zsa Senior Member Joined: 18 Sep 2012 Posts: 4 Location: NYC Expertise: Just starting
Grinder: Bodum Bistro Burr Grinder
Posted Tue Sep 18, 2012, 11:48am Subject: Testing Bodum Bistro Electric Burr Coffee Grinder with French Press
I'm relatively new at this coffee business, and I have a few questions.
I received my Bodum Bistro Electric Burr Coffee Grinder yesterday and I tested it out with a coffee I've never had before, Sidamo Watadara from Blue Bottle.
When I grounded the coffee using the french press setting I had the grind I expected and quite a bit of this "flaky" output. See attached. I remember having a few of these when I was using a Hario hand grinder but I don't recall it being that much. My friend said she noticed this being more common in Blue Bottle Coffee than with other beans she has tried. Is there something wrong with my grinder (I don't really want to buy another set of whole beans yet) or is this something to do with the beans? By the way the beans were roasted 2 days ago, September 16th.
I was also surprised by how sour the coffee is in the end. I made two batches yesterday and it smelled and tasted fantastic the first couple of sips, "caramel" aroma with a "chocolatey" taste without bitterness, but the rest of the cup was sour. I reread the description on the Blue Bottle website and the sourness seem to be part of the beans' flavor profile, unless I did something wrong at some point of the coffee prep? I used filtered water and waited for the water to be around 200F. Poured the water and stirred it with the coffee, and waited 4 minutes before pressing.
I like my coffee with a "simple" taste profile, chocolatey/earthy without being bitter, and I also prefer it with some sugar and milk. What coffee beans should I try out?
Posted Tue Sep 18, 2012, 1:01pm Subject: Re: Testing Bodum Bistro Electric Burr Coffee Grinder with French Press
The flakes are chaff bits still in the middle of the bean.
Which press do you use? How much coffee and how much water (preferably by mass)?
Not always, but sometimes I get some sourness in coffee that hasn't rested quite long enough. Usually, it's in the initial taste, (i.e. it doesn't develop at the end of the cup).
One thing to try: waiting a few days - this may actually help the beans break and fracture more in the grinder (slight drying) and allow the beans a few more days "rest" post-roast. Some of my roasts don't get decent until 3-4 days after roasting.
Are you experiencing the taste sourness in the cup, or toward the end of your press pot brew (i.e. is the coffee sitting in contact with the filter)?
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
Thanks for letting me know what they are- I spent an inordinate amount of time doing a Google search and when I did run across the term chaff it sounded right but I couldn't find a picture with coffee grounds and chaff to make sure I was correct.
I use the Bodum Original French Press, 8 Cup. I used a little over 5Tbsp. of ground coffee (the scoop that came with the press) for about a little over 1Cup of hot water.
Netphilosopher Said:
Not always, but sometimes I get some sourness in coffee that hasn't rested quite long enough. Usually, it's in the initial taste, (i.e. it doesn't develop at the end of the cup).
One thing to try: waiting a few days - this may actually help the beans break and fracture more in the grinder (slight drying) and allow the beans a few more days "rest" post-roast. Some of my roasts don't get decent until 3-4 days after roasting.
Are you experiencing the taste sourness in the cup, or toward the end of your press pot brew (i.e. is the coffee sitting in contact with the filter)?
I'm tasting the sourness in the cup. I poured coffee in the cup and the first couple of sips smelled and tasted "caramel/chocolatey", but then the rest of the cup is sour.
Posted Wed Sep 19, 2012, 12:15pm Subject: Re: Testing Bodum Bistro Electric Burr Coffee Grinder with French Press
Depending on how they are roasted, some of the Ethiopian coffees can come off lemony or sour. To preserve much of the wild/fruity/winey flavors, roasters tend to try on the City side (just at end of 1st crack) for roasting, which is quite light.
Do you have any other coffee you could compare the brown color shade to? If you get a sample of Starbucks Veranda, if light your Sidamo would be just a shade lighter, but not the color of a paper bag or anything THAT light.
I am wondering if maybe it's just heat conversion of some of the flavor compounds. Long term heat exposure is the enemy to coffee - and sourness is one of the first flavor defects to appear with a surprisingly little amount of time.
Chocolately coffees I've enjoyed:
India (good arabicas - if Pavan still has this year's crop in stock, you would enjoy this: Click Here (www.deckancoffee.com) )
A decent Sumatra or Papua New Guinea - tho they are sometimes mushroomy earthy, and if you aren't roasting them yourself they'll probably be quite dark. These tend to be quite heavy in body - overwhelming for some, heady for others.
Colombia and Brazil have nutty-chocolate character, you might also enjoy them. Many of the central American coffees will have tendencies toward nuts or cocoa, but also tend to be brighter (in general, of course - for every generalization, there are always exceptions).
On your press - my Shin Bistro (also Bodum) is 8cup or about 900g brew water, basically the same as the Original, so I'm a bit confused about your description. You say 5TBS for a bit more than a cup of hot water - this would be... not very much brew water. Only 225-240g or so. 5TBS of coffee would be somewhere between 25-35g of coffee, which seems really strong. Am I misunderstanding your brew recipe?
I usually use around 50-60g (depends on my mood, how strong I want it, etc.) of coffee (that's somewhere around - not exactly - 10 level tablespoons of coffee), and add around 850g to 900g (About 3 1/2 cups) of hot water. In the end, this makes about two 350ish gram mugs (about 24 fluid oz of coffee).
I suppose it is possible you've got it stronger than you may like it - so try using (if you're really only using 1 cup of water) more like just shy of 2 cups and see how that brew goes (but keep the 5 tablespoons / ~25g of coffee).
You may also want to try the lower side (about 195°F) brew water temp.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
zsa Senior Member Joined: 18 Sep 2012 Posts: 4 Location: NYC Expertise: Just starting
Grinder: Bodum Bistro Burr Grinder
Posted Mon Sep 24, 2012, 6:43pm Subject: Re: Testing Bodum Bistro Electric Burr Coffee Grinder with French Press
Netphilosopher Said:
Depending on how they are roasted, some of the Ethiopian coffees can come off lemony or sour. To preserve much of the wild/fruity/winey flavors, roasters tend to try on the City side (just at end of 1st crack) for roasting, which is quite light.
Do you have any other coffee you could compare the brown color shade to? If you get a sample of Starbucks Veranda, if light your Sidamo would be just a shade lighter, but not the color of a paper bag or anything THAT light.
I am wondering if maybe it's just heat conversion of some of the flavor compounds. Long term heat exposure is the enemy to coffee - and sourness is one of the first flavor defects to appear with a surprisingly little amount of time.
Chocolately coffees I've enjoyed:
India (good arabicas - if Pavan still has this year's crop in stock, you would enjoy this: Click Here (www.deckancoffee.com) )
A decent Sumatra or Papua New Guinea - tho they are sometimes mushroomy earthy, and if you aren't roasting them yourself they'll probably be quite dark. These tend to be quite heavy in body - overwhelming for some, heady for others.
Colombia and Brazil have nutty-chocolate character, you might also enjoy them. Many of the central American coffees will have tendencies toward nuts or cocoa, but also tend to be brighter (in general, of course - for every generalization, there are always exceptions).
I've tried some other beans since then and you seem to be right on the money. I tried the Roasting Plant's coffee beans, from Guatemala and Brazil, and they are definitely more to my liking from start to finish.
On your press - my Shin Bistro (also Bodum) is 8cup or about 900g brew water, basically the same as the Original, so I'm a bit confused about your description. You say 5TBS for a bit more than a cup of hot water - this would be... not very much brew water. Only 225-240g or so. 5TBS of coffee would be somewhere between 25-35g of coffee, which seems really strong. Am I misunderstanding your brew recipe?
My mistake. Actually I poured enough hot water to fill the press half way through. I've made a full press since then and it is more around the 50-60g of coffee range you mentioned.
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