The Coffee Thread

[spawnofthesith]

I get an hoot out of these Northern locales having the best beans. Must be fires for roasting are
better the farther north of the Equator (where most coffee grows) you go.

Or maybe it is the ice bath they get immediately after roasting.

Hey man I don't know but I know that shit is delicious My assumption is they have good sources for their beans and a good roasting process

I got turned on to them because I was at a breakfast joint in Jackson and ordered the drip coffee. Was expecting the usual mediocre breakfast joint coffee but ended up getting blown away. Had to ask the waitress what coffee beans they were using or if they did anything special

I order a few bags about once a year. I'm about due for some more.

*sadly sips cup of cafe bustelo*

 

[norminal]

Good coffee starts with the beans. The roasting process is an art in itself. But none of that matters if it isn’t brewed properly.

 

[Achilles]

Good coffee starts with the beans. The roasting process is an art in itself. But none of that matters if it isn’t brewed properly.

Think you mixed up the last part of this, but I agree. Just like with cooking, you have to start with the best ingredients.

 

[norminal]

Think you mixed up the last part of this

Which part? The brewing?

 

[Achilles]

Good coffee starts with the beans. The roasting process is an art in itself. But none of that matters if it isn’t brewed properly.

Oops, my bad. I read it differently the first time thinking you'd end with "But none of that matters without great beans."
Now I see what you meant.

 

[la szum]

I whispered "Coffee" in my sleep last night and @norminal showed up just like that.

How do you do that?

 

[Jarick]

I caved and ordered a Fellow Ode gen 2 grinder today. Wanted an Ode for a few years and the new burrs and anti static seem awesome. Curious how much better or different the large flat burrs are. My coffee from the hand grinder has been unremarkable lately.

 

[norminal]

NCD. I had to re-up on some more of the “Thermal Shock” before it ran out. This shit is wild!

The “Brayan Alvear” is my first journey into co-fermentation. As one might guess, it’s co-fermented with dried strawberries. We shall see.

What’s everyone else drinking?

 

[norminal]

I caved and ordered a Fellow Ode gen 2 grinder today. Wanted an Ode for a few years and the new burrs and anti static seem awesome. Curious how much better or different the large flat burrs are. My coffee from the hand grinder has been unremarkable lately.

Flat burrs are obviously a different design to the more common conical design in hand grinders, but both can produce excellent coffee. Grind is the most important metric in coffee brewing IMO. You’ll get a feel for it.

 

[la szum]

NCD. I had to re-up on some more of the “Thermal Shock” before it ran out. This shit is wild!

The “Brayan Alvear” is my first journey into co-fermentation. As one might guess, it’s co-fermented with dried strawberries. We shall see.

View attachment 15514

What’s everyone else drinking?

Folgers and Maxwell House in an every other day rotation.

I kid! Please don't kill me.

I have been enjoying some of the Kicking Horse Espresso Roasts, and then Lavazza Barista Espresso Roast.

Having an evening cup now, as a matter of fact. Because it is Saturday night and I am feeling wild and crazy!

 

[norminal]

Because it is Saturday night and I am feeling wild and crazy!

 

[Jarick]

Flat burrs are obviously a different design to the more common conical design in hand grinders, but both can produce excellent coffee. Grind is the most important metric in coffee brewing IMO. You’ll get a feel for it.

Just brewed my first cup with the Ode, a few thoughts.

This thing is fairly compact and feels extremely sturdy due to the weight. It’s really fast and as quiet as an electric grinder could be. 15g coffee in like two seconds.

There’s almost no retention even without RDT (wetting beans). I dosed 15g and measured 14.9g grounds. There was also no stray grounds. This is amazing just by itself.

Grounds are very consistent, seemed like fewer fines compared to the 1zpresso JX. I did a 5 for grind size which is medium for pour over.

First cup is tasting excellent. It’s a lot richer and sweeter tasting than my typical cup. I did 250g water to 15g coffee in a Hario Switch for about 3 minutes.

 

[norminal]

There’s almost no retention even without RDT (wetting beans). I dosed 15g and measured 14.9g grounds. There was also no stray grounds. This is amazing just by itself.

Do you usually get a lot of static without wetting the beans? It’s really bad here, especially during the winter when it’s very dry.

 

[Jarick]

Do you usually get a lot of static without wetting the beans? It’s really bad here, especially during the winter when it’s very dry.

Yes all year round. I will get grounds stuck all over the burrs and clinging to the walls of the catch cup. The ode had about 0.1g of retention today with dry beans.

 

[Jarick]

Picked up a new kettle to really overhaul my setup, an Oxo with temperature control and gooseneck spout. With the new grinder I think that’s giving me more consistency but the coffees were sometimes a bit sour. So thinking the brew temp (just off boil) was too hot. A couple cups in this morning and noticing more sweetness and body from the V60. Once this gets dialed in I should have excellent cups.

 

[Jarick]

Now I’m getting some great coffee! I’m grinding a little finer and doing a lot less agitation and swirling and it’s tasting really good now.

It’s crazy how much more consistent the Ode is compared to the JX which is supposed to be a good hand grinder. The grounds are more consistent which immediately showed me the issues with both water temp and technique.

