brazen1 Senior Member Joined: 29 Sep 2012 Posts: 39 Location: New England Expertise: Just starting
Posted Fri Oct 5, 2012, 12:28pm Subject: Re: Now we know what GORT is (Behmor BraZen Brewer)
While I am absolutely loving my VARIO grinder, for drip coffee using paper filters (not the gold filter), you can make perfectly good coffee grinding in a whirly blade grinder. No, it doesn't produce a consistent grain-size and some of each batch will be ground too fine, but that's not a huge deal with paper filters since none of that gets thru the filter anyway.
It would certainly be far better to use a blade grinder and whole beans than to buy your coffee pre ground. I actually think that grinding whole beans just before you brew is probably the biggest single thing you can do to improve quality.
I have a KitchenAid blade grinder that I really like -- mostly because the bin is removable for easy washing. With a piece of plastic wrap over thet top of the container, it also makes a terrific spice grinder (which is what mine is doing full-time now).
If you want to spring for a decent burr grinder, fantastic. Just get a decent one. I had a cheapo for years that was just a mess to use.
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As for coffee beans, the only Starbucks beans I buy are the new "blonde" roasts. Their House Blend is drinkable, but still pretty burned for an every day coffee, IMO. I'm a fan of Dunkin Donuts beans as a consistent, low cost option. $8.99 a pound, with specials like 2 for $13.99, that make it very inexpensive. Better, at the same or lower price, than anything decent in the grocery store.
The fresh roasted Columbian (roasted a week ago now) that came with my Brazen is certainly better coffee, but the DD beans (stale though they may be) brewed a very good cup of coffee in the Brazen.
The_Coffee_Guy Senior Member Joined: 5 Jan 2009 Posts: 107 Location: Toronto Expertise: I live coffee
Grinder: Baratza Encore Drip: Behmor BraZen Brew System,...
Posted Fri Oct 5, 2012, 3:01pm Subject: Re: Now we know what GORT is (Behmor BraZen Brewer)
Talk about withdrawal....all that wait to do calibration and 1 cup to then have to leave poor Gort by its lonesome for 4 days while I travel and have cruddy coffee haha. Oh well, more testing when I get back :O)
brazen1 Senior Member Joined: 29 Sep 2012 Posts: 39 Location: New England Expertise: Just starting
Posted Fri Oct 5, 2012, 3:18pm Subject: Re: Now we know what GORT is (Behmor BraZen Brewer)
I'm trying all sorts of things. I just had the BraZen brew one 14 ounce travel mug of coffee. Started with just under 16 ounces of water. 21 grams of fine drip grind beans. Regular automatic cycle, but I used two Melitta filters to slow the process down -- there's no risk of overflowing the filter with that small amount of coffee/water. Brewed it right into the carafe.
1:30 presoak. Then, it did four 15/15 cycles to brew with the fourth one really just to let the water finish draining into the carafe.
brazen1 Senior Member Joined: 29 Sep 2012 Posts: 39 Location: New England Expertise: Just starting
Posted Fri Oct 5, 2012, 3:59pm Subject: Re: Now we know what GORT is (Behmor BraZen Brewer)
It didn't seem to have any problem with the temperature ramp with 16 ounces of water. Of course, that's almost up to the calibration line.
With the water that low, it's not dumping the full 5 ounces per release into the grinds. Counting the pre-soak, it took four 15 second releases to dump all the water. With it dribbling that slowly, I'm not it's really all that different from a manual pour over. The big issue is probably the lack of depth in the grinds, but coverage must be sufficient for it to work. I'm looking forward to trying this approach with a cone to get a little more depth to the grinds.
Posted Fri Oct 5, 2012, 9:18pm Subject: Re: Now we know what GORT is (Behmor BraZen Brewer)
how many cleanings did you find you guys needed before the skunky smell went away? I brewed a batch of coffee after the first initial cleaning and ended up dumping the pot because of the obvious plasticy taste.
since then, ive run about 8 cleaning reservoirs of water and im still getting quite a bad smell when i open the top lid and smell in the reservoir. i havent tried brewing another batch of coffee because im afraid i'll just end up with a ruined pot of plastic tasting coffee.
Posted Fri Oct 5, 2012, 9:40pm Subject: Re: Now we know what GORT is (Behmor BraZen Brewer)
Just received my unit today from Idrinkcoffee with no issues. Fast shipping and it was free, can't beat that. It was packed well but also easy to remove from the box. I ran 3 or 4 cycles just playing around then did the calibration. I ground approx 50 g of Finca Kilamenjaro natural process with 6 cups of water at 201 with 15 seconds pre wet. Simple as that. Coffee flavor was excellent and seems to bring out some nice bright notes. My Chemex 6 cup fits perfectly and my 8 cup fits with my Coava filter. It's going to be lots of fun. Up next: 90 plus coffee Nekisse in the Chemex as a pour over. The new brewer smell seemed to be gone after i brewed the first pot of coffee.
Posted Sat Oct 6, 2012, 5:09am Subject: Re: Now we know what GORT is (Behmor BraZen Brewer)
frank828 Said:
how many cleanings did you find you guys needed before the skunky smell went away? I brewed a batch of coffee after the first initial cleaning and ended up dumping the pot because of the obvious plasticy taste.
since then, ive run about 8 cleaning reservoirs of water and im still getting quite a bad smell when i open the top lid and smell in the reservoir. i havent tried brewing another batch of coffee because im afraid i'll just end up with a ruined pot of plastic tasting coffee.
I am noticing the same off plastic flavor and smell that you describe. Hopefully it will go away over a short time. I think I will run some vinegar through it in hopes that will help. The only other thing I don't like is the water mess from the big lid. It is difficult to open it without getting water all over the brewer and countertop. The Brazen really is a state of the art brewer. I think I can learn to handle the lid so I minimize the water mess.
There's a definite melted plastic aroma to the Brazen out of the box. I ran 6 pots of tap water through it before I got antsy and brewed up some of the included Willoughby's. I learned a couple of things in the process: 1. If you fill the reservoir to the 8-cup mark, the carafe will overflow with hot water. Bottom of the "C" in "Cups", that's as high as you can go with no coffee grounds to soak up the water. 2. It takes some time for the outgassing to run its course. First couple of pots are going to suffer.
Overall, it's a nice unit. I retired a Braun to make room for it. I found it was brewing about 18F cooler than the Brazen. That alone makes a big difference.
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