LOL!! That reminds me of wine tastings; all the goofy people swirling and sniffing. "Robust, yet not unassuming!", they exclaim. Meanwhile, I'm thinking "this crap is nasty."
I'm fairly certain by this time tomorrow I'll be wondering what the hell I was thinking to buy an electric coffee grinder. (I'm kind of there, now. ) I'm perfectly happy with the McCafe made in the Bunn, with an occasional k-cup thrown in. Jeeze. But, what the hell. We only live once, and the clock is ticking. So let's have a hobby!!
I am still in shock that others (I include Amazon Bonavita reviewers) are getting anything drinkable putting pre-ground stuff in these high-temp brewers. I guess the coffees I've got on order will decide whether I keep the Bonavita or it goes back to the shelter.
I just may call that place and ask the question [sort of] directly. "I'm buying a Christmas gift for a friend who enjoys a natural medium-roast breakfast coffee. What do you recommend in an unflavored blend?"
Well, you know that taste is subjective. The unwashed masses (me), simply like what we like... grocery store pre-ground made with any old coffeemaker. I have difficulty believing that the 3 or 4 degree difference in water temperature can make much of a difference, but what do I know? If you were satisfied with the coffee from your old setup, why change it?
Sounds like a good idea to me. I think we'd have to go to Coffee Snob 101 to learn those "flavor notes" and more lingo. I'm not willing to bother with that.
I'm chasing the "restaurant quality" flavor I used to achieve with the manual pour-over. I always had it when the power went out, but now I cannot duplicate it even using that same method. Either 8 O'Clock has changed or my coffee taste buds have really taken a leave of absence. The Mr. Coffee stuff also tastes like poop. But that seemed to have kicked in when I bought (and tried) the Bonavita and then went back (or I had just gotten used to it.) I'll make a trip to IHOP to test my buds again. Tomorrow's supposed to be marginal winter weather...not gonna exceed 34°. I may venture out.
The Bonavita dial-in documents say to adjust the grind one way if it's "sour" and another way it it's "bitter." I need a reference "Scratch 'n Taste."
I was watching a British coffee guy on youtube recently who was demonstrating "proper" pour-over. He began by RINSING the paper filter with boiling water, then adding coffee, then pouring the "bloom" or whatever the hell. I was thinking, "Dude. Seriously??" I guess I'm just too "git 'er dun" for the Coffee Elite. I'll be waiting on the IHop update tomorrow while I'm wasting coffee beans putzing with that grinder.
I think I saw that vid. Did he compare the out-gassing of just-ground, hours-ago-ground and grocery store pre-ground? Then he stirred with a spoon? That's why I went for a high-temp brewer...I don't even have the patience to boil water then manually pour. Regarding IHOP: lots of announced weather-related closings already. I may not be able to get in the place if everyone else has the same idea. They got limited capacity these days, what with "Keep Your Space" seating & such.
I don't remember much about his process; I think his name is Hoffman?? Anyway, most of his vids are entertaining, especially the slurping. Is the IHOP trip postponed?
Here's a pic I just took a few minutes ago: I may go out later if the rain washes it away, but my country roads are not likely to thaw out. Temps are up & down, right now at 31.8'F. Counties just west have ice warnings until 4AM.
OK! I've been playing with the new Capresso grinder and I must say, beyond the learning curve and a big mess to clean up, I'm impressed!! Of course this is my first electric grinder but it is really solid and QUIET. Even my husband remarked about how quiet the operation is. The only whole beans I have are Peet's Major Dickason's blend. I tested the coarsest, medium and finest grinds and this is the result. (Sorry, no loose change. ) I'm posting a big pic so you can hopefully see the difference. Since I am a cheapskate and didn't want to waste the coffee, I combined all 3 grinds and made a pot of coffee in the Bunn. In my opinion, the coffee is very smooth but was not quite strong enough, so next time I'll use a single (medium) grind and see how it measures up. I was wondering about the static that most people complain about with "entry level" grinders, and I did have a bit. Not as much as I was expecting, though.
I need to find some information on cleaning my new grinder. I scattered coffee grinds all over the dang kitchen, wielding my "natural bristle brush." There seemed to be a surprising amount of coffee left in the burrs; not sure if that will happen if I'm mostly making medium grind and not fine. Not having an on/off switch seemed bothersome at first but the machine is easy to turn off or on with the timer.