Roasting coffee while looking at threads


 
GrantT said:
Nice little cooling setup! Cheap and effective!
Click to expand...
I was telling Rich about this, about a month ago I got the opportunity to go into a local high school as a special guest in a culinary arts class to teach and do a demo around coffee and coffee roasting. For each of the 6 period we roasted a half pound batch in the Behmor. Before that I was just taken the roasted coffee outside over a small fan and cooling it the reverse way. I was in a coffee chaff snow globe for the first minute or so. I knew this would not work for the school so I had to come up with a different system. This is what I came up with and it does a great job. I expected the kids to pick on me for it, but no one did. I haven't gone back outside to use the other method since.
 
Rich G said:
I've spent more time than I'd care to count on home-barista! :) A ways back i refurbed an old La Pavoni lever, and to say that thing is hard to produce good/consistent espresso would be putting it lightly! I know the Silvia is a good entry level machine, but like most in the category, they can be less than easy to work with. It's only me drinking coffee in the house, so hard to justify too much expense.....
Click to expand...
We got started on Pavonis back around 1988 when my wife brought one home after bringing it in for consideration at the catalog company she was working for.
We had a couple for about 20 years when I bought a pair of non working Livias and made one good one from the two.
One son has a Quick mill double boiler , a daughter has a Bezzera Duo, and the two other sons have Pavonis.
 
Guys,
I wasn't even looking at espresso machines and this come up out of nowhere😲😲😲. Read the description. It makes me want it so much more. I believe food (and especially coffee) is to be shared in every way. To possibly get something that someone loved that much and get to keep putting more love into it. I just wrote a longish message asking for the opportunity to purchase their father's espresso machine. I will keep you guys posted.


Screenshot_20231107-230859.png

Screenshot_20231107-231011.png
 
Michael Richards said:
Guys,
I wasn't even looking at espresso machines and this come up out of nowhere😲😲😲. Read the description. It makes me want it so much more. I believe food (and especially coffee) is to be shared in every way. To possibly get something that someone loved that much and get to keep putting more love into it. I just wrote a longish message asking for the opportunity to purchase their father's espresso machine. I will keep you guys posted.


View attachment 81784

View attachment 81785
Click to expand...
Looks like quite the piece of equipment
 
That price is a giveaway, and these are great machines. Welcome to Livialand!
The control box on this “automatic “ version has been known to give problems but is available online, as are most other parts.
 
I am so excited about what I am roasting this morning. It is an aged Sumatra. I have never seen raw coffee this color before.
IMG_20231120_085751.jpg

It has been aged 24 months and I am going to use it to create my first holiday blend. I am going two parts of the aged Sumatra and one part Guatemalan Huehutenango.
IMG_20231120_085736.jpg

The aged Sumatra smells like cocco powder and ceder ever before I roasted it. Just finished roasting the first half, took it into rolling second crack.
IMG_20231120_091558.jpg

Working on roasting the second half of the aged Sumatra right now, I will add a picture when I get the whole blend done.
 
Hehe...the espresso black hole. Just a warning....REALLY good espresso is 90% grinder and 10% espresso machine.

i.e. you can make great espresso (better than most coffee shops) with a really good grinder and a relatively cheap espresso machine. With a poor quality grinder, no espresso machine will make a really good espresso.
 
GrantT said:
Hehe...the espresso black hole. Just a warning....REALLY good espresso is 90% grinder and 10% espresso machine.

i.e. you can make great espresso (better than most coffee shops) with a really good grinder and a relatively cheap espresso machine. With a poor quality grinder, no espresso machine will make a really good espresso.
Click to expand...
Yep, I am already learning that 24 hours into it, so that me down down down, what grinders do I need to start looking for? What am I looking for in a grinder since my capresso just ain't going to cut it?
 
The majority of espresso enthusiasts are looking for a few different things...

1) Flat burr (instead of conical). It has gone back and forth over the years, but consensus now is flat burr grinders produce the most desired flavors for espresso. The bigger the burrs, typically the better - more clarity etc.

2) Low retention. Most coffee nuts want to put x grams of coffee into their grinder, and get exactly x out, without leaving any behind to get stale etc. A coffee shop where they are pulling hundreds of shots a day does not have to worry about this, but home use creates poor workflow.

