Coffee beans

[nyfirepatrolchef X]

Researchgal~

My pleasure.

If its not reflected online, their roasters are across the river in Brooklyn...and it goes out to the three stores basically the same day.

Ive been to jobs in both coffee roasters and warehouses containing cocoa beans.  The *s t e n c h * when that stuff burns...my god.  But once the fire was controlled and vented...the cocoa beans smelled very enticing.  We were right on the water and it was one of the coldest nights of the winter.  All that *hot cocoa*...the beans, and the superhot water runoff from the hoselines...was like the old addage water water everywhere but not a drop...

[russ parsons]

as a lurker on alt.coffee (where the REAL coffee-geeks are), this has been addressed fairly recently. as i recall, and in loose summary, a couple of guys tasted frozen beans vs. fresh and found that even after 2 months, they couldn't tell the difference.

i've got a pretty bad espresso habit (and the rancilio silvia to prove it). i get my coffee from Josuma (650/366-5453). they sell roasted beans, minimum order of 5 pounds and with shipping it comes out to about $9 a pound. great stuff.

[bigbear]

I roast my own. Just tried Sweet Maria's Ugandan Budadiri AA "Specialty" '02 ($4.50/lb.) with a near Vienna roast. Excellent, IMHO.

[VMBrasseur]

I have to chime in with another vote for Peet's.  Their Sumatra is one of the most full-bodied coffees I've had the pleasure of tasting.  It makes some damn fine toddy.

If you're just looking for something winey and pleasant for mornings, I'd suggest locating a Tanzanian Peaberry.  It's a lighter brew which definitely falls into the "winey" category.

--V

[Holly Moore]

I'm sure there are some extremely adequate coffee roasters in New York City.

But according to an article in this month's Philadelphia Magazine, a few pretty good New York City chefs - Jean Georges Vongerichten, Daniel Boulud and Alain Ducasse - and even, gush gush, MARTHA, import their coffee from the provinces, namely Philadelphia.  The coffee is La Colombe.

La Colombe

Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia also uses La Colombe.

[jaybee]

On the making great coffee thread, I asked for opinions on home roasting. Click here

[Orik]

I'm a member of the home roasting underground (hearthware, rocky, silvia). I feel is that discussing store roasted beans is much like talking about which canned chicken stock is best - none of them comes even close to home made, except maybe a couple of high end products that will be marked up by hundreds of percentage points...

[VMBrasseur]

So what exactly is involved in home-roasting your beans?  Do you need all sorts of arcane and expensive contraptions which will take up acres and acres of precious shelf-space?  Or can you just toss the beans in a crock and slide them into the oven for a few hours?

--V, who's pretty sure it ain't the latter...

[Orik]

So what exactly is involved in home-roasting your beans?  

While some alternatives do exist (I've heard of people pan-roasting or using popcorn makers), a coffee roaster is the way to go. The model I'm using (available from http://www.sweetmarias.com/ where there's detailed information on roasting alternatives) roasts 1/2 cup of beans at a time and allows you to precisely control the roast. It also does a decent job of collecting the chaf, but you'll still get some of it on your kitchen counter. Also note that every roasting cycle involves listening to what sounds like a turbo charged hair dryer for quite a few minutes. You may also want to find out just how sensitive your fire detectors are...roasting could easily trigger them.

Overall it's a minor hassle and the results are great.

[VMBrasseur]

Oh...my...  The price on those roasters is a little too tempting for someone who loves coffee.  Especially someone like me who doesn't have the room to stow a lot of kitchen stuff.

I almost wish I hadn't found out how easy it is...

--V

[Mezzaluna]

I get good, well-roasted coffee from http://www.alterracoffee.com/.

[Steve Klc]

Russ--what do you grind your Josuma with?  did you go Rocky with your Sylvia? and is your normal habit to freeze those extra pounds of coffee?  does Josuma have different blends or roasts for espresso and do you have a favorite "blend"?

and the most salient question (for me) in light of some previous posts--do you notice a difference in taste or performance as you dig into your cache of frozen beans?  do you find you have to change your grinder setting, weight or tamp at all--which might indicate freezing does have a performance effect vs. freshly roasted (if not a detectable taste difference.)

