Anyone Into Coffee?

Check out the Green Beanery in Toronto, don't remember if they have that coffee in roasted variety but they roast on the spot so you know it's fresh.
 
Kona "blend" can be as little as 10% actual Kona beans, and usually the lowest quality ones at that. The last time we were on the big island we were able to attend one of the two annual Kona coffee fairs, where about 25-30 different farms had their wares for sampling. Besides the two I linked and the one Myles posted, the Kona Coffee and Tea Company was also excellent. All have "coffee clubs" which offer a discount at least equal to the shipping costs if you order regularly. I admit to drinking a few cups a day, probably right at or just over the maximum amount where one could expect health benefits from it :hey:
 
I should add that the relative quality of the different farms' products of course varies from year to year. That's one reason we stick with the Mountain Thunder farm; they seem to be the most consistent and have won the most awards. That's not to say others aren't excellent as well.
 
hoosiertom said:
I buy green beans ( Ethiopian Harrar or Yirga Cheffe) either from Sweet Maria's in Oakland CA or locally from Frank @ Chazzano here in MI.
I roast them and grind them myself. Gotta tweak it.....
It's as fresh as it can be.
The whole process reminds me of the ritual and rewards of cleaning and playing vinyl :)
All the best,
Tom
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I too roast my own, use a mix of 7 beans with main coffee being Java and Brasilia Santos (filler). For those of you not aware roasted coffee tastes better 48 hours after roasting and losses a lot of it's taste and aroma after a week. The only way to know how fresh it is is by roasting it yourself. Grinder coffee has a shelf live of less than hour.
 
Why waste your time and palate using Brasilia beans unless you are just trying to save money?
 
Myles B. Astor said:
hoosiertom said:
I buy green beans ( Ethiopian Harrar or Yirga Cheffe) either from Sweet Maria's in Oakland CA or locally from Frank @ Chazzano here in MI.
I roast them and grind them myself. Gotta tweak it.....
It's as fresh as it can be.
The whole process reminds me of the ritual and rewards of cleaning and playing vinyl :)
All the best,
Tom
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When I was in SF this past April, saw a lot of small roasters at the Farmers Market on the pier! :) And lot's of other great things too. Am still getting some of that olive oil shipped to me.
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Californian olive oil is the best I've tasted so far, if I'm not mistaken they are the only truly regulated in the world. When they say extra virgin it's 100% extra virgin, not the blends we get from Europe and North American based merchants. The best I tasted up the coast was from Pasolivo in Paso Robles, an extra virgin called Kitchen Blend, it's very young and nutty tasting.

Never thought I'd sharing this on an audio forum.
 
mep said:
The annual output of real Kona coffee is very limited and the amount that actually leaves the island is even smaller which is why the price is so high and why Kona coffee is probably the most counterfeited in the world. You have to be very careful where you buy your "Kona" beans. Ditto for Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans.
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Absolutely right, even on the island they often use the words blend or other words to confuse buyers
 
Myles B. Astor said:
Had the worlds' best coffee this AM. 100% Hawaiian Kona Mountain Ka'u Coffee we brought back from our honeymoon. Sold by the Kona Mountain company, this medium roast coffee is ultra-smooth and nutty tasting without any nuts. You could drink tons of this without blinking!

Kona Coffee from Kona Mountain Coffee
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Like James Bond, only 100% Blue Mountain Coffee does it for me.
 
puroagave said:
i'm on sweet marias mailing list, i've been threatening to buy a barrel roaster. maybe you could give us noobs a rundown on getting started. pitfalls to avoid, etc.
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If you're in the bay area SM has 1 lb. Kenyan and Nicaraguan roasted beans to help see what appeals to your taste and budget.... or your BEST local roaster.. Find what you like first and then small steps in the jourhey and your BUDGET.

Some roasters: From Sweet Maria's: Behnoor Gene Cafe HotTop and from Coffe Shrub Quest M3 I want a Quest M3, but my budget says otherwise... Read their reviews and go to their blog site for more opinions, reviews and sharing

Coffe Mills: Barratza Virtuoso or Rocky Rancillo

Brewers : Drip, French Press, Chemex, Siphon.....

Take your time and hopefully you can avoid information overload... Remember there is no substitute for a learning curve.... It's a process ...

BTW, there's a great link from an Australian roaster about roasting Ethiopian beans...

Tom
 
RedSectorA said:
I too roast my own, use a mix of 7 beans with main coffee being Java and Brasilia Santos (filler). For those of you not aware roasted coffee tastes better 48 hours after roasting and losses a lot of it's taste and aroma after a week. The only way to know how fresh it is is by roasting it yourself. Grinder coffee has a shelf live of less than hour.
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Dan You are right on the money about a 48 hour resting period and ground coffee shelf life... Grind your coffee just before drinking !!!

Tom
 
mep said:
Tom-You are a serious coffee connoisseur. What kind of roaster do you have?
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My ancient Behmor gave up the ghost 10 days ago... I want a HotTop programmable from SM or a Quest M3 from Coffee Shrub.... in the worst way but can't afford it ...So I'm sharing a friend's roaster...

Tom
 
hoosiertom said:
My ancient Behmor gave up the ghost 10 days ago... I want a HotTop programmable from SM or a Quest M3 from Coffee Shrub.... in the worst way but can't afford it ...So I'm sharing a friend's roaster...

Tom
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So whats his wife look like? :)
 
mep said:
Why waste your time and palate using Brasilia beans unless you are just trying to save money?
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Some of the coffees have too strong a taste/aroma, Brasilian Santos is very neutral so acts as a very good filler, dilutes the flavor somewhat. Brasilian Santos is not a "cheap" coffee by any mean, it's one of the best Brasilian. I also put 5% robusta in my mix, why would you ask, well I like the bite it gives at that proportion as well as the cream on espresso.
 
hoosiertom said:
mep said:
Tom-You are a serious coffee connoisseur. What kind of roaster do you have?
Click to expand...

My ancient Behmor gave up the ghost 10 days ago... I want a HotTop programmable from SM or a Quest M3 from Coffee Shrub.... in the worst way but can't afford it ...So I'm sharing a friend's roaster...

Tom
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I've had a HotTop for 6 years, it broke for the first time this year but spare part are easy to find and it's easily repairable. I would recommend it to you. I roast between 1 and 2 pounds a week, mostly city and full city roast.

Oh as a comment I don't think you need programmable as your roast profile/time will change with weather. And anyways you have to be close to the roaster as it was expel the beans if the roast is going faster than anticipated.
 
Myles B. Astor said:
Had the worlds' best coffee this AM. 100% Hawaiian Kona Mountain Ka'u Coffee we brought back from our honeymoon. Sold by the Kona Mountain company, this medium roast coffee is ultra-smooth and nutty tasting without any nuts. You could drink tons of this without blinking!

Kona Coffee from Kona Mountain Coffee

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Myles, years ago on our trip over, we brought back a few Kona's and settles on these two brand and now order whole beans regularly
https://www.konagrown.com/
Organic 100% Kona Coffee - order online Kona RainForest Farm

But we do like our Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee : Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee RSW Estates
 
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