3) Single dosing. Again, most enthusiasts keep their beans in airtight containers, or pre-measure into smaller bean tubes, and also might have 3-4 different beans as well (couple origins, a decaf etc), so they want a grinder WITHOUT a hopper so they can dump in their desired bean of the day, grind it, and drink it. Then, perhaps change bean to a different one to pull a different type...having a grinder that does not single dose makes this very annoying.

Luckily, there are a bunch of newer, lower cost grinders recently hitting the market in the last year or so that try to meet all these...this one seems to be one of the better "Under 500" ones... Turin DF64 Gen 2. These lower cost flat burr grinders typically use burrs around 64mm. Note, some grinders let you choose different burrs at the time of purchase- some more "general purpose", some more for espresso etc. Drip coffee is far less demanding on a grinder.

That said, if you have the budget (talking into the $2k market) there are a few larger, flat burr grinders that are on the elite level. I'll never have one unfortunately. They use burrs in the 83mm - 100mm range, and are built for lifetime use....these are hand down to your grandkid kinda grinders.

 
Last edited:
Grant,

I have gone pretty far into the rabbit's hole (if I haven't been cooking the last two days, I have been digging) and here is where I landed. Let me know what you think before I press the purchase button.

I have decided to go manual verses electronic to get more bang for my buck entering this deep deep hole. That led me to really thinking about the 1zpresso j max and then as I researched (more) I came to to the KINgrinder K4 which many say is extreme similar to the 1zpresso j max (just about half the price), just with the 1zpresso j max having greater setting steps. I know that I still am in the conical burrs and not flat burrs zone, but I really think this will let me through the door and into the espresso making room while I then look for a used flat burr electric machine for a good price.

Let me know what you think.

Michael
 
Michael Richards said:
Grant,

I have gone pretty far into the rabbit's hole (if I haven't been cooking the last two days, I have been digging) and here is where I landed. Let me know what you think before I press the purchase button.

I have decided to go manual verses electronic to get more bang for my buck entering this deep deep hole. That led me to really thinking about the 1zpresso j max and then as I researched (more) I came to to the KINgrinder K4 which many say is extreme similar to the 1zpresso j max (just about half the price), just with the 1zpresso j max having greater setting steps. I know that I still am in the conical burrs and not flat burrs zone, but I really think this will let me through the door and into the espresso making room while I then look for a used flat burr electric machine for a good price.

Let me know what you think.

Michael
Click to expand...

Hehe....funny you bring this up as I also have a J Max too. I will say that the manual operation does get old after a while, depending on how many shots you do daily. I like it, but found it a little fussy - what I mean is that when grinding, I would get slightly different results depending on how I hold the grinder - either vertically, or at an angle. It does have a large diameter chamber so maintaining a good grip can be challenging unless you have large paws. I also purchased a J-MAX for my son as a gift (he is in Toronto) as he was getting into coffee and wanted to try something on a budget as well. He likes it, but does still want an electric...

Grinding with the grinder at an angle makes it physically easier (as I think fewer beans are entering the burrs) but I also seem to get a less consistent grind. Because I like very light roasted beans (which tend to be harder) the grinding can be a little tough. Darker roasts grinder easier so you might want to take that into account.

TBH, I have not used my J-MAX in some time as I find I actually get just as good (if not better) results with my "cheapo" Shardor grinder that I purchased on Amazon. I originally purchased it for doing drip coffee. This grinder came up in other threads with @LMichaels and was discussed there too. I am actually pretty happy with the Shardor, though it is a conical, for espresso as well. Our main grinder is a Macap flat burr which I have had for 10+ years...it will last forever which is the payback for getting into the "commercial" grade grinders. It does not do well for retention or single dosing though so the workflow is not great. i.e. you get what you pay for. But, when I want a decaf or shot of something different, I use the Shardor.

This was the Shardor....I (which I never do) purchased the 2 year Amazon warranty as I was highly doubtful this thing would last...but still going strong, static-free, and easy to change between drip and espresso.


Based on my very positive experience with that one, I remaining highly tempted to get this one for increased number of grind settings, but I am not sure if there is still enough in the "espresso" range to make any difference vs the cheaper grinder.


Sorry, probably just added more conflict in a decision...I would suggest make sure you have a good return policy in case you are not happy? Manual grinders seem to be a love/hate thing in the end.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top