Coffee talk

Our daughter shared these with us:
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The Airbnb house were staying in has a blade grinder for the beans and a Mr. Coffee drip machine. Blending the coffee with the cacao brews a pretty tasty cup of coffee (especially with a bit of heavy cream added). I've never been a fan of chocolate in coffee or those awful flavored creamers but I admit the cacao adjunct (is this the right word) flavoring tastes great.
 
Buzzy said:
The Airbnb house were staying in has a blade grinder for the beans and a Mr. Coffee drip machine. Blending the coffee with the cacao brews a pretty tasty cup of coffee (especially with a bit of heavy cream added). I've never been a fan of chocolate in coffee or those awful flavored creamers but I admit the cacao adjunct (is this the right word) flavoring tastes great.
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I saw they are selling it on Sweet Maria's now and was curious. Thanks for the review.
 
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The only thing is I can't not think of this :LOL:
 
@NRC looks good to me! The roasting process causes the beans to off gas CO2. Letting them rest results in less foam during brewing. With some beans I think you’ll get a fuller flavor after a couple of days, but it’s a subtle thing. I say go for it at your earliest convenience.

What’s your grinder and brewing situation?
 
NRC said:
Ok, first test batch on some cheap/random Amazon beans. God I smell good. Based on visual alone, what did I mess up?

Also, internet says let ‘em rest for a couple days before drinking - is that real?View attachment 101007View attachment 101008
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Your beans look GREAT to me. I like to rest my beans overnight to let them off gas (or so I've read) but my tastebuds wouldn't know the difference and sometimes I grind beans right after roasting. The first time I witnessed the roasting process, James took the still hot beans, ground them and Melitta dripped us a cup, Folgers: eat your heart out.

I love to smell me after roasting beans ;-)
 
troutpocket said:
@NRC looks good to me! The roasting process causes the beans to off gas CO2. Letting them rest results in less foam during brewing. With some beans I think you’ll get a fuller flavor after a couple of days, but it’s a subtle thing. I say go for it at your earliest convenience.

What’s your grinder and brewing situation?
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All right, going for it tomorrow morning!

We’ve got a blade grinder, a French press, and a regular old drip. I don’t love the grittiness of the French press, so I’ll probably just blast away for a long time with the blade grinder and stick it in the drip basket. Or maybe since tomorrow is a special occasion I’ll do French press and drip side by side…
 
I was in Wenatchee the last couple days for a conference and stopped into Mela for a cup this morning. Probably my favorite coffee east of the Cascades. I tried their Mission Ridge blend…zero bitterness and lots of inherent sweetness for a medium/dark roast.
 
NRC said:
All right, going for it tomorrow morning!

We’ve got a blade grinder, a French press, and a regular old drip. I don’t love the grittiness of the French press, so I’ll probably just blast away for a long time with the blade grinder and stick it in the drip basket. Or maybe since tomorrow is a special occasion I’ll do French press and drip side by side…
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I used a blade grinder for years but upgraded to a Baratza Encore. It's really nice to be able to dial in a grind and get it very consistent. I use a Melitta cone (drip, pour over). Give us a report tomorrow.
 
NRC said:
All right, going for it tomorrow morning!

We’ve got a blade grinder, a French press, and a regular old drip. I don’t love the grittiness of the French press, so I’ll probably just blast away for a long time with the blade grinder and stick it in the drip basket. Or maybe since tomorrow is a special occasion I’ll do French press and drip side by side…
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Sounds like you might need a coarser grind for the French press. You can try going shorter time in the blade grinder, but if you stick with this project you may want to up your grinder game. I was skeptical, but it really makes a big difference in the brew.
 
We just picked up this bad boy. Been interested in doing espresso from home, but didn't want to dive in TOO deep and geek out. Plus my wife wanted something that she can throw together a latte in the morning without much thinking. This machine has a little bit of hand holding but also allows you to do some stuff manually as well. Still getting it dialed in but already putting out some decent espresso. Looking forward to doing some of my own roasts in this thing.

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Impressions on my first batch…

Obviously we didn’t wait the requisite 2-3 days for the beans to finish offgassing- we had them the morning after, ground up pretty fine with the blade grinder and brewed in our drip coffeemaker.

