Coffee | Great Java - Caffeinated Babblings!

Aeropress Review

March 13, 2014 by The Great Java

Count me impressed! This is one of the more surprising coffee gadgets I’ve tried In a long time. The Aeropress is a unique coffee maker that uses a tight seal plunger to push the water through fine ground coffee (after a short steep) under pressure into the cup. A fine paper filter at the bottom ensures none of the grit reaches the cup (There are also metal filter disk options). The pressure used also provides another level of extraction you don’t get with a french press, which is needed due to the shorter brew time. The method is unique in that you don’t need the water to be 200+ degrees for proper extraction, as a matter of fact most people prefer using it with water closer to 190 degrees (my preference as well). The result is like a rich Americano (espresso and water) with the bold taste of a French press.

As you see from the picture, the device consists of two pieces of plastic. The first chamber holds the water with the grounds along with a paper filter and screw on cap at the bottom. The other piece is a plunger fits tightly into the water chamber and pushes the water through the grounds into the cup. Think of a needle and syringe and you get the idea!

There is a lot of discussion about the different ways to use the device. The instructions probably don’t represent the best practice due to the very short extraction time and “leaking” during extraction. I think the best practice after trying it is to turn it upside down while making it (called inversion method) and to let the brew steep for about a minute, then flip over on cup and plunge (which takes another 20-30 seconds). If that doesn’t make any sense just YouTube it!

Leftover puck

After brewing you typically get about 4 ounces of coffee which can be used like a double shot in an iced coffee drink or simply add water to make an awesome Americano. A few tips I’ve learned:

Use a grind between espresso and drip. If you don’t have to push a bit, tighten the grind.
If you use a blade grinder you’ll really need to pulverize it to get it fine enough.
Let it steep for a minute, don’t plunge it super fast.
If you don’t like decaf, try a decaf espresso roast in this; I think you may find it yummy!

Toddy Coffee Review

September 2, 2012 by The Great Java

Several years ago a co-worker mentioned a shop in Louisiana that served coffee made from “cold-brew” and how great it was. I remember thinking how odd that seemed since I’ve always read the optimal temp for extracting coffee’s flavor was 200-205 degrees. Years later after hearing many stories, and amazon dropping the price on the Toddy Cold Brewer to $28 delivered, I decided it was time to try it.

As you can see there isn’t much to the system, it’s a big plastic bucket with a filter and stopper at the bottom. A glass decanter is included to drain the brew into after brewing. The Instructions have you add coffee (12 ounces) and water (6 cups) in a particular order to avoid clogging the filter. The brew, which has the consistency of jello, steeps for 12 hours. After the allotted time you unplug the stopper and let it drain the concentrate into the glass carafe.

I used trader joes $5 “joes dark” blend since this was an experiment and it’s dirt cheap. I ground it quite coarse like I would for a French press. The result after ten minutes of draining barely filled half way. This concentrate can be used for up to two weeks.

Despite following the instructions to the letter, my coffee got plugged draining out. I followed the instructions to loosen the grounds with a butter knife, but I couldn’t get all the liquid out no matter what I did.

The concentrate the Toddy brewer produces is to be used 1 part concentrate, 3 parts water/milk. I tried an americano and my own “frap” iced drink with it. The iced drink was better than using a double shot of espresso – much smoother. The americano drink was very similar to the taste of one made with espresso but a bit more of a french press flavor to it. It’s very good but quite different than regular brewed coffee or an espresso-based Americano.

I kinda wonder if you put a piece of cheesecloth in a tupperware container, added coffee and water and then after 12 hours just wrapped up the cheesecloth and grounds if that would work just as well. Or what if you brewed it in a pitcher and then just poured it through a large filtered pourover? So, while I think the result was great I wonder if there are other ways to brew it more easily. I’ll try it again soon, next time with a quality coffee

Announcing the Americola

June 9, 2011 by The Great Java

What happens when Americano meets soda? Americola of course. I invented the name, I don’t think anyone else is dumb enough to try this – or at least admit they did.

