ohiominnie said:
Ok, I looked over all of the coffee roasting information. And, while it LOOKS interesting, I'm not sure I'm up for it. Smoke, smell, loud noises, must do it outside or in a garage....
is it REALLY that much better? We USUALLY get really good coffee here from a coffee shop (get Starbucks if we aren't in Stauf's area of town) It's not like we're drinking Folger's Crystals. I have Starbucks for my espresso machine.
I mean, really, how GOOD is this fresh roasted coffee??
WARNING! If you choose to go down this past you will bwe ruined for EVER drinking coffee "out" ever again. I find that yes it is THAT good!
Here is my standard advice progression that I give if people ask me how to make better coffee:
Bean and Grinder - 1st priority
1. Start using whole bean, but get a burr grinder -- not the whirly blade type. Grind only enough to make one pot and make it right away -- no you can not grind the night before and let it sit.
2. Switch from grocery store brands of whole bean to local coffee shop brand - ensure you know when the beans were roasted. I prefer beans that are 2-6 days old. Any older than that I can start to taste the "stale" taste. You can store beans in the freezer until you open the bag, then sotre them in an air-tight container --DO NOT PUT THEM BACK IN FRIDGE OR FREEZER. Humidity is BAD for bean and when you open the frozen beans in your kitchen condensation forms insdie the bag. Just buy small bags and use it quickly
3. Move into home roasting -- See Sweetmarias, alt.coffee, coffeegeek.com
Brewing - Lots of choices (listed in my order of preference)
1. Vacuum Brewer - such and the Cona on Sweetmarias site -- Don't have one, but these things are cool!! I do have an electric Starbucks version that does a decent job.
2. French press - Pout ground coffee into glass carafe -- I add a lot of coffee - around 3oz for a large press. Fill with water just off of the boil (HOT water is critical) Stir and let stand for 4 minute. Press and enjoy. Note that these use a fairly large screen so there is a fair amount of sediment in the cup. Monica calls it my "crunchy" coffee.
3. Drip brewer - The key here is to use lots of coffee and make sure the brewer provides hot enough water --The biggest problem with machines in this catagory is most do not get hot enough. Coffeegeek.com has reviews of several machines that do it right. The timers are great, but you can not get a great cup of coffee without grinding immediately before brewing. There are the machines that grind and brew, but two problems, first they are usually the whirly blade grinders, 2 if either the grinder or the machine fails you have to replace the whole thing.
Espresso - Let's not go there
This falls into the realm of anal-retentive insanity, so I will leave this for a future post.......
Okay lecture mode off
