There is a visceral pleasure that I take in violently pulping ginger and garlic between two pieces of stone.
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There is a visceral pleasure that I take in violently pulping ginger and garlic between two pieces of stone.
There is a visceral pleasure that I take in violently pulping ginger and garlic between two pieces of stone.
Well, I have no idea where the large pestle and mortar is currently lurking - I'm sure I'll trip over it sometime when I am looking for something else. Actually, when I was away, the carer re-arranged the contents of many of the cupboards - but, having found the small one (which seems to have been made in India, of a most attractive dappled stone), I am looking forward to using it.
The irony is - with the Filipina carer around, - it'll probably get a lot more use than it ever did from me, as nobody (apart from myself) really fancied the sort of cooking where the very first thing you do is that you start by smashing garlic and ginger together.
I have to admit I much prefer a food processor for pulping up ginger. Throw in some freshly squeezed lemon juice to act as a preservative. All this talk about mortar and pestles reminded me of the anise seed I purchased the other day. I have a blade grinder I use for spices but without grinding a large portion of seeds, it won't turn into something fine and powdery. I now know what to use. There's something warming and delicious about a fennel, dried thyme and anise seed herbal tea concoction with some honey. I don't suppose younger generations would consume it now. Though the ingredients do show up in Yogi teas, blegh. Overpriced herbal tea with stale ingredients.
Fresh blackpepper added to teas give it a delightful smokey flavor without being spicy. It's reminiscent of a stone fired pizza. Sometimes I can almost taste the 4 day pizza sauce.
The Chinese say that dried ginger heats the body up whereas fresh ginger cools the body down, or something of that nature. I take several cups of ginger powder tea each week. Oh, and peppermint with the occasional drop of peppermint oil (edible/food grade).
Fresh blackpepper added to teas give it a delightful smokey flavor without being spicy. It's reminiscent of a stone fired pizza. Sometimes I can almost taste the 4 day pizza sauce.
The Chinese say that dried ginger heats the body up whereas fresh ginger cools the body down, or something of that nature. I take several cups of ginger powder tea each week. Oh, and peppermint with the occasional drop of peppermint oil (edible/food grade).
Oh, gosh, yes. You can sing it - and I agree with you wholeheartedly. Actually, I used to try herbal teas from the health food shops, and found them almost uniformly awful for exactly the reasons you have just stated.
Thoroughly enjoyed a lovely pot of warming coffee this morning; grinding the beans, experimenting with different blends, pottering about and having the time to drink a pot……quite lovely on a January morning.
The funny thing is they wrap them in waxed paper or cellophane as if it locks in freshness. There used to be a wonderful independent Indian spice shop two towns over that always had the freshest stuff flown in weekly. Sadly they closed down in 2011 or 2012.
Yes, on the matter of herbal teas, I have come to the reluctant conclusion that many of the health shops are utter frauds. Now, a wonderful independent Indian spice shop sounds perfect; I'll bet that you are still in mourning over its closure, much the way I still mourn the closure of my favourite Italian coffee shop in 2011 (a casualty of the recession), alas.
Anyway, now, I am sipping a mug of Ethiopian Aricha coffee from the superb Yirgacheffe region.
Yes, and more the fact they had freshly roasted cashews for 3 USD/lb all the time.
Having some honey sweetened Sumatran.
Having some honey sweetened Sumatran.
I had been wanting to try this hack for some time, and seeing it again discussed on here led me to the Sweet Maria's forum. After a week or so of digesting the experience of others, other forums like Intructables, and finally various thrift shops and hardware stores I am now in the business of roasting.
I went the route of adding a flour sifter to a popcorn popper; this allows me to do ~185g batches (1 cup of green), which translates into 140g - 150g of roasted coffee (losses due primarily to moisture but some errant escaping beans). I've done 6 batches over the course of 3 days, with all but the first batch being highly drinkable. I've already gotten into a fairly standard procedure and can go from measure beans out initially to "finish packing" an 185g batch in 20 minutes. In 4 hours it is drinkable, but gets even better after an overnight rest.
Some pics of my progress:
I had been wanting to try this hack for some time, and seeing it again discussed on here led me to the Sweet Maria's forum. After a week or so of digesting the experience of others, other forums like Intructables, and finally various thrift shops and hardware stores I am now in the business of roasting.
I went the route of adding a flour sifter to a popcorn popper; this allows me to do ~185g batches (1 cup of green), which translates into 140g - 150g of roasted coffee (losses due primarily to moisture but some errant escaping beans). I've done 6 batches over the course of 3 days, with all but the first batch being highly drinkable. I've already gotten into a fairly standard procedure and can go from measure beans out initially to "finish packing" an 185g batch in 20 minutes. In 4 hours it is drinkable, but gets even better after an overnight rest.
