Shaving notes of the MaineYooper

Happy 8th anniversary for my Steampunk Slim. It arrived back from the shop in mid June, 2016, and was my daily preference for almost 2 years!

It still looks gorgeous 8 years later, too. That's a quality coating. Was that BRG's handy work?

Happy Anniversary !!!!!

Happy 8th anniversary for my Steampunk Slim. It arrived back from the shop in mid June, 2016, and was my daily preference for almost 2 years!

It still looks gorgeous 8 years later, too. That's a quality coating. Was that BRG handy work?

No, it was Delta Echo Razor Work, a veteran if I recall, who used Gun Kote to make some marvelous razors. I had a few and sometimes wished that I'd kept some. I think Dave in KY has a "Cubano" Fatboy, or did at one time. Someone in Hawaii does similar work using Cerakote. North Shore Razors?

A comfortable Steampunk themed shave!



Gillette '64 Slim in Copper and Black 
Personna Platinum Chrome
Murphy & McNeil Nil
Fluffy Industries 86S with a 24mm apshaveco Cashmere

I changed the setting to 4 for a more relaxed shave, but could just as easily left it on 5. This Slim is one smooth razor and the less efficiency of 4 had me getting carefree while taking more strokes and I nicked the corner of my mouth! 

Have a good weekend folks!

Nic Pic and Shave Eric

Many thanks to GoodShave for posting this video in the Mmm, Coffee thread. 

Another rabbit hole that have ventured into is making a great cup of coffee at home and for work. I use a nice drip coffee maker for making a thermos of coffee for work (it has a "bloom" feature that I *believe* helps to make a better pot of joe!) and for home I brew by the cup, using pour over and French press (cafetiere across the pond).

Using the 4:6 pour over method was used this morning with a dark roast, Vienna from Jim's Organic Coffee (Massachusetts). I chose to use the "formula" that brings out more sweetness and less acidity. It did make a smooth cup, and a dark one. For work I'd love it. But I wanted to see if by using this method I could start to detect the flavor profile listed on the various roasts that I like. As I wrote to friend this morning, small batch roasters sometimes give flavor notes or profiles that rival fancy wines! I want to educate my palatte and see if I can detect "A bold mocha character balanced with spice and lemon," or "Big, balanced taste with complex chocolate and berry notes." Currently my palatte can detect a difference between the Ethiopian beans (first profile) and the Guatemalan beans (second profile), both of which are medium roasted. On rare occasions I can detect the chocolate or mocha. But no berry, lemon, or spice! I want to evolve from an uncouth barbarian into a true coffee snob!!

The second cup was the Ethiopian single origin listed above. I sense the chocolate quickly, and maybe (?) the spice. What is cool about the video Good Shave posted is that you can tweak the 4:6 method and bring out different "bodies" of the final cup by varying how you do the final pours of water. So the third cup (and then I'll have to stop due to jitters and needing to urinate too much!!) I'll try getting less body and see if the sweetness brings out more of the flavors. 

And then you can change the initial pour/bloom, and highlight the acidity/brightness. Now I will admit, I don't fully grasp all this lingo yet. As a chemist, I know acids are sour and bases are bitter. I find that light roasts often taste sour to me. This is another reason why I need to up my game. Light roasts have complex flavor profiles and I would love to experience those and not be overwhelmed by "sour" tastes. I am hoping my bad experiences with light roasts is due to poor technique. Just like shaving, if I can learn the right techniques, I believe I can make delicious coffee no matter what kind of roast I have. And sure, I still may prefer a "heavy" cup, but I want to be able to experience the other cups as best I can!

Thanks for reading along and please, jump in with any experiences or tips or stories you have!

The third cup today had me reverse the bloom and 2nd pour amounts, doing a larger bloom pour. All else the same, and I can say that the resulting cup did seem to have more brightness, if I am getting this right. It didn't sit heavy on the tongue or mouth. But the flavor seemed about the same, maybe a hint more of a pleasant, spiced chocolate flavor, and no lemon or sourness detected. I liked this cup better than the one that was to highlight the sweetness.

