Espresso Enthusiasts

[Scepticalscribe]

Spot on. Wordsworth wrote a poem about Shrink's Londinium, years and years ago:

Wordsworth! Wordsworth! Ah, bliss, wonderful quote…...Such effortless class, culture and civility is clearly demonstrated (daily) herein……by the denizens who dwell in this thread.

Ah, you make my day! (An aside: How easily I am pleased, just an admixture of poetry, coffee, soft words, good conversation, smooth music, rich and mellow wine…..and a good book for when I am languishing in splendid isolation….)

Congratulations to SBG on his French press; I am slighted for you that the (third) attempt worked out well; bear in mind, as Kurwenal and I have already mentioned, that this is a forgiving piece of equipment, one that will readily shepherd you to heights of coffee pleasure without the extraordinarily painful penalties effortlessly extracted by more……..demanding……devices…….(I'm thinking of you, that is, a certain temperamental grinder hand crafted from the Roman city of Londinium with prima donna diva-ish tendencies)….

 

[mobilehaathi]

Spot on. Wordsworth wrote a poem about Shrink's Londinium, years and years ago:

I'm pretty sure it goes like this:

No mortal object did these eyes behold
When first they met the placid light of thine,
And my Soul felt its destiny divine,
And hope of endless peace in me brewed bold.

 

[Shrink]

I'm pretty sure it goes like this:

Does this Wordsworth guy post here?

Seems like a coffee guy...

 

[mobilehaathi]

Does this Wordsworth guy post here?

Seems like a coffee guy...

I suspect he's a lurker...

 

[S.B.G]

The SCAA specifies a ratio of 3.75 ounces of coffee per 1/2 gallon of water. That corresponds to a ratio of 56 grams of coffee per liter. A two-tablespoon coffee scoop will hold about 0.35 ounces, or 10 grams, of ground coffee, which should be combined with 6 ounces (46.9 mL) of water to make one "cup". The coffee grounds will absorb about 0.7 ounces of water yielding a 5.3 ounce one "cup" serving.

You might start with that ratio and work up from there. That's what I did, years ago, and I settled on 75 grams per liter as the sweet spot for my taste.

I'll need to do some calculations to accommodate my 12oz FP then.

A few other thoughts. Pour the water into the FP while the FP is sitting on a scale. Even after all of these years, eyeballing it could put +/- 10% into the press. Plus, the age of the coffee dramatically impacts the size of the bloom, so I find it easier to just weigh the press as I pour the water into it.

Good idea!

Also, pay serious attention to the water quality. I use a particular bottled water that is available in my area that has about 150ppm total dissolved solids (I won't encourage you to buy a TDS meter). Do not use RO water, especially for a press pot.

I use filtered water from a Brita pitcher I keep in the refrigerator. Do you think that is sufficient? Thank you for not encouraging me to buy the TDS meter; you're a gentleman and a scholar. (It may have made my Amazon wish list)

One other tip, before you plunge (or even put the plunger into the pot), "break" the crust, as follows:


This is a technique pioneered (at least as far as I know) by a really serious coffee guy named Tim Wendelboe. His press pot instructions are worth reading.

Excellent; I'll give it a read.

Also, the coffee I sent it not really suited for a press pot, I think. I will send you something better to try.

Even more excellent!

Most of all, enjoy! Your posts have re-awakened my love for the press pot and, over the past few days, I have been drinking only espresso + press pot. Loving it.

This is quite fun really. My counter space keeps dwindling as I add more coffee gear to it.

My guess is many (some? most?) people stumble on this thread and run in horror, once they realize how screwed up we are. But, at least we each know we are not alone.

That's probably true! It's why there are only a select few of us in here.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

And to think we may even be joined presently by a lurker named Wordsworth, a scribbler of verse of some note, it is said, who - rumour has it - is currently working on something along the lines of: "Ode To A Most Perfect Cup Of Espresso For The Vernal Equinox".

Now, to a separate - but highly relevant - matter. Today, I sampled some 'Itzamna Guatemala' coffee which I had acquired through the good offices of 'Intelligentsia' coffee (one of many excellent products I have come to as a result of dropping in to this thread). It is a lovely clean, bright, smooth coffee; I suspect that I may need to tweak matters so that it is somewhat more robust next time, but an elegant cup, nevertheless. One I would recommend.

