Which Coffee Maker?

[_mike_]

LEDmodMan,
That's a good point, just brew it in whatever and use a Nissan vacuum bottle to keep it hot. I'll have to look into that one. I'll swing buy the link you gave me too, thanks for that.


As for the rest........
(plugging both ears) lalalalala lalalalala lalalalala I'm not listening, I'm not listening ...... I'M NOT LISTENING!!!

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Mike

 

[js]

[ QUOTE ]
_Mike_ said:
LEDmodMan,
That's a good point, just brew it in whatever and use a Nissan vacuum bottle to keep it hot. I'll have to look into that one. I'll swing buy the link you gave me too, thanks for that.


As for the rest........
(plugging both ears) lalalalala lalalalala lalalalala I'm not listening, I'm not listening ...... I'M NOT LISTENING!!!

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Mike

[/ QUOTE ]

Mike! LOL! Did you miss my post above? Or ignore it due to my inherent obnoxiousness? Because I said:

"Why not get a vacuum thermos bottle? Multi-purpose. Inexpensive. More attractive. More portable."

Odd. Anyway, Al makes some great points above. Most electric drip machines do not have enough wattage to get the water hot enough. Which is sad, because if you think about it, what else is there really to a drip machine? Making coffee this way is just essentially pouring hot water over ground beans filtered through paper. So that leaves only a few things to get right (for the machine): 1. HOT water at the proper rate for the filter setup, and, 2. a good filter set up. #2 is pretty well standardized, so all the electric drip needs to do is get the water hot enough and deliver it at the proper rate. My little KitchenAid has got a serious heating coil--something like 1200 watts IIRC--and brews in around 3-4 minutes, which is the prefered time range. Too fast and you don't get all the flavor. Too slow and you get undesirable flavor.

Anyway, it's not that a thermal carafe machine is bad, it's just that a regular machine together with a thermos is better. At least I think so. Also, LEDmodMan is right on about sweetmarias. They are hands down the BEST internet store/company I have ever dealt with, and boy do they know their stuff.

Good luck, and BTW, you should definitely start roasting your own. You will thank yourself for doing it.

 

[eluminator]

I use a cheap plastic cone filter holder that sits on top of my coffee mug. I always have hot water in the tea kettle.

What the heck is a coffee maker, and why would I want one?

 

[js]

[ QUOTE ]
eluminator said:
I use a cheap plastic cone filter holder that sits on top of my coffee mug. I always have hot water in the tea kettle.

What the heck is a coffee maker, and why would I want one?

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a good point, and a fair question. The only answer is "convenience." Better coffee can be made with your set up. In fact, some people even go to the trouble of turning off their electric coffee maker, opening up the filter holder and stiring up the grounds & water, and then turning the maker back on! Geesh, why not just get a filter holder and boil some water. There is, of course, the issue of getting the water temperature right: it can't be too cold, but it can't be too close to boiling, either. Putting in the same amount in the kettle and then waiting a set time works well enough, but you see my point about convenience (and repeatability). There's only so much that any given person is willing to go through for a cup of joe on any given day, not to mention time constraints. If you manually pour water, you have to, ...well, manually pour the water over a 3-4 minute interval. All boils down to personal preference I suppose.

 

[javafool]

Yep. I usually turn the Bunn off after my Friday morning brew and use either a filter cone or a Chemex on the weekends. Perfect for brewing a cup at a time.
I turn the Bunn back on Sunday evening getting ready for the workweek once again.

TerryF

 

[Bravo25]

I am an avid coffee drinker, and I don't care for coffee that has been on the heater for more than 15 minutes. I like it fresh. You might check into a single cup brewer. I also use the single serving bags (like tea bags) to make one cup at a time.

 

[TORCH_BOY]

I use a Bodam glass plunger, Is quick and easy and makes
a good cuppa.

 

[Joe Talmadge]

For those of you who want the best, freshest roasted coffee, but aren't motivated to try roasting your own, I heartily recommend www.justroastedcoffee.com The coffee comes brand spanking fresh, right after it's roasted. If you're in California, you'll get it within two days of roasting. Their sumatra decaf is better than most regular coffees, and their regular coffees are simply outstanding. I've become partial to their Captain's blend, a big full-bodied blend. The mocca-java is fantastic if you want a coffe that's not quite as big.

BTW, I got a cafe rosto from sweet maria's and alsso a bunch of green beans (Christmas present from my wife). Alas, so far every batch I've roasted has tasted undrinkably bad. Not sure what I can be doing wrong, I've tried different batch sizes and roasting times. It's taking me a good 15 minutes to get close to a full city roast, so maybe the problem is that my house voltage is too low and it's just taking too long to roast? Any pointers would be appreciated ... and if it's the voltage, is there some kind of cheap voltage regulator I can put between the rosto and the wall socket?

Joe

 

[LEDmodMan]

Yes, the French presses are the way to go (Bodum). I use them exclusively, except for when I make espresso.

For that, I recommend the Starbucks Barista (Charbucks /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif) when it's on sale.

It's normally $350, but regularly goes on sale for $250. It's actually made by Saeco (a large, well-known, and good espresso machine company), and at $250 on sale is one of the best machines there is for the money.

Here are the coffeegeek consumer reviews for this machine.

Anyway, that's it from me.
Take care!

