I figured all the notes on the other coffee accoutrements would make it obvious the electric grinder should be cleaned as well, not sure if I was high or just whatever the opposite of pessimistic is. I’ll make one next time I’m at the space.
Nope, you didn’t miss anything. I was just was making a cup or two and everyone decided to listen in to some sage advice about the dark arts.
There’s one still going up on the calendar.
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Coffee Roasting at the space?
At $0.63 a cup, we’d be crazy not to. Help pitch in by donating $5 to VCC so we can by the items on the shopping list for the class and availalbe to members at Dallas Makerspace.
I used to roast my own beans, and the design of the Nuvo Eco device seems impractical. If you want to get your feet wet roasting, I would think either the air popper method or the heat gun method would work much better at a similar price.
For drip, I would suggest, at minimum, a decent entry-level grinder like the Capresso Infinity or Baratza Encore. If we can afford it, I would look into something like the Baratza Virtuoso or the LIDO. Baratza is selling a refurbished Virtuoso at a nice discount. I would be willing to chip in for a Virtuoso.
If we ever want to do espresso, we’ll probably want to get another grinder. But something like a Virtuoso should work very well for pourovers.
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See pdf below
Hopefully you can view article - if not will delete.
Sounds interesting, but cannot read unless you are a subscriber.
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FYI: I haven’t been able to submit a class to the calendar as of late. But Good news; Roasting is happening!
Just got 5lb of green Columbian, SoyCaf, and a Nevo Eco in this week which I’m itching to share the results with everyone.
If your interested in learning about roasting coffee (on the small scale) then lets meetup Monday around 7pm in the Commissary for an impromptu class and tasting session.
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I have the ceramic roaster pictured in the video x about a year now. It is somewhat involved to use, taking about ten minutes for a roast but it works and it’s good for learning some things if you maintain some consistency and don’t change too many variables at once. Measure the beans each time and do the same wt. I usually do about 70 gm green beans. Use a thermocouple temp device if you have one. I have one that goes on my fluke DMM and it’s been handy to learn about temps. The roaster has a moderate amount of thermal mass and you want to approach the temp slowly if you aren’t measuring temperature.
Interesting. the vid is not really instructional but just demonstrating a few things. Beans pop twice (called first and second crack) when roasting. I’m pretty sure the cracks you hear with the roaster on the stove top in the vid are just the first crack and not where you would want to stop your roasting but he dumps them at that point, IMO (limited experience). The sound you hear when you see the dog in the video sounds like second crack btw but there is no narration. I’m still not sure precisely where to stop but I found that underroasted coffee is pretty horrible! And it doesn’t take much overshoot to go from dark roast to charcoal, esp if you run excessive temps and miss the second crack. It’s still a bit of mystery. Sometimes I don’t really hear it. Maybe it merges with the first crack.
I also have an air popper and have honed in on a temp and timing that seems to deliver a decent product but I’m really no coffee expert.
Well, if this class does materialize, I would be happy to bring these two poppers and with a small portable camping stove top we could give it a try with input from some of the experts. The air popper is pure electric powered.
I love my Aeropress, btw. Get the steel screens instead of the paper. So easy to use and just rinse and reuse.
Oops, reread the posts, looks like the class already happened. Well, maybe there will be another.
I’d sure be interested in an Aeropress class if it happens again. I’ve been an avid Aeropress user for a couple of years but would really like to learn new techniques that people feel improve the taste, and tricks for controlling water temp (in a feasable fashion).
a popcorn popper usually produces a low grade roast.
Who’s down for an impromptu class for grind and roasting + tasting session on the 7th at 7pm?
- Count me in
- I’d like to help
- How about a different time ( comment below )
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Inexpensive, entry-level roasting methods tend to produce inferior results. An air popper can apply heat evenly with less work to more beans at a time than that hand device and it costs the same amount—plus, air poppers afford some great DIY upgrade options. For example, it should be relatively easy to add an Arduino temperature controller to get more precise and repeatable control over the roasting profile.
Keep in mind that the video is comparing an out-of-the-box popcorn popper that is running too hot against an expensive industrial roaster that probably has sophisticated temperature controls that have been dialed in after many batches of experimentation. It would also have been a better test had they properly degassed the beans prior to brewing.
What does degassing actually do to the taste? I kind of like the foaming action you get when you roatst then immediately grind and brew in an Aeropress or pour over. But then, I’m easily entertained and not a good judge of coffee.
Coeur D’ Alene, northern Idaho.
These machines are made in Sandpoint, about 40 mile to the north.
And if you really want to go OCD about roasting, get a small version of the above machine and this open source software.
I’m sure it would fit in quite well as DMS.
guys I’ll have to reschedule, there’s a maintenance window tonight that I’m on call for to keep the devs on target.
Caramel Cider anyone?
https://talk.dallasmakerspace.org/t/unicorn-and-apple-drinks-at-the-space/55129
@axeonos I’m looking your direction o.~