After a bitter cup of coffee tonight, I decided that it was finally time to take the plunge and go for a better grinder. You see, the coffee that I was drinking had been ground to a fine grind...basically an espresso grind. It was very bitter from the over-extraction.
I placed my order tonight. The grinder (Solis Maestro Conical Burr Grinder) is my dream rig, I've been looking at it for a little over a year now. I almost talking Andria into getting me a Starbucks Barista Grinder (almost the same as the Solis..but different...vague, I know) around Christmas, but it didn't work out. With my birthday just past I decided to buy myself a present (Thanks Grandma/Grandpa!).
As an added bonus to myself -- like the grinder wasn't good enough -- I also sprung for a pretty cool coffee maker (Bodum Kona). It's just fun to watch it make me coffee and the coarse ground required should be easy enough with the new grinder.
Now I just have to wait for the next days till it arrives (14th Mar)...
Fingers Crossed !
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
One day at a time
Long time, no write (does that even make sense...meh, screw it)
So it's been a while since I made the time to type a little something out to the folks in cyberspace. So here goes:
The Big 27
So, I'm 27 now folks... "so what", you say? Well, it's weird, but I fully but a ton of pressure on my 27th birthday; it was one of those milestone years. What were my plans? Working: Check, Married: Almost Check, Kids: None that I know of, almost everything is perfect. So I'm super happy -- thanks everyone!
Coffee
I continue to prod along roasting and drinking tiny batches of coffee...and I think that I just may be getting the hang of it. I've been talking to other amateur roasters, I've been looking into new and exciting roasting and brewing techniques, and I've been pouring over literature on the subject. I'm currently trying to locate a reliable source of green coffee, so I'll add something soon to give you more background.
Food Crisis
It turns out that I'm basically sick of processed food...which is pretty terrifying actually. I mean, how do I find meat that isn't factory-farmed, corn-fed, brutalized, etc; how do I find veggies that are pesticide free, herbicide free, and not Genetically Modified?
Farmers markets help....but do they really? Maybe....
In any case, I'll keep you up to date on the process.
Wedding Planning
So as most of you should be aware, Andria and I are currently planning a wedding. Everything is on track, mostly due to Andria. But I thought that it might be fun to tell you one pretty funny issue that's been facing us. Now I would consider Andria and I to be somewhat intelligent, so you can imagine our confusion when we have noticed that most of our wedding providers have numerous spelling and grammar errors throughout their documentation. Are we just being really sticky or should people follow basic English rules if they are looking to have our business. I mean, nothing is worse than reading something and getting stuck on a "than" which should be a "then" or words like "ceramony" or "piiano". I feel like it is very difficult to get past.
So it's been a while since I made the time to type a little something out to the folks in cyberspace. So here goes:
The Big 27
So, I'm 27 now folks... "so what", you say? Well, it's weird, but I fully but a ton of pressure on my 27th birthday; it was one of those milestone years. What were my plans? Working: Check, Married: Almost Check, Kids: None that I know of, almost everything is perfect. So I'm super happy -- thanks everyone!
Coffee
I continue to prod along roasting and drinking tiny batches of coffee...and I think that I just may be getting the hang of it. I've been talking to other amateur roasters, I've been looking into new and exciting roasting and brewing techniques, and I've been pouring over literature on the subject. I'm currently trying to locate a reliable source of green coffee, so I'll add something soon to give you more background.
Moral: Hobby's are completely unique...and a hobby about something that you drink that isn't booze is weird to most people
Food Crisis
It turns out that I'm basically sick of processed food...which is pretty terrifying actually. I mean, how do I find meat that isn't factory-farmed, corn-fed, brutalized, etc; how do I find veggies that are pesticide free, herbicide free, and not Genetically Modified?
Farmers markets help....but do they really? Maybe....
In any case, I'll keep you up to date on the process.
Moral: Eating "right" means a lot more than following the diet-du-jour, it means research, time and effort to do this RIGHT!
