- Joined
- Nov 30, 2014
Preach it eggbert. Always telling my wife that milk kills the flavours.
COFFEE
- Thread starter Nonick
- Start date
filobiblic
Facepeeler Extraordinare
State Convenor - NSW
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- Joined
- Apr 29, 2014
- Location
- Sydney
Hmmmm... Gas roaster! [emoji7]
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2013
Right back at you Nonick [emoji3]
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2013
Thanks bro. Not quite as spick & span as your beauty but it's been a loyal morning companion for over a decade.
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2011
- Location
- Western Australia
Yep, flat white drinker. And yep you're right about a lot of it being lost but there you go. How can it not as you're basically not only diluting it but diluting it with a fat based emulsion. I just think the two go hand in hand.
gthomas04
...was Drubbing's first. AKA Captain Tightarse
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2011
- Location
- Mt Druitt Western Sydney
I also have a manual coffee maker. Every morning she takes the lid off the coffee, adds the sugar and milk - pours in the water and delivers to me. (I suppose in some ways this could actually be classed as an automatic) but whatever call it I get a nice cup of coffee with no effort on my part and they are the best sort 
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2012
- Location
- North
The only similarity your international roast has to real coffee is the colour.
The fact that your wife adds two sugars, some water and milk to a whole tin of brown stuff each morning as you state does explain a few things about you and how you have injured yourself in the past.
While instant is supposedly made from the same product, it's like saying that hemp and marijuana are the same thing.
The fact that your wife adds two sugars, some water and milk to a whole tin of brown stuff each morning as you state does explain a few things about you and how you have injured yourself in the past.
While instant is supposedly made from the same product, it's like saying that hemp and marijuana are the same thing.
gthomas04
...was Drubbing's first. AKA Captain Tightarse
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2011
- Location
- Mt Druitt Western Sydney
Well spotted @eggbert . I did forget the two spoons of coffee into the mug step didn't I?
Actually wile I have your attention, I have lashed out and bought a plunger and am hoping that gets me sufficient brownie points from our coffee experts that someone can advise me as to the type of grind I should use (if I can find anywhere to grind it). Also it is not IR but Maccona that goes into the mug - only people who use powdered whitener drink IR.
You may want a pretty coarse grind. If it's too fine it will slip through the plunger mesh when you pour it and you have sludge in the bottom of your cup.
To save the hassle you could always just use the Maccona in the plunger and let the placebo effect work on your visitors
To save the hassle you could always just use the Maccona in the plunger and let the placebo effect work on your visitors
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2012
- Location
- Coffs Harbour, NSW
IMHO as someone who uses a plunger everyday and has tried a bunch of different brewing methodologies I'd consider:
- medium grind - anything from med-coarse is suitable for plungers. Too coarse leaves the flavour in the coffee, but too fine tends to as alluded too earlier allow a lot of very fine grinds through when you pour. Personally I find the latter preferrable. NOTHING will improve your coffee more than grinding ON DEMAND - so literally just before you make the coffee rather than getting it preground at the shop etc. Sounds over the top but buying good coffee then getting it ground at the shop is a complete waste.
The good news is that UNLIKE espresso machines, which need a very consistant grind size and thus need a quality burr grinder plungers and other methods are much more forgiving. So much so I'd say you could use one of the very cheap bladed choppers that are sold as 'spice/coffee grinders'. These use a metal spinning blade to chop up whatevers put in them - basically the longer you pulse it the smaller the items get but a LOT of variation so they're VERY frowned upon for use with espresso machines etc. Can find for around $20 new - I use to use one but got a cheap burr grinder and only use it on my whole spices now but will be vastly superior to getting it preground.
The rest is pretty simple - obviously preheat your plunger. You want to use water thats around 90-93degrees C, so boil your jug and allow 30-1min to cool or like me just stop it as it first starts to bubble.
