Roasted Beans / Grinder - newbie advice

[Proinsias]

I bought a load of coffee from HasBean as presents for some coffee addicts close to me. I ordered two 250g bags for myself, beans roasted on the 4th of January, possibly due to consumption of wine prior to the online shopping. I'm a tea man and have been trying to avoid coffee as it will only dent the tea and shaving budget. I think I just failed.
My brother in law uses a little Braun food processor, spinning blades, to grind for espresso. I have a the same device but I'm not sure about using it, though it does appear that after years of using the same thing he does have it down to an art.

anyway,

I've got two sealed 250g packs of freshly roasted beans

I've got a stovetop espresso pot, I've also got paper filters and a plastic funnel thing.

I've got a mini braun food processor, mortar and pestle

It's about three weeks to payday when I could buy a grinder or whatever else you gents deem necessary, I like the look of a chemex pot.

From reading some other threads it seems coffee can't really be properly enjoyed without a decent, dedicated, grinder. Is this the case?

Should I open a pack and play around with it or wait until I get paid in a few weeks and buy a decent grinder?

What's the shelf like for freshly roasted beans? mine are currently in unopened, resealable thick foil/plastic bags. Days, weeks or months.....and do any coffees improve with age?

help! and apologies for the onslaught of questions, most of which I've probably seen answered here but it's different this time cause it's me.

[Dripp]

I'll start with your last question first - freshly roasted coffee begins losing its freshness immediately after roasting. Generally my rule of thumb is that after 2 weeks, its time for it to go regardless of how its packaged. But home roast and generally do espresso. My father in law has no problem drinking coffee thats a year old, and frankly most coffee companies have a "best by" date thats a year from roasting. So you'll just have to see how it tastes to you.

If you don't plan to continue drinking coffee on a regular basis, I wouldn't invest in a dedicated grinder, but if you do, a burr grinder is what you want. Here you have a number of options - you could buy a manual grinder like a this http://www.sweetmarias.com/sweetmari...ffee-mill.html , or you could buy a grinder like the one I have for drip coffee http://baratza.amazonwebstore.com/Ba...source=froogle. Regardless, a burr grinder is key in my opinion.\

I don't own or have never used a chemex, but I've heard very good things about them. You could also get a press coffee maker http://www.espressozone.com/bodum-ch...ress-9182.aspx , or the like.

But in general, my philosophy is any coffee is better than no coffee. So I hope this helps.

[Jim]

http://www.baratza.com/cgi-bin/comme...R#Availability

This is a great value in a mid priced grinder- to better it you would have to spend MUCH more.

Several of the men have reported back positively.

Enjoy!

[StillShaving]

Given that you only have about a pound of coffee, and if you are not sure about getting committed to drinking it on a regular basis, I would follow your brother-in-law's approach to grinding the beans. Heck I would also try the mortar and pestle. I would try brewing in both the stovetop espresso pot and doing a drip brew with your paper filters to see which you like best. Afterwards, if you find that you like to drink freshly roasted coffee, you can invest in a good grinder as has already been recommended.

FWIW, I think good coffee can be cheaper than good tea. Maybe not the equipment, but the product itself. So if it substitutes for some of your tea consumption you will not be taking a hit on your caffeine budget.

[Dripp]

Given that you only have about a pound of coffee, and if you are not sure about getting committed to drinking it on a regular basis, I would follow your brother-in-law's approach to grinding the beans. Heck I would also try the mortar and pestle. I would try brewing in both the stovetop espresso pot and doing a drip brew with your paper filters to see which you like best. Afterwards, if you find that you like to drink freshly roasted coffee, you can invest in a good grinder as has already been recommended.

FWIW, I think good coffee can be cheaper than good tea. Maybe not the equipment, but the product itself. So if it substitutes for some of your tea consumption you will not be taking a hit on your caffeine budget.

Or you could take it to a grocery store and use their grinder...

[Captain Pete]

First of all, the gentleman is correct about the shelf life of roasted coffee. However, depending upon when in that bean's life it was roasted, it may not taste fresh from the get go. Once you open a sealed bag of roasted beans, you have 3-5 days to enjoy optimum flavor. After that it's down hill. After ten days, it's gone. If you plan to drink drip, either a Melitta setup or Chemex (incidentally, I own a Chemex, and they're brilliant), a whirly blade grinder will do fine to get you started. The main drawback with these for drip coffee is that they don't do small amounts very well, so plan on grinding at least four scoops (equals four 5-6 oz. cups of coffee), and only when you are ready to brew. Grinding ahead of time is a waste of beans, and you may as well buy canned coffee. A really good blade grinder is the Krups Fast Touch, but you may be able to find any brand for a couple bucks at your local thrift store. Once you can afford it, you may wish to invest in a good conical burr grinder.

