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Coffee - do you and how do you consume it?

Snarfie

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Now i'm not a vinyl fan but having coffee at Bambino in Paris is just an amazing experience.:cool:


restaurant_bambino_paris.jpg


Schermafbeelding 2021-11-25 203155.jpg

After a year of nightlife, Bambino Café is born. Tribute to Tokyo jazz cafes. A selection of coffees and teas to infuse, Sando sandwiches, pastries in an atmosphere punctuated by our collection of Jazz records.
 
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Ron Party

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My son prefers pour over coffee and I'm looking to get him a nice set up for xmas.

I'm hoping the collective can offer opinions on the Kalita Wave vs. Hario V60.

I'm also looking for opinions on an electric kettle for precise boiling temperature.

Thanks in advance.
 

rdenney

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I do pour-overs but I’m a Philistine—I use the cheapie ($5) plastic Kalita [edit]Melitta[/edit] filter cone. My understanding is that the Kalita is a bit less sensitive to grind because the pour speed is controlled by the small hole in the funnel. With the Hario (and others with more or larger holes), the pour speed is controlled by the grind—the fineness of the grind is what slows the water down down.

Does your son have his own grinder? Philistine though I am, I suspect a decent grinder and a $5 filter cone might get more consistent and fresher tasting results than a more expensive filter holder and a store grind. My grinder is a Baratza Encore—the standard for quality burr grinders at the inexpensive end of the price spectrum.

As for hot water, I have a hot water dispenser that dispenses 200-degree water into a $20 stainless steel pitcher I bought on Amazon—it has a long curving spout and puts a completely laminar stream into the cone that does not stir up the grounds. So I can’t help with electric kettles or kettle warmers.

Rick “happy to share his ignorance” Denney
 
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thunderchicken

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My son prefers pour over coffee and I'm looking to get him a nice set up for xmas.

I'm hoping the collective can offer opinions on the Kalita Wave vs. Hario V60.

I'm also looking for opinions on an electric kettle for precise boiling temperature.

Thanks in advance.
I use two different methods for pour over, either of which is a great gift option. Both need a scale to work. The first is a Chemex, which depends on grind size and can be finicky. There are tons of instructional guides and videos on how to dial one in. Makes wonderful coffee when you get it right. The second is an Aeropress used off-label. It's not dependent on grind size at all, and relies on a simple timer. I haven't seen any videos or instructions that quite capture the way I do it, but many get close. I start with setting the kettle to 205f. Then weigh out 11.5g of ground coffee into the Aeropress. Zero the scale, start a three minute timer, and pour water in to nearly the top. Use the included stirrer to stir for 10-15 seconds, then top the water off to 330g (about 12 fl. oz. total, or one normal coffee cup) and cap the Aeropress with the plunger to keep it from draining. When the timer gets to 15 seconds or so, start pressing down slowly. You should finish right as the timer goes off, and you're left with a great cup of coffee.
 

A Surfer

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Funny, I have always thought that stirring up the coffee grounds while hot water is going over them would be good as it should in theory increase how much of the coffee is subjected to water by mixing it up. Why is this not a good thing and is there actually scientific evidence to support the superiority of the non-disturbing pour? Does it somehow extract more of the oil? genuine questions as I have never heard anybody discuss the evidence base for the non-disturb pour as the better technique.
 
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Stove top Bialetti Espresso at the weekends.

Aldi instant gold roast by the bucket Monday to Friday
 
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rdenney

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Funny, I have always thought that stirring up the coffee grounds while hot water is going over them would be good as it should in theory increase how much of the coffee is subjected to water by mixing it up. Why is this not a good thing and is there actually scientific evidence to support the superiority of the non-disturbing pour? Does it somehow extract more of the oil? genuine questions as I have never heard anybody discuss the evidence base for the non-disturb pour as the better technique.
No wrong answer there. Uniformly wetting the grounds in the first few seconds is good, apparently--I've seen competition pour-over makers (which is apparently a thing) stir them up.

As I understand it, it's a matter of 1.) extraction time, and 2.) consistency. If there is a lot of turbulence, the extraction is less consistent one cup to the next, and more extraction happens in the time it takes the coffee to drain through the filter, which may lead to overextraction. With my own technique (which is a hilarious word to apply to this activity), I wash down the grounds that stick to the side of the filter as it drains, including right up to the edge of the cone, and the smooth laminar stream is easier to manage. I'm less likely to miss and pour it on the counter top. Is my coffee overextracted? Underextracted? Not a clue.

Rick "if it works, it's right" Denney
 

antcollinet

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With espresso - if you 'over extract" (allow the shot to go on too long) then you start to extract the acids from the puck, creating a bitter cup.

Allegedly.

Perhaps simlar happens if you allow to much water in contact with the ground coffee in a pour over?
 

thunderchicken

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We're getting into pseudoscience here, but there are times to stir and times to not stir.

Blooming coffee is pouring 1-2x the weight of coffee worth of water over the dry grounds. Supposedly, it allows the beans to offgas the CO2 that builds up during roasting. Blooming is also called "pre-infusion" in some circles. Either way, it just gets the coffee ready for brewing and breaks up clumps.

