Coffee

[Ryan D]

We have a coffee maker that has the ability to grind the beans and we get the Kirkland Signature House Blend (I think) which is like $10 or so for a two pound bag. I'm just starting to drink coffee regularly and had to make some Yuban that we had because we were out of beans and I could taste the difference.

What are you guys drinking that is around the same price point?

[dieselraver]

We have a coffee maker that has the ability to grind the beans and we get the Kirkland Signature House Blend (I think) which is like $10 or so for a two pound bag. I'm just starting to drink coffee regularly and had to make some Yuban that we had because we were out of beans and I could taste the difference.

What are you guys drinking that is around the same price point?

I don't know if its around the same price point but the Kirkland Colombian is pretty damn good.

i don't buy preground which is what your house blend one looks like. plus its also mild, it depends on if you like mild, robust, french roast etc.




my normal coffee that is pricey (around $20-30/>2Lbs) is the lavaza

[Ryan D]

That may not be the specific coffee we get then because whatever version of the Kirkland we have is not pre ground. I think I'll give that Columbian a try next time.

[smittyATL]

I like Starbuck's bold and extra-bold coffees with a fine grind through the drip pot.

The wife can usually source these for less than $5/bag.

[roccostud]

I have been in the bad habit of buying my coffee on the way to work. Today I bought a french press and a half lb of starbux blond. It would be nice to find another blond roast to try. it will pay itself off in a little while.

[Ryan D]

I don't know if its around the same price point but the Kirkland Colombian is pretty damn good.

i don't buy preground which is what your house blend one looks like. plus its also mild, it depends on if you like mild, robust, french roast etc.

We were at Costco on Friday night and I didn't see that.



This is the exact bag that we get. It's around $13 for two pounds. I saw that Costco also carries Jose's coffee beans. Anyone have any experience with that product? I want to try it but don't want to spend $18 on 3 pounds of coffee that I've never had.

[jnm2.0t]

+



When I started using the Chemex I realized just how stale the coffee you buy in the store is. That bag you bought, even from Starbucks and especially at a grocery store, could be months old or even older. Pre-ground is even worse. Moved over to buying from local artisinal type places and saw a marked improvement but roasted coffee is best within the first 5-7 days so I am going to start roasting my own. Only takes 5-7 minutes a batch in a popcorn popper and the green beans are cheap so I figured may as well.

http://www.sweetmarias.com/index.php

[landon]

^^this.

roasting coffee yourself is not difficult, and you can get started by simply using a popcorn popper. i buy all of my green coffee beens from sweetmarias as well, about $7/pound shipped. the difference between fresh roasted coffee and "off the shelf roasted" is HUGE.

i do still get some bags of starbucks beans (my brother works for the company and through him i pay about $9/pound), however it pales in comparison to roasting my own.

[jnm2.0t]

Nice, good to know I'm not the only other person on here that does it. What do you use to roast?

Working through my first shipment from Sweet Maria's still, have 1lb ea of:
Ecuador Organic Espindola Small Producers
Bolivia Beneficio Buenaventura Lot 45
Sumatra Gayo Mandheling (drinking a cup right now)
Kenya Nyeri Ngunguru which I am really looking forward to roasting but making sure I perfect the process before I do it.

First thing I noticed from home roasted coffee is the bloom just explodes, everything store bought just sort of puffs up or is totally lifeless.

[BetterByDesign]

Today I bought a french press and a half lb of starbux blond. It would be nice to find another blond roast to try. it will pay itself off in a little while.

I'd like a TALL BLONDE please.

And I was dissappointed. Nice marketing Starbucks.

[landon]

Nice, good to know I'm not the only other person on here that does it. What do you use to roast?

Working through my first shipment from Sweet Maria's still, have 1lb ea of:
Ecuador Organic Espindola Small Producers
Bolivia Beneficio Buenaventura Lot 45
Sumatra Gayo Mandheling (drinking a cup right now)
Kenya Nyeri Ngunguru which I am really looking forward to roasting but making sure I perfect the process before I do it.

First thing I noticed from home roasted coffee is the bloom just explodes, everything store bought just sort of puffs up or is totally lifeless.

Still working though my first order from Sweet Maria's as well. I bought a sample pack (4 different 1lb bags) of both "regular" beans, and "espresso" blends. I brew drip (pour over) most of the time. I also make espresso and lattes on occasion, which is why I got a sampler of each.

I am using a Presto Poplite popcorn popper to roast. This popper is a bit too hot right out of the gate for proper roasting, so I have started to use a long (100 ft) extension cord, as well as a wet towel underneath the popper and it has made the roast time go from about 3-4 mins, up to 7-8 mins, which is much much better.

