Coffee beans

In article <[email hidden]>,

Susan said:

x-no-archive: yes

Wayne Crannell said:

Ah....something I DO know about. Do not store them in the freezer. Put
them into a bag which is relatively airtight but not completely. Also,
even beans start to get stale once they are roasted, so buy less but
more often. If you can go to a roaster or do it yourself, you will
notice a BIG difference. If not, buy the beans that come from local
sources...they were roasted more recently. Also, there are some decent
places online that will roast and send you beans in a day.

And NEVER grind until you are ready to brew. 6-9g of coffee per 6 oz of
water ground as fine as possible without clogging the filter. Also,
different brew styles do result in different coffee taste. French press,
moka, ibrik, filter, chemex, vacuum, even cowboy coffee....try them all!

You must be a fellow denizen of coffeegeek.com.

I'm almost ready to roast my own, but I'm a bit too satisfied with Jim's
Organic at the moment.

Susan <Chemex, Bodum Santos vacuum, Capresso burr, KitchenAid drip>

I love my Capresso grinder. It will even do Turkish. Do you like the
KitchenAid...I've heard good things about them. I do have to admit that
I do usually do drip just for ease, but I am manic about 7g of beans per
5 oz water. And I really like Turkish (Splenda instead of sugar, of
course!)

I use sweetmarias.com for a good selection of green beans....get an old
air popcorn popper from a thrift store....I've modified mine with
separate switches for the fan and heat, so I can stretch the roast time
between 1st and 2nd crack. And it needs to be one with the air coming in
from the side rather than up through a screen in the bottom. You just
toss in the beans until they almost stop spinning. I use a wooden spoon
to keep them moving. Listen for first crack (low pitched) and then
second crack (higher and faster). Most coffees are good just before or
at 2nd crack, but I'll take the African beans a little longer. If you
like "thick" coffee, go for the Ethiopians, especially Sidamo. If you
like something lighter, South Americans are good. Mexican coffees are
interesting, and for truly weird coffee, try a Monsooned Indian bean.

--
Wayne Crannell
Sherman, TX
248/141 10/27/01

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

Wayne, I agree wholeheartedly with everything you say, except for one
small thing - why suggest a container which is "relatively airtight but
not completely"? I watched a great Food Network show a while back,
Alton Brown's "Good Eats," which was devoted entirely to coffee. One of
the things he emphasized was buying some airtight containers and then
storing your coffee beans in the fridge (again, like you said, NEVER in
the freezer).

When you home roast, the coffee needs to sit for about 24 hours and
during that time, it will give off gasses that need to escape. I use
simple lunch bags and roast only enough for two days. As the oils leave
the beans in darker roasts, the paper helps control it and soak some. My
experience with airtight vs breathable and room temp vs chilled is just
what I've picked up from some of the coffee crazies at CoffeeGeek and
various forums -- those people are nuts! So feel perfectly free to
ignore whatever I've said here!

--
Wayne Crannell
Sherman, TX
248/141 10/27/01

Wayne Crannell wrote:
|| In article <[email hidden]>,
|| Marsha <[email hidden]> wrote:
||
||| Are you supposed to store them in the freezer,
||| refrigerator, or neither? I thought they were
||| supposed to be kept in the freezer, but I read
||| somewhere that you shouldn't do that.
|||
||| Marsha/Ohio
|||
||
|| Ah....something I DO know about. Do not store them in the freezer.
|| Put them into a bag which is relatively airtight but not completely.
|| Also, even beans start to get stale once they are roasted, so buy
|| less but more often. If you can go to a roaster or do it yourself,
|| you will notice a BIG difference. If not, buy the beans that come
|| from local sources...they were roasted more recently. Also, there
|| are some decent places online that will roast and send you beans in
|| a day.
||
|| And NEVER grind until you are ready to brew. 6-9g of coffee per 6 oz
|| of water ground as fine as possible without clogging the filter.
|| Also, different brew styles do result in different coffee taste.
|| French press, moka, ibrik, filter, chemex, vacuum, even cowboy
|| coffee....try them all!
||
|| Lecture over.
||
|| --
|| Wayne Crannell
|| Sherman, TX
|| 248/141 10/27/01

I believe that is your opinion, but I find my coffee beans stay fresher in
the freezer-- and the aroma and taste stay more vibrant as well. I always
buy coffee beans and immediately transfer them to an airtight canning jar
that I keep for that purpose, and put it in the freezer. I take out only as
many beans as I need to grind for my coffee, and I always have a wonderfully
fresh and delicious cup of coffee when I brew a pot.

