I always enjoy moralistic lectures from folk who live in glass houses!
Coffee talk
- Thread starter troutpocket
- Start date
IMO you're reading way more into this than is actually there. I didn't see any moralistic lecture. Do you honestly think that the masses of Kcups, recyclable or not, is somehow a good thing?
I've never seen anyone make the argument that they are good for the environment. Suggesting that people should be aware of the impact isn't lecturing, it's simply the truth. I have a hard time envisioning everyone out there who use the things spending the time and effort to clean and recycle them. I'll be honest, when I've used them I haven't done so.
I got zero sense of a lecture, just pointing out the obvious pitfall of the convenience the Kcups provide.
Anyway, not trying to muck up this cool thread so I'll leave it at that
Take a good look at the environmental impact of coffee production world-wide. My point is that we all negatively impact the environment and that tacit shaming regarding one's coffee consumption practices doesn't contribute much to an interesting discussion...and I'll leave it at that.
Korrect spelling is "krustiness".
BriGuy
Life of the Party
I love all those little local German bakeries and deli's! I wish we had those here. I spent much of my youth on several U.S. military bases over there. My mom is German, so my dad would volunteer/apply for assignments in Germany. I've never been to Hannover, though.
Also, I really liked the plain brewed coffee they served. Very smooth and tasty.
You didn't 'hurt my feelings', nor do I feel any sense of shame in continuing to do so...despite your attempt to elicit such regarding the use of kcups.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch - the coffee thread ranch: Two days ago, I roasted a bean new to me. Brazil Minas Gerais Cerrado, naturally processed. I took the roast just past the first crack. Burr ground the beans this morning for my Melitta drip: delicious!
This morning I enjoyed another large mug of the Ethiopian beans I recently picked up. These are the first beans I've tried that have truly opened my mind to the potential that is out there. I'm still kinda in shock at experiencing this kind of flavor for the first time.
Now my thoughts are focused on how I can make things even better and get dialed in. I keep reading about bur grinders. I think I already know the answer to this, but do these things truly make as big a difference as I keep reading? After using my blade grinder this morning I inspected the results and there was definitely a lot of inconsistencies in the grounds. My research tells me that a decent burr grinder is the next step to improving my efforts, but man those things are expensive!
I'm drawn towards electric, as that's just generally my style overall. Anyone have any recommendations for a decent grinder that won't require me to take out a second mortgage? Are the manual versions any less effective in any way or is the difference simply in convenience and possibly speed?
Now my thoughts are focused on how I can make things even better and get dialed in. I keep reading about bur grinders. I think I already know the answer to this, but do these things truly make as big a difference as I keep reading? After using my blade grinder this morning I inspected the results and there was definitely a lot of inconsistencies in the grounds. My research tells me that a decent burr grinder is the next step to improving my efforts, but man those things are expensive!
I'm drawn towards electric, as that's just generally my style overall. Anyone have any recommendations for a decent grinder that won't require me to take out a second mortgage? Are the manual versions any less effective in any way or is the difference simply in convenience and possibly speed?
Nick - I use a Baratza Encore, they list for $170.00. The tool works great, grind size is as simple as twisting the cone. Previously I used a blade grinder: still way better than Folgers.
@Nick Clayton this is what I use. I bought it 7-8 years ago and it has been solid. Easy grind adjustments from fine to coarse.
www.sweetmarias.com
Encore Conical Burr Mill by Baratza
The Encore is a pretty straight forward grinder and a good choice if you mostly drink french press or filter drip and an occasional espresso. It's an appropriately named replacement for Baratza's popular
www.sweetmarias.com
BriGuy
Life of the Party
You're screwed now. Welcome to the dark side.
The grinder makes a big difference, especially where you need to grind very fine and have consistent grind size, like for espresso. I'm shopping myself, but haven't gotten past the sticker shock.
I currently use an inexpensive manual grinder. It's far more consistent than my blade grinder, but a pain in the arse to use.
You weren't missing much. I preferred running up to Hamburg than going over to Hannover. Plus Uetze is just a super tiny town way on the outskirts. Chances are you could've went through there and had no idea. Lol.
There used to be a small bakery in Fife like the one in Uetze. Plus a decent little diner inside the old Piggly Wiggly complex in Fife. Coffee wasn't bad, they sold some of the baked goods from across the street, and made the best homemade pies.
Well first roasts are done. Went with the Costa Rica Tarrazu Cafetales de Dota from my samplers. Have a bit to work on but we're getting there. I had trouble getting the Nostalgia popper hot enough. It was about 45 degrees outside which definitely didn't help. The first two roasts I tried were about 3oz as recommended by Sweet Marias. However, after even 15-16 minutes I never got first crack even though the beans themselves looked roasted. Didn't see any noticeable change in roast level from about 12-15 minutes. I did a little reading and found a recommendation to increase the amount of beans to get more heat. The third and final roast today was a little over 4oz and pretty much maxed out the popper. Stirring for the first couple minutes before the beans had lost enough moisture to spin on their own from the roaster, I got first crack around 6.5 minutes, but never got much more than a few cracks here and there. I pulled them at 12 minutes (city/city+ based on pic?). I know you're supposed to wait before making coffee with fresh roasted beans but I couldn't help myself so made a cup with the first roast and again with the last. The first roast was bright and maybe a bit grassy. Too light imo. The last roast was fuller bodied and had the biscuity/chocolate roasted characters that matched up with the description on the package. Going to need to roast at either a higher ambient temp or try some of the other tricks to get some more heat out of this thing on the next go around.
Looks great to me! Thanks for the note about your experience with the Nostalgia popper as roaster for the first two roasts. Mine arrived but I haven't used it yet. I am a little surprised at your experience. I was expecting to have to dial the heat back. We'll see how it goes.
@Nick Clayton , another Baratza Encore user here. It's great. Makes a massive difference in dialing in your brew. Be sure to clean it every so often. I think I messed mine up maybe by not cleaning it enough? Not sure, but broke a plastic paddle wheel that is part of the assembly. They sent me a replacement part and links to videos (I didn't want to pay out for service and shipping). I reinstalled the stuff, incorrectly it turns out, used it for a while and it just wasn't quite right, took it all apart again, got it right, and it's been reliable.
Yeah I was surprised as well. Not sure if maybe I was hitting a thermal switch that was shutting off the elements, but that doesn't make much sense since the larger batch seemed to heat up faster.
@ffb you did good! I under roasted my first couple batches then nearly set some beans on fire trying to get a dark roast 
I’ve settled on 4 ounce batches. It is interesting you had to go that long though. At 15-16 minutes I’m into Vienna territory, which is fine for some beans. But I roast outdoors year round as long as ambient temperature is 40ish.
I’ve settled on 4 ounce batches. It is interesting you had to go that long though. At 15-16 minutes I’m into Vienna territory, which is fine for some beans. But I roast outdoors year round as long as ambient temperature is 40ish.
Next batch of cold brew finished. Forgot to make it this weekend so had to do 2 cups of hot coffee for work today.
I had a similar experience with my first roast with the Nostalgia as @ffb did. The beans never audibly cracked. At thirty minutes I shut it down. They look okay, a little weird. It was not a normal roasting sequence like I get with my heat gun. I read to put in just enough beans that they stop moving when it’s on, to start. Must not be enough volume? Not sure how that works (is there some sensor in that cheap popper?) but I’ll try more next time. I was all happy at first, oh this is neat, but it just stalled.