 

[S.B.G]

Congratulations to SBG on his French press; I am slighted for you that the (third) attempt worked out well; bear in mind, as Kurwenal and I have already mentioned, that this is a forgiving piece of equipment, one that will readily shepherd you to heights of coffee pleasure without the extraordinarily painful penalties effortlessly extracted by more……..demanding……devices…….

Thanks! I am quite pleased with it thus far and I do like that it is more forgiving for a beginner and that the learning curve isn't too steep.

I can even hold the FP under the spout of the grinder and grind the beans directly into the FP.

The creation process is just a tad more work than using the automatic drip, but I'm not complaining - it's part of the joy of making a cup. The cleanup with the FP vs. the automatic is by far much easier. A quick rinse, wash and dry and I'm done. The automatic has a lot more surface area to clean and several parts as well.

And to think we may even be joined presently by a lurker named Wordsworth, a scribbler of verse of some note, it is said, who - rumour has it - is currently working on something along the lines of: "Ode To A Most Perfect Cup Of Espresso For The Vernal Equinox".

Now, to a separate - but highly relevant - matter. Today, I sampled some 'Itzamna Guatemala' coffee which I had acquired through the good offices of 'Intelligentsia' coffee (one of many excellent products I have come to as a result of dropping in to this thread). It is a lovely clean, bright, smooth coffee; I suspect that I may need to tweak matters so that it is somewhat more robust next time, but an elegant cup, nevertheless. One I would recommend.]

Good to hear you were able to acquire some good coffee. I like how you describe it as 'clean' whereas earlier this morning in an email to Mr. Shrink, I described a cup I had this morning as 'dirty' but in a good way.

 

[Shrink]

Good to hear you were able to acquire some good coffee. I like how you describe it as 'clean' whereas earlier this morning in an email to Mr. Shrink, I described a cup I had this morning as 'dirty' but in a good way.

Clean...dirty...I'm lost!

Unfortunately, aging leads to a diminution of fine gustatory discriminative capacities. Although I never really acquired the nomenclature of coffee cupping (nor, in the past, of wine and cigar tasting), happily I can still discriminate a good extraction from a really good extraction from a great extraction.

I never was able to get to the point of "it has strong apricot and boysenberry notes, with a hint of chocolate, and a slight coyote poop finish".

It is interesting for me to read detailed cupping notes and then try to identify the flavors when I drink that bean or blend...I wish that I could tease out those separate flavors...but even years ago, when my gustatory perceptions were sharper, I really could only identify one flavor consistently (and still am able now), and that is chocolate. Everything else is a mystery to me.

This getting old thing really stinks big time...and anyone who calls it The Golden Years needs several sharp blows to the head with a heavy blunt object.

 

[S.B.G]

I never was able to get to the point of "it has strong apricot and boysenberry notes, with a hint of chocolate, and a slight coyote poop finish".

Boy, I sure hope that my gustatory discriminative capacity never gets honed to the point of discovering a slight coyote poop finish in my cup!

 

[Shrink]

Boy, I sure hope that my gustatory discriminative capacity never gets honed to the point of discovering a slight coyote poop finish in my cup!

Hehe...but now you'll be looking for it!

Bwhahahahah...

 

[S.B.G]

Hehe...but now you'll be looking for it!

Bwhahahahah...

Are we sure you're really Dr. Shrink? Are you really Dr. Evil?

 

[Shrink]

Are we sure you're really Dr. Shrink? Are you really Dr. Evil?

No...no...

Well, this is a recent photo...

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Are we sure you're really Dr. Shrink? Are you really Dr. Evil?

Very possibly, yes.

While I grant that the 'raspberry notes laced with apricot' stuff is a little beyond me, I did not the 'clean' note of this morning's 'Itzamna Guatamala', coffee, because some of what has been on offer (including, it must be said, stuff from tins marked 'illy') can best be described as (not 'dirty', as much as) 'muddy'.

Anyway, it was a markedly different cup to anything I have tried here, and I must say that I rather liked it.

Re 'Dr Evil', I think our resident Dr Shrink is merely auditioning for his epic transformation which should occur at the conjunction of the full moon and a glass of absinthe…….

But, yes, 'coyote poop finish' is a taste I'll happily pass on. Now, however, if you want detailed tasting notes, extracted from the deepest basement of padlocked memory, of the sort of foul brew that was exported by Nicaragua, which was bought (and worse, consumed) by us as students out of misplaced solidarity with revolutionary ideals……….I shall happily enlighten you.

