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Handbrewing Coffee

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Re: Handbrewing Coffee

#51

Post by JoeAltmaier »

earthscienceman wrote: post #50
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #22

I got ruined for regular coffee when I found a local shop that roasts its beans sorted by size . So it doesn't taste scorched. Apparently most commercial coffee makers roast them in arbitrary batches, which means by the time the big ones are roasted the small ones are burned. I know there's a lot more that can be done with roasting. But that one small change means you can have strong coffee without having burned coff…

It's really funny to me to just how much junk information there is in the coffee world and just how strongly people believe it. Even here on hackernews it seems. This is the exact sort of 'fact' that sounds good, and makes you feel like you know what you're talking about. I'm a roaster. All coffee is sorted by size, or at least all quality coffee. It's necessary, not only for an even roast, but it's also an inherent…

Who's talking grocery stores? Coffee shops that roast, do it any way they want. And sure enough some do it badly.

Re: Handbrewing Coffee

#52

Post by AdmiralAsshat »

earthscienceman wrote: post #50
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #22

I got ruined for regular coffee when I found a local shop that roasts its beans sorted by size . So it doesn't taste scorched. Apparently most commercial coffee makers roast them in arbitrary batches, which means by the time the big ones are roasted the small ones are burned. I know there's a lot more that can be done with roasting. But that one small change means you can have strong coffee without having burned coff…

It's really funny to me to just how much junk information there is in the coffee world and just how strongly people believe it. Even here on hackernews it seems. This is the exact sort of 'fact' that sounds good, and makes you feel like you know what you're talking about. I'm a roaster. All coffee is sorted by size, or at least all quality coffee. It's necessary, not only for an even roast, but it's also an inherent…

Hello! Coffee enthusiast here. I'd like to follow-up on this statement:

> They roast it until the oils come out and then the oils go rancid because it has been sitting on the shelf for the last 6 months getting to you.

Are you saying that it's bad if my coffee beans are glistening with oil? I usually took that to be an indicator of freshness. Or do you mean that if they're no longer glistening that the bag is probably stale?

FWIW, most of what I buy (except for the Costco bag that I take to work) has a roasting date on the back so that I can guarantee a certain degree of freshness.

Re: Handbrewing Coffee

#53

Post by bpyne »

I tried different drip coffee makers, French press, and percolator over the course of years. The Bialetti Moka Express is perfect for me. However, everything depends on the grind, roast, and quality of the beans. After using medium and light roast coffee beans for five years, I am back with dark roast. I prefer Indonesian beans and a grind slightly coarser than espresso.

Re: Handbrewing Coffee

#54

Post by elhudy »

cmurphycode wrote: post #28
alistairSH wrote: post #17

French press for me. I buy my beans weekly from a local roaster and grind them at purchase. I think I get mot of the upside of 100% fresh ground and pour-over with a bit less work. And I start cooking breakfast while the water boils, so no time lost. At work, it's generic machine coffee. It doesn't taste great, but it keeps me going.

There's some evidence that grinding with an extremely high quality grinder will give better results for at least a few days than on-demand grind with a "bad" (i.e. less than few hundred dollar burr grinders, not to mention any blade grinder) grinder. This is one such "study" - https://prima-coffee.com/learn/article/grinder-basics/it-alw... So, I think you're doing fine unless you want to spend more money :) If you're…

I don't buy the article's "study" whatsoever. From the pictures, they are testing the "flavor" using a drip method and don't control for the temperature. Using a drip method the ground should be fine. Fine is fine. .05mm coffee grains should mechanistically speaking soak through just as well as .08mm coffee grains.

It also strikes me as odd that each of the grinders was exactly consistent across an entire week for its flavor profile, and that further the exact consistency matches the cost(margin) of the grinders, and that even further the company who is doing this "study" happens to also be selling the grinders!

Re: Handbrewing Coffee

#55

Post by cr1895 »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #22

I got ruined for regular coffee when I found a local shop that roasts its beans sorted by size . So it doesn't taste scorched. Apparently most commercial coffee makers roast them in arbitrary batches, which means by the time the big ones are roasted the small ones are burned. I know there's a lot more that can be done with roasting. But that one small change means you can have strong coffee without having burned coff…

I wonder if that's more to do with the grade of beans than roaster-sorting.

Edit: also, could this be related to inconsistent grind? Smaller bits over-extracted.

