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- #21
Today's bounty. Enough to get me started, and keep me busy for a while.
Ok, gurus of the bean, rec some coffee
- Thread starter gpjoe
- Start date
Dunkin is a favorite in my home. If you like that, explore some of the McCafe varieties. They really are nice. In my older age, I’ve found that mainstream coffee isn’t worse than boutique roasters. In fact, I often like them more.
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- #23
Funny you should say that.
I've become very fond of what many would consider "codger" blends.
Favorite aftershaves?...Old Spice and Avon Spicy (Old Spice clone with a hint of menthol). Favorite pipe tobacco?...Prince Albert and Carter Hall.
Nothing fancy or flashy, no boutique brands, just great, old, solid classics.
I don't tend to go in on the "fancy" stuff, and am very happy with the old standards.
At this point in my life, I value simplicity for many things (shaving excepted). I forgot to mention earlier that I also went the French press route and ground my beans every morning.
I think that removing some of the “task” from the method may subconsciously make me enjoy the final product more. Maybe I actually enjoy the product from the easier method because the product better agrees with me. Either way, it’s a moot point because no matter the reason, I enjoy my Dunkin, McCafe, or Cafe Bustelo from a paper filter and Mr. Coffee more than I do from a freshly ground exotic roast from my French press.
Like shaving, I feel that if you enjoy the process of making coffee, you’ll have a more rewarding experience to do that over an automatic drip. If you just want a cup of coffee, simplicity reigns.
I did not like it until I got my grind dialed in, which took me a while and many wasted beans.
I agree. I enjoy a cup of Folgers and Community as well. I think that's why I like the Craft Coffee blends. They don't try to be pretentious. They just try to be a good coffee.
Ha! Aqua Velva is my favorite aftershave!
That's exactly why I love the Aeropress. It's simple, cheap ($30-35 on Amazon), and it produces a great cup of coffee. Yeah, there are some "recipes" out there to where you measure the coffee and the water to the gram and the water to the degree and you invert the Aeropress or you let it steep for x number of minutes. But if you just want a simple, but great cup of coffee. You heat your water, add your coffee, pour in up to the first line, stir and plunge it, and then add some hot water. Great, no nonsense coffee.
Funny somehow Illy is heavily marketing their premium 100% Arabica creed whereas Lavazza is more middle of the road with typical Italian Arabica/Robusta blends. I never had problems with Lavazza (Moka Express, French Press, La Pavoni Lever) but Illy more often than not turned into a sour mess
Scale and gooseneck kettle messing
I started at a 16:1 ratio and play with it from there up and down with water and coarser and finer with grounds.
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- #29
Yep, Ice Blue is in my regular rotation. Nice menthol kick and very pleasant dry-down scent...and still available at Walmart.
Now I absolutely must try one.
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- #30
Scale and gooseneck kettle messing
I started at a 16:1 ratio and play with it from there up and down with water and coarser and finer with grounds.
I've got three scales:
One for bulk, 1 gram resolution, somehow not very good or sensitive enough to detect single gram increments. I zeroed it out with a cup on the scale and it didn't move from zero until the cup was half full - about 8-10 grams.
One for reloading, very good resolution to 1/10 gram. Accurate, but too small to be practical for coffee beans.
One for mixing my vape juice by weight, also 1/10 gram resolution - and the scale I used today to measure 15g of beans for my first grind.
My condolences, Brother. Things'll be hard, but we're here to get you through.
I imagine they're pretty similar. I'm gonna guess here: blend of arabica and robusta leaning toward arabica. A roast somewhere in the Full City/Bus Stop/Medium City range; a touch grassy, kinda medium light/medium dark colour, mild flavour with a bit of the roaster. Not to disparage, as I like it too. A good middle-of-the-road coffee that can be a morning cup or a session coffee as you wish.
