Forgot a had a trio of 6oz samples from Blue Bottle this is excellent and unusual to be from Vietnam https://bluebottlecoffee.com/us/eng/product/vietnam-da-lat-honey
The next thing I get, is probably the Ode grinder, with the premium burr set. Even then, I’m not sure it’s an upgrade over my V+
Most claim flat over conical for pour over, if anything the future option to go SSP would be nice (unless that’s what you meant by premium in which case it’s surely a noticeable bump)
I saw fellow had 20% off site wide sale a few days ago. Not sure how that compares to their other sales.
I bought myself a Breville Barista Touch. It has good reviews and seemed like a good compromise for something that has a lot of auto features but still lets you play around with manual adjustments. My wife appreciates that it is pretty easy to use once you get the grind dialed in.
Not a regular ITT, but I’m doing a tour here on Monday and I’m so fucking pumped: https://oofarm.mybigcommerce.com/ It’s a three hour tour of their grow and roast operation ending with a brunch and coffee tasting. We’re having dinner at a restaurant tonight that exclusively sources from this farm, to which I’m also looking forward.
first cup of the washed following the bold bean recommended brewing method was outstanding. Very excited.
That’s interesting, never tried a bypass method before. Not sure I’ve had a pour over I noticed as “too strong”, wonder how it would taste if you stopped at 330.
I’ve been doing Kasuyas 4:6 so bold beans bit on strength was new (4:6 uses the last 60% of water to determine brew strength, more pours = stronger)
Gonna be honest- this step confuses me: After all water draws down, remove the brewer and set aside. Add 30 grams of hot water to the brewer to dilute extraction to ideal brew strength. Give the carafe a good swirl or stir to mix the coffee. Serve and enjoy!
seeing a lot of conflicting directions for a pour over: how many grams of beans / grams of water for a single cup? or what should the ratio be
I use a V60 for my pour over I typically stick with a 15/1 water to bean ratio. I tend to use 24g of beans, so 360g of water. It seems like most pour over ratios I see online are between 14-17 grams of water to bean.
yeah I think for my first try I’m going to do 16:1, 22g of beans ground at medium-coarse and 350g water
Don’t use a medium coarse grind. Water will pass through far too quickly. Without knowing anything about your grinder setup, I’d say go know higher than medium. And you’ll probably end up going finer from there.
15:1 is what I use for light to medium roast. Use 45 g coffee to 675 water. Honestly probably too big of a batch all at once but I fill up the travel mug so I can drink it all day
Waiting until my family is gone, so I can enjoy it & not watch them add peppermint mocha Coffee Mate creamer to the prized beans
For light roast I start at 60g/L (1:16.66667). So you’re not far off. Darker roasts I start at 70g/L (1:14.28).
I have different beans I use for my wife’s coffee. She is not getting these. The natural might be better than the washed by the way!
My wife gets whatever beans she wants… I just tell her if something is exceptional, so she doesn’t waste it. She’s pretty good about it & will generally have at least one cup black… And only adds half and half. my extended family will have to make due with coffee collective this Christmas
So the S&W Beans were .. not impressive. Tried diff grind sizes, diff temperatures & flow profiles, and just not getting any damn note, espresso or milk based. I can see them being an upgrade for someone who's used to drinking Peets or regular Starbucks beans but if you're used to good 3rd wave & 4th wave beans, I'd steer clear. On the bright side, they were only 16-17$ a lb & I'll utilize the open bag for cold brew & gift away the unopened bag to a friend who usually has peets sitting in his grinder.
Which beans did you get? It's always a ymmv situation, but I'll say that I had a very different experience with each of the beans in my sampler for anyone on the fence.
https://dcist.com/story/22/12/21/first-look-cafe-unido-panama-coffee-tasting-menu-shaw/ First Look: When It Comes To Panamanian Coffee, Leave It Up To Café Unido Amanda Michelle Gomez “You get coffee from one country, but you will be experiencing different journeys,” says Francisco Flores, a head roaster for the Panama-based coffee company. He is preparing the Geisha cascara, a floral hibiscus-like tea. Amanda Michelle Gomez / DCist/WAMU The head roaster of Café Unido, Francisco Flores, wants you to think about your coffee as you do your wine. Like wine, coffee’s aromas and flavors are influenced by its variety (type of plant), terroir (natural environment), and processing (roasting). This is to say, not every cup of coffee tastes the same. (And it’s not just because of sugar, milk, or other add-ins.) Become a sponsor? At Café Unido’s first standalone brick-and-mortar in D.C., located in Shaw, the Panama-based coffee company is hoping to demonstrate that, using Geisha beans, “the caviar of coffee beans,” and serving several distinct beverages made from them on an omakase-style menu. In Japanese, “omakase” means “I leave it up to you.” The team at Café Unido are asking you to trust them — just as you would a sushi chef — to select great coffee for you. “The perception of coffee tends to be more like a commodity, right? Like something that you get in the morning to wake up,” says Flores. “Please give us the opportunity to try it in a different way, to rethink it. And for us, the journey of sharing food right next to it is even more exciting.” You may recognize Café Unido because of its kiosk at Union Market’s La Cosecha. The new location, which opened in November, resembles Café Unido’s storefronts in Panama, where it all started. Founded in 2014 by two friends, Benito Bermudez and Mario Castrellón, the company aimed to offer a space for fellow Panamanians to learn and appreciate coffee grown by local producers. Then, in 2020, they branched out to the U.S., bringing one of the world’s most exclusive (and expensive) coffees to D.C., the