Coffee Beans what's in your grinder ???

[Rick P]

Not sure where you're located but I drink Mayorga too. The roaster is located 18 mins from my house so I pick it up at their location in Rockville, MD. The Costco here often has it in stock and it's considerably cheaper than retail at the roaster. Last time I checked, the price was like $16 for two lbs. But that was before they raised prices. I got into a conversation this morning with a guy on Reddit who said he just bought 2 lbs of Mayorga Muy Macho & 2 lbs of Mayorga Winter Brew for $45 shipped. I pay $59 for the same thing and I have to go pick it up. Only advantage is maybe I get it a bit more fresh.

We live near BWI and have two Costco's and a BJ's all within 10-15 minutes of the house.
I love Mayorga, but only the Cafe Cubano and Muy Macho...with the possible exception of Cafe Du Monde, I only buy dark roast coffee.

 

[Mark_E]

I used to be that way too - for decades. I would only drink the dark roasts.

I've learned the hard way that coffee brewing is extremely complex. One really needs to adjust his technique to fit the roast. For example, if one likes a dark roast, and then brews a medium light roast the same way he brews a dark roast, it will taste ridiculously weak, and therefore bad. However, if one makes an adjustment in the grind (finer grind) and the amount of coffee (more), the flavor will come out in the cup and what one thinks will be a weak cup will turn into a delicious cup. In that way, I've learned that I like all roasts now! Unfortunately, it took me nearly my whole life to figure this out.

 

[Rick P]

I used to be that way too - for decades. I would only drink the dark roasts.

I've learned the hard way that coffee brewing is extremely complex. One really needs to adjust his technique to fit the roast. For example, if one likes a dark roast, and then brews a medium light roast the same way he brews a dark roast, it will taste ridiculously weak, and therefore bad. However, if one makes an adjustment in the grind (finer grind) and the amount of coffee (more), the flavor will come out in the cup and what one thinks will be a weak cup will turn into a delicious cup. In that way, I've learned that I like all roasts now! Unfortunately, it took me nearly my whole life to figure this out.

Tell me about it.

I didn't care for coffee until Dad got stationed overseas and I developed a taste for good coffee when we lived in Naples.

I have a La Pavoni espresso machine from the late 70's, a French Press, a Chemex and a Bialetti moka pot.
I mainly use the Chemex....

 

[LMichaels]

I used to be that way too - for decades. I would only drink the dark roasts.

I've learned the hard way that coffee brewing is extremely complex. One really needs to adjust his technique to fit the roast. For example, if one likes a dark roast, and then brews a medium light roast the same way he brews a dark roast, it will taste ridiculously weak, and therefore bad. However, if one makes an adjustment in the grind (finer grind) and the amount of coffee (more), the flavor will come out in the cup and what one thinks will be a weak cup will turn into a delicious cup. In that way, I've learned that I like all roasts now! Unfortunately, it took me nearly my whole life to figure this out.

I would go for that, except one thing. IDK if I would appreciate the flavor profile of lighter roasts so then it would likely be $$$ wasted as I'd never use it and likely toss it in the trash

 

[Mark_E]

Tell me about it.

I didn't care for coffee until Dad got stationed overseas and I developed a taste for good coffee when we lived in Naples.

I have a La Pavoni espresso machine from the late 70's, a French Press, a Chemex and a Bialetti moka pot.
I mainly use the Chemex....

I used an 8-cup Chemex for years (actually four cups you know). I was never really happy with the cup but I think it was mostly because it was just too big. I would make four cups at once - two for me and two for my wife. But it just doesn't work well that way. Now I use a Hario V60 02 which is 700 ml. It makes two small cups at once very nicely. So I do it twice each morning.

 

[Mark_E]

I would go for that, except one thing. IDK if I would appreciate the flavor profile of lighter roasts so then it would likely be $$$ wasted as I'd never use it and likely toss it in the trash

Yeah - you need to be gifted a high quality lighter roast. Then spend some time figuring out the best way to brew it. Nobody is going to deliberately go out and buy a light roast if they like dark roasts.

 

[Mark_E]

Here's a good example. This is a light roast.

Coffee Review - Kona Noir by Big Island Coffee Roasters

Richly aromatic, deep-toned Kona SL-34 coffee produced by Kraig Lee and Franck Carisey and roasted by Big Island Coffee Roasters in Mountain View, Hawai'i.

www.coffeereview.com

Yet, it's rated a 95 on this site which means Excellent.

So, if it's rated excellent, and yet we think it's weak and tasteless, we are probably doing something wrong during the brewing process for that particular roast.

 

[Rick P]

I used an 8-cup Chemex for years (actually four cups you know). I was never really happy with the cup but I think it was mostly because it was just too big. I would make four cups at once - two for me and two for my wife. But it just doesn't work well that way. Now I use a Hario V60 02 which is 700 ml. It makes two small cups at once very nicely. So I do it twice each morning.

I'm barely patient enough to wait for my 3-cup to finish brewing...I can't imagine waiting on an 8-cup.

Fortunately, Fran doesn't drink coffee, and I only drink one 14 oz mug a day, so the 3-cup Chemex suits my needs.

 

[Rick P]

I used an 8-cup Chemex for years (actually four cups you know). I was never really happy with the cup but I think it was mostly because it was just too big. I would make four cups at once - two for me and two for my wife. But it just doesn't work well that way. Now I use a Hario V60 02 which is 700 ml. It makes two small cups at once very nicely. So I do it twice each morning.

I'm barely patient enough to wait for my 3-cup to finish brewing...I can't imagine waiting on an 8-cup.

Fortunately, Fran doesn't drink coffee, and I only drink one 14 oz mug a day, so the 3-cup Chemex suits my needs.

