In this thread you can share what new coffee, equipment, techniques etc. you have tried this week.
What have you enjoyed and what didn't you like? Have you learned anything new?
In this thread you can share what new coffee, equipment, techniques etc. you have tried this week.
What have you enjoyed and what didn't you like? Have you learned anything new?
22 Comments
Vibi@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 5 pts · 6d
At the moment, I unfortunately have to space how often I have caffeinated coffee. I had been exploring decaf options (mainly from the grocery store), aaand, expectedly, the experience is very far from the gesha and other premium roasts I previously enjoyed for my pour over. It's still nice to perform the ritual and have something warm to drink with breakfast, but I had been missing the dynamic, delicate, and distinct notes in a cup.
I decided to research and order some decaf beans from a specialty roaster! I settled on Luminous Coffee and, on the 30th, ordered a bag of their Colombia EA Decaf LYCHEE PEACH CO-FERMENT. It shipped and was delivered super fast! I absolutely love the bag and the kangaroo pouch holding the info card. I usually wait a few weeks after the roast date to start using beans in a pour over, but I also like trying them at different times to see how the flavors evolve.
On the 4th (5 days after roast), I opened the bag and ground up some beans. Very unique sensory experience from start to finish. The whole beans had a strong peppery/spice-y aroma along with a bit of... funkiness? Ground, highlighted those smells even more. It wasn't off-putting, just not something I've ever really experienced from coffee before. I could describe the smells as sharp.
Now- the taste, soooo different than anything I've had before. Buttery, peppery, and a sort-of acidic sweetness (really hard for me to articulate). I can fully see how it all can translate to lychee, but it was just so strange. The peppery aspects were expected. I usually prefer anaerobic processing for that little tingle, but it was more present here than any others I've had. The butteriness was completely new to me, and I'm curious if that's part of the decaffeination process or an innate aspect of the beans.
Starting next week, I'll be going through the bag as my main morning coffee; I'm super curious how the experience might differ now that the beans have rested more!
godot@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 5d
I feel your pain. It’s a struggle to find good decaf. Even amazing third wave roasters usually fall very short. My usual is Counter Culture’s Slow Motion, which is good, but it’s kind of boring.
I want some decaf in my next Brandywine purchase. Their manipulation in all four or five of their coffees I’ve tried has been really artful and they have a broad product selection. I’m hopeful it will be better than most.
Is Luminous better enough than what else you’ve tried that I should try it myself?
Vibi@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 3 pts · 4d
Yess, there's been my complaint with most decafs I've tried - very linear and not dynamic. I had my second cup of it this morning with the beans at their peak. It was a much more balanced and enjoyable experience; the flavors had calmed, were a lot nicer, and weren't as off-putting... more crisp than buttery and peppery 🤭 It is a very sweet cup though and definitely very different than any caffeinated coffee I've had with a similar taste profile. I do think, just for the experience of how unique it is, it might be worth ordering a bag! I'm still not sure if the flavor characteristics are from the decaf process 🤔 I think there's one or two decaf roasts from Black & White Coffee Roasters that use a similar process, so I'm going to order one of those to see (taste)!
godot@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2d
I’m glad you wrote that. Black and White is local to me. I’ve had some of their decaf before and they’re one of the specialty roasters that disappointed me. However, that was several years ago and apparently in the past two years they’ve moved to EA decaffeination. I picked up a bag of their Sugarcane Decaf today and just had my first cup. It was roasted in mid-July, so it’s nicely rested.
It’s a medium plus roast, so I brewed at 90C. Otherwise a pretty standard V60 technique: 40 second bloom, 250g water to 15g coffee. Drawdown was okay, roughly 3:30, I’ll go a bit coarser next time.
It’s night and day better than the last time I had their decaf. Surprisingly nice acidity, distinct cocoa notes, some sweetness. I like their tasting notes. Maybe a bit thin for the flavors in the cup. They rate it a roughly four of ten on their clean to funky scale. Which… maybe? It’s not very funky, but it does have a lot of rich classic coffee flavor.
I’ll certainly be picking up some of their more boutique decaf next time I’m near somewhere that carries it. The Sebastian Ramirez coferments can be a bit too fruity for me but I’d like to try the Ethiopian natural process that’s currently on their website.
fritobugger2017@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 6d
Somewhat recently I started using less hot water with all my brews and I am quite happy with the results. I am now targeting the 90 to 93C range for both the Clever Dripper at the office and the V60 or Konos MDK-41 at home on the weekends. The results are cups with more flavor and less astringency.
Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 6d
I'm messing with soup shots past few weeks. I've seemed to dial things into either super tangy with a monotone fruit note (bean dependent, but cherry, lime, raspberry as examples) or a bit more bland but not unlike a pretty decent espresso shot. I haven't found any cafes that serve these so I'm really poking around in the dark on the flavor profile here and not sure whether I've nailed it or not.
Cherry@piefed.social · 1 pts · 5d
soup shots?
Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 5d
Spro-Only, Un-Pressurized (SOUP)
Lance Hendrick has been big proponent of it. It's a increasingly popular home brew method, but not something I've seen many cafes adopt yet.
BurntWits@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 6d
I’m still mostly playing with my espresso machine, but I did do a couple pour overs too. I’ve got new beans from a roaster in Quebec, they’re a lot darker and more oily than I was expecting but they’re pretty good for espresso. My pour overs are with a bean from a New Brunswick roaster and are more of a medium roast.
For equipment, I’ve been thinking a lot about grinders lately. My current grinder really is barely fine enough for espresso and I want to get a proper espresso grinder but we’ll see. I’m leaning towards a DF54 at the moment. dfgrinders.ca sells them with an upgraded red titanium burr set that seem well reviewed but I don’t know who makes the burrs.
I was thinking DF64 so I had the option for SSP in the future, but I don’t know if I really want to spend an extra $250 for the thought that I might spend another $250 after that for something I’m not even sure I’ll appreciate the difference with. The DF54 is really attractive due to the price, and while the DF64 is a really good price for 64mm flat burrs, I’m not sure it’s worth the extra cost for the extra 10mm. We’ll see though, I’ve still got lots of research to do yet.
Coelacanth@feddit.nu · 2 pts · 5d
Keep us updated on the research, those two grinders are exactly what I'm looking at as well. Although now I'm probably at least going to wait for Black Friday just in case, considering how close we are.
Doesn't appear to be anything close to those in the same price range.
BurntWits@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 4d
Will do. I’ll make a post in this community when whichever one I decide on shows up in the mail. I’ll probably go with the DF54 with upgraded red titanium burrs but we’ll see. It’s definitely the better value for money.
Coelacanth@feddit.nu · 2 pts · 4d
Yeah, the only reason I consider the DF64 is I only brew V60. If I was an espresso drinker I'd go with that as well.
BurntWits@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 4d
I do both, but more espresso than V60. I also enjoy manual grinding for courser grinds, it’s just espresso I don’t like grinding for. So the plan is the DF54 would be for espresso and the manual (Timemore S3) would be for V60, french press, moka pot, etc.
JustEnoughDucks@slrpnk.net · 2 pts · 6d
I tried James Hoffman's method for making Americanos more like drip coffee and it is actually pretty solid.
Steam tap water (I still often use the water from the machine first)
Pull a shot
Skim the crema off
Mix it a bit
It makes coffee at my work and at cafes more enjoyable as the beans often are quite mediocre.
godot@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 5d
Have you A/B tested the steamed water thing? Almost anyone else I’d have ignored the suggestion out of hand, even from him I’m incredibly skeptical.
JustEnoughDucks@slrpnk.net · 1 pts · 5d
I have, but not blind.
But itakes a lot of sense because the water tubing on 90% of machines is very very rarely cleaned. I have opened them up before and there is always limescale and mold all around that whole system.
Micromot@piefed.social · 0 pts · 6d
I have bought a Sage barista touch today and made some Espresso with it. I still need to do some work to improve my process but it has been very interesting so far.
Cherry@piefed.social · 1 pts · 5d
Im guessing UK/EU? I have the breville instance, had 3 of them.
I never use the single wall filters, always the double...but i drink the same coffee every day. And can i suggest https://scoutcoffee.co.uk/products/rhino-shot-glass-2-4oz-70ml-with-spout-and-handle you will see in an instant that your shot is the right volume/colour etc the handle helps your fingers and the duel spout is convenient. There are lots of cheap alternatives but i have had one of these for 10 years. Use it daily, nothing compares.
Micromot@piefed.social · 1 pts · 4d
EU is correct. I have some points I dislike about the machine but I got it at 1/3 of the price and it gave me a good entry into the world of espresso. I have gotten better now and the shots are very consistent if I want them to be. Timed grinding is weird but works well enough for making multiple shots one after the other.
Cherry@piefed.social · 1 pts · 4d
That's a good entry price for the automated models. I think because i started manual i really missed the control of the tamp and getting the shot to my perfection.
Micromot@piefed.social · 1 pts · 4d
With the machine I have, I need to tamp myself. The only thing I can't control is pressure and pre infusion time
Cherry@piefed.social · 1 pts · 4d
Ah i was thinking Oracle Touch my bad.