Covfaffe - the road to despair, calling at futility and disappointment

Only just survivable when mixed with eau de Porsche Napa…

Nah, this is actually pleasurable. :+1:

Desperate for ways to increase faff, I stuck our Thermapen into the kettle this morning to check the water temperature I had previously been guessing at.

It turns out the kettle retains a lot more heat that I expected it to, so I have been pouring water over the grounds at too high a temp. Schoolboy error.

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Can you taste any difference?

It seems sweeter.

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Change of grind size needed.

Figures…

How about the mouth feel? :grin:

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What about mouth feel? :smiley:

fuck, you beat me to it!!!

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We’ve recently acquired a kettle that allows you to set the temperature you want to reach. It’s not perfect (it tends to switch off at the required temp and then the residual heat in the element will boost it another few degrees) but it’s pretty good for the level of faff I am currently willing to put in to the rest of the process. It also keeps showing the temperature after it’s finished the heating, which is super handy.

Also, which version of the Thermapen do you have? Just trying to work out whether I should go for the v3 or the v4, as my cheap and nasty pen thermometer is doing my nut in in so many ways.

You can get them off eBay refurbed for very good prices.

Given how essential it is as a tool of my trade, I’d rather pay list price to a reputable store and get full guarantees etc.

It’s the manufacturer

Suspect it’s a V3. I’ve had it at least a couple of years.

https://www.ikawacoffee.com/product/ikawa-smart-home-coffee-roaster-system/

Looks like it takes the faff/misery out of roasting coffee. Not sure Ritchie would approve…

image

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It’s not even that expensive, about the same as one valve. :joy:

its a sample roaster so only tiny amounts (50-60g). Its programable roasting profiles are interesting, but the upper time limit and restricted temperature ranges worry me when compared with my roaster (about £450).

Clearly they want to sell their beans to use their roast profiles.

So it just roasts one day’s coffee? Seems fine to me! Put it on in the evening and your morning coffee is ready to be ground.

youll need to stand by it. The chaff can set on fire. You need to keep an eye on it, you dont want your kitchen burning down

I have had one chaff collector fire. Luckily we roast next to the sink and the fire in the chaff collector was easily dowsed from the tap

For espresso you’d need to have a 2/3 day delay to let the beans de-gas (I’m an expert at de-gassing :rofl:) If you extracted immediately, you’ll end up with 90% crema.

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I’m not sure that I’m ready for roasting TBH. I’ve read enough about it to know that it is a deeper rabbit hole than making the stuff. I kind of like buying a bag here and there of small amounts and playing the field. I’m into actually drinking it more than making it. I don’t know for sure but I think buying green beans in bulk is probably most cost effective but I’m concerned I’d get bored of drinking it then. I kind of like leaving it to the professionals I guess and there are sooo many fantastic coffees around to try.

Still, never say never…

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