 

[JohnTak]

I found a local roaster and will try this next.

 

[Mark_E]

I'm barely patient enough to wait for my 3-cup to finish brewing...I can't imagine waiting on an 8-cup.

Fortunately, Fran doesn't drink coffee, and I only drink one 14 oz mug a day, so the 3-cup Chemex suits my needs.

Fran? lol - you've got to be kidding.

I bet Fran doesn't do FB either, does she?

 

[Rick P]

Fran? lol - you've got to be kidding.

I bet Fran doesn't do FB either, does she?

I know, right?

 

[Mark_E]

Enjoying Philz Coffee - Silken Splendor this morning. This is a medium roast with notes of toffee, chocolate, and citrus.

 

[LMichaels]

Well, I stopped by Costco today, wandered down the coffee aisle and not next to the standard House Blend they have Kirkland House Blend Espresso Roast. This is the first time I have seen it in their store, but sadly it looked like it came at the expense of having the Cameron's product I like so well.
The HB espresso is pretty good stuff though, but IMO I can't remember if I'd put it in the same league as the Cameron's. I don't need coffee right now or I'd have grabbed a bag. But I have the new Member's Mark House Blend on hand and a bag of the Cameron's
Next in line though to be opened is the Member's Mark in that red bag I pictured a few posts up. Fingers crossed on this one as the price is too good to be true, and the packaging is excellent

 

[Mark_E]

Sipping Hawaiian Harmony this morning. One of my favorites. Direct pour. This one is a medium-dark roast.

Hawaiian Harmony was originally a blend of coffees grown all over the Hawaiian Islands, primarily Maui. But with the devastating fires at Maui in August, 2023, the Maui operation was burnt/shut down. So this particular blend was revamped to a blend of primarily Ka'u and Kona coffees which are from the Big Island. This blend scored a 93 at coffeereview.com in April 2024, which is considered outstanding, although they have the roast listed as medium-light. Customers rate this coffee 4.8 stars out of five.

 

[LMichaels]

the Maui operation was burnt/shut down

So it was then a dark roast? Sorry I'll go to the corner now

 

[LMichaels]

So, I opened the red bag of Member's Mark beans today. This AM's brew though is 70% Kirkland and 30% MM. Reason is there was not enough in the grinder to do the whole pot. Tomorrow will be all MM.
Some observations. 1st if aroma is any indication these are gonna be some REALLY nice beans, 2nd don't seem to be quite as dark roasted as the Kirkland, 3rd not as oily as the Kirkland. Yeah a tiny bit but nowhere near what the Kirkland beans are, 4th yeah the pot is not fully MM but if this AM's brew is any indication, these are gonna be my new "go to". But, I will reserve that final decision until tomorrow when the grinder is cleared of Kirkland.
Other observation. I really love the packaging on the MM. Very sturdy well made bag, well sealed, and with a very sturdy zip lock. Pretty much negating necessity to use a secondary container. I REALLY like this A LOT.
While hardly an expert, these really seem to be a gourmet product at a budget price. Honestly a lot of the reason you would want to belong to a "Club" store. Not just larger purchases but really good products at prices found nowhere else

 

[LMichaels]

OK so the Member's Mark is a very nice cup of Joe. First brew with fully MM beans and honestly as good as anything else I've tried. Slightly different flavor profile than Kirkland House Blend. Which to me tends to have a more dark chocolate character. Though the MM is a slightly lighter roast (at least visibly). But, and AWFULLY good brew especially at $4.39 lb price point.

 

[Mark_E]

This morning, we enjoyed Cafe Cuatro Sompras from Puerto Rico. My wife had to go to PR for work and brought back 3 small bags of three coffees from San Juan. The best was the Cuatro Sompras. It stood apart from the other two. It is a medium roast. It was so good, we thought it was on par with the Hawaiian coffees. So when the bag ran out, we bought some from their site. We had to buy two 2lb bags to bring the price down and also get free shipping. They really need to market that coffee better. Most people don't know about it, and they never will, if it doesn't get advertised properly.

 

[Mark_E]

Agreed... some of that pretty high priced stuff isn't that good either. A friend of ours who lives in Hawaii gave me a bag of some type of Kona coffee that she claimed was some of the "best coffee in the world" It smelled like those god-awful hotel filter pods and tasted worse. Into the trash it went. I can't abide weak or off flavored coffee. I'll go without or drink tea before a bad cup of coffee. I try to buy whatever is on sale at Costco. My regulars are Mayorga Cubano, Peet's Major Dickason's & San Francisco Bay French Roast. Sadly, they rarely go on sale.

I wonder if she tried the coffee before she sent it to you.

I was reading about Kona day before yesterday, and apparently, it's easy to get scammed. That might be the explanation of what happened to you. Here is a paste from what I was reading:

...the Kona name sells the coffee, not the quality of the cup. For example, the most widely available “Kona” coffees sold in Hawaii are Kona blends that, by law, only need to contain 10% actual Kona coffee. Thus the Kona coffee inside these bags exists for only one reason, which is to legally justify the Kona name on the outside of the bag. The rest of the coffee in the bag could be, and is, from anywhere: Central America, Brazil, Colombia. Often these non-Kona blend components are inexpensive, low-quality, even tainted coffees; occasionally they are good coffees, so good that 10% Kona blends sometimes taste better than much more expensive but still carelessly produced 100% Kona coffees. Because, again, the name sells the coffee, regardless of its quality. Finally, there are the “Kona Style” or “Kona Roast” blends that contain no actual Kona coffee whatsoever.

Hawaii and Kona Coffee Ratings and Reviews – Coffee

Click here for Hawaii coffee ratings, reviews and information about coffees from Kona, K’au and other Hawaii coffee growing regions.

www.coffeereview.com