Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Rocky go bye bye
Had to give up Rocky. Consequently I've cut down my coffee drinking dramatically. About a month ago I roasted 300 grams and just barely finished it this weekend. I'm down to about 3 to 4 cups a week! That's right, a week. Freshly roasted, even in the sub par grinder I have now, is still better than the swill at work. And man, it still smells great when I grind it. But I have noticed that I don't get as much of the sweetness from the aromas as I did when I'd grind with Rocky.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Office Coffee
Why I bring my own.
Starbucks' own custom dark roast blend.
Special scoop
Beautiful whirly blade, which, as far as I know, has not been cleaned in the 5+ years I've been there.
And the brewer. Probably the best piece of coffee equipment we do have. Too bad the beans and the blade are sub-par.
Positives - Fresh bottled water ,whole beans, creamer, sugar.
Negatives - Beans are very old and too darkly roasted, very dirty grinder, beans are some times pre-ground from who knows how long before either to be put aside in a cup or just left in the grinder. Nothing like stale coffee to start the day.
Starbucks' own custom dark roast blend.
Special scoop
Beautiful whirly blade, which, as far as I know, has not been cleaned in the 5+ years I've been there.
And the brewer. Probably the best piece of coffee equipment we do have. Too bad the beans and the blade are sub-par.
Positives - Fresh bottled water ,whole beans, creamer, sugar.
Negatives - Beans are very old and too darkly roasted, very dirty grinder, beans are some times pre-ground from who knows how long before either to be put aside in a cup or just left in the grinder. Nothing like stale coffee to start the day.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Tools of the trade
What you need to make coffee.
Grinder. Very important. Burr grinders are recommended. Cheap grinders are not recommended because of their inconsistency. They produce uneven grinds with plenty of dust. A well made burr grinder gives consistent grinds at any setting with little to no dust. If you are on a budget, use most of the money on a quality grinder.
Water. Use fresh water every time. Fresh spring water if you can as tap can be too hard. Do not re-boil water. Something about the oxygen. I even read about someone who imports Italian bottled water because that’s the only way to get true espresso.
Coffee. Fresh roasted. Look up roasters/cafes in your neighborhood. Buy coffee that was roasted within a week. If the coffee does not have a roast date, ask the owner.
Kettle. Stove top or electric.
Coffee brewer. There are many ways to make coffee. For me, I have a French press, a drip, and an espresso maker. There are many other kinds. One other kind I want to try in the future is vacuum brewing.
Timer. From timing your shots to steep time.
Grinder. Very important. Burr grinders are recommended. Cheap grinders are not recommended because of their inconsistency. They produce uneven grinds with plenty of dust. A well made burr grinder gives consistent grinds at any setting with little to no dust. If you are on a budget, use most of the money on a quality grinder.
Water. Use fresh water every time. Fresh spring water if you can as tap can be too hard. Do not re-boil water. Something about the oxygen. I even read about someone who imports Italian bottled water because that’s the only way to get true espresso.
Coffee. Fresh roasted. Look up roasters/cafes in your neighborhood. Buy coffee that was roasted within a week. If the coffee does not have a roast date, ask the owner.
Kettle. Stove top or electric.
Coffee brewer. There are many ways to make coffee. For me, I have a French press, a drip, and an espresso maker. There are many other kinds. One other kind I want to try in the future is vacuum brewing.
Timer. From timing your shots to steep time.
Thermos Nissan Briefcase bottle
This is the bad boy I use to get my coffee to work, the Thermos Nissan. It is a wonderful bottle. Stainless steel, strong, and most importantly, it keeps my coffee hot. I make my coffee about 5 in the morning and sip throughout the day. At noon, I get to the last of my coffee and it’s still hot. Highly recommended. 
Easy clean up, just wash and rinse. There is one thing to be careful about. One day I get to work, open up my Thermos to drink coffee I had roasted two days before, and it tasted nasty! I couldn’t understand why. Then I realized it was the bottle. It was soap! It got stuck in the rubber washer that helps keep the lid tight and sealed. It is removeable, which I only found out after this episode.
