Grinding coffee beans

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WiFlyFisher
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Grinding coffee beans

#1

Post by WiFlyFisher »

At Christmas I bought myself an electric coffee grinding machine. My wife and I have been enjoying ground coffee every morning since then.

What I am wondering is there certain brands of coffee beans you would recommend that you feel have better flavor than others you have tried?

Thanks,

John

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bamboo rodley
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Re: Grinding coffee beans

#2

Post by bamboo rodley »

I've had the same coffee grinder for about 15 years. Very reliable machine, and not overly expensive when purchased. I've found that dark roast/french roast coffees are usually cheaper beans, which they roast longer to hide some of the natural flavor. We buy our coffee at Trader Joe's, and the organic beans usually taste a bit better. Most freshly ground beans will be an improvement over grocery store major brands. Coffee is a lot like wine, you can take things to an extreme if you have the wallet, but the nuance is unnoticeable to the average drinker.

Webfly
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Re: Grinding coffee beans

#3

Post by Webfly »

Best bang for the buck in my eyes- Seattle’s Best

snorider
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Re: Grinding coffee beans

#4

Post by snorider »

http://www.yellowstonecoffee.com/
https://www.rockfordcoffee.com/
https://redbirdcoffee.com/
http://www.ghosttowncoffee.com/

All excellent and they all ship although the YCR website is getting an update. The roasting house for ycr is out near one of my favorite little fishing holes. I love the smell of roasting coffee on the river! Rockford coffee is out of this world good! But for every morning I make a blend of french and Italian roast YCR, heck I'm going to have some right now. All this development does have a (very) few upsides.
Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it. T.R.

jvh
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Re: Grinding coffee beans

#5

Post by jvh »

We use Trader Joe's a lot. Sometimes we get Dunkin Doughnuts.
Vern

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cdmoore
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Re: Grinding coffee beans

#6

Post by cdmoore »

Oh, man, you two are in for an adventure! There are MANY good coffees out there. Like rods and reels, everyone has their favorites. You will agree or disagree, of course. After awhile of playing around with various sources, I decided the best thing to do was find 1 or 2 local roasters and support them, make some new friends, give them feedback, and shoot for good service.

Have fun!

malevo
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Re: Grinding coffee beans

#7

Post by malevo »

I would look for a local coffee place that roast their own coffee beans. We do that here in Des Moines, and the coffee is great. The fresher the better.

M.

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thegubster
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Re: Grinding coffee beans

#8

Post by thegubster »

Phil's gonna pop in here shortly..... Not having to go to Sweet Mariah's and then roast my own I get my beans locally from this place. They do a wonderful job of roasting and they cost me a few bags per month!

https://upcoffeeroasters.com/

Also get yourself one of those "pour-over" brewer jobbies that look like an inverted funnel that you put a filter in, then your grounds than fill w/boiling water, let set 4 mins and then sit atop your mug to run thru. You'll be in heaven...

BobM
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Re: Grinding coffee beans

#9

Post by BobM »

I've been roasting my own coffee for about 5 yrs now. Fresh roasted beans smell terrible...in an hour or two they smell good, next day, great. Then when you grind, delicious!
I buy green beans from Sweet Maria's in Oakland. Just rec'd 15 lbs last week.
Personally...Guatemalan, or Ethiopian beans are my favorites.

ablecane
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Re: Grinding coffee beans

#10

Post by ablecane »

Grinder; Starbucks "Barista". Beans most often from Trader Joe's and World Market.

Have a Cuisinart "Grind n Brew" that does a fine job, however it makes more noise than Harrier vertical take-off. Never use it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pweY5y5eRI

Chased
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Re: Grinding coffee beans

#11

Post by Chased »

Lots of great info here. You can go as crazy as your wallet desires with coffee. A good starting place for beans is your local roaster(s). If you are wanting to try something different, there are a plethora of roasters that sell online. One of my favorites is Onyx Coffee Lab (https://onyxcoffeelab.com/), but something more affordable, but still excellent, is SW Roasting (http://swroasting.com/). SW Roasting's website leaves a lot to be desired, and their packaging isn't fancy, but it's probably the best bang for buck that I have encountered. If you are looking for an affordable coffee subscription, HappyMug (http://happymugcoffee.com/) is great.

Coffee is somewhat like bamboo rod building in that there are about a million different ways to go about it. The path you take to get to the end can give different, but similar, results. I'll leave the hand grind vs electric grind debate for another day, but I will say that grind consistency is key. You don't want a bunch of fine particles mixed in with your coarse particles, or coarse particles mixed with your medium particles, etc. or you may end up with a strange tasting cup of coffee. Some will be over extracted (bitter), some will be under extracted (sour), and some will be just right. With a consistent grind size, you can really dial in a cup of coffee (similar to how you can dial in a hand plane to cut just "right").

