Coffee Beans what's in your grinder ???


 
So today I darn near ruined my new KA grinder. I was mixing the next batch of Mt Comfort and House Blend beans. While I was pouring the MC beans into my mixing container I saw a very light colored thing go by. I fished through and found what appears to be a stone! Pretty sure it is as I tried to cut it open with a sheath type heavy bladed knife. Didn't make a dent no matter how much I pounded on the back of the blade.
If I'd missed that I can only imagine the level of damage that would have occurred to my burrs or the drive train
 
LMichaels said:
So today I darn near ruined my new KA grinder. I was mixing the next batch of Mt Comfort and House Blend beans. While I was pouring the MC beans into my mixing container I saw a very light colored thing go by. I fished through and found what appears to be a stone! Pretty sure it is as I tried to cut it open with a sheath type heavy bladed knife. Didn't make a dent no matter how much I pounded on the back of the blade.
If I'd missed that I can only imagine the level of damage that would have occurred to my burrs or the drive train
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That is a first! I expect them in Cowboy lump not in coffee;-)
 
I found these today. Thought it's worth a try. Roasted here in Chicago on Granville Ave (north side for you non Chicagoans) Don't know much else about it. Anyone else know?

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Pretty interesting. Oddly the thing I noticed about the bag of Kirkland FR I opened was how dry it was especially compared to the House Blend I'd bought just previous. So I wonder if on a darker roasted blend if being dry indicates "old"? Or, mishandled? Because now I am REALLY puzzled.
What about the beans I bought shown in post 423? Likely a more regional offering. But, I know we have members, in Chicagoland where this offering may be more commonplace. If not through Costco, but perhaps other shops.
Kind of excited to finish off the current batch I'm blending with that Mt Comfort and House Blend. I'm doing that blend 50/50 by weight. And in some strange way it's better than either one was on it's own and in fact WAY better than the Mt Comfort alone which I found basically "undrinkable".
 
LMichaels said:
Pretty interesting. Oddly the thing I noticed about the bag of Kirkland FR I opened was how dry it was especially compared to the House Blend I'd bought just previous. So I wonder if on a darker roasted blend if being dry indicates "old"? Or, mishandled? Because now I am REALLY puzzled.
What about the beans I bought shown in post 423? Likely a more regional offering. But, I know we have members, in Chicagoland where this offering may be more commonplace. If not through Costco, but perhaps other shops.
Kind of excited to finish off the current batch I'm blending with that Mt Comfort and House Blend. I'm doing that blend 50/50 by weight. And in some strange way it's better than either one was on it's own and in fact WAY better than the Mt Comfort alone which I found basically "undrinkable".
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I noticed the same thing on the French Roast as mine was not oily at all. Makes me wonder.
 
LMichaels said:
I found these today. Thought it's worth a try. Roasted here in Chicago on Granville Ave (north side for you non Chicagoans) Don't know much else about it. Anyone else know?

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When my son was attending college in Chicago we stayed at the Robey Chicago several times. That’s what they served in their restaurant and the attached coffee shop. We thought it was excellent
 
Jeff Boudman said:
When my son was attending college in Chicago we stayed at the Robey Chicago several times. That’s what they served in their restaurant and the attached coffee shop. We thought it was excellent
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Cool, I am excited to give them a go. I am trying to hurry through my Mt Comfort/House Blend blend.
 
Well I just opened the bag this afternoon in preparation for tomorrow AM and loaded up the grinder. One thing is it's beautifully packaged, but I noticed the beans are not at all oily. And IDK if that is a good or bad thing. Really looking forward to giving them a go. They're also much lighter roast than other medium grinds I've bought and used. But another really nice thing about the packaging, is it is even zip loc sealed. So it's resealable. Way cool
 
So, the first batch? MEH, weak, insipid, sort of "sour". But later on I made espresso with the batch of these beans and it was REALLY good. I think if it it makes a good espresso, but not a good drip pot than the fault is with the drip machine.
So this AM I made some changes (again noting the issues I posted about re the "problem" the Precision Brew has developed). So, this AM I switched it over to "My Brew", and made changes there. I increased bloom time from 40 sec to a full minute, increased brew temp to 205, decreased flow rate from med to slow, SLIGHTLY increased amount of coffee in the bed as well by about 4 grams.
Well BIG changes. Much richer brew, smoother, not sour or "insipid", and bed was fully and evenly saturated.
Now does it mean the Precision Brew is "fixed"? No, not by a long shot. Because it still does not explain why it suddenly "changed" on the old setting of My Brew or "Gold" from consistently turning out GREAT brew to suddenly deciding to not saturate the beans correctly and brewing weak, sour batches of coffee.
So, yes, I found a "workaround" it's not answering the question of "What Happened Here?"
 
