How do you know if coffee is stale? Simple test: If it's bitter or
flat, it's too late. Coffee is actually known by connoisseurs as a
'sweet' beverage. But shush... you're not supposed to know that. And
who doesn't want you to know? Coffee companies who make their living on
convenience. And yes, believing that freshness is as simple as
'burping' air out of a coffee container, is convenient. Truly fresh
coffee is a pain because you have to order it frequently.

Indubitably some of you have been to this site; but for others, this
seems like a decent place for a coffee newbie to start.

http://www.coffeefool.com/?Click=11540

---

I agree with this coffee commentary from The Coffee Fool site

Beans should be shaved not ground; a good bean grinder will actually
peel the beans down to nothing, opposed to a free for all purée style
grinders.

SO! Having said that, did you know you can get 10 free dollars from
Google for shopping at Starbucks?
Yeah, you sign up for Google Checkout (plug in your CC) after you sign
up for G.C. you are presented with this offers participating merchants.

At Starbucks site, they have a 2 bag minimum purchase; Im thinking
about ordering the Guatemala Casi Cielo® I've never had beans from
this region (lol) BUT they say it's used in the finest food joints
around the woild. http://tinyurl.com/2hc467

You can also shop by world region, http://tinyurl.com/dgq3u

See, now that I think about it, the Guatemala Casi is listed as a med
roast, I better get something darker, but usually I buy the Eight
O'Clock beans.

Maybe a real aficionado can advise. I want something I can enjoy for 2
bags worth.
Sometimes something tastes good but you don't want it everyday.


Beta

Please join my team in the fight against cancer.
http://www.grid.org/services/teams/t...3-AEB0DD18A6CE
"beta" > wrote in message
oups.com...
How do you know if coffee is stale? Simple test: If it's bitter or
flat, it's too late. Coffee is actually known by connoisseurs as a
'sweet' beverage. But shush...
<SNIP>
Beta
Sigh - plonk.

--
Regards.
Ken.

"beta" > wrote in message
oups.com...
How do you know if coffee is stale? Simple test: If it's bitter or
flat, it's too late. Coffee is actually known by connoisseurs as a
'sweet' beverage. But shush... you're not supposed to know that. And
who doesn't want you to know? Coffee companies who make their living on
convenience. And yes, believing that freshness is as simple as
'burping' air out of a coffee container, is convenient. Truly fresh
coffee is a pain because you have to order it frequently.

Indubitably some of you have been to this site; but for others, this
seems like a decent place for a coffee newbie to start.

http://www.coffeefool.com/?Click=11540


I love this site.

On 2007-01-21, beta > wrote:
> How do you know if coffee is......

This site tells me nothing. Sappy hype like, "...we only roast
.....beans in an unhurried, old-fashioned way..." is meaningless.
Where's real roasting info, like roast dates, age info, etc. Is the
coffee dated? Also, they charge 1lb prices for only 3/4lb.

You want good fresh coffee, roast your own. Typically $5 for a *full*
lb.

nb

notbob wrote:
>
> On 2007-01-21, beta > wrote:
> > How do you know if coffee is......
>
> This site tells me nothing. Sappy hype like, "...we only roast
> ....beans in an unhurried, old-fashioned way..." is meaningless.
> Where's real roasting info, like roast dates, age info, etc. Is
> the coffee dated? Also, they charge 1lb prices for only 3/4lb.
>
> You want good fresh coffee, roast your own. Typically $5 for a
> *full* lb.

If you want tons of info and a reasonable place to buy
green beans (but not the only place), check this out:

http://www.sweetmarias.com/

I buy all my beans there, and I just bought my second
coffee roaster.

Fresh-roasted coffee is so much better than pre-roasted.
Once you get used to it, you'll never go back. And if
you're the least bit paranoid about what goes into your
food, you'll want the option of picking out all the
disgusting stuff that normally occurs in raw coffee.
(Really ugly, moldy, beans. Bits of plastic, etc.)
No commercial roaster is going to pick that stuff out
for you.

Mark wrote:

> Fresh-roasted coffee is so much better than pre-roasted.
> Once you get used to it, you'll never go back. And if
> you're the least bit paranoid about what goes into your
> food, you'll want the option of picking out all the
> disgusting stuff that normally occurs in raw coffee.
> (Really ugly, moldy, beans. Bits of plastic, etc.)
> No commercial roaster is going to pick that stuff out
> for you.

A recently-aired episode of "America's Test Kitchen" featured a coffee
tasting. The upshot of the tasting was that all brands contained a certain
number of beans which didn't belong in the bag, either because they weren't
roasted properly or they had some other problems. The quality of the coffee
was dramatically better when all those beans were picked out before
grinding. Considering that I only make coffee occasionally, it wouldn't be
any big deal to dump out a bag of roasted coffee beans onto a sheet pan,
pick out all the bad beans, and return the remainder to the bag. But I buy
Starbucks beans anyway, which turned out to be the brand with the fewest
defective beans in the trial.