My idea was that if iced coffee is great, carbonation could only make it better!

I started with 4 shots of espresso, iced it, and poured it into a fresh liter of seltzer (from my soda stream machine). That proved to be a problem since there was a lot of fizz reaction and not enough space.

I poured the leftover espresso in two cups and added the water over top. It was a foamy mess. I’m not sure, but I think the crema really reacted with the carbonation.

The really funny thing was it tasted more like beer than iced coffee. Maybe I’ll try again maybe with a cold brew.

Vac Pot Coffee

January 22, 2011 by The Great Java

For Christmas my wife got me a “coffee gift” as she likes to call them. I’ve been wanting to play with a vacuum or “syphon” pot for years but my collection of brewing and roasting equipment (and supplies) has been “sufficient” (well probably). Hobbyists never can never have enough right?

There are quite a few different types of vac pots designs and they are designed to work with different heat sources (gas stove, electric based, or sterno powered). I wanted something inexpensive I could use on my gas burner and suggested the Yama vac pot idea to Mrs. G (it runs about $50).

How does the vac pot work? You heat water in the lower pot until water vapor forms, which creates a pressure and forces the hot water to the top pot (filled with ground coffee) via a tube that runs between the two pots. There is a filter between the chambers that keeps the coffee grounds in the top pot. Eventually almost all the water travels to the top and the coffee “steeps” for a couple minutes until you remove it from the heat source. After removing the heat the water vapor decreases and creates a small vacuum that siphons the freshly brewed coffee through the filter back to the bottom pot. This picture shows the stage where the water is still travelling to the top pot. This is half-science experiment and half coffee preparation. It’s fun to watch but more work than drip or press.

The Yama has only five parts and it’s very functional. I think the design is solid and seems to be well manufactured. Particularly important with these devices, the gasket sealing the upper and lower pots is a pliable thick rubber material and provides a good positive seal. It’s also fairly easy to separate the upper and lower sections when brew is done. The upper and lower pots are a nice thick tempered glass that you should not worry about breaking (but I store it back in the original box after cleaning). There is also a lid made of plastic that nicely doubles as a stand for the upper chamber (which is awkward to stand up due to the 5 inch glass tube at the bottom). The filter is just a cloth-wrapped periforated stainless steel disc. I’d highly recommend this pot to anyone who wants a n0-frill inexpensive vac pot.

So how does the coffee taste? The coffee is steeped, and so it shares some of taste you expect from a french press – yet it’s a very clean taste. The coffee lacks the “sludge” of a french press which should be good, but I think it is almost too clean (disclaimer: I love the french press). I’ve tried several coffees with varied brew times and feel the vac pot does not produce the same lingering body as other brewing methods. I still enjoy it and I am enjoying a cup right now!

Airpot Brewing with the Technivorm

May 20, 2009 by The Great Java

Don’t try this at home. Wait, TRY this at home!

Often I get assigned “coffee duty“. This often happens when we have people coming over, we host a party, or bring coffee to an event. I often find myself getting out my two glass airpots and brewing coffee into the carafes. Then I carefully pour into the airpots. While this solution works, I was interested in brewing a larger quantity directly into an airpot. This would be less work and temperature loss (a lot). Even my great home equipment isn’t made to do this, but I developed some workarounds to the problems I ran into.

1) Cone filter. These are great for brewing smaller batches of coffee. With larger quantities you wind up over-extracting the grounds at the point of the filter (the bottom). This can give you a nasty bitter taste even if you use the correct amount of coffee. Workaround? Stir the basket grounds when brewing is 2/3 complete.

2) Water reservoir is too small. In my Technivorm I can do 10+ cups (close to 1 liter) of filtered water. Unfortunately, an airpot is typically 1.6-1.8 liters. Workaround? Before the 10 cups were gone I’d add 6 more cups of water. Your application will vary, I did a “dry run” with just water.