I am really enjoying home roasting and might upgrade to an actual roaster at some point, but this has been working pretty good for me and I will roll with it until it doesn't.

What are you roasting with?

[jnm2.0t]

I have the nostalgia from bed bath & beyond. It is roasting to a light vienna in about 4:15, first crack around 2-2:15. I like it that fast though, we drink a lot of coffee and with such small batches making it take any longer would be a serious pain in the ass. My brother in law uses the whirly pop on the stove but roasting makes too much smoke for me, so I do it on the patio. I also do it with the lid to the popper off so the chaff blows itself out easily and I can stir it regularly. That may also let some heat out and somewhat slow the times. I get pretty consistent and predictable roasts though, not perfect but workable.

So far the Sumatra was my favorite, earthy and chocolatey how I like it. The Bolivia was my least favorite, there really was a sort of floweryness to it, almost like someone that drinks Earl Gray tea would like it. Just drinking the Ecuador right now and it's pretty decent. Not as big as I tend to like them but a good coffee. To me the tasting notes that Sweet Maria's provides are pretty spot on. Going to be trying out the Kenya soon.

[Ryan D]

Roasting my own coffee may be something I'll look into down the road but right now this is cheap and effective for us.

[jnm2.0t]

Roasting my own coffee may be something I'll look into down the road but right now this is cheap and effective for us.

Green beans are only marginally more per pound than your stale Costco bulk bag, and air popper is $20. If you like coffee the sooner you make the transition the better.

[jnm2.0t]

I am using a Presto Poplite popcorn popper to roast. This popper is a bit too hot right out of the gate for proper roasting, so I have started to use a long (100 ft) extension cord, as well as a wet towel underneath the popper and it has made the roast time go from about 3-4 mins, up to 7-8 mins, which is much much better.

Just got the Sweet Maria's mailer on roasting time between first and second crack and I think I am going to try a 50ft extension cord given your experience with a 100ft.

[VeeDub_L_U]

Kicking horse has amazing coffee

[synthsis]

Remember that Coffee thread in OT, glad I found this one. I'm heading out to SanFran for work next week and I snagged a place a couple blocks from Ritual Coffee, so I'll have a nice shop to call my own for a week.

I also picked up a vintage, US Made Chemex off of Craigs a couple weeks ago. Much easier to make a larger 2-person batch than using my Hario V60 for when the wife and I both want a cup.

Thirdly, I put my money where my mouth is and signed up for one of those Open Source espresso machines that were on Kickstarter back in January. They are Arduino PID controlled and have an SD card slot on the side. Mine should be built in a couple months.

[jnm2.0t]

I don't drink espresso but those are some pretty cool machines.

What I want next is to build a bigger, better, cheaper home air roaster. That or just buy one of the BBQ drum ones.

----

Oh... and speaking of Ritual, I have never been (hate going into SF) but you may find this interesting.

The Bay Area has been at the forefront of a coffee renaissance in recent years, and local boutique companies like Blue Bottle, Ritual and Four Barrel are now spreading their roasting philosophy - and their coffee beans - across the country. We talk to some of the entrepreneurs behind the so-called "third-wave" coffee movement.

link
http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201201091000

[synthsis]

I love SanFran, but when I go, I go for business so I stay in the good part of the city and don't need a car, but I can see how locals would hate getting there as traffic looks terrible. Let me know how you make out with roasting, I'd be up for sponsoring some beans in exchange for you roasting them and sending them to me

[dawgpound]

http://www.blackriverroasters.com/

These are great friends of mine here in Jersey. I have turned into a full time coffee drinker. This coffee is super good. I grind every morning and then use my Aeropress. Check it out.

[flygliii]

We are fortunate to have locally (south of SF, on the Peninsula) a roaster that supplies lots of restaurants, cafes, etc., in this area and they have some awesome coffees. No 'flavored' coffees (not that there's anything wrong with that), just beans. They have them from all over the world, different roasts, some fair trade, shade grown, organic, some not, and several combos. Great thing is, because they are a somewhat small/family operation, their prices are great, they have the time to teach people about coffee, blends, etc., and let you/help you customize blends. I've been able to come up with some great blends that I'll use at home, for gifts, at work, etc., and they never fail, and at near Costco prices.

Perhaps you might find something like them near you or willing to ship?

[jnm2.0t]

Had my first taste of Ritual Coffee today and I have to say I was not at all impressed. I do like their roast on date for the coffee they sell and it is only 2 days old, but overall the coffee was very unimpressive and almost just plain bad.

[jtls8]

I have a supplier who roasts premium beans and delivers it to my door the next day for $11/lb.

