I've been learning about coffee roasting for six months or so, starting with a hot air popcorn machine, and now using a modified device that offers more control (a FreshRoast SR500). I have always loved the machines and mechanisms involved in making coffee, especially those with art deco styling. Sadly, they don't always work as well as they look! I'm on my third Saeco Vienna machine, and I keep resuscitating this one with spare parts from Amazon and eBay, as Saeco has been bought by Philips and they no longer make them. It simply makes the best coffee I have tasted. I have experimented with semi-automatic machines like those from Breville, but no matter how I roast, how I grind, how I dose and how I tamp, the Vienna outperforms me. The only complaint I have is probably not the machine's fault - I don't get massive amounts of crema, and I suspect the green beans I buy online are not as fresh as they might be, but for $9CAN/lb, I shouldn't complain.
Columbian Supremo beans seem to be the most versatile, although I can't use oily dark roasted beans in a superautomatic machine without gumming up the works. Consequently I listen for the second crack and stop there at a full city roast. Beans from Guatemala, Panama, Kenya, Bali and Ethiopia have also passed through my hands, but I still find the Columbians best.
BTW, at this time of year, there is a special treat to be had: egg nog lattes. Try one and enjoy!
Coffee
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- Posts: 3102
- Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:55 pm
Re: Coffee
Ah, coffee, I love it. I wish I had the time to pursue what you have done.
Sounds wonderful and I hope to get there one day.
Chris
Sounds wonderful and I hope to get there one day.
Chris
Re: Coffee
I waited for over thirty years and we finally have a great coffee house in my small town. When I want coffee, I go there. At home, I make tea.
I really like egg nog and I have tried (with great hope and eager anticipation) egg nog lattes, but for my idiosyncratic taste, this flavor and that of coffee do not blend well.
- Murray
I really like egg nog and I have tried (with great hope and eager anticipation) egg nog lattes, but for my idiosyncratic taste, this flavor and that of coffee do not blend well.
- Murray
Re: Coffee
I’ve been buying whole beans from Bixby Coffee Co. by mail. They seem much fresher than anything I’ve gotten in a store. They claim to send it out the same day it’s roasted. The aroma when I grind those beans is heavenly.
Jim
Re: Coffee
I love coffee, but I’m lazy, therefore I buy my beans (Komodo Dragon) from Starbucks and make my coffee in an Italian Mocha pot.
Bryan
- fallingwickets
- Clive the Thumb
- Posts: 8813
- Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2006 11:59 am
Re: Coffee
ditto on the lazy/buy part!but I’m lazy, therefore I buy my beans (Komodo Dragon) from Starbucks
I used to buy a few bags of italian roast a week, but i switched to their veranda blend several months ago and enjoy it enough not to be looking for something 'better'
clive
de gustibus non est disputandum
Re: Coffee
A far cry from roasting and grinding, but I've been enjoying a fresh 3 pound bag of ground Kona that my daughter brought me from Hawaii. I'm talking Keurig. I love coffee, but haven't felt the need to roast and grind. I enjoy reading what you fellows post in that regard.
Gary
SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444