Coffee Appreciation

Fuck yeah!

How is the Salvador Finca in comparison to the Ethiopian Natural?

It's so odd. have been trying all kinds of coffee from places lately (dark arts, weanie beans...) and had some lovely results but every single one of them has had me chasing the grind all over the settings on my vario to get a consistent pour pretty much every other shot.

I've since gone back to my old faithful (red brick) and after one shot to dial it in 3 bags ago the slider hasn't had to move a single notch. rock solid consistency every time.

what kind of voodoo are square mile putting on their beans?

Ah, so we have a new natural ethiopia replacing the Guji, it's Sesota from Yirgacheffe and it's amazing, creamy milk choc with strawberry finish, but it's quite a bit more expensive than the Guji, about £8.50 I think. Those upstairs didn't want to offer it as a direct replacement because of the price hike, which I don't really agree with, but the closest in character at a similar price is the El Salvador Finca San Ernesto honey process. It has a soft ripeness but is slightly more tart and lighter in body than the Guji, being a semi-washed central american. If you want natural ethiopia with all its body and ripeness then the El Salvador doesn't really compare. It's a lovely coffee in its own right but natural ethiopias can't really be substituted if that's the profile you want.

I have emailed Marko asking for the new Ethiopian instead

Cheers

Do you mean when pulling a shot on different days you're having to adjust the grind more? Or shots one after the other?

@StevePeel, are beans available mail order? Would like to try some new beans but no way I'll be in Northampton any time soon...

Hi Andy

I have no plans to sell coffee from Yellow Bourbon online or mail order but I will be continuing to source and roast for http://www.theroastery.co.uk that you can buy online. :)

Ah I see! Cheers, will take a look

i make 1-4 coffees a day and once I got the coffee dialled in the next shot would be out again, so i'd have to adjust again and then the next one would be fine but the one after would be out again. that kind of thing and we're talking big jumps, in some cases it would be vastly different. some beans i'd end up moving +/- 8-10 micro adjustments on the grinder which are quite big changes.

has happened with about 8 different batches of coffee from 3 different roasters.

the coffee produced was still not bad and when it was pulled correctly tasted great so i'm not disparaging any of the other roasters but for some reason the only bean that is rock solid every time in my setup is red brick.

like i said it's odd (and a shame as I enjoy trying different beans)

The common denominator is your grinder.

Are you weighing it the grind? Is it running for the same time? Does the ground coffee look the same? When you say out, do you mean from the grinder, or once you've pulled a shot?

Not if the RB works perfectly every time using the same grinder

i weigh the beans first and then grind. and it's the final shot that is at issue.

no visible issues with grind and it's the final shot that is out/changeable.

basically I'm happy with my technique and I am decent enough to be able to dial in most coffees very quickly and confident in adjusting dosing/grind and all that. it just baffles me that red brick behaves so much more robustly than pretty much all of the other coffees i try. like before i bought all of those other roasters coffee the red brick was solid, then there was loads of issues and as soon as I put red brick back in about 2 months after the last time I used it, adjust after first shot it's back to rock solid again and has stayed so for over a kilo of now.

But what's more likely?

It sounds weird and so for me, Occam's razor says it's the grinder.

Maybe next time you get a 'funny bean' get a mate to try grind it in their grinder and see what happens.

Is the Red Brick well rested? Coffees that are over 2 weeks from roast date behave much more consistently and are more forgiving.

I wonder if you may be having some consistency issues with the retention of the grinder - it may well be collecting a few fractions of grams and then dumping that excess at unpredictable intervals. Really fresh coffees will have a bit of a paddy about that but well rested ones will deal with it.

Have you tried filling up the hopper and using some other means of dosing lately? That might help.

behaves so much more robustly

I get this with the espresso blend I use at present, no adjustment needed to the point I haven't weighed grinds into portafilter for ages, can trust it'll be right. It is a nice place to be for home espresso, but might not last forever as the blend changes over time.

What do you mean by final shot? The first one you pull of the day? The last? How many do you pull and how far apart? If more than one, which is the issue?

Just to say @StevePeel roasts some great coffee. My wife and I have a regular subscription with Bella Barista and of the beans we get from a variety of sources his are the most popular in our household.

Coffees that are over 2 weeks from roast date behave much more consistently and are more forgiving.

Very interesting, I didn't know that. I've started using Monmouth espresso all the time now as it's predictable and easy. I used to order bags from hasbean, but often had trouble dialling in and producing consistently good espresso. Maybe it was partly due to them roasting to order?

If I was to leave the bags unopened for a couple of weeks, might this help?

No need to leave them open, that will speed up oxidation. What's happening when you rest it is the CO2 dissipates and the aromatics stabilise. You'll see the crema dissipate quickly with fresh coffee for this reason. Rested coffee tends to be richer and smoother too.

BTW resting periods can depend on the roast too. I use a machine which roasts relatively slowly with very little airflow and it takes about 3 weeks to really taste its best. Some high airflow fast roasting systems taste best after 4 or 5 days. That's why its good to get to know your local roasting shop if you have one ;)

Great tips. Thanks.

I currently use a Moka pot for making my coffee when I go camping. I'm considering getting an Aeropress, is it worth it of should I stick with the Moka?

Dooo iiit. The inverted method works best: https://ineedcoffee.com/upside-aeropress-coffee-brewing-tutorial/

Aeropress makes really nice coffee, it's quick and easy to clean up afterwards. It's light too.

@tridiver I'd actually consider sticking with the pot rather than an aeropress depending on the type of camping you do. You'll still need another thing to boil water in which the moka pot already does. With an aeropress you'll be carrying twice the gear. If you're in a car and have plenty of space/carry plenty of fuel and prefer filter over espresso then an Aeropress (and kettle) will serve you well. If you're on the bike and short on space and happy with espresso or really any caffeine you can get for the least amount of effort, stick with the moka pot.

I think Aeropress is great for hotels and home and office when you have an electric kettle and want to have some fun with coffee gadgetry. But for 'bike packing' I can think of easier ways to get a coffee in the morning.

This is a good point, I'm imagining having a Trangia but that is already extra kit..