Decent grocery store coffee?

[uplander]

Ha, I've never heard Safeway's coffee called "premium" before. To me, it's pretty decent/fairly good, but the main reason I drink a lot of it, is because it's just about 2 long city-type blocks away, which is walking distance. Nothing beats convenience, I guess, even if it means a little compromise in quality.

I wasn't referring to the Safeway brand, but rather the Tully's, Pete's, Seattle's best, or other brands that cost $9 or $10 per bag. Whatever happened to the Torrefazione that I used to find all over the Seattle area? I loved that stuff, especially done with a french press. I think the Kirkland stuff is about half the cost of buying the premium (non-Safeway brand) stuff at the grocer. I remember going with my brother to the Starbucks in Pike Place Market; I think that was their 1st location. Kind of makes me miss living in Seattle. Can't say I miss the traffic, though.

 

[spaceman]

If I remember right, the first Starbuck's was on 1st Ave., near the Market but not really AT the Market. And at the risk of being labeled as a spelling nazi, it's Peet's, not Pete's. :nono: I'm not an actual coffee snob at all, just lucky enough to be in a city that likes good coffee. I've had a lot of good coffee around here, but overall, I'm always looking for the good deals, when I'm buying a small bulk amount. In other words, a cheapskate, who splurges at times.

 

[Ed in Tx]

Interesting phenomenon I've noticed with the dark vs. the lighter roasted beans: much more static electricity with the dark beans when ground. Get almost zero static when I grind light roast beans, but with the dark shiny beans, static cling big time. I use a Zerostat to get the ground coffee out of the holder cup. Anyone have a theory why the dark roast does this?

 

[Kahoona]

For "cheap" coffee, I like the 8 o'clock Columbian Arabica beans. Nice flavour, almost rich.
Community Columbian is pretty good too. I avoid Folgers and Maxwell House like the plague.

++that and the 8:00 Bokar brand in the black bag is even better. The cheap grinder is good enough for now if you use it right. If you decide to do anything different get a burr grinder because of consistency. If you are not doing espresso then even the Mr Coffee will work and having the bean hopper and portion control makes it easier.

 

[elcoholic]

Interesting phenomenon I've noticed with the dark vs. the lighter roasted beans: much more static electricity with the dark beans when ground. Get almost zero static when I grind light roast beans, but with the dark shiny beans, static cling big time. I use a Zerostat to get the ground coffee out of the holder cup. Anyone have a theory why the dark roast does this?

Shiny beans are shiny because they have been roasted to the point of drawing the oils in the beans to the surface. They're shiny, oily, sticky beans actually.

 

[Ed in Tx]

Shiny beans are shiny because they have been roasted to the point of drawing the oils in the beans to the surface. They're shiny, oily, sticky beans actually.

Yes I know about the oil. Messes up the grinder bean holder with oil. But why does that make them generate more static electricity when ground? Static, not oil, causing the grounds to stick to everything. If it was oil, zapping with the Zerostat wouldn't cause them to release. :scratch2:

 

[Ed in Tx]

++that and the 8:00 Bokar brand in the black bag is even better..

Unfortunately Bokar is discontinued by Eight O'Clock Co. If you find any on the shelf it's probably 6 months old. Last May was the last 6-pack box of Bokar I got before they discontinued it.

 

[elcoholic]

Yes I know about the oil. Messes up the grinder bean holder with oil. But why does that make them generate more static electricity when ground? Static, not oil, causing the grounds to stick to everything. If it was oil, zapping with the Zerostat wouldn't cause them to release. :scratch2:

Ed,

LOL the Zerostat didn't register my first read. Only on AK would somebody be zapping their coffee grinder with a Zerostat. You got to love this place I suppose there's a difference in the electrical potential which allows a greater charge to build. I've noticed it too, the darker the roast the more it clings. I just use a coffee grinder brush. BTW I signed up for a Coffee Bean Direct subscription on Amazon yesterday to save another 5%. I'm getting 5 lbs of premium green coffee for under $8 lb which isn't too far off of grocery store prices. Off course I do have to roast it myself, but it's worth the trouble for coffee this fresh.

 

[pmsummer]

Interesting phenomenon I've noticed with the dark vs. the lighter roasted beans: much more static electricity with the dark beans when ground. Get almost zero static when I grind light roast beans, but with the dark shiny beans, static cling big time. I use a Zerostat to get the ground coffee out of the holder cup. Anyone have a theory why the dark roast does this?

I think that was more to do with how the beans were sourced and processed than with how they were roasted.

I drink mainly lighter roasts, and find certain beans suffer from static electricity (and chaff) more than other varieties... Ethiopian beans being the worst and Colombian beans being the least likely to piss off my wife (due to the mess I leave behind).

 

[elcoholic]

I think that was more to do with how the beans were sourced and processed than with how they were roasted.

I drink mainly lighter roasts, and find certain beans suffer from static electricity (and chaff) more than other varieties... Ethiopian beans being the worst and Colombian beans being the least likely to piss off my wife (due to the mess I leave behind).

I'll keep your theory in mind PM. I just received a notice from Amamzon that 5 lbs. of green Ethiopian Yirgacheffe will be arriving in a day or two. My chaff remedy is to put a batch of roasted beans in my Kitchenaid mixer with the wire whisk on the lowest speed for 5 minutes or so. This really loosens and breaks down the chaff making it easy to dispose of in the sink using a colandar. For higher WAF clean and put everything away.

