$$$$$$ Coffee!!!

[megavolt]

Originally posted by sl888

What are you using to roast at home? I'd love to get into roasting but it's a whole other area I don't wanna get into right now.

A Behmor 1600 Plus.

[sl888]

Originally posted by 2Legit2Quit
Any places to recommend for espresso beans in town? Been buying from Phil & Sebastian as of late

I've gone back to P&S for my espresso beans. Really enjoying the Nueva Llusta.
The 3 shops I go to are P&S, Fratello and Monogram. I've been to Deville once and I believe they use Intelligentsia (Chicago) beans. I've been looking at Vancouver roasters/shops for beans. Shipping is fairly cheap.

[sl888]

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[Mitsu3000gt]

Picked up one of these to store my coffee beans in, anyone else using them? Seemed to be the best way to go.

http://planetarydesign.com/products/...hen-canisters/

[megavolt]

We've got 3 of them... picked them up a few years ago. One word of advice... don't put the lids in the dishwasher.

[Strider]

I use these for my coffee storage needs

» Click image for larger version

[megavolt]

I've been tempted to try vacuum sealing my beans but seems like a bother for the amount I open them up. With the airscapes you get most of the air out for very little hassle.

[Mitsu3000gt]

The Airscape has a one-way vent for when new beans are emitting the most CO2. Vacuum-only containers do not solve this problem unless I suppose you regularly re-vacuum them which would be somewhat annoying.

I also looked a the "BeanSafe", and while it had a 1-way valve, as the beans age and start releasing less gas, you end up trapping almost as much oxygen in there as a regular tupperware container. With the Airscape, not only can I remove pretty much all of the air (it always adjusts to the amount in the container), but the tiny bit of oxygen I can't purge will be removed by the CO2 released from the beans (in theory). At least to me, it seemed to be the best mix of function and low-hassle. Hopefully I will have used them before too long anyway!

[adamc]

anyone making their own cold brew at home?

I am, it's goddamn delicious.

[GQBalla]

Had a cold brew in Seattle at some busy coffee shop and decided I wanted to make it after paying 3 bucks for a coffee lol

Quick google session makes it looksuper simple. What are you using to filter? A cheese clothe or just a normal filter?

I'm thinking about trying to let it sit for 24 hours then strain

[gogreen]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
Picked up one of these to store my coffee beans in, anyone else using them? Seemed to be the best way to go.

http://planetarydesign.com/products/...hen-canisters/

We've had one for a while now. Seems to work well and looks cool.

I don't have much basis for comparison with other similar products as we didn't really make much coffee at home until getting an espresso machine, and before that beans just got stored in the bag they came in, lol.

[msommers]

Might have to pick up one of those as well. Can you find them locally?

[adamc]

Originally posted by GQBalla
Had a cold brew in Seattle at some busy coffee shop and decided I wanted to make it after paying 3 bucks for a coffee lol

Quick google session makes it looksuper simple. What are you using to filter? A cheese clothe or just a normal filter?

I'm thinking about trying to let it sit for 24 hours then strain

I've only made two batches so far, I use a big bowl, coarse grounds, and slowly stir in room temp water until the grounds are fully bloomed and submerged (3:1 water to cups of coffee ratio).

I've done on the kitchen counter, and one batch in the fridge, about 16 hours.

Run the whole mess through a sieve with a regular coffee filter in it 2-3 times or until you have clean clear concentrate. Avoid squeezing the grounds for more juice, results in a more bitter brew.


Then you can water it down when you pour it in your mug, to taste. The resulting liquid is very high in caffeine and shouldn't be used as you would regular coffee.

[gogreen]

Originally posted by msommers
Might have to pick up one of those as well. Can you find them locally?

My wife found ours at one of the Christmas craft fairs in town, from the Crowsnest Coffee booth (they're out of Coleman, AB so quasi-local):

http://www.crowsnestcoffeecompany.com/airscape.html

[ExtraSlow]

Not really in the same league as the rest of the stuff in this thread, but figured I'd post it anyway because I'm unemployed and have nothing else to do this morning.

Since I can no longer drink the crappy coffee at work, I have decided to make it at home for the first time in my life. Also, since I'm a cheapskate, I didn't feel like investing in lots of hardware for the five or six cups a week I drink.
Tried using paper filters inside my coffee mug, but was having trouble with the filters falling in. Actually taped them to the mug, and had decent results, but that gets old fast. I am aware that the filters are meant to go INSIDE something, but I didn't have that thing.

So, big upgrade to this:

» Click image for larger version
Picked it up at MEC, http://www.mec.ca/product/5001-889/m...feetea-filter/
Running these ground beans, from my local safeway:

» Click image for larger version

Life is good, having no undue drama in the morning, and now that I have real cream in my fridge, it's tasting fine. Note, no amount of 1% milk replaces that splash of 18% cream. Only thing I did not expect is that it appears that the metal mesh filter is letting through more of the "fines" than the paper filters did. I end up with a small but noticeable amount of "dirt" settling in the bottom of my cup. Have tried stirring this into the last few mouthfulls and just drinking it, but it doesn't enhance the flavour, so I leave it in the cup now.
Pic of "dirt"

» Click image for larger version

And yes, I know this almost certainly isn't actual dirt, it's just the finest part of the grind, I'm using the word dirt as a descriptor.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by msommers
Might have to pick up one of those as well. Can you find them locally?

Sorry I didn't see this back in August haha...I bought mine from here, free shipping and no logo on the side:

http://www.espressoplanet.com/coffee...Container.html


Seems to work great as far as I can tell. A bag of kicking horse fills the 64oz just over half full if I recall.

BB&B has them too but online only and shipping isn't free:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.ca/store...yword=airscape

[megavolt]

Orangeworks in NorthHill mall sells them too.

[msommers]

It's ok I picked one up online as here in Deadmonton I couldn't find anything that wasn't ridiculously expensive.

[adamc]

Extraslow, I would recommend you pick up some better beans.

Phill and Sebastian, Stumptown, 49th Parallel, all available locally and all a heck of a lot better than kicking horse.

You'll notice the difference immediately.

[adamc]

Also speaking of beans, these make the best f*cking latte that I've ever had. Since I've been in Toronto they're all I buy:




If you have a chance to get some locally or order online, I implore you all to try them.