And Holly--I lived with La Colombe for a while recently and am very happy with the Corsica blend, it's at least the equal of Graffeo dark roast.  I found I didn't appreciate their light, sweet Nizzi blend as much.  (They have 4 styles available on their website--a decaf and a blend/roast in between the Corsica and the Nizzi, which I did not test.) What I also find interesting is the "French connection" between the chefs you mentioned and La Colombe--both principals of the coffee business have some French ties.  I wonder which blends are preferred by the chefs?

For you non-espresso folks, I have not tried either with the press yet.

[Huevos del Toro]

I buy my green beans from Sweet Maria's and roast only a few days worth at a time. I seal the freshly roasted beans in plastic bags which have an integral one-way valve to let the carbon dioxide gas out and keep the oxygen at bay. They peak about 36 hours after roasting.

I use the vacuum pot/spirit lamp brewing method.

Yum yum!

[bigbear]

I buy my green beans from Sweet Maria's....

Before it went OOS, I bought some of their Sumatra Lake Tawar Triple-Pick. Very long finish. I liked it. The Queen didn't. Story of my life. My wife's favorite coffee is ground, Kirkland's (Costco) Columbian. The home-roasting "snob-in-training" that I am has to admit, that it makes a good cup of coffee.

[coffeetaster]

For winy coffees, you may want to look at Kenya AA, Ethiopian Sidamo or Limu, Specialty Grade Colombian or even a true Guatemala Antigua. Be advised that since coffee harvest change each year, the coffee you enjoyed last season may not be available this season. Also, be aware the level of roast for the coffee will dictate if the winy character that you desire is developed in the flavor. Improper roasting can ruin the best coffee with the most flavor potential. To insure the best cup of coffee, always start with the freshest ingredients; coffee and water. Grind your coffee immediately before brewing (not the night before), and be sure to have a brewer or brewing system that heats the water to 200 F, which facilitates efficient extraction. When the water is cooler than 195 F the brew will be weak and under-extracted and you will not realize the full flavor potential.

I hope this information is helpful..

Cheers!

Coffeetaster

[jaybee]

Coffeetaster, I bought the Bodum Santos automatic because it supposedly heated water to the right temp (200 degrees). To your knowledge, is this true?

[coffeetaster]

Jaybee -

Is that a trick question? The Bodum Santos is a vacuum coffee brewer that heats the water in the bottom part until it vaporizes (over 212 F) and then re-liquefies in the top part mixing with the ground coffee. When the electric heater is turned off the vacuum is no longer pressurized, and the brewed coffee passes through a mesh filter into the clean bottom portion. Since you have one, I know you know this already - I just wanted to describe the brewer for the rest of humanity. The coffee will brew very nicely in this unit, somewhat like a French Press. However, keep in mind the best equipment will not cover the defects of poor quality or stale coffee.

Please let me know if that helps....

Cheers!

[cakewalk]

The coffee will brew very nicely in this unit, somewhat like a French Press.

I must be missing something again.

Is the vacuum brewer "head over heels" better than a plain ole French press?

[coffeetaster]

The only similarity would be the mesh screen in place of a filter to allow fine particles and oils through to the final brewed beverage. This Bodum Santos will produce a milder more pleasing cup. Sorry for the confusion

[jaybee]

My experience exactly, CT. Milder, but not necessarily more pleasing. Soemetimes I like the bite of the French Press. When making 2-4 cups it is my preferred method. When makin g 4+ I use the Bodum. The beans are always fresh and ground just before use.

[KarenS]

I got a nice present from my old roomate. He gave me the Capresso coffee maker that brews (and burr grinds the coffee)with a timer. The machine is my alarm clock, I wake up smelling and hearing coffee brew. I really like it-it was more money then I would spend (but he knows that I love coffee- he makes a lot more money too).

I really think that Peets coffee is the best that I have had in the US (brewed in a French press was the best cup). I have the coffee sent to me in Hawaii (I know, I am just not a Kona fan). The best cup of coffee that I have had was at a shop in Paris near the Louvre, can't remember the name right now- I have it written down. The coffee was a wood roasted Sumatra.

Thanksgiving coffee from near Mendocino is also very good.