Peter

Wayne Crannell said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

Wayne, I agree wholeheartedly with everything you say, except for one
small thing - why suggest a container which is "relatively airtight but
not completely"? I watched a great Food Network show a while back,
Alton Brown's "Good Eats," which was devoted entirely to coffee. One of
the things he emphasized was buying some airtight containers and then
storing your coffee beans in the fridge (again, like you said, NEVER in
the freezer).

When you home roast, the coffee needs to sit for about 24 hours and
during that time, it will give off gasses that need to escape. I use
simple lunch bags and roast only enough for two days. As the oils leave
the beans in darker roasts, the paper helps control it and soak some. My
experience with airtight vs breathable and room temp vs chilled is just
what I've picked up from some of the coffee crazies at CoffeeGeek and
various forums -- those people are nuts! So feel perfectly free to
ignore whatever I've said here!

Oh, I wont ignore what you're saying. You sound very knowledgeable. I
missed the part about you roasting your own beans... you ARE a serious
coffee fiend!

Quoted message said:

--
Wayne Crannell
Sherman, TX
248/141 10/27/01

x-no-archive: yes

Wayne Crannell said:

I love my Capresso grinder. It will even do Turkish. Do you like the
KitchenAid...I've heard good things about them.

Yes, the temperature is right, and even the stuff sitting in the carafe
after (I know, that's against good coffee rules) doesn't burn or get
bitter or muddy. It also shuts itself off after two hours, so no
driving 100 miles and worrying about it. :-) It's much better than my
old grind and brews (Toshiba, Cuisinart), Braun and Krups. Best drip
coffee I've ever had, besides the less convenient Chemex.

Quoted message said:

I do have to admit that
I do usually do drip just for ease, but I am manic about 7g of beans per
5 oz water.

Really? Hmmm... I just know how to eyeball the number of rounded
scoops I want for my brew, then toss them into the grinder.

Quoted message said:

And I really like Turkish (Splenda instead of sugar, of
course!)

Turkish'll keep your eyes open!

Quoted message said:

I use sweetmarias.com for a good selection of green beans....get an old
air popcorn popper from a thrift store....I've modified mine with
separate switches for the fan and heat, so I can stretch the roast time
between 1st and 2nd crack. And it needs to be one with the air coming in
from the side rather than up through a screen in the bottom. You just
toss in the beans until they almost stop spinning. I use a wooden spoon
to keep them moving. Listen for first crack (low pitched) and then
second crack (higher and faster). Most coffees are good just before or
at 2nd crack, but I'll take the African beans a little longer.

I've ordered fresh roasted varietals from sweetmarias, and read a lot of
wonderful information and reviews there, but what they and you describe
(and you failed to mention the smoke and the smell!) is just too labor
intensive for me right now; though it would save me the about $8 per lb,
I think. I wish I had a local roaster, though I'm thrilled with Jim's
Organic Ethiopian.

Quoted message said:

If you
like "thick" coffee, go for the Ethiopians, especially Sidamo. If you
like something lighter, South Americans are good. Mexican coffees are
interesting, and for truly weird coffee, try a Monsooned Indian bean.

I love Ethiopian, no matter how strong I brew it, it's smooth. I also
like blends of dark and medium roast beans. Jim's Together Decaf (!!) is
an amazingly good brew.

My name is Susan, and I'm a cofeeholic

x-no-archive: yes

Marengo said:

I believe that is your opinion, but I find my coffee beans stay fresher in
the freezer-- and the aroma and taste stay more vibrant as well.

That may be your opinion, Peter, but what Wayne wrote is the finding and
opinion of every coffee expert, grower, roaster on the face of the
earth, not just his opinion.

I always

Quoted message said:

buy coffee beans and immediately transfer them to an airtight canning jar
that I keep for that purpose, and put it in the freezer. I take out only as
many beans as I need to grind for my coffee, and I always have a wonderfully
fresh and delicious cup of coffee when I brew a pot.

Hey, if you like it that way, why argue? :-)

Susan

I guess from what I've been reading this morning, if the container is
TRULY airtight, the freezer might not be such a horrible idea. However,
it also seems like freezer storage is best only for one-time use.

Susan said:

x-no-archive: yes

Marengo said:

I believe that is your opinion, but I find my coffee beans stay fresher in
the freezer-- and the aroma and taste stay more vibrant as well.

That may be your opinion, Peter, but what Wayne wrote is the finding and
opinion of every coffee expert, grower, roaster on the face of the
earth, not just his opinion.

