Coffee Appreciation

@dubtap - thanks for the details, colleague now the long overdue owner of a Smart Grinder Pro!

At least you managed to get one in the kitchen, we’re looking for something new and Mrs IP has vetoed any swan neck kettles on looks alone :/

Even though she recently buggered our Dualit by putting in decscaler and then boiling it causing an impressive frothing, scalding chemical volcano.

Grow mushrooms on them?

Yellow Bourbon order arrived this morning (ordered on Thursday evening!).
Next few weeks of coffee sorted. How much of a difference does the off gassing make? Got a couple varieties that I'm really keen to try but with very recent roasting dates, so should I hold off on those for the 3 week post roast sweet spot? @StevePeel

I might be overthinking this.

Mrs IP has vetoed any swan neck kettles on looks alone

Good girl!

That was the one thing I already knew about but it's not really feasible in our place. I was thinking something along the lines of making potting mix and giving it away or something like that.

That's a shame. Since having the Bonavitta I've definitely found myself making V60 brews much much more often (Daily vs weekly) rather than always using the Moccamaster.

With the Wilfa grinder, the electric gooseneck kettle and Acaia scales the process is quite streamlined and enjoyable.

Replaced the gasket on Silvia.
When I put the portafilter in and twist to straight on it still leaks. If I twist it further anti-clockwise then the drip stops (almost). So is something loose that I need to tighten?

Definitely the right gasket? Not worked on a Silvia before but any time I've replaced a group gasket it's just been a 'pop into place and lock in portafilter' job.

Also regarding the discussion around coffee tasting best anywhere around 3-8 weeks post roast. Any ideas on the reasoning? The only thing I could think of was more degassing leads to less crema, which in turn leads to less bitterness, for espresso at least. Though if this were the case, I imagine there wouldn't be such a strong case for filter coffee as the higher CO2 content only really manifests itself in a larger bloom when brewing filter (as far as I'm aware at least!).

Yeah gasket went in fine and same size as one which came out - I'm just thinking if the part where the portafilter locks into could be loose and hence needing to turn it further to get a secure fit? maybe a shim or slightly thicker gasket...

I’ve not used that machine in particular but I don’t think portafilters are ever meant to just be turned till they’re straight; you turn them till they’re tight.

I don’t actually know is the answer, and without wishing to join in the deafening chorus of half-understood coffee science dick-measuring that coffee people do, I think it’s to do with the way the oil in the coffee is developed wrt heating method. I’m happy enough to have tested that 3 week coffee tastes better than 3 day coffee the way I roast it without getting too much into the why and the how.

To be honest as I was writing it, I figured the answer is "go read this massive dossier of papers on the subject" or "no one knows". At this point I've studied enough science to be comfortable in the "I don't know why it works, but it does" camp!

I've heard a lot of people saying they taste tested the coffee best at three weeks but I think the half understood dick waving science doesn't back it up (for filter at least)

https://scanews.coffee/2018/04/18/preserving-freshness-race-time-25-magazine-issue-4/ suggests that there's a drop in flavour 12 hours after roasting

The Roasters Guild has also taken up the challenge over recent years. It organized a series of member-driven sensory experiments to investigate, and collect data on, the coffee aging process and how different packaging types have a perceptible influence on quality. One particular test was designed to assess how different resting times after roasting before packing affected the coffee flavor profile. Four resting times (0, 12, 24, and 48 hours) after the roast date were chosen and cupping scores were collected for each sample. The results highlighted that coffees with longer resting times before packing showed a steeper linear decline in quality. The findings also support the ZHAW research team’s work into the effects of off-gassing and how changes in aroma composition can affect coffee chemistry

I personally leave it three weeks too though.

The resting time before packing is interesting as an entirely different factor in aroma development and staling. I always thought it holds a lot better if you get it sealed in a bag within 24 hours. There’s nothing in there about different roasting methods peaking at different times. TBH maybe it doesn’t vary according to roasting type, it would need double blind testing and standardising samples between different roasting machines would be almost impossible. All of which points towards “do you like it? Good. Enjoy your coffee.”

My nonsense is based largely on people with air roasters recommending peak flavour between 1 and 2 weeks and me finding coffee in the back of a kitchen cupboard 8 weeks after roasting and thinking “fuck me that’s great” leading to proper cupping experiments on this which confirms 3 weeks onwards FTW.

My nonsense is based largely on people with air roasters recommending peak flavour between 1 and 2 weeks and me finding coffee in the back of a kitchen cupboard 8 weeks after roasting and thinking “fuck me that’s great” leading to proper cupping experiments on this which confirms 3 weeks onwards FTW.

This sort of stuff is exactly why I picked up a little hand-roaster. Though I'm having a bit of buyer's remorse at not picking up the Hive instead. Looking forward to some experiments!

I cant remember where I heard it but I've always considered roughly 2 weeks since roast to be the peak.

When you first mentioned home roasting my first (tongue in cheek) thoughts were 'mod a popcorn roaster' or 'frying pan on the hob'...and it seems that the frying pan method has had a hipster makeover!

Modding a popcorn roaster does seem to be a popular route!

I guess the Hive is a bit removed from a frying pan in terms of the cover providing heat retention, leading to more roasting by convection as opposed to conduction (the cover is also their apparent smoke elimination/reduction solution), so less chance of scorching.

I don't know what frying pans you have, but my arms would likely fall off if I tried to roast beans with a frying pan for 10 mins or so!

Will hopefully report back on the hipster mini ceramic covered tea leaf roaster/frying pan this weekend!

I did try the frying pan method years ago. They roasted better than I thought they would considering, although I did get the scorch marks so the cover on the Hive does seem to be sensible. I didn't try drinking it though...

What's the best way to clean the limescale off where the water comes out of my wilfa coffee maker? I've used limescale tabs to clean the inside but there is a big grimy build up.

If you mix it with coconut oil, coarse sugar and orange zest it makes a pretty killer shower exfoliator scrub.

Just dry it all out first, put in blender with the orange and sugar then add the oil. Doesn't seem to go off and makes you smell like a terrys chocolate orange.

Oh no! I don’t blame her though, it makes the flow very slow, so would be incredibly annoying filling a pan up like that.

Soap?

Whoops, I should read all the posts first. 2 votes for some coffee scrubbing!