Try NOT to put in too much water - so if you like to drink a long black/white (which is most common plunger styles - basically 'Americano') you get much better results by putting in a moderate amount of hot water and then TOPPING UP your cup with extra hot water later - RATHER than putting all the hot water in with the coffee grinds. Reason is you tend to overextract the grinds and can get bitterness.
Don't allow it to steep too long. Personally I find around 3mins total bang on. I just heat up a lil milk in my mug in the microwave (VERY lowbrow - I know!) and then SLOWLY push down the plunger and add the coffee to the hot milk. Then top up with left over hot water to where I like it.
Only final thing I'd recommend is to not fall into the trap of leaving the used grinds in the plunger until you next use it! You're best off cleaning out whilst it's warm. Also every week I will give the screen part of the plunger a wash/soak in some citrus spray cleaner (its Aldi brand spray & wipe type stuff - but most supermarkets sell it, derived from citrus oils) - it will remove the rancid coffee oils that make the plunger smell like an ashtray - normal detergent etc will NOT remove this.
I also try and store the plunger internal NOT stuffed inside the plunger - as once that metal screen gets bent/overused it won't plunge well - and leaving it out helps it keep it's full shape etc.
Oh and don't store your coffee in the fridge/freezer - thats an old wives tale. After my home roasted beans have degassed for a few days in a 2 way valve bag I put in an old wine bottle which I use with one of those vacuum stopper corks/air pump sets - they cost about $5 at bargain stores. Remove the air each time you open - but thats getting pedantic and for other users just buying in amounts of beans that you'll use within ~1 week is fine.
Hope something in there helps.
gthomas04
...was Drubbing's first. AKA Captain Tightarse
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2011
- Location
- Mt Druitt Western Sydney
Cheers @Nick the Knife, just the info I was looking for I even believe I have an old grinder around somewhere. I doubt if I will get into my own roasting (getting back to home brewing has a higher priority) but I shall just try to source some freshly roasted beans locally. Again many thanks for the trouble taken.
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2011
- Location
- Western Australia
In the days when I used a plunger I found that the golden rule is that the coffee is finished brewing when you hardly have to put any weight on the plunger to push the grinds down. And yeah, @gthomas04 try and find a local roaster and depending on how much you get through in a week , buy small amounts. It really makes a huge difference. It's the first step towards coffee Nazism. There's no going back either.
gthomas04
...was Drubbing's first. AKA Captain Tightarse
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2011
- Location
- Mt Druitt Western Sydney
OK coffee experts (I am looking at you @Nick the Knife) I have received my plungers and have discovered I have a Russel Hobbs grinder. I can get fresh beans delivered, or pre ground for the plunger. I am guessing the fresh beans would be the go. Looking at the write ups on the web sites I thought a Colombian and a Kenyan would be a good place to start.
As an added bit of excitement I do own a full blown espresso machine - tamp the coffee and all that stuff. May get it out and see what is what.
As an added bit of excitement I do own a full blown espresso machine - tamp the coffee and all that stuff. May get it out and see what is what.
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2012
- Location
- Coffs Harbour, NSW
Oh don't look at me - you've got some real heavyweights here already and I'm just making up the numbers.
Quick thoughts:
- as mentioned earlier and can't overstate it - WHOLE bean is strictly the preference as general consensus is that ground coffee goes 'stale' (noticeable taste depreciation) within several minutes of grinding! Whereas whole beans will stay 'fresh' for several weeks of roasting. So IF you have any kind of grinding device and can justify the extra hassle grinding ON DEMAND each time you make a coffee will give significant improvement. IMHO if you get preground for convenience that same rationale will be a slippery slope taking you back to using instant (which I have from time to time but only when I'm wanting a hot beverage and need it NOW and I don't mind that it tastes nothing like coffee - it also makes me appreciate the proper coffee more!)
