Coffee

[Manveer]

So, I got some beans from a local roaster yesterday. $13 for 12 oz. I've had their coffee before and I really like it. The roast date was Sep 18.

Started some cold brew last night. I tried it this morning and it tasted fine, though it was still room temp.

Ordering an aeropress today.

[Root]

Hmmm. My burr grinder doesn't have "presets," just a continuum of settings from fine to coarse.

I use an electric kettle with precise temp control, and use 200F for my brew temp. Sounds like you guys might be using slightly hotter water with "just off boil."

How long does your pour take for, say, 24 oz of coffee? Mine seems fairly fast, like about 3 minutes.

For my grinder the setting that works (at least most of the time) is right in the middle of espresso and french press.

I got out the thermometer when I brewed my coffee this morning. The water temp was 205F. I've read that the ideal range is between 195 and 205, which is a bit higher than what Murelli listed but not scorching them.

I glanced at the time when the coffee hit the 25 oz mark in the chemex and it took about 5 minutes including letting it bloom for about half a minute.

Hmmm, seems like I'm not doing anything too different from you. Maybe I just don't like pour overs.

[SpinyNorman]

Hmmm, seems like I'm not doing anything too different from you. Maybe I just don't like pour overs.

Could be. Time for some experimenting!

I've done the same beans different ways, but never tasted them side-by-side. It would be fun to use the same batch of beans and brew with french press, pour over and aeropress. This would be an ideal thing to do while some type of meat is smoking.

[Murelli]

I got out the thermometer when I brewed my coffee this morning. The water temp was 205F. I've read that the ideal range is between 195 and 205, which is a bit higher than what Murelli listed but not scorching them.

Depending on where you are, boiling temp is below 212F, so technically 195-205 is off my range but still within the "not boiling water" recommendation, even if the water is in fact boiling. Still, don't pour boiling water, you don't want the vapor getting those nice flavours out of the liquid and into the air (unless you're trying to make your house smell like coffee to impress someone).

Hmmm, seems like I'm not doing anything too different from you. Maybe I just don't like pour overs.

Could be. Time for some experimenting!

I've done the same beans different ways, but never tasted them side-by-side. It would be fun to use the same batch of beans and brew with french press, pour over and aeropress. This would be an ideal thing to do while some type of meat is smoking.

Wait! You eat meat with coffee? I usually drink it with something sweet to eat, like chocolate, biscuits, cookies, cake...

[cgeorg]

You guys pouring boiling water on coffee are heathens. That burns the grind and leaves a shitty aftertaste on it. Don't do that, use below boiling temps and filtered water, activated carbon filter prefered because it takes out the chlorine that the government puts in the water. Temps should be on the 80-90°C range (176-194F) for a good tasty coffee.

While you guys think about that, let me tell one thing a galician once told me: in his land, they have the following acronym for CAFE - Caliente, Fuerte, Amargo, Espresso - Hot, Strong, Bitter, Short. Let that brew inside your skulls for a bit.

Many water suppliers use chloramines which are not removed by activated carbon. Campden tablets (uh... potassium something, maybe metabisulfate) will remove them but the dosing for coffee amounts is kind of ridiculous unless you have a sub-gram scale. It's 1 tablet to treat ~20 gal of water brewing water.

[Root]

Wait! You eat meat with coffee? I usually drink it with something sweet to eat, like chocolate, biscuits, cookies, cake...

Nonono. The coffee happens while the meat is smoking.

[SpinyNorman]

Depending on where you are, boiling temp is below 212F, so technically 195-205 is off my range but still within the "not boiling water" recommendation, even if the water is in fact boiling. Still, don't pour boiling water, you don't want the vapor getting those nice flavours out of the liquid and into the air (unless you're trying to make your house smell like coffee to impress someone).

Good point, I forgot about that fact (unfortunately there isn't much altitude change in SE Michigan).

[Allentown]

I've done the same beans different ways, but never tasted them side-by-side. It would be fun to use the same batch of beans and brew with french press, pour over and aeropress. This would be an ideal thing to do while some type of meat is smoking.

