Coffee Beans what's in your grinder ???


 
This was pretty inexpensive (I think about $3.50) at Aldi so I decided to give it a shot. Quite good. To be fair almost everything that comes out of our Mokka pot seems to be good. Even my wife asks "can we have some of that better than Starbucks coffee?" We have hardly been using our drip maker any more.
1716390923250.png1716391102931.png
 
Joe Anshien said:
This was pretty inexpensive (I think about $3.50) at Aldi so I decided to give it a shot. Quite good. To be fair almost everything that comes out of our Mokka pot seems to be good. Even my wife asks "can we have some of that better than Starbucks coffee?" We have hardly been using our drip maker any more.
View attachment 91536View attachment 91537
Click to expand...
I'm going to have to look for it in the local Aldi. Haven't seen whole bean there for awhile.
 
Had only enough House Blend for half a pot, and so I had to open the Sumatran ones. Slightly lighter color, not nearly as oily. Immediately on opening noticed strong aroma of dark chocolate. Sadly majority of what is in my current cup is House Blend (and honestly it's still AWFULLY good) so I can't tell what effect if any the 35% Sumatran has on the pot I am drinking. Tomorrow AM will be the real test. But judging from the aroma............I can't wait! I may have to cheat and pull a double shot from them.
BTW, off subject slightly. I decided to bring the Shardor grinder up with the purpose of having it on my ersatz "coffee bar". So, I set it up and one thing is it definitely grinds differently than the Breville. I set the Shardor to "espresso" and put in 16 grams. Noticed immediately the grounds seemed more "powder" like. Tried to pull a shot on my Casabrews (has a pressure gauge) and the gauge instantly shot up to max and only drops of coffee came out. Had to stop it. The puck was hard as a rock. So, I set it a little coarser more to "mocha" and it brewed but not well. Pressure was very high, it was slow, shot was good. But, that puck would not come out. Had to dig it out not knock it out.
Pretty weird. Only reason I am doing this is thinking maybe I have one grinder set to do shots, the other set for larger batch coffee. What IDK is if the Shardor is just wildly inconsistent vs the Breville is very consistent. IOW the Shoardor is grinding correctly but, inconsistently with too many fines and powder. Definitely going to "play" a bit more.
 
LMichaels said:
Had only enough House Blend for half a pot, and so I had to open the Sumatran ones. Slightly lighter color, not nearly as oily. Immediately on opening noticed strong aroma of dark chocolate. Sadly majority of what is in my current cup is House Blend (and honestly it's still AWFULLY good) so I can't tell what effect if any the 35% Sumatran has on the pot I am drinking. Tomorrow AM will be the real test. But judging from the aroma............I can't wait! I may have to cheat and pull a double shot from them.
BTW, off subject slightly. I decided to bring the Shardor grinder up with the purpose of having it on my ersatz "coffee bar". So, I set it up and one thing is it definitely grinds differently than the Breville. I set the Shardor to "espresso" and put in 16 grams. Noticed immediately the grounds seemed more "powder" like. Tried to pull a shot on my Casabrews (has a pressure gauge) and the gauge instantly shot up to max and only drops of coffee came out. Had to stop it. The puck was hard as a rock. So, I set it a little coarser more to "mocha" and it brewed but not well. Pressure was very high, it was slow, shot was good. But, that puck would not come out. Had to dig it out not knock it out.
Pretty weird. Only reason I am doing this is thinking maybe I have one grinder set to do shots, the other set for larger batch coffee. What IDK is if the Shardor is just wildly inconsistent vs the Breville is very consistent. IOW the Shoardor is grinding correctly but, inconsistently with too many fines and powder. Definitely going to "play" a bit more.
Click to expand...
I noticed something along these lines when comparing the grounds coming from my two different grinders...the Baratza Encore in our PA home and the Delonghi Ariete grinder in our NJ beach house. Using the same amount of beans and identicalMoccamasters to brew, the Delonghi seems to produce more volume of grounds. The cone filter holder seems to have noticeably more volume despite having measured identical quantities of beans. More air? Ground size appears identical....medium-course. I don't get it.
 