I always

Quoted message said:

buy coffee beans and immediately transfer them to an airtight canning jar
that I keep for that purpose, and put it in the freezer. I take out only as
many beans as I need to grind for my coffee, and I always have a wonderfully
fresh and delicious cup of coffee when I brew a pot.

Hey, if you like it that way, why argue? :-)

Susan

Susan wrote:
|| x-no-archive: yes
||
|| Marengo wrote:
||
||| I believe that is your opinion, but I find my coffee beans stay
||| fresher in the freezer-- and the aroma and taste stay more vibrant
||| as well.
||
|| That may be your opinion, Peter, but what Wayne wrote is the finding
|| and opinion of every coffee expert, grower, roaster on the face of
|| the earth, not just his opinion.
|| Susan

Hi Susan,

Apparently not every coffee expert, grower, roaster on the face of the earth
is of that opinion! Doing research I find about an equal number who say
don't freeze the coffee and who say to freeze it (if keeping more than a
week). Guess this is one of those issues that the experts are divided on,
and each side will claim forever that the other side is wrong. That being
the case it becomes a YMMV thing I guess.

I used to love my coffee, but haven't been able to have caffeine for years.
I've been trying to find that "pefect" cup of fresh-brewed decaf, but so far
none of the brands that I've tried can measure up to the "real thing."
(I've been making my own blends, combinging decaf with a smaller portion of
caffeinated for flavor). Any suggestions?

Peter

I've used the Braun Coffee and Espresso Mill grinder for years, every
morning. It grinds just the right amount of coffee from its own storage area

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=1705746

It is a "bur" type grinder so a better grind-just make sure you put the top
on right or you will have coffee everywhere!

Well made, I inherited mine from my dad- so its still going strong after
about 25 years. I've seen them on ebay

Diane

"Susan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

x-no-archive: yes

Bev-Ann said:

Yes, you can keep them at room temperature or in the fridge if you must.
Freezing does something to the bond inside the bean when the moisture
content crystallizes so that should be avoided. Grinding them allows
oxidation to happen faster, so I agree with doing so only right before
using them. I bought a coffee maker that has its own grinder and
automatically grinds them to the perfect fineness right before the
brewing
process. Set it up the night before and turn on the programmed brewing
cycle. It's an expensive machine (about $120 Cdn), but I love it!

I've had two such machines, but finally tossed them in favor of grinding
and brewing separately.

What machine do you use? Can you adjust the grind? Is it as much torture
to clean as the old Toshiba and Cuisinarts?

Susan

I've roasted before, also reroasted coffee like 8 o'clock to get a cheap
espresso roast- the popcorn popper works good, but I ended up using a heavy
pizza pan at 400 degrees. You have to watch the beans carefully-burnt is
terrible!

Ebay has the Braun bur grinder for a great price
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4395111420&category=38252&ssPageName=WDVW&rd=1

Diane

"Wayne Crannell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Susan said:

x-no-archive: yes

Wayne Crannell said:

Ah....something I DO know about. Do not store them in the freezer. Put
them into a bag which is relatively airtight but not completely. Also,
even beans start to get stale once they are roasted, so buy less but
more often. If you can go to a roaster or do it yourself, you will
notice a BIG difference. If not, buy the beans that come from local
sources...they were roasted more recently. Also, there are some decent
places online that will roast and send you beans in a day.

And NEVER grind until you are ready to brew. 6-9g of coffee per 6 oz of
water ground as fine as possible without clogging the filter. Also,
different brew styles do result in different coffee taste. French
press,
moka, ibrik, filter, chemex, vacuum, even cowboy coffee....try them
all!

You must be a fellow denizen of coffeegeek.com.

I'm almost ready to roast my own, but I'm a bit too satisfied with Jim's
Organic at the moment.

Susan <Chemex, Bodum Santos vacuum, Capresso burr, KitchenAid drip>

I love my Capresso grinder. It will even do Turkish. Do you like the
KitchenAid...I've heard good things about them. I do have to admit that
I do usually do drip just for ease, but I am manic about 7g of beans per
5 oz water. And I really like Turkish (Splenda instead of sugar, of
course!)

I use sweetmarias.com for a good selection of green beans....get an old
air popcorn popper from a thrift store....I've modified mine with
separate switches for the fan and heat, so I can stretch the roast time
between 1st and 2nd crack. And it needs to be one with the air coming in
from the side rather than up through a screen in the bottom. You just
toss in the beans until they almost stop spinning. I use a wooden spoon
to keep them moving. Listen for first crack (low pitched) and then
second crack (higher and faster). Most coffees are good just before or
at 2nd crack, but I'll take the African beans a little longer. If you
like "thick" coffee, go for the Ethiopians, especially Sidamo. If you
like something lighter, South Americans are good. Mexican coffees are
interesting, and for truly weird coffee, try a Monsooned Indian bean.

