@CoffeeTalk

[Mark Kelly]

is it possible they were so old they had completely dried out?

Unlikely, roasted coffee absorbs water from the atmosphere under normal conditions.

[Mark Kelly]

They are the same dudes (let’s face it… it’s always dudes) who insist that unless the IPA is triple dry hopped and peels your lips inside out you’re drinking beer-water.

I think it’s an instance of people not actually being able to taste, or not being able to pay attention to taste.

In the trade it is known as lupulin threshold shift. It accumulates faster than it dissipates.

[Too Tall]

In the trade it is known as lupulin threshold shift. It accumulates faster than it dissipates.

RONTLFLMAO

I'm prob. repeating myself. There is a coffee roaster in XXXX, Va. Looks good, smells good...it's the only roaster for 50 miles. Anywho, I go in to buy a bag because I'm desperate and nowhere near my own home roaster. Innocently, I ask for them to recommend a dark roast. All I hear is a long sucking of teeth followed by "we think the nuances of beans are lost by dark roasting we only sell the lighter roasts"...."fine sell me the darkest light roast you have".

PS It suckedarse

[Tom]

Most commercial IPAs are a result of completely f-ing up a brew so dry hop the s-t out of it hide the mistakes and ride the fad. Just one amateur brewer's opinion.

[spopepro]

I’m now reminded of an experience at pre-VC blue bottle. I’m short on time moving from one appt to the next and I pass a blue bottle and think that some coffee sounds great. Now… I know folks don’t want to let their espresso sit and oxidize or whatever, but I vastly prefer drinking liquids where the side effects don’t include blisters in my mouth. So I’m thinking I’ll just get a bit to go and enjoy it as I walk to my next engagement. Finally get to the front of the queue and…

“I’d like an espresso, to go please”
The barista looks like I just canceled the weekend “an espresso comes in THIS cup, it’s for HERE”
“Ohhhkay, then can I please have a macchiato to go?”
“A macchiato comes in T H I S CUP… it’s for H E R E” as I have now also closed the clubs on Thursday as well and ruined everything by asking for… a small bit of coffee in a cup I can walk away with. The ferry building location doesn’t even have seats!

Tbh, I don’t even remember what I ordered. It was just ok. Blue bottle is way overrated.

[Mark Kelly]

All I hear is a long sucking of teeth followed by "we think the nuances of beans are lost by dark roasting we only sell the lighter roasts"...."fine sell me the darkest light roast you have".

PS It suckedarse

The quintessential problem with coffee roasters is that we don't know what we are doing.

The current state of knowlede is very poor but improving rapidly - I liken it to the wine industry 50 years ago. IMO coffee roasters are divided into those of us who admit we are flying blind* and victims of the Dunning Kruger effect. The latter are much more likely to make pronouncements about how their roasting parameters are perfect and if you want anything else you must be a fool.



*Some of us are trying, see https://www.velocipedesalon.com/foru...ata-55766.html

[Too Tall]

So true Mark so true. Every once in a while I'll happen on a roaster who is doing amazing stuff which I could never accomplish and wonder is it trial / error or mastery of craft?

LOL regardless, the garbage I produce from my wee little home roaster is so much better than most anything I can get locally. This makes me a little sad and proud ;)

[Mark Kelly]

is it trial / error or mastery of craft?

I'm really not sure there is a meaningful distiction between those.

Per my analogy, 50 years ago there were people producing fantastic wines who'd never seen a pH meter in their lives. They knew what they were doing, but they didn't really know why they were doing it.

Craft, almost by definition, predates knowledge. It is not a new distinction, the Greek ‎τέχνη (techne) is the rough equivalent of or term craft, so "technology" basically means "to speak of craft". It contrasts to ἐπιστήμη (episteme), roughly "knowledge", but this meant systematic knowledge eg science.

[tanghy]

What Nick said OR they were very under-roasted which leads me to my current rant. WT(HOLY)heck is up with these roasters who swear on bended knees that I'm burning my beans and taking all the nuances out of them be roasting to City. Gawd forbid City++. Question mark.

I think all the colour spectrum gauges are abit inaccurate as everyone has their own perception of what is city/city++. Some roasters can get it really wrong by going dark outside and light inside or dark inside and light outside. What matters is a even roast thoughout the bean without baking the coffee.

