Favorite Coffee & Setup

I love really high quality coffee. I grew up on canned (crap), was excited when grocery stores started having in store grinders. Then considered Dunkin Donuts a step up, until Starbucks hit the scene. Then had some Peets while in California, and switched to fresh roasted Major ****ason's Blend from Peets It was delicious when I first got it, but I noticed that the fresh quality flavor faded dramatically after the first few days.

Then I started researching the best quality coffee available, and while there are a few good websites, none I have found compare to SweetMarias.com in overall product quality, resources, and freshness and selections of green coffee beans. When I learned about how easy it is to home roast your own green coffee beans that keep for 1-2 years, I got this iRoast roaster. It takes 10-15 minutes to roast enough coffee for 1-2 people....then you let it "rest" and mature for at least 2 days (I have a rotating batch of 5 plastic containers)

Then I use this Maestro Plus stone single pass grinding mill (instead of the Krups metal blades push button unit). Finally, I now ONLY use the Technivorm KB-741 coffee brewer.

My favorite coffees are from Central America, with choice of countries at bottom of pages, and the reviews that Tom at Sweet Marias does are spot on. He has already selected just a handful of lots from any particular country....rejecting the rest to go to the Starbucks and other retailers that mostly over-roast their beans to hide the lesser quality.

I have become a total coffee snob....but unless you have tasted coffee this way, I guarantee you don't yet know what you are missing. Made this way, there is as much of a "quantum leap" of difference compared to Starbucks (which I can't drink anymore )....as there is the difference between Starbucks and canned Folgiers.

LuxLuthor said:

...was excited when grocery stores started having in store grinders...

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:huh2:How old ARE you?

I can remember the 1960s without any feat of memory, AND the days before supermarkets, but I CAN'T remember that.:wow: I dips me lid.

But back on topic, I also love great coffee. My pet coffee hate is when it is burned. I found a barista that really cares about coffee, and have been loyal ever since.

One of my co-workers bought an Aeropress for the office and the thing is great. Dan's Data review gets the picture pretty well:

http://www.dansdata.com/aeropress.htm

I'm really peeved with the Kitchen Aid burr grinder I bought. Even when set for a fairly coarse grind to be used with a french press it still produces a good deal of coffee "dust" which goes through the screen. So if I do grind I have to filter the stuff through a fine screen to get the "dust" out.

lately I've just been grinding at the store (Costco) but I've yet to roast my own. Maybe I"ll give it a try. You make it sound worth the effort.

Jamaican Blue Mountain
Mr. Coffee (Sunbeam) Coffee Grinder w/Chamber Maid
Bodum French Press

Black please. . .

Hey, someone who does what I do! I've used an iRoast for several years (be sure to keep an eye on it, my first one burned out--basically self-destructed and melted itself after 3 or 4 years of regular use). I also order from Sweet Marias. I have a variety of favorites (Marias is out of stock on my very favorite), and roast about twice a week. As far as preparation, I have a bur grinder (nothing fancy, but it does a good job) and a variety of coffee pots, including a simple poor-over model from Peets, a french press, a mocha pot, an espresso maker, a couple of drip coffee pots, and at least two non-functional vacuum pots (from flea markets). I'd like to get an ibrik and a working vacuum pot soon.

Yes, I am a coffee snob. And, I use my L1 to check the progress of the roast when I roast after dark!

Peets is good, however; I just like the freshness of roasting my own. There's a great book on home coffee roasting--by David ? (sorry cannot think of his last name). I've seen people roast in many ways--ranging from stovetop to hot air popcorn popper.

Lex, good to find a kindred spirit. One thing--do you drink candy coffee (you know, that flavored stuff, like almond vanilla hazelnut caramel chocolate coconut sardine peppermint coffee)? I do not.

what's brewing now?

prof

theres nothing like Tim Hortons:nana:

LuxLuthor said:

I have become a total coffee snob.....

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Welcome to the club.
I love the Kenya coffee.

Check out Coffeegeek.com. Lots of info.


I usually buy fresh beans from a local cafe, and grind them in a Rancillio Rocky Burr grinder.

I use a Gaggia Espesso and usually drink Lattes and Capa's. SOmetimes Americano. My espresso is not great. Takes too much effort to make a good one.

It takes some effort so I don't brew as much as I'd like, but it's fun and tasty when I do!


:naughty:

I make my coffee sometimes in a french press coffee maker. This coffee maker does not use a filter. It has been said the filter absorbs some of the oils of the coffee bean taking away the true flavor. Course grounds are preferred when using this coffee maker.

If you never heard of them, here is a pic.

http://slimages.macys.com/is/image/MCY/products/6/optimized/209636_fpx.tif

If I have time, I'll use two teaspoons of Maxwell House instant decaf. and hot water straight from the tap. Add two packs of Splenda and a little shot of artificially flavored creamer.

Mmmmmmm good!

LuxLuthor said:

...none I have found compare to SweetMarias.com in overall product quality, resources, and freshness and selections of green coffee beans.

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I've been getting my beans from Sweet Maria's for more than a year now. Great stuff! I roast them in a hot air popcorn pumper then after grinding I use a Bodum press to brew it up one cup at a time.

Can't stand to drink anything else.

Prof,

None of that candy coffee crap! I shivered even thinking about it. I usually buy 50-75 pounds of assorted beans when Sweet Marias gets them in stock. I bought a slew of their wonderful cloth tiestring bags so it stores properly.

Right now I'm drinking my way through 10 pounds of Nicaragua Matagalpa Pacamara Peaberry....roasted to Full City+.