Wedding Planning
So as most of you should be aware, Andria and I are currently planning a wedding. Everything is on track, mostly due to Andria. But I thought that it might be fun to tell you one pretty funny issue that's been facing us. Now I would consider Andria and I to be somewhat intelligent, so you can imagine our confusion when we have noticed that most of our wedding providers have numerous spelling and grammar errors throughout their documentation. Are we just being really sticky or should people follow basic English rules if they are looking to have our business. I mean, nothing is worse than reading something and getting stuck on a "than" which should be a "then" or words like "ceramony" or "piiano". I feel like it is very difficult to get past.
Moral: Learn to friggen spell if you want my business
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Coffee from a Popcorn Popper?
As most of you may not know, I have been experimenting with roasting my own coffee beans. Why, you ask? Uh... er....
Lets ignore the why and instead start with the how:
The how all began with a few hours of misspent time on the internet. I found out that it was possible to roast coffee via a standard hot air pop corn popper. Since I'm neither good with my hands, nor an electrical engineer, I thought that this would be a great way to spend some time...
So far, it's been an adventure:
Oct 31, 2007 marked the first night of this ill-conceived hobby. I arranged the tools of my newly chosen trade: Oil Popcorn Popper (I hadn't gotten an airpopper yet), green coffee beans (ordered via the internet from Toronto), metal mesh collander, wooden spoon, candy, chair, extension cord. Candy?! Well yes, I chose Halloween as the first night for this endeavour for two reasons: 1) There would be a lot of people around to help extinguish fires, 2) I would have a good reason for the strange noises coming from the open garage (screams, cracks, metal on metal grinding, etc). I turned the popper on and waited and waited and waited. I'll post photos later. 1/2 hour later, the coffee was brownish....so I assumed that it was done.
2 days later, Andria and I tasted my creation. We both agreed that it was bitter and generally gross. I gather this to mean that it was under-roasted and over-cooked. Ouch, was this the end of my new hobby? No, I hadn't lit anything on fire yet.
Late November/Early December, I thought that it was time for Round 2. By this time I had purchased a hot air popcorn popper (a Toastess Model, $18). I had read that there was a chance that this popper wouldn't get hot enough, so I took the machine apart (pictures soon).
I think that I fixed the safety shutoff to no longer shutoff safely, but there's a chance that I didn't do anything. I enlarged the holes in the machine to emit more hot air, which I assumed would allow for a more balanced heating surface for the beans.
Now, December is pretty cold here in Kingston, so I needed to make sure that the machine would get hot enough. I figured that if I placed the machine in a cardboard box and lowered a tab or two it would make sure that the air recirculated, thus keeping the machine warm.
With my idea and my materials at hand, I headed out into the garage. I had asked Andria to give me a hand this time, I thought that we would both enjoy this. She decided that folding clothes was a more enjoyable option.
I set the modified popper into the cardboard box, placed the collander into the box to catch the chaff from the beans and prepared to get started.
This time I had a journal to keep notes in, a stopwatch to time the roast, my camera, and a step-stool for a chair.
I fired up (fire being the key) the popper and let it run for about 15 seconds to warm up. I gently dropped in the beans and lowered the box flap to keep the heat in.
I timed it, taking a picture every minute and taking notes fast and furiously. 2 minutes in it was getting pretty hot, their was smoke billowing out of the box. This is what is supposed to happen, at least that's what the internet says. About 4 1/2 minutes in, I can't take the smoke any more, I need to open the garage. About this time, Andria decides to peek in -- this decision would result in a stale, burnt coffee smell lingering in our house for weeks.
Needless to say, this coffee was burnt. Now, being an optimist, I assumed that maybe I had just roasted a "city roast" or ultra dark-roast. So I bagged it for later.
The next day I brewed the coffee in a french press and then managed to convince Andria to try some with me. It was pretty much like drinking ash mixed with the taste of hate.
I haven't roasted any coffee since then, but I feel like tonight might be the night... I'm going to try for something between the first and second experiences -- nice, roasted coffee.
I'll let you know how it goes.
