Coffee

For those who aren't familiar with it, Magic is style of coffee that was born in Melbourne Australia somewhere in the last 10 years. It's a double ristretto with equal part latte frothed milk, served in a 5oz cup.

It's quite niche, and not found on most menus even in Australia, though some of the more "snobby" cafes that want to be seen to take coffee seriously will list it. Even more will know what it is when you order it, even if it's not on the menu.

Yet somehow, it seems like every second cafe in Buenos Aires, Argentina has magic on the menu. It's arguably more popular there than in Australia.

And I am so curious how this came about! Does anyone have the coffee history behind this that they can share?

Not sure if this is allowed so mods lemme know if it’s not. Just sharing a link to a roasting specific discord I started. Not sure how many fellow roasters there are here but there wasn’t any roasting specific communities I could find so thought I’d start my own.

I'm a coffee newb - bought an Aeropress and a Rhino hand grinder, and I've sort of flailed around changing things randomly and ended up with an enjoyable repeatable cup by sticking to the same beans, grind, water temperature, brew time & method that seems to work for me.

My issue is I'm not really sure about the terms used to describe the basic aspects of coffee taste - eg bitter, sour, acidic, under extracted, over extracted, etc. I feel like if I did understand them, that would give me the skill to try different things (such as a different roast) and adjust the other factors to match them to get something that suits me, or to be able to make a cup of coffee that would suit someone else's taste.

I'm wondering if you're able to tell me how to deliberately create these other tastes - I imagine I could comparatively taste them and mentally match the words to the sensations. For example, how can I deliberately create an obviously bitter cup, an over extracted cup etc.

The resources I've got for this project are the Aeropress and grinder mentioned, Nespresso machine, a medium and a dark roast, a French Press, and whatever coffee I can get from a supermarket.

Does this sound like a viable plan? If so, what are the tastes I should learn, and how can I create guaranteed and slightly exaggerated versions of them?

Hey guys Im a proud owner of Delonghi Magnifica S automatic espresso machine for 6 months now. Our water is super hard with loads of scale and I have been cleaning (descaling) machine with Delonghi EcoDecalc, but friend recommends this one (much cheaper):

Is this safe to use? It says it contains citric, lactic and malic acid. It also says to use 50 ml on 500 ml of water while Delonghi EcoDecalc should be 100 ml on 1700 ml (I think) of water. Its almost 2x difference and I was thinking if acids are simmilar I should use 100 ml of acid for full tank anyway.

We abuse our machine by making loads of coffe and tea. With scale settings on max we get descaling alarm every 3-4 weeks. It used to be on medium settings, but machine almost clogged completely once...so thats why max settings. Delonghi liquid is not cheap, but dont want to take any risk for 30€ a year. On the other hand, I dont want to pay 10€ for a 2-3€ product just because it says Delonghi on the bottle.

What do you use for your machine? How often do you descale?

So I have drank coffee on and off since I was a teenager, and I recently took probably a 2 year break from it. When I was drinking coffee, it was usually because they had a pod system at work, and it was an excuse to get up from my desk and take a break. With that said, I have been watching this Netflix show Resident Alien recently, and there is a lot of coffee drinking in it, and I started craving a hot cup. On my way home from dropping my daughter off at daycare, I stopped at the local gas station\market and got a cup and was like "Man, I miss coffee, and this coffee is pretty terrible."

So this got me thinking that I want to get back into morning coffee tradition, but I no longer work in an office, I work from home. I don't want to go pod system because they are wasteful, weak, and a pain in the but to clean\maintain. My wife doesn't drink coffee, so I don't need to make a whole pot. So I was thinking of going French press, as that seems to be suggested in a lot of places for single-serve.

Do you folks have a suggestion on French press brands? I know it's a pretty simple mechanism, but I'm not against spending a couple extra bucks to get something that will enhance my coffee making\drinking experience. Additionally, I am looking for something that will filter out as many grounds as possible. Are you guys for\against paper filters? Should I get a metal one? Do I need one of those things that goes on top of my mug to hold the filter? Where do I start?

I know coffee can get really mad scientist really quick, and I'm not trying to go that route (yet). My brother-in-law has one of those electric kettles that gets to an exact temperature, and he grinds his own beans and weights them, and does the whole swirly pour to get "the perfect cup" and while that seems cool, I am not ready to take it to that level.

So what is your suggestion on "starter builds"?

Also, what about beans? Do I grind my own? Do I start with store bought stuff (I always liked Cafe Bustelo)?

Any and all advice is welcome.

Edit: I also forgot to add - I have read about cold brewing being really smooth. How do I cold brew and heat it back up? Do people do that? Would love to hear more about it.

Edit2: Oh man, this community is awesome! I didn't expect so many great responses. Pulling the trigger on an Aeropress after reading all the comments here and watching some James Hoffman videos about it. It definitely looks like the right fit for me. I'm not going to get a grinder quite yet, as I feel like I am just beginning my journey and I don't want to go balls to the wall right out the gate. There is a coffee shop right down the street from me that sells\grinds beans, so that sounds like the best bet for trying different things.