When I have people over for board games we frequently do blind taste testing of things- bourbon, beer. I've wanted to do coffee brewing methods for a while. Perhaps temp, too? So consistent beans, obviously different grinds, different brewing methods, different brewing temps, etc.

[DeriHughes]

Do none of you just use a bean-to-cup espresso machine? Is that heresy?

[Murelli]

Do none of you just use a bean-to-cup espresso machine? Is that heresy?

Do you keep the beans in an airtight container inside your fridge? Were they vacuum packed? Those things matter the most IMO. If you leave them in the machine and just press the buttons, that will not keep their freshness.

Also, machine setup is important for espressos. Steam pressure and temperature alter the taste significantly, grind being held constant.

[Idlehands]

Do none of you just use a bean-to-cup espresso machine? Is that heresy?

Do you keep the beans in an airtight container inside your fridge? Were they vacuum packed? Those things matter the most IMO. If you leave them in the machine and just press the buttons, that will not keep their freshness.

Also, machine setup is important for espressos. Steam pressure and temperature alter the taste significantly, grind being held constant.

Please unpack that.

I don't care about vacuum packed beans since I get my beans 48-72 hours from roasting, and don't keep them longer than a week.
If you don't have an airtight package, fridge will dry them out more won't it? What's the point of keeping them in the fridge? I thought I read that the whole fridge coffee storage was a myth, i.e. not useful

[SpinyNorman]

Do none of you just use a bean-to-cup espresso machine? Is that heresy?

I was under the impression you had to spend a lot of money to get a decent espresso machine. I've tried to keep my coffee hobby/habit from consuming too much extra money, so I haven't even taken a look at what's out there.

[SpinyNorman]

Please unpack that.

I don't care about vacuum packed beans since I get my beans 48-72 hours from roasting, and don't keep them longer than a week.
If you don't have an airtight package, fridge will dry them out more won't it? What's the point of keeping them in the fridge? I thought I read that the whole fridge coffee storage was a myth, i.e. not useful

I haven't worried much about storage for the same reason. I keep my roasted beans in glass jars I bought from Ikea on the counter. I used to use canning jars, but these others have flip top lids which are more convenient.

[Mkgillman]

Do not store your coffee in the refrigerator or freezer, these environments are damp, and are a worse place for your coffee than on the kitchen counter.

https://www.sweetmarias.com/coffee-storage : Source

[Murelli]

Re: storage - roasted beans release vapors like everything, hence, the flavour leaves the bean the longer it's stored. If you keep it airtight it will limit how much vapour leaves the beans, because they will saturate their environment and stop leaving until you open the container again. If you keep it in the fridge you slow down the process of emission and you reduce the saturating concentration, meaning that less flavour will be lost every time you open the tupperware. That's chemistry or something right there.

Don't believe it, don't care about it, well, it's not a lot of flavour when we're talking about beans anyway. And beans will only absorb humidity in the fridge if their containers are not airtight. Grinds are a whole another deal.

[cgeorg]

An airtight container makes fridge/freezer moisture a non-issue.

[Allentown]

I monitored the temperature this time. Kettle was at 212. Let it cool to 180 before pouring. Kept the water temp between 175 and 180. Steeping water was 160 at the surface, though, and the outside of the Chemex was 145 when i finished.

[Murelli]

I monitored the temperature this time. Kettle was at 212. Let it cool to 180 before pouring. Kept the water temp between 175 and 180. Sterling water was 160 at the surface, though, and the outside of the Chemex was 145 when i finished.

How did it taste? Mellow?

[Manveer]

What are you using to measure temp?

[Allentown]

What are you using to measure temp?

Lasers. I'm not sure how laser thermometers interact with water, though.

I monitored the temperature this time. Kettle was at 212. Let it cool to 180 before pouring. Kept the water temp between 175 and 180. Sterling water was 160 at the surface, though, and the outside of the Chemex was 145 when i finished.

How did it taste? Mellow?

Yes, I think it tasted a little more mellow than yesterday, even though I also turned my grinder one notch finer than it was yesterday.
Things I didn't do, but should have:
Warmed the Chemex & filter, wrapped a kitchen towel around the Chemex to keep the heat in.