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Coffee Grinder
- Thread starter caudio51
- Start date
CWS
<b>Lead Moderator</b>
http://www.miele.com/usa/cva/product.asp?model=59&series=27&subcat=&cat=5&bhcp=
I dropped the i...This is the best machine in the world for coffee fanatics. It will practically replace your girl friend or wife.
I dropped the i...This is the best machine in the world for coffee fanatics. It will practically replace your girl friend or wife.
I have an el cheapo grinder and it works fine.
You could be right. I grind it fine to get a caffeine buzz that's about all I know. I know I like to grind my own beans, but that's as far as I have gotten. Love coffee but haven't gotten into it like cigars.caudio51 said:
I bought a new espresso, coffee machine. I am looking for some advice on how to better my coffee.caudio51 said:
caudio51
BoM Nov '05; Mar '06
http://www.coffeegeek.com
Where most of my info came from.
Check out french pressing. Once you get a quality grinder, brewing a good cup is very easy.
http://www.coffeegeek.com/guides/presspot
Where most of my info came from.
Check out french pressing. Once you get a quality grinder, brewing a good cup is very easy.
http://www.coffeegeek.com/guides/presspot
caudio51 said:
I appreciate the heads up. With anything I enjoy I'm about quality. I'm suprised that the grind is such a big issue.
djs134
BoM May '06
What a good grinder will give you is consistency. You want your coffee ground to a uniform size so that it extracts evenly. If you get “dust and boulders” you will have some coffee being over-extracted (bitter) and some under-extracted (sour).
Once you get to a “Prosumer” espresso machine you will want a fine grind. Most mid level grinders can not grind to a quality necessary to bring out the best in your $ 750 and up machine.
Once you get to a “Prosumer” espresso machine you will want a fine grind. Most mid level grinders can not grind to a quality necessary to bring out the best in your $ 750 and up machine.
The first and most important consideration is using a good quality fresh roasted coffee. Most of us coffee folks agree that coffee begins to lose flavor and the oils begin to turn rancid about two weeks after roasting (anything you find at a grocery store and even many well known coffee shops will be much older than that). If you're doing drip, vacpot or presspot, any time after the rest period (12-24 hours after roasting) up to two weeks will give you the best flavor. However, if you're making espresso many folks recommend that the beans be about a week old to produce the best flavor and crema. You may want to try coffee beans from unclebeanz.com, intelligentsiacoffee.com or panthercitycoffee.com for fresh roasted.FPDoc77 said:
Second, as has been discussed here, a good burr grinder is important. Especially for espresso. That's been pretty well covered by the brothers so I won't go into that except to say the higher end grinders like Mazzer Mini are excellent but you may want to start with something like the Infinity. Much more affordable and does a good job until you decide if you want to go full coffeegeek.
Next, water. Fresh and cold. Treated city water sucks for coffee. The chlorine makes it taste mediciny (is that a word?). If you have good soft well water that'll do but I prefer to use spring water. Some folks are pleased with the results they get using city water filtered through a Brita or similar system.
I also believe the filter is important. I use a cone shaped SwissGold filter because I feel it lets all of the essence of the coffe come through. Paper filters absorb the oils that give coffee it's best flavor so it never makes it into your cup (IMO). If you decide to go the gold or stainless steel filter route you can expect to have some "mud" in the bottom of the pot. That's no big deal for me. The flavor of the coffee is worth it.
Finally, water temperature. Many home brewers heat the water to 175-185 degrees which is not hot enough for proper extraction. 195-205 degrees is the accepted range for brewing. Higher end coffee makers like Tom's Presto Scandinavia or the Techivorm or even my Capresso MT500 will all get you the right brew temp.
If you're using a coffee press make sure you take the water off the heat just prior to it boiling. Boiling water releases much of the oxygen and gives coffee a flat, harsh taste.
For espresso, tamp & grind is a science. I'd recommend many hours surfing the forums at coffeegeek.com or homebarista.com
What did I miss?
AZsteelman
April 2006 BoM
please don't come to my house for my lousy ass coffee...I'm ignorant and don't know any better...
Ok, I'm officially out of my league here...lol. My family is pretty impressed that I grind my own beans. Great post window. Thanks a whole lot you have now started me on another expensive addictive hobby. 
