Coffee

[Indy @ S.E.]

So after watching some more videos a few of them suggested changing the internal burr grind settings, checked it out and it was set to 9 so I changed it to 5.

 

Put in the double basket, measured out the beans to 18g, levelled, tamped and poured a double shot. Went all in and bought some timer scales so put the glass on there and poured a double shot and it was so much better!
 

Feeling a lot happier now, it tastes so much better than the previous attempts.

[OnionNon]

Out of interest, what scales did you get?

[Indy @ S.E.]

I went for these:

 

Digital Coffee Scale with Timer, CestMall 3kg/0.1g High Precision LED Hidden Screen USB Rechargeable Digital Kitchen Scales Food Scale Electronic Cooking Scale for Coffee Home Office Kitchen Baking https://amzn.eu/5R6EehN

 

[Gotters]

I never knew why they mention altitude on coffee beans, now I know why. I never even really thought to look, just assumed it was some '3rd wave' nerdy thing designed to make the product seem more artisan.

 

https://ravecoffee.co.uk/blogs/news/how-does-altitude-impact-flavour?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Growth gurus | Rave Coffee | October Newsletter %234 [2764-3.4 ] (2022-10-26)&_kx=H7rpMhnuSwIVaqbZDc_jsciEjG-Pgg--Xn_BWwfQVzA%3D.QyMTbU

 

Totally settled in on the Orea as my favourite brewer now, just produces consistent lovely cups. Use the frilly Kalita filters in it but they did a collab with posh paper producer Siberist so have a pack of those very fast papers to try out. 

[Gotters]

On 27/04/2021 at 07:59, Gotters said:

my unscientific 2 pennies worth is I'm getting by far the best cup of coffee I've ever drunk out the clever dripper but it's dependent on the brand I'm using, it's so good that I can't bring myself to drink a Nespresso pod now and even my go to 3-4 cups of tea are down to 1 or 2 as taste awful in comparison.

 

I've stuck with Hoffman method of 15g to 250ml as the ratio with a 2m brew and a swirl then 30s to settle.

 

Using this method I get a lovely brew with pre ground Union House blend and an even better one with Spiller & Tait signature, the Planalto though continues to taste like hot piss water to my palette. I've had 2 bags of it too, they ground the first to espresso so clogged up the paper but the second was coarser, I've tried brewing it longer and used more coffee but its still hot piss, my other half in total agreement too.

 

The mouthfeel is quite different between the types, so not sure what drives this, Planalto it feels like hot water but the others the water is slightly thicker, smoother, has more substance to it. It's not sediment as the filter catches all that, must be the oils I guess.

 

I think the dripper is a great bit of kit, I just intend to find my beans then stick with them, going to try a few Spiller & Tait as their profiles may suit my tastebuds better, I think this is getting like most things that are refined or higher end, they aren't then for everybody and can be quite polarising so you need to find what suits you.

 

so Pact sent me a 50% off code if I restarted my plan (I'm beginning to think they are the DFS of the coffee world and you have to be an idiot to pay full price for a bag from them). 

 

I decided to retry an early fail for me and got a bag of Planalto, which I previously thought was 'hot piss water'. The difference being I now grind the beans myself and brew using an Orea flatbed dripper, which I find gets an awful lot more flavour and sophistication out of the grounds.

 

It's an incredible eye opener on brew method, this stuff is not hot piss. It's not the best coffee I've had but it's a very tasty well rounded & quite strong bean. I'm always amazed at the difference grinding myself and method delivers.

[BedroomBusinessman]

What grinder is everyone using? Currently using a Mazzer Mini, it’s really clunky for filter single dosing so I’ve been looking at a Fellow Ode with upgraded burrs.

 

 

[Gotters]

I’ve got the Niche zero, such a lovely thing to use even if the purists think you need flat burrs for drip and conicals are for espresso.

[HarryBizzle]

I use a Sage Dose Control Pro. Very happy with it. Would probably buy a niche over an Ode, though. 

[SaintAnselm]

I use a Wilfa Uniform grinder and it’s a massive step up from my previous grinder, which was the Sage Grinder Pro.

[BedroomBusinessman]

After I posted an SSP upgraded Ode appeared on eBay… arriving Friday.

20 hours ago, BedroomBusinessman said:

What grinder is everyone using? Currently using a Mazzer Mini, it’s really clunky for filter single dosing so I’ve been looking at a Fellow Ode with upgraded burrs.