--
Wayne Crannell
Sherman, TX
248/141 10/27/01

try "roasting" some of the beans you have in the oven. It only takes 5
minutes at 400 degrees- you will hear the beans crackle- COOL IMMEDIATELY to
prevent burning the beans. Just roast enough for 1 pot of coffee and let us
know what you think.
"Marengo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:tKTEe.48080$rb6.21799@lakeread07...

Quoted message said:

Susan wrote:
|| x-no-archive: yes
||
|| Marengo wrote:
||
||| I believe that is your opinion, but I find my coffee beans stay
||| fresher in the freezer-- and the aroma and taste stay more vibrant
||| as well.
||
|| That may be your opinion, Peter, but what Wayne wrote is the finding
|| and opinion of every coffee expert, grower, roaster on the face of
|| the earth, not just his opinion.
|| Susan

Hi Susan,

Apparently not every coffee expert, grower, roaster on the face of the
earth is of that opinion! Doing research I find about an equal number who
say don't freeze the coffee and who say to freeze it (if keeping more than
a week). Guess this is one of those issues that the experts are divided
on, and each side will claim forever that the other side is wrong. That
being the case it becomes a YMMV thing I guess.

I used to love my coffee, but haven't been able to have caffeine for
years. I've been trying to find that "pefect" cup of fresh-brewed decaf,
but so far none of the brands that I've tried can measure up to the "real
thing." (I've been making my own blends, combinging decaf with a smaller
portion of caffeinated for flavor). Any suggestions?

Peter

I need to tell you- my roasting days ended when I realized that I had
trouble with caffeine and migraine headaches. I really was making wickedly
strong coffee!

Diane

"Marengo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:tKTEe.48080$rb6.21799@lakeread07...

Quoted message said:

Susan wrote:
|| x-no-archive: yes
||
|| Marengo wrote:
||
||| I believe that is your opinion, but I find my coffee beans stay
||| fresher in the freezer-- and the aroma and taste stay more vibrant
||| as well.
||
|| That may be your opinion, Peter, but what Wayne wrote is the finding
|| and opinion of every coffee expert, grower, roaster on the face of
|| the earth, not just his opinion.
|| Susan

Hi Susan,

Apparently not every coffee expert, grower, roaster on the face of the
earth is of that opinion! Doing research I find about an equal number who
say don't freeze the coffee and who say to freeze it (if keeping more than
a week). Guess this is one of those issues that the experts are divided
on, and each side will claim forever that the other side is wrong. That
being the case it becomes a YMMV thing I guess.

I used to love my coffee, but haven't been able to have caffeine for
years. I've been trying to find that "pefect" cup of fresh-brewed decaf,
but so far none of the brands that I've tried can measure up to the "real
thing." (I've been making my own blends, combinging decaf with a smaller
portion of caffeinated for flavor). Any suggestions?

Peter

x-no-archive: yes

Marengo said:

Apparently not every coffee expert, grower, roaster on the face of the earth
is of that opinion! Doing research I find about an equal number who say
don't freeze the coffee and who say to freeze it (if keeping more than a
week). Guess this is one of those issues that the experts are divided on,
and each side will claim forever that the other side is wrong. That being
the case it becomes a YMMV thing I guess.

That's interesting, Peter, I have to confess, I used to freeze coffee
beans, but stopped after reading up on it, and I *think* mine is better now.

Quoted message said:

I used to love my coffee, but haven't been able to have caffeine for years.
I've been trying to find that "pefect" cup of fresh-brewed decaf, but so far
none of the brands that I've tried can measure up to the "real thing."
(I've been making my own blends, combinging decaf with a smaller portion of
caffeinated for flavor). Any suggestions?

Oooh, yes. I had to cut back on caffeine years ago, so I cut my
Ethiopian with Together Decaf from Jim's Organic cofee; it's a blend of
dark roast and medium. Health food stores often have it, or you can
order it from their website. You won't believe it's decaf; it's so rich
and smooth, it's an incredible coffee, as it should be for $12 a lb.
Try some, it's as good as the finest high octane brew. :-)

Susan <no affiliation with Jim's, just a blissful customer>

x-no-archive: yes

diane said:

I've used the Braun Coffee and Espresso Mill grinder for years, every
morning. It grinds just the right amount of coffee from its own storage area

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=1705746

It is a "bur" type grinder so a better grind-just make sure you put the top
on right or you will have coffee everywhere!