Yup. With ya on that. Heavy roasts are fine in their place, but for a drip/perc cup it's not my jam. I tend to gravitate toward Full City roasts: a medium roast with some sweetness and only a few patches of oil on the beans. If we're doin' shots (of coffee!) I'll have that Italian roast.
I roasted my own for 30 years until the pandemic knocked out my local source for beans. If you're gonna be picky about coffee, buying beans sight unseen on the Internet is a bad idea. I guess it's like that old saying, "Good thing you like what you can get."
Personally, I just put them in the freezer. I tend to grind as much as I'll need for about 14 cups of coffee, and keep the ground in the freezer too. My brewing method is "steep and strain" which is kinda like pour-over. Four rounded tablespoons of coffee in a 500 ml measuring cup, add water and stir, let sit five minutes and then filter through an unbleached paper filter sustainably sourced from hand-harvested pulpwood by thoughtful and caring stewards of the forest's natural beauty. Or something like that.
Unbleached, anyway.
O.H.
Here’s a treat:
When we were visiting Costa Rica I had the pleasure of drinking honey processed coffee. They don’t use honey. It’s just that they retain some of the natural sweetness in the processing.
I order a pound from them every now and then. It’s a luxury, as the shipping adds to the cost. But it’s awesome. One of my favorite roasts.
When we were visiting Costa Rica I had the pleasure of drinking honey processed coffee. They don’t use honey. It’s just that they retain some of the natural sweetness in the processing.
I order a pound from them every now and then. It’s a luxury, as the shipping adds to the cost. But it’s awesome. One of my favorite roasts.
That cone holder is sweet! I like to have nice-looking coffee tools. I enjoy seeing them with the one eye I have open in the morning.
O.H.
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- #34
First cup using the Timemore grinder and pour overbasket. Fifteen grams of beans, grind set to 15, 12oz of tap water nuked in a Pyrex measuring cup to boiling.
Beans: Stumptown Coffee Roasters "Homestead" blend
Description (on bag):
"...a light, seasonal, and balanced cup blending our finest direct trade coffees. Sweet and delicious, this is one to write home about."
Pour over directly into my insulated mug, I added my usual half and half until golden brown, no sugar, and...it's very nice. Smooth with not a trace of bitter, though a bit weak so I will up the weight to 20g for my next cup.
Still, very nice and satisfying cuppa.
I did notice that after the bloom and initial pour it took a LOOOONG time for the basket to completely drain.
Does that indicate me doing something wrong?...or just the nature of the process?
Beans: Stumptown Coffee Roasters "Homestead" blend
Description (on bag):
"...a light, seasonal, and balanced cup blending our finest direct trade coffees. Sweet and delicious, this is one to write home about."
Pour over directly into my insulated mug, I added my usual half and half until golden brown, no sugar, and...it's very nice. Smooth with not a trace of bitter, though a bit weak so I will up the weight to 20g for my next cup.
Still, very nice and satisfying cuppa.
I did notice that after the bloom and initial pour it took a LOOOONG time for the basket to completely drain.
Does that indicate me doing something wrong?...or just the nature of the process?
I only tried the French Press our son gave us over ten years ago because our automatic Cuisinart drip coffee maker died. It turns out, like you, I like grinding my own beans by hand and I love the process of using a French Press. I had no idea the coffee would be so much better. As I've mentioned before, Amazon didn't stock the Cuisinart brewer we wanted to buy. It was shipped directly from Cuisinart and didn't show up for 4 or 5 days... hence the use of the French Press. We tried to cancel the order but since it was shipped direct, that wasn't possible. We just did an "unopened" return when it showed up.
We're all different but I found, I like to buy my beans in bulk and don't like to store them in the bags in which they are shipped. I bought two of these.. so I can buy a 5 pound bag and the beans are stored easily.... no sunlight and the air is pressed out as well.
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- #36
Loved every bit of this. I laughed...I cried (from laughing)...but found it entertaining and very informative.
Thank you
- Thread starter
- #37
It's a Timemore, bundled with the grinder for an additional 5 bucks, so figured: why not?
