I might be a coffee snob

[fisherPete]

I buy green beans wholesale (Sumatra Mandheling), which I roast in my Jiffy hot-air popcorn maker (Full City - just at second crack).  I grind in my Breville BCG800XL burr grinder to very fine.  Then I brew in my Krups Type 229 Aroma Control machine with the thermocouple in the basket which drips into an insulated carafe.  I've been doing this for many years.  Do I need professional help? 

 

I tried what they call coffee at the corner convenience store, but it tasted like cardboard.  Does that make me a snob, or a connoisseur?

[Alex]

Are you sincerely worried about this and are looking for support or feedback, or are you just humble bragging? Either way, the only professional help you might need would relate to upgrading your equipment.

[Arey]

You are in need of therapy.  In the  topmost cabinet in my kitchen (I need a stepladder to reach it) far in the back (where you need a flashlight to see it) is a large jar of Taster's Choice instant coffee with a best by date of XX/XX/03 ( I can't remember the day and month).  I am willing to mail  this heirloom bottle of instant coffee to you.  I promise you that if you drink the instant coffee from this bottle exclusively until it is all gone the coffee at the corner convenience store will taste pretty darn good to you, and you won't even need all that fancy equipment.

[cakewalk]

2 hours ago, Arey said:

You are in need of therapy.  In the  topmost cabinet in my kitchen (I need a stepladder to reach it) far in the back (where you need a flashlight to see it) is a large jar of Taster's Choice instant coffee with a best by date of XX/XX/03 ( I can't remember the day and month).  I am willing to mail  this heirloom bottle of instant coffee to you.  I promise you that if you drink the instant coffee from this bottle exclusively until it is all gone the coffee at the corner convenience store will taste pretty darn good to you, and you won't even need all that fancy equipment.

I can top that. I have the same jar of Taster's Choice - and it's decaf! I have a particular friend who, when she's in NY to visit, drinks it exclusively. I love her anyway. 

[fisherPete]

3 hours ago, Alex said:

Are you sincerely worried about this and are looking for support or feedback, or are you just humble bragging? Either way, the only professional help you might need would relate to upgrading your equipment.

 

I'm new, so I'm feeling out where people are on the topic.  I tend to do that tongue in cheek.  I know my roaster is low-tech.  What other equipment upgrades would you suggest?

[Alex]

6 minutes ago, fisherPete said:

 

I'm new, so I'm feeling out where people are on the topic.  I tend to do that tongue in cheek.  I know my roaster is low-tech.  What other equipment upgrades would you suggest?

 

You will find that people are all over the place on this topic, as well as pretty much any other topic, around here. However, the general consensus is, if you're happy with what you're doing, keep on doing it. The only upgrade I'd even consider suggesting is that if you're committed to automatic drip, you might want to look at a Technivorm (and even then, eGers will be of various opinions about that machine). I found a used one via Craigslist and am very happy with it. The Bonavita is also supposed to do a good job. Here's a comparison from several years ago; there may well be some newer ones.

[Tere]

We have the baby https://londiniumespresso.com/ and some fancy hand grinder that I can't remember the name of but comes from the US, and I am usually drinking something from https://www.hasbean.co.uk/ as we have a Super Secret Stash subscription. My hubby (who is the coffee geek) can't drink caffeinated coffee so he has the decaf from https://ravecoffee.co.uk/.

 

It does make good coffee but both machine and grinder were eye wateringly expensive. It keeps my hubby happy though and he's happy to do all the maintenance so that's fine. I'd probably have gone for a bean to cup thingy if it had been my choice. Or possibly the pods, although that's environmentally rather meh so maybe not.

[fisherPete]

I considered the Technivorm and Bonavita.  They have the strength of good temperature control  What they don't have, which the KRUPS does, is a thermocouple which allows the grounds to bloom properly before passing the brew to the carafe.  While the temperature isn't adjustable on the KRUPS, my instant read shows 198ºF, which is what I would choose.

 

I see that OXO has a new machine similar to the Bonavita and Technivorm, but which might also do a good job of temperature control and blooming cycles.  I haven't seen any reviews, however.

 

The Londinium looks awesome!  I haven't seen that machine before.

Edited July 13, 2016 by fisherPete (log)

[Alex]

24 minutes ago, fisherPete said:

I considered the Technivorm and Bonavita.  They have the strength of good temperature control  What they don't have, which the KRUPS does, is a thermocouple which allows the grounds to bloom properly before passing the brew to the carafe.  While the temperature isn't adjustable on the KRUPS, my instant read shows 198ºF, which is what I would choose.