But now I’m getting very good cups with the standard V60, not over or under extracted, not nearly as bitter, and much sweeter.

 

[la szum]

Now I’m getting some great coffee! I’m grinding a little finer and doing a lot less agitation and swirling and it’s tasting really good now.

It’s crazy how much more consistent the Ode is compared to the JX which is supposed to be a good hand grinder. The grounds are more consistent which immediately showed me the issues with both water temp and technique.

But now I’m getting very good cups with the standard V60, not over or under extracted, not nearly as bitter, and much sweeter.

Cool!

My suggestion would be ZERO agitation and swirling to reduce the bitterness even more. Let the grounds
rest and the water will do all the work.

I can't recall where, but I read someplace a while back that no Barista ever swirls the grounds in the water
when doing pour over. The heat of the water creates a natural whirlpooling effect.

I only ever do Pour Over. I have tried all the methods.... and it has become my preference to the point that
I am super snobby about all other "inferior" methods.

Pretty much don't need to measure/weigh my beans or my water anymore. Can just eyeball it and trust the
process because I have done it every morning for a few years now.

 

[Jarick]

Cool!

My suggestion would be ZERO agitation and swirling to reduce the bitterness even more. Let the grounds
rest and the water will do all the work.

I can't recall where, but I read someplace a while back that no Barista ever swirls the grounds in the water
when doing pour over. The heat of the water creates a natural whirlpooling effect.

I only ever do Pour Over. I have tried all the methods.... and it has become my preference to the point that
I am super snobby about all other "inferior" methods.

Pretty much don't need to measure/weigh my beans or my water anymore. Can just eyeball it and trust the
process because I have done it every morning for a few years now.

Yes that's what I'm finding! I am doing a tiny bit of agitation or mixing the bed during the bloom to ensure there's no dry grounds otherwise leaving it alone.

Previously I was trying to follow Hoffman's V60 recipe, something like the following:
- 15g coffee to 250g water
- Water ~ 210 degrees (just off boil)
- Medium grind
- 5x 50g pours about 30-40 seconds apart
- Swirling after most pours

Total brew time with drawdown was about 5 minutes (because it clogged for the last 1-2 minutes), and it tended to taste bitter/sour.

I only tweaked the following:
- Water ~ 200 degrees
- Medium fine grind
- No swirling, only mix the bed during bloom

Now total brew time is closer to 3:30 and there's no clogging. Coffee has a much clearer flavor and there's much more sweetness without bitterness.

Another thing I noticed, before I couldn't really taste the difference between coffee beans as much, and now those flavors are more pronounced. I'm getting really good cups with decent store bought beans where before I was getting just okay coffee from local roasters.

Now I feel a lot more confident that I can spend more money on fresh high quality beans!

I've been doing pourover coffee for about five years now so I would have hoped I was getting better results, but apparently not!

 

[Blix]

Yes that's what I'm finding! I am doing a tiny bit of agitation or mixing the bed during the bloom to ensure there's no dry grounds otherwise leaving it alone.

Previously I was trying to follow Hoffman's V60 recipe, something like the following:
- 15g coffee to 250g water
- Water ~ 210 degrees (just off boil)
- Medium grind
- 5x 50g pours about 30-40 seconds apart
- Swirling after most pours

Total brew time with drawdown was about 5 minutes (because it clogged for the last 1-2 minutes), and it tended to taste bitter/sour.

I only tweaked the following:
- Water ~ 200 degrees
- Medium fine grind
- No swirling, only mix the bed during bloom

Now total brew time is closer to 3:30 and there's no clogging. Coffee has a much clearer flavor and there's much more sweetness without bitterness.

Another thing I noticed, before I couldn't really taste the difference between coffee beans as much, and now those flavors are more pronounced. I'm getting really good cups with decent store bought beans where before I was getting just okay coffee from local roasters.

Now I feel a lot more confident that I can spend more money on fresh high quality beans!

I've been doing pourover coffee for about five years now so I would have hoped I was getting better results, but apparently not!

The Hoffman single cup V60 is a bit different from how you describe it, I just made a cup that way

​

0:00 Pour 50g of water to bloom​

0:10 - 0:15: Gently Swirl​

0:45 - 1:00: Pour up to 100g total (40% total weight)​

1:10 - 1:20: Pour up to 150g total (60% total weight)​

1:30 - 1:40: Pour up to 200g total (80% total weight)​

1:50 - 2:00: Pour up to 250g total (100% total weight)​

2:00 - 2:05:​

Gently swirl​

Drawdown should finish around 3:00​

 

[Jarick]

The Hoffman single cup V60 is a bit different from how you describe it, I just made a cup that way

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPhszDicop1ZirSCzGAMjdQ​

0:00 Pour 50g of water to bloom​

0:10 - 0:15: Gently Swirl​

0:45 - 1:00: Pour up to 100g total (40% total weight)​

1:10 - 1:20: Pour up to 150g total (60% total weight)​

1:30 - 1:40: Pour up to 200g total (80% total weight)​

1:50 - 2:00: Pour up to 250g total (100% total weight)​

2:00 - 2:05:​

Gently swirl​

Drawdown should finish around 3:00​

Maybe I'll try again with a lot less swirling. To get 3 minutes though would have to grind noticeably coarser.