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What coffee did you drink today?

MaytagMan said:
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I have NO idea how I've missed all your great coffee posts. Apologies if I missed it, do you have coffee and cigar pairing favorites? Assuming you pair them frequently of course.

I know we had a beverage and cigar thread before, that I think was for mostly NA bevs. But one dedicated to just coffee and cigar pairings would be great too.
 
xyz123 said:
I have NO idea how I've missed all your great coffee posts. Apologies if I missed it, do you have coffee and cigar pairing favorites? Assuming you pair them frequently of course.

I know we had a beverage and cigar thread before, that I think was for mostly NA bevs. But one dedicated to just coffee and cigar pairings would be great too.
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I have just the thing ! 🤣😅😂

gurkha and coffee.jpg
 
xyz123 said:
I have NO idea how I've missed all your great coffee posts. Apologies if I missed it, do you have coffee and cigar pairing favorites? Assuming you pair them frequently of course.

I know we had a beverage and cigar thread before, that I think was for mostly NA bevs. But one dedicated to just coffee and cigar pairings would be great too.
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Thanks!

I mostly smoke in the evenings so coffee is not as common for me unless I am on break for work.

Since I typically drink light-roasted single origins, they bright and complex flavors that go well with cigars. I think that darker roasts can tend to overpower the flavors of a cigar.
 
bfreebern said:
@MaytagMan Damn, how many open bags of coffee do you have!
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Ha! Well, really it works out to one, and sometimes 2 if there is a little overlap.

I get a bag of coffee delivered every 7 days, and that us just about how long it takes me to get through it. I typically use 46.6g of beans each day. Sometimes I'll get a bag with 1-2 days of coffee left from the previous, but it all works out.

Since I go through it so quickly, I typically seal it back up in the bag they come in and store them in the bag the come in. Most seal well and have one-way valves.
 
xyz123 said:
Honeydew, passionfruit, and candied lemon.. wow, that's quite an interesting blend! Did you pickup all those flavors too... or is that more of a marketing stretch do you think?,
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I have not opened that bag yet, but I can get fruit type notes, especially with light roasts. And in my experience, the flavors from say a Central American coffee will differ vastly from an African coffee. The lighter roasts really allow the real flavors of the coffee to come to the forefront without having to wrestle through the flavors of the roast. Char tastes like char, no matter what the bean is imho.
 
JoeGibs said:
I don’t have a grinder yet, so I was going to order it ground for French press.
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Joe, like Bill said (@MaytagMan), I'd definitely recommend grinding. I just checked Amazon on when I bought my grinder, it's been almost 4 years and gets used almost daily. Zero issues. It cost me $16. I think it's $18 now. Worth EVERY penny!

Screenshot_20231015-214859_Amazon Shopping.jpg

Screenshot_20231015-214811_Amazon Shopping.jpg

I got the stainless finish just cause it blends with my appliances, but it comes in a variety of finishes:

 
If you are going to get a grinder, I'd recommend a burr grinder. Granted, they are going to be a little more coin, but the quality of the grind is far superior.
 
Does fresh grinding really make THAT much of a difference? I've since stopped using a french press and started using a pour over cup with a filter, btw.

Also, mr maytag man, pick me an ethiopian yirgacheffe, light to medium roast. I want to try something really good to see if I even appreciate it any more than the off the shelf stuff I usually drink.
 
MaytagMan said:
If you are going to get a grinder, I'd recommend a burr grinder. Granted, they are going to be a little more coin, but the quality of the grind is far superior.
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Granted, this is LOT more coin.. but what's your thoughts on this one Bill?

Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder (Black) https://a.co/d/2147EQK

Wirecutter chose it as top pick for 2022. And to piggyback off Joe's question a bit, is the grind worth $150.. if the beans aren't exactly the high-end stuff?
 
JoeGibs said:
Does fresh grinding really make THAT much of a difference? I've since stopped using a french press and started using a pour over cup with a filter, btw.