The Baratza Maestro is a pretty good grinder as long as you don't plan on brewing espresso. Breville's entry level grinder (they now also make a programmable one) is about ninety bucks, and Capresso's Infinity can be had for the same. Either of these will do the job, but my experience is that the Breville yields a more consistent grind at French press grind settings. There's absolutely no sense buying one of the cheaper burr grinders, like the Krups XP or Cuisinart's DBM, as they are only marginally cheaper than the aforementioned grinders, and nowhere near as good.

As for brewing methods, once you have a really good grinder, experiment. I like African coffees brewed in a presspot, whereas most others I just use drip. My drip machine is a Technivorm Mocca Master CD, so it's as good as it gets. I rarely use a stovetop moka pot, and I don't own an espresso machine. Many people find that the best bang for their buck is Melitta's 10 cup pourover set up. It's a glass carafe with lid, and a plastic filter cone. You heat the water to 200 degrees, and pour it over the ground coffee. ONce it's brewed, you can pour it into a thermal container. But in general, it's a good idea not to brew more coffee than will be consumed within 20 to 30 minutes. Good luck, and hit me up if you need any more advice.

[SiBurning]

The mortar & pestle's going to be a lot of hard work. Don't know how the food processor's going to work--I'm almost afraid coffee beans might ruin the blades. The good news is you have a cone with paper filters, and that's more tolerant of a poor grind. You can make up for some chunks by adding a bit more coffee, and you don't need to worry much about powder except if it clogs the filter. Open it and try. It's more important to have fresh coffee. If you have the filter thing, I wouldn't recommend the Chemex for a casual drinker. So my verdict is to try to use what you have and save the money. If you like it, you can invest later.

[Jasonian]

I hope it isn't too late, but...

1. DON'T OPEN THE BAGS! Keep them sealed, and put them in the freezer.

2. DON'T TOUCH THE BAGS! Meanwhile, while you wait for your pay day, research the items to be purchased.

3. DON'T TOUCH THE BAGS! Once payday arrives, buy the tools required and wait for them to arrive.

Upon arrival of said items, make sure that they function.

4. REMOVE ONE OF THE BAGS! and leave the other in the freezer until its time has come. Open the removed bag and begin using. Whatever you do, do not put it back in the freezer or refrigerate it. Leave it at room temperature. Preferably, in a dark, dry, air-tight container.

5. (once the first bag is used up) REMOVE THE OTHER BAG! and repeat step 4 starting with the sentence beginning, "Open the removed bag.."

I hope that helps.

[Ron]

http://www.baratza.com/cgi-bin/comme...R#Availability

This is a great value in a mid priced grinder- to better it you would have to spend MUCH more.

Several of the men have reported back positively.

Enjoy!

That's true Jim, but just the same some of the dedicated coffee forums contain posts reporting problems with this grinder. It is a refurb after all. People looking for advice on their first grinder may not fully appreciate the risks they may accept when purchasing this refurb. I have no personal experience with the grinder you link, and if you have first hand experience please share it. Otherwise, I think it's dangerous to use selected anecdotal reports to offer a generalized endorsement given the risks that exist with this purchase.

[Dripp]

That's true Jim, but just the same some of the dedicated coffee forums contain posts reporting problems with this grinder. It is a refurb after all. People looking for advice on their first grinder may not fully appreciate the risks they may accept when purchasing this refurb. I have no personal experience with the grinder you link, and if you have first hand experience please share it. Otherwise, I think it's dangerous to use selected anecdotal reports to offer a generalized endorsement given the risks that exist with this purchase.

I own the grinder and have for two years. I will admit that I am on my second one, and the first was replaced under warranty after it broke. Aside from that its a great grinder for my drip coffee, and it works just as well as the capresso it replaced. I will say that I've taken the advice of the manufacturer and unscrew the top slowly while the grinder is running, after I'm finished grinding, as opposed to just whipping it off like I did on the first one. I apologize for not bringing this up in my first post, but I was trying to lay out options before we knew what the OPs price point was.

[Ron]

I own the grinder and have for two years. I will admit that I am on my second one, and the first was replaced under warranty after it broke. Aside from that its a great grinder for my drip coffee, and it works just as well as the capresso it replaced. I will say that I've taken the advice of the manufacturer and unscrew the top slowly while the grinder is running, after I'm finished grinding, as opposed to just whipping it off like I did on the first one. I apologize for not bringing this up in my first post, but I was trying to lay out options before we knew what the OPs price point was.

Thanks Dripp. That helps. I have a couple of hand grinders that serve me well for espresso, vac pot and press. My Zass is my go-to although adjusting grinds can lead to some frustration. I also have a Hario Mini for travel. I would recommend both. However, the OP should know that the grind box in most hand mills is limited. In my Zass, for example, I can't hold much more than 22 g ground. So, if I'm using my vac, say for 5 cups, I need to empty the grind box twice.

