What’s on your coffee bench?

[oldguy00]

For those that buy a few pounds of coffee at a time online (to meet free shipping requirement), how do you store your beans when you get them, if, say, you use a pound per week or so?

[CDollarsign]

I order 2.5 lbs from Kuma every 3 weeks. I dose it out in ziploc bags and then put it in a gallon ziploc and take what I need every day. This has kept coffee very fresh... but I am not doing espresso so I am not sure if it would work for that.

[Erikg]

Originally Posted by CDollarsign

I order 2.5 lbs from Kuma every 3 weeks. I dose it out in ziploc bags and then put it in a gallon ziploc and take what I need every day. This has kept coffee very fresh... but I am not doing espresso so I am not sure if it would work for that.

How do like Kuma Coffee? Is it typically a medium roast? We've been ordering from Camber coffee, rotating single origin 2lb bag every 2 weeks for several years now. We're pretty satisfied, and the 2lb/2week works really well schedule wise. I often wonder what other local roasters are like and consider trying something new, but never know who to go with.

[JedB]

I use these folks:
https://www.kittytowncoffee.com/

Good coffee and they support a different shelter each month with a % of profits.

[donevwil]

Originally Posted by JedB

I use these folks:
https://www.kittytowncoffee.com/

Good coffee and they support a different shelter each month with a % of profits.

Oh hell yes!! Bandit, Bella and Murphy (my cats) approved.

[CDollarsign]

Originally Posted by Erikg

How do like Kuma Coffee? Is it typically a medium roast? We've been ordering from Camber coffee, rotating single origin 2lb bag every 2 weeks for several years now. We're pretty satisfied, and the 2lb/2week works really well schedule wise. I often wonder what other local roasters are like and consider trying something new, but never know who to go with.

I like it! Its typically between light and medium and greatly varies on the bean. Only gripe is they like to send a lot of South American coffees... I usually have to reach out for something African and I will usually get it the next bag. I assume this is because South American coffees are cheaper. Shipping is quick and customer service is good.

[Jiminyt]

Moccamaster drip stop, baratza grinder, currently drinking Counter Culture Hologram

[rockdude]

This is for those who spend as much on there coffee equipment as they do on their bikes. Here is what it takes to produce a top end grinder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hksQjHDIzdA&t=4s

[AngryScientist]

The humble, unassuming mocha pot. My parents used to use one religiously for evening "demitasse", and I have had one for years but didnt see much use in recent decades.

After spending a couple weeks across the pond, where drip coffee isnt a thing, I have reacquainted myself with it's use; and am enjoying a cup now myself.

Anyone else use one regularly? What's the ideal grind? I'm thinking somewhere between espresso fine and drip coarse, but closer to the fine side. Thoughts?

[Mike V]

I use one daily for my morning coffee.

[Gsinill]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

The humble, unassuming mocha pot. My parents used to use one religiously for evening "demitasse", and I have had one for years but didnt see much use in recent decades.

After spending a couple weeks across the pond, where drip coffee isnt a thing, I have reacquainted myself with it's use; and am enjoying a cup now myself.

Anyone else use one regularly? What's the ideal grind? I'm thinking somewhere between espresso fine and drip coarse, but closer to the fine side. Thoughts?

Good timing. I got this one yesterday for my weeklong solo motorcycle camping trip. I pulled out the old one, which is probably the same size as the one in your picture, but decided it was too big.
Have to have my daily latte in the morning...

[pwgoode]

I have one that I've used for more than a decade. Simple, efficient, consistently good coffee. And most important for me - hard to f-up. My grind is slightly coarser than espresso grind. About two clicks more course than the espresso grind on my TIMEMORE Chestnut C3 manual grinder if that helps.

[froze]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

The humble, unassuming mocha pot. My parents used to use one religiously for evening "demitasse", and I have had one for years but didnt see much use in recent decades.

After spending a couple weeks across the pond, where drip coffee isnt a thing, I have reacquainted myself with it's use; and am enjoying a cup now myself.

Anyone else use one regularly? What's the ideal grind? I'm thinking somewhere between espresso fine and drip coarse, but closer to the fine side. Thoughts?

I've used one for about 8 years, the first one fell onto the tile floor and broke the handle so got another one, but then time I got the Bialetti Brikka, which makes better coffee than the regular Bialetti Express did, so I'm glad if fell!

