Coffee Maker Recommendations

[GoingMyWay]

I've definitely gone from one end of the spectrum to the other.  I didn't care at all before and now I've become obsessed with the smallest details that probably don't even really matter.

Is there a general rule how to tell what is an oily roast?  Is that usually a lighter roast?

It's still kinda counter intuitive to me that the dark roasts actually have less caffeine than the lighter roasts.

 

[GoingMyWay]

It's not just the color of the roast.  It's also the descriptors that are associated with Dark Roasts: full bodied, bold, deep, rich, etc.  Those terms make it sound (at least to me) like Dark Roast is going to be stronger, ergo more caffeine.

Is it just a myth that darker roasts have less caffeine than lighter roasts? 

 

[Bohdan]

like Dark Roast is going to be stronger, ergo more caffeine.

Is it just a myth that darker roasts have less caffeine than lighter roasts?

The roasting process slowly destroys the caffeine in the raw bean, so more roast (darker bean) less caffeine.

 

[GoingMyWay]

That was also my understanding, which is why I said it's counter intuitive that the darker roasts actually have less caffeine.

Normally I'd think strong flavor = more caffeine.

 

[pixelated]

The longer roasting times that darker roasts get brings oils to the surface of the bean. That's what gives dark roasted beans a shiny surface sheen. That oil does accumulate on the burrs and in the hopper, but I've not found it to be a particular problem, I wash the hopper occasionally, and clean the burrs if the beans are not feeding well through the grinder.
I believe the manual does recommend washing the removable burr before the first use to get rid of any possible manufacturing residue, and the hopper as well.
I weigh the ground beans. When I first got the grinder I weighed what I put into the hopper so that I had an idea of where to set the timer. But after I figured out that, I fill the hopper, and for grinding, set the timer to the approximate position, then weigh the bin with the ground beans, and fine tune with the pulse button. For the times I grind too much, I put the excess into a small glass jar, and dump that into the bin the next time I brew (which is either "tomorrow" or in a few hours).

As for caffeine, my understand is as stated, that the extended roasting destroys some of the caffeine, so darker roasts have less. But I've never seen any analysis that proves it one way or the other.

 

[bertv]

Amount of cafeïne — As far as I know the time that the ground coffee steeps determines the cafeïne-content, eg a French press cup of coffee contains more than an espresso (made with the same beans).

I shudder when imagining what the stuff the cowboys drank in the John Ford movies of the forties and fifties contained; must have been almost pure cafeïne after brewing for a night on the camp fire. : )

 

[GoingMyWay]

I ground 60 grams of the Dark Sumatra coffee on setting 19 this morning.  I was sadly underwhelmed by the aromas when I opened the bag of beans.  The grinder was actually pretty quiet and pretty quick to grind.

I used the 60 grams of whole beans to 32 oz of water.  I tried the coffee straight black and it was still a little too bitter/acidic for me.  My wife also tried and she said it was less acidic, but more bitter.  I have trouble differentiating between acidic and bitter.  They seem to be the same to me.

I had to add half and half, but only 2 tablespoons instead of my usual 3.  I'm not too impressed with these beans.  Luckily the Blue Bottle Blend is still coming, I'm still going to try the blonde roast from Starbucks, and I want to try Henry's House of Coffee.

 

[guitarchitect]

Not sure if you've made a decision yet but the Bunn MyCafe is a happy medium between a keurig and a pot coffee maker... if you're only making coffee for one. If it's for two, forget about it.

Basically it's like a keurig (and you can use k-cups) but you can also put tea leaves or coffee grinds in the filter pod. So when I wake up, I grind my beans, load them in the cup, and walk away. clean them out when you're done and it's ready for the next coffee. There's also a thing to just put out hot water, or to put teabags into.
https://www.amazon.com/BUNN-MCU-Single-Multi-Use-Coffee/dp/B009PLQ5H2

The only downfall is that there's no water reservoir, so you have to fill it for every use. So if you regularly make coffee for 2+ people, forget it. If you're the solo coffee drinking and you drink 1-2 coffees/day, it might be perfect for you. I still own (and prefer) pourover but this thing is ready to go, and gets reasonably close to pourover taste without being as bad as regular drip. YMMV, of course...

