Lets talk about COFFEE

[dieworkwear]

Will try it. How are you brewing it?
Guatemalan and El Salvador have become my go to beans and I like naturals. Been drinking a Nicaraguan natural from a local roaster for two months and the greens are all gone. Next year they are doing a washed process. Maybe it will be good too.

I use an Aeropress. 200 degree water, 16.7 oz of beans, and then fill the entire Aeropress chamber with the grinds and hot water all the way to the top. I don't wait very long for it to brew, I just push it almost immediately out (30 seconds or so for pressing). I also really like naturals and have been drinking this Natural Pacamara stuff for the last few months. I really like it.

Ken, the guy who owns The Coffe Review, told me that he thinks Bird Rock is one of the best roasters right now in the US (although this was like a year or so ago).

I've also been meaning to try Dragonfly

https://dragonfly-coffee-roasters.myshopify.com/

https://www.coffeereview.com/review/kenya-karindundu-aa-small-lot-reserve/

 

[Despos]

Ordered a bag of the natural pacamara. Almost ordered Monkey Bite; have you tried it?
Interesting story how they named that one on their blog. Order beans online when something interesting appears but Chicago has a variety of good local coffee roasters. Get spoiled easily here.
Have not used an aero press and haven't tried coffee made in one. Been using a Bonavita immersion dripper for a few years. It doesn't get talked about much compared to an aero press, V60 or other coffee device. I suspect it's because there is no technique to master. Too simple and easy to use. Even if you do things wrong it makes a good cup. Rarely have to adjust the grind but I do adjust water temperature to the roast. Saw a good review of it on Sweet Maria site and have been happy with it. Basically it's a clever dripper made in porcelain. Use it every day and make espresso only a few times during the week.

 

[Sir Humphrey Appleby]

What do you mean by "coffee bags"? Are you looking for roaster recommendations?

This is one of the ones I have in my drawer now, it's like a tea bag but for coffee and it's individually sealed so it stays fresh. My office only provides instant coffee which I really don't like so I take my own in. I could just get the same as what I have now because it ranges from decent to pretty good but I want to try something new.

 

[dieworkwear]

This is one of the ones I have in my drawer now, it's like a tea bag but for coffee and it's individually sealed so it stays fresh.

My man you're gonna give some people a heart attack

 

[dieworkwear]

Ordered a bag of the natural pacamara. Almost ordered Monkey Bite; have you tried it?
Interesting story how they named that one on their blog. Order beans online when something interesting appears but Chicago has a variety of good local coffee roasters. Get spoiled easily here.
Have not used an aero press and haven't tried coffee made in one. Been using a Bonavita immersion dripper for a few years. It doesn't get talked about much compared to an aero press, V60 or other coffee making devise. I suspect it's because there is no technique to master. Too simple and easy to use. Even if you do things wrong it makes a good cup. Rarely have to adjust the grind but I do adjust water temperature to the roast. Saw a good review of it on Sweet Maria site and have been happy with it. Basically it's a clever dripper made in porcelain. Use it every day and make espresso only a few times during the week.

I haven't tried the monkey bite, but everything I've bought from there has been good (for me at least). Might have to try that one.

 

[Sir Humphrey Appleby]

My man you're gonna give some people a heart attack

It's not as good as freshly ground coffee but I don't go in the office enough to get a whole bag and use a French press like I would at home, it would go off before I was halfway through.

 

[dieworkwear]

It's not as good as freshly ground coffee but I don't go in the office enough to get a whole bag and use a French press like I would at home, it would go off before I was halfway through.

Fair enough. If it's not an option, then it's not an option. Coffee grinds get stale pretty quickly though, and even whole beans only stay fresh for about ten days. It's like bread.

If you're up for an alternative, I've found that tea is a lot easier to manage. You don't have to grind anything. You don't even really have to measure anything (you can basically just eyeball it). And the water temperature is basically going to be about the same, depending on what you're brewing. Basically, just put some good tea leaves into a strainer, pour hot water, and voila -- it can be a world-class cup of tea without all the equipment necessary for coffee.

The Way of Tea by Lam Kai Sin is a pretty good introductory book to tea. It'll tell you the diff between things like oolongs and green teas and black teas. And it'll tell you how to brew. I like oolongs and get my stuff from here. Dong Ding if you're price sensitive; Lishan High Mountain if you're not.

https://eco-cha.com

 

[Despos]

It's not as good as freshly ground coffee but I don't go in the office enough to get a whole bag and use a French press like I would at home, it would go off before I was halfway through.