Well made, I inherited mine from my dad- so its still going strong after
about 25 years. I've seen them on ebay

Thanks, if it's a burr grinder, it's the way to go. My friend loves her
Braun, and I'm very happy with my Capresso burr grinder, though the
Braun is MUCH quieter.

Susan

diane wrote:
|| try "roasting" some of the beans you have in the oven. It only takes
|| 5 minutes at 400 degrees- you will hear the beans crackle- COOL
|| IMMEDIATELY to prevent burning the beans. Just roast enough for 1
|| pot of coffee and let us know what you think.
|| "Marengo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
|| news:tKTEe.48080$rb6.21799@lakeread07...
||| Susan wrote:
||||| x-no-archive: yes
|||||
||||| Marengo wrote:
|||||
|||||| I believe that is your opinion, but I find my coffee beans stay
|||||| fresher in the freezer-- and the aroma and taste stay more
|||||| vibrant as well.
|||||
||||| That may be your opinion, Peter, but what Wayne wrote is the
||||| finding and opinion of every coffee expert, grower, roaster on
||||| the face of the earth, not just his opinion.
||||| Susan
|||
||| Hi Susan,
|||
||| Apparently not every coffee expert, grower, roaster on the face of
||| the earth is of that opinion! Doing research I find about an equal
||| number who say don't freeze the coffee and who say to freeze it (if
||| keeping more than a week). Guess this is one of those issues that
||| the experts are divided on, and each side will claim forever that
||| the other side is wrong. That being the case it becomes a YMMV
||| thing I guess.
|||
||| I used to love my coffee, but haven't been able to have caffeine for
||| years. I've been trying to find that "pefect" cup of fresh-brewed
||| decaf, but so far none of the brands that I've tried can measure up
||| to the "real thing." (I've been making my own blends, combinging
||| decaf with a smaller portion of caffeinated for flavor). Any
||| suggestions?
|||
||| Peter

Thanks for the suggstion; I'll give it a try and let you know how it turns
out!

Peter

Susan wrote:
|| x-no-archive: yes
||
|| Marengo wrote:
||
||| Apparently not every coffee expert, grower, roaster on the face of
||| the earth is of that opinion! Doing research I find about an equal
||| number who say don't freeze the coffee and who say to freeze it (if
||| keeping more than a week). Guess this is one of those issues that
||| the experts are divided on, and each side will claim forever that
||| the other side is wrong. That being the case it becomes a YMMV
||| thing I guess.
||
|| That's interesting, Peter, I have to confess, I used to freeze coffee
|| beans, but stopped after reading up on it, and I *think* mine is
|| better now.
||
|||
||| I used to love my coffee, but haven't been able to have caffeine
||| for years. I've been trying to find that "pefect" cup of
||| fresh-brewed decaf, but so far none of the brands that I've tried
||| can measure up to the "real thing." (I've been making my own
||| blends, combinging decaf with a smaller portion of caffeinated for
||| flavor). Any suggestions?
||
|| Oooh, yes. I had to cut back on caffeine years ago, so I cut my
|| Ethiopian with Together Decaf from Jim's Organic cofee; it's a blend
|| of dark roast and medium. Health food stores often have it, or you
|| can
|| order it from their website. You won't believe it's decaf; it's so
|| rich and smooth, it's an incredible coffee, as it should be for $12
|| a lb.
|| Try some, it's as good as the finest high octane brew. :-)
||
|| Susan <no affiliation with Jim's, just a blissful customer>

Thanks for the suggestion; I can smell it brewing already! :-)

Peter

x-no-archive: yes

Marengo said:

Thanks for the suggstion; I'll give it a try and let you know how it turns
out!

I can't wait to get your reaction; you're going to be amazed by how good
it is.

Susan

x-no-archive: yes

Marengo said:

Thanks for the suggstion; I'll give it a try and let you know how it turns
out!

I can't wait to get your reaction; you're going to be amazed by how good
it is.

Susan

x-no-archive: yes

Marengo said:

Thanks for the suggstion; I'll give it a try and let you know how it turns
out!

I can't wait to get your reaction; you're going to be amazed by how good
it is.

Susan

x-no-archive: yes

Marengo said:

Thanks for the suggstion; I'll give it a try and let you know how it turns
out!

I can't wait to get your reaction; you're going to be amazed by how good
it is.

Susan