Hey there cranky-pants, I had a few kick-ass cups myself.
Geez...you're the fourth person today to call me cranky-pants!
Must be something to it!
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Espresso Enthusiasts
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Geez...you're the fourth person today to call me cranky-pants!
Must be something to it!
I had some wonderful coffee today. I prepared some Intelligentsia El Diablo in a press.
Just thought I'd mention that coffee thing.
I am in the right place...aren't I.
Hey there cranky-pants, I had a few kick-ass cups myself.
Well, there is little that is new, or original, that I can contribute to the thread today - not even an attempt to claim a copper Hario dripper - except for the fact that I had a large (Le Creuset) mug of.........Ethiopian coffee this morning. And very nice it was, too.
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I can contribute today by saying that my new and now third Friis coffee container arrived and this time I bought the red one. It looks very nice in person too. I put the Atomic Coffee Roasters beans in that I received yesterday.
Nice canister.
I just ordered my 4th Friis canister (stainless) in preparation for the receipt of my Sweet Marias Liquid Amber order.
My other two are silver and the next time I order one I'll get the black one just for some variety.
By the time MY Sweet Maria's Liquid Amber arrives, I'll have finished the Barrington Mezcal beans in one of the silver ones and will put the LA into that one.
Are the Friis canisters that good?
I like the idea of ordering different coloured tins (or canisters), and sorting, or arranging, one's coffee accordingly.
Me, for now, I use coffee tins.
One - a nice black one - has 'Ethiopian Coffee' written on it, (I think it housed beans from Sidamo originally) and, - for reasons which defy analysis but have little to do with subtlety - nowadays, it invariably plays host to Ethiopian coffee.
The other tins are home to whatever else I am experimenting with.
What's nice about the Friis canisters is, first, they are air tight... keeping oxygen out. Second, they have a one way valve that allows for any CO2 offgassing to escape, while not allowing any 02 in. Finally, they are opaque, preventing sunlight from degrading the beans. Certainly when I was roasting having the one way valve was essential during the resting, or off gassing, period. But even now the beans that I get I are so fresh that having that CO2 out/ no O2 in valve is, I think, still important.
It should be pointed out that there are other canisters that also have the one way valve. I have not really explored them to see if they are significantly less expensive.
I just happen to have a Friis canister on order. Delivery due on Sunday. I have also managed to find and purchase a baratza encore coffee grinder from Amazon Germany and am returning my Dualit.
Today I also bought some Lavazza coffee beans that were on offer. Also, a friend in my office gave me some Douwe Egberts extra dark beans. I've tried them a couple of times and do like them but am still getting used to making my coffee this way. First try, WAY too strong!, Second was lovely, third too weak.
Today I also bought some Lavazza coffee beans that were on offer. Also, a friend in my office gave me some Douwe Egberts extra dark beans. I've tried them a couple of times and do like them but am still getting used to making my coffee this way. First try, WAY too strong!, Second was lovely, third too weak.
While waiting for the Chardonnay to chill, drinking a cup of fine Rwandan coffee.
Any container that's stainless steel or glass coated inside will be fine. I'd abstain from plastic simply because of how it may react with the coffee bean oils. Though I suppose stoneware would be an even better option, provided you can find a company that creates it. One way valves are essential, lest you prefer an exploding glass or otherwise jar.
I'm sure it'll make one heck of an explosive coffee.
Adding that to the pun journal.
I'm sure it'll make one heck of an explosive coffee.
Adding that to the pun journal.
Any container that's stainless steel or glass coated inside will be fine. I'd abstain from plastic simply because of how it may react with the coffee bean oils. Though I suppose stoneware would be an even better option, provided you can find a company that creates it. One way valves are essential, lest you prefer an exploding glass or otherwise jar.
I'm sure it'll make one heck of an explosive coffee.
Adding that to the pun journal.
Yes. Agreed about plastic.
I was about to ask your opinion on stoneware, or ceramic.
Ceramics are a broad field. They encompass different firing methods. Outside of that, which I believe is what you're referring to, I'm inclined to go with stoneware. It's got more heft, it's far more stronger, and doesn't crack or chip as easily as traditional "ceramic." That said I do keep 3 "ceramic" containers with cork tops filled with sugar, finely ground coffee and turbinado. We have a matching color bulging one filled with lump Himalayan salt. Or rather pebble like.