Many thanks to GoodShave for posting this video in the Mmm, Coffee thread. 

Another rabbit hole that have ventured into is making a great cup of coffee at home and for work. I use a nice drip coffee maker for making a thermos of coffee for work (it has a "bloom" feature that I *believe* helps to make a better pot of joe!) and for home I brew by the cup, using pour over and French press (cafetiere across the pond).

Using the 4:6 pour over method was used this morning with a dark roast, Vienna from Jim's Organic Coffee (Massachusetts). I chose to use the "formula" that brings out more sweetness and less acidity. It did make a smooth cup, and a dark one. For work I'd love it. But I wanted to see if by using this method I could start to detect the flavor profile listed on the various roasts that I like. As I wrote to friend this morning, small batch roasters sometimes give flavor notes or profiles that rival fancy wines! I want to educate my palatte and see if I can detect "A bold mocha character balanced with spice and lemon," or "Big, balanced taste with complex chocolate and berry notes." Currently my palatte can detect a difference between the Ethiopian beans (first profile) and the Guatemalan beans (second profile), both of which are medium roasted. On rare occasions I can detect the chocolate or mocha. But no berry, lemon, or spice! I want to evolve from an uncouth barbarian into a true coffee snob!!

The second cup was the Ethiopian single origin listed above. I sense the chocolate quickly, and maybe (?) the spice. What is cool about the video Good Shave posted is that you can tweak the 4:6 method and bring out different "bodies" of the final cup by varying how you do the final pours of water. So the third cup (and then I'll have to stop due to jitters and needing to urinate too much!!) I'll try getting less body and see if the sweetness brings out more of the flavors. 

And then you can change the initial pour/bloom, and highlight the acidity/brightness. Now I will admit, I don't fully grasp all this lingo yet. As a chemist, I know acids are sour and bases are bitter. I find that light roasts often taste sour to me. This is another reason why I need to up my game. Light roasts have complex flavor profiles and I would love to experience those and not be overwhelmed by "sour" tastes. I am hoping my bad experiences with light roasts is due to poor technique. Just like shaving, if I can learn the right techniques, I believe I can make delicious coffee no matter what kind of roast I have. And sure, I still may prefer a "heavy" cup, but I want to be able to experience the other cups as best I can!

Thanks for reading along and please, jump in with any experiences or tips or stories you have!

You are very welcome!

When I think of sourness, I think of under extraction. That happens to me when I pour too fast or my grind size is too coarse for the brew method/recipe/beans.

More coffee journaling 

Today's coffee is Jim's Organic Ethiopian
Water is brought to 97-98C, 18.3 grams of coffee, 300 grams of water added.

1st cup done using the balanced bloom and 1st pour (60g bloom, 60g pour), followed by 1 pour of remaining water (180g) for a lighter body. Result was pretty good, but no new flavor notes detected.

The 2nd cup was done using the "sweet" bloom/pour (40g water for bloom, 80g pour) with the light body 2nd pour (180g). I really found this cup easy to drink as a good coffee should be, but again, I can't say I detected anything other than a good coffee taste. Well, there was a hint of chocolate. And the body was light with a good mouth feel.

The final cup was the "brightness" bloom of 80g bloom and at 45s, the remaining 40g. Final 180g added as one pour for a lighter body. This was a very good cup. I think I need to repeat this brewing on my next day off and work on detecting nuances in the coffee.

Dave in KY, you roast your own beans, don't you? That is very fun sounding!

Do you have tasting tips? I see you post occasionally regarding whiskeys, and I imagine a palate is needed there as well to pick up on the various notes. Sometimes I think I inherited my Dad's taste buds, in that many things don't taste like what I hear other folks say! My wife has the super sensitive nose and taste buds, and we kid about how I can eat fine chocolates and then still find a Hershey bar to be tops, or that I can't smell some wonderful aroma! But I am hoping to learn to detect flavors in roasted coffees.