Coffee snobs

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by High Cotton, Jun 15, 2009.

  1. MORBO!

    MORBO! Hello, Tiny Man. I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!!
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    This question might be a no-no for the more snobby, but I'm looking to add a super-automatic espresso machine to my bathroom upstairs. Any thoughts/recommendations/suggestions?

    We just newly remodeled and I have a countertop space that would work perfectly for a small espresso bar. My wife and I wouldn't be making lattes or anything like that. Primarily just espresso shots, cafe cubano, americanos. So we don't need the milk frother or anything like that on the machine.

    For those wondering, I'm looking for the super automatic for a few reasons. First, and probably foremost, is that my wife is not nearly as...let's say...precise or concerned with the details of making a good cup of espresso as I am. She's messy. Very. The idea of just pouring the beans in and having the machine make her the shot of espresso is very compelling to me because it minimizes most of the little things that drive me nuts and could end up costing me 50% my estate in a divorce (lmbo jokes). Second, since this would be in our upstairs bathroom, I'm not looking at dumping the grounds every single time we make espresso or to run the grounds down the sink when cleaning it out (for pipe clogging concerns). So if all I have to do is dump out the receptacle once a week or something, that's not too bad.
     
  2. Jorts

    Jorts "Ask about my Mortgage Services"
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    ArsenalEnglandFormula 1

    I live my life by 2 rules:

    1. Don’t shit where you eat
    2. Don’t eat (or drink in this case) where you shit
     
  3. MORBO!

    MORBO! Hello, Tiny Man. I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!!
    Donor
    New York GiantsNew York YankeesAtlanta UnitedUCF Knights

    I have a separate toilet room in the bathroom. This section is more of like the closet/master bedroom suite.
     
  4. SpartanGA

    SpartanGA Well-Known Member
    Donor TMB OG
    Michigan State Spartans

    Maybe consider a nespresso machine. Clean and easy for that area.
     
  5. John McGuirk

    John McGuirk member of the blue tiger club
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    Started using the 4:6 method for pour over and can tell I’m brewing better coffee more consistently. I brew pretty large batches with the chemex (45g coffee, 675g water - 1:15). Seem to get more character out of the beans. Definitely cuts the brew time with no bloom so can use a finer grind size (19 on virtuoso)
     
  6. One Two

    One Two Hot Dog Vibes
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    Auburn TigersAtlanta Braves

    Anti social office guy that sits directly across from the coffee station but doesn’t like the office coffee checking in

    7CDC9B70-4D65-491B-BDAB-EC7D8AF2DAEC.jpeg
     
  7. Jorts

    Jorts "Ask about my Mortgage Services"
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    ArsenalEnglandFormula 1

    Back in my corporate days, HR would have shut that setup down with the quickness…

    I rolled with a Hario hand grinder & Aeropress
     
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  8. One Two

    One Two Hot Dog Vibes
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    Auburn TigersAtlanta Braves

    I keep everything in a drawer when I’m not using it :)
     
  9. Jorts

    Jorts "Ask about my Mortgage Services"
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    ArsenalEnglandFormula 1

    One guy had a fucking George Foreman grill at his desk & started a grease fire... so, that hot plate would be no bueno
     
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  10. One Two

    One Two Hot Dog Vibes
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    Auburn TigersAtlanta Braves

    Incredible. Previous job during employee appreciation week a coworker was making beignets in his cube. Fucking deep fryer and everything
     
  11. Jorts

    Jorts "Ask about my Mortgage Services"
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    ArsenalEnglandFormula 1

    Thinking about grabbing this...

     
  12. SpartanGA

    SpartanGA Well-Known Member
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    Michigan State Spartans

    Take Folgers in and replace his coffee. pleasssseeeee
     
  13. One Two

    One Two Hot Dog Vibes
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    Auburn TigersAtlanta Braves

    That’s my set up :crossedarms:
     
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  14. One Two

    One Two Hot Dog Vibes
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    Auburn TigersAtlanta Braves

     
  15. SpartanGA

    SpartanGA Well-Known Member
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    Michigan State Spartans

    hahaha. the 3rd person fooled me. lol
     
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  16. Jorts

    Jorts "Ask about my Mortgage Services"
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    ArsenalEnglandFormula 1

    Just opened my 1st bag of Bird Rock. Solid light roast... You guys should give them a try
    upload_2023-5-23_9-11-1.png
     
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  17. AUShyGuy

    AUShyGuy Unbridled Enthusiasm
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    Fellow drops is from square mile today, $31 for a 350g bag. Kinda tempted, anyone had anything from square mile before?
     
  18. DuffandMuff

    DuffandMuff Well-Known Member
    Tampa Bay LightningSan Diego Padres

    Are you paying a premium because Hoffman’s name is tied to it?
     