The carafe is cool and functional, but I would rather the coffee drip directly into my mug to help retain as much heat as possible.
I figure I'll use the carafe when my wife wants to join me for a cup, or to impress my buddies after I show them my straight razors.
Hello @gpjoe !
I am always excited to see someone expanding their coffee life! Last year, I began my first adventure into specialty coffee. Then I upgraded my coffee gear, and got a new brewer this year. Since you've said that you don't really appreciate the bitter tastes of darker roasts, you might appreciate medium to light roasts. With specialty coffee, you can usually read the label on what the flavor notes are. I find that supermarket coffee tends to be a hodge podge of beans from everywhere thrown into a mix, so your not really going to easily know what the flavor is going to taste like until you taste it.
I used to drink Foldiers French Roast supermarket coffee for many years of my life, that was until 13-years ago, when they changed their formula, and made the coffee tastes weak watered down, no matter how much coffee you used. So I started using the supermarkets house blend instead, and drank that for many years, until I discovered specialty coffee here on B&B. Having said that however, I still drink supermarket or commercialized coffee on occasion. The most recent I have tried, is LavAzza Italiano Espresso!
The coffee is on the medium/dark side so you may or may not appreciate it IDK. But as far as supermarket coffee goes, this is the one that I've tried recently that I don't hate, so I can appreciate. As you can see by the picture, I got a Behmore Brazen Plus 3.0 brewer, which is a high end drip brewer, that allows me to customize the brewing temperature, as well as pre-soak AKA blooming times. Its also customizable for the altitude you live, so as to set the proper boiling point temperature.
I got the Timemore Black Mirror Nano coffee scale, as well as the 1ZPresso K-MAX hand grinder. I have written reviews for all of this stuff on B&B. So thats why I say, when I saw your picture, I knew you were on the right track for coffee success, when I saw you have begun upgrading your gear. I am sure that you can find some cheaper supermarket coffee that you are going to like, for example, you may even appreciate that Dunkin coffee!
But I say again, if your someone who appreciates the fruity notes of a lighter roast, and stay away from bitterness, you might have a look at some light roasts from Ethiopian for example. And if your interested in more of a chocolate flavor note, have a look at Brazil coffee. And like I've said before, specialty coffee generally makes it easier to find the exact profile you are interested in, because they label everything correctly.
Give Equator coffee a look, give Klatch coffee a look, give Red Rooster coffee a look, and give Stirling coffee a look. I have tried them all, really good made to order specialty coffee. Let me know what you think of that Dunkin coffee. I almost picked that coffee out recently, but I chose the LavAzza instead. Also, as other's have said, there are actual coffee blends, a mix of Arabica and Robusta. I agree with the person who said to stay away from Robusta if you don't like bitter coffee.
I also recently had the chance to try out LavAzza's Crema E Aroma coffee blend, which ended up having a higher percentage of Robusta in it then Arabica, and I didn't like it. So I gave LavAzza one last chance, and got their Italiano Espresso, which is 100% Arabica, and surprisingly, I ended up liking it, despite being supermarket coffee, and not specialty grade coffee.
I am about to try a new coffee from Klatch infact! Just note, regardless of how much money you are willing to spend on coffee gear, brewers, coffee itself, what matters is that you are having fun. I don't have the fanciest brewer in the world, I don't have no fancy espresso machines, I don't spend thousands of dollars on my coffee gear. But I will tell you what, I am really enjoying this new coffee journey that I have been on, what a fun adventure!
And I am already excited to see what you do with this new pour over looking unit of yours. There are a lot of coffee knowledgeable people on this site, who are much more knowledgeable then me. But take it from someone who knows, you will learn so much on your coffee journey. You will learn what works for you, what doesn't work. You will re-discover your coffee palate, to find what you enjoy the most. And you will discover what coffee gear works best for you.
Enjoy the journey Joe!
