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Chili Oil Notes

uptointerpretation.com

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Re: Chili Oil Notes

#131

Post by donatj »

skyyler wrote: post #129
donatj wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The little soybeans are the best part of Lao Gan Ma. I would kill for a version that was half soybean.

If you're getting the "fried chili in oil" product, you could look out for the "chili oil with black bean" product they make. Another option is Fly By Jing's original "sichuan chili crisp" which has a different flavour profile than LGM but is very forward with the douchi / black beans / black soybeans.

I have the black bean version in my fridge. That's good, but a soybean version would be better.

Re: Chili Oil Notes

#132

Post by skyyler »

donatj wrote: post #131
skyyler wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're getting the "fried chili in oil" product, you could look out for the "chili oil with black bean" product they make. Another option is Fly By Jing's original "sichuan chili crisp" which has a different flavour profile than LGM but is very forward with the douchi / black beans / black soybeans.

I have the black bean version in my fridge. That's good, but a soybean version would be better.

Those are soybeans. Did you think they're black turtle beans, like you'd find in latin america?

They're black soybeans. The kind used to make douchi. Read the ingredients list on your bottle.

Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soybean#/media/File:Soya_Bean....

Re: Chili Oil Notes

#133

Post by donatj »

skyyler wrote: post #132
donatj wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have the black bean version in my fridge. That's good, but a soybean version would be better.

Those are soybeans. Did you think they're black turtle beans, like you'd find in latin america? They're black soybeans. The kind used to make douchi. Read the ingredients list on your bottle. Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soybean#/media/File:Soya_Bean....

Hah well they're not crunchy like the ones in the regular Lao Gan Ma regardless

Re: Chili Oil Notes

#134

Post by skyyler »

donatj wrote: post #133
skyyler wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those are soybeans. Did you think they're black turtle beans, like you'd find in latin america? They're black soybeans. The kind used to make douchi. Read the ingredients list on your bottle. Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soybean#/media/File:Soya_Bean....

Hah well they're not crunchy like the ones in the regular Lao Gan Ma regardless

I highly recommend Fly By Jing. Those ones are crunchy.

Re: Chili Oil Notes

#135

Post by elhudy »

RevEng wrote: post #126
elhudy wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tasting a difference in grind size does not equate to fine particles being “bitter” and larger particles being “flat”, nor does it result in a slightly uneven grind being “better” than a more consistent one…

The effect of fines being bitter and the coarse being sour is easy to test. Take a decent grinder and your favorite coffee. Grind one batch a couple notches finer than usual. Grind another batch coarser than usual. Brew both with the same amount and temperature of water for the same time as you normally would. Compare the flavor of both brews. This is a common step of "dialing in a brew" to get your preferred flavor.…

>Grind one batch a couple notches finer than usual. Grind another batch coarser than usual.

You are giving me advice as though I havent been "dialing in" my coffee for over a decade. Of course if you brew two different coffees with 100% different particle sizes, you will get different results. This is an exaggeration fallacy. It is not the same test as having 95% of one particle size vs 5% of another, which measures the improvement you might get from upgrading a $50 grinder to a $200 grinder.

>Don't forget, this isn't just Reddit. People have been brewing coffee for centuries. There are many professionals and lifelong tradespeople. There are definitely things that matter for making a good brew and particle size is one of them.

Yeah, people have been brewing coffee for centuries. No, people have not been concerned about minuscule differences in particle sizes for centuries. The ethopian method still consists of roasting beans in what basically amounts to a cast iron pan. Dominicans still roast their beans in sugar over a fire. Both have been grinding their beans using mortar and pestle since the beginning of time, and continue to this day. Would you scoff at those, and tell them their coffee is not "dialed in"? I'm sorry, but the pretentious exaggerations over coffee particle sizes absolutely are a recent phenomenon, and that you are seriously suggesting history in support of your claims reveals an obvious level of naivety.

EDIT: Also, you should be extremely wary of "learning" from well-edited videos of taste testers such as James Hoffman whose entire livelihood depends on being a coffee personality in a world where coffee is touted as being more complex than it actually is...

Re: Chili Oil Notes

#136

Post by ehnto »

andy_ppp wrote: post #79
c0pium wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is an important insight. Some people don’t have much experience in making repeatable coffee, and whether you make the coffee well is more important than how good the grinder is.

But once you have repeatable steps and that are good (water, quantities, temperature etc.) the grinder becomes the most important piece even in espresso.

