Coffee Thread

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lurkingdirk

lurkingdirk

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Lanx said:
It'll be more nefarious for industry, as you've probably observed from self roasting, roasters might all be roasting dark to "blend" in more inferior beans for uniformity
Click to expand...

This is absolutely true, and for Starbucks, it became a practice to over roast the beans in order to give it the robust flavour, even with inferior beans. I know this isn't a popular opinion, but I think Starbucks' coffee just tastes burned. I really don't like it.

I don't roast to that limit, and one of the things I roast is a blended bean, so it is virtually impossible to roast it that much. Different bean types take different amounts of roasting to be over done. I like to experiment, and I have definitely over-roasted my coffee. It's a really, really fine line. Like when doing about 3/4 of a pound at a time, the difference 30 seconds of roasting can make is astounding.
 
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Abefroman

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Got any links to roasting equipment for someone that would like to fuck around with it on a small scale. Also where do you get your beans?
 
Lanx

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Abefroman said:
Got any links to roasting equipment for someone that would like to fuck around with it on a small scale. Also where do you get your beans?
Click to expand...
you could literally start for like less than $50. (just do it outside)

start with green beans its like 3lbs for 20bucks, a bit more expensive, but they're single origin beans (all come for the same farm), so you don't have to learn to blend for now. (just roasting) (if you don't care about single origin and get a blend, it'll be half)

Then get a popcorn air popper (get a popper with vents on the side not the bottom)


I did it a few times, until like my wife saw me and made fun of me... cuz well, she engineered a chocolate roasting machine (basically same bean/nib principle), and she said it was...
cute
 
lurkingdirk

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Abefroman said:
Got any links to roasting equipment for someone that would like to fuck around with it on a small scale. Also where do you get your beans?
Click to expand...

I spent the money and got one of these:

Amazon.com: Behmor 1600 Plus Customizable Drum Coffee Roaster: Kitchen & Dining

I do about 3/4 of a pound at a time, and it's easy to manipulate and experiment with. It feels like a lot of money on the outset, but consider that I'm getting beans for $3. a pound. Roasted beans are nearly triple that.

Oh, and this dude has awesome bean options at good prices, and is willing to work with you on shipping and pricing:

Purchase Green Coffee for the Home Coffee Roaster - Theta Ridge Coffee

Once you get into roasting, it's easy to get hooked on your own roast (once you perfect it).
 
Lanx

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Abefroman said:
Lanx Lanx lurkingdirk lurkingdirk thanks for the info. I never can seem to find the exact roast I want for the bean and this sounds like something fun.
Click to expand...
yea, one thing you'll notice about the coffee roaster market, there isn't much there, you can diy it (like air popper) or toaster oven/george foreman etc, to just cooking on a cast iron pan, then you have the Behmor that dirks got, the vertical fresh roast and the auger type gene roaster, that's pretty much it.

If you really are thinking about roasting, i encourage the air popper first, first off it's only like less than 20bucks, come on... and once you get better at it or want more "roasting profiles" move on up to the behmor. (it's not going to be unattended btw, they want you to look at the machine at all times, i think the behmor even kicks up an error msg to make sure you're around, right Dirk?)

One thing i'll make sure i have once we find a new home is my own coffee area.

I think i should also get a cheap kcup brewer... not for me mind you, but for guests that want coffee and don't want me to make a cup, they could just pop in a kcup themselves.
(i literally have all the ways to brew coffee, i just stow that shit away, from super annoying siphon to a gaggia, i'll just leave out the moka pot and french press on the table cuz they look cool)
 
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lurkingdirk

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Lanx said:
yea, one thing you'll notice about the coffee roaster market, there isn't much there, you can diy it (like air popper) or toaster oven/george foreman etc, to just cooking on a cast iron pan, then you have the Behmor that dirks got, the vertical fresh roast and the auger type gene roaster, that's pretty much it.

If you really are thinking about roasting, i encourage the air popper first, first off it's only like less than 20bucks, come on... and once you get better at it or want more "roasting profiles" move on up to the behmor. (it's not going to be unattended btw, they want you to look at the machine at all times, i think the behmor even kicks up an error msg to make sure you're around, right Dirk?)

One thing i'll make sure i have once we find a new home is my own coffee area.

