Coffee: Intermediate to Advanced (1 Viewer)

[Carlo_M]

If it stinks...send the rest to me before it gets too stale!


I do think you'll be happy with it. I find it to be the most smooth and sweet tasting (as sweet as espresso can be anyway) a blend as I have found. Now if you're truly only making espresso shots, no milk/cream etc., then I will say I don't drink straight espresso so I may be off-base with my recommendation. But I find Black Cat to be very smooth with chocolate notes even with just a little bit of milk (cappuccino style, 2oz shot with about 3oz of microfoamed milk). In a latte (about 6oz of milk) it's downright delicious.

 

[schan1269]

Too long on this thread...

In need of a new vacuum/siphon brewer. My old vintage "Brewmaster" died, at least I think that was the name of it.

Is the Pebo really the only one out there? I've seen a Hera(Haira, Heira???) on Amazon.

I liked the one I had cause it didn't need babysitting, although glass on the stovetop is fine.

Anybody?

 

[schan1269]

Ended up buying a Pebo.

Next up...same theme...but different.

Anybody using a Mukka(not Moka) pot?

Several glass ones on EBay.

 

[Sam Posten]

Never heard of any of those sorry

 

[Clinton McClure]

Wow. [emoji15] Just read through most of this thread and didn't realize coffee could be so intricate. I just use a Mr. Coffee auto drip machine and Dunkin Donuts Columbian ground.

 

[Carlo_M]

Wow. [emoji15] Just read through most of this thread and didn't realize coffee could be so intricate. I just use a Mr. Coffee auto drip machine and Dunkin Donuts Columbian ground.

Probably the same feelings people who aren't into home theater have if they stumble into HTF.


Wow, like I just watch movies on my iPhone...

 

[schan1269]

Probably the same feelings people who aren't into home theater have if they stumble into HTF.

Wow, like I just watch movies on my iPhone...

No kidding....

My GF knows the difference between Blintz and Blini. For me, other than one "isn't for breakfast"...tiny flat pancake...

Coffee makers...

Bodum 34oz French press.
Melitta cappuccino(froth and steam milk)
Bodum Pebo (much cooler than other methods. Cool to just watch it)
Mukka pot(same as a Moka, but bigger for pre added milk/cream. Bought...on the way...)

Bunn 10-cup for "when I'm in a hurry..."

Also have a commercial conical mill for fine(Mukka and Melitta), avg(Bunn and Pebo) and coarse(French press).

Currently running through some dark Jamaican Rum coffee. Next up is Highlander Grog.

 

[Johnny Angell]

No kidding....
My GF knows the difference between Blintz and Blini. For me, other than one "isn't for breakfast"...tiny flat pancake...
Coffee makers...
Bodum 34oz French press.
Melitta cappuccino(froth and steam milk)
Bodum Pebo (much cooler than other methods. Cool to just watch it)
Mukka pot(same as a Moka, but bigger for pre added milk/cream. Bought...on the way...)
Bunn 10-cup for "when I'm in a hurry..."
Also have a commercial conical mill for fine(Mukka and Melitta), avg(Bunn and Pebo) and coarse(French press).
Currently running through some dark Jamaican Rum coffee. Next up is Highlander Grog.

I'm not a fan of flavored coffees, but these two you mentioned have got my attention. Please post your impressions of them and where purchased.

 

[schan1269]

I'm not a fan of flavored coffees, but these two you mentioned have got my attention. Please post your impressions of them and where purchased.

I've bought at least three different types of HG. My local supermarket(Strack & Van Til) carries "4 serving pouches" of various coffee, but I forget the actual brand. Meijer/Jewel-Osco(wish we had Marsh and Kroger) have similar. I've also bought it from Spill the Beans in Merrillville, IN. Pretty sure they use Kaffe Brothers(I asked a long time ago what they used. Sells at $16/pound)

Whatever Spill the Beans is selling, it is tremendous coffee...regardless the flavor.

This Jamaican Rum came from Jarrety's in Rochester, IN...but I forgot to ask what they used.

Also depends how you brew it. The "4 serving pouches" seem to be flavored after the grind. While Spill the Beans is during roasting.

The difference?

I used my vac/siphon(the Pebo, had a prior electric) on the pouch coffee. Mistake. Vac/siphon pull so much "coffee-ness" from it...the flavor was overwhelmed. That doesn't happen with the coffee from StB or Jarrety's.

The pouches get tossed in the Bunn.

 

[Sam Posten]

Best coffee I have had in my life. $4 Caramel Macchiato at the Crow's Nest at the Overlook, Denali AK.

Pure decadence
https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/kadath/20701221720/

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Sam,


That looks divine!

 

[ChromeJob]

Recently bought a Sowden Oskar 'softbrew' pot on sale at Williams-Sonoma, possibly the best coffee I've had. It uses the "cupping" method of immersing coarse grounds in water 4 mins (like steeping), then done. More than ever I now need a kettle that heats the water to the exact right temp.

Normally $50-60(?), Williams-Sonoma had it on their summer clearance table for something like $45 (down from MSRP), with a 30% off additional that day, ended up being $31 and change. Bargain.