Grind is dependent upon the roast, a darker roast coffee will take a medium grind, and light roast will take a medium fine grind. But let your taste buds tell the story, if the coffee is bitter from the coffee getting oversaturated then make the grind courser to speed up the time it takes the water to pass through the grounds, and keep doing that till you get what you like, and if the coffee is weak tasting, some say sour, but I never had sour coffee just weak coffee, anyway just reverse what I mentioned for the bitter taste.

You need to use filtered or bottled water whenever you make coffee. Pour in water into the bottom base till it reaches just a hair under the small brass valve on the side of the maker. Put that base on your stove and turn the heat on, get the water to boil, remove the base and drop in your coffee basket, and screw on the top pitcher looking thing, and put back on the stove. But do not get the water to boil, an electric stove top you could probably turn of the heat as I can with my glass top electric stove just before putting the unit back on the stove, it should start to come up through the tube within a 30 seconds, if not, turn the heat on to medium low till it does then turn it off. I don't have a gas range but from what I've seen on YouTube do what I said to get the water boiling, then with the flame on medium low you put the unit on the burner, but now you're going to watch and when that coffee comes out of the top tube you pick up and hold the unit above the flame if it looks like it's going to stall put it back on the heat till it picks up again, and just repeat.

The coffee needs to be coming out at a steady stream but not spraying out, sort of like a slow lava flowing volcano, instead of an exploding one!

I have a small bowl of cool water setting by the stove, when that coffee is finishing it will start to sputter, you want to set that maker in the bowl of water to cool it down fast and stop the process. Some people hold the unit over running water, I found it more convenient to use a bowl with about 1/2 inch of water in it.

The other thing I've been doing, which I've been doing for about 8 years, and told people on YouTube about this, now there's someone making these things. But I also have an AeroPress, which by the way is NOT an espresso maker, its just a filtered French Press, but I digress. The filters that fit my AeroPress also fit my Moka Pot, I do have to use 2. James Hoffman caught onto my ideal but I had to correct him about something, he was placing the filter into the bottom of the pitcher and then screw the unit together, I found out that by removing the O ring first, then place 2 of those filters there, reinstall the O rings so they hold the filters in place works much better, in fact all I have to do after making my coffee is to lightly spray the filter off while it's still attached, and those two filters will last at least a dozen uses. The filter also raises the pressure just a tiny about, so it could give you tad bit better crema, but it does seem to smooth the taste a bit as well.

If you have thermometer used for cooking meat with a probe to stab into the meat, you can use to to check your coffee temps, the coffee should be between 195 and 205 F as it is coming out into the pitcher.

Whenever you get done making coffee clean the pot, but do NOT put it in the dishwasher, or clean it with some sort of citrus dishwashing soap, citrus will destroy the finish, just follow the directions given by the maker to wash it.

If you grind your own beans, which you should, doing so gives you the best taste and increases the odds of getting crema, only grind what you will be using that day. The Brikka model that I have gives me consistent crema, not as much as a espresso machine, but it does provide about a third to a fourth of what an espresso machine will do.

Always try to buy the freshest coffee you can. Getting the coffee from a local roaster is the best, mail order is second best, but both of those will cost you at least $5 more a bag than grocery store bought coffee. Grocery store wise Peet's Major Dickason's blend, Liiy Coffee Classico Medium Roast, Moka Ground; Lavazza Espresso Italiano Ground Coffee Blend; Lavazza Qualita Oro Ground Coffee Blend. Or use any Ethiopian, or Kona coffee, Kona will be smoother sweeter taste, but Ethiopian is more traditionally used and will be stronger and richer flavored. But the beauty of making your own coffee is you can experiment with different types and different roasts, and have some fun.

Grinder wise, if you don't already have one, the best deal for a grinder is Timemore Chestnut C3S ESP Pro, which they stopped making, but you can still buy them on closeout on AliExpress. That grinder runs about $60 reduced from $200 something, if they're out of those then get the Timemore Chestnut C3S Pro for the same cost also on closeout. I got the ESP version when it went on closeout because it will grind coffee into a powder that I need for when I make Turkish coffee. There is a bit of a learning curve but not bad, just follow the directions closely.