With the singular exception of mare's milk (sipped in a yurt some years ago while observing a somewhat fraudulent election in Kyrgyrzstan, and watched by local leaders who were shaking with silent laughter as they eyed my struggles with this vile brew), that Nicaraguan coffee was quite the most awful thing I have attempted to consume in my entire life.

'Clean, bright, elegant and smooth' as offered adjectives are a vast improvement……...

 

[mobilehaathi]

Good morning you freaky folks!

 

[S.B.G]

Good morning you freaky folks!

Good morning. What an interesting concoction you have there!

 

[mobilehaathi]

Good morning. What an interesting concoction you have there!

Another cup in the life...

I have to say that my vacuum pump coffee storage contain works wonders. I stored some beans in a jar and some in the vacuum sealed one, and after a few weeks the sealed beans taste far better. There is a noticeable decline from peak, but the improvement from open air exposure is surprisingly large.

 

[S.B.G]

Another cup in the life...

I have to say that my vacuum pump coffee storage contain works wonders. I stored some beans in a jar and some in the vacuum sealed one, and after a few weeks the sealed beans taste far better. There is a noticeable decline from peak, but the improvement from open air exposure is surprisingly large.

What does this vacuum pump coffee storage container look like?

 

[mobilehaathi]

What does this vacuum pump coffee storage container look like?

This is it; I get a kick out of the promotional photo showing coffee grounds inside. The perfect way to render the vacuum container pointless!

 

[Shrink]

What does this vacuum pump coffee storage container look like?

This one example of the vacuum container...

Ooops! Late as usual!

 

[mobilehaathi]

Ooops! Late as usual!

Hmmm, better pull a shot! Get those reaction times down!

 

[Kurwenal]

I use filtered water from a Brita pitcher I keep in the refrigerator. Do you think that is sufficient?

I do. Once you have fallen a bit further down the coffee rabbit hole, you might decide otherwise, but the Brita is, I think, a very good solution. I have a Brita up at our cabin, and, according to my notes, for that particular water, it reduces the dissolved solids from 240ppm to 150ppm, which is great. It also reduces the pH from 8.9 to 7.9, which is another helpful improvement (of course, for perfect pH you can always just boil and then cool the water). There are raging debates on some coffee forums about the impact of the Brita's de-inonized water on coffee, but I've never found that to be an issue.

My only real complaint with the Brita, at least my model, is it doesn't make very much water.

What does this vacuum pump coffee storage container look like?

I use these. Highly recommended.

 

[Shrink]

Hmmm, better pull a shot! Get those reaction times down!

Aaah...if only it were that simple!

A shot will not suddenly make me able to type more than 3 words a minute!

 

[mobilehaathi]

Aaah...if only it were that simple!

A shot will not suddenly make me able to type more than 3 words a minute!

Well no, not suddenly, but about 10 min after consumption you should be flying! A good rule of thumb is 1 shot per 1 wpm desired speed up.

I know it doesn't seem like much of a speed increase, but surely you wouldn't complain about having to drink a lot of coffee, would you?

 

[S.B.G]

I do. Once you have fallen a bit further down the coffee rabbit hole, you might decide otherwise, but the Brita is, I think, a very good solution. I have a Brita up at our cabin, and, according to my notes, for that particular water, it reduces the dissolved solids from 240ppm to 150ppm, which is great. It also reduces the pH from 8.9 to 7.9, which is another helpful improvement (of course, for perfect pH you can always just boil and then cool the water). There are raging debates on some coffee forums about the impact of the Brita's de-inonized water on coffee, but I've never found that to be an issue.

My only real complaint with the Brita, at least my model, is it doesn't make very much water.




I use these. Highly recommended.

Sounds like I'm doing well in the water department. I like the way it tastes when I drink it straight - the water that is.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Today, I managed to make two offerings of the Itzamna Guatamala (single estate origin, 'clean', bright, etc. etc.) coffee in my French press; yesterday's filter (single cup) version taught a valuable and well heeded lesson that it needed to be made slightly stronger.

So, two lovely pots of coffee, served at an outdoor table while savouring some early spring sunshine….along with chocolate and apricot biscuits and good companions. What is there not to like?