Since you know what you're talking about can you confirm/deny an article I recently read that coffee beans can sit around in warehouses for years?
OT: My burgeoning coffee addiction
- Thread starter 91Joe95
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Since you know what you're talking about can you confirm/deny an article I recently read that coffee beans can sit around in warehouses for years?
Do you have any experience with the Ninja Coffee Bar? I am about to dive in for a new maker and want something that will give me a high quality cup.
Not a Coffee drinker at all but everyone always raves about Alabaster Coffee here in Williampsort. They roast beans here and I believe you can purchase beans here as well. IF headed to the game it isn't that far of a trip out of the way of 80 to pick up some fresh roasted beans.
Alabaster Coffee
Alabaster Coffee
Unroasted, Green Coffee can be stored with no issue. Coffee when roasted has a limited shelf life however. I suggest to use whole bean coffee, which is ground right before brewing. The roasted whole bean coffee should be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I do not recommend to buy bulk roasted coffee which you see sold in barrels in the gourmet stores. This is usually stale. Buy whole bean in a valve bag, or if you have a neighborhood roaster, buy in small but convenient quantities. I have roaster (Kobrick Coffee - Jersey City NJ (who is run by a PSU grad)) which I will buy 12 X 1 lb valve bags (their Danube blend is a blend of African and Central American). The coffee will stay fresh in the valve bags (until opened). I usually go with a 70 gram throw of coffee per 60 fl oz of water...
It has a lot of marketing hype... I would like to refer you the Specialty Coffee Association recommended list of brewers. These are evaluated for proper brew temperature and coffee extraction:
http://www.scaa.org/?page=cert2
Thanks flavor. I bought a technivorm in January and have loved it. Brewing temperature is the key and this device nails it.
I have been ordering Corsica and a couple other beans from La Colombe. One question....I had read that the perfect cup of coffee is made with 55 grams of coffee per 1 liter of water, so I bought a scale and have been going with that. Your mix is quite a bit weaker. I know perfect is a personal thing, but now you have me wondering...
La Colombe is the bomb. Try the Haiti coffee. We also like the Afrique, Lyon, & Guatemala. Just ordered the Geisha, hope it's worth the $ but I trust La Colombe. We also have a Bonavita 8 cup. Great purchase.
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My son just moved to Fish Town and is literally 100 yards from La Colombe - I'm very impressed with their coffee...
Brew ratio is personal and subjective. The 70 - 72 gram throw of coffee per 60 oz of water is typical for the industry for a 4 - 7 minute drip coffee. Grind size also influences extraction (think an espresso grind over a french press grind), so a course grind coffee will extract slower, (meaning a higher throw needed). I think that 55 grams per liter is a bit heavy of a throw (this translates to 97 grams per 60 fl oz)... I would back down a bit and see where that takes you. You actually might be under extracting to a degree (and perhaps wasting coffee grounds)... but if you like what you are doing, to each their own...
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Water temp should be 195-205. 212 will burn the coffee.
Aeropress is fantastic. I like it better than the French press.
I have found that there is a huge difference between pre-ground coffee and fresh ground. Coffee loses aroma after it is ground and aroma is huge.
Agree with you, Pennsy. Peet's (not to be confused with Peetz) makes great coffee. They simply own a lot of the West Coast market. Not sure whether they have much of a market farther east.
BTW, it's Major Dickason's, not General Dickason's. They sell Major Dickason's at Costco in large quantities. At least they do out here. To me, Major Dickason's tastes very similar to Peet's House Blend.
I am intrigued by the many positive mentions of La Colombe, and am gonna look into buying it. Wonder if I can get it online.
Yep, online is the way to go. Beans or ground. They prepare each order individually. Todd Carmichael is the proprietor and he has his own show on the Travel Channel, Dangerous Grounds. He is also heavily involved in the resurgence of the Haitian coffee business with U. S. government backing.
https://www.lacolombe.com
I got to meet Todd and his business partner JP Iberti in Fishtown briefly a few months ago. JP is married for a former PSU volleyball star. Very nice guys.
Highly recommend the La Colombe Haiti--it's amazing stuff. I've never had a bad coffee from there.....I always order whole bean because it stays fresher longer.
If you go to the website, you can enter a contest to go to Haiti with Todd on a coffee adventure. I think it runs through Monday.
Yes but it was so good he got a field promotion.
I remember once I was in a liquor store buying Admiral Nelson (poor man's Capt. Morgan) and I said to the clerk, "Hey how come Admiral Nelson is cheaper than Capt. Morgan? Doesn't an Admiral outrank a Captain?" She said "I don't know, I just work here."
More proof that the hardest thing in life to do is try to be funny.
Going along with Peet's, the Big Bang is also a fantastic roast.
Full disclosure: I just got a home roasting starter kit from Sweet Marias and will start roasting my own coffee this weekend. Yeah, I'm a geek.....what can I say?