I am always excited to see someone expanding their coffee life! Last year, I began my first adventure into specialty coffee. Then I upgraded my coffee gear, and got a new brewer this year. Since you've said that you don't really appreciate the bitter tastes of darker roasts, you might appreciate medium to light roasts. With specialty coffee, you can usually read the label on what the flavor notes are. I find that supermarket coffee tends to be a hodge podge of beans from everywhere thrown into a mix, so your not really going to easily know what the flavor is going to taste like until you taste it.
I used to drink Foldiers French Roast supermarket coffee for many years of my life, that was until 13-years ago, when they changed their formula, and made the coffee tastes weak watered down, no matter how much coffee you used. So I started using the supermarkets house blend instead, and drank that for many years, until I discovered specialty coffee here on B&B. Having said that however, I still drink supermarket or commercialized coffee on occasion. The most recent I have tried, is LavAzza Italiano Espresso!
The coffee is on the medium/dark side so you may or may not appreciate it IDK. But as far as supermarket coffee goes, this is the one that I've tried recently that I don't hate, so I can appreciate. As you can see by the picture, I got a Behmore Brazen Plus 3.0 brewer, which is a high end drip brewer, that allows me to customize the brewing temperature, as well as pre-soak AKA blooming times. Its also customizable for the altitude you live, so as to set the proper boiling point temperature.
I got the Timemore Black Mirror Nano coffee scale, as well as the 1ZPresso K-MAX hand grinder. I have written reviews for all of this stuff on B&B. So thats why I say, when I saw your picture, I knew you were on the right track for coffee success, when I saw you have begun upgrading your gear. I am sure that you can find some cheaper supermarket coffee that you are going to like, for example, you may even appreciate that Dunkin coffee!
But I say again, if your someone who appreciates the fruity notes of a lighter roast, and stay away from bitterness, you might have a look at some light roasts from Ethiopian for example. And if your interested in more of a chocolate flavor note, have a look at Brazil coffee. And like I've said before, specialty coffee generally makes it easier to find the exact profile you are interested in, because they label everything correctly.
Give Equator coffee a look, give Klatch coffee a look, give Red Rooster coffee a look, and give Stirling coffee a look. I have tried them all, really good made to order specialty coffee. Let me know what you think of that Dunkin coffee. I almost picked that coffee out recently, but I chose the LavAzza instead. Also, as other's have said, there are actual coffee blends, a mix of Arabica and Robusta. I agree with the person who said to stay away from Robusta if you don't like bitter coffee.
I also recently had the chance to try out LavAzza's Crema E Aroma coffee blend, which ended up having a higher percentage of Robusta in it then Arabica, and I didn't like it. So I gave LavAzza one last chance, and got their Italiano Espresso, which is 100% Arabica, and surprisingly, I ended up liking it, despite being supermarket coffee, and not specialty grade coffee.
I am about to try a new coffee from Klatch infact! Just note, regardless of how much money you are willing to spend on coffee gear, brewers, coffee itself, what matters is that you are having fun. I don't have the fanciest brewer in the world, I don't have no fancy espresso machines, I don't spend thousands of dollars on my coffee gear. But I will tell you what, I am really enjoying this new coffee journey that I have been on, what a fun adventure!
And I am already excited to see what you do with this new pour over looking unit of yours. There are a lot of coffee knowledgeable people on this site, who are much more knowledgeable then me. But take it from someone who knows, you will learn so much on your coffee journey. You will learn what works for you, what doesn't work. You will re-discover your coffee palate, to find what you enjoy the most. And you will discover what coffee gear works best for you.
Enjoy the journey Joe!
I have been eyeing that Timemore grinder. In general, I'm a pretty cheap/frugal kind of guy. So I'm still using a blade grinder; although, I've found that pulsing and shaking does help with obtaining a consistent grind size. But if I were to splurge on a nice hand grinder, it would likely be the Timemore. I look forward to hearing your experience with it.