3) Basket too small for extra coffee. Typically to brew an airpot of coffee you want about 3.25 ounces of beans, which is roughly a cup of dark roasted whole bean coffee. This may be too much coffee for the basket and cause an overflow. Workaround? I did a scant cup of coffee (7/8) as to not overload the basket.

4) Airpot is taller than the brewer! Workaround? As you can see, I was able to put the brewer on a small box to accommodate the airpot perfectly under the brewer.

If your coffee maker doesn’t brew at the right temperature, or takes longer than six minutes to brew a normal pot don’t try this. You need a quality brewer that will brew for the right amount of time at the right temp. The Technivorm MoccaMaster is a high-quality coffee maker that will last for many years and make coffee as good as your best local coffee shop.

Time to Clean the Equipment! Really.

April 11, 2009 by The Great Java

About 3 weeks ago my wife and I started noticing an odd rubbery metallic taste/smell to my espresso drinks. We had some immediate suspicions. The first was the cup itself. We had just picked up some new fun mugs at IKEA in Chicago and figured the nasty smell came from the cup. We swapped out cups and thankfully it wasn’t our new mugs. My next guess was the espresso blend itself.

I thought the beans smelled a little different when grinding. I know sometimes too much Robusta in a espresso blend can give the cup that flavor so I emailed my local roaster to see if there was anything new or maybe a bad roast batch had been reported (anything!). Nope, dead end. Time to clean the Ranchilio Rocky grinder.

I unscrewed the plate that holds the hopper and unthreaded the top burr. Yup, a 1/4 inch of yucky oils and residue. I got it all clean and cleaned the small cavities around the bottom burr. Fixed right? Nope, another dead end. Time to clean the machine.

I started with descaler, soaked all the components (wow – the portafilter!). The first shot I pulled revealed no change. I start wondering about that gasket in the brewhead that’s been there for 5+ years and the scary process of backflushing that I’ve not done (because of the vendor recommendations). I stumble across a great website (there are many for this machine) that finally gives me the courage to do these two things. I ordered a rubber insert for the portafilter that turns it into a blind (which forces pressure back into the machine for backflushing). In addition I picked up a $5 gasket. $10 in parts, $10 in shipping (boooo…!)

After emptying the machine and turning it on the side I wrestle out the gasket. Prying it out from the innermost part seemed to be the trick. To say there was a lot of oil and burnt reside in this area would have been an understatement. After removing it I used a standard espresso cleaning brush to get every corner of that brass brew head clean. Putting the new gasket in was simply, insert smooth side down and push. Next I backflush. I first put the knobby part of this rubber stopper down into the spout (made sense to me) but it didn’t seal, upside down did the trick. I flushed it several times and let it sit for a bit, then cleaned it out and backflushed again with water. After putting it all back together I pulled a couple shots with old beans.

The moment of truth. Will I be cursed forever with rubbery metal flavored coffee? I was happy to only smell coffee flavors when I dumped the 2 shots into the hot water to make an Americano! Gasket, backflush, who knows – one or both of them did the trick.

I found a lot of people complaining about this same issue on the net (but not a lot of answers). If you have a similar issue read the above links and order from Chris Coffee (I got parts in a few days). Gotta run, time for another Americano.

Is it Branding or the Roasting?

March 24, 2009 by The Great Java

If you are a coffee lover like me you probably don’t like the fact that the popularity of coffee has more to do with product branding than the experience of the drink (or the quality of the bean or roasting). Since I’m always thinking of business opportunities on the web (in a grand delusion to escape corporate America) I’ve been intrigued by a few coffee companies (web and local) have used different forms of branding, causes, etc. to take this great commodity and make a decent profit.

