Where to get good coffee beans

Got some sidamo from CCD yesterday for Rs 200 per 100gms. Will brew it tomorrow. The staff, though courteous, were unwilling to tell me when the coffee had been roasted.

I also bought an Indian coffee called katlekhan from them (paid 200 for 100gms). Loved it. Low acidity with a dark bold body. I wish it was a little cheaper.

soggy316 said:
What is your brew time? aim for 2-2.30 regardless of number of cups, grind size adjusted accordingly. I use coffee/water ratio of ~1:16 to 1:20 and it comes out fine. Also what pouring technique do you use? Bitterness = over extraction = coffee sitting too long in hot water = too fine a grind (for the V60). Try coarsening the grind a little, also if you make it too coarse, the coffee will taste sour.

Brewing methods with paper/cloth filters tend to be brighter with less body and mouthfeel. The cheapest way to get both those is a french press (you can get one for ~600 from CCD). But you need to have a really perfect grind for maximizing the capability of the FP.
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After some experimentation, I realized that pour over may not work for small amounts (30gms). The coffee bed isn't deep enough.

I tried french-press and got good results with 1:15 today. Left coffee and water in a carafe for 3 minutes and then poured it into the V60 filter cone.

Tomorrow I am going to decrease the grind size one notch and try 1:16.
 
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If I may be pedantic for a moment - if you filtered the coffee through the V60 filter, then that is closer to an aeropress brew than a "true" french press because the oils and solubles will have been caught by the paper filter - run it through the filter of a filter coffee percolater for a more "authentic" french press experience inclusive of ultrafine sludge.

BTW what grinder are you using?
 
soggy316 said:
If I may be pedantic for a moment - if you filtered the coffee through the V60 filter, then that is closer to an aeropress brew than a "true" french press because the oils and solubles will have been caught by the paper filter - run it through the filter of a filter coffee percolater for a more "authentic" french press experience inclusive of ultrafine sludge.

BTW what grinder are you using?
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You are right. It wasn't really french-press. It tasted great though.

I use a Hario mini mill.
 
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Got a new grinder, the Porlex JP-30 (one of the kids in the family wanted the hario). I can't believe how much difference a good grinder can make to the coffee. This is a solid upgrade over the hario mini mill.

I really want the Lido 3 now. Looking for someone to bring it from the US.

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^Me too. All my friends, and my sisters friends, and my friends friends have turned out to be unreliable.:( I'm still plugging along with my el cheapo hario clone.

In the meantime I have tried out indianbean's "Frowners" and Flying squirrel's "Aromatique". Frowners is not too bad, and does actually land up with a berry taste, Aromatique only has traces of fruityness and defaults to the usual "coffee" + caramel taste in the end.
 
Frowners was one of the first coffees I tried. Liked it but theindianbean's roasting schedule is erratic. They sent me a month old roast (they corrected the mistake after I pointed it out). I am not sure if they roast every week.
 
I got lucky and got a batch that was roasted in the last week.

Blue Tokai has a slightly expensive new coffee, One apparently has a "Green apple" taste which looks intriguing.
 
A french press joins the harem. One of my friends was returning from canada and I mailed one from amazon.ca to him.

This is my first FP and I am kind of disappointed. I can't handle the sludge. Tried it for a few days before falling back to paper filters. I am now looking for reusable hemp or organic cotton filter. Has anyone used them? I tried a handkerchief I bought from shopper's stop and I could discern the cloth like taste even after ten brews.


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You can use the 5 rupee chalni you get in the grocery store - the plastic one. takes out 90% of the sludge, the finer particles settle down if you let the cup sit for a minute or two, just skip the last few ml of coffee.
 
dpandey said:
A french press joins the harem. One of my friends was returning from canada and I mailed one from amazon.ca to him.

This is my first FP and I am kind of disappointed. I can't handle the sludge. Tried it for a few days before falling back to paper filters. I am now looking for reusable hemp or organic cotton filter. Has anyone used them? I tried a handkerchief I bought from shopper's stop and I could discern the cloth like taste even after ten brews.
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FP needs a much coarser grind and time for brew & settle...
 
A bit of a conundrum. I have 2x250gm paper packed Mysore Nugget. Sadly, this was stored at home with other spices bought from Ooty. The coffee now tastes and smells of these spices. The taste is yuck. Like some bitter rassam. Any way to remove the taste and smell and salvage this coffee or is it a total write off?
 
I don't think you can recover it. You could try thoroughly washing a bunch of beans and then letting them dry and see if the smell/taste is still there.

If you don't want to throw the beans away, cold brew it, and drown it in milk/cream/sugar/cacao powder when drinking
 
soggy316 said:
I don't think you can recover it. You could try thoroughly washing a bunch of beans and then letting them dry and see if the smell/taste is still there.

If you don't want to throw the beans away, cold brew it, and drown it in milk/cream/sugar/cacao powder when drinking
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Can't wash. It's already grounded. :( It's now been in the fridge for a few days and the spicy smell is much less. I think i'll give it another try in a few days.
 
It's finally here. Made my first batch today morning. Initial thoughts. The burrs are quite aggressive. Grinds much faster than my porlex.

Even though it is 1 kg, I had no problems handling it. Though it will need some more effort in calibration.

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vivek.krishnan said:
Thinking of getting a grinder, suggestions on what to get? I would start with beans from Matunga for now.
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I own the Hario Slim, Porlex JP-30 and now the Lido 3. For these three, the quality and price are correlated. Hario will a good place to start (it is available in India from bluetokai for about 2900, amazon will ship from US for a little more).

If you can buy from the US, you may want to try java presse. Lots of good reviews.

What is matunga?


URLS:
Hario Slim
https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Mini-Mill-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B001804CLY
http://bluetokaicoffee.com/products/hario-ceramic-slim-grinder

Porlex JP-30
https://www.amazon.com/Porlex-JP-30-Stainless-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B0002JZCF2/

Java presse
https://www.amazon.com/JavaPresse-Coffee-Grinder-Precision-Stainless/dp/B013R3Q7B2/
 
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