In my experience, "ceramic" bowls or containers will get hairline cracks if exposed to hot-cold suddenly or placed down too hard. They won't fully break, but that hairlike crack is a weakness. Stoneware... well you can likely incapacitate a human being and possibly a large animal before it begins cracking. There was an old gin from The Netherlands, I believe, called Bols many decades ago that came in a stoneware bottle. I think production stopped for a few decades before being restarted. I'm not sure if it's easily available these days. Especially with so many good gins on the market.
In my experience, "ceramic" bowls or containers will get hairline cracks if exposed to hot-cold suddenly or placed down too hard. They won't fully break, but that hairlike crack is a weakness. Stoneware... well you can likely incapacitate a human being and possibly a large animal before it begins cracking. There was an old gin from The Netherlands, I believe, called Bols many decades ago that came in a stoneware bottle. I think production stopped for a few decades before being restarted. I'm not sure if it's easily available these days. Especially with so many good gins on the market.
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As it happens, I have a weakness for good quality pottery, good quality stoneware, and good quality ceramics and porcelain.
Certainly, if a nice - elegantly crafted, aesthetically pleasing and very well made, sturdy set of containers - or canisters - with decent style cork or other sealing tops - came my way, I would possibly not say 'no' to them.
Certainly, if a nice - elegantly crafted, aesthetically pleasing and very well made, sturdy set of containers - or canisters - with decent style cork or other sealing tops - came my way, I would possibly not say 'no' to them.
Ceramic may work provided it's thick enough. Ideally, nothing should explode or crack provided newly roasted beans have a method of safely expelling their gas. I'd caution anyone buying ceramic to make sure it's ceramic and not tempered glass. We have some large platters made from white tempered glass we bought from Williams Sonoma. Having dropped it on our tile floors and it not having even a chip. Though it's not something I'd use in a coffee setting. I think we've only used ours for laying out fresh fruit and 2-3 bite desserts during large get togethers. I only got the idea of buying them after I picked up a small plate from Ikea made of the material and throwing it against the kitchen wall covered in tile at a decent speed. It bounced off, hit the floor, bounced and rolled. It chipped in a few places but nothing really happened. It was relegated to an outdoor ashtray for guests. I wouldn't use it to serve hot food or otherwise after the abuse I put it through that day. The plate set me back 99 cents excluding tax. If you had told me that tempered glass was strong for serving-ware a decade ago, I'd have laughed in your face.
Though I will say that washing any tempered glass is a very strange sensation in your hands. Because of how light it is and how it's coated or whatever colorant is mixed into it, the washing process is strange in terms of feel, heft and the rapid cooling of anything that was under hot water. Also water beads on it similar to Amazon black water. It's very strange.
Though I will say that washing any tempered glass is a very strange sensation in your hands. Because of how light it is and how it's coated or whatever colorant is mixed into it, the washing process is strange in terms of feel, heft and the rapid cooling of anything that was under hot water. Also water beads on it similar to Amazon black water. It's very strange.
As a storage container for coffee various kinds of pottery, stoneware, and porcelain are perfectly reasonable. The only downside, as compared to stainless and glass, is that they are more porous and will tend to absorb some of the oils and aromatics of the coffee bean.
However, if carefully washed and dried after the coffee is expended, I can't see a really big problem with using those materials to store a coffee. Especially if the same bean blend, or type of bean, is stored in the same container any retention should not really be problematic. Again, washing out the oils (using a solution of baking soda and water as opposed to detergent) should be adequate.
However, if carefully washed and dried after the coffee is expended, I can't see a really big problem with using those materials to store a coffee. Especially if the same bean blend, or type of bean, is stored in the same container any retention should not really be problematic. Again, washing out the oils (using a solution of baking soda and water as opposed to detergent) should be adequate.
Well, if all else fails, I'm sure that Le Creuset will be able to come up with suitable (and elegant, and beautifully made) stoneware containers or canisters.
Anyway, for now, I am using coffee tins.
Anyway, for now, I am using coffee tins.
