Coffee talk

troutpocket said:
Coffee is a hobby for me but I don’t expect anyone else play along. I’m happy to share whatever is available with friends and family.
Click to expand...
Like @Tom Butler - I wonder how many thousands of cups of Folger's I've consumed in my lifetime? Coffee is still a lot about the caffeine but the first time my friend roasted some beans for me; ground them and served a cup of FRESH roasted coffee I was hooked. My electric heat gun technique might be pretty hokey but I get consistent results and it's such a fun hobby. I love the changes in smell as green beans roast.

@JudyM - not a fan of dark roasts but when on the road and I need a fix (yes, caffeine is a fix), Starbucks works just fine. Right now we're 1,300 miles from all that fun hobby so it's Mr. Coffee and a variety of Trader Joe's roasts.
 
Buzzy said:
Like @Tom Butler - I wonder how many thousands of cups of Folger's I've consumed in my lifetime? Coffee is still a lot about the caffeine but the first time my friend roasted some beans for me; ground them and served a cup of FRESH roasted coffee I was hooked. My electric heat gun technique might be pretty hokey but I get consistent results and it's such a fun hobby. I love the changes in smell as green beans roast.

@JudyM - not a fan of dark roasts but when on the road and I need a fix (yes, caffeine is a fix), Starbucks works just fine. Right now we're 1,300 miles from all that fun hobby so it's Mr. Coffee and a variety of Trader Joe's roasts.
Click to expand...
Yeah to me, a brew made with freshly roasted and ground beans is almost an entirely different beverage as far as flavor profile goes. Compare that alongside a pre-ground grocery store brand, and I think most people could tell you that's a massive difference. It's almost apples and oranges for me - they're both round, they're both fruit... but the flavor is so different you can't compare them. Same with the things we're comparing here.
 
Since I don't drink coffee or caffeine my wife likes to tell people....." I cannot be trusted".
 
One of these days I will try a fresh roasted coffee. Right now, just for cutting the shopping trips made. In it for the caffeine to have the kick start in the morning. If out and about, it is Dutch Bros instead of Starbucks. Starbucks tasted burnt coffee to me.
 
JudyM said:
One of these days I will try a fresh roasted coffee. Right now, just for cutting the shopping trips made. In it for the caffeine to have the kick start in the morning. If out and about, it is Dutch Bros instead of Starbucks. Starbucks tasted burnt coffee to me.
Click to expand...
I don't particularly enjoy either, but the one time I had a Dutch Bros black coffee I couldn't finish it. Starbucks at least has their Veranda Blend medium roast that is actually decent enough. Got me by on a number of work trips through the years. In a lot of places, that was the only real option.
 
Not roasting my own but I buy from local roasters, with the occasional bag of Stumptown thrown in. I lived on Starbucks when I worked, started with pour-overs when I retired 3 years ago and have much more time. Still get an occasional Starbucks, like when I meet Rich at 5am to head out fishing, but definitely has that burnt taste profile. My understanding of the darker roasts that are so common is that they tend to be less acidic in taste so more palatable to more people, as well as easier to be consistent batch to batch.
 
Wayne Kohan said:
Not roasting my own but I buy from local roasters, with the occasional bag of Stumptown thrown in. I lived on Starbucks when I worked, started with pour-overs when I retired 3 years ago and have much more time. Still get an occasional Starbucks, like when I meet Rich at 5am to head out fishing, but definitely has that burnt taste profile. My understanding of the darker roasts that are so common is that they tend to be less acidic in taste so more palatable to more people, as well as easier to be consistent batch to batch.
Click to expand...
I used to buy French and Italian roasted beans at Costco; to me they're a real step up from the ground stuff in cans (Maxwell House - good to the last drop). When I roast beans now I rarely go much beyond the first crack and I guess that's a really a light medium roast, certainly not burned like Italian roasts. I don't like my steak burned either.... right, Randy?
 
Evan B said:
I just really don't understand the appeal of dark roast. Only person I've ever really asked is my mom who conceded she'd never tried a medium or lighter roast. I guess if you're loading it with cream and sugar, it may have more flavor... But the only flavor going from medium to dark adds is ash.

This is meant less as a talking down on someone's taste and more of a "am I missing something?" kind of thing.
Click to expand...
Maybe. For me it's a flavor profile that I rather like. At home, I use the whole bean Costco, Robinson Farms /San Francisco dark roast in my Cuisinart Grind and Brew. Makes a nice smooth consistent cup. (Normally I drink it black)

I think I got spoiled coffee wise while working in Africa and the middle east. Cafe et Croissants for Sunday brunch at Le Meridiene in Kuwait City, a great nightcap in Oman, or watching world cup with the local turkish confectioner ( after 4 cups, whole other level of wired) , when I came back, dark was the only roast that came close to what I'd gotten used to.
 
The darker roasts can be good, particularly in milk drinks or with a bit of cream. I never add sugar but I’m flexible on dairy. I go through seasonal coffee preferences. Winter is darker roasts. Summer is light roasts prepared as cold brew. The flavors I like in dark roasts are chocolate, brown sugar/caramel, vanilla bean, and in some coffees ripe fruit. There’s definitely a point where all those subtle flavors are lost to smoke and ash(tray).