Bob

Bob Terwilliger wrote:
>
> A recently-aired episode of "America's Test Kitchen" featured a coffee
> tasting. The upshot of the tasting was that all brands contained a
> certain number of beans which didn't belong in the bag, either because
> they weren't roasted properly or they had some other problems. The quality
> of the coffee was dramatically better when all those beans were picked
> out before grinding. Considering that I only make coffee occasionally,
> it wouldn't be any big deal to dump out a bag of roasted coffee beans
> onto a sheet pan, pick out all the bad beans, and return the remainder
> to the bag. But I buy Starbucks beans anyway, which turned out
> to be the brand with the fewest defective beans in the trial.

It's not just coffee beans, either. I eat lots of
pumpkin seeds, and it's critically important to
pick out all the funky-looking ones. Either that,
or stand near a sink so you can spit them out and
rinse your mouth if you get a bad one.

Same thing with popcorn. Spread out a handful
of unpopped popcorn on a plate or sheet pan,
and you'll find some nasty ones. Pick those out,
and you won't run across any foul-tasting ones
in the resulting batch after popping.

Mark Thorson wrote:

> It's not just coffee beans, either. I eat lots of
> pumpkin seeds, and it's critically important to
> pick out all the funky-looking ones. Either that,
> or stand near a sink so you can spit them out and
> rinse your mouth if you get a bad one.
>
> Same thing with popcorn. Spread out a handful
> of unpopped popcorn on a plate or sheet pan,
> and you'll find some nasty ones. Pick those out,
> and you won't run across any foul-tasting ones
> in the resulting batch after popping.

I don't know what another poster is talking about when he calls slow
roasting a crock
Sure... The site I posted may be a junk site... That was my first trip
to that site... Who knows?

I can see why a slow roast is better... is there any other way?
if you compared roasting beans to roasting beef.. You must cook it slow
to make it tender.

I bought some chocolate covered beans last week, they were good but I
don't care for white chocolate.. its ok.. it just tastes sweet to me I
don't taste the cocoa. I think I would like a dark chocolate on my
"munching beans".

Who would have thought a few culls could ruin a cup of coffee, makes
good sense. Who hasn't eaten a bitter pumpkin or sunflower seed. I bet
ALL chocolate covered beans are culls, that's why the chocolate, heee

I do know that beans have oil in them, I have to clean my grinder from
time to time, once in a while I actually scrape my grinder and brew the
shake... talk about eye popping caffeine! 2 cups of my oily shake brew,
you can read the labels on passenger planes going over-head.

beta

On 2007-01-22, beta > wrote:

> I don't know what another poster is talking about when he calls slow
> roasting a crock

There's an optimum window for roasting coffee, typically around 18-22 mins
depending on the bean and the roaster.

> I can see why a slow roast is better... is there any other way?

Not if you're doing it right. I can roast my beans in as little as
8-9 mins. Better is 10-12 mins. But, I'm using a popcorn popper, not
the best roaster. A good quality roasting machine typically costs in
the thousands of dollars and will roast in the 15-22 min range with
various temperature steps carefully timed and controlled and varying
slightly depending on the type of bean and the roast profile.
Anything over 20 mins starts drying out the beans excessively.

> if you compared roasting beans to roasting beef.. You must cook it slow
> to make it tender.

Coffee is not beef or pork or any other meat and does not benefit from
"low and slow" or "take our time" or "slow roasted" or any of that
other drag-out-the-cooking-till-Hell-freezes-over crap where you and
the bubbas sit around whittling sticks and drinking moonshine while
reminiscing about the time you and Old Blue jumped that coon down in
the hollar. I'm far from being any kind of roasting expert, but I
know after about 10 mins a good roastmaster is all over that roasting
machine like worried grandmother watching for color and aroma and
sound cues to determine the best roast. Yes, there are computer
controlled roasters that are hands off so illegal immigrant labor can
do burger-flipper roasting, but the really good stuff is carefully
roasted by meticulous attentive people who have no time to be
"unhurried". In fact, when I roast, that's it. I'm locked onto the
roast from beginning to end. No distractions, phone calls, tv, etc.
"unhurried" is about the last adjective I'd use to describe coffee
roasting.

nb

notbob wrote:

> Coffee is not beef or pork or any other meat and does not benefit from
> "low and slow" or "take our time" or "slow roasted" or any of that
> other drag-out-the-cooking-till-Hell-freezes-over crap where you and
> the bubbas sit around whittling sticks and drinking moonshine while
> reminiscing about the time you and Old Blue jumped that coon down in
> the hollar. I'm far from being any kind of roasting expert, but I
> know after about 10 mins a good roastmaster is all over that roasting
> machine like worried grandmother watching for color and aroma and
> sound cues to determine the best roast. Yes, there are computer
> controlled roasters that are hands off so illegal immigrant labor can
> do burger-flipper roasting, but the really good stuff is carefully
> roasted by meticulous attentive people who have no time to be
> "unhurried". In fact, when I roast, that's it. I'm locked onto the
> roast from beginning to end. No distractions, phone calls, tv, etc.
> "unhurried" is about the last adjective I'd use to describe coffee
> roasting.
>
> nb