-Colin
Lets ignore the why and instead start with the how:
The how all began with a few hours of misspent time on the internet. I found out that it was possible to roast coffee via a standard hot air pop corn popper. Since I'm neither good with my hands, nor an electrical engineer, I thought that this would be a great way to spend some time...
So far, it's been an adventure:
Oct 31, 2007 marked the first night of this ill-conceived hobby. I arranged the tools of my newly chosen trade: Oil Popcorn Popper (I hadn't gotten an airpopper yet), green coffee beans (ordered via the internet from Toronto), metal mesh collander, wooden spoon, candy, chair, extension cord. Candy?! Well yes, I chose Halloween as the first night for this endeavour for two reasons: 1) There would be a lot of people around to help extinguish fires, 2) I would have a good reason for the strange noises coming from the open garage (screams, cracks, metal on metal grinding, etc). I turned the popper on and waited and waited and waited. I'll post photos later. 1/2 hour later, the coffee was brownish....so I assumed that it was done.
2 days later, Andria and I tasted my creation. We both agreed that it was bitter and generally gross. I gather this to mean that it was under-roasted and over-cooked. Ouch, was this the end of my new hobby? No, I hadn't lit anything on fire yet.
Late November/Early December, I thought that it was time for Round 2. By this time I had purchased a hot air popcorn popper (a Toastess Model, $18). I had read that there was a chance that this popper wouldn't get hot enough, so I took the machine apart (pictures soon).
I think that I fixed the safety shutoff to no longer shutoff safely, but there's a chance that I didn't do anything. I enlarged the holes in the machine to emit more hot air, which I assumed would allow for a more balanced heating surface for the beans.
Now, December is pretty cold here in Kingston, so I needed to make sure that the machine would get hot enough. I figured that if I placed the machine in a cardboard box and lowered a tab or two it would make sure that the air recirculated, thus keeping the machine warm.
With my idea and my materials at hand, I headed out into the garage. I had asked Andria to give me a hand this time, I thought that we would both enjoy this. She decided that folding clothes was a more enjoyable option.
I set the modified popper into the cardboard box, placed the collander into the box to catch the chaff from the beans and prepared to get started.
This time I had a journal to keep notes in, a stopwatch to time the roast, my camera, and a step-stool for a chair.
I fired up (fire being the key) the popper and let it run for about 15 seconds to warm up. I gently dropped in the beans and lowered the box flap to keep the heat in.
I timed it, taking a picture every minute and taking notes fast and furiously. 2 minutes in it was getting pretty hot, their was smoke billowing out of the box. This is what is supposed to happen, at least that's what the internet says. About 4 1/2 minutes in, I can't take the smoke any more, I need to open the garage. About this time, Andria decides to peek in -- this decision would result in a stale, burnt coffee smell lingering in our house for weeks.
Needless to say, this coffee was burnt. Now, being an optimist, I assumed that maybe I had just roasted a "city roast" or ultra dark-roast. So I bagged it for later.
The next day I brewed the coffee in a french press and then managed to convince Andria to try some with me. It was pretty much like drinking ash mixed with the taste of hate.
I haven't roasted any coffee since then, but I feel like tonight might be the night... I'm going to try for something between the first and second experiences -- nice, roasted coffee.
I'll let you know how it goes.
-Colin
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
First Post
Hey everybody,
So it occurred to me that I rarely speak to some folks, namely, my family and friends. So I was hoping that this would offer a solution for me to keep some semblance of "in touch".
I figure that I'll throw something into this every day or so. Pretty much just a summary of how I'm doing, what's up, etc.
-Colin
EDIT: Turns out that I wrote one then none for about a year. In other words, I rock!
EDIT 2: Then I wrote a couple more, and none for about another year...geez.
So it occurred to me that I rarely speak to some folks, namely, my family and friends. So I was hoping that this would offer a solution for me to keep some semblance of "in touch".
I figure that I'll throw something into this every day or so. Pretty much just a summary of how I'm doing, what's up, etc.
-Colin
EDIT: Turns out that I wrote one then none for about a year. In other words, I rock!
EDIT 2: Then I wrote a couple more, and none for about another year...geez.
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