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I'm happy with my brew, where to next?

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  • I'm happy with my brew, where to next?

    About 2 years ago (after brewing in a stovetop espresso maker for ~15 years) I skipped a few categories and went straight to a Rocket Mozzafiato and a Niche grinder.
    It took a while to get the hang of brewing good coffee consistently at home every time, but I feel I've got it sorted. I got there by:
    • Upgrading screen and filter to Pesado
    • Clean my grinder and machine often (usually every 1kg of beans)
    • Weigh my dose, use a funnel for portafilter transfer, tap, then swizzle it with cake tester
    • Tamp with a quality tamper
    • Time my brew
    I've worked out that I like base espresso slightly restricted. I aim for 20gm in, 30 second extraction, 32-36gm out. I drink it as a long black.
    After testing lots of different beans, I buy Code Black house blend as my daily grind and brew about 1kg per month. I know how the grind changes over time, and I'm at the point now where it's pretty rare that I would throw a shot away. More often than not, when I crack a new bag, I can adjust the grind by guessing, and my first shot will be within a few grams of my target extraction.

    I don't think there are any major problems. Every once in a while, I get a tiny bit of spray from the portafilter. Maybe a couple times a month. No big deal.

    So heres my question: Is this it?!
    I'm curious and always want to explore the next thing. Not sure where to go. I suspect that gadgets like distribution tools will provide diminishing returns at this point.
    What's the next frontier? Explore specialty beans? Start roasting? Or just shut up and enjoy good coffee everyday?

  • #2
    Roasting will definitely give you a whole new dimension of flavour and challenges to your brew. Each specialty batch will bring different nuances some will be great and others will be meh - all based on your preferences and skill with a roaster.

    Good news is you can get into roasting pretty cheaply with a corretto setup or a second hand roaster like a hottop or Behmor. You can still keep your code black as a base for now until you get 'good' at roasting. It will also be cheaper in the long run too! Switching up beans in the Niche will be a breeze.

    As you say more gadgets like distributing tools are monumental changes in quality generally (although puck prep is super important and maybe a WDT is worthwhile investigating).

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    • WhatEverBeansNecessary
      WhatEverBeansNecessary commented
      Editing a comment
      Edit: AREN'T monumental changes in quality.

  • #3
    Are you using a bottomless/naked basket? If not then that would be a worthwhile next step because you'll be able to see how even the pour is.

    Other items that became important to me once I started using a naked basket were: shot mirror, puck rake (levercraft or skorksdesign) and a self-levelling tamper.

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    • #4
      As you say more gadgets like distributing tools are monumental changes in quality generally (although puck prep is super important and maybe a WDT is worthwhile investigating).
      Did you mean aren't monumental changes?

      Are you using a bottomless/naked basket? If not then that would be a worthwhile next step because you'll be able to see how even the pour is.
      Yep. I started with that early on, so I could see what was going on when learning. I prefer it, because it's one less thing that needs cleaning. I don't get any spray, but there's a little bit of channelling (I think). Usually starts off with 2 or 3 streams that converge into 1 around half way. Sometimes get a few dead spots, but nothing too dramatic.

      Other items that became important to me once I started using a naked basket were: shot mirror, puck rake (levercraft or skorksdesign) and a self-levelling tamper.
      Puck rake is a nice idea. I use a cake tester, which is basically a single tine. I don't think I'm into levelling tools or calibrated tampers though. I have a nice heavy tamper machined from 316 stainless steel, I can't imagine not using it. Not a massive fan of coffee gadgets, partly because my stuff is out on the bench and I don't want the clutter.

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      • WhatEverBeansNecessary
        WhatEverBeansNecessary commented
        Editing a comment
        Yup that's a typo - aren't monumental changes in quality.

    • #5
      I’m with WhatEverBeansNecessary in suggesting roasting your own beans and I’d add the Kaffelogic Nano 7 to the list of roasters to look at. It’s a very compact unit, won’t clutter up your bench, and you can go from virtually hands off to as intensively hands on as you want. It’s very flexible with quantities and essentially smoke free, allowing you to happily roast your beans inside. So, very good for apartment dwellers and people with limited outside roasting spaces.

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      • #6
        RE: What's the next frontier? Explore specialty beans? Start roasting? Or just shut up and enjoy good coffee everyday?

        Asking a home roaster forum what next is sort of a bit like asking a barber if you need a haircut.

        Sounds like you have really worked on the espresso extraction process and you have done it by sticking with a blend. That's great.

        Also kind of sounds like your next step is probably opening up your frame of reference. It would be good for you to learn the difference between the different flavours offered by the major different beans and for you to learn to taste and understand the major roast defects. You can start roasting without this, if you like, but if you don't have a good north start of understanding what is reasonably possible in the world of coffee, you're probably going to go around in circles a lot.

