're talking about. And yeah, I think it may be the acidity. At times, their Ethiopian blend reminds me of orange juice.
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Aug 29, 2012 16:21
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hotsauce posted:I just saw an infomercial for an aeropress knockoff that...wait for it...uses K-Cups as the coffee source. Thankfully, the website on the commercial doesn't load. Maybe this will dissuade people from buying. I recently saw an infomercial for a reusable K-cup. Their reasoning was "Look at all that waste from the K-cups!" All I could think is, "Then why don't you just get a normal coffee maker?" Also, that coffee cup says "COFEE".
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Nov 4, 2012 16:12
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I finally decided to try my hand at roasting. I picked our household popcorn popper, and a half-pound bag of Kenyan AB beans that I've probably been holding on for way too long (I think I bought them mid-August). Anyway, here are my results:   I think I may have it somewhere along a full city roast, but I'm not sure. Non-flash picture for reference: 
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Feb 28, 2013 19:36
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Doh004 posted:Looking good man. I'd say (it's tough to judge from pictures) that you went a bit past FC+ but not too far. Let us know how they are Oh, can do! It came out not too bad: acidic, but not overly so. Unfortunately, it's not all that complex, because it seemed a little empty on the end. I used a French press, if it matters. Still, next time I may try a lighter roasting time, or a different set of beans. I never realized this was that easy, so I may just find a good set of beans, buy a 5lb bag every so often, and roast a week's worth at a time.
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Mar 1, 2013 18:58
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Corla Plankun posted:I think acidic implies that they were under-steeped and not necessarily poorly roasted. I used to get perfectly roasted beans (from Gimmie! Coffee) and still manage to make sour coffee by loving up the french press process in my bleary-eyed morning haze. It's acidic, but not sour. Still, tomorrow I'll give it another go with 2:30 for 16oz.
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Mar 1, 2013 22:04
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mystes posted:Isn't sour the way acidic things taste? Er, yeah, my bad. I was trying to say that it was more like orange juice, and less like a granny smith apple or sour candy. Now that I think about it, I may be confusing it with the Ethiopian I normally buy. The Ethiopian stuff I normally buy is really nice in the mornings because it's like a cup of orange juice.
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Mar 2, 2013 02:51
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Boris Galerkin posted:Does it actually matter what brand of coffee press you buy? They have cheap big ones at Ikea and so on and I would imagine as long as the metal mesh works then it's all gonna be the same and paying the extra money for a Bodum (at a smaller size) is just a brand premium. When I first started out, I bought a cheap $10 6-cup one. The press seemed to slide a little too easily, but at the time I was buying it for tea. I tried it later for coffee, but it sometimes had the tendency to leak grounds past the plunger, and I think its looseness may have been the cause.
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Apr 6, 2013 15:52
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I'm finally moving out into my own place, and I'm looking at getting some decent coffee gear set up. I'm already set for roasting (an old popcorn popper), etc. etc. My only question was whether or not there was a recommendation for a good grinder in Canada. The OP's seems to be not that reliable.
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Nov 8, 2017 21:41
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Scaramouche posted:Depends on what you're going to put through it; an espresso grinder is different from a V60/Drip/etc grinder. I have a french press right now, but I'm thinking of getting a CCD as well. Definitely not espresso.
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Nov 9, 2017 00:14
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Scaramouche posted:I'm going to assume that means Concealed Carry something for those "bulletproof" coffees. MasterControl posted:I’ve had my barataza encore for years and been totally happy. You can even open it up and make espresso really possible. Thanks for the advice! I see the Encore for under $200 on Amazon.ca, so that seems like the best bet (unless someone knows a better supplier).
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Nov 9, 2017 17:34
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There Bias Two posted:Cotton candy, obviously. Yeah, probably hoping to make powdered sugar. Scaramouche posted:Baratza is a pretty strongly managed brand, they have what's known as a MAP (Minimum Advertized Price) Policy common to a lot of larger companies (Jura, Delonghi, etc.). This means that just about everyone is going to be listing it at $189 CAD, which is the lowest they can offer it here. What's nice too is Baratza recently (last March) overhauled how they handle warranties in Canada. Now when someone comes into the store with a Baratza they bought from us they go straight to Baratza; no more trouble shooting or asking "did you put a rock in the grinder" on our part, and the majority of the time they'll just send out a pre-paid waybill and replace the grinder. I don't think I've ever had to return anything to Amazon, but I'd assume that they'd be just as good about it.
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Nov 10, 2017 16:00
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Just discovered that my Encore on Amazon.ca is being shipped by a third party and not Amazon. Is it worth getting a $30 warranty or is this a stupid question?