Some pics of my progress:
Nice! That's a great idea adding the flour sifter for bigger batches. I wouldn't have expected it to get hot enough all the way away from the heating elements. I presume you must stir the beans or otherwise agitate them. Perhaps with the sifting mechanism?
Yes, I "sift" every 10 seconds for about 5 seconds, and then continuously once first crack begins.
Regarding heat, I'm using a 1,400 watt popper and it really gets hot. The trick is to keep the bean level deep enough so that the entire screen at the bottom of the sifter is covered in beans; that way the hot air has to go through the bed of beans and can't get around it. That's how I settled on 1 cup minimum batches. My first batch was ¾ cup and it DID NOT cover the bottom of the sifter well enough. It left a gap all of the way around the screen, which allowed hot air to escape without going through the bean bed. With 1 cup batches it usually takes 4-5 minutes for first crack to begin. When I made that first ¾ cup batch, it took over 11 minutes for first crack to begin, and it never really developed. It took too long to heat up the bean and I think it just dehydrated it versus having the nice "pop" that you need.
I'm also a home beer brewer, but have almost all but given up on that given the amount to time you have to invest before you ever get a taste of your labor. I like the instant gratification that comes with coffee roasting much better!
Oh I hear you re beer. I made a stout with some friends, and the wait was painful.
Okay the sifter addon is noted. My current popper won't last indefinitely and this setup seems to negate the need for the increasingly hard to find side vented ones. I also really would like to be able to do larger batches....
A nice empty house, blessed, blissful silence, and a mug of steaming Ethiopian coffee nearby to hand. What is there not to like?
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Well, it is raining outside, and I have a mug of steaming Ethiopian coffee on a coaster nearby. Quite lovely.
I am right there with you. Snow on the ground, cloudy/dreary/cold, and a mug of a home-roasted blend of Colombia Planadas Montalvo and Ethiopia Yirga Cheffe prepared via a Hario V60 pour over.
Ethiopian Yirgacheffe? And a (ceramic) Hario dripper? Sounds exactly like what I did, too. You make my day.
How do the blend of Colombian beans and Yirgacheffe work together?
Actually it's the plastic Hario, but it IS in sports car red, so it's not a total loss!
The reason I mixed the two was that I was at the end of both batches, and needed enough for a decent cup. It wasn't strictly by intention, but more out of need.
The beans themselves are both a bit bold. Added to that, the Yirga Cheffe was from my second batch ever, and I was still getting my process down; admittedly, these went a little long and came out in the Vienna/Light French range, so the natural bean flavor is a bit hidden due to the roasting process. Regardless, even with all these issues, inconsistencies and mishaps, the coffee I am getting from home roasting is (to me) more flavorful than any grocery store bean, and approaching that of some of the small coffee shops I like.
This afternoon I did another pour over of just the Yirga Cheffe from a batch that was closer to Full City, and the flavor was much more fruitier, bold, and thick. A wonderful cup.
Yep! I find even an amateur DIY setup roasts some surprisingly nice beans, and there is nothing like a freshly roasted (appropriately rested) cup/shot. Incidentally, with the rise in popularity of 'high end coffee' I have noticed these shops proliferating, and they don't all necessarily know what they're doing......
Besides, I love learning the process, doing it myself, and producing extraordinarily pleasing cups at home for a fraction of the cost.
While I haven't progressed quite as far down the road of total immersion in the making and preparation of my own coffee as some of you, I have come to enjoy the experience of grinding my own beans and ordering freshly roasted, high quality beans (preferably form Ethiopia) and will readily concede that the coffee made this way is really rather excellent and is an awful lot better than doe of the stale offerings on sale in the shops.
Hoping that my fellow coffee/espresso lovers on the East Coast are weathering the storm. We've been in Kansas for 19 years, but still have family back on, and ties to, the East Coast and visit Florida 1X - 2X a year. Sad seeing the Jersey Shore towns under water. Been watching the Weather Channel since last afternoon; currently enjoying a delicious Wet Processed Sumatra roasted to City+ in the comfort of my warm home and thinking of the folks back east dealing with the weather.
I was in the DC area last weekend; thank god those meetings weren't a week later!
Yes, you have my profound sympathies, this weather looks unusually brutal.
Today, I tried a blend of two Sidamo (Ethiopian) coffees. Lovely.
Today, I tried a blend of two Sidamo (Ethiopian) coffees. Lovely.
Yes, without the regular policing superintended by the revered regulars, at times, this thread does tend to stray from the paths laid down by the Founders.
Actually, you have been in my mind, not least - strange to relate - this very morning, when I re-read some of your old posts and silently drank to your health and well-being with a mug of Ethiopian coffee.
Good to hear your dulcet tones, friend, and welcome back to these hallowed halls wherein dwell coffee and espresso drinkers.