 

 

 

[HarryBizzle]

18 hours ago, SaintAnselm said:

I use a Wilfa Uniform grinder and it’s a massive step up from my previous grinder, which was the Sage Grinder Pro.

 

I think my grinder is the same as that but without the smart features. I looked at reviews of the Niche vs the Smart Grinder Pro and the few I found said there wasn't much difference, so I've sort of decided not to upgrade.

 

What were the main differences you noticed with the Wilfa?

[SaintAnselm]

43 minutes ago, HarryBizzle said:

 

I think my grinder is the same as that but without the smart features. I looked at reviews of the Niche vs the Smart Grinder Pro and the few I found said there wasn't much difference, so I've sort of decided not to upgrade.

 

What were the main differences you noticed with the Wilfa?

Apart from the fact it makes nicer and cleaner tasting coffee, the lack of retention is it’s best feature.  I was tired of having to bang the top of my Sage grinder to get the last few grams of coffee out, with the Wilfa, it only retains at most 0.1 gram and it’s also a lot easier to clean.

 

[HarryBizzle]

I find just taking the lid off slighting and popping it back on acts like a bit of a bellows and gets all the coffee out quite nicely. 
 

Interesting about taste, though. Might think about an upgrade after all. 

[Hawklord]

Wilfa Svart here for Aeropress & V60 and whatever is built into my Magnifica for espresso 

[HarryBizzle]

On 31/10/2022 at 08:49, Gotters said:

 

so Pact sent me a 50% off code if I restarted my plan (I'm beginning to think they are the DFS of the coffee world and you have to be an idiot to pay full price for a bag from them). 

 

Yeah I got a 50% off first two bags thing. I’m now three bags in because I feel guilty about just using the discount. They’re a good company and gave me like £40 of free coffee during the pandemic (NHS), so I do sort of want to support them.

 

Anyway - just got a bag off them called Vista Hermosa which is really, really good.

 

I might set up my Pact and Hasbean plans to alternate, or something.

[Indy @ S.E.]

I have got for a bag from Rave, I used them first for their pods but the machine wasn't liking them so had to refund it.

 

Should be getting delivered today so after a few test brews to get it right I should be able to stick them on or off the list.

[SaintAnselm]

I really like all the coffee beans I have got from Rave, they also give far more information than the other companies I have tried about the beans as well, which I really love.  Hasbean were terrible with regards to this and their coffee didn’t impress me either.

 

Square Mile may be the nicest coffee beans I have tried, but they are just slightly more expensive than the others, though their bags of beans are slightly bigger.

[HarryBizzle]

Hasbean do a YouTube vid for all their subscription ones. They used to be a relatively sedate sit down with the coffee but have gone a bit tiktok:

 

 

 

But yeah they don’t give you much in writing, if you don’t want to sit and watch a video. Love the coffee, though. I think I’ve had 5 bags and all have been excellent. 

[StumpyJohn]

Hasbean used to have quite a lot of info on each coffee on their website but looking at it now there is less than there used to be and it varies quite a lot.  They have done a fancy rebrand on all their packaging and website though! 😝

IIRC when I was first using them perhaps 7 or 8 years ago they used to include a multi page paper print out with full details of all their current coffees in with your order.  Been ages since they have done that though.

[HarryBizzle]

 

 

A new ode with upgraded burrs and a few tweaks, including a pretty amazing anti static system. 
 

Nice looking, flat burr, single dose grinder at £350ish has me seriously considering a grinder upgrade that’s not the niche. 

[BedroomBusinessman]

1 hour ago, HarryBizzle said:

 

 

A new ode with upgraded burrs and a few tweaks, including a pretty amazing anti static system. 
 

Nice looking, flat burr, single dose grinder at £350ish has me seriously considering a grinder upgrade that’s not the niche. 

Typically this was announced the day after I bought one with the SSP burrs! 
 

Anyway, the workflow is so much better than our old Mazzer. With RDT the SSPs seem pretty amazing.

[HarryBizzle]

1 hour ago, BedroomBusinessman said:

Typically this was announced the day after I bought one with the SSP burrs! 
 

Anyway, the workflow is so much better than our old Mazzer. With RDT the SSPs seem pretty amazing.

I’m impressed with just how much they’ve managed to reduce the static this guy tries the new one with no RDT vs old with RDT and it still does much better:

 

 

 

SSPs definitely seem to be the superior burrs on the whole, though, with much more uniformity. I saw a Lance Hedrick video explaining why the niche isn’t very good for filter coffee and found it quite useful in understanding the differences between burrs. 
 

