Lets talk about COFFEE

[dieworkwear]

In my experience bloom usually indicates roast freshness. Beans roasted day-of or day-before explode into froth, 4-14-ish days bloom fine, after that bloom starts to fade.

Weird, I buy my beans from Birdrock in California. They roast them the same day they ship (I think) and I get them two-days later via FedEx. Even then, when I brew my coffee that day, I don't get much of a bloom.

Are you using an Aeropress? And does it matter how much water you pour in at first? In other words, do you get more or less bloom if you use more or less water?

 

[marvin100]

That's weird. Sometimes when I bring beans on trans-Pacific flights they fail to bloom even though they're fresh. I wonder if something about shipping had that effect? Just spitballin here.

Do your beans have a "roasted on" date?

 

[dieworkwear]

That's weird. Sometimes when I bring beans on trans-Pacific flights they fail to bloom even though they're fresh. I wonder if something about shipping had that effect? Just spitballin here.

Do your beans have a "roasted on" date?

Yea, looking at them now, the roasted on date is two-days prior to me receiving them.

 

[marvin100]

I'm at a loss, @dieworkwear . Hopefully some of the real experts (read: not me) around here can shed some light!

 

[joshuadowen]

Doesn't mean anything. The bloom is just gas release. Coffee off-gasses naturally after being roasted, which is why bloom gets less and less intense the further out from roast you are. But there's also going to be variation from coffee to coffee. Don't overthink it.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

I ordered some Jamaican Blue Mountain Peaberry (roasted to order) the other day and got round to trying it on Saturday. What is the hype with this stuff? I get it is rare, but seriously it is verging on unpleasant and is easily in the bottom two or three freshly roasted/ground coffees I have tried (circa 30). To add insult to injury it was three time the price for half as much as the usual Yigacheffe, Mandehling etc.

Incidentally, I also ordered some Hawaiian Kona about a year ago and was hugely disappointed there too, but it was still pleasant. The only one left of the "holy trinity" is Kopi Luwak, which I will never buy for moral reasons. Clearly I am no connoisseur, but I am convinced people rate these tings based on price and rarity alone. The only person I have met who rates Blue Mountain has never actually tried it.

 

[edinatlanta]

And because I'm addicted to hand grinders, I have a Kanso Hiku coming, and the Comandante is looking more and more interesting these days.

I don't know which ridiculous gear setup I'm most interested in seeing: yours or Giradian.

 

[Belligero]

I ordered some Jamaican Blue Mountain Peaberry (roasted to order) the other day and got round to trying it on Saturday. What is the hype with this stuff? I get it is rare, but seriously it is verging on unpleasant and is easily in the bottom two or three freshly roasted/ground coffees I have tried (circa 30). To add insult to injury it was three time the price for half as much as the usual Yigacheffe, Mandehling etc.

Incidentally, I also ordered some Hawaiian Kona about a year ago and was hugely disappointed there too, but it was still pleasant. The only one left of the "holy trinity" is Kopi Luwak, which I will never buy for moral reasons. Clearly I am no connoisseur, but I am convinced people rate these tings based on price and rarity alone. The only person I have met who rates Blue Mountain has never actually tried it.

Don’t worry, it’s certainly not only you who’s unimpressed by these marketing gimmicks; there’s also zero hype among people who are legitimately knowledgeable about coffee.

Simply put...

Kona/Blue Mountain: It’s expensive because costs are high in Hawaii, not because the coffee itself is anything special.

Kopi Luwak: Truly crappy coffee for assholes, literally by assholes.

 

[edinatlanta]

Don’t worry, it’s certainly not only you who’s unimpressed by these marketing gimmicks; there’s also zero hype among people who are legitimately knowledgeable about coffee.

Simply put...

Kona/Blue Mountain: It’s expensive because costs are high in Hawaii, not because the coffee itself is anything special.

Kopi Luwak: Truly crappy coffee for assholes, literally by assholes.

There's some truth to this. Good Hawaiian coffee is a very floral with lots more tropically floral flavors than, say, jasmine-type flavors. Jamaican Blue Mountain is intensely chocolatey. Yes, there's a lot of hype and BS behind them but they are different. Is it worth the extra money? No, if you ask me. (Maybe with Hawaiian coffee because I get why you have to pay more).

 

[A Y]

Anyone know if it's a big deal if I don't get much of a bloom when using an Aeropress? Does the bloom really indicate anything about the quality of the beans or my brewing process?

As other people have said, don't worry about it, especially for an Aeropress. Too much bloom can actually be bad if you're doing pourover depending on your technique, but the great thing about immersion processes like Aeropress, French press, etc. is that they pretty much don't care about all that tweaky, voodoo BS that other methods can be very sensitive to. IME, darker roasted beans (eg. Peet's) will outgas far more and for longer than lighter roasts: if I'm not careful, the frothy head from a Peet's coffee will actually overflow my Aeropress in its upside-down config for a 15g/225g extraction ratio.

Also, if you have something that blooms too much, just stir it to dislodge the grounds from the froth, so they'll add to the extraction.