I would say it's most important for espresso, at least in espresso machines that do everything else well. You essentially control the duration of the pull via the grind, and the taste of the shot comes predominantly from how long and hot you pull it.

As you said, once you are dialed in, really the only variable I am tweaking per bag of beans is the grind.

Re: Chili Oil Notes

#137

Post by elhudy »

chongli wrote: post #98
elhudy wrote: post #58

I love nerding out on food as mich as the next person. On food and cooking is one of my favorite kitchen tools. Sichuan chili oil is a staple condiment in our house. That said, i find the following to be an oft-repeated bs phrase parroted across the internet. You can find it tracing back to reddit threads over ten years ago. > You can end up with what are called fines and boulders, fines being tiny, dust-like pieces…

I make my morning coffee on a Lelit espresso machine. I use a Niche zero espresso grinder. I can easily tell the difference between grind sizes a mm apart on the dial, when it comes to taste in the cup (and even with milk). The espresso machine can tell the difference too, because even a minute difference in grind size can make a significant difference in the coffee puck’s ability to withstand the water pressure. You…

Do you live in Europe by chance? When people in the USA talk about coffee they are typically not talking about espresso, which is a different beast altogether, and something I have no experience with.

Re: Chili Oil Notes

#138

Post by elhudy »

helsinkiandrew wrote: post #86
elhudy wrote: post #58

I love nerding out on food as mich as the next person. On food and cooking is one of my favorite kitchen tools. Sichuan chili oil is a staple condiment in our house. That said, i find the following to be an oft-repeated bs phrase parroted across the internet. You can find it tracing back to reddit threads over ten years ago. > You can end up with what are called fines and boulders, fines being tiny, dust-like pieces…

That's nonsense unless your the kind of person who says a cup of instant is indistinguishable from a freshly ground brew (and post covid there probably are many more people who can't). The size and consistency of the ground coffee makes a huge difference in extraction of coffee and therefor the taste, so a grinder that can make a consistent, repeatable grind will be noticeable (perhaps not as noticable as purchased g…

>That's nonsense unless your the kind of person who says a cup of instant is indistinguishable from a freshly ground brew

No, it isn't nonsense. And yes, I can tell the difference between a cup of instant and a cup of freshly ground brew.

This video actually proves my point. James not only avoids tasting the coffees blind, but you can see that at 6:35 the particle volume is all basically the same size with extremely minute differences - looks like a factor of less than 10% volume density with very little distribution difference between grinders.

Re: Chili Oil Notes

#139

Post by elhudy »

c0pium wrote: post #75
crunchytreat wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve spent ten years in the specialty coffee industry (not selling grinders). If you’re controlling other variables properly you should definitely be able to tell the difference.

I think this is an important insight. Some people don’t have much experience in making repeatable coffee, and whether you make the coffee well is more important than how good the grinder is.

It's not an important insight at all - it's a credentials fallacy. "I was in industry so I am right". Many people have spent many years nerding out on coffee, myself included, but you'll note I don't use that as an argument for being correct.

Re: Chili Oil Notes

#140

Post by elhudy »

mbakke wrote: post #122
elhudy wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m sorry but what is an “amateur” coffee drinker? Is coffee drinking so complex that you can become an expert in it? Get over yourself, you’ve been drinking the koolaid, not the coffee. People who own v60s tend tie the promotion of v60s to their personal character so i know this might fall flat but; every real study ive seen, thats blind, has shown no no added benefit to slightly more consistent grounds. Ive noticed…

Do you have a link to such a study? My google-fu is failing. I don't doubt you but would like to read it and try to confirm my bias anyway! My experience is mainly with completely crap grinders vs high-end burrs which is very distinguishable. Probably low/mid end burrs do okay as long as there aren't too many fines. Grind size variability may even be advantageous :)

It’s fascinating, isn't it? “Experts” are more than willing to dish out hundreds of dollars for finer microns and consistent particle sizes, and even measure those sizes using LASERS. They will go through the trouble to make fancy edited videos with all sorts of dubious claims about taste. But all of these people are totally unwilling to do blind taste tests and release their data, and as such we find a massive lack of real studies on the internet. People will make every excuse under the sun to not run blind taste tests on the effect of different coffee grinders. Look at this guys list of reasons… lol he states that he needs “people from around the world” in order to make such a study accurate.(https://towardsdatascience.com/double-blind-coffee-studies-a...).

The one i know of was done by Americas test kitchen. I had read and/or watched another a while back but couldn’t find it. Good luck with your cuppa - continue to enjoy the ritual.

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