Mmm, coffee

https://youtu.be/nHVpkvCbYfQ

Thanks for the shout out Zac and glad you enjoyed it. I'm no pro but am enjoying playing around with it. Thanks too for the gift certificate from Sweet Marias. I ordered some decaf to roast for an older member in my Congregation since I never have decaf for her when I'm sharing it. Nice job with the aeropress

My new coffee station

gregcss Nice spot to make some brew, I like the photo! Can I ask a couple questions, first, how do you like your grinder? Second, is the coffee brewer on the top left for making something similar to a Vietnamese style coffee method?

Well, my system still doesn't get along with caffeine at all. I need to take a dose of saw palmetto at my first sip of anything containing caffeine to keep things flowing; that being important when consuming a diuretic. So I rediscovered Postum. I've been using that as my morning cup for the past month but I was getting low so I returned to Amazon to see what else was available. It turns out that there are a bunch of coffee substitutes; Caffig, Pero, Cafix, and Caf-Lib are 4 that I'm trying now. They are all quite pleasant tasting.

I do like a caffeine boost when I'm driving on the boring interstate but again don't really like what it does to my urinary tract. So for that, or even a midday boost, the wife makes me OO capsules full of ground ephedra. One or two capsules works fine for a few hours of boost and I see no negative effects on my vitals. It also doesn't play badly with my urinary tract. Yes, I'm aware that some irresponsible children misused it for unimportant uses and died. I'm not a child but a responsible adult using the herb and not misusing it. That's like many Rx drugs and herbs that I take. I add all of that because someone I know claims that ANY use of it kills.

Hey zaclikestoshave thanks for uploading that video, Its always great to see others' techniques.  You're wise to grind the beans a little coarser for the aero press - that's basically a modified French press and if you're too fine you will plug up the flow and cause frustration or even if you don't you may find the coffee a little over-extracted and bitter.  I haven't had much success uploading my own videos but if I can manage it I'll try to upload video of my pour over process.  The crema you're talking about is a function of the coffee giving off CO2 and the fresher the roast the more you'll see.  When I bloom the grounds in my pour over the stuff effervesces and froths up impressively - I'll stick my nose in and get a deep whiff of the coffee aroma goodness.  

You were asking about grinders - I use a Baratza. I've had it for years and all the parts are replaceable and there's great videos available on how to do parts replacement that don't appear straightforward.  I've been happy with it and its likely the last/only grinder I'll ever need.  If you think its expensive you might be right but buying several cheaper ones over the years can end up costing more.  Buy once cry once.

https://baratza.com/grinder/encore/

I'm a big fan of Sweet Marias - they have this Youtube channel where there is all kinds of helpful content.  I've been buying my green beans from Thompson for about 20 years and I have never been disappointed.  I've tried other sources closer to home over the years and I have always been disappointed so its Sweet Marias for me.  They consistently bring in excellent coffees from all over the world.  Thompson has worked hard to establish and build relationships with the farmers and the co-ops on the ground and has done a lot to ensure that more of the money gets to the farmers.

https://www.youtube.com/user/sweetmarias

I watched the video 5 minute answers to coffee questions episode 2 last night.  Good - the first question was one I had been wondering about - Whats happened to the blueberry harrar (Ethiopian) coffee that we used to get several years ago that had that awesome blueberry bomb flavour?  I loved that stuff.  I don't accept Thompson's suggestion that its possibly our imagination arising from how unique tasting the Ethiopian coffees were when we first tasted them and now we're just used to it.  Possibly I can accept that early season crops have more crazy flavours, but I'm going to go with my own personal favourite.  Someone has secured the entire production for the long term and we no longer see it on the open market.  Based on history with coffees such as Jamaican Blue Mountain Wallenford Estate I'm going to say its Japanese buyers.  They bought the Wallenford Estate years ago and have directed all production to their own domestic use.  Fair enough, its business but I'm curious if something similar has happened to Ethiopian blueberry Harrar.

zaclikestoshave  that coffee dripper you asked gregcss  about is this:

https://www.sweetmarias.com/kalita-wave-...ipper.html

Its another type of pour over device that is flat bottomed instead of conical like the Hario V60 (that I use)

gregcss , I'd be interested in your feedback on the Kalita as well.

gregcss Nice spot to make some brew, I like the photo! Can I ask a couple questions, first, how do you like your grinder? Second, is the coffee brewer on the top left for making something similar to a Vietnamese style coffee method?

It's my first grinder and I love it. The Baratza Encore is most recommended with upgraded burr. I decided to go with the Virtuoso+ model since it has the better burr plus other features. The grinder is great all around, but if you are into espresso that you will want a higher end grinder from what I read.

I have not heard of Vietnamese coffee so maybe. It's used to make pour over coffee. I dont have a automatic coffee maker yet.

zaclikestoshave  that coffee dripper you asked gregcss  about is this:

https://www.sweetmarias.com/kalita-wave-...ipper.html

Its another type of pour over device that is flat bottomed instead of conical like the Hario V60 (that I use)

gregcss , I'd be interested in your feedback on the Kalita as well.

I like it. The only other brewing device I have is a Bialetti moka pot. I like both very much. I was debating between the kalita wave and v60, and went with the kalita because I read it's less fussy.

Since our Krups drip coffee maker just died after about 20 years, we have a new Cuisinart PerfecTemp Programmable coming. Not quite as many bells and whistles as some, but I think it will do the main job for us.