 

[A Y]

There's some truth to this. Good Hawaiian coffee is a very floral with lots more tropically floral flavors than, say, jasmine-type flavors. Jamaican Blue Mountain is intensely chocolatey. Yes, there's a lot of hype and BS behind them but they are different. Is it worth the extra money? No, if you ask me. (Maybe with Hawaiian coffee because I get why you have to pay more).

I think you have to be careful not to paint growing regions with such a broad brush. Just like there are bad Ethiopians and good Ethiopians, there are bad Hawaiian coffees and good ones. And just like Ethiopia has several distinct growing regions, same with Hawaii. Traditionally, people thought of Hawaiian coffee as primarily Kona, but there are other Hawaiian growing regions whose coffee is just as good (or better and more interesting IMO) than Kona.

Hawaiian coffee is also more expensive because it's picked and processed by 1st world labor. The cost of most coffee in the world is borne on the backs of 3rd world laborers who get paid pennies on the dollar, which is sometimes not even a living wage in their part of the world.

 

[cashchie]

Any advice for "getting into" coffee ? It doesn't seem to matter what I try, I can never stomach it and have more than a few sips... Then my friends just tell me I shouldn't bother getting into it, if I lasted this long without it

 

[Jan Capek]

Any advice for "getting into" coffee ? It doesn't seem to matter what I try, I can never stomach it and have more than a few sips... Then my friends just tell me I shouldn't bother getting into it, if I lasted this long without it

Greetings to Scotland. Your friends are correct. Coffee drinking is addictive, the health benefits are dubious (I choose to believe in them, but that is a different story), it costs money, and as any addiction it weakens you (if you knew me, you'd know not to talk to me before I get my morning fix). And you shouldn't force yourself into something addictive only because it looks cool (don't know that coffee drinking actually does look cool; does it?).
Still, you ask for advice on "getting into" it, so disregard what I wrote above and internalise the following motivating factors:
- you will learn to love your cup of coffee, and it will brighten your day
- you will meet friends over coffee (if you are into the social aspects of coffee drinking)
- you will learn something new, which is always great (making an espresso is nearly a science - get a lever machine of the La Pavoni type, a tamper, a good grinder, and study, study, study; and when you master it, marvel at how little you still know)
- if you are into the copycat style (as some men clearly are, judging by the fact that James Bond trinkets sell like hot cakes), or enjoy objects of beauty (which you should), know that La Pavoni looks great and was featured as the choice of James Bond and Will in "About a Boy", and is actually used by some cool (real) creative minds
- find reasons why you should overcome the initial displeasure and persevere. For instance, if you are an athlete, or wish to get ripped, know that caffeine will help your gym efforts
Lastly, if proper coffee is too strong for you, try the instant one (such as Starbucks VIA, or even the cheaper stuff like Nescafé). I myself would not touch it with a ten-foot pole these days, but that is how I started.
J.

 

[cashchie]

Greetings to Scotland. Your friends are correct. Coffee drinking is addictive, the health benefits are dubious (I choose to believe in them, but that is a different story), it costs money, and as any addiction it weakens you (if you knew me, you'd know not to talk to me before I get my morning fix). And you shouldn't force yourself into something addictive only because it looks cool (don't know that coffee drinking actually does look cool; does it?).
Still, you ask for advice on "getting into" it, so disregard what I wrote above and internalise the following motivating factors:
- you will learn to love your cup of coffee, and it will brighten your day
- you will meet friends over coffee (if you are into the social aspects of coffee drinking)
- you will learn something new, which is always great (making an espresso is nearly a science - get a lever machine of the La Pavoni type, a tamper, a good grinder, and study, study, study; and when you master it, marvel at how little you still know)
- if you are into the copycat style (as some men clearly are, judging by the fact that James Bond trinkets sell like hot cakes), or enjoy objects of beauty (which you should), know that La Pavoni looks great and was featured as the choice of James Bond and Will in "About a Boy", and is actually used by some cool (real) creative minds
- find reasons why you should overcome the initial displeasure and persevere. For instance, if you are an athlete, or wish to get ripped, know that caffeine will help your gym efforts
Lastly, if proper coffee is too strong for you, try the instant one (such as Starbucks VIA, or even the cheaper stuff like Nescafé). I myself would not touch it with a ten-foot pole these days, but that is how I started.
J.

Thanks so much. Yes, I think the social aspect is the main reason I would like to drink it, as I feel like going for a coffee with my friends would be an ideal thing to do, especially ones I haven't seen in a while. Maybe I have been watching too much Friends... I will mull over the reasons once more, and decide if I should start drinking it again. And yes, I feel like the overcoming the initial displeasure is the most important point. Once I can do that, things should be easier. Shame I live in this world of instant gratification lol. Thanks once again.

 

[Mute]

Weird, I buy my beans from Birdrock in California. They roast them the same day they ship (I think) and I get them two-days later via FedEx. Even then, when I brew my coffee that day, I don't get much of a bloom.

Are you using an Aeropress? And does it matter how much water you pour in at first? In other words, do you get more or less bloom if you use more or less water?

I use an Aeropress (the normal way, not inverted) and I get bloom usually if I have my water at the right temperature. I usually pour moderately slow and don't just flush the grounds with water.