Sxan mentioned the Toddy's kit, and that also has my interest. Maybe that's next after a grinder. I have a feeling I am about to go down an expensive caffeine fueled rabbit hole. Wish me luck. I will report back.

Please help! I have all the fancy espresso tools and a nice grinder, but I have no idea why I don’t get an even flow out of my machine. I have a Niche grinder, I use a WDT tool to distribute the grounds, I use the Normcore distributor, and a normal dose tamper. I replaced the shower screen on my espresso machine with the VST screen and I’m using a VST 18g basket with a puck screen. I am pulling 40g shots in about 28 seconds, so I believe my flow rate is right, but I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong!

My significant other doesn’t care nearly as much about coffee as I do, so we always have pre-ground supermarket coffee at home. Tastewise, it’s usually rather dull and bitter because apparently, that‘s what people expect coffee to taste like around here.

I wonder if there is a method/recipe that can compensate for those flaws. The Aeropress is pretty versatile, so going for lower temperatures and/or shorter extraction times comes to me as a natural first step in this investigation. Doing a pour over with this stuff feels like I‘m wasting precious V60 filter papers though tbh 😄

Any further suggestions? I own a V60, an Aeropress, a cheap drip coffee machine and the (in-) famous IKEA french press. My kettle only allows for adjustments in 10°C steps, but features a temperature display, so I can go reasonably precise on that end.

Cheers! ✌️

My grinder (Timemore Chestnut) isn’t of the super fancy kind that won’t ever produce any fines. So after some initial skepticism about the video’s topic, I was intrigued and gave it a try. And oh boy, does it make for a change in the result: Where I would normally set the grinder to 14 clicks, now I’m at 9 (where lesser is finer) and the coffee is still more on the sour side.

With the Aeropress, I’m experimenting with longer brew times, no big deal. Overall, I think I’m getting a more even, more efficient extraction with more strength per gram of coffee without the harshness you get when grinding too fine.
But for pour over, I’m unsure if I should really go any finer. The bed already was sort of muddy the last time. Do you have any experience on the topic you’d like to share? Have you tried slow feeding, and if yes, are you still doing it, and are you doing it for everything or only certain brew methods?

This is a follow up to https://lemmy.today/post/5656872

I recently got a Hario Switch clone and a metal filter. So far I'm liking a recipe inspired by these YouTube shorts:

• https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rCj4hBDpY6Q
• https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dAWQPUVDKck

Recipe:

1. Start with 20g of grinds, stir to loosen the grinds and make a divot in the center
2. With the switch closed, add 150g of 90C (195F) water
3. Give it a quick stir and wait 1 minute
4. Add another 150g of hot water
5. Open switch

What is your daily driver recipe for your Hario Switch?

I recently picked up a V60 to take a stab at pour over at home. I was getting ok drinks out, but my pour control was all over the place. It was too fast and not very accurate as I was using my existing hot water kettle.

I hate replacing things that work and I didn't want to get a new kettle just for coffee making. I started looking for some small kettle options where I can put my hot water on and pour out. A lot of the products in this category are either too affordable where the handles come off or too costly. I was hesitant to get the Hario Air due to Hoffman's review, but it really seemed to check all my boxes.

After making a few cups, it is amazing. I can't get as close to the grinds as a normal kettle, but I'm not to far. Control is great, but the neck thickness causes me to bump the V60 sometimes, need more practice. At any rate, I love this and it's easy to store in the cabinet when not in use.

TLDR: Great product if you have an existing hot water kettle you don't want to replace just to make pour over.

If you're not quite sure about getting into coffee, you can get started with a small budget, and you can make a nice cup of coffee that way. Probabaly not a great cup, but a cup of coffee you'll find enjoyable at the time. Once you start experimenting with different variables and digging a bit deeper into different flavors, you may notice that you're not getting the same cup every time. That's when you start pushing the limit of what's possible with the equipment you have available, and you'll realize that using a cheap grinder is sort of like making you play this game in the hard mode.

Examples: Using a cheap blender type grinder (blade grinder) means you can easily chop coffee to some unknown random particle size. You don’t pay much, but at least you can use recently roasted whole bean coffee, which is great. If you want to adjust the particle size in a specific way, that’s when it gets very tricky. Did you grind one second longer than last time? Too bad, now it’s way too fine and you’re getting a bitter cup as a result. Fortunately, you can easily fix that with milk, but as you start noticing more details in the taste profile, you start demanding more and more. Consequently, fixing mistakes with milk won’t be as appealing as it once was.

Using a cheap hand grinder is a lot better than an electric blender. Once you set the screw at a specific position, you’ll get the same particle size every time, which is great for consistency. What if you decide to use a french press today, but tomorrow you want to switch back to pour over, moka pot or AeroPress? Too bad, the grinder has no markings on it, so you’ll just have to eye-ball the setting and hope for the best. That’s obviously easier than timing your blender perfectly every time, but it’s still not exactly easy to get great results.

The solution: Eventually you’ll want to buy a burr grinder (electric or manual) with clear markings for different grind sizes.