Make sure you do this outside or in the garage... roasting coffee gives off a pretty heavy "burnt rubber" type of odor... also, each bean variety has an optimum roast color where the terrior of the bean and the maillard reaction of roasting are optimized. This is what takes coffee roasting into an art form. Mocha Java from new Guinea is a bean which you want to roast long and dark, some of the central americans are better with a lighter roast profile... I would suggest doing a test roast and removing beans at three different roast (light / medium / dark) colors... brew each to see which you like the best... take notes...
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My 27g of coffee and 472g (what my mug holds) of H2O! Firstly, those that posted the water temp are correct. Absolutely off boil, around 95-205, after soaking/wetting grounds for 30-45 seconds to release the CO2. I would then steep in a dripper for 4 minutes. However, I have now gone a new direction.
Cold brew! OMGosh, you will not believe how delicious it is. Even lowest quality beans (I grind) taste great. Essentially you just soak your ground coffee for 12 to 24 hours at room temperature or in the fridge. When ready to drink, just heat it any way you prefer. Microwave works fine. It will keep in a refrigerator for two weeks. I purchased a couple of gizmos to to do it in, however, all I do now is put the grounds in a two quart (spreads 54g out nicely) corning cup and pour 944g of room temp water over them for my two mug fulls. I stir them often during the evening and before my first cup in the morning, although I believe that isn't really necessary. I haven't tried any 24 hour batches but I can't imagine they would be better! Oh, and get a kitchen scale, 17.5g of water/gram of coffee, hot or cold brewed. Adjust your taste from there. Enjoy!
Cold brew! OMGosh, you will not believe how delicious it is. Even lowest quality beans (I grind) taste great. Essentially you just soak your ground coffee for 12 to 24 hours at room temperature or in the fridge. When ready to drink, just heat it any way you prefer. Microwave works fine. It will keep in a refrigerator for two weeks. I purchased a couple of gizmos to to do it in, however, all I do now is put the grounds in a two quart (spreads 54g out nicely) corning cup and pour 944g of room temp water over them for my two mug fulls. I stir them often during the evening and before my first cup in the morning, although I believe that isn't really necessary. I haven't tried any 24 hour batches but I can't imagine they would be better! Oh, and get a kitchen scale, 17.5g of water/gram of coffee, hot or cold brewed. Adjust your taste from there. Enjoy!
Could not agree more on the cold brew. I have done Kuerig (meh), french press, drip, roasting fresh beans myself, Aeropress. All pale in comparison. WE HAVE BEEN WRONG all along! How could so many people all over the world be so misled? (a familiar theme to us Penn Staters, huh?)
You take course ground (easier to filter out; fresh is better, but not necessary), strong, but inexpensive coffee and stir it into clean, cool/room temperature water, let it sit overnight. Then filter out the grounds in the morning and nuke it or add hot water (like an Americano) if too strong. Ratios and time are up to you.
-Soooo smooth. The hot water pulls out the bitter flavors in beans, the cool does not
-Chocolate and fruit notes become more prominent
-Can make ahead and store for several days in frige (great for parties/entertaining)
I can't believe we all do not do this and it is just now becoming popular!!
You take course ground (easier to filter out; fresh is better, but not necessary), strong, but inexpensive coffee and stir it into clean, cool/room temperature water, let it sit overnight. Then filter out the grounds in the morning and nuke it or add hot water (like an Americano) if too strong. Ratios and time are up to you.
-Soooo smooth. The hot water pulls out the bitter flavors in beans, the cool does not
-Chocolate and fruit notes become more prominent
-Can make ahead and store for several days in frige (great for parties/entertaining)
I can't believe we all do not do this and it is just now becoming popular!!
Health-wise, reducing sugar where possible is a plus.
The Butter and Coconut oil add good healthy fats that can sustain energy for longer periods of time, without the negative consequences of spiking blood sugar from harmful excess carbs.
Then you can try a variety of options depending on your taste, like adding vanilla or other flavorings you may enjoy. Simple add-in recipes are available, from plain to spicy, to match your taste preferences.
Yes - Coffee is an extraction process. You can make reaction proceed quicker with heat. Or you can extract over a longer time without heat. But, while a cold extraction process is slower, it does not extract the bitter flavors.
They use to sell a simple, inexpensive Toddy Coffee Maker. You follow directions, then let it extract over the required time.
It makes a concentrate you can store in the fridge. When you want a very smooth, non-bitter cup of coffee, you combine some concentrate with water, warm it to your preferred temp and drink away.
It's not the only option for reducing bitterness and creating better flavor, but it is an option to consider for some folks who really like that enhanced flavor and convenience.
Yeah, Obisdian is really, really nice. I can't find any Caribou bars around anymore, I guess Starbucks is kicking their ass.