Depends on the manufacturing, IMO. High quality wares will not be porous and they'll go under several glazing stages. Any scratching of the interior surface would provide surface area for oils to embed themselves in. This reminds me of a tea argument I witnessed on a forum several years back. It was said that fine china should never be dipped into a light bleach solution for fear of impregnating bleach into the pores of the china. The strange thing is that no real study has ever shown this, and even if it has, food services in any decent country are required to use a bleach solution to kill bacteria, not just hot water and soap. Which means that fine vintage china served to you in that 5 star hotel in Austria used a bleach solution to disinfect. As for cleaning tea or coffee stains, I use a gallon of water (on anything white that shows a stain), a few drops of bleach and a few drops of hydrogen peroxide. Though these days I really enjoy using Dawn Platinum to rid anything of oil and stains. Actually, this product is impressive because it's used in many applications. It's even gotten rid of accidental oil splash back on shirts. It's a fantastic surfactant. It's the Fairy brand outside of North America. A tablespoon of product will clean several dozen dishes. There's a thick creme like version available at restaurant supply stores that's even better.
I use wood spoons for my ceramic containers in general. They won't scratch anything.
I use wood spoons for my ceramic containers in general. They won't scratch anything.
I just finished my weekly Expobar and Rancilio cleaning/back flush ritual. Now they're all clean, shiny and ready for making another espresso when the time comes.
I've been doing a little dosage experimentation with the darker roast of the Atomic Coffee beans. At a high 17 or low 18 gram dosage the taste is noticeably more bitter, but still tastes good. When I drop the dosage to a high 16 to low 17 gram dosage the bitterness is greatly diminished.
I have found that with other medium roasts, I need to be in the 17 to 18 gram dosage to get a really good taste and with those medium roasts, bitterness isn't always too noticeable either.
The reason why I say a low or high dosage of a certain gram weight is because I have yet to buy a scale that is more precise. I'm just waiting to get my latte reward points from Whole Latte Love to use towards the purchase of one.
I've been doing a little dosage experimentation with the darker roast of the Atomic Coffee beans. At a high 17 or low 18 gram dosage the taste is noticeably more bitter, but still tastes good. When I drop the dosage to a high 16 to low 17 gram dosage the bitterness is greatly diminished.
I have found that with other medium roasts, I need to be in the 17 to 18 gram dosage to get a really good taste and with those medium roasts, bitterness isn't always too noticeable either.
The reason why I say a low or high dosage of a certain gram weight is because I have yet to buy a scale that is more precise. I'm just waiting to get my latte reward points from Whole Latte Love to use towards the purchase of one.
That sounds like a fun - a genuinely fun - way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
Especially for a newly published author.
This is because there is something just so compatible about the relationship forged between coffee and.........books, both with writing and in reading them.
However, I take it that you are still passionately enthusiastic about - and enormously enjoying - your lovely Expobar machine. (While many on here write at length about the importance of a good quality grinder - the actual grinders themselves rarely seem to inspire the same degree of dedicated devotion that the coffee makers so often give rise to.)
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Yes, I certainly am! I derive great pleasure every day and every time I use it still, and that includes the detailed cleaning I do each week.
I could only imagine who those people might be!
It is true, the espresso machine does inspire me more than the grinder however inverse the importance actually is. The grinder being more important than the espresso machine gets far less figurative love and attention than the espresso machine. Perhaps its because the grinder is less sophisticated than an espresso machine which has levers, pumps, filter holders, tray's, knobs and gauges and other doodads to grab one's attention. And just perhaps it’s the thing that actually produces the end product the preparer is seeking, while the grinder is just a step (an important step) in the overall process.
I can well imagine and I think you have expressed it very well.
And, agreed, while the grinder is an important (actually, a vital) step in the process, it rarely is given the enthusiastic adoration that is the lot of elegantly exquisite coffee machines.
Well, today, - but this purchase is nothing like a magisterial grinder, or a magnificent coffee machine - I persuaded a small local coffee shop-roaster (owned and run by Germans) to sell to me a small copper piece of equipment.
And, agreed, while the grinder is an important (actually, a vital) step in the process, it rarely is given the enthusiastic adoration that is the lot of elegantly exquisite coffee machines.
Well, today, - but this purchase is nothing like a magisterial grinder, or a magnificent coffee machine - I persuaded a small local coffee shop-roaster (owned and run by Germans) to sell to me a small copper piece of equipment.
The small copper piece of equipment, was, of course, a Hario dripper, pictured - posted - earlier (may I ask you to oblige again?) by @SandboxGeneral. And, while I was there, I thought it prudent to buy some Hario filter papers, as well.