LMichaels said:
Had only enough House Blend for half a pot, and so I had to open the Sumatran ones. Slightly lighter color, not nearly as oily. Immediately on opening noticed strong aroma of dark chocolate. Sadly majority of what is in my current cup is House Blend (and honestly it's still AWFULLY good) so I can't tell what effect if any the 35% Sumatran has on the pot I am drinking. Tomorrow AM will be the real test. But judging from the aroma............I can't wait! I may have to cheat and pull a double shot from them.
BTW, off subject slightly. I decided to bring the Shardor grinder up with the purpose of having it on my ersatz "coffee bar". So, I set it up and one thing is it definitely grinds differently than the Breville. I set the Shardor to "espresso" and put in 16 grams. Noticed immediately the grounds seemed more "powder" like. Tried to pull a shot on my Casabrews (has a pressure gauge) and the gauge instantly shot up to max and only drops of coffee came out. Had to stop it. The puck was hard as a rock. So, I set it a little coarser more to "mocha" and it brewed but not well. Pressure was very high, it was slow, shot was good. But, that puck would not come out. Had to dig it out not knock it out.
Pretty weird. Only reason I am doing this is thinking maybe I have one grinder set to do shots, the other set for larger batch coffee. What IDK is if the Shardor is just wildly inconsistent vs the Breville is very consistent. IOW the Shoardor is grinding correctly but, inconsistently with too many fines and powder. Definitely going to "play" a bit more.
Click to expand...
My Shardor is still working great. I have it set in the middle of the espresso range at 8. The espresso range is labeled 16 - 1. It is crazy how many levels there are. We use the same setting on the mokka pot and drip. I usually do 2 or 3 hoppers full at a time and store in a Tupperware and vacuum the rest of the whole beans.
 
Well this machine has been idle for a week while I tried to get it going with tech support from Whole Latte Love. Their tech support is outstanding!
I got it stuck in mid descaling mode.
Restarted descaling mode and the cycle completed. Back on track!!
 

Attachments

  • PXL_20240523_140736774.jpg
    PXL_20240523_140736774.jpg
    120.7 KB · Views: 7
Joe Anshien said:
My Shardor is still working great. I have it set in the middle of the espresso range at 8. The espresso range is labeled 16 - 1. It is crazy how many levels there are. We use the same setting on the mokka pot and drip. I usually do 2 or 3 hoppers full at a time and store in a Tupperware and vacuum the rest of the whole beans.
Click to expand...
Which Shardor did you get? I have 2 of these. One is quite small (little square container) the other is larger (larger bean hopper, and large more rounded grounds catch). I have both kinds but the one I am playing with is the larger of the 2. I may give the little one a go. Since my goal is to set it for the espresso machines once and fuggedaboutit.
 
LMichaels said:
Which Shardor did you get? I have 2 of these. One is quite small (little square container) the other is larger (larger bean hopper, and large more rounded grounds catch). I have both kinds but the one I am playing with is the larger of the 2. I may give the little one a go. Since my goal is to set it for the espresso machines once and fuggedaboutit.
Click to expand...
The first one you recommended I believe. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BN1LDYQR/?tag=tvwb-20 1716475664233.png
 
Well first pot made with the Kirkland Sumatra. I've not tried pulling a shot with it yet. But, as of early results. I have to say the Kirkland House Blend punches way above it's weight and this one slightly below it's weight.
 
Well I just pulled my after lunch shot with it. Very nice. Much more well suited to espresso than a batch brew. Of course I did not play with grind size or amount. I simply used the same amount of beans, same grind and brewed. I did use the Breville grinder. I wasn't too sure of the Shardor with this
 
Back to it's home at the beach in time for MDW and working great. I'm really liking this machine. Using a blend of Wegmans and Fresh Market Espresso roast beans. Cannot use oily beans in superautomatics as a rule. I've started a routine of having an espresso while the Moccamaster brews a pot of drip.
 