As far as coffee on the road, Starbucks medium roast is fine. When I have the opportunity, trying the smaller shops in metro areas is always fun.
 
Evan B said:
Well this just arrived. Wife got a holiday bonus and got herself a present.

I'll stick with my French press though 😉
Click to expand...
Slick! Somehow I suspect you'll want to tinker with that fancy coffee squeezer though.

On the SBux thing--Starbucks Via medium roast Colombia is pretty good in my opinion. Instant coffee powder. It's actually an important ingredient in my ice-cream making friend's magnificent coffee ice cream. And, it makes a good base for a milky iced coffee drink.

I don't even like the smell of the SBux Verona dark roast my wife favors...but I still make her coffee for her with it.
 
Any folks into pourover? I've been using a v60 for years but decided to try something new and picked up a hario switch (03). It has a ball that locks in the funnel to stop flow so you can turn it into an immersion brewer. There are some simple recipes online for it. I highly recommend it.
 
Skol_Engh said:
Any folks into pourover? I've been using a v60 for years but decided to try something new and picked up a hario switch (03). It has a ball that locks in the funnel to stop flow so you can turn it into an immersion brewer. There are some simple recipes online for it. I highly recommend it.
Click to expand...
I really enjoy a pourover. Never did buy a Chemex or any other such device though. I'm kind of out of space for all my coffee do-dads
 
Skol_Engh said:
Any folks into pourover? I've been using a v60 for years but decided to try something new and picked up a hario switch (03). It has a ball that locks in the funnel to stop flow so you can turn it into an immersion brewer. There are some simple recipes online for it. I highly recommend it.
Click to expand...
Yeah, like Evan I like a good pour-over too. I like it all really, it's more been a matter of space and not letting my hobby get too out of hand. Incidentally, I went to Costa Rica this summer and their "traditional" coffee brewer is a chorreador like this:

1736370864697.png

...which is kinda cool but like any coffee brewing device the quality of product varied the most by what was put in it to begin with, and I had both good and bad and in between during my time there.
 
Skol_Engh said:
Any folks into pourover? I've been using a v60 for years but decided to try something new and picked up a hario switch (03). It has a ball that locks in the funnel to stop flow so you can turn it into an immersion brewer. There are some simple recipes online for it. I highly recommend it.
Click to expand...
Peter - I’m old school, I use a Melitta cone and their filters and have done so for as long as I can remember. I enjoy “exploding “ the fresh ground beans during the pour over. I don’t think my taste buds are as sophisticated as many coffee-junkies, but I love the freshness of my home roasted beans. I do sometimes use a French press.

Buy me a cup next next time at the lodge 😆
 
Matt B said:
Yeah, like Evan I like a good pour-over too. I like it all really, it's more been a matter of space and not letting my hobby get too out of hand. Incidentally, I went to Costa Rica this summer and their "traditional" coffee brewer is a chorreador like this:
Click to expand...
Funny you mention that, I just got an email from NYT recently about something similar. "Dirty sock coffee" : https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/best-coffee-dirty-sock/ Seems like the only drawback is having to clean the filter.
Buzzy said:
Buy me a cup next next time at the lodge 😆
Click to expand...
Better yet, I'll bring my pourover set up!
 
Last edited:
Skol_Engh said:
Funny you mention that, I just got an email from NYT recently about something similar. "Dirty sock coffee" : https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/best-coffee-dirty-sock/ Seems like the only drawback is having to clean the filter.
Click to expand...
Intriguing, but uses a ridiculous amount of beans! I have a Chemex and use a 15:1 ratio, using 20 gms beans to 300 gms water. I drink 2 cups of this daily, pretty much. If I used 50 gms per cup, or 100 gms daily, my 12 ounce bag of local fresh roasted beans would only last 3 1/2 days. Yikes! Though if it works well with stale beans, I suppose I could buy the big bags of beans from Costco for cheaper.
 
What’s this pour-over fad? When I was at the UW during the late 70s, I would buy coffee at the original Starbuck’s store near Pike Place Market and used a Melitta filter cone. I think that’s what is now called pour over, but back then we called it drip coffee. :ROFLMAO: I still use the cone filter camping and a drip coffee maker at home. Not interested in a new hobby roasting coffee myself because I have enough hobbies, but I really like the Honeymoon Bay Coffee Roasters in Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island. Our son lives in Oak harbor and I always stop by and pick up some coffee from them (my favorite is their Signature Blend) and grind it at home. Recently picked up a burr grinder and am looking forward to trying it tomorrow.
 
All this talk about drip, pour-over, Columbian, Arabica, Kona, etc is old news. Why?..because all the cool kids are now drinking "wild kopi luwak" coffee (the world's most expensive at $100+ for 4 oz), which is made from beans run thru a civet cat for extra "full-bodied" flavour. I tried my first cup, at a friend's yesterday, and have to ask: Could the next big thing be that no home coffee bar will be complete without our own civet cat to, well, you know.....
This what a home kit would consist of (Enterpreneurs might want to jump on this):
civit cat coffee.jpg

Personally though, I still prefer A&W drive-through (although I'm not all that refined)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top