Coffee talk

[troutpocket]

It’s finally feeling like summer which means I need to get my cold brew game going. I really like the light and sweet roasts for this time of year.

I’ll roast a batch tonight so it can rest before I turn it into cold brew for the weekend.

My cold brew setup is really simple; it’s a French press. I grind 1 cup of beans, fairly coarse, add 2.5 cups cold water, mix well, and into the refrigerator for 24 hours. Press and pour into a 16oz Mason jar.

Edit: First roast. Went 10 minutes in the air popper. Trying to reach a City+ kinda color.

 

[Cliff]

Did you get the aroma of roasting beans throught that window or in the store? I LOVE the smell of the beans as they turn from green to yellow and then start to brown. By first crack the garage smells amazing. Coffee: wonderful stuff.

A few years ago I was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and the family I was visiting had cooks who made us coffee every morning. They would roast the coffee beans on flat steel skillets on a kerosene stove using a wooden stick to work the beans around. The smells were awesome. When the beans were roasted to their satisfaction they would take the roasted beans into the kitchen to grind, and finally make the coffee. It was the best coffee I've ever tasted.

 

[troutpocket]

It’s finally feeling like summer which means I need to get my cold brew game going. I really like the light and sweet roasts for this time of year.
View attachment 21557
I’ll roast a batch tonight so it can rest before I turn it into cold brew for the weekend.

My cold brew setup is really simple; it’s a French press. I grind 1 cup of beans, fairly coarse, add 2.5 cups cold water, mix well, and into the refrigerator for 24 hours. Press and pour into a 16oz Mason jar.

Edit: First roast. Went 10 minutes in the air popper. Trying to reach a City+ kinda color.
View attachment 21578

This Sidama cold brew is sweet and floral up front and citrus rind/bergamot on the back. About 6 oz over ice; it’s a concentrated brew and I don’t like the caffeine jitters. Summer coffee goodness.

 

[Old Man]

I haven't drank any coffee in over 40 years. No matter what I drank in the way of coffee, it would upset my stomach. So I quit all coffee. I like the smell of the coffee before it's brewed. That's about as close as I get to it.

 

[Buzzy]

It’s finally feeling like summer which means I need to get my cold brew game going. I really like the light and sweet roasts for this time of year.
View attachment 21557
I’ll roast a batch tonight so it can rest before I turn it into cold brew for the weekend.

My cold brew setup is really simple; it’s a French press. I grind 1 cup of beans, fairly coarse, add 2.5 cups cold water, mix well, and into the refrigerator for 24 hours. Press and pour into a 16oz Mason jar.

Edit: First roast. Went 10 minutes in the air popper. Trying to reach a City+ kinda color.
View attachment 21578

"fairly course" - I've never tried to cold brew but have always enjoyed strong iced coffee. Fairly course....... ;-)

 

[troutpocket]

"fairly course" - I've never tried to cold brew but have always enjoyed strong iced coffee. Fairly course....... ;-)

Not sure if there’s a question in there? To be specific, grind size #22 on a Baratza encore

Cold brew has a unique character. I prefer it when I use Ethiopian, Kenyan, and other light/bright/highly-acidic beans. It mellows the acidity without diluting the other characteristics in the flavor.

 

[Buzzy]

Not sure if there’s a question in there? To be specific, grind size #22 on a Baratza encore

Cold brew has a unique character. I prefer it when I use Ethiopian, Kenyan, and other light/bright/highly-acidic beans. It mellows the acidity without diluting the other characteristics in the flavor.

There was a question there, you answered it, arigato! I roasted some Ethiopian beans this morning, I'll grind 'em at #22 on the encore. Thanks, Rod.

 

[troutpocket]

I’m gearing up for an extended cold brew season. I checked out Sweet Maria’s current offerings and ended up ordering 8lbs of Kenyan and Ethiopian beans. I’m a sucker for a well written coffee description and collections of staff-pick beans I already have 4lbs of Burundi-origin that will get me through most of the hot season.

 

[Wayne Kohan]

Yikes! A cup of beans for 2.5 cups of cold brew? You mean like 8 oz of beans? For those that don't roast our own that can be quite an expensive grande size cold brew.

 

[troutpocket]

Yikes! A cup of beans for 2.5 cups of cold brew? You mean like 8 oz of beans? For those that don't roast our own that can be quite an expensive grande size cold brew.

A cup of grinds, which comes out to maybe 3.5 oz dry weight. It’s a concentrated brew; 6-8oz over ice is enough for me.

 

[troutpocket]

Yikes! A cup of beans for 2.5 cups of cold brew? You mean like 8 oz of beans? For those that don't roast our own that can be quite an expensive grande size cold brew.

