Coffee, grind your own?

[skyvue]

I caught some coffee expert on NPR a couple weeks ago and he told of a blind tasting session they held involving other expert tasters and to their surprise they found that the highest marks went to beans which were approximately 2 weeks old; followed by freshly roasted and month old.

It's generally agreed in the coffee industry that freshly roasted coffee is not the ideal. I asked my wife, a coffee educator, why that is, and here's her response:

Coffee for brewing as drip should be at least 8 hours out of the roaster before brewing; coffee for espresso should be at least 3 days out of the roaster before brewing. Freshly roasted coffee emits CO2 gas as a result of the roasting process; not only does the gas itself taste bitter, but it also inhibits the dissolving of soluble material (aka coffee flavor) from the ground coffee particles.​

She added that two weeks is the outside limit for roasted coffee.

All that said, she's firmly in the "if you like it that way (any way), have at it" camp.

 

[m0nk]

I used to roast my own as well. I figured if I was going to go through the trouble of grinding it, I wanted to be truly fresh (inside the two week time-frame) so I used to roast every other week and wait at least one day before grinding and drinking. And for those beans, I would only grind when it was to be used.

 

[Tomasso]

Absolutely! What fun is it to ask people how to do everything? Sheesh. Mistakes is for learnin'.

Not keen on education, aye.

BTW, I seem to run into a lot of folks with your philosophy in the workforce these days

 

[ButteMT61]

Not keen on education, aye.BTW, I seem to run into a lot of folks with your philosophy in the workforce these days

No, you're talking about parenting. I like to learn plenty. Have learned plenty here. I just like to try on my own first. I can't say how many meals, movies, fill-in-the-blank I've regretted listening to some expert say "it's great". To each his/her own AC. How does a "coffee expert" become one? My guess is the same way Edison invented all his great inventions. Not by somewhat else told him (most of the time).

 

[DeaconKC]

I like the definition of expert

x=unknown
spurt is a drop under pressure
so an expert is an unknown little drip under pressure

 

[ButteMT61]

I like the definition of expert x=unknownspurt is a drop under pressureso an expert is an unknown little drip under pressure

Prolly not far off. lol

 

[biox62]

I grind my own coffe for 2 yar, with a manual porlex grinder.

Such a difference between this coffe, and the classic one industrially grinded. ANd I keep my beans on the freezer....

 

[bulldog1935]

I work a few blocks from the coffee roaster that provides to the local restaurants. While they don't normally sell retail, I guess they make an exception for me. I like my mindless morning coffee, dark roast sumatra, which can be made strong with low acid, and rich, though not complex flavor. I push the button on my burr grinder, and it grinds two mugs for me. I use a drip carafe machine every morning, but with coarse-grind and use a press when I'm not mindless, or especially when camping out.
I have many friends who roast their own beans, and a couple are fanatical in their choices and blends. I always enjoy their coffee, and one fishing buddy, especially, whom I love to join at the coast for a kayak outing. I make the breakfast tacos, he makes the coffee.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Yep, I use a good burr grinder and fresh beans. I go between Peet's and a local roaster. It makes a difference to me.

I think I used Peet's when I was in the US. My boss bought large batches, so it was easy for us to add a couple kilos onto the order.

Here, we use Algerian Coffee Stores, Ltd., London's oldest coffee merchant, still maintaining their tiny original shop in Soho. I feel good supporting such stores. They are not that much more expensive than supermarkets, with the added value of being able to come up with your own unique bean blend. And yes, burr grinders are the way to go.

 

[kwitie]

Algerian Coffee Stores...hmmm
I used to frequent there when I worked in Westminster.

 

[John in Covina]

I grind my own coffe for 2 yar, with a manual porlex grinder.

Such a difference between this coffe, and the classic one industrially grinded. ANd I keep my beans on the freezer....

i heard the freezer will dry out the essential oils.

 

[skyvue]

Here's a column my wife wrote for Serious Eats about freezing coffee. Pretty interesting stuff:

http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2010/10/taste-test-to-freeze-or-not-to-freeze-coffee-beans-v20.html

 

[Tomasso]

Here's a column my wife wrote for Serious Eats about freezing coffee. Pretty interesting stuff:

Thanks for that. Sounds reasonable....

 

[ButteMT61]

Thanks for that. Sounds reasonable....

Yes, interesting for sure. I used to freeze mine too. Embarrassed to say. Even worse though - AC - I owe you an apology. I went back and read the thread and realized what you posted and what I read were not in sync. I thought at the time that you wrote that the study said beans GROUND for two weeks tasted better, not two weeks after roasting. It jogged me reading this new article. So, apologies. I do agree that beans freshly roasted are too harsh for my tastes. But I stick by freshly ground

 

[Needsun]

Freshly roasted and ground.

 

[gear-guy]

I use a antique grinder that is about 100 years old. My parents bought it for me years ago and I used it for decoration until I got smart and tried it to see if it really worked. It was the smartest thing I ever did. Works great and will never burn the beans as many electric grinders will do. Once you start grinding you just cant go back.

 

[CSG]

We have had the habit of grinding daily for over 30 years now. Well, at least me. I only grind enough for my 2-3 cups of morning coffee. My wife grinds 2-3 day's worth. We drink French roast that we pick up at Costco. I'd rather buy smaller batches of a pound at a time for freshness' sake but we have no local roasters. We use a Baratza burr grinder and have used Melitta single cup drip filters for as long as I can remember; not pots of coffee for us. Every cup is made fresh.

The secret to a great cup is to drink out of a classic diner style mug (not the Chinese reproductions). Search Etsy and Ebay for Victor Insulator, Shinango, Wallace vintage mugs, made in the USA for the restaurant trade.

I always preheat the mug with hot water poured through the empty paper filter and holder. I dump that after 30-60 seconds and then do my pour over (which some people have made very complicated as you can find online). You first wet the grounds and wait a few seconds and then slowly add the rest of your water. Most people aren't as fussy and use coffee pots but I don't care for the results. I also don't drink enough to do the whole carafe thing. I prefer the ritual of making it a cup at a time.

 

[kyboots]

I agree it should be ground daily, and ideally used with a French press. Problem is I am too lazy and still asleep in the morning to do it, so into the coffee maker it goes. I do use the FP after dinner in the evening.---John

 

[ButteMT61]

Hah! Just ground some myself. But yes, sometimes the beauty of the timer and being lazy trumps the perfect cup. It's not a bad tradeoff

 

[CSG]

The nice thing about pour over cups or pots (and then into an insulated carafe) is that it's a purer cup of coffee. Personally, I hate using French presses and I don't like dealing with the clean-up. The clean-up with a Melitta filter is dumping the filter in the garbage. Done.

I refuse to use coffee makers; I grew up with those and the coffee was always lousy compared to pour over for my tastes. But then, I don't have to leave the house to go to work so my morning routine is on my timetable unlike many.