I personally prefer Ethiopian beans with a medium-coarse grind made as a Pour Over (Chemex, V60, etc). Pour Overs are a little more hands on and require precise measurements of beans, water, and time...but the cup is like no other. Most Ethiopians will be bright and acidic with floral/fruity notes. I've been addicted to an Ethiopian bean from SW Roasting that has strong blueberry notes (think blueberry pancake syrup) for quite some time now.

I've never been one to drink coffee until about a year ago. I was always under the impression that all coffee tasted like grandpas extra extra strong Folgers (aka earwax and dirt), but that simply is not true. Do your self a favor and pick up a scale that will read in grams, and a timer. The coffee rabbit hole is quite deep :rollin

solo8232000
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Re: Grinding coffee beans

#12

Post by solo8232000 »

Hi WIFLY..We have been grinding our coffee beans for several years..We started off with a blade grinder but found that the high speed blade grinders "scorched" the beans and so we went to a burr grinder..That slower grind rate and better grind adjustment sure made a difference in the taste too!!..being from south Louisiana my wife and I like a robust flavored coffee and started out using Community Dark Roast...neither of us care for their chickory blend..just too bitter..However, a couple of years back we picked up a bag of French Market brand dark roast beans and have never looked back..The French Market brand is quite a bit cheaper than the Community and has a great full flavored taste...

I think you are really going to love the favor of home ground beans over commercially available ground beans!!

solo8232000
Nathan

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canerodscom
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Re: Grinding coffee beans

#13

Post by canerodscom »

solo8232000 Nathan,

Never realized you were in Louisiana. Give me a yell sometime.

WiFlyFisher
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Re: Grinding coffee beans

#14

Post by WiFlyFisher »

Thanks for all the feedback! Yes, we do use a burr grinder as well.

We don't have any bean roasters close by us to try so we have been buying various beans from our local grocery stores. We are always on the search for better coffee beans.

Being an Internet guy and downing 2 pots a day (wife helps with first pot) I am not afraid to order something online if it's really good. So I may try some of the suggestions.

Thanks!

John

Red64
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Re: Grinding coffee beans

#15

Post by Red64 »

Summer Moon coffee in Austin Texas. Their "Inferno" dark roast is excellent

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cdmoore
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Re: Grinding coffee beans

#16

Post by cdmoore »

If anyone has a blade grinder (like Krups) and needs cover to purchase a burr grinder, you can convert the blade grinder to a fur blender for tying and claim that you won't have to buy one new for that purpose. Might work.

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BrownBear
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Re: Grinding coffee beans

#17

Post by BrownBear »

We have the most fun exploring the coffees offered by small local roasters as we wander around the country. Some great treats out there, as well as disappointments. But when you find a goodun, it's really good.

Our best find over the last several years is the Java Gold from a little place called The Perfect Cup in Matlacha on Florida's Pine Island. Since Matlacha is home to great winter fishing for tarpon, snook and redfish, and our favorite guide lives a block from The Perfect Cup, it's a natural.

Next favorite little place is within walking distance of a favorite river in the Rockies, and third favorite is right across the street from the city park on our favorite Sierra Nevada river. And of course, there's the local coffee source across the street from the harbor back home in Alaska.

Notice a pattern here? :D We most certainly associate good coffees with good waters.

magpie
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Re: Grinding coffee beans

#18

Post by magpie »

Ethiopian coffees have a delicious fruity flavor and are also our family favorites. A medium light roast is, in my opinion, the best. I think they were the original coffees.

Arctic-Grayling
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Re: Grinding coffee beans

#19

Post by Arctic-Grayling »

I will second magpie on Ethiopian coffees, I think Alaska Coffee Roaster's Yirgacheffe is the best coffee I have ever tried. All of us have different palates, so one persons best ever coffee is someone's worst ever. Same with pipe tobacco, whiskey, wine & most anything that we savor. Water also plays a big part in what consists of a good cup of coffee also. City water with all the chemicals ruins coffee for me, it also kills my sourdough starter, but that is is another subject.

Heddon20
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Re: Grinding coffee beans

#20

Post by Heddon20 »

If you live close to a Costco, give some of their coffee beans a try. The various Kirkland brands are very good. Agree on water. That's why we run our tap water through a Brita Portable Filter Pitcher and then pour it into the coffee maker even though our maker has it's own charcoal water filter. Makes a big difference.
Brian

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