I should mention that I roast my green coffee in 4.0 oz batches. The finished roasted weight is less. I grind that full amount and depending on the beans, the volume varies-sometimes a rounded cup, sometimes heaping. I also vary the amount of water to taste. 2.5 cups is a good starting point but I sometimes increase to 3 or 3.5 cups.

 

[Cliff]

I've never heard of using a popcorn popper to roast coffee beans. I think I'll try it. I never use it for popcorn.

 

[troutpocket]

I've never heard of using a popcorn popper to roast coffee beans. I think I'll try it. I never use it.

Make sure it’s the type that blows the air in from the side. If it blows air from below its going to eject the beans.

Recommended Air Popcorn Popper Coffee Roaster Design - Sweet Maria's Coffee Library

For air popcorn coffee roasting, you must use a popper in which the hot air enters the popcorn chamber from side vents. We know of three types of this design

library.sweetmarias.com

 

[Buzzy]

A cup of grinds, which comes out to maybe 3.5 oz dry weight. It’s a concentrated brew; 6-8oz over ice is enough for me.

Do you use cream or sugar or black on ice?

Thread drift: Before we were married, I went on a date with my then girl friend to Tokyo. We stopped in a coffee shop for pastry and iced coffee. The coffee was served with two small pitchers: sugar syrup and heavy cream. Some 50 plus years later, we still love to have a pastry with iced coffee (today it will be cold brewed fresh roasted Ethiopian beans, #22 on the Baratza ).

 

[troutpocket]

Do you use cream or sugar or black on ice?

Thread drift: Before we were married, I went on a date with my then girl friend to Tokyo. We stopped in a coffee shop for pastry and iced coffee. The coffee was served with two small pitchers: sugar syrup and heavy cream. Some 50 plus years later, we still love to have a pastry with iced coffee (today it will be cold brewed fresh roasted Ethiopian beans, #22 on the Baratza ).

Black on ice or with a splash of half n half.

I visited Thailand 20 years ago and loved their ice coffee. It was served sweet and creamy. The first shop where I found it I made the mistake of ordering a second coffee. Turns out it’s brewed really strong. I was jittery the rest of the day.

 

[Buzzy]

Black on ice or with a splash of half n half.

I visited Thailand 20 years ago and loved their ice coffee. It was served sweet and creamy. The first shop where I found it I made the mistake of ordering a second coffee. Turns out it’s brewed really strong. I was jittery the rest of the day.

The verdict is in: Cold pressed (Morecoffee.com) Ehthiopia Sidama (naturally processed) roasted to the end of first crack, ground as noted above served with a splash of sugar syrup, heavy cream and over ice: "That was excellent, just like Japanese coffee shops"!

 

[Cliff]

Make sure it’s the type that blows the air in from the side. If it blows air from below its going to eject the beans.

Recommended Air Popcorn Popper Coffee Roaster Design - Sweet Maria's Coffee Library

For air popcorn coffee roasting, you must use a popper in which the hot air enters the popcorn chamber from side vents. We know of three types of this design

library.sweetmarias.com

Thanks for the tip and the link!

 

[troutpocket]

Next batch of cold brew from a Burundi-origin bag.

This is a significant contrast from the Ethiopian Sidama. Bigger body, more fruit. Burly vs delicate. Love the variety!

 

[Buzzy]

Next batch of cold brew from a Burundi-origin bag.
View attachment 24929
This is a significant contrast from the Ethiopian Sidama. Bigger body, more fruit. Burly vs delicate. Love the variety!

Out of curiosity as I never taste apricot jam, floaral nectarine, honey, sugar cane soda in my coffee; where in the heck do these people come up with these descriptions? I will say that this cold brew I pressed this past weekend was strong but not bitter and very "flavorful" (no hint of strawberries, corn on the cob, ribeye steak)...... ;-)

Back to reality - give us a review! I'm going to roast some Ethiopia Sidamo

 

[Matt B]

Inspired by @troutpocket, I started steeping some Cuban coffee in the fridge last night. Looking forward to trying it this afternoon.

I also roasted some Ethiopian beans and Guatemalan beans last night. I did the Ethiopian my normal method—heat gun and metal bowl. The switch on my heat gun is about to crap out I think. I tried a small amount of the Guatemalan in the Nostalgia air popper again. It did roast them, but I had trouble telling where they were in the roast. Could not hear the crack I guess. They ended up a bit darker than I would’ve liked. I just don’t know about that thing, but I haven’t totally given up on it yet. I’ll try some different beans.