Coffee

Wow PE! I wouldn't even want to hazard a guess at what one of those custom rigs would set me back. :eek: Beautiful work.
 
cchu518 said:
Has anyone ever picked up beans from the big barrels at Whole Foods they usually sell for $9.99 per lb.? Thoughts?
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We don't have a Whole Foods here, but I have tried the barrel coffee at one of the health food stores. I do not have a very discerning pallet, so it tasted fine to me.
I don't get down there very often, so I buy most of my coffee at Safeway. I have not been to the new Sprouts yet, so I don't know if they sell bulk coffee.

When I first realized that there was something to grinding your own beans at home, I did a little reading on coffee. The three big things that ruined roasted coffee were light,
air and moisture. I was kind of surprised the first time I went into a chain coffee shop in Santa Barbara and saw their coffee in open glass displays. (I think it was Billy
Jeans or something like that.) I buy my beans in sealed bags or cans. They may not be super fresh, but they are consistent.
 
Today, my wife brought home from the commissary Kauai Coffee medium roast Arabica beans.
 
Has anyone gave a thought about their water? Too hard, too soft, too acidic, too alkaline, no minerals, and chlorine can affect the taste.

I have always used reverse osmosis water but from what I have been reading it can leach minerals like zinc, brass, and copper. It has been inconclusive with reverse osmosis that it may or may not affect your health but be aware of using it in your pipes. Distilled water can be worse at leaching metals and has no minerals that give it a flat taste.

You can do your own home filtration system or buy purified bottled water with minerals. I have read some good things about purified bottled baby water such as Gerber pure. Not on sale it costs around $1.80 a gallon. Its advantages include stricter QC and a neutral pH.
 
PrimitiveEnergy said:
Has anyone gave a thought about their water? Too hard, too soft, too acidic, too alkaline, no minerals, and chlorine can affect the taste.

I have always used reverse osmosis water but from what I have been reading it can leach minerals like zinc, brass, and copper. It has been inconclusive with reverse osmosis that it may or may not affect your health but be aware of using it in your pipes. Distilled water can be worse at leaching metals and has no minerals that give it a flat taste.

You can do your own home filtration system or buy purified bottled water with minerals. I have read some good things about purified bottled baby water such as Gerber pure. Not on sale it costs around $1.80 a gallon. Its advantages include stricter QC and a neutral pH.
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I just use Brita filtered water and don't give it much more thought beyond that. I purge my cheap little machine before making an espresso to keep any off flavors from the plastics that I'm sure is in its construction.
 
PrimitiveEnergy said:
Has anyone gave a thought about their water? Too hard, too soft, too acidic, too alkaline, no minerals, and chlorine can affect the taste.

I have always used reverse osmosis water but from what I have been reading it can leach minerals like zinc, brass, and copper. It has been inconclusive with reverse osmosis that it may or may not affect your health but be aware of using it in your pipes. Distilled water can be worse at leaching metals and has no minerals that give it a flat taste.

You can do your own home filtration system or buy purified bottled water with minerals. I have read some good things about purified bottled baby water such as Gerber pure. Not on sale it costs around $1.80 a gallon. Its advantages include stricter QC and a neutral pH.
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Try this..........

http://www.aquarain.com/
 
Finally made it through all of my coffee reserves and my favorite was Gregory's coffee. It has a strong chocolate and nutty flavor. Big thanks to CCHU518 for the beans.

I have discovered I don't like espressos with too acidic and flowery flavors. I guess my taste buds still like a more traditional drink but I still haven't completely given up on fruity drinks. So I went on another coffee tour of Los Angeles in the Melrose and farmers market district. I wasn't for sure if my taste buds were previously influenced but I didn't like any of the drinks because I thought they were weak, over extracted, and bitter but I was able to narrow down my choices of beans with my new knowledge.

First stop was Go get em tiger which is a sister shop of G+B coffee. They use a Mazzer Robur grinder and a La Marzocco espresso machine.


Tasted weak, over extracted, and bitter with little crema. Last place.
 
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That's awesome! Gregory's is actually downstairs from me. I forget if I sent you the Rwanda or the House blend from Colombia, Peru, Guatamala...the house blend is my personal favorite out of almost any coffee I've had anywhere. They will be doing mail order soon too! The company is a start up and devoted to purchasing shade coffee!
 
cchu518 said:
That's awesome! Gregory's is actually downstairs from me. I forget if I sent you the Rwanda or the House blend from Colombia, Peru, Guatamala...the house blend is my personal favorite out of almost any coffee I've had anywhere. They will be doing mail order soon too! The company is a start up and devoted to purchasing shade coffee!
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Its was the Greg's house blend and so far is my favorite. Looking forward to future home delivery!
 
2nd stop was Andante coffee roasters. They use a Compak pro ginder and a La Marzocco espresso machine.

Watery and weak but came in 1st place on this trip. They were creative enough to make a flyswatter with a wooden stirring stick and a coffee sleeve but not enough to stop a fly landing on my drink though.:grumpy:

 
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Coffee Commisary Stop 3 was another watery drink. Mazzer Robur grinder and La Marzocco espresso machine.






Sop 4 was the Nespresso store, sorry no pictures. I wanted to try out their Vertuoline that has the barcode reader and centrifuge that swirls the grinds and water creating more creama.
I tried their strongest espresso pod they had. It did have a lot of creama and tasted better than the other pods from other makers I have tried in the past. It doesn't beat the traditional espresso machines but it appears ok for consistency and people in a hurry.
Their sales ladies sounded like they knew more about coffee than the Baristas at the traditional cafes, they were nicer, and made sure you were help out asap.
 
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5th stop Single Origin. Mazzer Robur grinder and La Marzocco espresso machine.


Watery and weak.


6th and last stop Cafe Demitasse. By the time I got here it was closed at 8pm and I wasn't able to buy any coffee.
Their cool looking siphon brewer.
 
Here is what I had this morning. You can't beat freshly roasted coffee, it was excellent.
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Love yirgacheffe! It's really cool that single origin coffees are getting out there all over the place. Means that a sustainable industry emerges out of those areas!
 
cchu518 said:
Love yirgacheffe! It's really cool that single origin coffees are getting out there all over the place. Means that a sustainable industry emerges out of those areas!
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I agree and of the single origins yirgacheffe is by far my favorite.
 
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