Tea/Coffee acquisitions - 2012

[gearchow]

Correct, its a Pharos hand grinder developed by Orphan Espresso. It is large for a manual grinder.

with the handle off I think you can attach a cordless drill. get a right angle one for better ergonomics.

-jim

[PozzSka]

I have acquired tons of stuff...
Bags of Brazilian, Guatemala, smaller amounts of various other green coffees...
Baratza Vario
Various brewing things (new french press, new bonavita kettle, etc.)

oh, and a new roaster...an Ambex YM2

[Vlad]

I have acquired tons of stuff...
Bags of Brazilian, Guatemala, smaller amounts of various other green coffees...
Baratza Vario
Various brewing things (new french press, new bonavita kettle, etc.)

oh, and a new roaster...an Ambex YM2

Roaster envy!

[gearchow]

I have acquired tons of stuff...
Bags of Brazilian, Guatemala, smaller amounts of various other green coffees...
Baratza Vario
Various brewing things (new french press, new bonavita kettle, etc.)

oh, and a new roaster...an Ambex YM2

really? oh man...

-jim

[red zeppelin]

I picked up a Technivorm earlier this year. After almost 8 years of doing almost exclusively espresso, I wanted to get back into drip. Part of this was for a change of pace, part of it was to try roasting a wider variety of coffee. It took a couple days of dialing in grind, but it lives up to its reputation making great coffee! My grinder is a Baratza Vario, and it is pretty easy going back and forth between drip and espresso.

I just got a technivorm as well; still getting used to it but I like the difference so far.

[nff]

4 lbs of coffee

1/2 lb of jamacan blue mountain #3
1/2 lb of yemen mokha small beans GR A
1lb of nepal mt everest supremo
1lb of indian mysore nuggets
1lb of rwanda AA

[mc866]

Just picked up some Nuevo from Paradise Roasters last week. Lucky for me they are here in MN. Very highly rated on coffee review. The coffee I picked up was roasted that morning specifically for me. My first experience with extremely freshly roasted espresso.

http://www.coffeereview.com/review.cfm?ID=2583

http://www.paradiseroasters.com/

[Icebear]

After shopping around for quite a while (approx 25 different types) I got stuck with Mellelo roasters' Italian roast & Cafe de Georgio which I blend approx 50/50 before grinding in a Demoka Minimoka. Machine: ECM Tech.II about 12 years old, self serviced over the years, still brews like a charm .

[Maxime D.]

Here are some of the teas that I've purchased this months.



First row, from left to right.
1# My eternal 'Earl Grey Cream', each time I go to the tea store, I must purchase it.
A delicious black tea, enhanced with cornflower petals and a hint of bergamot oil.

2# A yunan pingXiWang Fu-Pu'er 2005, I really like it little smoked taste.

3# the name of this one is simply 'Pur Chai', an indian black tea mixed with pieces of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
I usually drink it with a bit of clover honey when I have a sore throat.

Second row, from left to right.

1# The 'Rayon de miel' is a pure delightful. It's a mate tea mixed with honeybush petals, rooibos and lemon zest.

2# Another Pu'er, the XiaGuan TeJi premium 2009. Nothing special to say about this one, green taste, no particular smell......In fact I don't like it !

3#At the moment, the 'Briller de mille feux' is my favorite one. It's a Black tea with cinnamon powder, gold/silver sugar crystals that shine while infusing. Every cup is like a starry sky....it's what they said in the description XD

[galopede]

I bought a new box of PG Tips teabags the other day!

OK, I'll get my coat.

[Bubblehead]

Just bought a couple different matcha specimens and the requisite bamboo whisk from Yuuki-Cha. I've been using a super-cheap matcha from another seller along with a fork to whip it up which tastes ok, but it's not very gratifying. It's probably culinary grade, but I can't read the labeling. I haven't received these new items yet so until then, I'll just rely on vendor photos.

Yuuki Konjo




Yame

[BJC]

With the arrival of this year's order from Jas-Etea, my annual restock of tea is complete, not to mention slightly expanded. Since I began enjoying quality loose leaf tea in 2011, I've made a yearly order from Jas-Etea, while branching out to include other offerings as well. Since it takes more than a month many times to get any order of tea, not to mention the price of international shipping to Kenya, I make the most of an order and stock up. Without further ado, the teas.