 

[Koamolly]

I ground 60 grams of the Dark Sumatra coffee on setting 19 this morning.  I was sadly underwhelmed by the aromas when I opened the bag of beans.  The grinder was actually pretty quiet and pretty quick to grind.

I used the 60 grams of whole beans to 32 oz of water.  I tried the coffee straight black and it was still a little too bitter/acidic for me.  My wife also tried and she said it was less acidic, but more bitter.  I have trouble differentiating between acidic and bitter.  They seem to be the same to me.

I had to add half and half, but only 2 tablespoons instead of my usual 3.  I'm not too impressed with these beans.  Luckily the Blue Bottle Blend is still coming, I'm still going to try the blonde roast from Starbucks, and I want to try Henry's House of Coffee.

Try a little bit courser grind and a little less coffee.

 

[GoingMyWay]

Not sure if you've made a decision yet but the Bunn MyCafe is a happy medium between a keurig and a pot coffee maker... if you're only making coffee for one. If it's for two, forget about it.

Basically it's like a keurig (and you can use k-cups) but you can also put tea leaves or coffee grinds in the filter pod. So when I wake up, I grind my beans, load them in the cup, and walk away. clean them out when you're done and it's ready for the next coffee. There's also a thing to just put out hot water, or to put teabags into.
https://www.amazon.com/BUNN-MCU-Single-Multi-Use-Coffee/dp/B009PLQ5H2

The only downfall is that there's no water reservoir, so you have to fill it for every use. So if you regularly make coffee for 2+ people, forget it. If you're the solo coffee drinking and you drink 1-2 coffees/day, it might be perfect for you. I still own (and prefer) pourover but this thing is ready to go, and gets reasonably close to pourover taste without being as bad as regular drip. YMMV, of course...

Thanks for that suggestion.  I already bought the Moccamaster (but it could still be returned, though I hate returning stuff).  On the weekends I might need to brew enough coffee for 2 people.

I ground 60 grams of the Dark Sumatra coffee on setting 19 this morning.  I was sadly underwhelmed by the aromas when I opened the bag of beans.  The grinder was actually pretty quiet and pretty quick to grind.

I used the 60 grams of whole beans to 32 oz of water.  I tried the coffee straight black and it was still a little too bitter/acidic for me.  My wife also tried and she said it was less acidic, but more bitter.  I have trouble differentiating between acidic and bitter.  They seem to be the same to me.

I had to add half and half, but only 2 tablespoons instead of my usual 3.  I'm not too impressed with these beans.  Luckily the Blue Bottle Blend is still coming, I'm still going to try the blonde roast from Starbucks, and I want to try Henry's House of Coffee.

Try a little bit courser grind and a little less coffee.

Maybe like 55 grams of coffee and 20 or 21 on the grind setting?

 

[Dane]

I wouldn’t lose hope.  I can’t stand dark roast, in fact,when my mom visits,
who insists on a French Roast, I have her use a completely different coffee maker as the burnt taste lingers - the Beta might be your thing.  Also- different roasts require different fibers, so 19 might not be right.

 

[GoingMyWay]

I haven't lost hope yet .  I'm hoping I like the Blue Bottle Beta.

I also had high hopes for the Bella Finca from Henry's House of Coffee, but I believe that's also a dark roast so I likely won't like it.

I selected the 19 grind setting because that's what you said you were using for the Blue Bottle Beta. The grinder instructions suggest 20. Is there that much of a difference between 19 and 20?  I'd think the difference would be negligible since they're only 1 tick apart.

 

[mrFinpgh]

I've been using a bodum burr grinder for about five years now.  Usually with my aeropress and  I'm partial to Counter Culture beans.  There is a local roaster (Commonplace Coffee) which is also very good. 

 

[Koamolly]

I didn’t catch this before your recent post.  Are you trying to brew just 1-2 cups of coffee with your Moccamaster?  Not a full pot?  I think it might take more experimenting with grind size and amount for these smaller amounts.  If so, if you haven’t brewed a full pot yet, try 2/3 cup of beans, run through the grinder to get a size about the size of Kosher rock salt or a bit smaller.  Close the drip container and wait until it’s about 3/4 full, stir the grinds, open it, walk away and let it finish brewing.  If you’re only doing one cup at a time the AreoPress is hard to beat for $25.