I got the iRoast II mainly because I wanted a backup from first generation in case it ever failed....and because it is nice that it can store 10 roasting profiles. I also use my L2 on high to get the roast just perfect, but once I find the right combination of temp and times, I just use that profile for the rest of that stock.

People who do not roast just have no idea how easy it is. Throw the beans in the roaster, set your times, let it run. Most profiles are done in 8-12 minutes....but you must let the coffee ripen for a couple days...and there is a smoke output for darker roasts, so can be a problem if living in an apartment/condo.

Jamaican Blue Mountain....that is a funny one. Having gone many times to Jamaica, and bought beans from Mavis Bank directly, generally it is the most overrated coffee (other is most crops of Kona) that I have found. However, for the first time in many years, Sweet Marias finally got possession of a crop that was decent in 2005, but none since then. I have tried it, and it was the best JBM I have ever had, and is the only place I would buy it from.

Generally, Mavis Bank & Wallenford will not sell green beans to the public, rather they roast it for you, which is why most coffee is crap by the time you get it. Most of the supposed JBM is a blend from coffees outside of that specific small eastern elevated mountain region.

Again, the most important improvement in coffee quality is freshly roasting the beans, and secondly the quality of the beans.

Major coffee snob here too guys. :nana: When at home I make espresso on a modified Gaggia machine (PID and added thermal stability with a huge brass 'heat capacitor') and a modified Mazzer Luigi Major (the BIG one!) burr grinder. I can make perfect espresso almost every time with this setup and I always use the same beans from ccmcoffee.com. I have noticed that the grind has to be adjusted slightly from batch to batch and when the humidity changes, but it is quite repeatable due to the quality of the grinder. For espresso, the grinder is the most important variable for good repeatable results!

When at work or on travel I find the next best thing to espresso is a stove top espresso maker, AKA mocha pot. I recommend the stainless steel version, not the aluminum, because the aluminum corrodes and imparts a bad flavor to the coffee. For this setup I use a Zassenhaus burr mill because it is portable and doesn't need electricity. I used to use this mill to make espresso, but quality was really hit and miss due to variation in the grind. The stove top espresso makers are not nearly so picky about the grind as real espresso. The coffee out of one of these is enough to make you never want to drink drip coffee again (or French press, or Turkish, or vacuum pot, or Vietnamese, etc.). In fact, I can barely force myself to drink drip coffee at all because its like drinking watered down 'real coffee' (read:espresso). I know I am a snob, but give it a try and you might be whistling the same tune.
Edit: One thing I would like to add is that I find medium-dark roasts to work best for stove top espresso. Something like a Vienna or a Full City roast.

So does your house smell incredible when roasting? That alone might make it worth it.

Mudman, I would likely get into expresso, but I would also have to get the best quality machines & grinder which I know is critical. I have a great friend who used to run an expresso bar in Dallas before moving to CA. It is on the horizon.

Yeah, the house does smell wonderful from the smell of coffee roasting. Before the canned (crap coffee) companies came out, people used to roast coffee on their front porches, and sell to neighbors who didn't have the time/roaster. I have at least a hundred people who want me to supply beans for them after being over for dinner...and never tasting anything like this.

It is also critical to use the perfect brewing temperature to get the right flavor and maximum release from the beans. That is the beauty of the Euro made Technivorm. There are others that work well also, but what I gave in my initial post is what I consider a minimum level of equipment for the quality you should expect.

Mazzer (mini) grinder --
though Tom at Sweetmarias says a varied grind distributes the water better through the portafilter.. now he tells me..though consistent grind may be better for drip, which I do most of the time, since I'm on solar electric, the 1,100 watt (+ or -) Giotto is used only on the sunniest days..which is why the

Hottop roaster (first version)
is best for economical electric use (I mean after the Back to Basic stove-top roaster) since the hot air is kept trapped inside the unit instead of being blown out like many blowing-air type units..so the heating element is only around 600 watts and goes on only about a third or half the time..

Giotto espresso (" ")
chrome beast

Back to Basics Stainless Steel version popcorn (coffee) roaster
uses no electricity but must be cranked for 15 minutes straight; but, you can roast up a POUND at a time in it..

favorite coffee? mm.. that's difficult to say; I like to keep switching, any coffee can get boring after a few weeks..right now it's Brazil Formosa from SM's made as a melange, that is; half a pound roasted into 2nd crack mixed with half a pound roasted a bit less..rotated with some Panama 1800 meters,
and some Kenya Kithungururu.. yeah man.

but do you add the milk or the coffee to the cup first? https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/120272

hmm, I always thought all self-proclaimed coffee snobs used the French Press instead of the drip =P

and I'm just getting into home brewed coffee myself! right now I have a beginner's Bodum press and I buy fresh beans from a local cafe, and have them grind them coarse on the spot because they have an expensive grinder :twothumbs it's like how I started out with a 12 5mm LED 3xAAA "taclight" and worked my way up hahaha


can I get some suggestions on how to store my grinded beans? right now I have them in one of those Kerns glass jars with the rubber seal on top for home canning and am considering freezing the rest of my batch

I try not to purchase blends. Is everything or most of them beans blends? Hope not.

Happy Drinking!

Wolfhound 9K said:

can I get some suggestions on how to store my grinded beans? right now I have them in one of those Kerns glass jars with the rubber seal on top for home canning and am considering freezing the rest of my batch

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I use zip-loc type bags with one-way valves that I get from Sweet Maria's. Canning jars are probably just as good.

As for keeping coffee in the freezer; The argument I've heard against it says that water vapor would condense on the cold coffee when the container was opened. I would say It would be ok to keep coffee in the freezer for long storage but not for daily use, just let the bulk coffee from the freezer warm to room temp before opening it.