 

That's great that the Krups brews at the correct temperature. The Bonavita is indeed set up to do the bloom thing:

Quote

Optional pre-infusion mode wets freshly roasted ground coffee to allow degassing before brewing.

 

[andiesenji]

Interesting that this topic has surfaced yet again.  I seem to recall that there have been earlier threads with extensive discussions about the various aspects of coffee, selecting a variety, roasting, brewing and etc.

 

As noted above.  If you are HAPPPY with your setup and the quality of the brew - do as you wish.  There is not a test or a snap quiz.  

Satisfy yourself always.

 

That's my philosophy about COFFEE - or anything else for that matter.

I still use one of my Senseo machines - making my own pods with my pod sealer - I use premium coffees and my preference is dark roast and I often blend some selections together.

 

I have mentioned in the past that I have a collection of vintage coffee brewers, including quite a few vacuum brewers, most from the 1930s.

Three weeks ago I had some unexpected guests who noticed my Silex machines and asked if they still worked.  So I had to demonstrate how the Silex "Lido" made in 1937, still worked perfectly.  It has its own "stove" - a small, fitted hot plate.  It is a 10 cup brewer - 6oz cups.

 

The coffee was exceptional.  One of my guests has a Technivorm and declared the Silex coffee was superior to the results he is getting but opined it may have been the coffee.  So I gave him some of my beans so he could grind them fresh and brew a batch in his machine.

He phoned a couple of days later and said that the Technivorm coffee was "okay" but did not have the complexity he tasted in the vacuum brewed coffee.

This past Monday he phoned and told me he had purchased a Silex on etsy and had received it Saturday, waited until Sunday to find the instructions on line (for some reason he did not want to ask me) and brew a pot.

He is very impressed with the quality of the brew.  Since the one he got was smaller, he is now watching for one like mine.

 

[Tere]

Did it take a long time to do its thing? I bought a vacuum coffee maker for a friend off eBay a while back as a present (can't remember the brand I'm afraid) and when we tried it the coffee was good but took forever to make. It was one of those ones with the little paraffin burners though.

[andiesenji]

3 minutes ago, Tere said:

Did it take a long time to do its thing? I bought a vacuum coffee maker for a friend off eBay a while back as a present (can't remember the brand I'm afraid) and when we tried it the coffee was good but took forever to make. It was one of those ones with the little paraffin burners though.

No, it does not take long at all.  The water boils quickly - these also work on gas stoves - or on electric stoves but on the old coil type you need a spacer.  

with the automatic ones, the power switches to "low" or shuts off completely and as soon as the temp drops in the bottom chamber, the vacuum should suck the brewed coffee down into the bottom vessel.

[Tere]

Interesting. So they would be OK on a ceramic hob you think?

 

It's not really something I need since it's usually only the two of us here and it's easy enough to make a cup for each with the Londinium at that point (we usually keep it on a timer switch so it's hot in the mornings) but I could see the utility for my friend in the larger models if it's as simple to use as a French press (he drinks a lot of coffee!) or if we ever do the B and B business we occasionally noodle about. The ones available here seem to be Bodum Pebo for the main part with middling reviews about build quality, but I'll have to bear in mind again. The one I bought him was an expensive present which got used once so it's frustrating a little to see something a quarter of the price which might work better. Hey ho, so it goes 

[andiesenji]

They work fine on glass top electric.  

 

[rotuts]

@fisherPete  

 

if you want to find out about home roasting go over to

 

Homebarista.com and find the home roasting picture thread.

 

well worth it

[friedcoffee]

-Get freshly roasted beans from some local roaster. It eliminates the roasting equipment.

- Get a good grinder from Baratza, Mazzer or Rancilio

- Get some good coffee machine from Breville, Gaggia or Saeco

You are done...

[dcarch]

I got an electric roaster convection/rotisserie oven from Goodwill for $10.

I bought two strainers ($10?) and did some modifications to them to work with the rotisserie.

 

The oven is in my backyard.  It gives me about one lb of roasted coffee beans in about 30 minutes. No smoke, no trouble. perfect control of degree of roast.

 

dcarch

Edited September 23, 2016 by dcarch (log)

[rotuts]

""  It eliminates the roasting equipment ""

 

no coffee snob would leave the roasting to anyone else.

 

why let them ruin your Perfect Cup ?

 

OK  maybe you only had a very very very good cup.

