coffee for mags - a coffee roasting trip report (& free mag coffee)

[californiagrown]

The fellow mug is ceramic so it doesn’t affect flavor like a stainless mug. I pour it in a cup to let it cool a bit to allow some accessibility to the flavors

This sounds like a good system.


I'm trying to expand my horizons/palate and get into darker roasts. I already have a frenchpress... Think an aeropress would be a good option for darker roasts? Moka pot? Cost and ease of use/cleanup are important.

[tgapp]

This sounds like a good system.


I'm trying to expand my horizons/palate and get into darker roasts. I already have a frenchpress... Think an aeropress would be a good option for darker roasts? Moka pot? Cost and ease of use/cleanup are important.

Either are good, and very similar in terms of resulting coffee. IMO aero press is slightly easier but it's just what I know. Mokka pot makes great coffee too, especially for darker roasts.

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[doebedoe]

I enjoy collecting a bunch of different brew methods. Current in the rotation: French press, v60, Chemex, Espresso, Moka pot, Aeropress and Drip (OXO 9-cup). The nice thing is that except from the espresso machine, everything else was <$50 except the drip which was $75 used.

My dailies are spro and v60. The Chemex comes out when it's a nice leisurely brunch, with light roasted coffee and I want something pretty on the table. Moka when I want a spro-adjacent cup, darker roast to share with one other. Aeropress for a quick small afternoon cup. French press for brunch with darker roasts out on the patio where I'm more liable to drop shit (it's an insulated Stanley), and always the camping coffee option. Drip for mornings like today with 4+ coffee drinkers in the house and I don't want to play coffee bitch. Brew methods are just fun seeing how differently the same coffee can come out.

Cali -- based on preference for ease of use/cleanup -- I'd put moka pot at the bottom of the list. While it makes a unique and delicious dark roast cup of coffee, it's the hardest to dial, slower, and more of a pain to cleanup. Aeropress/Aeropress XL/Clever dripper would all be easy to use additions.

[jackattack]

This sounds like a good system.


I'm trying to expand my horizons/palate and get into darker roasts. I already have a frenchpress... Think an aeropress would be a good option for darker roasts? Moka pot? Cost and ease of use/cleanup are important.

Both moka and aeropress are easy cleanup but I’d give the nod to the aeropress. It’s hard to beat a moka for classic dark roast coffee. I don’t own one but have had lots of great brews visiting friends. I’ve been tempted to buy one for the late night decaf affogatos when I don’t want to warm up and cleanup the espresso machine.

[skaredshtles]

<snip> the late night decaf affogatos

Oh my...

[thedude2340]

Either are good, and very similar in terms of resulting coffee. IMO aero press is slightly easier but it's just what I know. Mokka pot makes great coffee too, especially for darker roasts.

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Any tips/tricks with the Moka pot? Im getting good, not great results.

[ghosthop]

Any tips/tricks with the Moka pot? Im getting good, not great results.

Besides grind you need to play with amount of water in the chamber and stove temp to a lesser degree. I find that 5 - 10 grams of water makes a noticeable difference. I think the right beans are crucial and there is something to be said about buying a tin of illy.

Heating your water in an electric kettle is a pro move before going onto the stove. If you go down the moka rabbit hole you'll realize that the Sapper pot with the snap on top is the right way to do it.

ETA:

I've been using a moka pot for years and one thing I used to neglect is pulling the gasket and fine filter to clean the internals of the upper chamber. A lot of nasty shit will grow in there if you don't give it a good cleaning every once in a while. It's also an opportunity to inspect your gasket and make sure it's not chewed up or deformed.

[neufox47]

Some back of the napkin math for the spritzing. I put about 3-4g of water at approx 20 c on the 680 g of coffee. That water will pull 7.8-10.4 kJ of heat from the coffee. The specific heat of roasted coffee is about 1400 j/kg/k. So it should drop the coffee temp by about 11c or 20F in the 10 seconds I apply it. I actually thought it would be a larger temperature change than that. Maybe I’m doing the math wrong, it’s been a minute since I took basic physics.

https://socratic.org/questions/how-m...%20of%20energy.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full...20this%20point.


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I actually weighed the spray bottle and it was 6.5 grams, so almost 16C or 30f of temperature difference .