When to invest? Don’t spend any more money on better gear until you’ve already “needed” better gear a few times in order to fix something you’ve noticed in your cup. As long as you’re relatively happy with your current gear and the cup it produces, there’s no need to spend more on this hobby. However, when you start noticing new things, that’s the right time to buy something that really addresses a specific thing you have in mind.

Summary: Get started with cheap gear and upgrade only when you think it’s necessary. Getting some random cup of coffee using cheap gear is easy, but getting a specific kind of cup with that gear is hard. Using more expensive gear will make it easier.

Something else? This is based on my personal experiences, and your experiences may differ. This rule of thumb might apply to grinders, but it is not guaranteed to apply to other types of equipment. For instance, I don’t own an espresso machine, so I have no idea how price is reflected on the end result in that case.

This week I’m enjoying Barrett’s Columbian Huila Natural - Carlos Fernando Red Bourbon.

This is one of the rarer ones that doesnt seem to drop off into bitterness no matter how fine I grind. Because of that I imagine it would make pretty fantastic espresso. The tasting notes of “blueberry, bubblegum, chili powder, winey, consistent” seem all over the place to me, and i’m not getting any of those. This coffee just tastes like a nice medium roast to me without any huge standout notes.

Looks like they reused a URL here since it doesnt match the description.

https://www.barrettscoffee.com/collections/coffee-beans/products/uganda-sipi-falls

Obviously, we all love James, but is there anyone else you subscribe to?

Personally, I watch Lance Hedrick. I like what he does, but his vids tend to be super nerdy, so might not be everyone's cup of tea

Everyone here talks about the Hario Switch. And I like the oils you get from a French press, so I want a stainless steel filter too. I had some good experiences buying a cheap manual grinder on Ali Express (Jaffee J1 w/ 7 core burr), so I wanted to set out to see if I could do the same with this set up.

Do you think this will work?

• $15.71 Immersion Dripper Switch Coffee Maker
• $3.29 Double Layer 304 Stainless Steel Coffee Filter

Hi folks, I'm a bit new to the addiction club, but recently acquired the Bialetti to my addition of coffee machines. I am uncertain to what level of grind should I buy for the Bialetti? Filter or Espresso? And if I grind myself, I have an electric one, how long do I grind it for?

I've been using my grinder (Baratza maestro plus) for ten years now, and I got it used. I've replaced some parts (e.g., burrs), but I'm wondering if it's finally time to let it go. It seems like it's not grinding as consistently as it once was, but I'm thinking it would be good to quantify it.

I've seen sieves used to classify ground coffee, specifically, the brand Kruve seems to be a nice implementation. It's $90 for the cheapest version, though, which doesn't quite seem worth it to me. It seems like it'd be better to just spend the money going towards a new grinder, but I figured it would be good to ask for anyone's experience here.

Any suggestions for roasted decaf beans I can get Canada?

I'm wondering if we should start a sticky post which contains everyone's collection of Bean/Grinder+Setting/Brew method information as a reference. It's always good to have a nice starting point.

I will update as comments come up.

I mainly want to get a coffee grinder because beans have a longer shelf life and are cheaper. If I also get better coffee, that's a bonus! (Basically, I'm not looking for a premium option)

What is something I should pay attention to when buying a grinder. I see people mention "flat burr" grinders all the time. Is that something important?

A few years ago I bought a cheap terrible manual coffee grinder off Amazon. It took 5-10mins to grind my coffee. The grounds where too course and my hands hurt. Is the experience better with higher quality manual grinders? At the moment, I'm not a huge fan of manual grinders because of this experience and am leaning towards buying an electrical one.

What makes a coffee grinder better than others? What is the difference between premium and budget options?

Starting down the rabbit hole and wondering if people would suggest their favorite independent coffee roaster that do online shopping.

I'm based in the UK so would like to support domestic business if possible. I've tried gentleman baristas which I've enjoyed but looking to expand my horizons and experiment with things like natural coffees.

When I placed the order for a new Baratza Encore ESP, I also picked up this bellow for the hopper to push the left over grinds out of the machine. I posted a picture of the grinder earlier this month.

After two weeks of use, I needed to clean the grinder since I'm switching from flavored beans to non, there were no grinds in the machine. Sure there are some fines on the burrs that need to be brushed off, but not much. I'm impressed with this product and recommend it for anyone that has this grinder.

You can actually see the left over grinds fall into the bin when you press the bellow. Works great especially if you do the water spritz to minimize static.

👍

Basically the title.

I remember them being extortionately expensive when they came out, but was surprised that they're "only" $80 with a puck screen, which seems fairly reasonable.

Just curious if people have tried it and whether it's worth it.

I currently use a pretty nice Ninja coffee maker but I’m trying to simplify my coffee experience and found using a pour over coffee maker to be somewhat therapeutic. It may sound weird but I felt more connected to the coffee.

So I think I’m down to deciding between a borosilicate carafe pour over with a 304 stainless steel filter and an insulated French press (also 304). I have never used a French press and I like the idea of having the insulation on either, but then I second guess myself and think “Can’t you just make more coffee if you need more or pour more hot water? Why do you need to keep it hot?”

What are your thoughts about it?