I think i should also get a cheap kcup brewer... not for me mind you, but for guests that want coffee and don't want me to make a cup, they could just pop in a kcup themselves.
(i literally have all the ways to brew coffee, i just stow that shit away, from super annoying siphon to a gaggia, i'll just leave out the moka pot and french press on the table cuz they look cool)
Click to expand...

Yeah, the Behmor has a safety thing that switches it to cool mode with 4:30 left, and you have to push the right button to make it keep roasting. There is a way to shut that off, but I stay with my roasting beans every time because you have to do things by sound, so monitoring it makes it better. Also, get 3/4 of a pound of beans, and then get another. The two are NOT identical. Beans vary in shape and size, especially if you have a mixed blend. So, the timing for first and second crack will change by as much as a minute, and that's a long time when roasting.

And Lanx, while you make a good point about trying it first with the cheap popper, I did that, and was infinitely frustrated because it was very hard to hear the cracks because of the noise of the machine. It drove me away from roasting for a couple years because I found it impossible to master any kind of roast with the crude instrument. Now it is possible that I'm just an idiot, so keep that in mind. However, when I witnessed what roasting was like with the Behmor at a friends house, I went out and got one immediately. There was certainly still a learning curve, but it was so much easier to master with the better roaster.
 
Lanx

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Staresso Portable Espresso Maker

I'm gonna be moving soon, no idea on the situation and where our corporate housing will be...

coffee was going to be a concern, lol. I got that (should be delivered end of day), theres a promo too for dads day to knock it down to 40bucks, seems good. I have my bombastic manual grinders, and i could just get boiling water by running the hotel coffee maker w/o coffee in it (basically using it as a kettle).

I'll see how this works, seems promising

The other one ppl get is the minipresso i decided against this because the pumping action, you have to suspend it in mid-air, while with the staresso, you basically just push down on the table (like an aeropress).
 
Lanx

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So far makes a full body espresso, i still have to dial it in tho, out of shape tho, got tired after using the hand crank on 3 pulls heh (10grams each).
 
TJT

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Started drinking coffee finally and I only like espresso. I pseudo espresso with a stovetop thing. Tasty stuff. I have a killer roast from Ukraine my friend brings me all the time. I'll post it up in a bit.

Other than that I stick to Cafe Bustelo. Has anyone tried the Black Rifle Coffee?
 
Lanx

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TJT said:
Started drinking coffee finally and I only like espresso. I pseudo espresso with a stovetop thing. Tasty stuff. I have a killer roast from Ukraine my friend brings me all the time. I'll post it up in a bit.

Other than that I stick to Cafe Bustelo. Has anyone tried the Black Rifle Coffee?
Click to expand...
i don't know if you know, but just clarify, it's not "pseudo espresso", but more like "weak" espresso, since espresso would be defined as coffee brewed using 9-15bars of atmospheric pressure. a stovetop thing or moka pot would produce around 2-3bars of pressure.

what this is, is that
1. depending on how it's done, you might actually scortch your coffee
2. it's makes a weak espresso as opposed to a "full bodied" or strong espresso.

However a moka pot is way more forgiving than going out and buying a 2k setup to make good espresso.

other than sticking with your moka pot, i recommend 100% to use at least filtered water if you're not, and to try whole bean coffee.

As recommended, don pablo is pretty great, probably the best price/performance on amazon at 8ish bucks a pound.

For reference, cheap 8'oclock whole bean at a grocery store is around 7bucks a lb, while a starbucks veranna roast is like 11 to 13bucks a pound.

paying more for coffee doesn't necessarily translate to better beans (as seen from expensive starbucks/lb)

But just any cheapo blade grinder for like 10bucks and grind your coffee right before you brew and you'll have a farm more enhanced experience.
Of course now that you have whole beans, you want to store them to keep them fresher, longer, and for that try a coffee container it's made so that it'll keep o2 out (degrades coffee), tinted (uv protection) and lets the coffee "breath" (coffee beans produce co2).
It's not all that much the container/grinder is like 30bucks, then just get some good coffee beans. I have tried the yellow bricks(bustelo) and they're great, but i notice the flavor lost the next day (even if i try to revacuum it).
 
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Khane

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I'm pretty lucky in that I have a good coffee roaster minutes from where I live and it just so happens to be in the same industrial park as the gym I go to. Buying freshly roasted beans and not having to worry about storage is nice.

I started doing cold brew at home a while back and it's nice to have the option of freshly roasted and ground hot coffee or cold brew.