[Jim]

The reports are that these units are returned new stock from when Starbucks left the hardware business. I do own a Virtuoso grinder for about 5 years now, which is made by Baratza and the customer service has been exemplary.

[Ron]

The reports are that these units are returned new stock from when Starbucks left the hardware business. I do own a Virtuoso grinder for about 5 years now, which is made by Baratza and the customer service has been exemplary.

Those anecdotal reports perhaps. But on one coffee forum a purchaser shows his model in pictures with substantial damage. On another coffee forum a purchaser identifies parts of many grinders on a single unit he purchased (a Franken-grinder if you will). All of these reports may or may not be correct, but I think it's hazardous to provide an assurance to a newbie that he can purchase a re-badged, unused grinder at your link.

I don't doubt that you've been happy with Baratza's customer service. They have a strong reputation. However, I wonder why you've encountered their customer service.

[Jim]

Men in this fora have had good luck-

[Ron]

Men in this fora have had good luck-

Jim, in that thread 2 people purchased the grinder you referenced and both were happy. Good for them. But the OP should do his DD. Some posters on other forums haven't been so lucky. Reference, for example, the Coffee Geek forum.

It bears noting that earlier in this thread you stated people were reporting these grinders as new, rebadged Starbucks grinders when in fact the only person calling them new, rebadged Starbucks grinders in that thread is you.

Jim, I'm not attacking you here. I just want the OP to realize that when you purchase a "refurb" there's a chance you won't get a new, rebadged Starbucks grinder - you may, in fact, get a refurb. I think we owe that to a newbie looking for advice. We shouldn't filter out negative experiences just because they aren't consistent with your experience.

[Jim]

The green coffee buying club also had good reports on this "rehab" grinder.

What grinder would you suggest.

[SiBurning]

A lot of the reviews for Baratza grinders refer to older versions. They did a lot to fix things. You can see a lot of this discussion in the reviews if you're careful to look at the date and whether someone bought new or not.

For this particular model, most of the reviews are by people who bought used off ebay or at Starbucks instead of factory refurbished by Baratza whose reputation for service is pretty clear.

I'm not sure, but I think this model was produced while Baratza was still ironing out issues with their design. You'd have to ask to find out which if any upgrades they've applied to them.

By the way, a lot of those reviews are kind of silly. "This grinder sucks. I'm buying a jolly for $800 instead."

Finally, and most importantly, their website no longer lists a new grinder in the $100 price range. Have they dropped out of that segment?

[Ron]

The green coffee buying club also had good reports on this "rehab" grinder.

What grinder would you suggest.

Actually the GCBC has some negative experiences as well. One of the most recent posters on this issue reports that his grinder arrived DOA. There are some other negatives as well. To your credit, there are positive experiences over there as well. It's just not all blue sky.

You'll note I posted earlier my recommendation of a Zass hand mill.

[Jim]

Actually the GCBC has some negative experiences as well. One of the most recent posters on this issue reports that his grinder arrived DOA. There are some other negatives as well. To your credit, there are positive experiences over there as well. It's just not all blue sky.

You'll note I posted earlier my recommendation of a Zass hand mill.

Thank you for the credit

I don't see the zass as an apple to apple comparison for the average user.
For example, I use between 75 and 80 grams of coffee in my Tvorm and Vac pots, that would be quite the work out with a small cranker.

I am a little confounded as to why you seem to be focused on my recommendation? Myself and several other members who have posted and others that have not in this thread have used these grinders to their complete satisfaction. I most surely trust Joel, John and others reviews here over any review on coffee geek.
Any issues that arise with Baratza have been addressed swiftly and with customer satisfaction. For me it's a win-win. Worst case, send it back.

This is my opine, you are welcome to yours.

[Ron]

Thank you for the credit

I don't see the zass as an apple to apple comparison for the average user.
For example, I use between 75 and 80 grams of coffee in my Tvorm and Vac pots, that would be quite the work out with a small cranker.

I am a little confounded as to why you seem to be focused on my recommendation? Myself and several other members who have posted and others that have not in this thread have used these grinders to their complete satisfaction. I most surely trust Joel, John and others reviews here over any review on coffee geek.
Any issues that arise with Baratza have been addressed swiftly and with customer satisfaction. For me it's a win-win. Worst case, send it back.

This is my opine, you are welcome to yours.

And thank you for welcoming my opinion.

The OP right now is using what sounds like a moka pot and a pour over. The hand mill ought to suit both uses nicely.

I'm not focused on your recommendation. However, I do believe you do this forum a disservice when you tell a newbie that he can get a rebadged, unused grinder at your link. That simply isn't the case. I trust Joel and John as well. However, the OP's experience with your link may not be the same as Joel's or John's. I simply pointed out that others haven't had that success and frankly I'm surprised you won't acknowledge that. The link itself offers "refurbed" grinders. He deserves to understand that.