[synthsis]

Had my first taste of Ritual Coffee today and I have to say I was not at all impressed.

That's surprising. How did you have it? Espresso? Pour Over? I brought home a bag of their Rwandan Sweet tooth and it was pretty good.

For my birthday the wife got me one of the snazzy new Barazta Encore grinders. Man, it's soooo much better than my old Cuisinart conical burr grinder.

[jnm2.0t]

Pour over Rwanda, Abakunda Kawa. Sweet Tooth looks like it is Colombia. I should have read the description, I really don't go for flowery or citrus coffees "This coffee is brilliant and aromatic, with flavors of pink grapefruit, toasted marshmallow and boysenberry." I prefer deep, chocolate, earthy like Sumatra. I get that Ritual is into the lighter roasts that are more geographically identifiable but man, this cup I had was just so bad I couldn't believe they take it that far and sell it to the public that way. I bought a half pound, again should have read, and it was just as bad at home. It wasn't an even roast either and still had a fair amount of chaff which surprised me.

[synthsis]

I go for the darker, chocolatey stuff myself. I'm dead hooked on Intelligentsia Black Cat Direct Trade at this point. I can get it from Amazon Prime 2 day free shipping for $13.XX/bag.

[synthsis]

Going to my first real Coffee Cupping this Thursday. We did some brief testing at the Slow Bar at Intelligentsia Venice but this is the first time we'll be going to a dedicated event. Really excited. I'm bringing my camera, gonna shoot the event.

[dieselraver]

i live for this stuff. just had a cup earlier

[jnm2.0t]

Going to my first real Coffee Cupping this Thursday. We did some brief testing at the Slow Bar at Intelligentsia Venice but this is the first time we'll be going to a dedicated event. Really excited. I'm bringing my camera, gonna shoot the event.

Checked your gear, be sure to take the 10-24

[synthsis]

Checked your gear, be sure to take the 10-24

mos def. that lens is pretty much bolted onto my DSLR at this point.

[caragon]

I consider myself a coffee addict slash semi-connesiuer. I have tried many brands and I am currently hooked on coffees from Le Colombe Terrafacione. Many high-end restaurants in New York serve their coffees. I love the Corsica Dark Roast at $11.25/lb. plus shipping. Give it a try you won't regret it.

[flygliii]

i live for this stuff. just had a cup earlier

Good stuff, there. I haven't had it in a while and might be inspired to try to find some!

[synthsis]

Good stuff, there. I haven't had it in a while and might be inspired to try to find some!

anything that comes pre-ground can not be good.

[synthsis]

I'm dumping this here as a pseudo blog-post for some of my Twitter peeps.

In an effort to get people to drink better coffee I'm going to break down a couple easy (and affordable) ways to make a decent cup of coffee. I know you're all lazy so I'm going to give you links to everything you're going to need as well.

Clever just released the newest version of their single-cup immersion brewing system and for anyone who wants to dabble in the world of handmade coffee this is probably the easiest way to go.

http://prima-coffee.com/brewer/cleve...e-dripper-abid



$16, won't break the bank and uses run of the mill #4 coffee filters.

The other part of this setup is a scale. Doesn't need to be fancy, here's one for $15:
http://www.amazon.com/Epica-Accupro-...=kitchen+scale

There you go. $31 and you are on your way to decent coffee. These are the things that can be used over and over again.

Now onto the coffee. This is where person tastes are going to vary greatly and budget will come into play as well. When making a single cup I prefer something with a pronounced sweet, fruit note. You're probably all laughing at me at this point. "Fruit coffee? C'mon dude." Here's one example of such a bean:


http://www.gocoffeego.com/products/B...ural-1169.html

At $16/lb it's not the most expensive coffee out there but it's definitely not Maxwell House, that's for sure. You can buy this coffee whole bean or pre-ground if you do not want to get involved in grinding your own. This would be the easiest way to see if you want to step up your coffee game before you invest $100+ in an adjustable conical burr grinder like the Encore (which I own):
http://prima-coffee.com/grinder/bara...coffee-grinder



The key to trying this is a little bit a patience and some faith to try something new. Drink it black. take small sips and think about what you're drinking. This first time I had an Ethiopian Harrar I thought I was drinking Fruit Loops, mind.blown.

So there it is, a pretty quick writeup on how to get into the world of good coffee on the cheap and easy.

[The Red Baron]

I paid a visit to Gorilla Coffee in Brooklyn this weekend and picked up a few of their roasts. All roasted in house within 2 weeks.

I've only dipped into their espresso blend so far...delicious.

I'm more of an espresso drinker than drip coffee....I tend to stick with illy & lavazza.