But if it grinds like rocks, yes it is way too light. It will also probably taste like lemon juice...

[Too Tall]

I think all the colour spectrum gauges are abit inaccurate as everyone has their own perception of what is city/city++. Some roasters can get it really wrong by going dark outside and light inside or dark inside and light outside. What matters is a even roast thoughout the bean without baking the coffee.

But if it grinds like rocks, yes it is way too light. It will also probably taste like lemon juice...

Yes yes and yes. I've had some amazing roasts from shops who have the magic touch. Several of us here use the Behmore roaster which when using stock profiles yields boring roasts. Manually managing temps using the various buttons reminds me of the Wizard of Oz "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain" I'm pulling levers, creating smoke distractions or small fires. The result can be quite good, sometimes a small house fire. Such is life in the fast lane.

[dashDustin]

(Houston) Texas roaster Top Tube Coffee reached out a few months ago about partnering up with the squad. We were like, "don't ask questions you already know the answer to."

I finally got some, and it's surprisingly tasty. The fruitiness really lingers...it's nice, and light. Gonna make some cold brew out of it and see how that goes. I suspect it'll be a solid summer choice.

[rwsaunders]

Imagine my surprise when I walked into the shop to order an espresso…

[Clyde]

Personally I’d like to sock the sucker that turned 16oz into 12 as an acceptable ploy.

[Mark Kelly]

Personally I’d like to sock the sucker that turned 16oz into 12 as an acceptable ploy.

Compared to the person who used "burnt sugar" and "smoke" as positive flavour descriptors on coffee, he gets off scott free in my book.

[9tubes]

Questions for your roasters, my SIL gave me a bag of beans that were so hard, that it sounded like I was grinding concrete and no matter what the grind setting and the tamp, I could not pull a shot with even a non-pressurized basket. I secretly emptied them from the grinder hopper and composted them. Is the term espresso roast a combination of time, temperature and bean type?

is it possible they were so old they had completely dried out?

Pet peeve: if the bag doesn't have a roast date I know the beans are so old that the roaster is either embarrassed or trying to take me for a ride.

The good news is that I counted yesterday and I have seven roasters within walking distance of my house now, four within the past two years. (How do they all make money?)

[Too Tall]

The unthinkable has happened. I've run out of home roasted beans and the only coffee shop within 30 miles who sell whole roasted beans think that "light roast" is the only way to go. I'm ruined.

For the first time in many years I'm mail ordering from Trager Coffee. https://www.tbcroasters.com A friend took me there once for a cuppa and was blown away with their roasts. These folks are cat1 roasters.

Still, it feels bad not to have my home roasted Old Shoe in the grinder. Poor me ;)

[echappist]

The unthinkable has happened. I've run out of home roasted beans and the only coffee shop within 30 miles who sell whole roasted beans think that "light roast" is the only way to go. I'm ruined.

For the first time in many years I'm mail ordering from Trager Coffee. https://www.tbcroasters.com A friend took me there once for a cuppa and was blown away with their roasts. These folks are cat1 roasters.

Still, it feels bad not to have my home roasted Old Shoe in the grinder. Poor me ;)

Misha's in Alexandria or (God forbid) Swing? Surely one of those must be within 30 miles of your location (stated to be "DC")?

[rwsaunders]

Personally I’d like to sock the sucker that turned 16oz into 12 as an acceptable ploy.

Roger that…my local shop still recognizes the pound as a coffee currency baseline and I heard from Mrs. Olson over at Folgers and she said that she couldn’t imagine a 12 ounce can.

[nelo784]

Hey Josh,

How about trying Coava from Little Red Fox? I actually buy my beans from Coava all the time (Portland Oregon!) and get them shipped to DC. I was stunned to find them in this DC cafe last week. Normally they are within 7 days since roasting.

Its a nice place to stop with Bread Furst just down the road!

[Too Tall]

Hey Josh,

How about trying Coava from Little Red Fox? I actually buy my beans from Coava all the time (Portland Oregon!) and get them shipped to DC. I was stunned to find them in this DC cafe last week. Normally they are within 7 days since roasting.

Its a nice place to stop with Bread Furst just down the road!

Great to know. I'll give that a try after I get back from camping.