  19. pratyk

    pratyk Arsenal FC, Rutgers Scarlet Knights
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    I’d pass - the notes are all over the place and it’s a blend if I’m not mistaken. Square mile also seems to roast darker than or at par with Onyx from what I’ve seen.
     
  20. Jorts

    Jorts "Ask about my Mortgage Services"
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    ArsenalEnglandFormula 1

    I need a bag, so I grabbed it... plus it's actually a 12oz bag. I'll report back
     
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  21. pratyk

    pratyk Arsenal FC, Rutgers Scarlet Knights
    Rutgers Scarlet KnightsArsenal

    If anyone's looking for a new roaster to try, check out Ilse - they're out of CT and roast medium-light to light. The standard bag size is 12oz and they're usually 20-24$ a bag for single origins.Free shipping at 40$
     
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  22. SpartanGA

    SpartanGA Well-Known Member
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    Michigan State Spartans

    I had their Rwanda Sholi Natural and it was great. Want to try more once I need coffee
     
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  23. Drew Swinney Esq

    Drew Swinney Esq Successful Attorney in Atlanta
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    pratyk I picked up the normcore spring tamper with flat base. I can’t say for sure if it’s improved anything but nice to not think about it at all and just tamp and go.

    When you put in a filter in the portafilter for light roasts, are you wetting it any? I think this is helping and for sure cuts down on the spray I would sometimes get on light roast shots. That drove me crazy.

    Now I feel like sometimes but not always, some grounds may be getting under the side of the filter during the rest of the prep and it introduces a place to channel.
     
  24. MODEVIL

    MODEVIL Well-Known Member
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    Fellow drops....$33 for 8 ounces is a no for me today. Just going to support local shops this week.
     
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  25. Jorts

    Jorts "Ask about my Mortgage Services"
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    ArsenalEnglandFormula 1

    There are some great beans available directly through the Fellow website... I'm likely going just grab my beans locally, or there, unless Drops has something exceptional
     
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  26. DuffandMuff

    DuffandMuff Well-Known Member
    Tampa Bay LightningSan Diego Padres

    I’ve noticed Whole Foods carries a number of our local roasters. Some of the bags are even cheaper than at the roaster, which baffles me.
     
  27. Jorts

    Jorts "Ask about my Mortgage Services"
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    ArsenalEnglandFormula 1

    Same here, but you gotta watch the "roasted on" dates
     
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  28. DuffandMuff

    DuffandMuff Well-Known Member
    Tampa Bay LightningSan Diego Padres

    For sure. Had to pull out four old bags to get to the fresh one in the back last time I was there.
     
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  29. pratyk

    pratyk Arsenal FC, Rutgers Scarlet Knights
    Rutgers Scarlet KnightsArsenal

    I think that's the biggest advantage of the spring loaded tampers - takes 1 variable out of your workflow.

    I don't wet the filter - just place it at the bottom and pour the grounds over (if not grinding straight into the portafilter). The shots do look like they maybe channeling as a result of the paper (vs. the single stream you'd traditionally expect) but they'll definitely taste better.

    I forget what machine you have but if you can reduce the pressure (via the OPV or profile) to 5-6 bars, and grind the light roasts beans a bit coarser, you can try running some turbo shots - I've been playing around with those in the past couple of days with some Heart and Sey beans that I picked up over the weekend and I'm hitting a lot of those advertised notes along with a sweeter (albeit barely any body) shot with a ratio of 1:3 (17g: 50g out).
     
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  30. Drew Swinney Esq

    Drew Swinney Esq Successful Attorney in Atlanta
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    I have the Breville Infuser. No real pressure adjustment, but I have read of people doing “Pre-Infusion only” shots which I think would be at 6 bars. Basically hold the button the entire time to keep it in pre infusion mode.
     
  31. pratyk

    pratyk Arsenal FC, Rutgers Scarlet Knights
    Rutgers Scarlet KnightsArsenal

    Looks like this link basically is talking about that manner of pulling shots - another thing you can do is grind a bit coarser and see how it affects the taste.

    https://espressoaf.com/manufacturers/breville/preinfusion.html

    If you're adventurous enough, there's a dimmer mod for Infuser to be able to flow profile -
    https://espressoaf.com/manufacturers/breville/dimmer.html


    I hope this helps!
     
    #3281 pratyk, Jun 2, 2023
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2023
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  32. ned's head

    ned's head Well-Known Member
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    I've never had a ton of luck with Japanese iced, but I just tried hoffmann's recipe and it was a real treat.
     