Also, mr maytag man, pick me an ethiopian yirgacheffe, light to medium roast. I want to try something really good to see if I even appreciate it any more than the off the shelf stuff I usually drink.
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Does grinding make a difference? For me, yes. I grind either the night before or the morning I brew, and some people would slap my hands grinding the night before. Now realistically, how long would it take for you to go through say 310g of coffee? (That is a week for me) If you go through that bag in a few days, you might not really notice a difference. Coffee does start to deteriorate when exposed to Oxygen and when ground it goes faster. The nice thing about grinding your own is you are not just stuck with one brew method - if you feel like a French Press, Pourover, Aeropress, etc. you can do it all. Maybe don't make the investment until you figure out if you are going to like it or not?

I'd say get some freshly roasted coffee ground for you and see if you notice a difference from the day you get home to a week later.

As for a good Yirga - My first choice would be to find a good local roaster if there is something near you. If not, I'd be happy with one from any of the roasters that I have posted on this thread. Since they are roasted in batches based on availability, there is not telling who will have one roasted and in stock at any given moment if that makes sense. If I have any pop up in my queue, I'll let you know.
 
xyz123 said:
Granted, this is LOT more coin.. but what's your thoughts on this one Bill?

Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder (Black) https://a.co/d/2147EQK

Wirecutter chose it as top pick for 2022. And to piggyback off Joe's question a bit, is the grind worth $150.. if the beans aren't exactly the high-end stuff?
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The Encore should be a solid pick. Once you get it dialed in with your beans and you water to coffee ratio, you should get good consistent results.

Coffee is just beans and water so I'd buy the best beans that you enjoy. That once again depends on you, how much coffee you go through, how may brew methods you might use, etc.

If you have been happy with using your blade grinder, you should be happier with the burr grinder - the big thing you will notice when you look is that all of the ground coffee will be consistently the same size.
 
I'd say that a grinder makes a huge amount of difference; in third place after the coffee/roast itself, and then the water used for brewing. However, there are levels to this, just like cigars. There's not much use having a $3600 Kafatek grinder unless one is drinking aged Cohiba Behike-level coffee.

The Encore is slowly being replaced by the Encore ESP. The new ESP has two major advantages: a better adjustment mechanism to allow for basic espresso grinding, and a better (tastier) set of burrs that were formerly only available on Baratza's next model up, the Virtuoso. A common modification used to be fitting the Virtuoso's burrs onto an Encore, but that mod is irrelevant now that the ESP exists. I can't say that the upgrade to the ESP is "worth" $50 extra, though - a base Encore will make a night-and-day difference from a blade grinder.

Baratza sells refurbished grinders - or at least they used to - I don't see any listed on their new website. I'd say that it is worth giving them a call to see what refurbs they have at the moment. +1-877-701-2021 weekdays 8:30am-12:00pm PST Also, Baratza's customer service has been excellent in my experience. My first grinder was a 2014 Baratza Vario (espresso grinder), and Baratza has always been helpful with parts, advice, modifications, and upgrades over the years. Breville bought Baratza in 2020, but there haven't been any noticeable changes since.

Myself, if there was no need for espresso grinding, then I wouldn't buy an Encore or Encore ESP today. Fellow is blowing out the previous generation of their Ode grinder for $169 in white and $199 in black (https://fellowproducts.com/collections/last-chance?variant_by=sale). The Ode is a much, much better grinder than the Encore IMO, and can easily be upgraded if one gets seriously into coffee. The Ode cannot grind for espresso, though. Another option is a $200 hand grinder, but that is not for everyone - only those who want the best possible cup at the $200 price point, are willing to sacrifice ease-of-use, and are brewing cups of coffee, not pots of coffee. (Hand grinding enough coffee for a pot will test one's patience. Highly frustrating.)

Good luck!

ETA: FWIW, I'm the same "baldheadracing" on home-barista.com
 
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