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        • #7
          Can also recommend the Kaffelogic if you want to move your bean obsession into roasting.

          Roasting aside, have you dabbled in other forms of coffee prep/style aside from espresso?

          Filter, drip, cold brew is also lots of fun and offers a whole new world of flavour.

          V60, aeropress, clever dripper, tricolate and many many more ways to extract flavour from your grinds.

          Enjoy.

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          • #8
            I do not tamp but use the OCD as I am convinced by the argument it is the flat bed and not the tamp that is important. I would recommend a puck screen/filter.

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            • #9
              ...your next step is probably opening up your frame of reference. It would be good for you to learn the difference between the different flavours offered by the major different beans and for you to learn to taste and understand the major roast defects. You can start roasting without this, if you like, but if you don't have a good north start of understanding what is reasonably possible in the world of coffee, you're probably going to go around in circles a lot.
              This sounds like good advice to me. I'm not wild about starting to roast my own beans. I have enough other hobbies already. I have only basic knowledge of bean types, and have generally just relied on sticking with good suppliers and trying a few different blends that designed for espresso brewing. Code Black is great for everyday. Sometimes I buy smaller bags of Market Lane for something a bit more interesting.

              I've also tried some of the more delicate methods like pour over. I don't mind it, but since having the Rocket, that tends to be my default.

              If I was going on a bean exploration to try some different things, what would you recommend I look at? I feel like I'm quite familiar with the house blends offered by the better roasters.

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              • #10
                Good info you've been offered Rog...and whilst its obv everything espresso feeds off the quality of Bean / Roast / Blend.....
                but don't disregard the effects that Barista inputs can and do have.
                Going from your first post possibly your already doing that and just cut your words to keep it short.
                Things like a lower dose rate to a particular basket can equal more headheight giving greater early saturation, finer grind, differ the shot ratio, less / more % extraction etc.
                Some will see this as just words / fancy terminology etc however you can as the barista have such an effect on what you can extract from the same bean blend.
                Or try blending your own roast or whatever beans you buy roasted.
                Also maybe look up Yelta's Longo recipe for a black!
                GL

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                • #11
                  I think luca is spot on about forgetting blends for a bit and focusing on single origins. Perhaps isolating certain characteristics you really like - floral, cocoa, spicy etc. associated with different regions. There’s lots written on this and Andy does a good shorthand summary on Bean Bay for the beans he brings in. There’s also a useful map of growing areas with their average altitudes, readily downloadable, which helps the understanding.

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                  • #12
                    Originally posted by rogerwilco View Post

                    This sounds like good advice to me. I'm not wild about starting to roast my own beans. I have enough other hobbies already. I have only basic knowledge of bean types, and have generally just relied on sticking with good suppliers and trying a few different blends that designed for espresso brewing. Code Black is great for everyday. Sometimes I buy smaller bags of Market Lane for something a bit more interesting.

                    I've also tried some of the more delicate methods like pour over. I don't mind it, but since having the Rocket, that tends to be my default.

                    If I was going on a bean exploration to try some different things, what would you recommend I look at? I feel like I'm quite familiar with the house blends offered by the better roasters.
                    What you probably want to do is to learn what the various components of the blends do, and what other things are around that you like or don't. You'll notice that blends are usually lower priced than single origins, and often indeed this is because the coffees that are in them are not as good quality. Sometimes they cannot stand up well on their own ... but this is why they are blended. There is also commercial pressure on roasters for blends to have a certain flavour profile and to "cut through" milk, so blends that probably make up the bulk of their sales kind of tend to have a few commercial limits around what can be in them and how they can taste. The single origins that roasters offer might be similar flavour profiles that are in their blends, or they might be completely different things that people might have strong opinions about; favourable or otherwise.

                    Looks like Code Black's single origins are very different from their blend components, so maybe they're not a good place to start. Market Lane's are probably a bit more of the classic flavour profiles used in blends.

                    Probably don't change too many variables at a time, take it slow, and, most importantly, set yourself up to be able to taste things side by side. So maybe stick with espresso roasts, and extract them as espresso. Buy a bag of something and try it against the blend. When you get to your last shot or two of beans, throw it in the freezer. Then when you get your next single origin, dial it in and unearth the previous one from the freezer and taste them against each other. Keep repeating this process so you are always tasting comparatively. Take notes. You might find, for example, that you are crazy about the natural ethiopian coffees in the blend, or the natural brazils, and that you prefer them as single origins. You might find that your preference has you looking at different blends that feature the things you like more. Or you might try single origins that people don't use in blends and conclude that you like them.

                    Many roasters are receiving December harvest Kenyan coffees now. These are coffees that usually aren't blended and that you may be interested in trying.

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                    • #13
                      keep practising is my advice after a few years roasting in the beginning with a pop corn machine and very small quantities

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