Someone recent gave me a bag of this coffee, A Land of a Thousand Hills, which will be brewed tomorrow for me and the wife (and a carafe to take to work friends). The thing that intrigues me is the work to build a message and niche branding behind the coffee. I’ve often considered private labeling a local roaster and selling on the web, but haven’t found the right niche.

People love the coffee, but they also love the look of the bag and the story of the coffee. In this case there is an Environmental, Christian, Help Rwanda Message. Start helping by buying the coffee. Most people don’t realize that coffee is what keeps many people in these countries fed.

These guys have a great niche and story… And we’ll see about the quality of the beans tomorrow.

Update: The roast was Italian, and the bean sized varied. Like a Sumatra the smaller beans were fairly charred. I expected to taste mostly a roast profile rather than a varietal one (starbucks effect). The grind had an unusual distinct smell I couldn’t place until I drank it. To my surprise I didn’t really taste a dark carmel roast flavor but something that tasted like green tea! I have to say it is the most unusual coffee I’ve had. Not being a fan of green tea, it’s not my “cup of tea” so to speak. One of my co-workers (with no prompting from me) said, “Is this tea or coffee?” I showed them the beans to dispel their unbelief! I’ll have to ask my local roaster for some background on Rwandan coffee. Thanks Therian for sharing some interesting Joe with an interesting message.

No Thanks McDonalds, Not Even if it is FREE

December 19, 2008 by The Great Java

McDonalds is really wanting to get in on the coffee game. How do I know? All the local stores are doing “Free Lattes” all day on Friday. Free? Can you imagine if your local Starbucks had free Lattes? The police would have to direct traffic in front of the stores. We stopped to see if we could get a Redbox movie (with a free code) and getting a FREE Latte seemed right up our alley as Mr. & Mrs. GreatJava. My wife didn’t get much sleep last night, so she ordered a decaf. The clerk responded with “We don’t do decaf lattes”. What? Really? I wondered if what she meant was, “Lady, there is no real coffee in this, and therefore no caffeine”. My wife ordered the beverage which was prepared quickly.

We got in the car and my wife took one sip, which was followed by a “blaaah!”. Keep in mind, my wife is a well-trained coffee snob, so I figured I should try it. I opened the lid to find a few bubbles. Yes, bubbles not foam. It was near white in appearance, and had a faint coffee smell to it. Committed at this point, I take a sip. “Yuk.” Was it the lack of espresso, missing foam, or temperature? Nope, it was just gross. It tasted like someone warmed up some milk, blew a few bubbles in it with a straw, and mixed in a meagerly teaspoon of instant joe. Wow. McDonalds, you spent a lot of money on this product rollout, testing, and free samples. You’ve missed the boat by a mile – I suggest you stick with the burgers and keep your day job.

I’m Sorry Trader Joes.

April 14, 2008 by The Great Java

I like a lot of your products! I want to like your coffee.

Comes in fun cans
Less than $8/lb average
Quite a few varieties
Quick and easy (minutes from home).

It just seems stale to me. I’ve tried a few cans over the last year. The aroma when opening a coffee container says a lot, and your coffee is pretty quiet. I suppose darker roasts have enough of a caramelized roast flavor to make up for the complete loss of varietal flavors for some people. To me it is just terribly boring – they all taste pretty much the same to me.

I can only guess the canister isn’t as good as the valve bag?

Update 4/22/08 : Tried a very dark roast (yeah, I’m punishing myself). I have only seen beans that crumbly and oily when I forgot to turn off the roaster. I threw them away. I always wondered what that would taste like, now I know. Don’t bother.

A Solution to my Latte Art Problem

March 18, 2008 by The Great Java

I’ve had a lot of practice at this, and I’m still not very good at it. Is it the quality of the foam or pouring technique issue? We had our friends Brian and Angela over this Sunday and I made a couple of lattes. One was “abstract art”, the other a “scorpion” (so they were not successful). It is fun trying.

I’m not sure my wife would let me put this on the kitchen counter…