 

[uplander]

If I remember right, the first Starbuck's was on 1st Ave., near the Market but not really AT the Market. And at the risk of being labeled as a spelling nazi, it's Peet's, not Pete's. :nono: I'm not an actual coffee snob at all, just lucky enough to be in a city that likes good coffee. I've had a lot of good coffee around here, but overall, I'm always looking for the good deals, when I'm buying a small bulk amount. In other words, a cheapskate, who splurges at times.

Thanks for the Peet's correction. The Starbucks we went to was down below and a bit north of the market, not actually in the market. I think it was the next street west of 1st Ave. I thought that was their 1st store, but I could certainly be wrong, given a 30 year old memory. I think I am guilty of being a coffee snob. I will pay what I must to get what I like, but I do like to find what I like as cheaply as possible. But being an addict, of course I will consume whatever is available if needed.:yes:

 

[Ed in Tx]

I think that was more to do with how the beans were sourced and processed than with how they were roasted.

Yep, one or the other, or both:yes:. Thinking about it maybe moisture content, lighter beans not as completely dried out in the process. Never roasted any myself but have read about the crack stages and I assume what makes the bean crack is moisture in the bean. Anyway I find mixing about 2/3 light with 1/3 dark makes a decent tasting blend and the static cling and mess on the counter is much reduced. That's how I'll probably use up the few bags of dark roast Community beans I have. Been on sale at Kroger and Albertson's for the past week or two for $3.99 a bag.

 

[rnorton]

I think that was more to do with how the beans were sourced and processed than with how they were roasted.

I drink mainly lighter roasts, and find certain beans suffer from static electricity (and chaff) more than other varieties... Ethiopian beans being the worst and Colombian beans being the least likely to piss off my wife (due to the mess I leave behind).

You should see the chaff that Ethiopians and other Red Sea coffees make when they're roasting. It can be a fire hazard in the roaster.

 

[rnorton]

I'll keep your theory in mind PM. I just received a notice from Amamzon that 5 lbs. of green Ethiopian Yirgacheffe will be arriving in a day or two. My chaff remedy is to put a batch of roasted beans in my Kitchenaid mixer with the wire whisk on the lowest speed for 5 minutes or so. This really loosens and breaks down the chaff making it easy to dispose of in the sink using a colandar. For higher WAF clean and put everything away.

Good lick with the Yirg. It's notoriously difficult to roast properly. When you get it right there's a strangely floral tea-ness about it.

My 'Turbo-Crazy' roaster does a pretty good job of removing the chaff during the roast.

 

[elcoholic]

Tried it early on in my roasting adventure and hadn't figured out the mods to slow down the Pop-Crazy enough to fully develop the roast without scorching the beans. I've dropped the voltage down to about 100 V and force much more air up through the bottom. Getting around 6:30 roast times now instead of 1st crack in 2:30. I'm having very good luck with Kenya AA, Java Estate and Nicaragua SHG. I'm hopeful I'll get better results now.

 

[rnorton]

Tried it early on in my roasting adventure and hadn't figured out the mods to slow down the Pop-Crazy enough to fully develop the roast without scorching the beans. I've dropped the voltage down to about 100 V and force much more air up through the bottom. Getting around 6:30 roast times now instead of 1st crack in 2:30. I'm having very good luck with Kenya AA, Java Estate and Nicaragua SHG. I'm hopeful I'll get better results now.

Something is wrong there. My roasts are 12 to 18 minutes with no air forced from the bottom (how do you do that?)

You did disconnect the heating element in the bottom, didn't you?

 

[pmsummer]

You should see the chaff that Ethiopians and other Red Sea coffees make when they're roasting. It can be a fire hazard in the roaster.

Yep, that's one of the reasons I quit home-roasting Ethiopian Yourgonnagetchaff.

 

[elcoholic]

Something is wrong there. My roasts are 12 to 18 minutes with no air forced from the bottom (how do you do that?)

You did disconnect the heating element in the bottom, didn't you?

Different set-ups. I'm using an Air Crazy popper. Your setup looks much, much better and your roast times are probably better too. I dropped the voltage just using all my extension cords. One of the heating elements in the Air Crazy is in series with the internal blower so you can't just disconnect it. Mine is limited to a 2 oz scoop at a time.

https://picasaweb.google.com/teamo65/Coffee?authuser=0&feat=directlink

 

[rnorton]

Different set-ups. I'm using an Air Crazy popper. Your setup looks much, much better and your roast times are probably better too. I dropped the voltage just using all my extension cords. One of the heating elements in the Air Crazy is in series with the internal blower so you can't just disconnect it. Mine is limited to a 2 oz scoop at a time.

https://picasaweb.google.com/teamo65/Coffee?authuser=0&feat=directlink

That's very different. I also have the old so-called, built like a tank, Poppery I air popper that I used for a few years. I still do if I want a small amount (around 3.5 OZ) of a much faster roast. The trick to slowing time in a fluid bed roaster like that is to use more beans. Put in somewhat more than the airflow can agitate and stir with a chopstick for the first few minutes (and tilt the unit at an angle) until the beans have lost enough water to be light enough for the machine to take over the agitation. I was able to bypass the switch for the blower so that only the heating element is switched. Most poppers have a series arrangement that makes that particular mod impossible.

Keep an eye open in the thrift stores. Stir-Crazy poppers and Turbo ovens from various manufacturers are not all that rare. I have enough of each to build two more TurboCrazy units. The mods necessary are pretty simple.

They outperform my $900 HotTop roaster 10 ways to Sunday.

That's your rig in the pix? Nice concept.

 

[elcoholic]

Yes that's my "Frankenpopper" as I like to call it. Thanks it's my 1st attempt. I might just start looking for the air crazy donor appliances. I'm also thinking about the Behmor 1600. A friend of a friend loves his.