- as far as your bean provider/source IIRC you're right in suburbia in SYD and so put your feelers out for a local/nearby roaster. Otherwise you'll find that postage costs will be a major problem as you should only be ordering/buying as much whole roasted coffee that you can consume in 1-2weeks. Which for most folks is 250-500g - so postal costs could easily double your order costs.
There's loads of smaller roasters around now so I am sure you should be able to find one nearby - or if not a coffee store that sells a good selection of freshly roasted coffee for take home customers - that'd allow you to avoid high postage costs while also getting very freshly roasted coffee.
- as far as the bean type to suit you - yes check reviews but also find out how people are consuming the beans as generally people will say that certain beans and roast depths suit espresso and others plungers etc. Also its the same for short blacks etc vs coffees with milk. It's a very personal based thing so find what resonates with your palate.....which is one of the real beauties of coffee, so many variables and options available to chasing that 'perfect' cup is kind of part of the fun.
Love to hear how you go.
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2014
Nick speaks the truth.
The rule of thumb for roasted beans is that you want to use them between 1 and 2 weeks after roasting. In the first week they taste too fresh (it's hard to describe, but kind of acidic and grassy), so don't open the sealed bag until about day 7. Then, you want to use the open bag of beans within about 7 days of opening. After this, you will notice a big difference in taste (and also in appearance for espresso).
As Nick said, ground coffee goes stale almost instantly, so you should grind directly before brewing. Think of grinding coffee as making a lather... If you make a lather, and then go away for even 5 minutes, the lather will have already started to deteriorate. You wouldn't even consider using a lather that is a few hours old - have the same approach for your coffee grounds.
So, definitely buy whole beans from somewhere reputable. As a minimum, if they don't have the roasting date on the bag, they aren't worth buying. And only buy enough beans to last you a week or so. Don't buy a month's worth at once.
Re Columbian vs Kenyan, that comes down to personal preference. The quality of the coffee is independent of the origin, and is more to do with the quality of the farm and processing. I guess it's kind of like the scent of a shaving soap - you can have good and bad soaps in all sorts of scents... Some people like bay rum, some like menthol. Sometimes you like both but are simply in the mood for one or the other. Same with coffee origin.
As a general rule, african coffees have more high notes (citrus, floral, berries etc), while South American coffees have more earth notes (chocolate, caramel etc). I think the south americans do very well in milk, as too much citrus type flavours can taste odd in milk IMO. Often blended coffee will have 50-75% South Americal coffee as a base, and then some others to add a bit of acidity.
The rule of thumb for roasted beans is that you want to use them between 1 and 2 weeks after roasting. In the first week they taste too fresh (it's hard to describe, but kind of acidic and grassy), so don't open the sealed bag until about day 7. Then, you want to use the open bag of beans within about 7 days of opening. After this, you will notice a big difference in taste (and also in appearance for espresso).
As Nick said, ground coffee goes stale almost instantly, so you should grind directly before brewing. Think of grinding coffee as making a lather... If you make a lather, and then go away for even 5 minutes, the lather will have already started to deteriorate. You wouldn't even consider using a lather that is a few hours old - have the same approach for your coffee grounds.
So, definitely buy whole beans from somewhere reputable. As a minimum, if they don't have the roasting date on the bag, they aren't worth buying. And only buy enough beans to last you a week or so. Don't buy a month's worth at once.
Re Columbian vs Kenyan, that comes down to personal preference. The quality of the coffee is independent of the origin, and is more to do with the quality of the farm and processing. I guess it's kind of like the scent of a shaving soap - you can have good and bad soaps in all sorts of scents... Some people like bay rum, some like menthol. Sometimes you like both but are simply in the mood for one or the other. Same with coffee origin.
As a general rule, african coffees have more high notes (citrus, floral, berries etc), while South American coffees have more earth notes (chocolate, caramel etc). I think the south americans do very well in milk, as too much citrus type flavours can taste odd in milk IMO. Often blended coffee will have 50-75% South Americal coffee as a base, and then some others to add a bit of acidity.