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[neufox47]

https://www.bodhileafcoffee.com/coll...darin-cm-green

Just bought 20lbs of this. Excited for the dominant mandarin notes.


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[jackattack]

https://www.bodhileafcoffee.com/coll...darin-cm-green

Just bought 20lbs of this. Excited for the dominant mandarin notes.


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That looks rad. I love orange/mandarin qualities in my coffee.

[AmmergauerTele]

What are folks using for roasters?

[tgapp]

Phoenix Buckeye Oro 1kg

almost perfect curves

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[tgapp]

https://www.bodhileafcoffee.com/coll...darin-cm-green

Just bought 20lbs of this. Excited for the dominant mandarin notes.


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Damn, that looks amazing. Huh. Mandarin processed. Really interested in hearing your full report.

I just finished off my last Worka Anaerobic from Klatch - I'll miss blueberry coffee.

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[neufox47]

What are folks using for roasters?

Aillo Bullet


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[neufox47]

Just picked up some Gesha and Wush Wush from Captains Coffee. Hope the Wush Wush is better than last years.


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[jackattack]

Let us know how it goes. I haven’t ordered much from captains since the unimpressive wush wush last year.

[neufox47]

https://www.bodhileafcoffee.com/coll...darin-cm-green

Just bought 20lbs of this. Excited for the dominant mandarin notes.


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This is a nice coffee with dominant mandarin notes for sure. Nice in a pour over, can be too much in a straight espresso. I don’t think I’d pay $18 a lb again for it.

[Mazderati]

Talk to me about making good cold brew. I'm on that coarse grind. Adding water. Waiting. I bought an OXO cold brewer to make it easy. This one.

Doesn't seem like rocket science but mine tastes nothing like a good cold brew from a coffee shop who knows what they are doing (some definitely don't). Is it all the beans? I've tried 7 or 8 different types, mostly purchased from Trader Joes but also the Starbucks Winter organic Costco carries. Should I be looking for something specific?

[TurxSki]

Not a fan of cold brew, but my guess is you are not using enough coffee.

https://www.peets.com/pages/brew-guide-cold-brew

[jackattack]

In the days when I drank cold brew I would brew at 8:1 ratio of water:coffee and dilute with 1 part nut milk or water. That Peet’s recipe is 4:1 so twice as strong so it calls for 2x dilution.

Are you buying pre-ground coffee or grinding yourself? Pre-ground for drip is likely way too fine and will overextract even in cold water over 12 hrs.

[Mazderati]

Grinding myself.

[californiagrown]

Are you buying pre-ground coffee or grinding yourself? Pre-ground for drip is likely way too fine and will overextract even in cold water over 12 hrs.

Just buy the beans from your local cafe/roaster and have them use their commercial grade grinder to grind the bag up for cold brew. If they produce good cold brew in-house, theyll give you the proper grind and recommend the proper beans for you.

If youre not a dick, theyll even grind up half the bag and toss the grounds into a pastry bag for you to take home without having to grind the whole bag of beans.

[mud]

I use a gallon jar with spigot with a mesh sleeve inside. 8oz ground per gallon, let seep in the fridge for 12 to 14 hours. You can also make tea, flavored cucumber water, limoncello, etc.

https://www.amazon.com/Zulay-Kitchen...082DLKSCY?th=1

[jackattack]

Grinding myself.

Choose a volume of water (1000 ml) and stick with it.

Is it too weak? Increase coffee amount
too strong? Decrease coffee amount
Too bitter? Grind coarser
Too sour? Grind finer

Change only one variable at a time.

The beans you listed are almost certainly stale over-roasted oily styrofoam. Even the beans Starbucks brews in the store are presumably fresher than the supply chain bags at the supermarket. Stale beans in, stale brew out, you can taste age. Try to find a source of freshly roasted beans. It will still be cost effective to brew your own coffee at home after sourcing locally roasted fresh beans.

I suggest that you start at the coarse end of your grinder (assuming it’s an adjustable burr grinder) and tighten the grind until you get a flavor you want. You can dilute at various ratios to test flavor. Then you can adjust coffee ratio to get the strength of the brew dialed.

[neufox47]

Yea, what Jack said. Whether it’s cold brew, pour over or espresso I’ll take the good beans every time over the better process. Grocery store beans are rental skis.


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