Easy clean up, just wash and rinse. There is one thing to be careful about. One day I get to work, open up my Thermos to drink coffee I had roasted two days before, and it tasted nasty! I couldn’t understand why. Then I realized it was the bottle. It was soap! It got stuck in the rubber washer that helps keep the lid tight and sealed. It is removeable, which I only found out after this episode.
Cafetière à Piston
Pot de plongeur dans les images
La première étape, bouillent l'eau doux
La deuxième étape, 
rectifient le café rôti frais
Après que l'eau commence à bouillir, enlever la chaleur et laisser reposer 30 secondes
Après les trente secondes, verser lentement l'eau dans la carafe. Un régulier lent verse s'assure que tout café est imbibé
Une fois faite l'eau versante, remuent le café. Ne pas employer le métal car il cassera la carafe
Mettre le couvercle dessus et laisser reposer quatre minutes
Après quatre minutes, avec une main maintenant le couvercle bloqué, enfoncer lentement
Après avoir appuyé les au sol de café, verser l'élixir dans votre tasse
L'étape finale, enjoy !
Thursday, March 22, 2007
I will laugh at you like an arrogant french man, huu huu huu huu
Great tips for french press brewing, my current preferred brewing method.
http://coffeegeek.com/guides/presspot
http://sweetmarias.com/brewinstr.frenchpress.html
Just to tighten things up, it is up to you whether or not you want to pre heat your press, how much grinds you want to use, and how fine of a grind you want to use, which will affect the length of steep time, which, you guessed it, is up to you. Fresh water is always recommended, do not re-boil water, if you can, don't let the water boil at all, just heat up to the desired temperature. It's up to you how much ground coffee you want to use. And as a tip, in coffee speak, a cup is 4 ounces, which is a tasse.
My personal (still evolving) technique. I use a +40 from the 0 point on Rocky. I don't preheat, I grind straight into the carafe of my bodum 4 cup. For now, 5 grams of coffee per 4 ounces of water. I boil my kettle of water, turn off the fire, let the water cool for 30 seconds, then pour the water onto the grounds. I stir with a plastic chopstick (never use a metal spoon or it might break the carafe) then steep for 4 minutes. After the 4 minutes, I press down and pour the coffee straight into my thermos and pack it up for the trip to work.
Even though a drip coffee maker is much more convenient, especially since most are programmable, french press is preferred by most because of the customization with the technique. You can set the water temperature, very important when making coffee, and steep time, which affects the strength of the brew. Using the press also preserves the coffee oils which adds to the flavor which is lost with the paper filter on drip makers.
http://coffeegeek.com/guides/presspot
http://sweetmarias.com/brewinstr.frenchpress.html
Just to tighten things up, it is up to you whether or not you want to pre heat your press, how much grinds you want to use, and how fine of a grind you want to use, which will affect the length of steep time, which, you guessed it, is up to you. Fresh water is always recommended, do not re-boil water, if you can, don't let the water boil at all, just heat up to the desired temperature. It's up to you how much ground coffee you want to use. And as a tip, in coffee speak, a cup is 4 ounces, which is a tasse.
My personal (still evolving) technique. I use a +40 from the 0 point on Rocky. I don't preheat, I grind straight into the carafe of my bodum 4 cup. For now, 5 grams of coffee per 4 ounces of water. I boil my kettle of water, turn off the fire, let the water cool for 30 seconds, then pour the water onto the grounds. I stir with a plastic chopstick (never use a metal spoon or it might break the carafe) then steep for 4 minutes. After the 4 minutes, I press down and pour the coffee straight into my thermos and pack it up for the trip to work.
Even though a drip coffee maker is much more convenient, especially since most are programmable, french press is preferred by most because of the customization with the technique. You can set the water temperature, very important when making coffee, and steep time, which affects the strength of the brew. Using the press also preserves the coffee oils which adds to the flavor which is lost with the paper filter on drip makers.
A New Beginning
Bonehead move, I erased my blog. Thought I was deleting a post. Whoops. Let's start over. More focus on coffee this time around. I'll make a different one for my babies.
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