Found the v2 for £315 preorder so have put one in, but I don’t think they’re expected until 25/1/23. 😕

[BedroomBusinessman]

2 hours ago, HarryBizzle said:

I’m impressed with just how much they’ve managed to reduce the static this guy tries the new one with no RDT vs old with RDT and it still does much better:

 

 

 

SSPs definitely seem to be the superior burrs on the whole, though, with much more uniformity. I saw a Lance Hedrick video explaining why the niche isn’t very good for filter coffee and found it quite useful in understanding the differences between burrs. 
 

Found the v2 for £315 preorder so have put one in, but I don’t think they’re expected until 25/1/23. 😕

Once they’re available I’d be tempted to sell the Gen 1 with its original burrs and sell the Gen 2 burrs. Imagine it’ll be getting near to the price of the Gen 2.

[HarryBizzle]

You could even compare them and sell the SSPs and end up making a bit of money in the upgrade - the SSPs are way more expensive but looking at a few reviews, the Gen 2 burrs and SSPs seem to be really quite close (with the latter coming out slightly ahead). 
 

Very impressed that they’ve managed to bring these burrs out at only $80. 
 

Coffee Hit say end of Jan, so I’ve got a bit of a wait but I think it’s going to be worth it!

[Gotters]

Hoffman is so entertaining, if almost veering into Magnus Pyke territory here (topical reference kids). Who the hell knew that caffeine is an insect repellent coffee fruit produces so lower altitude coffee has more caffeine as get less bugs higher !

 

 

[morcs]

On 14/01/2022 at 13:02, Blue said:

Since the first lockdown started I've bought beans from many different suppliers and hated every single bean I've had from them. I only did so because my beloved Algerian coffee stores couldn't operate at times. Thankfully they have been back up and running for some time and I was able to restock on my favourite, Huehuetenango. Then Brazilian bourbon happened and oh my, what a bean. Not sure which is my favourite now. The bourbon is full on in every respect, which is exactly what I like, whilst the huehue is a little smoother. 

 

Oh man I've not been in this thread for months and the first thing I read is this.

 

I also settled on Huehuetenango, I keep trying different things but this is always the best.

 

I find it's actually more forgiving of getting the wrong grind too. All the other coffees I try and don't like I can make taste a fair bit better by just getting the grind exactly right, but I still don't really like them. They all have this sort of acrid acid/sour taste (I need to read back in the thread to see what people replied to Blue's post).

 

I must try Brazilian Bourbon then. I have tried ACS's Brazilian Santos (High roast option) a couple of times and actually I think if you get the grind just right it can be better than Huehue. The beans have the same quality of looking very dark and shiny/moist. When I try other beans from other suppliers (except Starbucks) the beans seem to be really dry and non-shiny, and they taste pish.

 

Yeah Starbucks works as a fallback for me are not quite as nice as the Algerian dark roasts but still miles better than everything else. They are also dark, shiny beans.

 

I do have a Niche grinder now like @timgp so I can deal with the fussier ones. It is great.

[Blue]

31 minutes ago, morcs said:

I also settled on Huehuetenango, I keep trying different things but this is always the best.

 

You are now my soul brother. I think you'll like Brazilian bourbon. It's a jacked up Santos. 

[morcs]

On 03/12/2019 at 10:06, HarryBizzle said:

Would anyone like a 500g bag of Algerian Coffee Stores’ Algerian Special for the price of postage? Can’t imagine it would be more than £3-£4 at most. 

I’ve had two cups out of the bag but really can’t hack it. It’s wholebean, so you’ll need a grinder. 

 

It’a the stuff pictured above. Dark as anything, smells a burnt. 
 

I know a few of you quite like oily black beans. @milko @morcs @Blue

 

I think this was actually my first ever bag of Huehuetenango!

 

Quote from DM:

 

Quote

If you give me your address I’ll get this bag of charcoal over to you ASAP.

 

[morcs]

On 11/11/2022 at 10:29, Blue said:

You are now my soul brother. I think you'll like Brazilian bourbon. It's a jacked up Santos. 

 

It arrived, it's delightful 😊

 

I must make a pilgrimage to Algerian Coffee Stores next time I'm in London. Was it @milko that got us all on to it?

[milko]

@morcs I think it might be, yeah. I used them as my go-to for several years while working 15 minutes walk away. Haven't been there for ages now though, need to sort it.