The Coffee Thread • Page 14

Looks like I need to go try it!

 

Still can't tell if serious....

 

100%

 

Crema is one of of my favorite roasters, and their service is excellent, first place I stop in Nashville.

 

I’ll definitely be stopping there next time I’m in Nashville. I didn’t even know this was a thing

 

I had one of the best coffees I've had in recent memory was a natural Yemen at Sump Coffee in Nashville. Definitely recommend there. Barista Parlor is of course trendy, but I've always had good coffee there. Stay Golden is also nice.

 

Never heard of this place either. Where are they hiding in Nashville?! To be fair downtown Nashville to me is broadway (tourist bars and restaurants), the titans/sounds stadiums, Grimey’s Record shop, the several concert venues I go to, and unbearable traffic. Lol

 

Sorry meant to respond, they're all over. Hit up:
CREMA
Sump Coffee
Barista Parlor (any location)
Stay Golden

 

I will make note!!

 

I had a pretty nice cup (and food) at Dose when I was down there a couple weeks ago too

 

I’m learning so much. Maybe I shouldn’t rely on online coffee houses to order my coffee lol

 

If you live in a city of over 50,000 people a third wave coffee shop has probably opened near you within the last 2 years.

 

So everyone, conundrum:

I love coffee and having it every morning. My wife hates the smell, it gives her migraines. Is there a coffee maker or something out there that deters the smell??

 

hi, I started making pour over coffee to try to save money and also bc I can do it in my room p easily, but it always comes out tasting p bad, bitter but also weak seeming with this sort of acidic undertone. is it more likely to be my technique (it's possible I'm pouring too fast bc the first time I did it I did it too slow and it was cold by the time I drank it haha) or the grounds I'm using (pre ground Dunkin)?

should I just try a French press for a while and work my way up?

 

I would stick with the pour over method, I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it.

I will say quality coffee will make a difference, so will grinding just prior to brewing. That doesn’t mean you can start to make some improvements on the brewing end prior to looking at that.

Couple quick questions. Do you have a scale? How about a timer? Did you use either when doing

 

Not that I’m aware of unfortunately.

 

I'll keep trying with what I've got and try to pay more attention to what I'm doing and see what makes a difference. no scale, I've got a timer on my phone but I've never used one since I didn't see anywhere that had like "take approx. this long to complete this step" or anything. I suppose the amount of grounds I'm using might be a factor too?

 

Dunkin is so good when they make it I just hoped it'd be similar :'( but I'll see if doing difficult or fresh ground will work better. btw can I make espresso via pour overs? I've got hella bustelo

 

Espresso, like pour overs, is both a product and method/way if preparing coffee. Espresso uses pressure, so you need a machine for that.

Scales help. Good coffee helps. A grinder helps. It would be hard to give advice without you having a scale or using a timer those are two ways you can control your parameters (ratio/time). No grinder also means you can adjust the grind, that’s gonna take away the control of that as well.

That said. Typically speaking, a pourover will generally run for a total of 3-4 minutes. Maybe try to narrow it down to that time. If it’s much longer, you will likely “overextract” the coffee (making it better). Shorter, it’ll be watery. Unfortunately, without a grinder or scale, it will be tough to tweak your process minus pouring slower or faster.

If you’re at any point able/wanting to set aside some budget to invest in some coffee gear, I’d gladly recommend some equipment that would have you upping your coffee game in no time.

 

at what part of the process does the scale come in? do I need it for preground? is like fineness/courseness of grind something that changes flavor or am I misunderstanding that?

gonna try narrowing the time to that window and see what that changes without altering anything else.

I'll take whatever recs you've got for coffee stuff. I try to see what other consumers say about stuff before I buy it but that's not necessarily from people who know what they're doing. I usually get things that seem fairly utilitarian cause I have no ideas what features actually make a difference

thanks for the depth of answers, I appreciate it!

 

I use a scale to measure coffee before grinding(you could use it to measure preground coffee for the time being), then again when pouring water. Allows your coffee/water to be a consistent amount each time you brew, also allows you to watch you “water flow rate” (example:25 grams of coffee/50ml pours at a time up to a total of 400ml).


You have the right idea about a couple things. Yes, making your grind coarser or finer will affect taste. Quick disclaimer, all coffee reacts differently from other coffees, even the same coffee will change as it gets further from roast. That aside. Ideally, you keep your ratio (I typically do 25 grams coffee/400ml water), water temperature, pour pattern and overall brew time the same. Depending on the coffee, you will coarsen or fine up the grind to hit your target time. If you’re coffee goes long and is bitter, you would coarsen the grind. Short and weak, fine the grind up. In other words, you’re mostly just tweaking your grind, even then it’s generally pretty close day to day.

The other thing you’ve got the right idea about is changing only one parameter at a time. Maybe your next step is timing your brew, or adding a scale to the equation. To me they go hand and hand. It will be hard to nail the same brew time if your water and coffee amounts aren’t the same each time. Any kitchen scale will do.

As far as grinders go, the Baratza Encore is my number one recommendation for an electric grinder. I will say this is a purchase you make if you’re really trying to get nerdy and elevate your coffee brewing to something special. They are a bit pricy ($139 I believe), but it’s incredible. In my opinion, your grinder is the most important part of your coffee setup. I’ve had around ten friends buy the Encore, all have reported back that it’s the best coffee purchase they’ve made. If that is outside the budget, I’d encourage to stay away from “blade” grinders and get a hand operated “burr” grinder. I can pm you some recs if need be.

That’s a book. Let me know if you need clarification/have other questions. Been nerding out about coffee for a long time, happy to give advice.

 

can I measure my grounds by volume rather than weight while I get a scale? the amount of water I've used each time has been the same cause I just fill my electric kettle to the same place each time, it's just the grounds I've been eyeballing. I know it won't be an exact 1:1 doing it that way but at least it gives me numbers to potentially change if I find that the timing of it isnt the only thing that's been off.

yikes yeah I am Broke College Guy so I'll likely get a hand grinder from whatever store happens to have one around, unless you think there's a huge difference between hand grinders in which case I'll take yr word for it and be more selective than that haha.

thank you again, I'm gonna keep the thread updated with my attempts -- I figure frequency can only help me improve, so

 

going by weight is pretty important when measuring beans/grounds, as different roasts can have different densities.
for example, my two go-to beans lately are a Ruby medium roast and City Girl dark. I use 32 grams in my french press, and the Ruby beans fill my grinder about 3/4 of the way full, while the City Girl beans are usually overflowing at the same weight. (I’m using a small, cheap, hand burr grinder I got off of amazon, and a $10 target scale, btw)

 

You can use volume, but like @coleslawed said, different coffees have different densities. Any inexpensive scale will work just fine and help a lot.

 

@EmmanuelSCastle if you decide to get a scale, you can find them for less than $10 on Amazon. I got this one a while back and it works great.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JTDG084/?tag=absolutepunk-20