Re: Handbrewing Coffee

#56

Post by cr1895 »

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #52
earthscienceman wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's really funny to me to just how much junk information there is in the coffee world and just how strongly people believe it. Even here on hackernews it seems. This is the exact sort of 'fact' that sounds good, and makes you feel like you know what you're talking about. I'm a roaster. All coffee is sorted by size, or at least all quality coffee. It's necessary, not only for an even roast, but it's also an inherent…

Hello! Coffee enthusiast here. I'd like to follow-up on this statement: > They roast it until the oils come out and then the oils go rancid because it has been sitting on the shelf for the last 6 months getting to you. Are you saying that it's bad if my coffee beans are glistening with oil? I usually took that to be an indicator of freshness. Or do you mean that if they're no longer glistening that the bag is probabl…

>I usually took that to be an indicator of freshness.

I've only heard it described as a flaw. None of the recently and well-roasted beans from the local roasters I visit sell oily beans. But Starbucks? Or typical grocery coffee? Usually always dark and oily.

Re: Handbrewing Coffee

#57

Post by myrandomcomment »

It’s not that hard. Get a nice French press. At home we use one that that is large and steal. Get a good burr grinder. Get an electric kettle. Buy some decent whole beans where you know how long it has been since they where roasted. Boil the water, grind the coffee. Put coffee in press. Pour water over. Stir the mixture for ~20 seconds. Put the lid on the press but do not press it down. Wait 2-5 minutes (up to your taste, beans). Press coffee. Drink. Clean the grinder, etc. It only takes a few minutes of real time doing something each morning. So worth it.

Also if you like milk in your coffee switch to heavy whipping cream. You will use less and it taste richer. Shake up the cream a bit before putting in mug.

Re: Handbrewing Coffee

#58

Post by radar »

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #52
earthscienceman wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's really funny to me to just how much junk information there is in the coffee world and just how strongly people believe it. Even here on hackernews it seems. This is the exact sort of 'fact' that sounds good, and makes you feel like you know what you're talking about. I'm a roaster. All coffee is sorted by size, or at least all quality coffee. It's necessary, not only for an even roast, but it's also an inherent…

Hello! Coffee enthusiast here. I'd like to follow-up on this statement: > They roast it until the oils come out and then the oils go rancid because it has been sitting on the shelf for the last 6 months getting to you. Are you saying that it's bad if my coffee beans are glistening with oil? I usually took that to be an indicator of freshness. Or do you mean that if they're no longer glistening that the bag is probabl…

Oils start sweating out of the bean when you get closer to really dark roasts. You'll see a lot of Starbucks beans glisten.

Lighter roasts will never be shiny like that because they haven't been roasted long enough for the oils to react like that.

Always grind your beans just before you brew. Never buy preground coffee.

Re: Handbrewing Coffee

#59

Post by weeksie »

Degustibus non est ... and all but I will never understand the American preference for drip coffee. I say that as someone who drank press or drip exclusively until I lived overseas for several years and my Americano became an espresso at the cafe and my press coffee became Moka Pot stovetop at home. I've been back for 11 years and I still grind my teeth when the only option is drip.

Whatever floats your boat, I guess. Still, reading comment threads about the supposed differences between various drip techniques is always funny. Chemex? We used a plastic funnel thing that looked exactly the same in the 80s. The difference was Yuban (or whatever) instead of the far nicer quality beans on offer now.

But seriously, the Italians figured coffee out years ago. These discussions are like a bunch of people arguing over which fast food chain makes the best burger.

Re: Handbrewing Coffee

#60

Post by viciousvoxel »

cr1895 wrote: post #56
AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hello! Coffee enthusiast here. I'd like to follow-up on this statement: > They roast it until the oils come out and then the oils go rancid because it has been sitting on the shelf for the last 6 months getting to you. Are you saying that it's bad if my coffee beans are glistening with oil? I usually took that to be an indicator of freshness. Or do you mean that if they're no longer glistening that the bag is probabl…

>I usually took that to be an indicator of freshness. I've only heard it described as a flaw. None of the recently and well-roasted beans from the local roasters I visit sell oily beans. But Starbucks? Or typical grocery coffee? Usually always dark and oily.

Surface oils are not an indicator of quality either way. The roasting process brings oils to the surface, so darker roasts tend to have more surface oils. From what I understand, the oils appear a few days after roasting, and then dry out/reabsorb after a few weeks.
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