Thread: Coffee Enthusiasts

Good morning and some great coffee

I'll be right over. You got donuts?

Aloha!

On another unrelated forum, I participated in a "Coffee Swap" where some of us members "swapped" coffee pound-for-pound. This can work out really nice if there is a local roaster that you think is just superb, and that does not ship - you can only get it locally. If you can get it online, that defeats the purpose of the coffee swap.

One guy really begged me to ship 2# of Kona from Hawaii and he sent me two delightful roasts from a very small roaster in Rhode Island. It really was fantastic. But once you drink Kona, it's hard (IMO) to beat that combination of flavor and smooth taste. The issue is, many of my favorite Kona roasts are actually available now via Amazon, so I have to hunt for something Amazon does not have - and that means small local roasters - and that does not mean it's going to be better than the Kona Amazon offers. Perhaps my beans would be a tad fresher, but with shipping from Hawaii (you really have to ship two day priority box and pay state/local tax when you buy it), I'm not sure you make out well price-wise or taste-wise.

If you walk into a "Long's Drug" (Long's is a CVS affiliate) here in Hawaii and go to the coffee isle, you will probably be amazed the first time you see it. You have 30 linear feet of Kona coffee in all sorts of varieties and packs. It can be overwhelming the very first time you see this cornucopia of Kona. I've tried dozens of Kona and Kona blends. One of the advantages of living where it's grown and roasted.

Just thought I'd mention the coffee swap for you gents. I'm too remote to participate, but if you get enough members to join it, it can work out really dandy for you.

Mahalo!

-Zip

Originally Posted by Toroblanco

This is what I store my Blue Mountain Jamaican in. The best coffees has to be stored right to preserve that delicate flavor we pay so much money for. These are the only ones like this I have seen. Hope this help someone. All other containers are just cans with lids, this one has some science behind it, and more important it works!

I'm asking, not arguing. (I should have that stamped on my forehead.)
How are those not just cans with lids?

Originally Posted by Dieseld

Good morning and some great coffee

The coffee looks great, but you really want to know what looks amazing to me? The Gas Stove. Try getting a natural gas stove in Hawaii. It's certainly available - at a premium cost like anything else in Hawaii, but it does not run in to most condos and apartments. So it's electric or nothing. I miss cooking with gas. I've become used to electric, and it's certainly better than having to build a fire or use a coal stove, but gas was the ticket for me. Instant heat/no-heat.

TBS always got a good breakfast for friends. This morning was fresh pulled pork from a pig I roasted last night

ZipZop, the coffee trade sounds really cool. Great idea.
And I couldn't give up my gas/propane stove. Love it. Used to have a wood cook stove miss that one

Originally Posted by JHBBlade

I've had a lot of success freezing my beans, but there are some important caveats to freezing beans.

Firstly make sure the beans are freezed in an air tight container. A freezer is a very dry environment.

Secondly I find I need to grind frozen beans while still frozen. So each day I quickly weigh off what I need, then immediately return the container of beans to the freezer. And grind immediately.

If I allow the beans to defrost before grinding I find the flavour is not as good, and if the beans wait for say a day after defrosting then the flavour is worse.

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I don't find that there is a problem freezing beans as long as you keel them vacuum sealed during freezing and defrosting. The problem with freezing is usually over the moisture that condensation brings to the party. I'm the only coffee drinker in the house so I have to make an attempt to keep beans a little longer. 1 kilo of beans takes me a while to consume. I divide it in thirds and freeze the vacuum sealed bags.

@OCDShaver......... That's good to hear. I freeze coffee in clip lock tubs.

Maybe I should qualify what my experience is with defrosting. Yes, I agree the defrosting must take place in the sealed container, otherwise condensation is a problem. Once defrosted I find the flavour is okay, but I found it deteriorates faster than I'm used to with an unfrozen coffee. Sometimes faster than I can drink the beans. Hence my tendency to grind while frozen.

As an aside, there is some interesting work that Matt Perger did with frozen beans; basically he discovered that he gets a more even grind (narrower size distribution) with frozen beans and hence better tasting coffee.

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What you should do is get a basic roaster and your problem is solved. You roast as needed.

Actually if you use a vacuum sealer like a food saver you should not have to freeze them. They will keep a very long time.

☺️.......... Great idea thebigspendur...... but I can see that roasting is a rabbit hole deeper than my shaving addictions!

..... to avoid me becoming thebigspendurNo.2 I'll stick to buying beans for now.

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