From Teavivre:
Yun Nan Dian Hong (NEW)
Premium Keemun Hao Ya (NEW)
Bai Lin Gong Fu (NEW)

Verdant Tea:
Autumn Harvest Laoshan Black (NEW)

Jas-Etea:
Formosa Ruby Black (NEW)
2010 Yunnan Golden Buds (Restock)
2010 Premium Lapsang Souchong (Restock)
Keemun Hao Ya B (Restock of the Hao Ya A)
2011 Golden Eyebrow Lapsang Souchong (NEW)
Black Simao (Restock) - not pictured.

Kinda obvious that black tea is my favorite! I've been experimenting with the Teavivre and Verdant offerings for about a month now and am close to having them "dialed in" at which point I'll post some reviews. The Jas-Etea package just arrived yesterday and I had my first cup of the Ruby Black this morning. Definitely an INTERESTING tea - in a good way. I hope to have this one learned rather quickly. The Eyebrow Lapsang will be given an audience later today as well. Overall, I should be set for another year (or two or three). And to think, this all started by answering the question "What is the Cafe sub-forum about?". You bunch on enablers have my sincerest thanks!

[mikeschu]

My local shop just received their first flush Darjeeling. Tasted good in the sample cup; I'll have to brew a pot on a cold day and see how it tastes.

[bbsgasm]

Yikes, after showing that Pharos engineering marvel I'm embarrassed to post...lol. 68mm commercial grade grinding burr...wow! I'm looking into that beast, thanks for sharing.

I recently ordered a 2 cup Coffee/Cappuccino maker. I've been looking for something small/portable and not too expensive but of decent quality to fill my needs. Who better than world renowned Bialetti to do so. Quick and easy utilizing their patented valve system, gorgeous polished aluminum finish.

It will arrive next week, I'll do a follow up...

[BobK]

I was in the market for a new drip coffee maker, but what was on the market for less than $100.00 just didn't interest me. So I started looking at different methods of making coffee. I decided to buy an 8-cup Chemex. But my blade grinder didn't work too well with this method; too inconsistent of a grind. So that led me to get a Capresso Conical Burr Grinder. It grinds great, but it is a pain to clean up. The grinds are not the problem, but there is a static charge that affects the skin/husk? (light brown lightweight something-or-other particles) to cling to everything. Then I thought that my stovetop kettle just took too long to boil the water, and I couldn't control the pour; so I got a Bonavita electric kettle. That seems to work great, but it is just a little smaller than I would have liked. It took a bit of experimenting with the size of the grind and the amount of coffee to use, but now that I have it down pat, I'm happy with my current setup.

[gearchow]

I was in the market for a new drip coffee maker, but what was on the market for less than $100.00 just didn't interest me. So I started looking at different methods of making coffee. I decided to buy an 8-cup Chemex. But my blade grinder didn't work too well with this method; too inconsistent of a grind. So that led me to get a Capresso Conical Burr Grinder. It grinds great, but it is a pain to clean up. The grinds are not the problem, but there is a static charge that affects the skin/husk? (light brown lightweight something-or-other particles) to cling to everything. Then I thought that my stovetop kettle just took too long to boil the water, and I couldn't control the pour; so I got a Bonavita electric kettle. That seems to work great, but it is just a little smaller than I would have liked. It took a bit of experimenting with the size of the grind and the amount of coffee to use, but now that I have it down pat, I'm happy with my current setup.

chaff. I get the same thing with my Rocky unless I put something right under the output chute (glass jar or filter paper) - such that the grind doesn't get a chance to fall through the air, still, some does escape. The occasional vacuum cleaning of the grinder is a good thing.

-jim

[nff]

headed to the local tea shoppe today picked up these

[EricBNC]

I recently picked up some of this raw Pu-erh Tea from the Tianpin Tea Company from the 2006 Simao harvest. The package holds four 250g bricks. It still needs a bit more rest though.

[Vlad]

4 pounds in from various points of longitude and latitude. I tried to look at tasting notes, but basically a blind buy. The previous beans I've had were blends, and I'm gonna see if this selection will help me develop a more discriminating palate. I've got the weekend with some leftover beans, but then I'll start on these. Probably roast a batch tomorrow.

[gearchow]

Nice selection!

Your not really blind buying, you did read the roasting and cupping notes and made some informed decisions. At some point though, you will have preferences.

-jim