 

[_mike_]

Starbucks is having a sale right now, through March 16th. How you might ask do I know, well ..... because my wife just picked me up a Starbucks Barista Aroma (regular coffee brewer)coffee maker. It's normally $99.00, on sale for $79.00. It meets all my requirements, brews hot, fast and the carafe keeps it hot for 3-4 hours. I know this because I used it this morning.

The one that LEDmodMan recommends is on sale right now ......
Stainless, Copper, Candy Apple Red for $299.00. All other colors for $249.00. It's is a nice machine, we have had a Saeco (as stated above is the same as the Starbucks model) for many years and really like it. I agree with LEDmodMan that it is a good buy at $249.00.

js, sorry about appearing to ignore you ....I didn't mean to. I did read your post and fully acknowledge your vacuum bottle/thermos comment. I must have scrolled down and parked it on LEDmodMan's.

You all rock, now get outta here you knuckle heads! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Mike

 

[javafool]

Hi Joe,

Did you ask on Sweetmaria's forum or on alt.coffee? It sounds like you may need to add more beans. Of all the roasters I've owned and tried, almost as many as flashlights, the Rosto is not one of them so sorry I can't be much help.
You really can roast your own, been doing it for about 7 years now, but you need to get a few successful roasts under your belt to get the hang of it. You did let the beans rest for a couple of days after roasting, didn't you? Most coffee tastes a little flat or grassy right out of the roaster.

TerryF

 

[Joe Talmadge]

Terry,

Thanks ... I let the beans rest a day, per the directions. But I also tried them the day after that, and the day after that. Pretty vile in all cases.

 

[LEDmodMan]

Joe,
FWIW, I still highly recommend the Toastmaster roaster from Bed Bath and Beyond for only $10. I have had no problems roasting with this popper. It appears to be a newer version of the highly coveted West Bend Poppery II. Same circuit too. Look at the thread I linked earlier for more information about the popper.

Most of the time, I hit second crack anywhere from about 5min 30sec to about 6min 30sec. I have done a couple of dark French roasts for my espresso machine, and it can handle them without any trouble. I've gone thorough at least 3 lbs. of coffee in it (small batches) and no trouble. My father-in-law has probably roasted double that with no problems.

For how well the TM popper roasts coffee for only $10, there is no way I can justify spending more $$$. I'd rather buy additional TM poppers.

 

[Joe Talmadge]

You realize that going out and getting a new coffee roaster will get me in dutch with the wife, right? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Actually, for $10, I might pick one up just to see if if the problem is me or the house voltage.

 

[Empath]

There is already an active thread on roasting coffee. It too became a victim of the "roasting" fans. Personally I don't give a diddly squat about roasting coffee, but I understand how some could enjoy it. What I don't yet understand is why every time someone discusses coffee in a forum, the roasting crowd diverts it to roasting. I'm not talking about casual mention; I'm talking about outright hijacking to the point that the topic at hand becomes buried.

There, I got that off my chest. Felt pretty good too.

 

[Joe Talmadge]

None of us actually roast coffee. It's just a conspiracy to irritate you. As if any of us have the spare time to sit around freakin' roasting coffee!


/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Joe

 

[Empath]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[_mike_]

I hate coffee. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Mike

 

[js]

[ QUOTE ]
Joe Talmadge said:
BTW, I got a cafe rosto from sweet maria's and alsso a bunch of green beans (Christmas present from my wife). Alas, so far every batch I've roasted has tasted undrinkably bad. Not sure what I can be doing wrong, I've tried different batch sizes and roasting times. It's taking me a good 15 minutes to get close to a full city roast, so maybe the problem is that my house voltage is too low and it's just taking too long to roast? Any pointers would be appreciated ... and if it's the voltage, is there some kind of cheap voltage regulator I can put between the rosto and the wall socket?

Joe

[/ QUOTE ]

Joe,

check out what SM has to say about this roaster:

[ QUOTE ]
Before we describe all the nice details of the roaster, be aware that this machine is highly influenced by the voltage of the circuit you plug it into. Yes, we are all supposed to have 110/120 v, but in reality when you measure actual voltage in your house it can be quite different. This machine really likes 120 volts or more, and not too much "volatge drop," meaning that once you turn it on the voltage doesnt go down to something like 108. Think of it as a big hairdryer. If you have a newer house or good updated electrical you should be safe. As with all electric roasters, do not use extension cords or power strips ... these usually drop the voltage. If you do have voltage problems, roasting dark with a Rosto may involve getting a Variac, which is a big expense.

[/ QUOTE ]

It definitely sounds to me like you have too low a house voltage, or are using an extension cord. What happens if you wait a long long time? Do you know about first and second crack and what they sound and look like? This machine is a slow roaster, much slower than a hot air popcorn popper, so perhaps you have been under-roasting. Under roasted coffee does indeed taste vile, and sometimes the color of the beans will fool you and be darker than the actual degree of roast.

As for a variac fix, it's on the order of $100 from SM. coffeebeancorral (sp?) .com has a model for $50, but it is being way overdriven--they replace the fuses and everything. Safer to pay the extra $50 because you'll definitely melt something or other on this cheaper model. So it's a lot of money to remedy low house voltage.

Anyway, sorry Empath for the OT post. Joe, post in the Coffee thread if you have any further questions. Or PM me, or email sweetmarias. They are awesome at returning emails.

 

[Joe Talmadge]

Response in the roasting thread, to avoid Empath sending his goons to hunt me down and beat me with sticks. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif