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Original article from January 2010
which you might want to read first.
I got interested in serious coffee drinking a year and a half ago. The
original article contains my early experience and research. It is time for a
followup.
Obviously it was not a passing fancy. I am still enjoying much better coffee
and a huge variety of different tastes. I do not mean flavored coffees
rather plain roasted beans. The tastes are as varied as wines.
For reference I make my coffee 12 ounces, two 6 oz cups, at a
time using four level tablespoons in a four 6 oz. cup Mr. Coffee machine.
Because there is less coffee in the cone the water runs through faster
indicating a finer grind should be used for the same results. Notice this is
just about the least amount of coffee it is reasonable to make at one time.
It is the amount made by the new single cup brewers which means you do not
have to buy one. You can do it with a Mr. Coffee machine for a fraction the
price.
I am in Tampa, Florida and use the notoriously hard water right out of the
tap. Purists are are invited to turn up their nose. I have not tried
distilled water. Spring water is just as hard.
I am also the only coffee drinker here so I have only my opinion to go by.
All my comments are about my response for this reason.
Capresso slow burr grinder is much better.
Burr grinders come in two types. I started using a $50 fast grind model by Krup.
It became unreliable after 15 months. Rather than a direct replacement I
bought a slow grinder by Capresso for $100 through Amazon. Overall I find it
an improvement. How much is better manufacture and how much the slower grind
I have no idea. This machine produces essentially no fine powder while the
Krup produced maybe 5% fine powder. Theoretically this increases the
bitterness out of proportion to a uniform grind.
As the grind is adjustable the first thing was to find the right setting. To
my surprise the taste of every coffee I have put through it has been
critically dependent upon the grind setting. There are four marks covering
the range for drip coffee makers. A change of half a mark changes the flavor
of the coffee.
This may be due to my experience with so many different types; that I have
learned to pay attention to different tastes. These tastes are different not
better or worse. I vary it over one scale mark on either side of the setting
in the image. Beyond that there are tastes that I consider worse.
Different grinds for different coffees
Most coffees are best within these two marks. However some are better with
the range moved another mark to the left.
Brewing temperature matters
I started using a Black and Decker basket filter type four cup machine. It
brewed at a rather low temperature. Freshly brewed coffee was just barely
too hot to drink. I had no complaints about the coffee. But it bothered me
enough that I got a Cuisinart cone filter type four cup where the fresh
brewed coffee is near scalding. The taste is better but I cannot define in
what way.
In fact everything matters
Remember from my original article the three major factors in taste are
brewing temperature, grind and how long the grounds are in contact with the
water. The time in contact is why the time taken to make espresso matters,
not too fast or too slow. Clearly the time in contact in a cone filter is
longer than for a basket filter. The finer the grind the slower the water
flow which is why espresso water is under pressure, to make it flow through
the very fine grind fast enough.
Mocha Java is the best all round flavor.
Most of my explorations have been of single variety beans. Of the few blends
I have tried those described as Mocha Java blends have struck me as "what
real coffee should be like." These are blends of coffees from Yemen (the
port of Mocha) and from the Island of Java. Separately these have very
different tastes. I am guessing these are what are described as earthy and
fruity respectively. The tastes do not compete therefore blends have both
tastes. Complex tastes are good tastes.
Peaberrys of every variety have been great.
A peaberry is where the bean does not (completely) divide into two beans. I
have had these from several different locations including my only one from
India and they have been uniformly well above average. For lack of a better
word I would say the taste is richer rather than stronger. Making regular
coffee stronger does not achieve the same effect.
Unfortunately I have not found a year 'round source of peaberry. They have
all been seasonal and all of different types. I have been toying with the
idea of buying several months worth at a time just to have it year 'round.
This of course will butt up against freshness as all suppliers warn against
storing for more than a month but frankly as long as kept sealed I have not
found a problem.
The range of peaberry beans is from no sign of division to partially divided
to nearly completely divided. Those with the least partially divided beans
are better. I have yet to find a supplier that mentions this although Peet's
has the lowest fraction of partially divided beans I have found so far.
When it tastes weak ...
I guess we can all agree upon what weak means. To that I add the absence or
quick disappearance of taste after swallowing, none of that lingering
after-taste. I find this can usually be corrected with a fifth level tablespoon
without changing the basic taste. This is after adjusting the grind to
optimize the flavor.
The best single bean so far
Sumatran Blue Batak. This is a winter offering from Peet's. It is what I
think the vendors mean by fruity. It is a similar flavor to Java and
presumably both are from volcanic soil. It is the flavor that blends with
Mocha in Mocha Java. I very much like this flavor.
Peet's again!?
Yes. It has taken these 18 months to almost exhaust their special offering.
Between these special offerings I have repeat ordered coffees I like such as
the Sumatran Blue Batak. Even without reordering it would have taken about a
year to try everything.
I have tried a couple other suppliers but I have been disappointed to find
most of the flavor is in the roast not in the bean. In other words, all
burned toast tastes the same. In simpler terms the dark roast is covering a
lower quality coffee.
Dark roast coffee should never taste burned no matter how dark. If it does
it was either improperly roasted and should never have been sold or it is to
cover up a low quality bean. In either case, don't!
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