Next step is getting a nitro setup going because I really can't get enough of that stuff. I don't know if it's a great idea though because I already drink too much coffee as it is.
 
TJT

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Lanx said:
i don't know if you know, but just clarify, it's not "pseudo espresso", but more like "weak" espresso, since espresso would be defined as coffee brewed using 9-15bars of atmospheric pressure. a stovetop thing or moka pot would produce around 2-3bars of pressure.

what this is, is that
1. depending on how it's done, you might actually scortch your coffee
2. it's makes a weak espresso as opposed to a "full bodied" or strong espresso.

However a moka pot is way more forgiving than going out and buying a 2k setup to make good espresso.

other than sticking with your moka pot, i recommend 100% to use at least filtered water if you're not, and to try whole bean coffee.

As recommended, don pablo is pretty great, probably the best price/performance on amazon at 8ish bucks a pound.

For reference, cheap 8'oclock whole bean at a grocery store is around 7bucks a lb, while a starbucks veranna roast is like 11 to 13bucks a pound.

paying more for coffee doesn't necessarily translate to better beans (as seen from expensive starbucks/lb)

But just any cheapo blade grinder for like 10bucks and grind your coffee right before you brew and you'll have a farm more enhanced experience.
Of course now that you have whole beans, you want to store them to keep them fresher, longer, and for that try a coffee container it's made so that it'll keep o2 out (degrades coffee), tinted (uv protection) and lets the coffee "breath" (coffee beans produce co2).
It's not all that much the container/grinder is like 30bucks, then just get some good coffee beans. I have tried the yellow bricks(bustelo) and they're great, but i notice the flavor lost the next day (even if i try to revacuum it).
Click to expand...

Not doing any of this shit kkthx. Totally cool with my mokka stovetop coffee for the time being. I drink for effect.

This stuff is good.

white-1001PXD.1338203763.SNB4C4B9.obj.0.9.jpg
 
Lanx

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TJT said:
Not doing any of this shit kkthx. Totally cool with my mokka stovetop coffee for the time being. I drink for effect.

This stuff is good.

View attachment 142214
Click to expand...
but you can have effect and enjoy coffee more, i mean i drink cups a day, and black, no sugar, no cream, if i feel adventurous, almond milk.
 
TJT

TJT

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Lanx said:
but you can have effect and enjoy coffee more, i mean i drink cups a day, and black, no sugar, no cream, if i feel adventurous, almond milk.
Click to expand...

I don't put anything in the coffee and I just need the one a day.
 
P

Picasso3

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Khane said:
I'm pretty lucky in that I have a good coffee roaster minutes from where I live and it just so happens to be in the same industrial park as the gym I go to. Buying freshly roasted beans and not having to worry about storage is nice.

I started doing cold brew at home a while back and it's nice to have the option of freshly roasted and ground hot coffee or cold brew.

Next step is getting a nitro setup going because I really can't get enough of that stuff. I don't know if it's a great idea though because I already drink too much coffee as it is.
Click to expand...

I had nitro for the first time recently was really good but tap system are a lot of maintenance.
 
Lanx

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Picasso3 said:
I had nitro for the first time recently was really good but tap system are a lot of maintenance.
Click to expand...
I've been looking into home nitro for a while, it ranges from 250ish 1.5g jug (they just take a keg and put a stout and adapter for a small nitro tank on it) to over 700+ for a keggerator, kezzerator??? These are mostly just regular beer setups that ppl adapt for nitro coffee.

Don't try co2 coffee, it's too... bubbly??? just go for straight nitro, so creamy.

I've also seen the whipped cream dispenser of course don't try this, this is N20 (nitrous oxide), not N2 (nitrogen), they do sell Nitrogen cartridges from beer places
Nitrogen Cartridge (1.8g) | MoreBeer

it's like 10bucks to shipped 1cartridge, 60bucks for free shipping. no idea how far 1.8g of nitro will get you.

also i've been thinking about a sodastream, modded to use nitrogen, does that work?
 
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Abefroman

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C02 coffee tastes sour. Something to do with the Ph level and science!
 
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Khane

Khane

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I already have a kegorator, just need to outfit it for nitro.

The whipped cream dispensers aren't actually pressurizing or nitrogenating anything. If you let a coffee that's been shaken up in one sit for about 5 minutes it will have lost all the Nitrogen even if you get some special N2 cartridge.
 
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