  33. pratyk

    pratyk Arsenal FC, Rutgers Scarlet Knights
    Rutgers Scarlet KnightsArsenal

    It’s freezin (and portioning) time..

     
  34. pratyk

    pratyk Arsenal FC, Rutgers Scarlet Knights
    Rutgers Scarlet KnightsArsenal

    Ps. If anyone is looking for some new beans, I’d check out H&S roasters.
     
  35. Lawnole23

    Lawnole23 FSU Seminoles 2020 National Champions
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    The local roasters in Tampa always have a roasted on date. When they sell to the grocery stores they switch to a use by date and it's usually 6 months after whenever I see it in the store. I just stopped purchasing from grocery stores.
     
  36. DuffandMuff

    DuffandMuff Well-Known Member
    Tampa Bay LightningSan Diego Padres

    Was just gonna post an update to my previous message.

    I agree with you- most bags in Whole Foods utilize a “use by” date and not roasted on. I stay away from those.

    Also, I was in Whole Foods last week and found that the local roaster prices had now caught up with what they are at the actual roaster. Bird rock, lofty, modern times, etc. So, I’m done buying from Whole Foods unless it’s for a basic bag for the gf’s French press.
     
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  37. AUShyGuy

    AUShyGuy Unbridled Enthusiasm
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    Pic gives me Walter white vibes
     
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  38. Stone Cold Steve Austin

    Stone Cold Steve Austin Tickler Extraordinaire
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    Alabama Crimson TideAtlanta Braves

    KOPPED a technivorm moccamaster to use as my EDB over my Chemex. A sad day to be sure, but I’m excited about the future.
     
  39. Drew Swinney Esq

    Drew Swinney Esq Successful Attorney in Atlanta
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    So what is going on here?

    When were the beans opened in relation to roast date when you’re aliquoting the coffee (lol) to the conicals?
    Same for the freezer?
    The conicals are for room temp storage?
     
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  40. Jorts

    Jorts "Ask about my Mortgage Services"
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    ArsenalEnglandFormula 1

    I have toyed with that or a Ratio for a while, as my wife refuses to make coffee for herself using any of my other devices.

    I’ve been exclusively in Aeropress with the Prismo for quite awhile now. So quick, easy and consistently great brews
     
  41. pratyk

    pratyk Arsenal FC, Rutgers Scarlet Knights
    Rutgers Scarlet KnightsArsenal

    The beans (or roasters) from left to right were lightest to light / light medium. I froze half opened bags in reusable vacuum sealer bags and the unopened ones will be frozen once they've rested for enough time. The centrifugal test tubes were single dosed Decaf beans, which i'll grind straight from the freezer, as my last decaf beans didn't remain that tasty after defrosting the whole bag (and decaf beans tend to fall off taste wise fairly quicker).

    I'm still learning / tweaking as I go along but this way, I can at least enjoy a variety of beans over a period of time. The light roasts seemingly stay good for months or year if frozen properly.
     
  42. pratyk

    pratyk Arsenal FC, Rutgers Scarlet Knights
    Rutgers Scarlet KnightsArsenal

    Also, Apollon' Gold suggests resting their coffee for atleast 40-45 days but in the 1.5 bags I've gone through, they got better around day 52-55 (and potentially longer but I ran through the beans by then) H&S Ultralight recommended rest is for 3 weeks or so and their light or S&W light ones for 2-2.5 weeks
     
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  43. Drew Swinney Esq

    Drew Swinney Esq Successful Attorney in Atlanta
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  44. AUShyGuy

    AUShyGuy Unbridled Enthusiasm
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    Finally got my hands on an Acaia Pearl, nerding out big time

    IMG_0299.jpeg
     
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  45. Jorts

    Jorts "Ask about my Mortgage Services"
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    ArsenalEnglandFormula 1

    I've never really used the app...
     
  46. AUShyGuy

    AUShyGuy Unbridled Enthusiasm
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    The bean conquer app supports it which I already used to track beans and espresso results
     
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  47. MODEVIL

    MODEVIL Well-Known Member
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    Fellow Drops text with no price today?
     
  48. Jorts

    Jorts "Ask about my Mortgage Services"
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    ArsenalEnglandFormula 1

    $22+5 for 12 oz
     
  49. MODEVIL

    MODEVIL Well-Known Member
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    it came through as I hit post reply here...seems like they forgot the details.
     
  50. pratyk

    pratyk Arsenal FC, Rutgers Scarlet Knights
    Rutgers Scarlet KnightsArsenal

    Botz out of Indiana is really good juice. Washed fruit bomb without a lot of funk. Lot of blackberry and cherry as an espresso but even better with a bit of ice and some whole milk.

    If anyone is looking for new roasters to try, definitely give it a go.

     
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