 

[schan1269]

Recently bought a Sowden Oskar 'softbrew' pot on sale at Williams-Sonoma, possibly the best coffee I've had. It uses the "cupping" method of immersing coarse grounds in water 4 mins (like steeping), then done. More than ever I now need a kettle that heats the water to the exact right temp.

What is the difference between that and a French Press?

By the way. Just run water through your coffee pot...pour that water into this. That is what I do with my Bunn.

 

[ChromeJob]

What is the difference between that and a French Press?

By the way. Just run water through your coffee pot...pour that water into this. That is what I do with my Bunn.

Different kind of immersion. The filter on this maker is photoetched so the openings are only 150 microns, smaller than typical espresso grind (200 microns), so you can grind to any fineness you like, and you won't get any grounds. Coffee can be in contact longer, or shorter, than you might want with a French press.

(Many Amzn reviews were complaining of grounds, the buyers didn't realize those were "fines" in their cup of joe, not grounds.)

Definitely tastes better than with my French press. Could be my technique.

Yeah my so-so KitchenAid automatic drip maker (highly rated by CR) heats water to about 85ºC, since you need to preheat this porcelain pot anyway, I microwave it about 2-3 minutes in the porcelain pot to take it up to 93º-95ºC then use that. An aficionado claimed that the brew process was inferior if you put the hot water in a cold pot.

Still, I have to be monitoring the water temp with a cooking thermometer, I'd just as soon have a kettle like the Capresso that Costco sells that heats and maintains the water at precisely 95ºC. One less thing to worry about.

 

[schan1269]

Different kind of immersion. The filter on this maker is photoetched so the openings are only 150 microns, smaller than typical espresso grind (200 microns), so you can grind to any fineness you like, and you won't get any grounds. Coffee can be in contact longer, or shorter, than you might want with a French press.

(Many Amzn reviews were complaining of grounds, the buyers didn't realize those were "fines" in their cup of joe, not grounds.)

Definitely tastes better than with my French press. Could be my technique.

Yeah my so-so KitchenAid automatic drip maker (highly rated by CR) heats water to about 85ºC, since you need to preheat this porcelain pot anyway, I microwave it about 2-3 minutes in the porcelain pot to take it up to 93º-95ºC then use that. An aficionado claimed that the brew process was inferior if you put the hot water in a cold pot.

Still, I have to be monitoring the water temp with a cooking thermometer, I'd just as soon have a kettle like the Capresso that Costco sells that heats and maintains the water at precisely 95ºC. One less thing to worry about.

The Bunn provides a consistent 95°.

I'll use it for tea. Put in 4 cups(the minimum), pour the cup...discard the rest.

The Bunn will provide 3 straight 10 cup pots(5 minutes total) at 95°.

 

[ChromeJob]

Yeah, drip makers are multipurpose, I just wish I still had my Braun KF187 programmable with variable hot plate temp, lasted over 10 years, took up minimal counter space. Handy to keep brewed coffee warm longer than the 20 mins or so that it cools in this porcelain pot. That Braun was God's own programmable coffeemaker.

 

[Sam Posten]

This can't be good.
http://www.eater.com/2015/10/30/9643642/blockbuster-peets-coffee-tea-buys-intelligentsia-coffee?utm_campaign=eater&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

 

[Carlo_M]

ugh.

 

[Carlo_M]

It is my sad duty to report that my longtime favorite espresso blend, Black Cat by Intelligentsia, has now been replaced by Hayes Valley espresso blend, by Blue Bottle.


Blue Bottle is a San Francisco based coffeeshop and roaster that has just recently expanded to several Los Angeles locations, including one just literally down the block from the Venice Beach Intelligentsia location. I sometimes visit Northern California and while in the Bay Area, Blue Bottle has often acted as a surrogate for Intelligentsia. The last few times I visited I had this sinking feeling that I actually preferred Blue Bottle to Intelligentsia, but my SF visits were infrequent enough that I thought I maybe was misremembering.


So this weekend I trotted down to the new Blue Bottle in my 'hood, and ordered their mocha, which I can confirm I prefer to Intelligentsia's. Then I purchased their Hayes Valley beans because my Black Cat had just run out. Over the last four days, I have found that I prefer the taste of HV at home as well.


And they have a cool advantage over BC: HV is sold in 1/2 lbs bags (price adjusted accordingly). What this means is that the ideal espresso shot occurs about 3-4 days after roast date, and lasts about 7 days. After that it declines in quality, crema and taste. I go through a 1/2 pound in 7 days, so buying HV will let me keep the beans in their "sweet spot" for just about the entirety of the bag. With BC, which is only sold in 1 pound bags in Intelligentsia, the second week is always lesser in quality than the first (to the point where the last couple of days with old beans and the first with new beans is almost night-and-day). Sure I'll have to go to Blue Bottle weekly instead of every other week, but there are worse places to be in this world than Venice Beach, CA.


The King is Dead. Long live The King!

 

[Sam Posten]

Why so serious, er sad? =p