Geisha. (In 2021, Geisha coffee from one of the most biodiverse regions of the country went for over $2,500 a pound, according to a Panamanian news outlet.) Café Unido opened its first brick-and-mortar in the U.S. in D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood. “When we opened our first shop in Panama in 2014, a lot of people in Panama were not used to drinking specialty coffee,” Bermudez told Daily Coffee News. “Most of our specialty lots are exported to Asia or other parts of the world, so when we first opened our doors, there was a lot of education, different brewing methods and all that. I feel we’re replicating that same thing here in D.C.” Café Unido’s new Shaw location is a slick 69-seat café and bar. The open floor plan, decorated with stone and wood elements, give the location an airy, spacious feel. Two months into opening, and the cafe’s already garnered a crowd during the workday, with people sipping coffee as they type away on their laptops (there’s free WiFi). The regular menu includes small bites like shrimp or shredded chicken empanadas ($7), as well as breakfast and lunch options like pumpkin spice pancakes ($12) and pork belly sandwiches ($15). Dishes are intended to showcase the ingredients and, of course, coffee of Panama. As for coffee, patrons can order a classic drip for $4 or that sought-after Geisha (ask the barista for the market price that day). There’s milk on the premises, so patrons can order a latte for $5.25. Don’t want coffee? Café Unido also sells tea, from chai to matcha (ranging from $3.5 to $4.50, depending on if you get a latte). “[Geisha] has put Panamanian coffee in the specialty market in a super high level,” explains Flores at the eight-seat bar. He met Bermudez because they are both musicians. Flores, who grew up on his family’s coffee farm in El Salvador, moved to D.C. during the pandemic to help his old friend, who is still in Panama. Two months in, Café Unido already attracted a workday crowd. They have plans for weekend brunch, as well as food and artist pop-ups.Amanda Michelle Gomez / DCist/WAMU The second course is the the same geisha varietal of coffee processed in two different ways, one washed and one processed more naturally, served with a carimañola, filled dumpling.Amanda Michelle Gomez / DCist/WAMU The third course is the cold brew made with the geisha beans and vegan ceviche .Amanda Michelle Gomez / DCist/WAMU The fourth course pairs the Panama cliche cocktail and with chicharrón.Amanda Michelle Gomez / DCist/WAMU Omakase is a style of dining typically at a sushi counter. So why not do the same for coffee, asks Cafe Unido.DCist/WAMU Francisco Flores along with other members of the Café Unido team will walk patrons through the "coffee omakase."Amanda Michelle Gomez / DCist/WAMU Two months in, Café Unido already attracted a workday crowd. They have plans for weekend brunch, as well as food and artist pop-ups.Amanda Michelle Gomez / DCist/WAMU The second course is the the same geisha varietal of coffee processed in two different ways, one washed and one processed more naturally, served with a carimañola, filled dumpling.Amanda Michelle Gomez / DCist/WAMU Future plans include outdoor dining, brunch, food and artist pop-ups, and the omakase, a 40-45 minute four-course tasting menu that goes for $45 and pairs most beverages with Panamanian bites. The omakase menu will change every so often, but patrons who make a reservation soon could expect to start their experience with the Geisha cascara, a floral hibiscus-like tea that’s made out of the cascara (the skin of a the coffee cherry). A member of the Café Unido team will walk patrons through the omakase menu to highlight the differences in how each farmer treats their coffee cherries. One course includes two cups of coffee of the same varietal, but from different farms prepared through different processes. (One smells closer to wine than coffee.) The cups of coffee are prepared at the counter and paired with a carimañola, a traditional Panamanian ground-beef fritter, prepared by Chef Jovana Urriola. The accompanying house-made ketchup is even made with the coffee husk. (DCist was gifted the omakase menu during the reporting of this story.) “You get coffee from one country, but you will be experiencing different journeys, when you drink from one farm to the other, even with the same variety,” says Flores. The omakase menu also includes a cold brew with a vegan ceviche and, the crowning jewel, a coffee-based old fashioned cocktail and chicharrón. The rum they use is from a local distillery, Cotton & Reed; Flores says they hope to feature more local companies at the location. Urriola cooked the chicharrón, or pork belly, in the oven for four to six hours, and used coffee husk and various spices. If patrons aren’t ready to leave after their omakase, Unido also offers a menu of natural wines, says Flores. While Café Unido seems more like a coffeeshop nowadays, the team wants it to feel more like a bustling bar/restaurant. The omakase menu gets them closer, with reservations opening up this week. Café Unido’s new brick-and-mortar is located at 908 W Street NW. Open weekdays between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., and weekends 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. (soon to be 9 p.m.).
Tried bold bean bypass method…first cup was good, maybe slightly weaker (I used 1:15). Tried again at 1:14 with beans that were newly roasted, around 5 days ago. Grind size 18 on virtuoso, using chemex. :chefskiss: Might start using this from now on, especially for larger batches that constantly overextract. Very tasty cup
My friend's call me a coffee snob but that's just because they haven't met you all. I've been doing James Hoffman's French Press recipe lately and I enjoy it. It's been fun using the French Press after not using it in awhile.
They just use whatever grocery store brand beans in any coffee machine. They don't care. I buy mid level beans (Peet's, Caribou, etc) and use a French Press, V60, or Aeropress. I think their ignorance leads them to believe I'm a wild chemist when it comes to coffee.