Attachments

  • PXL_20240525_102439675.jpg
    PXL_20240525_102439675.jpg
    137.3 KB · Views: 6
Quite the beast there. Yeah, the "oily". One huge thing I noticed with these Sumatran beans is they're not oily. A little lighter and "sweeter" roast than the Kirkland House Blend. And a VERY good shot of espresso.
In the OXO drip brewer they're not quite as "in your face" flavor. More mild and a little "laid back". In the AM though, I think I prefer a little more "in your face" robustness. :D
 
So, second day, brewing a pot with these Sumatran beans. Again, sticking with water to bean recommendation for the OXO. IDK, the brew is "ok" just seems a little "insipid" to my tastes vs the Kirkland House Blend at the same water to bean ratio same grind. I will try increasing the bean to water ratio tomorrow AM.
In any case, this stuff makes a great "shot" of espresso, even slightly better than the House Blend. But, at 1/3 more $$$ per pound IDK if it's worth it to buy again. $18.99 for 2lb vs $10.99 for 2.5lb honestly the House Blend is a bargain that is hard to beat.
 
LMichaels said:
So, second day, brewing a pot with these Sumatran beans. Again, sticking with water to bean recommendation for the OXO. IDK, the brew is "ok" just seems a little "insipid" to my tastes vs the Kirkland House Blend at the same water to bean ratio same grind. I will try increasing the bean to water ratio tomorrow AM.
In any case, this stuff makes a great "shot" of espresso, even slightly better than the House Blend. But, at 1/3 more $$$ per pound IDK if it's worth it to buy again. $18.99 for 2lb vs $10.99 for 2.5lb honestly the House Blend is a bargain that is hard to beat.
Click to expand...
I think the Kirkland Signature House Blend is an all around winner...It's great in the Moccamasters as a drip brew. Have yet to try it in the new Gaggia Brera, but it doesn't look oily so I'll give it a shot. I think it and their Colombian Supremo are flat out, consistent winners.
 
Weird the one you're getting doesn't look oily. In any case if you like it in drip you're gonna really love it in the espresso way. Honestly at $10.99 for 2.5lbs or basically only $4.40lb it is punching WAY above it's weight IMO. It's just an awfully good all around bean. Working well in both my OXO and my Breville. Though as explained earlier I've gone back to using the OXO as it's a little better suited for keeping a smaller batch warm and fresh. Because the batch I make is closer to 75% of it's capacity rather than only a little more than 50% on the Breville. If I go back to brewing larger batches again I'll likely go back to the Breville though because of how much more I can tailor the brew to what I am brewing
 
LMichaels said:
Weird the one you're getting doesn't look oily. In any case if you like it in drip you're gonna really love it in the espresso way. Honestly at $10.99 for 2.5lbs or basically only $4.40lb it is punching WAY above it's weight IMO. It's just an awfully good all around bean. Working well in both my OXO and my Breville. Though as explained earlier I've gone back to using the OXO as it's a little better suited for keeping a smaller batch warm and fresh. Because the batch I make is closer to 75% of it's capacity rather than only a little more than 50% on the Breville. If I go back to brewing larger batches again I'll likely go back to the Breville though because of how much more I can tailor the brew to what I am brewing
Click to expand...
I might be wrong on the House Blend being oily. Might have confused them with the Peet's Major Dickasons...which are definitely oily.
Cleaned the brew unit and turned the Gaggia off yesterday. We packed up and left the beach house a day early. MDW crowd is overload. It calms down for the subsequent weekends but ramps up again with 7/4...street legal golf carts, kids on electric scooters and skateboards, 17 year Olds driving their parent's Escalades and Land Rovers with their iPhone in one hand... it's a freak show once I leave our driveway to do anything. That’s why we often opt to just sit by the pool.
PXL_20240519_145558330.MP.jpg

But we always go down then when everyone else is going home, Saturday afternoons or Sunday mornings. Retirement is nice that way.😉
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top