 

but not a perfect one unless you roast yourself.

 

it will take you at least a year or more of home roasting to find  your perfect cup

 

but there is very good news :  top quality green beans are easy to find for start.

 

no Snob " grows they own "   at least for coffee 

Edited September 23, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[andiesenji]

I'm getting one of the newest "next-generation" Ninja Coffee Bar Carafe System units (released on 9/15/16) to test and write a review.

It apparently has lots of bells and whistles to play with.  It should be here by next Wednesday.  

I'm not sure I would spend the money for it, but since it is free, I am happy to give it some serious testing.

 

I will report back when I have had a chance to read all the instructions (yes, I am one of those people) and put it through its paces.

[haresfur]

On 9/23/2016 at 0:38 PM, friedcoffee said:

-Get freshly roasted beans from some local roaster. It eliminates the roasting equipment.

- Get a good grinder from Baratza, Mazzer or Rancilio

- Get some good coffee machine from Breville, Gaggia or Saeco

You are done...

 

Welcome to eG, friedcoffee.

I would be tempted to roast at home because I would like a darker roast than the locals make, as I have whinged before. But with the Slayer my man uses, fresher coffee than I would usually have, and the convenience, I'll just buy a cup on the way to work. Besides, it's pretty much my main social interaction some weeks - everybody knows your name.

[chromedome]

On 23/09/2016 at 9:05 AM, dcarch said:

I got an electric roaster convection/rotisserie oven from Goodwill for $10.

I bought two strainers ($10?) and did some modifications to them to work with the rotisserie.

 

The oven is in my backyard.  It gives me about one lb of roasted coffee beans in about 30 minutes. No smoke, no trouble. perfect control of degree of roast.

 

dcarch

 

 

That's genius.

[andiesenji]

I got the new Ninja Coffee Bar today.  It is the CFO91 model - released for sale on September 15, 2016.

 

I'm very impressed.  I have not yet used the milk frother - it does not heat the milk, you have to warm it in a microwave or ??

But I made coffee in the various sizes up to a half carafe.  The controls are simple and intuitive.  

It has a "drip stop" level that positively shuts off the stream of coffee so there are no drips.

This model has the glass carafe so has a hot plate to keep the coffee at the "correct" serving temp.

There is a permanent filter or one can use disposable paper filters.  If one has fine ground coffee the paper filter is necessary.

I ground the beans for the half carafe at medium and used the permanent filter.  There was a tiny bit of sediment but nothing obnoxious.  The cup and the travel mug brews were with a finer grind and I used paper filters. 

It is brewed VERY HOT.  Scalding in fact.  Since I like to add cream, this is TERRIFIC FOR ME because I don't have to reheat the coffee after adding it.

I tried it with Dark Roast Komodo Dragon from Starbucks, freshly ground.  Excellent cup brewed on the "Rich Brew" setting on the "Travel mug" size.

I also brewed the half Carafe with a Medium Dark Roast Happy Belly blend - a Fairtrade Organic coffee 100% Arabica from Central America.  It is a very pleasant brew, not as robust as I usually prefer but very nice for after dinner.

 

All in all, this is a versatile and interesting coffee brewer that uses regular coffee and there are NO plastic or foil PODS TO DISPOSE OF.

 

[andiesenji]

More experimenting with the Ninja Coffee Bar System.

I tried the milk frother and it works okay.  One has to be careful because it sputters quite a bit so one needs a deep container.

I heated the milk in the microwave.  The foam was adequate but my Aerolatte does better with pre-heated milk and my Capresso frothPro does MUCH BETTER!

 

I tried a different coffee - a French roast from Lavazza, ground medium-coarse, used the permanent filter and there was much less sediment in the cup.  

I have a dark roast from Koffee Kult that I will grind and brew tomorrow in both the XL cup and the Half-carafe size.

 

The commercials for this new model are now airing - on TV and on Facebook.  

 

My review on Amazon went live last evening.  So far there are 10 reviews and all but one give it 5 stars.

[kayb]

I don't know that I'm a coffee snob, though I have definite likes and dislikes. I have been at a conference in a hotel the past three days and the coffee has been the absolute worst I have ever attempted to drink in my life. Sludgy, bitter, an "off" taste behind the bitterness. Just nasty.

 

A question for those of you in the food services business. Just how hard is it to consistently provide decent coffee in a vacuum pot for a conference break table or in the lobby?

 

[lindag]

In this day there's just no excuse for bad coffee in such a setting.