i see you buying a more modern mobile phone.
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If Iāve never really drank coffee at all, how should I go about starting?
You could go to a local coffee shop that roasts itā own beans and sample some of their brews, see if you like anything. A few of the ones by me are very happy to talk with customers and teach them more about coffee, both brewing and different beans. Some places may have scheduled cuppings (or tastings). Next time youāre at a breakfast place maybe just get a cup of coffee and experiment with cream and sweeteners; most people start out liking their coffee light and sweet and eventually move towards more black although Iāve met some people who always like it that way.
I would start with single origin coffees. And by that I mean mostly African and Central/South American coffees. A high-quality coffee should be so flavorful that masking it with an additive would be a mistake. The types of places that will have this are specialty coffee shops, not Starbucks or Dunkinā Donuts. It might turn out that you love cold brew or coffee with no tasting notes, in which case Starbucks and DD are perfect. No shame in thatāyou like what you like. Also, happy National Coffee Day!
Iām pouring coffee by hand. Seems like it should be simple, but Iāve found that itās tough to get consistency like a coffee machine. While it looks straightforward (pour some hot water onto some powder and wait about 4 minutes), there are numerous technique decisions that can affect the brew. To make it worse, it seems like the coffee āexpertsā rarely agree which technique(s) to use. See video below.
What Iām saying in this thread is that unless you really hate yourself, buy the machine and let it make the coffee. I made the same coffee as yesterday exactly the same way (afaik) and it wasnāt quite as good today. I have no idea why but Iām determined to figure it out because I hate losing to machines.
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I drink a lot of coffee. None of it resembles what you folks are making.
I use a French press and store-bought, pre-ground beans. There is no consistency in my process.
And yet I love it. But I love convenience store coffee, not the high-acidity, bright and subtle drinks discussed here. I really find I donāt enjoy those coffeesāthe acidity, mostly.
But, totally digging this thread.
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Abraham Lincoln catching a malted milk ball on his tongue?
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oh shit I see it
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Anyone here ever had geisha/gesha? Panamanian or otherwise.
Meh Iām probably in a similar boat as you except I think youād get a better coffee experience if you bought a cheap grinder (I use a Krups spice grinder) and some decent whole beans and just ground them as needed. I donāt like my coffee acidic either and I donāt mind convenience store coffee (although Circle K changed their coffee and I hated it last time I tried it), but I can make a brew that I like at home from locally purchased beans and my French press. I can continue this in a bit but need to put groceries away and change a diaper.
I usually buy Counter Culture Coffee (light or medium roasts).
Then I grind it in this grinder.
And then make it in this pourover system.
I think Iām going for the same thing OP is going for, but I donāt have as much knowledge on the subject. I just know what I like, so Iād be curious how I could make this better, although Iām pretty happy.
Like, I donāt know why Iād buy a Chemex over a knockoff or why Iād buy a better grinder.
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Thereās nothing special about the Chemex over your Bodum or any other similar piece of glass. The Chemex filters are what give the Chemex taste profileāthick paper that produces a clean cupābut you can use them in anything theyāll fit into.
Reason to buy a better grinder would be to get more uniform grind size, especially reducing the amount of fines, and therefore a more uniform extraction. I honestly donāt think it matters too much for the coarse grinds used in coffee as long as itās conical burr.
I hear Counter Culture is great and have them on my list to try. Anything specific they have that blew you away?
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Hereās a picture of my setup with a couple of my favorite local roasters:
I have a Baratza Encore grinder. I like it, although itās the only grinder Iāve used. Iām curious if anyone else has this grinder and makes pourovers? The recommended grind was around 15, but I find that really I need to set it at 9 or 10 to get the desired brew.
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True story: I never said this to her in so many words, but I once stopped seeing a Mormon girl because of coffee.
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you barely used so many words here!
TELL STORY
Not too much to tell. She wouldnāt drink it and gave me the side eye when I brought it up to the point that I was hiding it from her like an alcoholic sneaking off to the tool shed for a snort. She was good looking though so of course I tolerated it for a while.
Last I heard she had six kids and lives in ldo Utah and her hubby is a Wal Mart exec.
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9/10 for the Chemex or a V60-style device? If you need a 10 to grind Chemex, something is wrong. If itās for V60, it could be your internal calibration is set to the finest level. If you run the grinder with no beans, on which grind setting can you hear the burrs begin to touch? (It makes sort of screeching noise. Only keep it there momentarily so you donāt damage the burrs).
I donāt think I can say with too much precision, but the coffee just tastes flavorful and is easy to drink black. The first time I tried their coffee was randomly at a restaurant, and I had to ask the server where the coffee was from cause it was so good.
Iāve ordered Blue Bottle Coffee a number of times and itās like 90% as good, but it could all be in my head. I think at this point there are a huge number of single origin coffee distributors that are all in the same ball park in terms of quality, but Counter Culture Coffee is still my favorite.
Today I had the Burundi (washed) from S&W Roasting in Indiana. In addition to this coffee being excellent, they tossed in several ānew customerā bonus samples on top of the 16 oz I ordered. Great guys, great prices, great coffee. The profile of this Burundi is unlike anything Iāve had: very acidic but more in the lime / grapefruit territory than the lemony citrus in Kenyan coffees. Tastes sort of like white wine to me. Both the acidity and tasting notes became more evident as the coffee cooled down to the 160-170 range. Very clean cup through the Chemex paper on medium-coarse, less earth and body than the HM Yirgacheffe (natural) from last week.
Donāt let the 1998 web design fool you. Theyāre spending the time and money on java, not javascript. I found them highly-recommended on /r/Coffee which yielded a discount code (redditor15off). Iāll review the others in the coming days.
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clicked just to see the 1998 web design
ājava not javascriptā
lol
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