jfv wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 8:38 pm

sparky wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 3:07 pm This man has incredible hair, and I believe he knows a few things about coffee too.

Thanks again - I watched the video. Very informative! The most interesting and useful part of the video for me was the explanation of the descriptors and their relation to acidity and fermentation.

I’m glad. Much of what he says goes over the rock I call my head, but his videos are pleasant, slightly mesmerising. Especially around his immaculate hair.

New brewing equipment arrived at my doorstep this morning:

- Hario Harior Noir 300 ml French Press
- Hario Skerton Pro Manual Coffee Mill

Just tried them out with some Costa Rica beans I purchased from Conscious Cup.

This is lovely. I really missed this stuff.

EDIT: I just read posts above about coffee/water ratio, which I failed to review prior to brewing. Looks like I started on the weak side, 15 g to 300 g of water = 1:20.

Mornings I go with auto drip, and I like my moccamaster technivorm. It’s expensive but it’s much better than the cheap Braun we had for years. But irrespective of brand, you have to remember to descale.

But I do like to mix it up on weekends, or if I’m working from home, with either pourover (Hario kit) or aeropress. Cheap blade grinder works is pretty reliable. The pourover in my opinion tastes the best, but I dont have time for it during the week.

Medium roast beans, with chocolate or blueberry notes, usually from Brazil and Ethiopia, respectively.

Im not uptight about the details of brewing coffee, except for weighing the beans. I go with 15g/250ml, or stronger depending on the bean.

If I were to rank the factors by relative importance towards making a good cup, it would be:

the quality of coffee origin/roast (entirely personal preference) > grinding beans fresh before brewing > equipment > brewing method

A quick review of my new burr grinder:

- Hario Skerton Pro Manual Coffee Mill

It successfully grinds beans.

On the coarse settings that are appropriate for French press, it is very inconsistent with the size of the resulting grounds. I mean, I realize that you're always gonna get a little bit of sediment in your cup when using a French press, but this thing is as bad as my old $10 blade grinder.

Considering Hario indicated in their product description that the "Pro" model improves over the standard Skerton, either their standard Skerton was REALLY bad at consistency, or they have failed to accomplish their goal.

jfv wrote: Mon Jan 24, 2022 11:54 am New brewing equipment arrived at my doorstep this morning:

- Hario Harior Noir 300 ml French Press
- Hario Skerton Pro Manual Coffee Mill

Just tried them out with some Costa Rica beans I purchased from Conscious Cup.

This is lovely. I really missed this stuff.

EDIT: I just read posts above about coffee/water ratio, which I failed to review prior to brewing. Looks like I started on the weak side, 15 g to 300 g of water = 1:20.

I've got the same-ish grinder. I haven't used it for french press since I've always had an electric grinder when brewing like that, but have read it's more inconsistent at coarser grinds. That's because the burrs have more room to wobble. There's mods to increase consistency that look somewhat easy to do, though if it was me, I'd just leave it as is. The pro looks really cool! Grind adjustment was a pain on the old one.

The "rules" like water ratio aren't super important. They're a nice jumping off point, and measuring helps repeat good experiences. "This is lovely" is the reaction we're all shooting for, no matter how we get there. Glad it's working out!

andyman wrote: I was (am?) a fan of black coffee in the aeropress, but me and the gf have been making lattes with the moka pot for a while now and, with a little care and some great beans, I'm blown away by the results. I didn't know what I was doing with a moka pot for years...

Aeropresses are great. Been inching back towards that. I had pretty crappy results with a moka pot but would love to try again. What's the trick?

So the complete opposite of how I used to do it. I look forward to trying it out. Thanks!

Heh, I lived in Italy for five years, and everyone I saw using a Moka pot would just heat up cold/cool water to a boil.

Folks who have burr grinders:

How often do you clean them out?

jfv wrote: Thu Feb 03, 2022 8:01 am Folks who have burr grinders:

How often do you clean them out?

every few months or so i blow it out with the air compressor and get all the buildup off.

RyanZ wrote: Thu Feb 03, 2022 8:05 am

jfv wrote: Thu Feb 03, 2022 8:01 am Folks who have burr grinders:

How often do you clean them out?

every few months or so i blow it out with the air compressor and get all the buildup off.

I'd be careful about using a standard out-in-the-garage air compressor on anything that you are ingesting. A lot of them use oil and you could be transferring that into your food. I mean it's probably a teeny-tiny amount and low risk but still given the amount of care a lot of y'all put into your coffee (a burr grinder is not something typical of most households for example), it's something to be aware of.