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Nov 13, 2017 23:50
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On a similar note, anyone know the best source for green beans in Canada? Now that I have my own place, I can start roasting more often than "once in a blue moon". Used to just buy them from Green Beanery, but someone told me they support some right-wing causes or somesuch, and I'd rather my money go somewhere else. Disappointing, since they have a huge selection. I don't mind ordering, say, a 5lb bag at one time for shipping. Scaramouche posted:Oh hay. I've been in rural Alberta visiting relatives and haven't been getting much connectivity up there so didn't see this. drat, missed my shot. Ended up ordering it from ECS Coffee via Amazon.ca. Still, at least I get 2% cashback.
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Dec 29, 2017 18:20
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Tippecanoe posted:Merchants of Green Coffee is based in Toronto and will sell green coffee; I think they deliver, but you might have to call them to set it up. I still live about a half-hour from Toronto, so I don't mind delivery as long as it's reasonable. Merchants of Green Coffee only seems to cell Central/South American coffee. I've found some other websites on Google with decent shipping policies, but I was hoping someone had some specific recommendations.
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Dec 29, 2017 20:58
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slidebite posted:I used to use pretty much only from the Green Beanrey all the time, and the biggest issues I had were they seemed to be out of stock half the time.. do you mind if I ask what "right wing causes" are they supporting that cause you concern without turning a coffee thread into poli-chat? Anything I've read about them seem to put them pretty left on the spectrum. I have to issue a correction. I heard about it a while ago, and I'd forgotten the details. It wasn't right-wing interests, per se, but they do donate to a group that denies anthropogenic climate change.
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Dec 31, 2017 19:24
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I haven't played around with mine too much, but I usually do 1:16 with a 3-minute brew in my CCD, with a grind of just around 21-22 on my Encore.
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Mar 22, 2018 14:20
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Democratic Pirate posted:Sup brew buddy    It was either that or pour-over, and I didn't want to get yet another kettle just for the goose-neck. Now I just need to find a decent pourer to pour it all into because I like to pour 1/2 cup at a time into a mug to cool it faster. Pouring it all into a 16oz mug at once is for suckers.
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Mar 22, 2018 21:18
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My job is going to be transferring me to our other office because my current one will be closing soon. Good news is that the partner in the other office has expanded the office and I currently have the entire new section to myself. Since I pretty much have an entire area to myself (and no one else there drinks coffee), I was thinking about what kind of set-up I can get. Unfortunately, a noisy grinder is a no-go, but my current thought is to get a nice kettle, a Clever Coffee Dropper (will change to an automatic drip machine if more people join who drink coffee), and probably pre-ground coffee. Is there a current recommendation on kettles, and maybe even coffee subscription in Canada? I'm trying to see if I can get the company to pay for a once-a-month delivery of coffee but I'm not sure if I should just give in to pre-ground or if I should grind a week's worth at a time and bring that in (grinding at home is not something I want to do. I know I'll occasionally forget to do it before I bring it in).
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Jul 19, 2023 22:12
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thotsky posted:Most of them will do the job, but the Fellow Stagg and Hario V60 kettles are the best if you have the cash. The reason I ask about kettles specifically is because I used to just use a Costco kettle at home that had a button in the middle of the lid that would spring open. Problem is that with enough heat, the lid would shift and wouldn't open without prying it. I was definitely thinking of temperature control because I like to make tea as well in the office. Also a lot of the electric kettles I see are now are transparent ones. Is this just for aesthetic purposes, or are there actual drawbacks? Pilfered Pallbearers posted:If the office has a freezer, buying ground and freezing immediately will make it last a lot longer. I'm afraid there's no freezer. Since my part of the office is empty, I have room for a mini-fridge, that's about it. It's not a huge company so I can't go nuts, but if I could find a quiet grinder, I might just buy it for myself. The auto is for later when people who drink coffee that are not me work there regularly. For now I'm sticking with kettle, scale, and CCD. As for the hand-grinder: I have one. I don't mind it, but not every morning. I just wasn't sure if there's a benefit to buying good coffee (even relatively fresh-roasted) if it comes pre-ground.
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Jul 20, 2023 16:16
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Pantsmaster Bill posted:Can you not have a grinder at home and just grind every morning and bring it to the office? That’s what I do. I was thinking of doing this, but I also don't trust myself to remember to do it every morning. I was just looking for an alternative if others are also drinking coffee in the office since we have a bookkeeper who comes in 1-2 times per week.
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Jul 21, 2023 20:28
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