 

[GoingMyWay]

I've been using a bodum burr grinder for about five years now.  Usually with my aeropress and  I'm partial to Counter Culture beans.  There is a local roaster (Commonplace Coffee) which is also very good.

Thanks for that data point.  I will check into Counter Culture Beans.

I didn’t catch this before your recent post.  Are you trying to brew just 1-2 cups of coffee with your Moccamaster?  Not a full pot?  I think it might take more experimenting with grind size and amount for these smaller amounts.  If so, if you haven’t brewed a full pot yet, try 2/3 cup of beans, run through the grinder to get a size about the size of Kosher rock salt or a bit smaller.  Close the drip container and wait until it’s about 3/4 full, stir the grinds, open it, walk away and let it finish brewing.  If you’re only doing one cup at a time the AreoPress is hard to beat for $25.

In the most recent scenario I was trying to brew about 4 cups of coffee.  It was more than a single cup, but far from a full pot.  I had noticed that the ratios seemed to be off when I was comparing 2 cups to 4+ cups (full pot), but I assumed that was still the correct ratio.

 

[guitarchitect]

I haven't lost hope yet .  I'm hoping I like the Blue Bottle Beta.

I also had high hopes for the Bella Finca from Henry's House of Coffee, but I believe that's also a dark roast so I likely won't like it.

I selected the 19 grind setting because that's what you said you were using for the Blue Bottle Beta. The grinder instructions suggest 20. Is there that much of a difference between 19 and 20?  I'd think the difference would be negligible since they're only 1 tick apart.

You would be amazed! When I first started doing pourover I played with my grind size... three different grinds made 3 different cups of coffee. It was the difference between watery, perfect, and bitter. Remember that your grind size determines how long the water takes to extract from the beans - too large and there's no flavour, too small and you over-extract.

I haven't kept up with the entire thread but if your Moccamaster uses a paper filter, you should always rinse it under hot / boiling water before using it to make coffee. My pourover gets accolades from all my friends (even the espresso snobs), and most are in disbelief that it's paper-filtered coffee... it's much cleaner-tasting than anything through a metal filter, which can let too much of the oils through into your cup. I'm not sure how the moccamaster works, exactly, but i zeroed in on my grind size by targeting a 1:30 - 2:00 extraction time for a 12oz cup. From there you can tweak the ratio of beans:water you use - general rule is 1g:20g water but I like 1g:16g - so a 25g grinding of beans gets 400g water. Your manual may trump that though - the aeropress uses double that amount of grinds for a cup which is part of the reason I never got one... but since the moccamaster is pourover-like I'd say that should be a good place to start.

 

[GoingMyWay]

Thank you for your considerate response.

From the sound of that - it sounds like a 19 to a 20 grind size could make a difference - I thought the 1 point difference wouldn't matter.

I am using a paper filter in my Moccamaster, but I don't pre-soak or rinse the filter.  I felt like that was a lot of extra effort for not a lot of return.  I did make sure to buy the white filters and not the brown paper filters.

 

[southrider]

I have found that most coffee scoops that come with pots are measuring relatively the same amount (haven't bothered to see what that amount is).

The scoop that came with the Moccamaster is for "2 cups". We have found that for most coffee and our tastes when making a small pot we use 2 scoops (4 cups) of ground coffee and fill with filtered cold water to 7 cups (between the 6 and 8 lines on the machine).

This method makes about 3 1/2 actual cups of coffee to a strength that we like using most medium roast coffee (drinking it black). It also works well for darker roast coffee if you use some type of creamer and/or sweetener.

For a full pot we use 4 scoops, and fill the machine just shy of overflowing.

 

[Gregor]

One thing to keep in mind: the finer you grind the coffee the more surface area is created. Finer grounds and a finer filter is needed. Surface area, temperature and time determine how much of the contents you'll extract.

In case you want to taste something interesting: take a french press, fill with normal amount of ground coffee and cold water, put on a lid and store in the fridge for 10h, then press. Cold extraction, some like it, some don't.

 

[Mario Turcot]

Amazing that that thread is still going strong (pun intended)

While we are at it, any one have experience with the Breville Barista Express

I'm looking for that type of coffee brewer and I'm wondering if the grinder in that machine is of the same quality of that grinder since both are from the same brand.