To me, the biggest takeaway is how smooth the coffee tasted compared to the rotgut we typically drink. I would say in fact that this first batch was so smooth that it almost lacked character (don’t get me wrong, it was delicious). I went pretty light on the roast, so I’ve roasted up a second batch a little darker. I’ll try that in two days and see how the lighter batch has matured tomorrow.

I had trouble telling where the first crack ended and where/if the second crack began on this darker roast, which I hear is a pretty common issue for the uninitiated.
 
Here's what's up next.

I didn't just get back to coffee, just haven't started posting about it yet. I took over a year off to kind of kick a bad habit of way too much coffee drinking but have it way more under control now.

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NRC said:
Impressions on my first batch…

Obviously we didn’t wait the requisite 2-3 days for the beans to finish offgassing- we had them the morning after, ground up pretty fine with the blade grinder and brewed in our drip coffeemaker.

To me, the biggest takeaway is how smooth the coffee tasted compared to the rotgut we typically drink. I would say in fact that this first batch was so smooth that it almost lacked character (don’t get me wrong, it was delicious). I went pretty light on the roast, so I’ve roasted up a second batch a little darker. I’ll try that in two days and see how the lighter batch has matured tomorrow.

I had trouble telling where the first crack ended and where/if the second crack began on this darker roast, which I hear is a pretty common issue for the uninitiated.
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Impressions on your first batch: You are hooked.

With some beans I can't hear when the first crack stops and the second begins and with other beans it's very noticeable. There can be a brief pause in cracking and the second crack sounds different than the first. With some beans the first crack is really loud and others more subtle.

Freshness is another characteristic of home roasting and the smell when I start the pour over? That freshness again. I'd have to look at my account to see how many different beans I've roasted; some we like a lot more than others. Ethiopian (Sidama) - we like these beans lightly roasted where many of the Columbian beans seem to develop a bit more flavor if I roast them just into the second crack........ Right now our favorite is Costa Rica Magnolia, delicious (morecoffee.com).

Have fun!
 
Buzzy said:
Impressions on your first batch: You are hooked.

With some beans I can't hear when the first crack stops and the second begins and with other beans it's very noticeable. There can be a brief pause in cracking and the second crack sounds different than the first. With some beans the first crack is really loud and others more subtle.

Freshness is another characteristic of home roasting and the smell when I start the pour over? That freshness again. I'd have to look at my account to see how many different beans I've roasted; some we like a lot more than others. Ethiopian (Sidama) - we like these beans lightly roasted where many of the Columbian beans seem to develop a bit more flavor if I roast them just into the second crack........ Right now our favorite is Costa Rica Magnolia, delicious (morecoffee.com).

Have fun!
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I actually know the owner of more coffee. He's a fly fisherman 😉. Maybe I should point him to our thread here.
 
Evan B said:
Here's what's up next.

I didn't just get back to coffee, just haven't started posting about it yet. I took over a year off to kind of kick a bad habit of way too much coffee drinking but have it way more under control now.

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Lol 50 pounds at a time!? Are you pulling shots for the whole neighborhood? 50 lbs of green beans would last me 2+ years and I’m sure I’d be jonesing for more variety with just two batches of beans to work with. One of my favorite aspects is always having something new to try.
 
Matt B said:
Lol 50 pounds at a time!? Are you pulling shots for the whole neighborhood? 50 lbs of green beans would last me 2+ years and I’m sure I’d be jonesing for more variety with just two batches of beans to work with. One of my favorite aspects is always having something new to try.
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Just for economy sake. Free shipping, lower price per pound. Between my wife and I, and gifting beans to friends, it'll last probably 6-8mo.
 
Evan B said:
Just for economy sake. Free shipping, lower price per pound. Between my wife and I, and gifting beans to friends, it'll last probably 6-8mo.
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I hear ya. There are certain things in life I’ve decided that economy can go out the window—coffee, fly tying, fly fishing in general…
 
Matt B said:
I hear ya. There are certain things in life I’ve decided that economy can go out the window—coffee, fly tying, fly fishing in general…
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I'm entirely contrary to that mindset in those categories 😂

Most of my motivation to roast is cost savings. The rest is all bonus.
 
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