For my Aeropress method, stirring accomplishes both the offgassing and something much more important- dissolving solids. Most brewed coffee needs a 15:1 ratio of water to coffee, but my method is about half that coffee at 30:1. The reason it isn't weak is because stirring helps coffee solids dissolve into the solvent (water here). With my method, there's a bell curve to the TDS and coffee strength based on the amount of coffee added. It gets weaker on both ends of 11 or so grams of ground coffee. On less than 11g because there's not enough coffee to infuse 330ml of coffee, and much over 12g it gets weaker because there's not enough water to dissolve the available solids.

I tend to agitate the Chemex as much as I can without disturbing the finer particles closest to the filter. They actually help the filter work and result in a cleaner cup. The other benefit is that it slows the brew process so the water can extract more of the caffeine. You want about a minute for the bloom and then 1 minute per 100ml of water added after. You dial in the grinder by timing how long it takes for the Chemex to drain. The Aeropress is a different animal and uses pressure to get coffee through the filter. It also works in less than half the time and uses much stronger agitation (stirring) to get the TDS up.
 

Moonhead

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My son prefers pour over coffee and I'm looking to get him a nice set up for xmas.

I'm hoping the collective can offer opinions on the Kalita Wave vs. Hario V60.

I'm also looking for opinions on an electric kettle for precise boiling temperature.

Thanks in advance.
I had Kalita Wave and the filters made it into a pour over mess, now the V60 plastic is a joy to use
and it is cheaper than the ceramic V60 which coffee geeks tend’s to avoid because of temperature swing.
I prefer the Kalita kettle to the Hario because The spout markes it Easier for me to cotrol, Both are nice though.
 

antcollinet

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I've had this for just over 6 years now. Averaged about 10 double shots/week for the first 5 of those, and at least 14 for the last 12 months (Post retirement). Still working as well as the day it was new, though I've had to replace the pump.

View attachment 161832


I have a Eurika Mignon grinder - slow but does a good job.

Ha - came down yesterday to a cold machine - lights on, power on, no heat.

One of the nice things about this type of machine though, being bolted and wired together from standards simple parts is they are fairly easy to diagnose and fix. Will get my multi meter out later in the week.
 

Momotaro

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Now i'm not a vinyl fan but having coffee at Bambino in Paris is just an amazing experience.:cool:

View attachment 168077

View attachment 168078
After a year of nightlife, Bambino Café is born. Tribute to Tokyo jazz cafes. A selection of coffees and teas to infuse, Sando sandwiches, pastries in an atmosphere punctuated by our collection of Jazz records.
I'm not necessarily an enthusiast of either vinyl or jazz, but I'd love to go to that café. I've lived in Tokyo and enjoyed certain examples/interpretations of bohemian culture.

As far as coffee goes, I'm partial to espresso and pour-over. Also, I once had a Tokyo-style siphon coffee apparatus that resembled lab glassware but it appears to be lost. Forgot the local name.

61WOaz9V6BL._AC_SL1000_.jpg
 

Momotaro

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Bong?

No?

Rick "different desired outcome" Denney
I guess Japlish would be "bongū".

Never thought to try a coffee bong during my misspent youth. A regrettable oversight. Now we have espresso martini.
 

antcollinet

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Ha - came down yesterday to a cold machine - lights on, power on, no heat.

One of the nice things about this type of machine though, being bolted and wired together from standards simple parts is they are fairly easy to diagnose and fix. Will get my multi meter out later in the week.
Bosted heating element. New one ordered for £30 plus shipping.
 

rcarlbe

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I drink between five and eight 3-4oz cups of instant coffee a day. I previously drank drip, french press and aeropress; all with high quality beans and studied methods, but instant coffee has won. My go-to brands are Medaglia d'Oro and Whole Foods 365.
 

Snarfie

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I'm not necessarily an enthusiast of either vinyl or jazz, but I'd love to go to that café. I've lived in Tokyo and enjoyed certain examples/interpretations of bohemian culture.

As far as coffee goes, I'm partial to espresso and pour-over. Also, I once had a Tokyo-style siphon coffee apparatus that resembled lab glassware but it appears to be lost. Forgot the local name.

View attachment 170919
I realy like the japanees concept of audio coffee bars. Esspecialy their gear (lot's of Accuphase amp's) an cosy atmosphere.

 
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Peterinvan

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Funny, I have always thought that stirring up the coffee grounds while hot water is going over them would be good as it should in theory increase how much of the coffee is subjected to water by mixing it up. Why is this not a good thing and is there actually scientific evidence to support the superiority of the non-disturbing pour? Does it somehow extract more of the oil? genuine questions as I have never heard anybody discuss the evidence base for the non-disturb pour as the better technique.
+1 for Pour Over
The instructions for the Vario V60 pour over include a wet & wait period of 30 seconds. My observation is that a slow pour over the wet grounds allows a longer extraction time. My economy tip: use a good burr grinder with economy coffee (e.g. Milita) - satisfying, and saves money on exotic (expensive) beans.

Has anyone a preference for the plastic vs. ceramic V60 funnel? My assumption is that plastic may leach harmful chemicals at high heat. I use the ceramic V60, and feel the wet&wait pour will heat up the funnel.
 

steve59

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4-5 12 oz cups a day. kuereg makes a consistent taste unlike my efforts of grinding and measuring pots myself.
 
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