Could you use a moka pot for coffee at your office? Buy a can of Illy or Kimbo

 

[am55]

Question for Derek and Chris: why do you guys order from faraway roasters? On food I personally find it helpful to develop local options, feeding back suggestions for quality improvement if necessary. I'm in France at the moment and the hipster cafe downstairs serves coffee roasted in Dublin and Berlin, which is a bit ridiculous...

On ten days: different beans, different roasts will evolve over time to different flavour profiles. Some beans (for example a dark roasted, pan-fried monsoon malabar that really takes to its own oil in the pan) will be interesting to drink even four weeks after the roast. Conversely a light roasted highly herbal and acidic Yirg might get dry and flavourless in less than a week and a half after roasting (or at least lose some of the acidity that makes it interesting). Which I guess is further reason for the barista to have some experience roasting...

 

[Sir Humphrey Appleby]

Could you use a moka pot for coffee at your office? Buy a can of Illy or Kimbo

I think not because the power is hidden under the floor, but it is something I'm going to get for home. I could try a manual grinder and get whole beans but I'm worried it will take too long to make for the office.

Changing the subject to coffee shops, I'm trying to find one that has both good coffee and is a nice place to stay but everywhere I've tried make me choose one or the other.

 

[Despos]

Question for Derek and Chris: why do you guys order from faraway roasters? On food I personally find it helpful to develop local options, feeding back suggestions for quality improvement if necessary. I'm in France at the moment and the hipster cafe downstairs serves coffee roasted in Dublin and Berlin, which is a bit ridiculous...

On ten days: different beans, different roasts will evolve over time to different flavour profiles. Some beans (for example a dark roasted, pan-fried monsoon malabar that really takes to its own oil in the pan) will be interesting to drink even four weeks after the roast. Conversely a light roasted highly herbal and acidic Yirg might get dry and flavourless in less than a week and a half after roasting (or at least lose some of the acidity that makes it interesting). Which I guess is further reason for the barista to have some experience roasting...

What city in France?
Get beans locally more than I order online. Have been drinking two different coffees from two local roasters all this year and neither one has that same coffee now. Will get something else they offer but I order online to try something not available locally. I don't use the beans until the 4th or 5th day after roasting so waiting for delivery is irrelevant.
Some roasters are more skilled than others. Tim Wendelboe coffees are consistently the easiest to dial in and I'll get them whenever I can find them.

 

[Gibonius]

Question for Derek and Chris: why do you guys order from faraway roasters?

A lot of us don't have access to decent beans locally. Even living in the suburbs of a major city, it's a struggle to find anything quality on a store shelf.

I'd rather mailorder from someplace that's consistently high quality than hunt around, or drive into the city.

 

[cchen]

I thought blue bottle makes single serving pre-ground coffee packs vacuum sealed?

 

[am55]

I think if you have a garden (in the suburbs) it is a no brainer to roast your own beans. Cheaper, and much more interesting, access to better varietals, etc. - at least it was quite good for me. The driving part definitely sucks (and costs enough time to warrant the investment in a roaster, whether popcorn or Behmor).

Maybe it is a drop in a bucket, but a few years ago I got the feeling that every $3 (or $15, for beans) I didn't spend at my local roaster was one further step towards closing. Two have already closed (or rather, one closed and disappeared; one became lower quality after expanding into a burger-chain-bar "concept").

The other problem with super-roasters is their ability to set a "taste" for the market, which reduces the experimentation and diversity that moves the industry forward.

Re: France, saw your comment on that new fun thread and I agree, I think tourists are somehow less exposed by virtue of doing a bit of research before their trip but if you need to drink coffee as a resident/with family you will be constantly exposed to bitter, watery, stale, over-roasted stuff. And the so called specialty roasters like to go for quantity over quality and present stuff roasted 6 months ago (but in nice kitsch wooden drawers that let plenty of air in for faster oxidising - I like to think "targeting the Nespresso demographic"). In any case it has become part of French culture and I sometimes wonder whether the place would be worse off for having decent coffee everywhere. The only chef to get 20/20 in the Gault Millau, Marc Veyrat, serves Nespresso in his wife's "fast food bio"!

In Paris I was happy with Terres de Cafe which came second in the national roaster championships, or something. If you didn't know it, worth a trip next time you're around the Marais.

 

[Despos]

Looked at images of Terres de Cafe to see if I recognized a facade or interior to know if I went there. My conclusion is maybe. Noticed they have a Slayer in one location. They are made in Seattle and good looking machines. There are a few in Chicago.
My daughter lived in Paris for a year which gave me the benefit of a "locals" perspective of where to go and what to do. Even though she was a student she has excellent taste and judgement. Coutume in the 7th was the main shop we visited but it was as much for the food as the coffee. Owned by an Australian gentleman we got to know who was kind enough to befriend us.