- Thread starter
- #40
Hello @gpjoe !
I am always excited to see someone expanding their coffee life! Last year, I began my first adventure into specialty coffee. Then I upgraded my coffee gear, and got a new brewer this year. Since you've said that you don't really appreciate the bitter tastes of darker roasts, you might appreciate medium to light roasts. With specialty coffee, you can usually read the label on what the flavor notes are. I find that supermarket coffee tends to be a hodge podge of beans from everywhere thrown into a mix, so your not really going to easily know what the flavor is going to taste like until you taste it.
I used to drink Foldiers French Roast supermarket coffee for many years of my life, that was until 13-years ago, when they changed their formula, and made the coffee tastes weak watered down, no matter how much coffee you used. So I started using the supermarkets house blend instead, and drank that for many years, until I discovered specialty coffee here on B&B. Having said that however, I still drink supermarket or commercialized coffee on occasion. The most recent I have tried, is LavAzza Italiano Espresso!
The coffee is on the medium/dark side so you may or may not appreciate it IDK. But as far as supermarket coffee goes, this is the one that I've tried recently that I don't hate, so I can appreciate. As you can see by the picture, I got a Behmore Brazen Plus 3.0 brewer, which is a high end drip brewer, that allows me to customize the brewing temperature, as well as pre-soak AKA blooming times. Its also customizable for the altitude you live, so as to set the proper boiling point temperature.
I got the Timemore Black Mirror Nano coffee scale, as well as the 1ZPresso K-MAX hand grinder. I have written reviews for all of this stuff on B&B. So thats why I say, when I saw your picture, I knew you were on the right track for coffee success, when I saw you have begun upgrading your gear. I am sure that you can find some cheaper supermarket coffee that you are going to like, for example, you may even appreciate that Dunkin coffee!
But I say again, if your someone who appreciates the fruity notes of a lighter roast, and stay away from bitterness, you might have a look at some light roasts from Ethiopian for example. And if your interested in more of a chocolate flavor note, have a look at Brazil coffee. And like I've said before, specialty coffee generally makes it easier to find the exact profile you are interested in, because they label everything correctly.
Give Equator coffee a look, give Klatch coffee a look, give Red Rooster coffee a look, and give Stirling coffee a look. I have tried them all, really good made to order specialty coffee. Let me know what you think of that Dunkin coffee. I almost picked that coffee out recently, but I chose the LavAzza instead. Also, as other's have said, there are actual coffee blends, a mix of Arabica and Robusta. I agree with the person who said to stay away from Robusta if you don't like bitter coffee.
I also recently had the chance to try out LavAzza's Crema E Aroma coffee blend, which ended up having a higher percentage of Robusta in it then Arabica, and I didn't like it. So I gave LavAzza one last chance, and got their Italiano Espresso, which is 100% Arabica, and surprisingly, I ended up liking it, despite being supermarket coffee, and not specialty grade coffee.
I am about to try a new coffee from Klatch infact! Just note, regardless of how much money you are willing to spend on coffee gear, brewers, coffee itself, what matters is that you are having fun. I don't have the fanciest brewer in the world, I don't have no fancy espresso machines, I don't spend thousands of dollars on my coffee gear. But I will tell you what, I am really enjoying this new coffee journey that I have been on, what a fun adventure!
And I am already excited to see what you do with this new pour over looking unit of yours. There are a lot of coffee knowledgeable people on this site, who are much more knowledgeable then me. But take it from someone who knows, you will learn so much on your coffee journey. You will learn what works for you, what doesn't work. You will re-discover your coffee palate, to find what you enjoy the most. And you will discover what coffee gear works best for you.
Enjoy the journey Joe!
Thanks for the detailed response, and especially the recommendations. I can't believe I forgot that Stirling sells coffee. I'm going to have to order some next time I pick up some soap or girlie stuff for Mrs gpjoe. She loves the lotion and body butter I ordered for her.
