The Coffee Thread

[Bleeding Orange]

I knew every suggestion I was going to get was going to cost me money. Good coffee beans are expensive enough, dammit!

Well, all except for one, that is. I actually am the proud owner of a Magic Bullet. I was sitting up at two in the morning one night in my senior year, came across the infomercial and picked up my cell phone. I literally put no thought whatsoever into it, and it is the only time I have ever mindlessly bought something off the teevee.

I've never used it for grinding coffee, though. How do you go about controlling the coarseness of the grind? Is it all just a matter of timing? Perhaps I'll have to give this a try, provided I feel like I know what the heck I'm doing. Not that I ever really know what the heck I'm doing, but that is a different matter entirely...

My bean question still remains, though - what do you connoisseurs recommend?

[h2oville rocket]

Like I said, I use Puerto Rican beans mostly. Hawaiian kona are great but pretty expensive. You might ask at your local coffee shop-I'm always surprised how knowledgeable some of the baristas are. Many brands will say dark or mild or breakfast-(breakfast coffee is NOT what you want with breakfast, or in my case FOR breakfast). Obviously go dark.
As for the grind I just let 'er rip until it looks right and if I decide its too course- back on goes the top and we grind a little more.

[SaxyIrishTenor]

As for the grind I just let 'er rip until it looks right and if I decide its too course- back on goes the top and we grind a little more.

That's what she said.

[h2oville rocket]

As for the grind I just let 'er rip until it looks right and if I decide its too course- back on goes the top and we grind a little more.

That's what she said.

SAXY! I'm apppalled!

[Bleeding Orange]

As for the grind I just let 'er rip until it looks right and if I decide its too course- back on goes the top and we grind a little more.

That's what she said.

HA!

I had to run to Trader Joe's last night to pick up some pizza dough, so I looked through their coffee selection and came across something they call Cafe Pajaro - a blend of Peruvian, Nicaraguan and Chiapan (Mexico) beans. It was labeled as an "extra dark roast," so I figured I was headed in the right direction. They turned out to be absolutely fantastic...much more inherent flavor than an espresso roast.

The only problem I am having is that by grinding beans in the Magic Bullet, I'm creating a lot of very fine dust that is working it's way into the coffee. With the Moka, unfortunately, the "filter" isn't very fine at all, so all of the dust and small particles in the coffee get forced up through the brewing tube along with the coffee, creating a very thick sludge at the bottom of the pot. A lot of that sludge makes it's way into the first cup poured, too, because there hasn't been enough time for it to fully settle. You really don't have much of a choice either, as the Moka's design doesn't lend itself well to reheating so it has to be consumed rather quickly.

Do you have any suggestions for dealing with the 'dust' since you use the same grinding method, h2o? I would imagine I'll probably just have to play around with it a bit, but my mind is constructing very strange cheesecloth filters, and as always I should probably be stopped immediately.

[h2oville rocket]

As for the grind I just let 'er rip until it looks right and if I decide its too course- back on goes the top and we grind a little more.

That's what she said.

HA!

I had to run to Trader Joe's last night to pick up some pizza dough, so I looked through their coffee selection and came across something they call Cafe Pajaro - a blend of Peruvian, Nicaraguan and Chiapan (Mexico) beans. It was labeled as an "extra dark roast," so I figured I was headed in the right direction. They turned out to be absolutely fantastic...much more inherent flavor than an espresso roast.

The only problem I am having is that by grinding beans in the Magic Bullet, I'm creating a lot of very fine dust that is working it's way into the coffee. With the Moka, unfortunately, the "filter" isn't very fine at all, so all of the dust and small particles in the coffee get forced up through the brewing tube along with the coffee, creating a very thick sludge at the bottom of the pot. A lot of that sludge makes it's way into the first cup poured, too, because there hasn't been enough time for it to fully settle. You really don't have much of a choice either, as the Moka's design doesn't lend itself well to reheating so it has to be consumed rather quickly.

Do you have any suggestions for dealing with the 'dust' since you use the same grinding method, h2o? I would imagine I'll probably just have to play around with it a bit, but my mind is constructing very strange cheesecloth filters, and as always I should probably be stopped immediately.

Yeah, I got a suggestion- Man up and drink it, you wimp! The sludge is the best part. Sheesh, I thought you liked coffee.

Seriously, I do a press so I haven't really had the problem although sometimes there's some goo in the bottom. But we were talking about coffee not the problem of aging- I digress. Uh, no, there is sometimes some gunk in my cup but it seems to stay on the bottom pretty much. And yeah, that Cafe Pajaro is about as good as it gets for storebought- I just finished my last can and need to get up to Ann Arbor to TJ's for more. Well, I'll be IN Puerto Rico in two weeks so myaybe I'll stop in Sammy Villegas' hometown of Carolina and see Javier, my coffee guy instead.

