I need to use it more often, but for “still less than a good machine” we really like the 9Barista stovetop espresso maker we bought ourselves for Christmas the other year. It’s still work but less than a manual press, enough so that making a second shot isn’t an agonizing thought.
Most likely oxidation if you aren't keeping the beans in an air tight container. I used to keep mine in the bag in the refrigerator. I switched to an airtight container in the cupboard and it made a pretty significant difference. I ordered a couple of these and it was well worth it. If you are keeping the beans in an airtight container then...um...mumble, mumble science reasons I don't understand. I think no matter what you do, coffee beans have a pretty limited shelf life so even with proper storage, flavor will degrade over time after roasting.Originally Posted by TheRoland
But even having the bag open for a week too long changes the shot-time massively, due to ????????.
I go through phases where, like alcohol, I get to a disturbing daily intake, then I knock it of for a while cold turkey and spend 6-24 months abstaining. I am on an upswing, and think I really need to try the pourover. I dig cold brew. A number of local places keg their cold brew and pressurize it with nitrogen.
Starbucks Blonde and Cold Brew are the only things I can stomach from there. My favorite grab a cup (and currently my favorite beans) are Dunkin' Donuts branded. Hot or cold. Black if I expect to finish it hot, light and sweet if I am working and will likely finish it cold.
I grew up on Folgers and still enjoy it.
A hint for those of you getting bitter coffee. Use more grounds. I use 2-3 Tablespoons of ground beans per cup no matter how I brew it. Like the paper filters holding the water longer the issue of bitter coffee is due to the extraction effeciency of water. With too few grounds to water the water pulls more "stuff" from the beans-including chemicals that are less than tasty. With good temps and water chemistry you want to overwhelm the water with coffee so it can only carry away the tasty chemicals, leaving the less desireable chemicals behind in the beans and the filter.
I cannot for the life of me figure out how people, like my wife, can find Kurig coffee "acceptable" let alone "good". Too little coffee, to little dwell time. Kurigs make great tea though, for those reasons.
Most of what I learned about coffee I learned from homebrewing beer.
pat
This guy speaks highly of boiling coffee to reduce the bitterness and acidity. I am a little suspicious, but lost knowledge also impresses me....
I like some of his other recipes, too.
pat
Beautiful - a good shot just makes you stop and appreciate life.
I do get away with having my grinder dedicated to only pulling shots on the Robot. I have to fiddle a bit even with the exact same beans and roast at times, but it's usually very minor adjustments which is easy on a stepless grinder. I was very close to pulling the trigger on the Niche, but got a good deal on the Eureka.
Like you I just drink shots (or tall blacks), but I do steam milk for my wife every morning on a Bellman to make her something in between a latte and a cappucino. Between the Robot and the Bellman, it's a bit of manual work, but I've got it down to a fairly semi-conscious ritual at this point.
I’m all over the place. I start the day with a couple Nepresso shots, then drink six to eight cups of Keurig — Starbucks Italian or bustelo at work, with an occasional extra nepresso shot here or there. If I’m feeling like it I will make one or two pour overs with a Hario and a hand cranked burr grinder. I like Meinl Jubiläum or Präsident for that work and just ordered some more now that you remind me.
My wife drinks drip from a Zojurushi 5 cup. 4:1 mix of Mystic Monk Vespers decaf and whatever full CAF we have lying around. She uses cream and sugar or monk fruit but is surprisingly picky.
Ignore Alien Orders
I picked up a pound each of two different beans from a local shop. Pretty great! I'm using the scale again and have decided my scale sucks. It's a postage scale from Walmart and doesn't track the pour well. Can someone recommend a good scale? I'm ok paying for quality, so like Glock 19, not HiPoint, but not a Zev Glock either.
Food Court Apprentice
Semper Paratus certified AR15 armorer
Been using one of these for a few years along with a temperature controlled kettle and beans roasted locally/recently for a few years now.
Is accurate enough for single dosing and rounds out once you get to a few hundred grams
I like this Oxo scale. The biggest selling point for me is that it remembers the last unit of measure (the older unit that it replaced would always default to ounces, an annoyance when I use grams for measuring coffee and water).
The only thing I dislike about this scale is that when weighing water, it takes a few seconds to settle to a final measurement. What I mean is that when I pour water into a container on the scale, I'll initially get one measurement, and then if I walk away and come back a couple minutes later, the weight will have gone up by 3-4 grams. Ok, so we're not talking about enough to really make a difference in taste (a 4 gram difference in a 600mL pour equates to less than 1%), but it upsets my OCD. It doesn't seem to happen with coffee beans, only water, so I'm wondering if the water sloshing around inside the container a bit has to do with it. Anyway, not something I remember seeing happen with other scales.
Lots of great coffee these days! Generally we like beans from Zombie Runner (https://www.zombierunner.com/collections/coffee-beans)--works well for Espresso:
Facts matter...Feelings Can Lie
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