Oh damn you said whittling sticks..
I thought it said, whistle sticks, lol.. (sitting around making
whistles)

man that's funny

THE WHOLE DAMN THING IS HILARIOUS

beta

beta wrote:
> notbob wrote:
>
> > Coffee is not beef or pork or any other meat and does not benefit from
> > "low and slow" or "take our time" or "slow roasted" or any of that
> > other drag-out-the-cooking-till-Hell-freezes-over crap where you and
> > the bubbas sit around whittling sticks and drinking moonshine while
> > reminiscing about the time you and Old Blue jumped that coon down in
> > the hollar. I'm far from being any kind of roasting expert, but I
> > know after about 10 mins a good roastmaster is all over that roasting
> > machine like worried grandmother watching for color and aroma and
> > sound cues to determine the best roast. Yes, there are computer
> > controlled roasters that are hands off so illegal immigrant labor can
> > do burger-flipper roasting, but the really good stuff is carefully
> > roasted by meticulous attentive people who have no time to be
> > "unhurried". In fact, when I roast, that's it. I'm locked onto the
> > roast from beginning to end. No distractions, phone calls, tv, etc.
> > "unhurried" is about the last adjective I'd use to describe coffee
> > roasting.
> >
> > nb
>
> Oh damn you said whittling sticks..
> I thought it said, whistle sticks, lol.. (sitting around making
> whistles)
>
> man that's funny
>
> THE WHOLE DAMN THING IS HILARIOUS
>
> beta

ooops. sorry bout that
google removed the text I thought was funny
they removed the text because I never edited before the text
just a quirk if you ask me

here it is...

notbob from rfc wrote

Coffee is not beef or pork or any other meat and does not benefit from
"low and slow" or "take our time" or "slow roasted" or any of that
other drag-out-the-cooking-till-Hell-freezes-over crap where you and
the bubbas sit around whittling sticks and drinking moonshine while
reminiscing about the time you and Old Blue jumped that coon down in
the hollar. I'm far from being any kind of roasting expert, but I
know after about 10 mins a good roastmaster is all over that roasting
machine like worried grandmother watching for color and aroma and
sound cues to determine the best roast. Yes, there are computer
controlled roasters that are hands off so illegal immigrant labor can
do burger-flipper roasting, but the really good stuff is carefully
roasted by meticulous attentive people who have no time to be
"unhurried". In fact, when I roast, that's it. I'm locked onto the
roast from beginning to end. No distractions, phone calls, tv, etc.
"unhurried" is about the last adjective I'd use to describe coffee
roasting.

nb

notbob wrote:

> Coffee is not beef or pork or any other meat and does not benefit from
> "low and slow" or "take our time" or "slow roasted"

I disagree nb

why would million dollar companies slow roast the beans? you think
that's just a marketing buzz phrase?

besides, you offer no real reason why slower roasted beans taste the
same as lightening fast roasted beans

so.. nb turns the oven to 550... when the beans turn brown he pulls
them out.

and, what's wrong with approaching something in a respectful artful
way...

at "beta coffees" we slow roast all our beans, we even s l o o o o w g
r i n d

do you get into a stark freezing car... fire the icy cold motor up and
just drive off without warming it up?

I tell ya... You're probably right.. I bet they slow roast because they
don't want to burn the beans.

suppose there IS a fine line between a dark roast and a burnt bean...
you'd want to approach the darkest possible roast just prior to burning
(if that's the particular target roast)

if you approach it fast.. and you burn the beans, for a large
company?... it's going to cost you alot of money.
beans are not cheap

On 2007-01-23, beta > wrote:

> why would million dollar companies slow roast the beans?

They don't. They just say that because 98% of US coffee drinkers
don't have a clue. Reality Check: Juan Valdez was not a real person.

> ...you think that's just a marketing buzz phrase?

You can take it to the bank. They did.

nb

notbob wrote:
> On 2007-01-23, beta > wrote:
>
> > why would million dollar companies slow roast the beans?
>
> They don't. They just say that because 98% of US coffee drinkers
> don't have a clue. Reality Check: Juan Valdez was not a real person.

I wouldn't put it past a white man, lol
but come'on, you're using a POPCORN POPPER! I LOVE IT

but I do like your creativity

beta

On 2007-01-23, beta > wrote:

> but I do like your creativity

Alas, I can't take credit. It was old news long before I got into
it.

http://www.sweetmarias.com/instructions.html

nb