Agree w/ this. My big revelation came one day when I realized my coffee tasted like ass, and I added crap to it to make it palatable, and /why/ did I put up w/ it?
Many many years ago I had the pleasure of meeting George Howell @ Terroir Coffee in Boston, and he was teaching about Cup of Excellence and I got all into the Coffeegeek.com scene. Since then, I see coffee the same way as any other food – it must be fresh, ‘eaten’ soon after it’s cooked, cooked well, and fine tuned. Coffee should never be sour or bitter, and /should/ be appreciated like any wine tasting.
For the last 20 years, my daily routine is:
Fresh grind (Rancilio Rocky) of single origin coffee roasted on a weekly basis, my favored roaster is Onda Origin in Seattle, taking care to have a narrow grind-size distribution without overheating during grinding,
French press, water temperature perfectly controlled not to over or under extract,
Coffee not used within 9 days of roasting gets tossed. Also I don’t use the beans during the first 2-3 days due to outgassing.
Maybe I’m a rube, but I get gifted some nice beans by some of my family. If I can’t use them within a few days, I put the bag in a freezer bag, then freeze it. Even a few months later, the frozen beans seem pretty good when ground.
Does this mean that I no longer hear high frequencies? Or should I be fussier?
It’s like hi-end audio. 80/20 rule, and the 20 is so much in the eye of the beholder. Freezing and thawing is probably ok, but repeat freeze/thaw (esp if grounded) is a big no-no due to the condensation and potential molding. But seriously, why treat coffee different from any other good food? Like tonight I smoked a pork shoulder, it’s sure best in the first several days. If I froze and thawed, it’s just not as good… but for 80% of folks it’s fine!
To stretch an analogy, I know folks who custom make their own tamps to get the best press, the nth degree of oil/crema, pre-treat their filter papers, etc. They claim they can taste it. Just like how we change power outlets, design special audio network switches, elevate cables, etc.
Ms. Breville is alive! I went on YouTube and found that the water tank has no float, but a sensor. Apparently it reads based on total dissolved solids, and the water I was using last was RO water. Putting a bit of our awful tap water with the pure water, and adding a few crystals of Himalayan pink salt fixed her right up.
However, I fell into the Coffee Rabbit Hole and ordered an superautomatic espresso machine from Seattle Coffee Gear AND a Keurig K-2500 today. The Keurig for in front, the Phillips for the conference room.
I will get the “Bad Karma” cheap Keurig out of the front and sell it to the highest bidder. Move the ancient B130 Keurig back into the box it came from. Put Ms. Breville in the server room, and I’ll be set for a while.
I feel like I need to catch up on all the posts, but if it hasn’t been mention, if anyone is getting started, I recommend the Baratza Encore coffee grinder, and I also recommend finding a youtube video on how to calibrate it for espresso.
90% of the time I do a pour over using a Chemex. Even for something so simple I recommend something like an online class with Counter Culture to learn more about how to get the most out of basic equipment like this. They will teach you how much water to use, ratios, recipes, temperature, everything.
I have a De’Longhi Dedica espresso machine as well.
I am blessed with local coffee roasters. Counter Culture is headquartered where I live, and if you want the best deal, go to Whole Foods when that is onsale and get the additional 10% amazon prime discount (although I have seen Counter Culture at $7.99 a bag at Fresh Market once which is insane). But I also live where the 2022 small roaster of the year is and a lot of other high quality small roasters. If you’re watching $, look for when something like counter culture goes on sale and grab a couple of bags of gradient and apollo, and if you want to step it up get a subscription, totally worth it.
I haven’t gone down the distilled water rabbit hole yet. Yet.
The Fellow Ode 2 has a built-in ionizer which does an excellent job of eliminating static. There are other grinders with ionizers also, but off-hand I can’t remember which ones.
You can reduce/eliminate the issue by using the “Ross Droplet Technique” … which involves adding a small amount of water to your beans prior to grinding. Usually this is done with a tiny atomizer and spraying it once over the beans, or by dropping one or two drops of water onto the beans and giving them a stir.
Running the beans through a grounded metal sleeve or tube prior to putting them Iin the grinder will work too.
If you want to put a whole bag of beans in your grinder, the Ode 2 won’t work. It’ll hold about 100g. And sometimes, if you’re using very dark beans (be that a dark roast, or something decaffeinated using the Swiss Water Process) that’ll cause the feed ramp to get blocked (doesn’t stall the grinder, just stops the beans falling into the auger), which means you’re pouring them in slowly as you grind.
Acaia are releasing an external ionizer shortly. Haven’t tried it, just seen videos of it working, and that might help.
I have the same issue with my Ode, and you’ll laugh (maybe at me too!) at my solution: I stir the beans with a wooden chopstick to “encourage” them to drop! It works too!
My setup that’s been keeping me going for the past few years. It’s been a workhorse. The only modifications I’ve made to the machine are changing out the 0.8mm gicleur > 0.6mm as standard in the original Lineas and dropping the brew pressure from 9 to 6 bar. This results in more syrupy shots and more forgiving pulls (although I never had issues with proper puck prep, doing WDT paired with the Force tamper). I’m still experimenting with the brew pressures and may be raising it up to 7 bar to compare, but 6 bar works well so far. Very dependent on the beans.
Eventually, once time allows, I’ll be “slayer modding” the machine so I can play around with flow control.
The Niche will be replaced soon with a flat burr and most likely will be the P100 from Option-O or Monolith Flat Max from KafaTek.
On days I feel like sipping - I do a brew through my Hario Switch.
Here’s a trick to avoid the static cling of coffee grounds… put a few drops of water (JUST a few, literally 2-3 drops) in with your beans before grinding. Works like a charm for me.
Last, I do drink instant coffee. Sometimes Tasters Choice or any of the all-in-one Malaysian White coffees. And yes, I do mix it in the requisite green and white Malaysian mini cups/saucers.
I suppose a case could be made for either one. My wife prefers pour over for which I use a Clever Dripper with a #4 brown paper cone filter. She doesn’t recognize when I “bloom” the coffee or for how long it sits before I set it on the cup. I prefer using my Areopress with a Fellow stainless steel filter with a paper filter on top. Most times I make it an “Americano” by adding wore water. I’m also out in the backcountry without electricity several times a month. The Areopress packs quite a bit smaller. I use a hand grinder when I’m off grid. Often, people I am traveling with ask why I go to the trouble of using the hand grinder/Areopress combination. I offer them a cup and they unanimously appreciate the difference, but few are willing to go to the trouble.
Sorry for not answering your question definitively.
I love the Alicia! Just like a stovetop moka pot but handy on the counter instead of the stove. The stock original cheap transparent plastic pot on the top gave out about a decade ago. However my other metal stovetop moka tops fit and won’t wear out as quickly as the original plastic one. So it is a great product once the top portion is replaced.
When I’m at home, I normally use a stovetop moka pot, but at work, it’s either the communal Mr. Coffee or my French press. I’ll look more into the Alicia.
I’m an Aeropress man myself, but I could be persuaded to try pour over if it’s truly that much better. For now, a solid light roast with a medium-fine grind at 14g of coffee per 200g of 205 degree water still makes me smile daily after that first sip.