[Bleeding Orange]

As for the grind I just let 'er rip until it looks right and if I decide its too course- back on goes the top and we grind a little more.

That's what she said.

HA!

I had to run to Trader Joe's last night to pick up some pizza dough, so I looked through their coffee selection and came across something they call Cafe Pajaro - a blend of Peruvian, Nicaraguan and Chiapan (Mexico) beans. It was labeled as an "extra dark roast," so I figured I was headed in the right direction. They turned out to be absolutely fantastic...much more inherent flavor than an espresso roast.

The only problem I am having is that by grinding beans in the Magic Bullet, I'm creating a lot of very fine dust that is working it's way into the coffee. With the Moka, unfortunately, the "filter" isn't very fine at all, so all of the dust and small particles in the coffee get forced up through the brewing tube along with the coffee, creating a very thick sludge at the bottom of the pot. A lot of that sludge makes it's way into the first cup poured, too, because there hasn't been enough time for it to fully settle. You really don't have much of a choice either, as the Moka's design doesn't lend itself well to reheating so it has to be consumed rather quickly.

Do you have any suggestions for dealing with the 'dust' since you use the same grinding method, h2o? I would imagine I'll probably just have to play around with it a bit, but my mind is constructing very strange cheesecloth filters, and as always I should probably be stopped immediately.

Yeah, I got a suggestion- Man up and drink it, you wimp! The sludge is the best part. Sheesh, I thought you liked coffee.

Seriously, I do a press so I haven't really had the problem although sometimes there's some goo in the bottom. But we were talking about coffee not the problem of aging- I digress. Uh, no, there is sometimes some gunk in my cup but it seems to stay on the bottom pretty much. And yeah, that Cafe Pajaro is about as good as it gets for storebought- I just finished my last can and need to get up to Ann Arbor to TJ's for more. Well, I'll be IN Puerto Rico in two weeks so myaybe I'll stop in Sammy Villegas' hometown of Carolina and see Javier, my coffee guy instead.

You have to remember that this is the first time I have gotten into making 'real' coffee, so I'm still in the adjustment phase. I'm not surprised that a UT grad is telling me that I should enjoy s**t in my coffee, though.

In all honesty, it's probably just something that I have to get used to. Outside of my Spanish cafe experiences, I'm only used to drip-brewed coffee. It has honestly been a lot of fun to discover a brand new way of making something that one would consider a fundamental aspect of daily life. If anyone drunkenly happens upon this thread, I would highly recommend checking out the Moka or a press-style coffee maker just for the experience.

And finally, when I was in Spain my tour guide was named Javier. He was kind of strange and always wore funky shoes, and sometimes capri pants. I would not trust a man named Javier to advise me on coffee, and your judgment has been officially called into question.

Edited to add: I thought they built a TJ's at Levis Commons? It would be a damned shame if you were forced to drive all the way up to AA to find one. When I was in AZ I was lucky enough to literally live two blocks from one, and back home here I have one less than ten minutes from my house. Such great food so very cheap...especially the cheeses. Which makes me think that this forum needs a cheese thread. Hmmm...

[h2oville rocket]

Edited to add: I thought they built a TJ's at Levis Commons? It would be a damned shame if you were forced to drive all the way up to AA to find one. When I was in AZ I was lucky enough to literally live two blocks from one, and back home here I have one less than ten minutes from my house. Such great food so very cheap...especially the cheeses. Which makes me think that this forum needs a cheese thread. Hmmm...

Not that I'm aware of- that would make me VERY happy. Cheap wine, good, cheap coffee-I keep hoping. And cheeses- I love cheese. As for Javier, this Javier looks more like Juan Valdez if Juan was in management instead of on the labor side. Very trustworthy looking guy who doesn't wear capris.

Well, good luck with your coffee journey and remember "Drink the sludge"!

[Bleeding Orange]

So I think I may have just stumbled upon something, h2o. I didn't have enough Pajaro beans ground to fill the funnel and I was feeling lazy, so I topped it off with some of the Lavazza I had left. About 2/3 Pajaro, 1/3 Lavazza. Some of the smoothest, most flavorful coffee I've ever had. Might be worth trying sometime.

[h2oville rocket]

Well, I'm one week from fresh picked, roasted and brewed Puerto Rico coffee consumed in ....Puerto Rico. My TJ run will have to wait until I get back. I never really blend for flavor, just because I run out of one and have to add another bean to make a pot- I'll have to try your version when I get back.