I’m not James Hoffmann but I am a bit of a coffee snob. My goal in 2023 is to get some of the best coffees in the world and try them with my Hario 60. In fact I think I have a thread asking for suggestions but that was pre-supply chain issues. Anyways, it is really hard to find good coffee that is roasted well. I am tending to organic because I think it taste better but a lot is still bitter, weak or over-roasted. I have a few go-tos but I wonder if I would find a better variety of great-tasting daily coffee if I get them as green beans and roast them myself.
If bitterness is a concern, have you tried cold brewing it at home? I moved on to that after decades of fussy use of my high end espresso maker and grinder and perfect bean searches. I never did roast my own but found a local roaster who did an excellent job. Even so, my shots were inconsistent. I could pull a godshot every 5th or 6th time, but I’d also get a sucky one every 5th or 6th time.
Now with cold brewing, it’s a delightful drink every damn time, no bitterness, no burnt flavor, and that’s just using plain old Folgers or Maxwell House. And I only have to fiddle with making it (a gallon at a time) every 3-4 days.
I would appreciate it if you updated this thread as you acquire different coffee and try different methods.
Not bitterness per se, but that is one of the many issues I’ll find in a lot of coffee out there and from what I know it is not my brewing method (pour-over not automatic drip) but the beans and the characteristics brought out in roasting.
I did try some store brand Blue Mountain and even if it is suspect, it was a damn fine cup of coffee. Maybe I should revive that old thread or start a new one for all of our adventures in gourmet coffee and suggestions for each other like, “Check out XXXXX to buy your Kona.”
Funny you mention ‘old.’ In case you nissed it, you’d probably enjoy this NPR piece that aired yesterday:
I’ve tried it and mentioned it once in a coffee house discussion. Some guy of the pseudo intellectual ilk looked down his nose, sniffed at me and asked, “Was it upper or lower mountain?”
Jasmine (saying): I can’t recall.
Jasmine (thinking): How the hell do I know?!
Interesting. Folgers makes for excellent cold brew coffee, and same can’t be said for some of the fancier organic stuff put out by local roasters. I think that coffee brewing is just as much art as science, frankly.
I’m sure it is Googleable, but if you could share your technique @Qadgop_the_Mercotan then I might consider giving it a try. Apologies if you have done so elsewhere.
My recipe, and I’ve put it out there before, but I love sharing it again:
Take a gallon pitcher.
Put in 3 cups of the ground coffee of your choice.
Add water until pretty much full, stir it up good and seal it
Leave it out in room temperature for from 12-24 hours. I generally do 24 hours
Filter the liquid thru a coffee filter in a strainer. Let gravity do all the work.
Change filters as needed.
Store in refrigerator, use PRN. It’ll keep for at least a week.
Some folks dilute the coffee with an equal amount of water, or lesser amounts to taste.
It can be served cold or quickly reheated in the microwave if hot coffee is desired.
It lacks the bitterness and other less than pleasant tastes that come from rapid brewing at high temperatures. It’s full of pure coffee flavor, the kind I enjoy best.
I’ve not experimented with making home nitrogen infused cold brew however. I don’t think I will either.
Share and Enjoy!
I used to work at a corporate coffee shop, the kind you see in malls with dozens of varietal, blends and flavors*. We’d occasionally brew a pot of Blue Mountain or Kona and sell cups of it at a higher price. I found Blue Mountain completely unremarkable and Kona very good but probably not worth the price. At the time (mid 90s), Blue Mountain was $40/lb and Kona something like $22/lb. Most of the other coffees were around $10/lb, some less.
*Some of them were nasty like banana nut and orange. Fresh bags smell really strong, gag.
I’m dense…what’s PRN?
Qad will jump in if I’m wrong, but da goog says it’s medispeak for “as needed”.
Dan
I’ve been roasting my own coffee for years using a Behmor 1600 (now available as the Behmor 2000). The roaster uses infra red quartz tubes for heat and a rotating drum.
It’s pretty quiet which allows one to hear the beans as they go through first and second “crack” which tells you how the roast is progressing.
This roaster allows lots of variability in roasting profiles (temperatures and times), but Behmor and other sites have lots of guidance on using the roaster.
Note that roasting coffee generates lots of smoke and will set off all of your smoke alarms if you try to roast inside your living space.
Buying green beans is cheaper than pre-roasted coffee, and the coffee is always fresh roasted. Some of my favorite bean suppliers are Sweet Maria’s, Happy Mug Coffee, and Coffee Bean Corral.
Ah, I get it. Thanks!
You might want to get a book or two to get you started. Here’s one from Amazon that I just ordered.
Be careful to note the publication date when looking for these books. Quite a few are pretty old and equipment recommendations might be obsolete.