So IDK if it was a special sale or not, but was at Costco today and saw the Cameron beans (from Shakopee MN) for only $10 for 2lbs in espresso (med/dark) roast. I got a bag. We shall see soon. Definitely not liking the Metropolis that much. Not worth the high price IMO not for espresso or for drip. Drip tastes weak yet "harsh". IDK how to describe it. Espresso had great crema and I had high hopes. It was WAY better than drip, but definitely did not "trip my trigger" to want it again.
Been playing with grind setting and amount on the drip, going from the coarser end of "drip" setting to the finer end. Not much love either way. Had SLIGHT improvement by going way over recommended measurement (amount) of grounds. Seemed to take away some of the "harshness". Sort of smoothed out the taste. So, the new brewer calls for 64grams to 40 oz water. Even at 67 grams it is harsh. The other day I slipped and did 74 grams and it was a lot better. So, tomorrow I think I am going to try 77 or so. Just to try and make the stuff drinkable
 
72 grams of the Metropolis on the finer side of "drip" grind this AM to 40 oz water. Nice smooth and rich cup of brew this AM. Really nuts I need to use 8 grams more than instructions for a nice smooth morning cup
 
LMichaels said:
72 grams of the Metropolis on the finer side of "drip" grind this AM to 40 oz water. Nice smooth and rich cup of brew this AM. Really nuts I need to use 8 grams more than instructions for a nice smooth morning cup
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Are you keeping a brew journal or even better a spread sheet, in addition to this forum? That is the only way I think you may be able to find some clarity as this journey sure is getting hard to follow between machines, coffees, brews, water, weight, and of course taste there are a lot of variables and outcomes. It seemed you were really happy with Costco House Blend, especially for price to taste and now you venturing off to chase the elusive perfect cup maybe;-)?
I myself was quite happy with my Bustelo and Mr. Coffee. Now I grind beans (usually in bulk) start the machine, have to stir it to get all the grounds saturated, stop the machine for pre-infusion, start the machine and get all the grounds soaking, then just let it run. Definitely much better coffee and great extraction. Just finishing up a Costco French roast, have a Jims Beans (Gift from friends) and just picked up a SB FR from BJ's to use and mix if the Jims needs some help.
 
Little scribbles mostly on a sheet inside a cabinet door where I keep instruction sheets. Honestly don't have a clue how to work a spread sheet LOL. I wish I did. Would help me track my business. Mostly it's a quick note scribbled down where I keep the ratios tacked up in the cabinet
 
One thing I have to ask about roast levels and such. Are lighter roasts (like this latest one I am trying now which is the lightest roasted whole bean I've ever used), more "acidic" than darker? Seems to be one very obvious thing with both coffee makers. If I brew at SCA guidelines in either machine (Breville or the OXO), this lighter roast from Metropolis just has a more "harsh" or acidic character to it. Whereas the darker roasts I am more acclimated to, tend to hit the tongue as "smoother" and less "harsh" but certainly more "robust".
So, I find with the light(er), roast(s) I have to use 15% to 20% more coffee than SCA guideline (re water to coffee ratio), to get (at least slightly), rid of that "harsher bite".
Or is this just me?
 
That's what I've heard about the lighter roasts. I'm a dark roast French or Major Dickenson's.
Bought a small bag of breakfast medium blend from a local roaster.
Did not agree with me until I mixed it with an equal amount of dark.
 
LMichaels said:
One thing I have to ask about roast levels and such. Are lighter roasts (like this latest one I am trying now which is the lightest roasted whole bean I've ever used), more "acidic" than darker? Seems to be one very obvious thing with both coffee makers. If I brew at SCA guidelines in either machine (Breville or the OXO), this lighter roast from Metropolis just has a more "harsh" or acidic character to it. Whereas the darker roasts I am more acclimated to, tend to hit the tongue as "smoother" and less "harsh" but certainly more "robust".
So, I find with the light(er), roast(s) I have to use 15% to 20% more coffee than SCA guideline (re water to coffee ratio), to get (at least slightly), rid of that "harsher bite".
Or is this just me?
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Lighter roasts do tend to have a higher acid level since they are roasted for a shorter period and less of the volatiles are driven off. Couple that with the higher density of the light roast bean and it’s easier to under extract yielding that acidic bite. One thing you might try is brewing at a higher temperature or using a flat bottom brewer that accentuates body. I will often use a higher ratio (more coffee) on dark roasts so I can get away with a coarser grind but have no experience doing that with a light roast.
 
I just opened a bag of Starbucks French roast and it has the dark shiny appearance that the Costco FR and House Blend did not. Way stronger with a slightly weird bite. Yesterday my wife did 5 scoops and today I did 4 and it was slightly better. I may mix this with the "Jim's Love" (light beans) that I got from a friend who stopped drinking coffee. His wife gave him a big bag as a gift since his name is Jim. Expired but kept frozen. We will see what happens.
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Keith P said:
Lighter roasts do tend to have a higher acid level since they are roasted for a shorter period and less of the volatiles are driven off. Couple that with the higher density of the light roast bean and it’s easier to under extract yielding that acidic bite. One thing you might try is brewing at a higher temperature or using a flat bottom brewer that accentuates body. I will often use a higher ratio (more coffee) on dark roasts so I can get away with a coarser grind but have no experience doing that with a light roast.
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OK so here is the weird thing. The OXO has a flat brew basket. The Breville has a cone for 8 cups or less and basket for over 8 cups. I prefer the cone, over the basket because the water can get through a deeper layer. And because of that flat basket is precisely why I am using as much as 20% more coffee and grinding way on the finer side.
On the OXO BTW I don't have a choice in brewing temps. It's 200 to 205 take it or leave it. On the Breville I can tailor brew time (flow), bloom time, water temp from like 185 up to 208 IIRC, and anything in between.
 
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